Al Ashraf Association of Lebanon

(The Association of the Descendants of the Prophet)

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 Al-Ashraf[1]

Praise is To Allah who created the people into nations and tribes.
May Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad and his pure family members
and choicest companions and protect his nation from what he fears for them.

Thereafter, the merit of the pure family members of the

Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, is confirmed in the glorious Qur'an and
the honorable sayings of the Prophet. Allah, the Exalted, said:

{‫هركم تطهيًرا‬
ّ ‫ت ويط‬
ِ ‫س أهل البي‬ ُ ‫ب عن‬
َ ‫كم الرج‬ َ ‫}إّنما يريدُ الله ليذه‬

This Ayah means: {Allah Willed to remove all abomination from you, O
members of the Family and cleanse you with a thorough cleansing}

Moreover, it is reported in the sahih saying of the Prophet that the

Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam,
included Hasan and Husayn and Fatimah and ^Aliyy inside his wrap around
and recited the above stated Ayah. This doing of the Prophet reflect the
greatness of their merit. This is why, and also out of our love for the
honorable family members of the Prophet, we have established an
association that takes care of them and look after their affairs namely, The
Association of the Descendants of the Prophet Al-Ashraf.

The Association of the Descendants of the Prophet Al-Ashraf was

established in Beirut in 1990 and it is a charitable, social and educational
association.

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 Goals:

This association aims at identifying the families of the Descendants of the

Prophet Al-Ashraf and verifying their lineage. Likewise, the association
endeavors to enhance the social and educational ties among them, to assist
the poor and needy among them and to encourage their youth to acquire
knowledge and know how and to do acts of benevolence.

The venues of accomplishing the goals:

The association strives to meet its goals through all legitimate

methodologies and venues and especially in the following:

· Spreading awareness and direction among its members and

others in the domains of social, educational and the authentic and pure
religious contexts.

· Enhancing the love and good ethics that were attributes of the
meritorious Descendants and family members of the
Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

· Conducting social and educational researches and publicizing

their conclusions.

· Encouraging scientific specialization among its members and

directing them to generally benefit the homeland.

· Carrying out researches, studies and verifications aimed at

authenticating the lineage of the family members of the honorable
Descendants of the Prophet and differentiating them from imposters.
Also producing Pedigrees of these families authenticated, verified and
certified by the signatures of the misters specializing in the science of
lineage.

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 · Carrying out social, educational, and athletic activities that lead
to strengthening the ties of love and homogeneity among the
members of the families of the Descendants of the Prophet.

· Participating in seminars, panels and conferences inside

Lebanon and abroad within the context of the science of Lineage.

The resources of the Association

The resources of the aforementioned association come from the following

avenues:

· Membership and monthly fees that members pay alongside an

income through the certificates of lineage confirmation that the
association issues.

· Aids and contributions of entities and monies given by various

individuals and/or charitable institutions.

Lastly, The Association of the Descendants of the Prophet Al-Ashraf is

delighted to cooperate with the charitable and social institutions and the
individuals who are interested in this domain for the purpose of establishing a
wide spread benefit and accomplishing its goals.

Al-Ashraf is the plural form of Sharif who is a descendant of the

[1]

Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

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 Mentioning Some of the Terminology Used by the Genealogists

The people of this science used many terms; however, we will confine
ourselves to mentioning the most famous of them out of fear of a lengthy
presentation.

§ Sahih An-Nasab (Authentic genealogy): It means ones

genealogy has been confirmed with the genealogists and was checked
against the original copy and was unanimously stated by the
genealogists who are known for trustworthiness, Godfearingness and
truthfulness.

§ Maqbul An-Nasab (Accepted genealogy): It means ones

genealogy was confirmed with some genealogists and others have
rejected it and thus became accepted through the testimony of two
upright witnesses.

§ Mashhur An-Nasab (Famous genealogy): It refers to the one

who is famous for being a descendant of the Prophet but his
genealogy is unknown and as such the genealogists judge him as
famous.

§ Mardud An-Nasab (Rejected genealogy): It refers to the one

who claims to belong to a tribe when he is not and then the tribe
deprive him the association and as such the genealogists judge him as
one with a rejected genealogy.

§ Fulanun Daraja (Died without offspring): The genealogists

mean by this term that one died without having offspring.

§ ^Aqibahu Min Fulan or al-^Aqib Min Fulan (The offspring is

restricted to him): The genealogists mean by this term that the
offspring is restricted or confined to him.

