Banū Tamīm (Arabic: بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula.^[2] It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq,^[3] Jordan and Lebanon, a strong presence in Algeria,^[4][5] and Morocco,^[3] Palestine, Tunisia,^[6] and Libya.^[3] It is also present in many other parts of the Arab world such as Egypt and Khuzestan in Iran.^[3] The word Tamim in Arabic means strong and solid.^[7][8] It can also mean those who strive for perfection.^[9]

History and origin

The traditional family tree of Banu Tamim is as follows: Tamim bin Murr bin 'Id bin Amr bin Ilyas bin Mudar^[1] bin Nizar bin Ma'ad bin Adnan^[10] - a direct descendant of Isma'il bin Ibrahim (Ishmael, son of Abraham).^[11]

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:

I have continued to love Banu Tamim after I heard three things concerning them from Allah's Messenger: "They will be the sternest of my Ummah against the Dajjal," one of them was a captive owned by Aisha, and he said: "Free her, for she is a descendant of Ismail," and when their zakat came, he said: "This is the zakat of our people," or "of my people.""

— Abu Hurairah^[12][13]

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 Abraham to Tamim:

• Abraham
• 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.

The tribe extends west to Morocco and east to Khuzestan. After the Islamic conquests, the tribe migrated to modern-day Tunisia,^[6] Iraq,^[3] Morocco,^[3] 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

Medieval and Pre-Islamic:

• Khabbab ibn al-Aratt – a companion of Muhammad^[14]
• 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^[15] – Founder of the Ibadi sect
• Alqama al-Fahl - Pre-Islamic poet, renown for being one of the famous contributors to the Mu'allaqat, rival to Imru' al-Qais
• Jarīr – Classical Arab poet and rival of Al-Farazdaq
• Al-Farazdaq – Umayyad Classical poet, rival of Jarir
• 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
• Yahya ibn Aktham – Chief judge of the Abbasid Caliphate
• Aktham ibn Sayfi – pre-Islamic figure known as "Judge of the Arabs"
• Khazim ibn Khuzayma al-Tamimi – Khurasani Arab military leader, Abbasid Revolutionary
• Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab – founder of the Aghlabids' vassal, the emirs of Ifriqiya and Sicily from 800 to 909
• 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 – Governor of historical Bahrain, the eastern coast of the Arabian peninsula
• Ishaq ibn Rahwayh – jurist and imam of Khorasan – One of the Lisan Al-Arab
• Ubayd Allah al-Anbari – Arab jurist, poet, lexicographer, genealogist and governor of Basra under the Abbassids

Modern Era:

• Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab^[16][17] – founder of Nejdi Salafi movement and author of Kitāb at-Tawḥīd
• Muhammad Ibn al 'Uthaymīn (d. 2001 C.E.) – Saudi Salafi preacher
• Abdul-Rahman al-Sa'di – Saudi Islamic Scholar
• Abdulaziz Al Sheikh – current Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
• Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani – Emir of Qatar
• Ahed Tamimi – female Palestinian activist from the village of Nabi Salih in the occupied West Bank in Palestine

References

External links

• Royal Ancestry File
• The life of Mahomet by William Muir