Allah The Almighty created mankind and made peoples and tribes so that they may know one another; He says in the Noble Quran (what means): {O mankind, indeed We have Created you male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted}[Quran 49:13]
This verse indicates that all people are equal in terms of their origin and precedence is only related to religious matters. Peoples are more comprehensive than tribes, which have other subdivisions. The Arabs were originally divided into three groups:
Al-‘Arab Al-Baa’idah (perished Arabs): They are the old Arabs like ‘Aad, Thamood, Tasm, Jadees and ‘Imlaaq;
Al-'Arab Al-‘Aaribah (pure Arabs) Al-Qahtaaniyyah: They are the descendents of Ya‘rub ibn Yashjub ibn Qahtaan.
Al-'Arab Al-Musta‘ribah (Arabized Arabs) Al-‘Adnaaniyyah: They are the descendants of Ismaa‘eel (Ishmael), may Allah exalt his mention.
Yemen was the homeland of Al-'Arab Al-'Aaribah, whose tribes and kinship groups were numerous. Only two of these tribes were famous:
Himyar: Its most famous kinship groups were Zayd Al-Jumhoor, Qudhaa‘ah and As-Sakaasik.
Kahlaan: Its most famous kinship groups were: Hamdaan, Anmaar, Tayyi’, Mathhij, Kindah, Lakhm, Juthaam, Al-Azd, Al-Aws, Al-Khazraj and Awlaad Jafnah, the kings of Ash-Shaam.
As a result of the economic conditions and the conflict between Himyar and Kahlaan, the kinship groups of Kahlaan emigrated from Yemen before the flood of the dam. They were divided into four groups:
Al-Azd: Their leader was ‘Imraan ibn ‘Amr and they resided in Al-Hijaaz, ‘Umaan and Tihaamah.
Lakhm and Juthaam: Nasr ibn Rabee‘ah, father of Al-Manaathirah (the kings of Al-Heerah) was from them.
Banu Tayyi’: They settled in the area near the two mountains of Aja and Salma in the North.
Kindah: They settled in Bahrain, then Hadhramawt, then Najd where they formed a large state.
Al-'Arab Al-Musta‘ribah their lineage traces back to Ismaa’eel, may Allah exalt his mention, who was born in Palestine. Later, he moved with his mother to Al-Hijaaz, where he grew up and married. He participated with his father Ibraaheem (Abraham), may Allah exalt his mention, in building the Ka‘bah. Allah The Almighty provided Ismaa’eel, may Allah exalt his mention, with twelve sons who formed twelve tribes. These tribes lived in Makkah and then spread all over the Arabian Peninsula and outside it. Only Qeedaar, one of Ismaa’eel’s sons, stayed in Makkah. His children reproduced until they had ‘Adnaan and his son Ma’add.
The latter was the beginning of the recorded lineage of Al-‘Arab Al-‘Adnaaniyyah. ‘Adnaan was the 21st grandfather of the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ).
The kinship groups of Ma‘add, especially the descendants of his son Nizaar, who had four sons, were divided into four major tribes: Iyaad, Anmaar, Rabee‘ah and Mudhar. The last two tribes had many kinship groups.
Rabee‘ah had Asad, ‘Anazah, ‘Abd Al-Qays and the two sons of Waa’il (Bakr and Taghlib), Haneefah and others.
Mudhar was divided into two major branches: Qays ‘Aylaan and Iyaas. Qays ibn ‘Aylaan was subdivided into Banu Saleem, Banu Hawaazin and Banu Ghatafaan (which was also subdivided into ‘Abs, Thubyaan and Ashja‘.)
Iyaas was subdivided into Tameem ibn Murrah, Huthayl ibn Mudrikah, Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah and Kinaanah ibn Khuzaymah (to which the tribe of the Quraysh belonged, as they were the offspring of Fihr ibn Maalik ibn An-Nadhr ibn Kinaanah).
The Quraysh was also subdivided into several tribes, the most famous of which were: Jumah, Sahm, ‘Adiyy, Makhzoom, Taym, Zuhrah, and the kinship groups of Qusayy ibn Kilaab: ‘Abd Ad-Daar, Asad ibn Abd Al-‘Uzza and ‘Abd Manaaf.
‘Abd Manaaf was subdivided into ‘Abd Shams, Nawfal, Al-Muttalib and Haashim, the second grandfather of our Prophet Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Abd Al-Muttalib ibn Haashim, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ).
The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), described his lineage saying: “Allah selected Kinaanah from the sons of Ismaa’eel, and selected Quraysh from Kinaanah, and selected Banu Haashim from the Quraysh, and He selected me from Banu Haashim." [Muslim]
When the descendants of ‘Adnaan grew in number, they spread over Arabian countries in search of a living. Some of them lived in Bahrain, Al-Yamaamah, Iraq, Khaybar and At-Taa‘if, but the kinship groups of Kinaanah stayed in
Tihaamah and the kinship groups of Quraysh stayed in Makkah.
Despite the importance and value of genealogy, it can never be a criterion for precedence. Piety and righteousness should be the only criterion among all people, especially Muslims. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, the most noble of you in the Sight of Allah is the most righteous of you}[Quran 49:13]
It was further narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “Allah The Almighty will not ask you about your lineage or ancestry on the Day of Judgment, as the most noble of you in the Sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”[At-Tabaraani and Al-Albaani - Saheeh]
Allah Knows best.
