Location and Types of Arab Tribe by Sealed Nectar
Location and Nature of Arab Tribes
Beyond a shadow of doubt, the biography of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ manifestedly represents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine Message that he communicated in order to deliver the human race from the swamp of darkness and polytheism to the paradise of light and monotheism. An image, authentic as well as comprehensive, of this Message is therefore only attainable through careful study and profound analysis of both backgrounds and issues of such a biography. In view of this, a whole chapter is here introduced about the nature and development of Arab tribes prior to Islam as well as the circumstantial environment that enwrapped the Prophet’s mission.
Location of the Arabs:
Linguistically, the word “Arab” means deserts and waste barren land well-nigh waterless and treeless. Ever since the dawn of history, the Arabian Peninsula and its people have been called as such.
Beyond a shadow of doubt, the biography of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ manifestedly represents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine Message that he communicated in order to deliver the human race from the swamp of darkness and polytheism to the paradise of light and monotheism. An image, authentic as well as comprehensive, of this Message is therefore only attainable through careful study and profound analysis of both backgrounds and issues of such a biography. In view of this, a whole chapter is here introduced about the nature and development of Arab tribes prior to Islam as well as the circumstantial environment that enwrapped the Prophet’s mission.
Location of the Arabs:
Linguistically, the word “Arab” means deserts and waste barren land well-nigh waterless and treeless. Ever since the dawn of history, the Arabian Peninsula and its people have been called as such.
The Arabian Peninsula is enclosed in the west by the Red Sea
and Sinai, in
the east by the Arabian Gulf, in the south by the Arabian Sea, which is an
extension of the Indian Ocean, and in the north by old
Syria and part of Iraq. The
area is estimated between a million and a million and a quarter square
miles.
Thanks to its geographical position, the peninsula has always
maintained great importance. Considering its internal setting, it is mostly
deserts and sandy
places, which has rendered it inaccessible to foreigners and invaders,
and allowed its people complete liberty and
independence through the ages, despite
the presence of two neighbouring great empires.
Its external setting, on the other hand, caused it to be the centre of the old world and provided it with sea and land links with most nations at the time. Thanks to this strategic position the Arabian Peninsula had become the centre for trade, culture, religion and art.
Types of Arab Tribes
Arab Tribes:
Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups:
1. Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were ‘Ad, Thamfud, Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq, and others.
2. Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan. They were also called Qahtanian Arabs.
3. Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael. They were also called ‘Adnanian Arabs.
Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups:
1. Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were ‘Ad, Thamfud, Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq, and others.
2. Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan. They were also called Qahtanian Arabs.
3. Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael. They were also called ‘Adnanian Arabs.
The pure Arabs - the people of Qahtan- originally lived in Yemen and
comprised many tribes, two of which were very famous:
a. Himyar: The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda‘a and Sakasic.
b. Kahlan: The most famous of whose septs were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij,
Kinda, Lakhm, Judham, Azd,
Aws, Khazraj and the
descendants of Jafna — the kings of old Syria.
descendants of Jafna — the kings of old Syria.
Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood ( Sail Al-‘Arim of Ma’rib Dam), due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and domain on both sea and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria.
Naturally enough, the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the
evacuation of the first and the settlement of the second in Yemen.
The
emigrating septs of Kahlan can be divided into four groups:
l. Azd: Who, under the leadership of ‘Imran bin ‘Amr Muzaiqba’, wandered
in Yemen, sent pioneers and finally headed northwards. Details of their
emigration can be summed up as follows:
Tha’abah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Hijaz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhi Qar. When he gained strength, he headed for Madinah where he stayed. Of his seed are Aws and Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Tha‘labah.
Tha’abah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Hijaz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhi Qar. When he gained strength, he headed for Madinah where he stayed. Of his seed are Aws and Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Tha‘labah.
Haritha bin ‘Amr, known as Khuza‘a, wandered with his folks in Hijaz until they came to Mar
Az-Zahran. Later, they conquered the Haram, and settled in Makkah after having driven away its people,
the tribe of Jurhum.
‘Imran bin ‘Amr and his folks went to ‘Oman
where they established the tribe of Azd
whose
children inhabited Tihama and were known as Azd-of-Shanu’a.
