Al-Ali (tribe)

Al-Ali is an Arab tribe a branch of Bani Malik originally from Central Arabia. Most of the tribe migrated by the end of 16th century from what is now Saudi Arabia to different neighboring countries.Members of Al-Ali tribe live in Saudi Arabia (especially in Ha'il), the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan.

Al-Ali tribe in Ha'il

Al-Ali Emirate is the royal family of Ha'il city, which became a part of Saudi. Arabia in 1921. Members of this Emirate were originally the princes and rulers of Ha'il.The tribe came under control of Ibn Saud in 1921

In 1792, the ruler of Ha'il, Prince Mohammad Bin Abd Al-Muhsin Al-Ali, aligned himself with the First Saudi Government and continued to rule Ha'il until 1834 when Abdullah Al-Reshaid took control of Ha'il city and the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Reshaid Emirate was an extension of Al-Ali (they share the same bloodlines).

The Al-Reshaid Family is a part of Al-Kalil which is a part of Alja'far and all of these families are related to Abda.

Ha'il city was ruled by: Mohammad Bin Abd Al-Muhsin Al-Ali from 1792–1818. Saleh Bin Abd Al-Muhsin Al-Ali from 1818–1834. Eissa Bin Abd Al-Muhsin Al-Ali, recovered the Emirate from Al-Reshaid in 1837. The Emirate is now controlled by the Al-Baijan family, who are a part of this tribe.

The Al-Baijan Family is located in Ha'il.

Sources

1. History of the Saudi Government, by Amin Saeed; Fair Imam, by Abdul Hamid Al-Khatib; The Political History of Kuwait, by Hussein Al Sheikh.
2. Notes and Stories by elderly people.

Al-Ali tribe in Iraq

The tribal pattern in Iraq for the last four centuries is such that tribes are grouped under different banners Raya (راية, plural Rayat) 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.

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

A settler Arab tribe has its own order of penalties and fines, called Swani (سواني), for crimes committed on its territory, in contrast to nomadic ones. Homicide and rape crimes are resolved by offering men of the victim's tribe a number of women to marry. If the assailant tribe is of another race, women are not accepted but instead they give "Diyya" (دية) in form of money or cattle stock. Women can only be accepted from a white tribe allied to the assailant's black tribe.

Al Ali tribe (آل علي)

They are one of the offshoots of Bani Malik (بني مالك). In the 16th century AD they moved north from central Arabia to UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, but others had relocated in Iraq as described.

In the 13 th century AD they had 4000 warriors, but most of the tribesmen had died in the plague of 1247 A.H(after Hijra)=1887 AD so the number of their warriors was reduced to 150 . in 1260 AH=1900 AD 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. Many of AI-Ali's still live in that area around Um-Hayaya river in Najaf Governorate.

Al Ali offshoots

An offshoot is called Fakhd (فخذ)

• Al-Mahasna
• Al Bkhair
• Al Daoud
• Al-Hayachla
• Al Faraj (Al Ali): The largest fakhd, a tribe in its own right, and they kept the name of the main tribe. Faraj and Ali are brothers.This offshoot divides into:

  * Al Gati آل كاطع- In Janaja village and the township of Al Hindiyah (also called Twairij) on  the bank of Al-Hindyiah tributary of Euphrates river.  The families Albu Haj Ali and Albu Muhsin are some of those who descended from the Al Gati offshoot of Al Ali.
  * Al-Rowaj'ih
  * Al Shaiba
  * Al-Matareef
  * Another offshoot in the township of Al-Daghara, whose successors are Kashif Al-Ghita'a and Al Khidhir families.

Influential people of Al-Ali

Deceased

• Shaikh Khidhir ibn Mohammad ibn Yahya ibn Mutar ibn Saif Al-Deen Al-Janaji Al-Maliki, the great father of Al Kashif AI-Ghita'a family in Najaf.
• His son, Shaikh Ja'afar, who is the one given the title of Kashif Al-Ghita'a which means "the revealer of religion and knowledge".
• Shaikh Mohammad Hussein Kashif Al-Ghita'a, the philosopher and politician of the early 20th century and an author of many publications on theology, sociology and politics.
• Muhammad Hasan Abi al-Mahasin, a poet and a politician. He is one of the leaders of the Iraqi revolution against the British occupation during and after the First World War. He was the president of the Revolutionary Council then (Al-majlis Al-milli المجلس الملي) in 1920. He became the Minister of Education in the first national government during the reign of King Faisal I after independence in 1920.He is one of Albu Muhsin family of Al Ghati offshoot of Al Ali. He is the grandfather of Nouri al-Maliki the prime minister of Iraq since 2006.
• Shaikh Ali Kashif Al-Ghita'a, former president of the Islamic Conference Organization, a clergyman and author.
• Shaikh Rawi Al-Waddai, one of the leaders of the Iraqi revolution in 1920 and shaikh of Al Ali tribe then.

Contemporaries

• Abdul-Muhsin Al-Ali, Oil engineer
• Dr. Mahmoud Mohammad Hussein Al-Shalkh -Ali, civil engineer who has settled in UK since 1953. He is famous in publishing research in geo-technology .
• Dhia Yahya Al-Ali, a high ranking politician in Iraq and ex-governor of Salahuddin governorate in Iraq and MP until 2003.
• Dr. Muneer Abdul-Munim Al-Ali, urologist and transplantation surgeon. One of the pioneers of organ transplantation in Iraq and Arab world ,who lived in New Zealand between 1997 and 1999 and settled in UK since 1999. He is famous in publishing innovative articles in urology and transplantation.
• Nouri al-Maliki, (the grandson of Muhammad Hasan Abi al-Mahasin, of Albu-Muhsin family , Iraqi Prime Minister (2006– now ), the third prime minister after the overthrow of Saddam Hussain.