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 § Fulanun A^qaba Min Fulan (The offspring is not restricted to
him): The genealogists mean by this term that the offspring is not
restricted or confined to him but rather it is possible that he had
offspring from others.

§ Fulanun Awlad or Walada (The offspring is not restricted to

him): It has the same meaning as the previous one.

§ Fulanun Inqarada (Had offspring that perished): It means one

did have offspring but ceased to exist.

§ Fulanun Qu^dud or Qu^aydu Fulan (The youngest of the

offspring): The genealogists mean by this term that one is the
youngest of the offspring and also express it as being the closest of
men to the great grandfather.

§ Fulanun ^Ariq An-Nasab ( Profound genealogy): The

genealogists mean by this term that ones mother is a descendant of
the Prophet and likewise her mother is and the more included the
more profound the genealogy is.

§ If they mention daughters for a man and name them then the
genealogists mean by this term that one does not have other offspring
but the daughters, unless they say mata ^anhunna (one died and left
them behind) or Mi'nath ( usually gives birth to daughters) orMi'nath
Awratha. Mi'nath conforms to the linguistic structure of Mif^al; one
would say a woman is Mi'nath meaning she usually gives birth to
females.

§ Huwa Lighayr Rashdah (Illegitimate offspring): The

genealogists mean by this term that one was born from an invalid
marriage contract. Abu Dawud, Ahmad, Al-Bayhaqiyy and others
narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said: "‫ومن‬
‫ "ادعى ولًدا من غير رشدة فل يرث ول يورث‬which means: << The one who attributes
to himself a son from an invalid marriage he does not inherit him and

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is not inherited by him.>> Ibn al-Athir said: Az-Zuhriyy said in the
chapter of Bagha: "The known speech of Arabs is to say so and so is a
son of zanyah or son of rashdah, and it was
said zinyah and rishdah and the fathahaccentuation is more eloquent."

§ Huwa Waladun Da^iyy or Min al-Ad^iya' (One who

fraudulently attaches his genealogy to another man): The
genealogists mean by this term that one attaches his genealogy to a
man when he is not of his lineage but rather he is of the lineage of
another man.

§ Ummuhu Ummu Walad (Ones mother is a slave woman): The

genealogists mean by this term that his mother is a slave woman.
Likewise when they say fatat or sabiyyah. If the woman is freed she
would be called mawlat or they might say ^Utaqatu fulan or dhatu
yamin.

§ La Baqiyyah lahu (No offspring reported in the texts or had

offspring who perished): The genealogists mean by this term that the
texts do not document offspring for one or that he had offspring who
perished. If one has a few offspring they say about him muqill and if
plenty of offspring mukthir. If they say tadhayyalu they mean they
have a long stretch of offspring.

§ Fihi Hadith or lahu Hadith (Ones genealogy lacks credibility):

The genealogists mean by this term that ones genealogy lacks
credibility.

§ Usqita (Dropped out): The genealogists mean by this term

that one was dropped out from the descendants of the Prophet due to
being unattached to them or to ill doings andAllah knows best.

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 The Attributes of the Genealogists

Many conditions need to be satisfied in the person who wants to work with
genealogy and here below we shall highlight the most important conditions.

1. To be pious so that one would be protected against accepting

bribes in exchange of fabricating a lineage. Some chronologists and
genealogists have reported that some of those who worked in this
science used to accept bribes to fabricate the lineage.

2. To be truthful so that one would not lie about the genealogy

and negate what is confirmed of it and confirm what is falsely attached
to it.

3. To avoid vileness, abhorrent matters and the violators of the

practices of the people of his status so that one would be credible in
the sight of the elite and the lay people in a manner that if he confirms
or negates a genealogy one would not be objected to.

4. To be deep rooted in the knowledge of this science with, sound

comprehension, good retention, and vast general knowledge, and to
be knowledgeable about the laws of the religion and its judgments
especially what pertains to the judgments related to the honorable
descendants of the Prophet.

5. To be characterized with deliberate patience and carefulness

without haste and negligence and would confirm the verification of the
lineage prior to announcing ones opinion.

6. To have a strong self integrity so that the influential people do

not frighten him and order him to commit a wrong doing or prohibit
him from a truthful matter.

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They added to that one more desirable attribute that one should have a good
handwriting because the pedigrees deserve to be written in good
handwriting.

