Zahran tribe

Arabian tribe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zahran tribe

Zahran (Arabic: زهران), also known as Banū ʿZahrān ibn Kaʿab,[1] is one of the oldest Arabian tribes in the Arabian Peninsula.[2] It is regarded as one of the largest tribes in Al Bahah Province.

Quick Facts Zahran زهران, Nisba ...
Zahran
زهران
Arabian tribe
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Standard of the Royal Zahranid Family of Oman (House of Al Said)
NisbaZahranī
LocationAl Baha, Hejaz Mountains, Saudi Arabia (origin)
Descended fromZahran ibn Kaʿab ibn Al-Harith
Parent tribeAzd Shanū’ah, Azd
Branches
ReligionPre 630 AD (Polytheism)
Post 630 AD (Islam)
SurnamesAl Zahrani
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Al Baha is the homeland of Zahran and Ghamid.[3] However, many tribes that descend from Zahran and Azd migrated to Oman and Tanukh (Levant) under leadership of Malik bin Fehm in the 3rd century.[4][5] Oman's modern royal family, Al Said, is said to descend from Zahran through Malik ibn Fehm.[6] Moreover, many currently live in Mecca, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam due to large migration from villages and small cities during the 1960s and 1970s in search of a better life.

Zahran is a well-known tribe before and after Islam. Many of them left their houses, homes, and relatives and joined the Prophet Muhammad in Medina.[3]

Name

Zahran (Arabic: زهران) is the name of the shared common ancestor of Zahran. Etymological sources indicate that it is of Arabic Semitic origin, meaning "bright" and "pure".[7]

Lineage

Al-Zahrani is a nisba to

Zahran ibn Ka’ab ibn Al-Harith ibn Ka’ab ibn Abdullah Ibn Mālik ibn Nasr ibn Al-Azd, an Azdite offshoot.[8]

Islamic Prophecy

Summarize
Perspective

There are Islamic prophecies with regards to 'End-Times' that have quoted the tribe; like the following by Abu Hurairah:

Abu Hurairah said, “I heard the Prophet say, The Hour will not come until the buttocks of the women of Daws move (quiver) while going around Dhu l-Khalasah”. Dhu l-Khalasah was an idol worshiped by the tribe of Daws and neighboring clans during the Jahiliyyah. (Hadith from Bukhari.) And Dhu l-Khalasah is named after Khalasah: a valley in Zahran’s homeland, specifically in Daws,[9] one of the biggest clans in Zahran.[10]

Recent history

The author of Kitab Akhbar Makka Lil’Azraqi (Azraqi's Revisioned Book of Reports about Mecca), mentions that the local clans in the region used to re-honor Dhu l-Khalasah in the early 20th century and slay tributes to it. The prominent Saudi geographic researcher: Rushdi Saleh Malhas, dedicated a section under the title "Security Crisis and Return to Dhu l-Khalasah" to comment on the issue of "Dhu l-Khalasah":

"When the security cord in the Arabian Peninsula was diminished in recent times and its residents lacked comfort and tranquility, and poverty and destitution prevailed in the land, souls felt the desire for asceticism and faith, and the need for a refuge to which they dread, so local clans returned to their first Jahiliyyah, by re-honoring Dhu l-Khalasah, clinging to heresies and superstitions."

During the emergence of the third/modern Saudi state between 1341- 1344 Hijri / 1921 – 1925 AD, Dhu l-Khalasah was destroyed by order of king Abdulaziz, otherwise known as Ibn Saud. The order was carried in delegation by Abdulaziz Al Ibrahim, who led a campaign that demolished most of the image cult and threw its ruins into a nearby valley. One of those who engaged in the campaign emphasized that the structure of Dhul-Khalasa was immensely strong, stating that the force of dozens of men was required to move a single stone and that its durability indicates considerate tactful building skills.[11]

