Yafa () is an Arab tribe, geographical area, and district inhabited by the Yafa'i tribe in

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 ...

, located in

Lahij Governorate Lahij ( ar, لحج ) is a governorate of Yemen. In 2015, the Governorate was subject to the Lahij insurgency, which was part of the Yemeni Civil War. Districts Lahij Governorate is divided into the following 15 districts. These districts are f ...

. It is one of the biggest tribes that descended from the ancient

Himyarites The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) (floruit, fl. 110 BCE–520s Common Era, CE), historically referre ...

. Today, most members of the tribe can be found across 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 ...

, in particular

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

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 ...

The United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

, and

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, wherein it is estimated that the Yafa' tribe makes up the second-largest Arabian tribe among the Qatari society, with the

Al Murrah The Al Murrah ( ar, آل مرة) (singular 'Al Marri)' is an Arab tribe descended from the well-known Banu Yam tribe. They reside in countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Wadi Amad of Yemen. Historically, ...

tribe coming first. According to Arab historian

Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Hamdānī (279/280-333/334 A.H. / c. 893-945 A.D; ar, أبو محمد الحسن بن أحمد بن يعقوب الهمداني) was an Arab Muslim geographer, chemist, poet, grammarian, hi ...

, the genealogy of Yafa is of the following: "Yafa' bin Qawel bin Zaid bin Naaitah bin Sharhabel bin Al Harth bin Yareem dhi Raain bin Zaid bin Sahal bin Amer bin Qais bin Muawiyah bin Joshom bin Abd Shams bin Wael bin Al Ghawth bin Al Humaysaa bin Himyar bin Saba."Al Hamadani, v.2, pp. 306 Yafa has gone through a complex structuration of different tribal forms in the last several centuries. The division comprises Yafi' bani Qasid (

Lower Yafa Lower Yafa, Lower Yafa'i ( '), or the Sultanate of Lower Yafa ( ar, سلطنة يافع السفلى ''),'' was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. Lower Yafa was ruled by the Al Afifi dynasty and its capital was at Jaar. This former sult ...

or Yafa as-Sufla) and Yafi' bani Malik (

Upper Yafa Upper Yafa or Upper Yafa'i ( ar, يافع العليا ''),'' officially State of Upper Yafa ( ar, دولة يافع العليا '')'', was a military alliance in the British Aden Protectorate and the Protectorate of South Arabia. It was ruled ...

or Yafa al-Ulya), each including five branches and sheikhdoms. Branches of Yafa * Al-Harm (آل هرم) Branches of Yafa bani Qasid: * Kaladi (كلدي) * Saadi (سعدي) * Yazeedi (يزيدي) * Nakhibi (ناخبي) * Yehri (يهري). Branches of Yafa bani Malik: *

Maflahi Muflihi, Muflahi ( '), Muflihi or the Muflahi Sheikhdom ( '), was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. Its last sheikh, Kassim Abdulrahaman Al-Muflihi, was deposed in 1967 upon the founding of the People's Republic of South Yemen and the area ...

(مفلحي) *

Mawsata Mawsata, Mausata (), or the Mawsata State ( '), was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. Mawsata was located in the western and southwestern part of Upper Yafa. The main mountain in the area is Jabal Darfan. Mawsata was the most populated of ...

(الموسطة‎) * Al-Dhubi (الضُبي‎) *

Al-Busi Al-Bu`si, Busi, Bo'sī, ( ''Bu`sī''), or the Bu`si Sheikhdom ( ''Mashyakhat al-Bu`sī''), was a small state in the British Aden Protectorate. It was one of the states of Upper Yafa. History Busi was established around the 18th century. Protector ...

(البعسي‎) * Hadhrami (الحضرمي‎). The area is located northeast of the port city of

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

. In ancient times, the area was referred to as Dehsim or Saro Himyar. The once ruling

Qu'aiti Qu'aiti, ar, ٱلْقُعَيْطِي '), officially the Qu'aiti State of Shihr and Mukalla ( ar, ٱلدَّوْلَة ٱلْقُعَيْطِيَّة ٱلْحَضْرَمِيَّة, Ad-Dawlah Al-Quʿayṭiyyah Al-Ḥaḍramiyyah or the Qu'aiti ...

dynasty of

Hadramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

was Yafa’i in origin. Yafa was united with the rest of Arabia under the

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate ( ar, اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ, al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah) was the first caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his ...

References

{{Arab tribes in Yemen Geography of Yemen Tribes of Arabia Yemeni tribes South Arabia

See also

References