The Banū Khuzāʿah (, singular Khuzāʿī) are an Azdite, Qahtanite tribe, one of the main ancestral tribes of Arabia. They ruled Mecca and were the Kings of Hejaz for 500 years, before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and many members of the tribe now live in and around that city. Others are also present in significant numbers in countries such as Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan, but can also be found across the Middle East.
The Banu Khuza'ah acted as the Custodians of Mecca before the Quraysh. The ruling royal family of the tribe were the kings of the Kingdom of Khaza'il (Khuza'ah), known as the Kingdom of the Middle and Lower Euphrates by Britain, from 1534 to 1921.
The Lineage of Banu Khuza'ah Most traditionalists trace the origins of the tribe to Amr ibn Luhay, and agree that, with the other branches of the Azd, they at some point, left Yemen and moved north. Amr ibn Luhay and his clan settled themselves around Mecca. A date of around the 5th century can be set for that settlement, although traditionalists place it at an earlier date by giving particularly long lives to some of its leaders.
The opinions of genealogists vary concerning the ancestry and origins of the Banu Khuza'a; some say that they were descended from Qahtan and others say they are from Adnan. We will present both opinions here:
The first group Al-Mubarrid held the opinion that Khuza'a are descendants of Amr bin Rabiah, and he was known as Luhay and belonged to the Azd; Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī agrees with him, saying: "They were called Khuza'a because they broke away from the Azd when they all left Yemen at the time of the flood of ˁIram" (the breach of the Marib dam).'Izz al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī: Al-Lubāb fi Tahdhīb al-Ansāb. Vol.1; pg. 439. Dār Sādir, Beirut 1983. Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī says the same, but states that they are Qahtanites.Yāqūt bin 'Abdullāh al-Hamawī: Al-Muqtaḑab min Kitāb Jamharat al-Nasab. 1st ed. Pg. 230. Ed. Nājī Ḥasan, Iraq 1987. Al-Qalqashandī states: "Khuza'a are a tribe from the Azd, from the Qahtanites."Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad al-Qalqashandī: Nihāyat al-Adab fī Ma'rifat Ansāb al-'Arab. Vol 2. Pg. 244. Ed. Ibrāhīm al-Abyārī. Beirut 1980
Ibn 'Abd al-Birr states that Ibn al-Kalbi held the opinion that: "Amr bin Luhay, for Luhay was his name, is Rabiah ibn Ḥārithah bin Amr; and he is Mā' al-Samā' ibn Ḥārithah bin Imra' al-Qays bin Tha'labah bin Māzin bin al-Azd bin Ghawth bin al-Nabit bin Mālik bin Zayd bin Kaḥlān bin Saba' bin Yashjab bin Ya'rab bin Qaḥṭān, so he is the ancestor of all of Khuza'a, and they broke away from him."Ibn 'Abd al-Birr: Al-Anbāh 'ala Qabā'il al-Ruwāh. Pg. 82. It is suggested that one of the strongest proofs for this is that the Khuza'a themselves used to say: "We are the sons of Amr ibn Rabiah from the Yemen."Ibn Hishām, Al-Sīrat al-Nabawīyah, Pt.1, pg. 91. Arabs linguists tended towards the opinion that the name of Khuza'a came from the phrase: khaza'a 'an aṣḥābihi (خزع عن أصحابه ), which means "he has lagged behind his companions (when they are walking)"; so they were called this because they were behind their people when they came from Marib.Ismā'īl ibn Ḥammād al-Jawharī: Al-Siḥḥāḥ. Vol. 3, pg. 1203. Edited by Aḥmad bin 'Abd al-Ghafūr 'Attār, 3rd ed. 1402.
Al-Zabīdī mentions what 'Awn ibn Ayūb al-Ansārī stated:Al-Sayyid Muḥammad Murtaḑā al-Zabīdī: Tāj al-'Arūs. Kuwait edition. Vol. 20, pg. 504. Edited by 'Abd al-Karīm al-Qarbāwī, 1983. فَلَمَّا هَبَطْنَا بَطْنَ مُرٍّ تَخَزَعَتْ خُزَاعَةٌ عَنّا فِيْ حُلُوْلِ كَرَاكِرَ (Fa-lammā habaṭnā baṭna murrin takhazza'at khuzā'atun 'annā fī ḥulūli Karākira : "And when we dismounted at Baṭn Murr Khuza'a had already stayed behind in the camp at Karākir.") It is said that ascribing Khuza'a to Qaḥṭān also agrees with this etymology of the name, whereas to say that they are descendants of 'Adnān makes such an etymology of the name meaningless.Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Fa'sī: Al-'Iqd al-Thamīn fi Tārikh al-Balad al-Amīn. Vol.1, pg. 142. Ed. By Muḥammad Ḥāmid al-Faqī. Beirut, 2nd ed. 1986.