Jafiia bin ‘Amr and his family, headed
for Syria where he settled and initiated the kingdom of Ghassan
who was so named after a spring of water, in Hijaz, where they stopped
on their way to Syria.
2. Lakhm and Judham: Of whom was Nasr bin Rabi‘a, father of Manadhira, Kings
of Heerah.
3. Banu Tai’: Who also emigrated northwards to settle by the
so- called Aja and Salma
Mountains which were consequently named as Tai’ Mountains.
4. Kinda: Who dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and Najd where they
instituted a powerful
government but not for long , for the whole tribe soon
faded away.
Another tribe
of Himyar, known as Quda‘a, also left Yemen and dwelt in Samawa
semi-desert on the borders of Iraq.
The Arabized
Arabs go back in ancestry to their great grandfather Abrahamؑ from a town called “Ar”
near Kufa on the west bank of the Euphrates in
Iraq. Excavations brought to light great details of the town, Abraham’s family, and the prevalent religions and social circumstances.
It is known that Abraham ؑleft Ar for Harran and then for Palestine, which he made headquarters for his Message. He wandered all over the area. When he went to Egypt, the Pharaoh tried to do evil to his wife Sarah, but Allah saved her and the Pharaoh’s wicked scheme recoiled on him. He thus came to realize her strong attachment to Allah, and, in acknowledgment of her grace, the Pharaoh rendered his daughter Hajara at Sarah’s service, but Sarah gave Hajara to Abraham as a wife.
It is known that Abraham ؑleft Ar for Harran and then for Palestine, which he made headquarters for his Message. He wandered all over the area. When he went to Egypt, the Pharaoh tried to do evil to his wife Sarah, but Allah saved her and the Pharaoh’s wicked scheme recoiled on him. He thus came to realize her strong attachment to Allah, and, in acknowledgment of her grace, the Pharaoh rendered his daughter Hajara at Sarah’s service, but Sarah gave Hajara to Abraham as a wife.
Abraham returned to Palestine where Hajara gave birth to Ishmael. Sarah became so jealous of Hajara that she forced Abraham to send Hajara and her baby away to a plantless valley on a small hill in Hijaz, by the Sacred House, exposed to the wearing of floods coming right and left. He chose for them a place under a lofty tree above Zamzam near the upper side of the Mosque in Makkah where neither people nor water was available, and went back to Palestine leaving with his wife and baby a leather case with some dates and a pot of water. Not before long, they ran out of both food and
water, but thanks to Allah’s favour water gushed forth to sustain them for sometime. The whole story of Zamzam spring is already known to everybody.
Another Yemeni
tribe- Jurhum the Second- came and lived in Makkah upon Hajara’s
permission, after being said to have lived in the valleys around Makkah. It is
mentioned in the Sahih Al-Bukhari that this tribe came to Makkah before Ishmael
was a young man while they had passed through that valley long before this
event.
Abrahamؑ used to go to Makkah every now and then to see his wife and son.
The number of these journeys is still unknown, but authentic historical resources
spoke of four ones.
Allah, the
Sublime, stated in the Noble Qur’an that He had Abrahamؑ see, in his dream, that he slaughtered his son Ishmael ؑ, and therefore Abraham ؑstood up to fulfill His Order:
“Then, when they had both submitted themselves
(to the Will of
Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the
side of his forehead for slaughtering); and We called out to him:
“O Abraham! You have fulfilled the dream (vision)!” Verily!
Thus do we reward the Muhsinun (good-doers, who perform
good deeds totally for Allah’s sake only, without any show off
or to gain praise or fame, etc. and do them in accordance to
Allah’s Orders). Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial — and
We ransomed him with a great sacrifice (i.e. a ram).”
Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (or on the
side of his forehead for slaughtering); and We called out to him:
“O Abraham! You have fulfilled the dream (vision)!” Verily!
Thus do we reward the Muhsinun (good-doers, who perform
good deeds totally for Allah’s sake only, without any show off
or to gain praise or fame, etc. and do them in accordance to
Allah’s Orders). Verily, that indeed was a manifest trial — and
We ransomed him with a great sacrifice (i.e. a ram).”
