Zahran tribe
Zahran, also known as Banū ʿZahrān ibn Kaʿab, is one of the oldest Arabian tribes in the Arabian Peninsula. It is regarded as one of the largest tribes in Al Bahah Province.
Imagem: زهران DNA · BY-SA · Openverse
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".
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Zahrani ibn Ka’ab ibn Al-Harith ibn Ka’ab ibn Abdullah ibn Mālik ibn Nasr ibn Al-Azd, an Azdite offshoot.
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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, one of the biggest clans in Zahran.
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."
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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. 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. 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.
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. 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. Although Malik ibn Fehm is of dubious historic authenticity, archaeological and epigraphic evidence confirms the existence of his son, Jadhima ibn Malik ibn Fehm. Nicknamed 'the Leper' due to his leprosy, a skin disease that causes insensitivity to pain, Jadhima later became the king of Tanukh in the second half of the 3rd century CE.
Maintenance of the meccan kaaba
Al-Jadara (translation: the Wall-Masons) were a Zahranid family that settled in Mecca. 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".
Alliance with quraysh and 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. Qusay ibn Kilab is best known for being an ancestor of 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.
Zahrani Arabic dialect is closely related to standard Arabic language. 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. 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."
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.