The second group Ibn Iṣḥaq is of the opinion that Khuza'a are the descendants of Amr ibn Luhay bin Qum'ah bin Ilyās bin Muḑar bin Nazār bin Ma'd bin 'Adnān;Hishām bin Muhammad al-Sā'ib al-Kalbī: Jamharat al-Nasab. Pg. 17. Ed. Naji Ḥasan 1st ed. Beirut 1407. they would therefore be Muḑarites rather than Qaḥṭanites. Al-Muṣ'ab al-Zubayri also agrees with Ibn Iṣḥaq, saying that Qum'ah is 'Umayr, father of Khuza'a.Al-Muṣ'ab bin 'Abdullāh al- Zubayrī: Nasab Quraysh, pg. 7. Ed. E. Levi-Provençal. 3rd ed. Dār al-Ma'ārif, Cairo, Egypt. This is supported by the opinion of Ibn Ḥazm, who related four prophetic traditions (Hadith) substantiating that Khuza'a were from Muḑar and not from Qaḥṭān:Ibn Ḥazm al-Andalusī: Jamharat Ansāb al-'Arab. Vol.1, pg. 233.
Hadith 1: From Abū Hurayrah that Muhammad said: "'Amr ibn Luhay bin Qum'ah bin Khandaf is the father of Khuza'a."Ibn Ḥajar: Fatḥ al-Barī. Ḥadīth No. 3520; vol. 6; pg. 632.
Hadith 2: The statement of Muhammad: "I saw Amr bin Luhay bin Qum'ah bin Khandaf the father of those sons of Kaab, and he was dragging his intestines through hellfire."Ibn Ḥazm: Jamharat Ansāb al-'Arab. Vol. 1 Pg.234. And those sons of Kaab are the ones about whom Ibn 'Abbās said: "The Quran was sent down in the dialect of Kaabs: Kaab bin Kaab bin Lu'ayy and Kaab bin Amr bin Luhay."Muḥammad bin Abū Bakr al-Tilimsānī: Al-Jawharah fī Nasab al-Nabī wa Aṣḥābih. Vol.1, pg. 200. Ed. By Muḥammad Altūnjī, Riyadh 1983.
Hadith 3: The narration of Aktham ibn Abī Ḥabbūn al-Khuza'i, when Muhammad said to him, "O Aktham! I saw Rabiah ibn Luhay bin Qum'ah bin Khandaf dragging his intestines in the fire, and I have never seen any man more like him than you; nor more like you than him." Aktham asked: "Are you afraid that being like him will harm me, o Messenger of Allah?" And he replied: "No, you are a believer and he was an unbeliever …"Ibn Kathīr: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, vol. 3; pg. 107. And al-Muṣ'ab al-Zubayrī stood by this hadith saying that whatever Muhammad said was the truth.Al-Muṣ'ab al-Zubayrī: Nasab Quraysh, pg. 8. This is also supported by Ibn Khaldūn, who reiterates the statement of Qādi 'Ayyāḑ: "What is well known about this Khuza'a is that he is Amr bin Luhay bin Qum'ah bin Ilyās.Ibn Khaldūn: Al-'Ibar wa Dawrān al-Mubtada' wa al-Khabar fī Ayyām al-'Arab wa al-'Ajm wa al-Barbar wa man 'Āṣirahum. Vol. 2, Pg. 332; Beirut 1982.
Hadith 4: The hadith of Salamah ibn al-Akwā', who said: "The Messenger of Allah (SAW) passed by a group of people from the tribe of Aslam who were practicing archery." And he said to them: "Throw Banī Ishmael, for your father was an archer, and I am with the sons of such-and-such a one …"Ibn Ḥajar: Fatḥ al-Bārī, vol.6, pg. 107. Ḥadith No. 2899. Ibn Ḥazm said: "Now as for the first, the third and the fourth hadiths, they are all extremely authentic and reliable, and they cannot be rejected for the statements of the genealogists and others; and on the basis of these Khuza'a was one of the sons of Qum'ah bin Ilyās bin Muḑar.
Al-Suhaylī said that the hadith of Salamah was a strong proof for those who considered Khuza'a to be one of the sons of Qum'ah ibn Ilyās.Al-Suhaylī: Al-Rawḑ al-Anf. Vol. 1, pg. 19. And there is not the slightest doubt that the difference between the different genealogists stems from the fact that Salamah mentioned in the fourth hadith are the brothers of Khuza'a. And among the some more modern scholars who prefer to regard Khuza'a as one of the descendants of 'Adnān is 'Allāmah 'Abd al-Raḥmān bin Yaḥyā al-Mu'allamī al-Yamānī.Al-Sam'ānī: Al-Ansāb, vol. 5; pg. 108.
