Al-Ali (Arabic: آل علي) is a group of Arab clans who are not necessarily from a common ancestor but were once rulers of their own Arab state in Southern Persia and are still influential in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates as they are the ruling family in Umm al-Quwain. Many of whom are from an Arab tribe, a branch of Bani Malik from Central Arabia. Bani Malik are named after the renowned army leader, Malik Al-Ashtar Al-Nakha'i,[1] and are a branch of Azd Mecca (the descendants of Khuza'a Ibn Amr). Azd Mecca are one of four branches of Azd (or Al-Azd), a major pre-Islamic tribes, a branch of Kahlan which was one of the branches of Qahtan the other being Himyar.[2][3] Most of Al-Ali tribe migrated by the end of the 16th century from what is now Saudi Arabia to different neighboring countries. Members of Al-Ali tribe live in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan.

Al-Ali tribe in Iraq

The tribal pattern in Iraq for the last four centuries is such that tribes are grouped under different banners Rayat (رايات, sing. Raya) and areas of influence. These groups are not necessarily blood-related but they are tribal congregations, each one stems from its own ancestry and ruled by the Shaikh (شيخ), and cooperate in war under the same banner. However, two or three tribes (Asheera عشيرة pl. Ashayer) may have the same ancestry and cooperate in war under one banner and commanded by one leader who is called Shaikh of the shaikhs (Shaikh al Mashayikh شيخ المشايخ ). The shaikh's ancestors may not be the same as those of his tribe that he commands.[4]

Any tribe can have the name of the bigger group or keeps its name. Individuals too can do the same e.g. one can be called Al-Maliki (related to Bani Malik, the bigger tribe) and at the same time he is called Al-Ali (related to Al- Ali), which is one of Bani Malik offshoots. Some members of Al-Ali tribe call themselves Bani Hasan (the sons of Hasan) which is another offshoot of Bani Malik.

This tribal system dates back to the pre-Islamic era.

Habits of Iraqi tribes

Every Shaikh of an Iraqi tribe has a guest-house called Madheef (مضيف) for hosting of the tribe's guests and refugees fleeing their tribe, recreation of the tribe members and a court room too.[5]

A settler Arab tribe has its own order of penalties and fines, called Swani (صواني), for crimes committed on its territory, in contrast to nomadic ones.

Al-Ali tribe

They are one of the offshoots of Bani Malik (بني مالك). In the 16th century they moved north from central Arabia to UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, but others had relocated in Iraq as described. Al Ali tribe is known to be one of the richest tribes in the Middle East.

In the 13th century they had 4000 warriors, but most of the tribesmen had died in the plague of 1247 AH (1887 AD) so the number of their warriors was reduced to 150 in 1260 AH (1900). During the reign of their shaikh, Isa ibn Ehdaib, there was a severe drought which made them leave their land on the eastern bank of Euphrates and migrated near AI-Hindyiah tributary of Euphrates River, to the village called Janaja and some migrated to AI-Shamyiah to a place called AI-Kharabah which was offered by Shaikh Thirib ibn Emghamis Al-Khaza'ali.[6] Many of AI-Ali's still live in that area around Um-Hayaya River in Najaf Governorate.[7]

Al-Ali offshoots

An offshoot is called Fakhd (فخذ)[4]

Influential people of Al-Ali

Deceased

Contemporaries

All above contemporaries are from the Al Ghati offshoot of Al Ali.