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 The Manners of the Honorable Descendant of the Prophet

Authored by: Dr. Kamal al-Hut al-Husayniyy

As to the manners of the honorable descendant of the prophet they are

numerous, among which are:

1- To adhere to the Book of Allah, the exalted, and the Sunnah-

recommended matters of the Prophet, Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. Also for
one to be diligent in performing obedience to his Lord, the exalted.

2- To preserve his honor bestowed upon him by Allah, the exalted, from
vileness, abject doings and suspicion.

3- To not earn money based in return for his lineage and to not violate the
bounds of others relying on his authority.

4- To be diligent in performing humility toward the slaves of Allah who are

believers and to fear Allah the glorified.

5- To be generous to the Muslims lesser than him in status and to not be

hostile to those similar to him in status.

6- To Give merit to the people of cognizance, knowledge and religiosity,

even if he was similar to them in knowledge or better.

7- To maintain companionship with the religious people and benefit from

them in acquiring the personal obligatory religious knowledge, and to keep
attending the circles of knowledge and the scholars.

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 8- To leave out priding oneself by ones fore fathers while committing
violations of the religious laws or when ignorant and not pursuing to acquire
the important religious knowledge. Allah, the exalted said in Surah al-
Hujurat, Ayah 13:

‫}يا أيهاالناس إنا خلقناكم من ذكر وأنثى وجعلناكم شعوًبا وقبائل لتعارفوا إن أكرمكم عند ال أتقاكم إن ال عليم‬
{‫خبير‬

The Ayah means: O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female,
and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Lo!
The noblest of you, in the judgment of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah
is All Knowing and All Wise.

9- To have polite manners and be watchful over his words especially when
angry and delivering a speech.

10- To be generous to his visitors, visit his brethrens, protect his relatives,
connect with his kin and assist his neighbors.

Generally speaking, one needs to display the manners of the generous and
meritorious masters among the honorable family members of the
Prophet, Sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.

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 Knowing about the levels of the lineages and their attachments

The genealogists said: The genealogy of the Arabs today goes back either
to ^Adnan or Qahtan and within them the lineages of the Arabs are
contained. However, with the increased difference in the number of fathers
and their names beyond them, and the hardship of the branched
methodologies and difficult avenues that confronted the Arabs, seeking
lineages beyond Qahtan and ^Adnan was stopped and confined to the
validity of what is beneath them.

Al-Qalqashandi said in Nihayat al-Arb p/20: "The linguists counted the

levels of genealogy as six levels.

The first level ash-Sh^ab (People): ash-Sh^ab has a fathah on the shin; it
refers to the farthest genealogy such as ^Adnan. Al-Jawhariyy said: He is the
father of the tribes to whom their lineage attaches and the plural form is
shu^ub (peoples). Al-Mawardi said in al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah: it was
named Sha^b (people) because the tribes branch from it.

Abu-al-Huda as-Sayyadi, the elite of the honorable family members of the

Prophet in Aleppo, said in ar-Rawd al-Bassam p/:" The singular form of
shu^ub is sha^b with a fathah when attributed to the tribe and shi^b with a
kasrah when attributed to a generation. It gathers the tribes and they branch
out from it and it is similar to the head compared to the body."

Allah the Exalted said in surah al-Hujurat:

The Ayah means: O you people We have created you as males and females
and made of you peoples and tribes so you may get acquainted.

Al-Qalqashandi said: " The second Level: al-Qabilah (tribe); it divides the
sha^b (people) such as Rabi^ah and Mudar. Al-Mawardi said: It was called
Qabilah because in it the lineages meet. The plural form is Qaba'il (tribes)

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and perhaps it is also called Jamajim as per the words of al-Jawhari who
said: the jamajim of the Arabs are the Qaba'il (tribes) which gather the
Butun (moieties).

Abu-al-Huda said: The Qabilah (tribe) which is less than the sha^b (people)
is what gathers al-^Ama'ir (tribal subdivisions); it was called Qaba'il because
they face and meet one another and are equal in numbers and it is similar to
the chest compared to the body."

Al-Qalqashandi said: The third level: al-^Imarah with a kasrah on the ^ayn
(tribal subdivision); it refers to the suddivisions of the lineages of the Qabilah
(tribe) such as Quraysh and Kinanah and the plural form is ^imarat and
^amayir (tribal subdivisions)."