Pre-Islamic History

Summarize
Perspective

Oman's first Arabian Settlements

Zahran's pre-Islamic history is popularly linked to Malik ibn Fehm, who was one of the first Arabians to settle in Oman.[5] This eventually led to conflict between Malik ibn Fehm's Azdite men and the Persians, who claimed Oman's territory, with the latter succumbing in the great Salut Battle (recorded by al-Awtabi), carving the path for the Arabization of Oman.[12] While not much is known about Malik ibn Fehm, his extensive presence in pre-Islamic Arabian poetry and literature denotes that Arabians gained great fame from his raids and wars.[13]

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Site of Salut, Oman

Founding of the Tanukh Confederation

Malik ibn Fehm went on later to establish the saracen tribal confederation Tanukh (Βασιλεὺς Θανουηνῶν) centered initially in the ancient city of Al-Hira.

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Miniature depicting Al-Hira

The ancient Tanukh tribal confederation was largely taken over by several branches of the large Azd and Quda'a tribes. In the 4th century AD, the Tanukhids became the first Arabian tribal confederation to serve as foederati (allies) in the Roman East.[14] Although Malik ibn Fehm is of dubious historic authenticity,[15] archaeological and epigraphic evidence confirms the existence of his son, Jadhima ibn Malik ibn Fehm.[16][17] Nicknamed 'the Leper' due to his leprosy,[18] a skin disease that causes insensitivity to pain,[19] Jadhima later became the king of Tanukh in the second half of the 3rd century CE.[20]

In medieval historical sources and literature, Jadhima is portrayed as a pivotal figure in the pre-Islamic history of the Arabs, especially in the context of the Roman–Persian Wars over supremacy in the Middle East.[21] However, the historical kernel around which these traditions is impossible to reconstruct today.[22] Numerous traditions around him and his companions and family became the subject of poetry and proverbial wisdom. Such episodes include his boon companions, the marriage of his sister Riqash to Adi, and his marriage to, and death by, al-Zabba (Zenobia).[23] Some fragments of poems are also attributed to him, and he is listed among the pre-Islamic poets by later anthologists.[24] He was succeeded by his nephew Amr ibn Adi, the son of Riqash and Adi.[25]

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Jadhima's wife, Zenobia, as empress on the obverse of an antoninianus (AD 272)

Maintenance of the Meccan Kaaba

Al-Jadara (translation: the Wall-Masons) were a Zahranid family that settled in Mecca.[26][27] They were called "Al-Jadra" because their progenitor, Amer ibn Amr ibn Ja'thama, is said to be the first to reconstruct the walls of the Kaaba after Abraham and Ishmael, earning him the title "Amer the Builder".[28][29]

Alliance with Quraysh & Banu Al Du'al

Al-Jadara formed an alliance with the Banu Al Du'al in Mecca. This alliance extended to the Quraysh, who were also allies of Banu Al Du'al. A significant marital union occurred when Kilab ibn Murrah of the Quraysh married Fatimah bint Sa’d Al-Jadari, with whom he bore Zuhrah and Qusay.[28][29] Qusay ibn Kilab is best known for being an ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as well as the third and the fourth Rashidun caliphs, Uthman and Ali, and the later Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphs along with several of the most prominent Hashemite dynasties in the orient.[30]