Genealogy

The eldest member of the tribe, Abdul-Muhsin (brother of Abdul-Munim), Ibn Ali, lbn Hussein (brother of Al-Shaikh-Ali), Ibn Hammadi, Ibn Haj-Ali, Ibn Mohammad, lbn Muhanna, lbn Hussein ( brother of Sultan, the ancestor of Muhammad Hasan Abi Al-Mahasin), lbn Ghati, lbn Saif Al-Deen (AI-Maliki), lbn Ehdaib, lbn Hirkil, Ibn ALI (after whom the tribe is named), lbn Sagr, Ibn Woram, Ibn Abi Firas, Ibn Hamdan, Ibn Hamdan, Ibn Khoulan, Ibn Abdulla, Ibn Malik (Al-Nua’man), Ibn Ibrahim, Ibn Malik Al-Ashtar ( leader of the army of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of Muhammad and his son-in-law), after whom the larger Bani Malik tribe are named), Ibn Al-Harith, Ibn Abed Yaghouth, Ibn Salama, Ibn Rabia’a, Ibn Al-Harith, Ibn, Juthaima, Ibn Sa’ad, Ibn Malik, Ibn Nakha’, Ibn Amr, Ibn Illa, Ibn Jalid, Ibn Madh’hij (Nakha’ were pagans who converted to Islam after they were defeated by an Islamic army led by Ali Ibn Abi Talib in Ramadhan in 10 AH, and apparently Madh'hij's lineage had been relinquished by the tribe due to the infamy of the aforementioned battle, to be replaced with Azd's tribe, his brother, whose branch in Mecca was then named after his grandson" Khuza’a" Ibn Amr, Ibn Luhayy, Ibn Haritha, Ibn Amr, Ibn Muzaiqiya, from the dynasty of Ibn Al-Ghouth, Ibn Nabt, Ibn Malik, Ibn Zaid, Ibn Kahlan, Ibn Abed Shams “Saba'a (Sheba) The Great”, who is the founder of Sheba kingdom (Arabic 'Saba'a, which Queen Balkis "Queen of Sheba" who ruled in the 10th century BC, Ibn Yashjub, Ibn Yarub the forefather of the indigenous Arabs of the Arabian peninsula after whom the Arabs are named), lbn Qahtan(biblical Joktan) who is the son of Hud (biblical Eber).[3]

Al-Azd branches

Al-Azd tribe is one of the major pre-Islamic Arab tribes.

Sons of Amr Ibn Muzaiqiya have led their branches of Al-Azd in 3rd century AD to various destinations, after the flooding of their city Ma'Arab, when its dam had been destroyed by a deluge:

1. Azd Mecca (Khuza'a) - descendants of Haritha Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaiqiya, who settled in Hejaz and Mecca. They were the custodians of Ka'aba

(Holy House) prior to Quraysh tribe, for 300 yrs. some say for 500 yrs. They allied with Muhammad, so that a Qur'anic verse had

favoured them (Al-Tawba, Verse 14).

2. Azd Oman– descendants of Imran Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaiqiya, who were established in western Arabia and invaded Karman and Shiraz in southern

Persia.

3. Ghassanids who are (Azd Syria)[9] – descendants of Jafna Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaiqiya, who make the majority of the Arab Christians in Syria and

Lebanon.

4. Azd Yathrib – descendants of Tha’laba Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaiqiya, of his seed are Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj descendants of his son Haritha who are

collectively called Ansar (Arabic for supporters of Muhammad.

Influential people of various branches of Al-Azd

References

  1. ^ Al-Abakat Al-Amberyiah Fe Al-Tabakat Al-Ja'afaryiah, العبقات العنبرية في الطبقات الجعفرية (The amber scent of the Ja'afarians), by Mohammad Hussein Kashif-Al- Gita'a
  2. ^ Al-Iber (العبر The Lessons), by lbn Khaldoun
  3. ^ a b Nihayat Al-Arab Fe Ma'arifat Ansab Al-Arab نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب (The ultimate information on Arab ancestry), by Al-Kalkashandi
  4. ^ a b Studies of the Iraqi tribes, by Hmud Al-Sa'idi
  5. ^ History of Arabic Literature, by Ahmad Zaidan, 1/186
  6. ^ a b Poems of Abu Al-Mahasin Al-Karbala'aie, by Ali Al-Yacoubi
  7. ^ Al-Ali Biography, "Al-Sahafi" Newspaper, Jordan, dated 29.03.1994
  8. ^ Muneer Al-Ali, A Scientific Tafsir of Qur’anic Verses; Interplay of Faith and Science: CreateSpace Publishing (Amazon), South Carolina, USA (2013)
  9. ^ The History of Ghassanids from the Sabean Kingdom
  10. ^ Philip The Arab: A Study in Prejudice, by Yasmine Zahran, Stacey International (17 January 2004)
  11. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. By Alexander Kazhdan, Oxford University Press, 1991.
  12. ^ Norwich, John J. (1991). Byzantium: The Apogee. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-394-53779-3.
  13. ^ Wink, Andre, Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Brill Academic Publishers, Aug 1, 2002, ISBN 0-391-04173-8
  14. ^ Hawting, Gerald R., The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate Ad 661–750, 2000, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-24072-7
  15. ^ History of Analytical Chemistry, by Ferenc Szabadváry, p. 11, ISBN 2-88124-569-2.
  16. ^ The Historical Background of Chemistry, by Henry Marshall Leicester, p. 63
  17. ^ Starkey and Meisami. Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, Routledge, 1998
  18. ^ O'Connor, John J; Edmund F. Robertson al-Marrakushi ibn Al-Banna. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
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