Abu-al-Huda said:" the singular form of al-^ama'ir (tribal subdivisions) is

^imarah (tribal subdivision) and it gathers the Butun (moieties) and it is less
than the Qaba'il (tribes) and it is similar to the arms compared to the body."

Al-Qalqashandi said: the fourth level is al-Batn (Moiety): in it the lineages

of the ^imarah (tribal subdivision) divide such as Bani ^Abd Manaf and
Bani Makhzum and the plural is Butun ( Moieties).

Abu-al-Huda said:" the singular form of Butun (Moieties) is Batn (Moiety)

and it gathers the Afkhadh (Sub Moieties)."

Al-Qalqashndi said: the fifth level is al-Fakhdh (Sub Moiety): in it the

lineages of the Batn (Moiety) divide such as Bani Hashim and Bani 'Umayyah
and the plural form is Afkhadh (Sub Moieties)."

Abu-al-Huda said: the Afkhadh (Sub Moieties) is a name for what branches
out from the Batn (Moiety)."

Al Qalqashandi said:" the sixth level the Fasilah with a dotless sad
(Phratry); in it the lineages of the Fakhdh (Sub Moiety) divide such as
Bani al-^Abbas. I said: this is how al-Mawardi structured it in al-Ahkam as-
Sultaniyyah and likewise did az-Zamakhshari when he interpreted the saying

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of Allah the Exalted {‫ }وجعلنبباكم شببعوًبا وقبببائل‬except he gave Khuzaymah as an
example of Sha^b (people) and Kinanah of Qabilah (tribe) and Quraysh of
^Imarah (tribal subdivision) and Qusayy of Batn (Moiety) and Hashim of
Fakhdh (Sub Moiety) and al-^Abbas of Fasilah (Phratry). In general the
Fakhdh (Sub Moiety) gathers the Qaba'il (tribes) and the Batn (Moiety)
gathers the Afkhadh (Sub Moieties) and the ^Imar (tribal subdivisions)
gather the Butun (Moieties) and the Qabilah (tribe) gathers the ^Ama'ir
(tribal subdivisions) and the Sha^b (people) gathers the Qaba'il (tribes)."

Abu al-Huda said:" the singular form of Fasa'il (Phratries) is Fasilah

( Phratry); it refers to the family in the mans household and his special
people. Allah the Exalted said in surah al-Ma^arij

The ayah means: the criminal will wish on the Day of Judgment to be
ransomed from the torture with his children and wife and brother and his
Fasilah (Phrantry) that accommodate him.

The fasilah (Phrantry) is similar to the foot which is a limb that contains
several joints."

Al-Qalqashandi said: An-Nawawiyy said in the edit of at-Tanbih: some have

added al-^ashirah (clan) before the Fasilah (Phartry). Al-Jawhariyy said: The
^Ashirah (clan) of a man are his close Raht (Kindred). Abu ^Ubaydah related
from al-Kalbiyy who related from his father: Placing first the sha^b (people)
then the Qabilah (tribe) then the Fasilah (Phratry) then the ^Imarah (tribal
subdivision) then the Fakhdh (Sub Moiety). Hence he placed after the
Qabilah the Fasilah in place of the ^Imarah and the ^Imarah in place of the
Fasilah before the Fakhdh and he did not denounce that which disagrees with
him.

It is clear that the first structure has a higher priority as if they have
organized it in line with the organization of the human body, so they
considered the sha^b similar to the top of the head and the Qaba'il similar to
the intertwined parts of the head to which the tear canals are attached. Al-
Jawhariyy mentioned that the Qaba'il (tribes) of the Arabs where named as

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such after the intertwined parts of the head, and they considered the
^Imarah comes after to serve as a basis for the Sha^b and Qabilah as the
case of how the foundation serves the building and after the foundation
comes the ^Imarah which is similar to the neck and chest of a human being
and they considered the Fakhdh after the Batn because the thigh of a human
being comes after the abdomen and they considered the Fasilah after the
Fakhdh, because it is the lowest lineage that attaches to a man, similar to
the shank and foot since what is meant by the Fasilah is the closest ^Ashirah
as in the saying of Allah ‫ وفصبببيلته البببتي تبببؤويه‬which means the Fasilah that
accommodate him and what accommodates a man is his closest ^Ashirah.

