Bani Malik () or Banu Malik () () is one of the major

Arab tribe The tribes of Arabia () have inhabited the Arabian Peninsula for thousands of years and traditionally trace their ancestry to one of two forefathers: Adnan, whose descendants originate from West Arabia, North Arabia, East Arabia, and Central A ...

s of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. They are descendants of

Malik al-Ashtar Malik al-Ashtar (), also known as Mālik bin al-Ḥārith al-Nakhaʿīy al-Maḏḥijīy () was, according to Sunni view, one of the people involved behind Uthman's assassination. While, according to Shias, he was one of the loyal companions of A ...

al-Nakh'ei who fought with

Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

, the cousin of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. 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 Qahtanites (; ), also known as Banu Qahtan () or by their nickname ''al-Arab al-Ariba'' (), are the Arabs who originate from modern-day Yemen. The term "Qahtan" is mentioned in multiple Ancient South Arabian script, Ancient South Arabian ins ...

(قحطان) from

South Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

. Bani Malik are named after

from Nakh'a tribe, an offshoot of a larger tribe called

Madhhij Madhḥij () is a large Qahtanite Arab tribal confederation. It is located in south and central Arabia. This confederation participated in the early Muslim conquests and was a major factor in the conquest of the Persian empire and the Byzantine ...

. After they became Muslim, Al-Nakh'a continued their ancestry with their cousins, the tribe of

Azd The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Tribes of Arabia, Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia. Land of Azd Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre- ...

(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, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

(Verse

At-Tawba At-Tawbah () is the ninth chapter () of the Quran. It contains 129 verses () and is one of the last Medinan surahs. This Surah is also known as Al-Bara'ah (). It is called At-Tawbah in light of the fact that it articulates tawbah ( repentance) ...

-14). Sulaiman bin Kuthayer who is one of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

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

Ahwaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

and in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. In Iraq, they now live in

Basrah Basra () is a port city in southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq border at the north-easternmost exten ...

Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( , ; , BGN: , ), also spelled Nassiriya or Nasiriya, is a city in Iraq, the capital of the Dhi Qar Governorate. It lies on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. Its po ...

and on the eastern bank of

Euphrates River The Euphrates ( ; see below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through S ...

Al Diwaniyah Al Diwaniyah ( ''ad-Dīwānīyah''), also spelt Diwaniya, is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2014 the population was estimated at 700,000. Overview The area around Al Diwaniyah, which is well irrigated from the nearby Eu ...

in central Iraq. The territory of their major offshoot –the Al Ali tribe– extends from al-Diwanylah in the north to

al-Rumaitha Al-Rumaitha City is a city in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. It is the capital of Al-Rumaitha District. Its population in 2014 was 115,431. The economy is predominantly agricultural, specializing in the production of date palms and grains. Name Al ...

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 in 1845 (1205 AH).

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