It is mentioned in the Genesis that Ishmaelؑ was thirteen years older than his brother Ishaqؑ. The sequence of the story of the sacrifice of Ishmael shows that it really happened before Ishaq’s birth, and that Allah’s Promise to give Abraham another son, Ishaq, came after narration of the whole story.
This story spoke of one journey - at least-before Ishmaelؑ became a young man.
Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, reported the other three journeys; a summary of which goes as follows:
When Ishmaelؑ became a young man, he learned Arabic at the hand of the tribe of Jurhum, who loved him with great admiration and gave him one
of their women
as a wife, soon after his mother died. Having wanted to see his wife and son again, Abrahamؑ came to Makkah, after
Ishmaelؑ’s marriage, but he didn’t find him at home. He asked Ishmaelؑ’s wife about her husband and how they were doing. She complained of poverty, so he asked her
to tell Ishmaelؑ to change his doorstep. Ishmael understood the message, divorced his wife and got married to the daughter of Mudad bin ‘Amr,
chief of the
tribe of Jurhum.
tribe of Jurhum.
Once more, Abrahamؑ came to see his son, but again didn’t find him at home. He asked his new wife the same previous question, to which she thanked Allah. Abrahamؑ asked her to tell Ishmaelؑ to keep his doorstep (i.e. to keep her as wife) and went back to Palestine.
A third time,
Abrahamؑ came to Makkah to find Ishmaelؑ sharpening an arrow under a lofty tree near Zamzam. The meeting, after a very long journey of separation, was very touching for a father so
affectionate and a so dutiful and
righteous son. This time, father and son built Al-Ka‘bah and raised its pillars, and Abrahamؑ, in compliance with Allah’s
Commandment, called unto
people to make pilgrimage to it.
By the grace of
Allah, Ishmael had twelve sons from the daughter of Mudad, whose names were Nabet, Qidar,
Edbael, Mebsham, Mishma’, Duma, Micha, Hudud,
Yetma, Yetour, Nafis and Qidman, and who ultimately formed twelve tribes inhabiting Makkah and trading between Yemen, geographical Syria and Egypt. Later on, these tribes spread
all over, and even
outside, the peninsula. All their tidings went into oblivion except for the descendants of Nabet and Qidar.
The Nabeteans-sons
of Nabet- established a flourishing civilization in the north of Hijaz, they instituted a powerful government which spread
out its domain
over all neighbouring tribes, and made Petra their capital. Nobody dared challenge their authority until the Romans came and managed to eliminate their kingdom. After extensive research and painstaking investigation, Mr. Sulaiman An-Nadwi came to the conclusion
that the Ghassanide kings, along with the Aws and Khazraj were not likely
to be Qahtanians but rather Nabeteans.
that the Ghassanide kings, along with the Aws and Khazraj were not likely
to be Qahtanians but rather Nabeteans.
Descendants of
Qidar, the son of Ishmaelؑ, lived long in Makkah increasing in number, of them issued ‘Adnan and son Ma‘ad,
to whom ‘Adnanian Arabs traced back
their ancestry. ‘Adnan is the twenty-first grandfather in the series of the Prophetic ancestry. It was said
that whenever
‘Prophet Muhammad ﷺ spoke of his ancestry he would stop at ‘Adnan and say: “Genealogists tell lies” and did not go farther he would than him. A group of scholars, however, favoured the probability of going beyond ‘Adnan attaching no significance to the aforementioned Prophetic Hadith. They went on to say that there were exactly forty fathers between ‘Adnan and Abrahamؑ.
Nizar, Ma‘ad’s only son , had four sons who branched out into four great tribes;
‘Prophet Muhammad ﷺ spoke of his ancestry he would stop at ‘Adnan and say: “Genealogists tell lies” and did not go farther he would than him. A group of scholars, however, favoured the probability of going beyond ‘Adnan attaching no significance to the aforementioned Prophetic Hadith. They went on to say that there were exactly forty fathers between ‘Adnan and Abrahamؑ.