Phratries (buṭūn) In ancient times the tribe of Khuza'a was subdivided into a number of phratries ():
Banū Kalb bin 'Amr Banū Salūl bin 'Amr Banū Ḥabshah bin Salūl Banū Qumayr bin Ḥabshah Banū Ḑāṭar bin Ḥabshah Banū Ḥalīl bin Ḥabshah Banū Kulayb bin Ḥabshah Banū ˁAddī bin Salūl Banū Ḥabtar bin ˁAddī Banū Haynah bin ˁAddī Banū Ḥabshah bin Ka'b Banū Ḥarām bin Ḥabshah Banū Ghāḑirah bin Ḥabshah Banū Sa'd bin Ka'b Banū Māzin bin Ka'b Banū ˁAddī bin 'Amr Banū Malīḥ bin 'Amr: It is said that among them was Quraysh, one of the sons of al-Ṣalt bin Mālik bin al-Naḑar bin Kinānah"Ibn Ḥazm: Jamharat Ansāb al-'Arab. Vol. 1, Pg.238. Banū 'Awf bin 'Amr Banū Naḑr bin 'Awf "Banū Jufnah bin 'Awf; and they were in al-Ḥīrah.Al-Qalqashandī: Nihāyat al-Arab. In MS, Q. 25. Banū Sa'd bin 'Amr Banū al-Muṣṭaliq bin Sa'd;the name of al-Muṣṭaliq was Judhaymah. Banū al-Ḥayā' bin Sa'd; and the name of al-Ḥayā' was 'Amr
And Banu al-Muṣṭaliq and Banu al-Ḥayā' belong to the tribes who formed the Ḥalaf of Ḥabābish in Mecca.Ibn Ḥazm: Jamharat Ansāb al-'Arab. Vol. 1, pg. 235.
Camp sites and settlements Geographical and historical works mention the locations that Khuza'a used to inhabit before and after the coming of Islam, since they were either Mecca, or adjoining it or in the mountains, watering holes and wadis around it. A number of other Arab tribes used to share these places with them, such as the Quraysh in Mecca, and Kinanah in Jabal al-Abwā' and Murr al-Ẓahrān and Qudayd. The Arab tribes in general often used to move from one area to another in search of water, something that sometimes led to tribes sharing certain spots. And among the campsites of Khuza'ah were:
Murr al-Ẓahrān 'Asifān Qudayd Al-Watīr Al-Maraysī' Khalīṣ Ghazzāl Ghaḑūr Ghalā'il Al-Ghurābāt Ghadīr Khumm Muhaymah (al-Juḥfah) Al-Abwā' Muḥammar Shanā'iq Shaqrā Al-Shabbāk Dawrān Khayf Salām Khayf al-Ni'am Nadā Nashāq Al-Mashqar Amaj Shahad 'Abab Shamnaṣīr Harshī BayyinYaḥyā 'Iṣmat 'Adal 'Azīz Hayh: Dawr Khuzā'ah fī Nashr al-Islām min Fajr al-Islām ilā Nihāyat al-'Aṣr al-Amawī. Magisterial theseis, pp 17-28, University of Umm al-Qurā, Makkah.1409.
Rule of the Banu Khuza'ah over Mecca After Hagar and her son Ishmael had settled in Mecca, the tribe of Jurhum happened to pass through there and agreed with Hagar that they should remain there, as a new spring of fresh water had emerged at that location. They settled in Mecca and in the area around. Once Ishmael had become a youth, he married a woman of the tribe of Jurhum.Abū Ja'far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī: Tārikh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk. Vol. 1, pg. 258. Edited by Muḥammad Abū Faḑl Ibrāhīm, 4rd ed. Dār al-Ma'ārif, Cairo, Egypt. Ishmael was the custodian of the Kaaba, and after he died he made his son Nabit his successor. After Nabit, the job was given to his uncles from Jurhum, and with them were the descendants of Ishmael. Then Mudadh ibn Amr al-Jurhamī assumed the burden of the affairs of the Sacred House.Ibn Hishām: Al-Sīrat al-Nabawīyah. Part 1, pg.111.
Jurhum's custodianship of the Sanctuary lasted for some time, but they then started to become weaker in faith, putting the continuing sanctity of the Sacred House in peril. They considered all the funds collected at the Sanctuary to be their property, and started to perform sinful acts within its precincts. It came to the point where a man and a woman, called Asaf and Na'ilah, performed coitus in the Sacred House, and according to the Muslim sources Allah turned them into two stones to punish them for this sacrilegious act.Ibn Hishām: Al-Sīrat al-Nabawīyah. Part 1, pg. 82. Their aggression against the sanctity of the Sanctuary was the catalyst that made the Banu Bakr bin 'Abd al-Manāf bin Kinanah, descendants of Ishmael, join with Khuza'a in fighting Jurhum, and they expelled them from Mecca.'Abd al-Malik bin al-Qurayb al-Aṣma'ī: Tārīkh al-'Arab Qabl al-Islām. Pg. 96. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥasan Āl Yāsīn, 1st. ed. Baghdad 1379 AH.