Bani Malik ( ar, بني مالك) or Banu Malik ( ar, بنو مالك) ( en, The Sons of Malik) is one of the major

Arab tribe 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, No ...

s of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

. They are descendants of

Malik al-Ashtar Malik al-Ashtar ( ar, مَالِك ٱلْأَشْتَر), also known as Mālik bin al-Ḥārith al-Nakhaʿīy al-Maḏḥijīy ( ar, مَالِك ٱبْن ٱلْحَارِث ٱلنَّخَعِيّ ٱلْمَذْحِجِيّ), was one of the loyal ...

al-Nakh'ei who fought with

Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, the cousin of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

. A hyphenated ''Al'' (''Al-'') means "The" if it is prefixed to the tribe name but means "The son of..." if prefixed to a person's name, while the plain Al (آل) and Bani (بني) or Albu (ألبو) or Banu (بنو) mean the plural "The sons of..". Their great ancestor is

Qahtan The terms Qahtanite and Qahtani ( ar, قَحْطَانِي; transliterated: Qaḥṭānī) refer to Arabs who originate from South Arabia. The term "Qahtan" is mentioned in multiple ancient Arabian inscriptions found in Yemen. Arab traditions be ...

(قحطان) from

South Arabia South Arabia () is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jizan, Al-Bahah, and 'Asi ...

. Bani Malik are named after

from Nakh'a tribe, an offshoot of a bigger tribe called Madhhij. After they became Muslims, Al-Nakh'a continued their ancestry with their cousins, the tribe of

Azd The Azd ( ar, أَزْد), or ''Al-Azd'' ( ar, ٱلْأَزْد), are a tribe of Sabaean Arabs. In ancient times, the Sabaeans inhabited Ma'rib, capital city of the Kingdom of Saba' in modern-day Yemen. Their lands were irrigated by the Ma ...

(Madhhij's brother), who lived in Makkah called Khuza'a (خزاعة) named after Khuza’a (also named Haritha) Ibn Amr Ibn Muzaqiba of Al-

the major Qahtani tribe. Khuza'a tribe fought with Muhammad against the pagans and infidels Banu Bakr who tried to conquer Makka. This incident has been mentioned and blessed in a verse in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

(Verse At-Tawba-14). Sulaiman bin Kuthayer who is one of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

supporters descended from Bani Malik. He was later killed by Abu-Muslim al-Khurasani a dissident Persian outlaw. Bani Malik lived in Ahwaz,

Qatif Qatif or Al-Qatif ( ar, ٱلْقَطِيف ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In Iraq, they now live in Basrah,

Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; United States Board on Geographic Names, BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates River, Euphrates, about south-southeas ...

and on the eastern bank of

Euphrates River The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

Al_Diwaniyah Al Diwaniyah ( ar, ٱلدِّيوَانِيَّة ''ad-Dīwānīyah''), also spelt Diwaniya, is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2002 the population was estimated at 440,927. Overview The area around Al Diwaniyah, which i ...

district in the middle part of Iraq. The territory of their major offshoot, Al-Ali tribe, extends from al-Diwanylah in the north to al-Rumaitha to the south. The area was named after their name, ''Al-Ali''. The rivers – al-Rafi, al-Yusufyia and al-Lawah – irrigated the area. In 1900 when these rivers dried up they moved to an area around al-Hindyiah branch of Euphrates River, which was dug by Asif al-Dawla al-Hindi at 1205 AH (1845 AD).

Tribes

* Al-Ali tribe (Iraq) * Al-Faraj *Al-Ismail *Al-Awabid *Al-Humaidat *Al-Ibrahim *Bani Rzaij

References

# ''Al-Iber (العبر The Lessons)'', by lbn Khaldoun # ''History of the Arabs (from the earliest times to the present)'', by Philip K. Hitti # ''Nihayat Al-Arab Fe Ma'arifat Ansab Al-Arab'' نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب (''The ultimate information regarding the Arab ancestry''), by Al-Kalkashandi # ''Studies of the Iraqi tribes'', by Hmud Al-Sa'idi {{DEFAULTSORT:Malik (Tribe) Tribes of Arabia Tribes of Saudi Arabia Shia communities