The Sealed Nectar | Biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri

Arab Tribes Arab peoples have been divided according to lineage into three groups: 1. Perished Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were `Ad, Thamud, Tasm, Jadis, Emlaq and others. 2. Pure Arabs: They originated from the progeny of Ya’rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan and were also called Qahtanian Arabs. 3. Arabized Arabs: They originated from the progeny of Ismael and were also called `Adnanian Arabs. The pure Arabs -- the people of Qahtan -- originally lived in Yemen and comprised many tribes, two of which were very famous: a) Himyar: The most famous of whose ancestors were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda`ah and Sakasic. b) Kahlan: The most famous of whose ancestors were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij, Kindah, Lakhm, Judham, Azd, Aws, Khazraj and the descendants of Jafnah -- the kings of ancient Syria. The Kahlan tribes emigrated from Yemen to dwell in different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood (Sail Al-`Arim of the Ma’arib Dam). They migrated due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and control of both sea and land trade routes, following the Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria. Naturally enough, the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the evacuation of the former and the settlement of the latter in Yemen.