Know that most what is talked about regarding the six levels are the
Qabilah and Batn and rarely is mentioned about ^Imarah, Fakhdh and
Fasilah also it is possible to express any of the six levels byHayy
(community) either generally as in saying a Hayy (community) of Arabs or
specifically as in saying a Hayy (community) of Bani so and so. This is where
the saying of al-Qalqashandi ends.

Abu-al-Huda said: the singular form of ^Asha'ir (clans) is ^ashirah (clan)

and they are those who attach to four fathers and was called as such to the
^Ishrah-association of a man as in the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surah
ash-Shu^ara', 214 {‫ }وأنييذر عشيييرتك القربييين‬which means warn your closest clan,
hence the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam warned Quraysh and confined
it to ^Abd Manaf with whom his lineage attaches to the fourth grandfather,
so this is why the attachment is up to four, and they are similar to the
shanks compared to the body and are relied upon underneath the thighs."

Abu-al-Huda added the Raht (Kindred) and 'Usrah (family) and said:" they
are the Raht (kindred) of a man and his 'Usrah (family) and they are similar
to the foot. The Raht is less than ten and the "Usrah is more, Allah the
Exalted said in surah an-Naml: {‫ }وكان بالمدينة تسعة رهط يفسدون في الرض ول يصلحون‬which
means: there were in the city nine constituting a Raht causing mischief in the
land and do not do good. Abu Talib said in his poem:

‫صاِئِل‬
َ ‫ت في أبواِبِه بالَو‬
ُ ‫ت رهطي وأسَرتي * وأمسك‬
ِ ‫ت عنَد الَبي‬
ُ ‫وَأحضر‬

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 This means I brought to the blessed house my Raht (kindred) and 'Usrah
(family) and Held to the gates by the hinges. What he meant by his Raht was
the sons of his father Abu Talib and they were less than ten and his "Usrah
among Bani ^Abd Manaf who joined him in supporting the Prophetsallallahu
^alayhi wa sallam.

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 How is the Lineage Confirmed!

The Lineage is confirmed with the jurisprudents and genealogists by one of the following
three proofs:

Firstly: The lawful bed. This is due to the Hadith of the prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa
sallam:

" ‫جُر‬
َ‫ح‬
َ ‫ش وللَعاِهِر ال‬
ِ ‫"الولُد للِفَرا‬

This Hadith means: the legitimate offspring is a result of the lawful bed and the adulterer
earns loss and deprivation. ThisHadith was narrated by al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud, Ibn
Majah, Ahmad, al-Bayhaqiyy among others. The Hafidh Ibn Hajar when explaining
this Hadith said in Fath al-Bari 29/12: that is the adulterer will have loss and deprivation.
Al ^ahar (‫ )الَعَهر‬with two fathas is adultery.

Secondly: The proof. That is for the religious proof to be established with them, which
entails the testimony of two Muslim sane and trustworthy men whose trustworthiness is
known by experience or recommendation, and at that moment their saying will be
employed.

The testimony of the two trustworthy ones, regarding this matter, entails three scenarios:
to testify that this offspring is the son of so and so, or to testify that the offspring was
born on the bed of so and so, or to testify that the offspring is known among the people to
be the son of so and so.

Thirdly: Admittance. That is for the husband to confess in the session of the court or
outside of it that so and so offspring is his son.

The famous and widespread news. Imam Abu Hanifah may Allah accept his deeds said:
the lineage, death and marriage are confirmed by famous and widespread news. Ibn
Qudamah al-Hanbali related in al-Mughni and al Sharh al Kabir 21/12 the consensus of
the people of knowledge on the validity of the testimony of famous and widespread news
to establish the lineage and the birth, and he said: "Ibn al-Mundhir said: 'I do not know
any of the people of knowledge who prohibited that.'"

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The meaning of famous is for the news to propagate from a group of people that the mind
does not accept that they normally would collaborate to fabricate a lie that so and so is
the son of so and so.

Fifthly: The genealogists added a matter to what we have already mentioned and that is to
see the handwriting of one of the considerable genealogists who is trustworthy and one
knows his handwriting and is able to certify it. So if the handwriting of the genealogists
testifies to the matter, then he applies it.

Sixthly: For the subject claiming a lineage to bring the names of his forefathers and
grandparents along with the historical proof which constitutes the testimony of the
famous scholars or trustworthy rulers about the validity of his lineage with their
signatures or seals affixed, so if they find it correct they would sign it and testify that it is
valid.