Nizar, Ma‘ad’s only son , had four sons who branched out into four great tribes;
Eyad,
Anmar, Rabi‘a and Mudar.
These last
two sub-branched into several septs.
Rabi'a
fathered Asad, ‘Anazah, ‘Abdul Qais, and Wa’il’s two sons (Bakr and Taghlib), Hanifa
and many others.
Mudar tribes branched out into two great divisions: Qais ‘Ailan bin Mudar
and septs of Elias bin Mudar.
Of Qais ‘Ailan
were the Banu Saleem, Banu Hawazin, and Banu Ghatafan of whom descended ‘Abs, Zubyan,
Ashja1 and Ghani bin A‘sur. Of Elias bin Mudar were Tamim bin Murra,
Hudhail bin Mudrika, Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah and septs of Kinana bin
Khuzaimah, of whom came Quraish, the descendants of Fahr bin Malik bin
An-Nadr bin Kinana.
Ashja1 and Ghani bin A‘sur. Of Elias bin Mudar were Tamim bin Murra,
Hudhail bin Mudrika, Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah and septs of Kinana bin
Khuzaimah, of whom came Quraish, the descendants of Fahr bin Malik bin
An-Nadr bin Kinana.
Quraish branched out into various tribes, the most famous of whom were Jumah,
Sahm, ‘Adi, Makhzum, Tayim, Zahra and the three septs of Qusai bin
Kilab:‘Abd Ad-Darbin Qusai, Asad bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza bin Qusai and ‘Abd Manaf
bin Qusai.
‘Abd Manaf branched out into four tribes:
‘Abd Manaf branched out into four tribes:
‘Abd Shams,
Nawfal, Muttalib and Hashim. It is, however,
from the family of Hashim that Allah selected Prophet Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah
bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib bin Hashim ﷺ
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
“Allah selected Ishmael from the sons of
Abraham, Kinana from
the sons of Ishmael, Quraish from the sons of Kinana, Hashim
from the sons of Quraish and He selected me from the sons of
Hashim.” Sahih Muslim, 2/245
the sons of Ishmael, Quraish from the sons of Kinana, Hashim
from the sons of Quraish and He selected me from the sons of
Hashim.” Sahih Muslim, 2/245
Al-‘Abbas bin
‘Abdul-Muttalib quoted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as saying:
“Allah created mankind and chose me from
the best whereof, He
chose the tribes and selected me from the best whereof; and He
chose families and selected me from the best whereof. I am the
very best in person and family.” Tirmidhi, 2/201.
chose the tribes and selected me from the best whereof; and He
chose families and selected me from the best whereof. I am the
very best in person and family.” Tirmidhi, 2/201.
Having
increased in number, children of ‘Adnan, in pursuit of pastures and water, spread
out over various parts of Arabia.
The tribe of ‘Abdul Qais, together with some septs of Bakr bin Wa’il and Tamim, emigrated to Bahrain where they dwelt.
Banu Hanifa
bin Sa‘b bin Ali bin Bakr went to settle in Hijr,
the capital of Yamama. All the tribes of Bakr bin Wa’il lived in
an area of land which included Yamama, Bahrain, Saif Kazima, the sea
shore, the outer borders of Iraq, Ablah and Hait.
Most of the tribe
of Taghlib lived in the Euphrates area while some of
them lived with Bakr.
them lived with Bakr.
Banu Tamim lived in Basra semi-desert.
Banu Saleem lived in the vicinity of Madinah on the land stretching from
Wadi Al-Qura to Khaibar onwards to the eastern mountains to Harrah.
Thaqif dwelt in Ta’if and Hawazin east of Makkah near Autas
on the road from Makkah to Basra.
Banu Asad lived on the land east of Taima’ and west of Kufa, while
family of Tai’ lived between Banu Asad and Taima’. They
were five-day-walk far from Kufa.
Zubyan inhabited the plot of and between Taima’ and Hawran.
Some septs of
Kinana lived in Tihama, while septs of Quraish dwelt in Makkah
and its suburbs. Quraish remained completely disunited until Qusai
bin Kilab managed to rally their ranks on honourable terms attaching major
prominence to their status and importance.
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