''Abu Zayd al-Hilali'' ( arz, أبو زيد الهلالي) is a 1947

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian film that portrays the life of the tenth-century

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

ic leader and hero

Abu Zayd al-Hilali Abu Zayd Ibn Rizq Al-Hilali (, ) was an 11th-century Arab leader and hero of the 'Amirid tribe of Banu Hilal. On the orders of the Ismaili Fatimid caliph, Abu Zayd moved his tribe to Tunisia via Egypt to punish the Zirids for adopting Sunnii ...

. It was directed by

Ezzel Dine Zulficar Ezz El-Dine Ahmed Mourad Zulficar (Egyptian Arabic: عز الدين ذو الفقار, ; October 28, 1919 – July 1, 1963) was an Egyptian film director, screenwriter, actor and producer known for his distinctive style, which blends romance and ...

and written by Zulficar and Abu Butheina. It stars

Faten Hamama Faten Ahmed Hamama ( ar, فاتن حمامه ; 27 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an Egyptian film and television actress and film producer. She was the first wife of Ezz El-Dine Zulficar. She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was o ...

Seraj Munir Seraj Munir (1901–1957) was an Egyptian film actor. He appeared in 46 films between 1930 and 1957. Selected filmography * '' The Leech'' (1956) * '' Al-Malak al-Zalem'' (1954) * '' Lahn al-Kholood'' (1952) * ''Amina'' (1951) * ''Kursi al-I`t ...

, and Amina al-Sharif. It was one of Hamama's earliest starring roles.

Plot

Abu Zayd al-Hilali's son and wife escape and years later, after his son has grown into a powerful and idealistic man, a battle between the two tribes starts. The son fights his father but is not aware who he is fighting. The

Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal ( ar, بنو هلال, translit=Banū Hilāl) was a confederation of Arabian tribes from the Hejaz and Najd regions of the Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of th ...

is defeat the Banu Zahlanis. Back home, Abu Zayd is greeted as a hero. A huge war then starts with the

Zirid The Zirid dynasty ( ar, الزيريون, translit=az-zīriyyūn), Banu Ziri ( ar, بنو زيري, translit=banū zīrī), or the Zirid state ( ar, الدولة الزيرية, translit=ad-dawla az-zīriyya) was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from ...

s, who had abandoned

Shiism Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

. The Banu Hilalis weaken the Zirid state and plunder their lands.

Cast

as daughter of the Caliph * Amina Sharif as Abu Zayd's mother * Lula Sidqi * Ahmed El Bey * Fakher Fakher

References

External links

* 1940s biographical films 1947 films 1940s Arabic-language films Egyptian biographical films Egyptian black-and-white films Films directed by Ezz El-Dine Zulficar {{Egypt-film-stub