All the 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, lbn Abi-Woram, lbn Abi-Firas, Ibn Isa, Ibn Najm, Ibn Woram, lbn Hamad, Ibn Khoulan, lbn Ibrahim, lbn Malik Al-Ashtar( leader in the army of Prophet Muhammad's cousin Ali Ibn Abi Talib, after whom the larger Bani Malik tribe are named), Ibn Al-Harith, lbn Abd-Yaluth, lbn Salama, lbn Rabi'aa, Ibn Jarid, lbn Juthaima, Ibn Sa'ad, lbn Malik, lbn Nakh' ,lbn Amr, lbn Illa, lbn Abs, Ibn Jalad, Ibn Amr, Ibn Khoulan, lbn Malik, Ibn Haritha (Khuza'a of Al-Azd), Ibn Amr, Ibn Muzaqiba, lbn Arib, Ibn Yashjub, Ibn Zayd, Ibn Kahlan, lbn Abd Shams Saba'a (Sheba) The Great, who is the founder of Sheba kingdom (Arabic 'Saba'a, which queen Balkis ruled in the 10 century BC), Ibn Yarub the forefather of the pure indigenous Arabs of the Arabian peninsula after whom the Arabs are named), Ibn Yashjub, lbn Qahtan(biblical Joktan)who is a descendent from Hud (biblical Eber) 1817 BC.

Other three Al-Azd branches

Al-Azd tribe is one of the major pre-Islamic Arab tribes. In addition to the aforementioned Khuza'a (Haritha) branch who settled in Hijaz and Mecca, the other three sons of Amr Ibn Muzaqiba have led the other 3 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 Oman– descendants of Imran Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaqiba, who were established in western Arabia and invaded Karman and Shiraz in southern Persia.
2. Ghassanids who are (Azd Syria) – descendants of Jafna Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaqiba, who make the majority of the Arab Christians in Lebanon.
3. Azd Yathrib – descendants of Tha’laba Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaqiba, of his seed are Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj descendents of his son Haritha Ibn Tha’alaba who are collectively called The Ansar( Arabic for Supporters of Prophet Muhammad who produced the great Nasrid dynasty in Granada in Andalus (Spain).

Other influential people of various branches of Al-Azd

• The Ghassanids of Syria
• The Roman Emperor (Philip the Arab), a Ghassanid Arab from Syria, ruled between 244–249 AD.
• The Nassrid Dynasty , ruled Granada between 1232–1492, the last Arab dynasty in Andalus(now Spain).
• The Xiberras (Gebara/Sceberras) nobility of Malta (Christian Ghassanid migrants from Alexanderia in Egypt).
• The Muscati Maltese nobility Siculo are of Arab origin (Azd Uman) converted to Chritianity in the 12th century.
• Maurice Xiberras the first leader of the Democratic Party of British Gibraltar. He is of the Maltese nobility (Sceberras/Gebara).
• Dawasir tribe of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf.
• Jabir Ibn Hayyan, a famous alchemist and mathematician ( after whose name is Algebra )
• Ibn Duraid Al-Azdi, poet
• Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al-Farahidi, author of the first Arabic dictionary (Kitab Al-Ayn), and the teacher of the celebrated Arabic linguist Sibawayh.
• Kuthayyir, poet and legendary lover, called Kuthayyir of Azza (his sweetheart), reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.
• Ibn al-Banna, mathematician and astronomer
• Jabir ibn Zayd Al-Azdi, the co-founder of the Ibadhi sect of Islam.
• Al Nahyan Dynasty ruling United Arab Emirates
• Mohalib Ibn Abi Suffrah, military commander of Persia and Arabia at the time of Umayyad caliphate, leader of the Islamic forays into India and Sindh.

References

• 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
• Al-Iber (العبر The Lessons), by lbn Khaldoun
• History of the Arabs (from the earliest times to the present), by Philip K.Hitti
• Nihayat Al-Arab Fe Ma'arifat Ansab Al-Arab
• نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب (The ultimate information on Arab ancestry), by Al-Kalkashandi
• Poems of Abu Al-Mahasin Al-Karbala'aie, by Ali Al-Yacoubi
• Studies of the Iraqi tribes, by Hmud Al-Sa'idi
• Encyclopædia Britannica entry on Ghassanids
• The History of Ghassanids from the Sabean Kingdom
• Philip The Arab: A Study in Prejudice, by Yasmine Zahran, Stacey International (17 January 2004)
• The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. By Alexander Kazhdan, Oxford University Press, 1991.
• Norwich, John J. (1991). Byzantium: The Apogee. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-394-53779-3.
• Ulrich Haarmann (2001). Geschichte der Arabischen Welt Munich: C. H. Beck
• History of Analytical Chemistry, by Ferenc Szabadváry, p. 11, ISBN 2-88124-569-2.
• The Historical Background of Chemistry, by Henry Marshall Leicester, p. 63.
• Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
• Ibn Khallikan. wafayat alayan p. 524. Alwarraq edition.
• Starkey and Meisami. Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, Routledge, 1998.
• Morony, Michael G. Iraq After the Muslim Conquest. pp. 491–492.
• O'Connor, John J; Edmund F. Robertson al-Marrakushi ibn Al-Banna. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
• Wink, Andre, Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Brill Academic Publishers, Aug 1, 2002, ISBN 0-391-04173-8
• Hawting, Gerald R., The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate Ad 661–750, 2000, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-24072-7