Kilab ibn MurrahFatimah bint Sa'd
Zuhrah ibn Kilab
(progenitor of Banu Zuhrah)
maternal great-great-grandfather
Qusai ibn Kilab
paternal great-great-great-grandfather
Hubba bint Hulail
paternal great-great-great-grandmother
`Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah
maternal great-grandfather
`Abd Manaf ibn Qusai
paternal great-great-grandfather
Atikah bint Murrah
paternal great-great-grandmother
Wahb ibn `Abd Manaf
maternal grandfather
Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf
(progenitor of Banu Hashim)
paternal great-grandfather
Salma bint `Amr
paternal great-grandmother
Fatimah bint `Amr
paternal grandmother
`Abdul-Muttalib
paternal grandfather
Halah bint Wuhayb
paternal step-grandmother
Aminah
mother
`Abdullah
father
Az-Zubayr
paternal uncle
Harith
paternal half-uncle
Hamza
paternal half-uncle
Thuwaybah
first nurse
Halimah
second nurse
Abu Talib
paternal uncle
`Abbas
paternal half-uncle
Abu Lahab
paternal half-uncle
6 other sons
and 6 daughters
MuhammadKhadija
first wife
`Abd Allah ibn `Abbas
paternal cousin
Fatimah
daughter
Ali
paternal cousin and son-in-law
family tree, descendants
Qasim
son
`Abd-Allah
son
Zainab
daughter
Ruqayyah
daughter
Uthman
second cousin and son-in-law
family tree
Umm Kulthum
daughter
Zayd
adopted son
Ali ibn Zainab
grandson
Umamah bint Zainab
granddaughter
`Abd-Allah ibn Uthman
grandson
Rayhana bint Zayd
wife
Usama ibn Zayd
adoptive grandson
Muhsin ibn Ali
grandson
Hasan ibn Ali
grandson
Husayn ibn Ali
grandson
family tree
Umm Kulthum bint Ali
granddaughter
Zaynab bint Ali
granddaughter
Safiyya
tenth wife
Abu Bakr
father-in-law
family tree
Sawda
second wife
Umar
father-in-law
family tree
Umm Salama
sixth wife
Juwayriya
eighth wife
Maymuna
eleventh wife
Aisha
third wife
Family tree
Zaynab
fifth wife
Hafsa
fourth wife
Zaynab
seventh wife
Umm Habiba
ninth wife
Maria al-Qibtiyya
twelfth wife
Ibrahim
son
  • * indicates that the marriage order is disputed
  • Note that direct lineage is marked in bold.

Branches

  • Banu Daws comprises three divisions: Banu Manhib, Banu Fahm and Banu Ali.[31][32]
  • Banu 'Amr includes four divisions: Banu Bashir, Banu Harir, Banu Jundob, and Banu 'Adwan (Banu 'Adwan occupied Adwan village in Syria and gave the village its name). Which was conquered and sacked by the Egyptians Sulyman Agha and his tribe the Kerdasa[33][31][34]
  • Banu Aws includes five divisions: Banu Hasan, Bal-Khirmar, Banu Kinanah (not to be confused with Banu Kinanah), Banu 'Amir (not to be confused with Banu 'Amir) and Ahl Baydan.[31]
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First recorded Saudi Arabian license, 1924, featuring Yahya ibn Ibrahim Al Zahrani
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Portrait of Yahya ibn Ibrahim Al Zahrani
  • In the American thriller series Designated Survivor, "Ibrahim bin Zahrani" is featured as a Saudi crown prince in a time of political upheaval, caused by president Kirkman's remarks.[citation needed]
  • The short drama film "Bakrush" tells part of the story of the Battle of Wadi Quraish, which was led by the knight Bakrush ibn Alas Al-Zahrani, and fought under the banner of the Imam of the first Saudi state.[35]

Zahrani Arabic dialect

Zahrani Arabic dialect is closely related to standard Arabic language.[2] Ahmed Abdul Ghafur Attar, a Saudi poet and linguist, said in an article that the language of the Hejaz, especially that which is spoken in Belad Ghamdi and Zahran, is close to the Classical Language.[36]

Faisal Ghori (Arabic: فيصل غوري), a famous scholar of Arabic literature, in his book Qabayil Al- Hejaz (Hejazi tribes) wrote: "We can say is that there are some tribes in Arabia whose language today much closer to the classical Arabic language. The tribes of Belad Ghamid and Zahran are a good example of this."[36]

Zahrani tribal governance

Members of the tribe in Al Baha elected their tribal chief in 2006, the first election of its kind in Saudi Arabia. Mohammad Bin Yahya Al Zahrani won the election.[37][38]

Notable people

See also

References

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