Ansari (nesba)

Ansari (Arabic: انصاری) is a nesbat or second name common in South Asia and Middle East. It originates from Ansar (Arabic: انصار) the Medinan people that helped Islamic prophet Muhammad when he migrated from Mecca to Medina. The literal meaning of Ansar is supporters.

Shaikh Sadik Ali wrote in his works published in 1901,

Ansaris were originally Jews or Bani Israel. Their great ancestor, Shamul, was a physician and councillor in the service of King Toba, who was a king in Yemen. Toba, during the time of his reign, marched into Arabia and arrived in Yasrab, which was then the name of the town of Medina. He had four hundred physicians and councillors with him, of whom Shamul was the chief and they all told the king that they intended to settle down there as the last of the prophets would immigrate to that place and live there and they wished to be reckoned amongst his followers. Toba wrote a letter by his own hand, declaring that he embraced Islam in anticipation, and delivered it to Shamul, with instructions that the letter was to be treated as a legacy to be delivered in succession until it was handed over to the prophet by some one of his descendants. The letter was delivered to the prophet one thousand and fifty three years after by the writer’s great ancestor, Khalid bin Zed, commonly known as Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansari. After Shamul, our ancestors were divided into two sub-divisions, called – 1. Al Khazraj and 2. Al Os.


Hazrat Ayub was descended from Khazraj. When the prophet emigrated to Medina, he stopped for seven months in the house of Hazrat Ayub, and the two families of Khazraj and Os were given distinction of ‘Ansar’, which became tribal name afterwards, as they gave protection to the prophet after his emigration from Mecca and assisted him in his mission ever after and composed his army.

Arabic Usage

'Al-Ansari' is commonly used as a surname in many Arab states. Historically speaking, however, the name was not used as a surname amongst Arabs, but rather as a form of patronymic: the word would be added as a title to the end of the name, if one had an ancestor who was an Ansar. This form of patronymic, derived from the name of a distant ancestor or relation, is known as a "Nesbat" in Arabic, meaning "relation".

As a surname, Al-Ansari is mostly used in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. 90% of Al-Ansari members in Qatar are, by descent, from Medina in Saudi Arabia, whereas the remainder can claim descent from many parts of the Middle East. The Al-Ansaris are one of the richest families in the Middle East because of the high proportion of government positions that they hold, and owing to their dominance of Saudi-Qatari business.

Iranian Usage

In contrast, Iranians use surnames instead of patronymics. In Iran, Ansari has become a surname, along with "Tabatabai" which was originally also a nesbat.

Pakistani and Indian Usage

The Ansari surname goes as far as being used in Pakistan, northern India and Bangladesh, to show a lineage or ancestral link to the Ansar of Medina. Through the various waves of migration from the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Central Asia, and Afghanistan, descendants of the Ansar tribes arrived in the Indian subcontinent. These families, amongst what were commonly know as the Ashraafiyyah or Ashraaf in India, mainly came either as scholars, government administrators and functionaries, soldiers or officers. Ansaris in the Indian subcontinent hail both from the Shi'a and Sunni Muslim schools of thought.

The main original settlements and concentrations of Ansaris on the Indian subcontinent, were in Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Rawalpindi Pakistan, Sangla Hill (Nankana Sahib); the Sindh province, Pakistan; Lilla, in western Punjab, Pakistan; Panipat, India; Allahabad, India; Kanpur, India; Lucknow, India; Meerut, India; Saharanpur, India; Gorakhpur, India; Ballia, India; Moradabad, India; and Lucknow, India - see Firangi Mahal.

It also seems that over a period of time, others, and many of the new Muslim converts, in India also identified themselves as Ansari, to show reverence to their Islamic faith. Often, but not necessarily, Ansari is used to identify a caste, as well. In the Indian Hindu Caste System and in the ([ baradari] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) system traditionally, different cast were involved or associated with different trades or professions. See also, Islam in India.

The ancestral link from Medina was brought to India by the descendants of Abu Ayub Ansari who were members of Mohammed Bin Qasim's army when he invaded Sindh. Some of those early Ansaris settled in Paat, district Dadu, Sindh and were considered a highly educated family in the province producing prominent figures on the national level.

On the other hand some of the Ansaris in Indian sub-continent were among those who changed their religions to please the Muslim rulers.

The Ansari community is widespread in Mumbai, Malegaon (Nashik), Bhiwandi, Yeola, Sholapur, Kampti, Nagpur, Dhulia, Nandurbar, Shahada , Miraj & Ichhal Karanji in Maharshtra.

Notable people named or titled Ansari

• Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (587-668), companion of Prophet Muhammad
• Jaber bin Abdullah Al-Ansari, companion of Prophet Muhammad
• Khajeh Abdollah Ansari (1006-1088), famed Persian mystic and poet
• Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari (1880-1936), Indian nationalist and political leader
• Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India
• Hojjat ol-Islam Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, revolutionary Shiite Muslim leader in Jammu & Kashmir and Founder of Ittihadul Muslimeen
• Hojjat ol-Islam Majead Ansari, the Iranian Vice President of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
• Anousheh Ansari, Iranian-American entrepreneur, first Iranian astronaut and backer of the Ansari X Prize
• Abu Omar al-Ansari, founder of Jeish al-Taiifa al-Mansoura, militant Sunni organization in Iraq
• Allama I.I. Kazi Ansari, first Vice Chancelor of University of Sindh in Pakistan
• Khalid A H Ansari, Indian entrepreneur, Chairman of Mumbai's Mid-Day Newspaper
• Aziz Ansari, American stand-up comedian
• Morteza Ansari, (~1781-1864), eminent Shia jurist from Dezful, Iran
• Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein al-Ansari, major Shia scholar from Najaf, Iraq

Other people of Ansari descent

• Abu al-Qasim (936 - 1013), considered the father of modern surgery

See also

• Firangi Mahal, the religious school and seat of Islamic learning founded in 1560 by the Ulama of the Ansari family of Sehali, Barabank iDistrict, Uttar Pradesh, India

Sources

• The Musalman races found in Sind, Baluchistan and Afghanistan. Shaikh Sadik Ali. Printed at the Commissioner's Press, 1901.