Seventhly: Al- Qiyafah. In some situations it is religiously considered even though it only
necessitates a probable conviction, and the details of that is mentioned in the books of
jurisprudence.

A benefit: The difference between al- Mushajjar and al-Mabsut is that al-Mushajjar is
started with the lower moiety and escalates one father at a time up to the upper moiety
and al-Mabsut is started with the upper moiety and deescalates one son at a time to the
lowest moiety.

In summary, the son has precedence over the father in al-Mushajjar, and in al-Mabsut it is
the opposite where the father has precedence over the son.

The reference: Jami^ ad-Durar al-Bahiyyah li-'ansab al-Qurashiyyin fi al-Bilad ash-

Shamiyyah authored by Dr. Kamal al-Hout al-Husayniyy, published in Beirut
1424H/2003G (First edition)

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 An elucidation of matters required by the researcher of genealogy

Al-Qalqashandi said in “Nihayat al-Arb p/29: they are ten matters:

First: al-Mawardi said: if the lineages are far apart then the tribes become peoples
and the tribal subdivisions become tribes. What he meant is that the moieties
become tribal subdivisions, the sub moieties become moieties, the phratries become
sub moieties, and whatever lineages occur after that become phratries.

Second: Al-Jawhari mentioned that the tribes are the offspring of the same father,
and Ibn Hazm said: all of the Arab tribes go back to the same father except three
tribes and they are Tanoukh, al^atq and Ghassan. Every tribe amongst them is
composed of several moieties and we shall, God willing, address each of the three
tribes in the proper context.

It could be that the same father is the father of several moieties and the father of
a tribe could have several children that in turn generate a tribe or several tribes and
those who belong to his lineages would be attributed to him, and some remain
without an offspring, or would have an offspring but would remain anonymous and
would be attributed to the other tribe.

Third: if the lineage contained two or more levels such as Hashim and Quraysh
and Mudar and ^Adnan then it would be possible for the one at the end of the
lineage to be linked to all of them, hence it would be possible for the sons of Hashim
to be linked to Hashim and to Quraysh and to Mudar and to ^Adnan, hence one
would say about one of them the Hashemite and also the Qurayshian, the Mudarian,
the ^Adnanian, Moreover, al-Jawharisaid: to be linked upward in lineage suffices one
from being linked downward in lineage. Hence, if you say about the one linked in
lineage to Kalb Ibn Wabrah the “kalbiyy”, and then you are not in need of linking him
to any other roots. Others have mentioned that it is permissible to link in lineage
between the upper and lower levels. Others saw giving precedence to the upper over
the lower such as saying about the lineage of ^Uthman Ibn ^Affan:” al-‘Umawiyy al-
^Uthmaniyy”, and some saw giving precedence to the lower over the upper and say
“ al-^Uthmaniyy al-“Umawiyy”.

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 Fourth: The man may be associated with other than his tribe through alignment
or freedom from slavery and thus be linked to them and thus would be said about
him: “so and so is the ally of tribe so and so or their freed slave”, as it is said about
al-Bukhariyy: “al-Ja^fiyy is their freed slave”, and the like.

Fifth: If the man belonged to a tribe and entered in another tribe then it is
permissible for him to be linked to his first tribe or to the tribe that he entered or to
both, such as it would be said: “the Tamimi and thereafter the Wa’iliyy or the
Wa’iliyy and thereafter the Tamimiyy and what is similar.

Sixth: The tribe mostly is named after the father who gave birth to the tribe such
as Rabi^ah and Mudar and al-Aws and Al-Khazraj and the like; the tribe might be
named by other than that. Sometimes the title would be attributed to a tribe by
virtue of a certain reason such as when Ghassan landed a well called Ghassan so
they were named after it, as we shall mention, God willing, when we mention their
tribe under the G index.

Perhaps the title was given to one individual among them and they were given the
name. Also other than that was mentioned as we shall address, God willing, when
talking about the plural form with the addition of the alif and lam along with the
dotless ra’.

Seventh: The names of the tribes in the terminology used by the Arabs are of five
classes:

First: To name the tribe by the terminology of the father such as ^Ad and Thamud
and Madyan and their likes. This terminology is used in the Qur’an such as the
saying of Allah, the exalted, ‫ وإلى مدين‬،‫ والى ثمود‬،‫ (وإلى عاد‬wa ila ^Ad , wa ila Thamud , wa
ila Madyan), wanting by that the sons of ^Ad , the sons of Thamud and the like.
Mostly this takes place in the peoples and prominent tribes especially in the former
times and contrary to the moieties and the sub moieties and the like.

