Banu Tamim

Banū Tamīm ( ar, بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and has a strong presence in Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and Libya. It is also present in many other parts of the Arab world such as Egypt and Khuzestan in Iran. The word ''Tamim'' in Arabic means strong and solid. It can also mean those who strive for perfection.

History and origin

The traditional family tree of Banu Tamim is as follows: Tamim bin Murr bin 'Id bin Amr bin Ilyas bin Mudar bin Nizar bin Ma'ad bin Adnan - a distant descendant of Isma'il bin Ibrahim ( Ishmael, son of Abraham).

Banu Tamim is one of the largest tribes of Arabia. The tribe occupied numerous Wadis and villages in central and eastern Arabia in the 6th century before playing an important role with the revelation of Islam. They came into contact with Muhammad in the 8th year of Hijrah, but they did not immediately convert to Islam. There are ''hadiths'' which praise virtually all of the major Arab tribal groups, and to indicate the extent of this praise, a few examples are listed here:

In Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 18, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib says:
"Remember that Bani Tamim is such a clan that their star has not set as yet, amongst them if one great man dies there is another to take his place. Remember that after embracing Islam and even during pre-Islamic days these people were never regarded as mean, jealous or covetous. On the contrary, they had a very high status. Besides they have claims of kinship and friendship with us. If we behave kindly, patiently and sympathetically towards them Allah will reward us. But if we ill treat them we shall be sinning."

Lineage and branches

Banu Tamim is an Adnanite tribe, descended from Adnan.

In the genealogical tradition of the tribe, it is argued that there is a direct line that can be drawn from Ibrahim to Tamim:
* Ibrahim
* Ishmael
* Adnan
* Ma'ad
* Nizar
* Mudar
* Ilyas
* Amr (Tabikhah)
* 'Ud
* Murr
* Tamim

The tribe is mainly divided into four main branches, namely:
* Amr
* Banu Hanzala
* Banu Sa'd
* Al-Rabbab

The tribe was mainly concentrated in the central and northern parts of Najd before the spread of Islam, but had spread across the Arabian Peninsula after the Islamic conquest of the region, then had spread to areas ruled by subsequent caliphates. Banu Tamim is a branch of Banu Mudar.

The tribe extends west to Morocco and east to Khuzestan. After the Islamic conquests, the tribe migrated to modern-day Tunisia, Iraq, Morocco, the Khuzestan and Khorasan regions of Iran, and other parts of the Arab world. Banu Tamim held significant power for centuries in these areas, in the form of the Aghlabids and other minor dynasties.

Dynasties

* Aghlabids – ruling dynasty of Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya) from 800 to 909 which also controlled parts of southern Italy and Sicily.
* Al Thani – ruling dynasty of Qatar since 1847.
*Al ash-Sheikh – family of the Grand Muftis of the Emirate of Diriyah, then the Emirate of Najd and now modern-day Saudi Arabia for religious matters.
* Al Khater – family of the Middle East based primarily in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.
* Al Majali – family based in Al-Karak in modern-day Jordan since the 1770s.
* Al Mu'ammar – ruling dynasty of Najd based in Al-'Uyaynah from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century, their lineage goes back to the Anaqir of Banu Tamim.

Notable people

Among the tribe's members are:
* Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab.
* Muhammad Ibn al 'Uthaymīn (d. 2001 C.E.) – Saudi Salafi preacher
* Khabbab ibn al-Aratt – a companion of Muhammad
* Ahnaf ibn Qais, companion of Umar ibn al-Khattab
* Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Sa'id al-Tamimi – physician in Palestine during the 10th century CE
* Abu Al Fazal Abdul Wahid Yemeni Tamimi – Muslim saint Of the Junaidia order
* Abd-Allah ibn Ibadh al-Tamimi p.46 – Founder of the Ibadi sect
* Al-Farazdaq - Umayyad Classical poet
* Al-Hurr ibn Yazid al Tamimi - A general of the Umayyads who defected to Husayn ibn Ali
* Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr at-Tamimi – A general who commanded an army from his tribe and helped conquer Persia under Caliph Umar
* Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi – Shafi'i scholar and mathematician from Baghdad
* Musa ibn Ka'b al-Tamimi Provincial Abbasid Governor in mid 8th century.
* Muhammed ibn Umail al-Tamimi – tenth century alchemist from Al-Andalus
* Ibn Ishaq al-Tamimi al-Tunisi – 13th century Tunisian astronomer and the author of an important ''zij''
* Abdul-Rahman al-Sa'di
* Ubayd Allah al-Anbari
* Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab – Founder of the Aghlabids' vassal, the emirs of Ifriqiya and Sicily from 800 to 909.
* Abdallah ibn Ibrahim, the Emir of Ifriqiya from 812 to his death on 25 June 817.
* Jarīr – classical Arab poet
* Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani – founder of the State of Qatar.
* Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi – ruler of eastern parts of archaic Arabian peninsula who converted to Islam
* Sheikh Edebali - Sufi Master who served in the foundation of the Ottoman Empire and father-in-law of its founder Osman I
* Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a - Kharjite leader and poet who led an uprising against the Umayyads from Persia
* Munzir ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi
* Ishaq ibn Rahwayh
* Aktham ibn Sayfi
* Ubayd Allah al-Anbari

References

External links

Royal Ancestry File

The life of Mahomet
by William Muir

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamim

Mudar
Arab groups
Tribes of Arabia
Tribes of Saudi Arabia
Demographics of Libya
Yemeni tribes
Tribes of Iraq
Tribes of Syria
Arab tribes in Morocco
Tribes of Jordan
Arab tribes in Algeria
Tribes of the State of Palestine