ASHRAF (plural of Arabic sharaf, "noble," "revered"), a term applied throughout the Muslim world to descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, but more particularly to a small Arab tribe scattered around Suakin, who call themselves Bani Hashim, "sons of Hashim," the Prophet's uncle. In India the term is said to include Muslims of foreign descent from higher Hindu castes as opposed to the Ajlaf or commonalty and Arzal (almost= "outcasts"). In Persia, too, the term is vaguely used. In Arabia, Burton limits Sharif (a singular of Ashraf) to descendants of the Prophet through Hassan, Ali's elder son.