Second: to name the tribe by the terminology of Bani (sons of) so it would be said:
Banu (the sons of) so and so. Mostly this occurs in the moieties and sub moieties and
the smaller tribes and especially in the latter times.

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 Third: to name the tribe by a plural form containing the letters of alif and lam such
as al-Talibin and al-Ja^afirah and the like. Mostly it occurs among the latter people
and not others.

Fourth: to express the name of the tribe by Al so and so, such as Al al Fadl and Al
^Ali and what is similar to that. Mostly it takes place in the latter times especially
among the Arabs of the countries of Ash-sham at our times, and what is meant by
the Al is the Ahl (the family of).

Fifth: to be expressed by the sons of so and so, and this can only be found in the
latter Arab sub moieties, and scarcely.

Eighth: Most of the names of the Arabs are copied from the bank of their
imagination of what they encounter among animals such as the Asad and Nimr (lion
and the Tiger), or plants such as Nabt and Handhalah (plant and colocynth), or
insects such as Hayyah and Hanash (snake and lacertine snake), or the parts of the
Earth such as Fihr and Sakhr (Soil and Rock) and the like.

Ninth; Mostly the Arabs call their sons by disliked names such as Kalb
and Handhalah and Dirar and Harb and the like (dog, colocynth, harmful, war, etc),
and they call their slaves with favorable names such as Falah, Najah, and the like
(prosperity and success etc…). What is meant by that is what was mentioned that it
was said to Abu al Qays al Kilabi: “why do you call your sons by the worst names
such as Kalb and Dhi’b (dog and wolf) and your slaves by favorable names such as
Marzuk and Rabah (sustained and triumphant)?” he said: “we name our sons for the
sake of our enemies and we name our slaves for our own sake”, wanting by his
statement that the sons are prepared to confront the enemies so they chose the
most evil names for them, and the slaves are prepared for themselves so they chose
the best names for them—that is in their own opinion.

Tenth: If in the tribe there were two identical names such as al-Harith and al-Harith
and al-Khazraj and al-Khazraj and the like, and one of them is an offspring of the
other or was born after him, they expressed the father and the one born first by al-
akbar (the greater), and the son and the one born after by al-asghar (the smaller).

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This could also happen among two brothers if one of them was older than the other.
The words of al-Qalqashandi end here.

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 A Statement issued by the Association of al-Ashraf in Beirut
9/26/2005

‫بسم ال الرحمن الرحيم‬

Praise is to Allah and may Allah raise the rank of His Messenger and protect his

nation from what he feared for them and raise the ranks of his pure family members

and kind companions. Thereafter: for whom it may concern:

The work of al-Ashraf is a great deed and it is a science with which a few are

nowadays engaging. We advise you that the Association of al-Ashraf in Beirut is an

independent association that takes care of the matters of genealogy and the

honorable people of the lineage of the Prophet in Lebanon in particular and around

the world in general. The association does not have any branches outside Lebanon

and is not affiliated in any way with the association of the family members of the

Prophet in Jordan or the website called al-Judhur of the aforementioned association

which placed the name of the association of al-Ashraf on its site.

We mention this here for your knowledge.

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 The Journal of the family members of the Prophet

This journal contains matters related to the family members of the Prophet, their

.judgments, merits, biographies and heritage and other

:Its regular chapters are

- The creed of the family members of the Prophet.

- The science of genealogy.

- The biographies of the elites of the family members of the Prophet.

- In the vastness of the fragrant life of the Prophet.

- The biographies of the elite people of lineage to the Prophet

throughout the centuries.

- The families of the people of lineage to the Prophet in the Islamic

countries.

- The pedigrees of the lineages.

- The heritage of the family members of the Prophet in print and

manuscript.

- The graves of the family members of the Prophet.

- Among the manners of the family members of the Prophet

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 - The activities and news of the societies of people of lineage to the

Prophet

This journal is issued under the supervision of the Association of al-Ashraf in

Lebanon by experts and researchers in the field of genealogy and other Islamic

sciences who are characterized with truthfulness and high credentials and

experiences.

Expect it soon.

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