Afghana
Encyclopedia
Afghana or Avagana is considered in Afghan folklore
a tribal chief
or prince of Bani Israel (Israelite
) origin and a progenitor of modern-day Pashtuns
(ethnic Afghans), the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan
and second largest in Pakistan
. The ethnonym
"Afghan" is believed to derive from his name.
, King Saul
(Talut
) was the son of Kish
, of the family of the Matrites, and a member of the tribe of Benjamin
, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel.( Saul married Ahinoam
, daughter of Ahimaaz
and had four sons and two daughters. The sons were Jonathan
, Abinadab
, Malchishua and Ish-bosheth
. Their daughters were named Merab and Michal
.
Afghan folklore
and some Muslim writers suggest that King Saul had five sons instead of four, the fifth was named Irmia (Jeremia).
and as Avagana in the 6th century CE by Indian astronomer Varahamihira
.
It is mentioned that Afghana was orphaned at a young age, and brought up by King David
. When Solomon
became the king, Afghana was made commander-in-chief of the army. Afghana is also credited with the building of the first temple (also known as Bait ul-Mukaddas or the Temple of Jerusalem):
According to Tadhkirat al-Muluk, Afghana migrated to the place known as Takht-i-Sulaiman and generations later Qais Abdur Rashid
a descendant of Afghana embraced Islam
.
(575 - 661), also known as Kesh
, Qesh and Imraul Qais, is another legendary ancestor
of the ethnic Afghans (Pashtuns). He is the first Afghan who travelled to Mecca
and Medina
in Saudi Arabia
during the days of Muhammad
. Qais Abdur Rashid's pedigree ascended in a series of thirty-seven degrees to King Talut (Saul) through Afghana.
. In other folklore however, Qais Abdur Rashid in his old age, when he felt his time was near, asked his sons to bury him in the vicinity of Zhob
(Sulaiman Mountains
) at the location where his ancestor Afghana was buried.
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
a tribal chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
or prince of Bani Israel (Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
) origin and a progenitor of modern-day Pashtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
(ethnic Afghans), the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and second largest in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The ethnonym
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
"Afghan" is believed to derive from his name.
House of King Saul
According to the TanakhTanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, King Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
(Talut
Talut
Talut is the Qur'anic name for Saul. Talut is mentioned in Sura 2 , verses 246-251, as a king appointed by God to rule over the Children of Israel...
) was the son of Kish
Kish (Bible)
Kish was the father of the first king of the Israelites, Saul. -Life:Kish was a Benjamite of the family of the Matrites , and there is some question over whether he is the brother or son of Ner . The question may be resolved by reading both Ner and Kish as sons of Abiel.-Residence:It appears that...
, of the family of the Matrites, and a member of the tribe of Benjamin
Tribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel.( Saul married Ahinoam
Ahinoam
Ahinoam is a Hebrew name literally meaning brother of pleasantness, thus meaning pleasant.There are two references in the Bible to people who bear that name:...
, daughter of Ahimaaz
Ahimaaz
Ahimaaz was son and successor of Zadok in the office of high priest . On the occasion of the revolt of Absalom he remained faithful to David, and was of service to him in conveying to him tidings of the proceedings of Absalom in Jerusalem...
and had four sons and two daughters. The sons were Jonathan
Jonathan (Samuel)
Jonathan is a heroic figure in 1 Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He was the son of King Saul and close friend of King David...
, Abinadab
Abinadab
Abinadab may refer to:# A man of Kirjath-jearim widely identified as a Levite , in whose house the ark of the covenant was deposited after having been brought back from the land of the Philistines . It remained there twenty years, until it was at length removed by David . It has been argued that...
, Malchishua and Ish-bosheth
Ish-bosheth
According to the Hebrew Bible, Ish-bosheth also called Eshbaal , Ashbaal or Ishbaal, was one of the four sons of King Saul, born c. 1047 BC...
. Their daughters were named Merab and Michal
Michal
Michal was a daughter of Saul, king of Israel, who loved and became the wife of David, who later became king of Judah, and later still of the united Kingdom of Israel....
.
Afghan folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and some Muslim writers suggest that King Saul had five sons instead of four, the fifth was named Irmia (Jeremia).
Afghana
The legend describes Afghana as the grandson of King Saul (Talut). Afghana was the son of Irmia (Jeremia), and Jeremia in turn was the son of King Talut. This name is mentioned in the form of Abgan in the 3rd century CE by the SassaniansSassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
and as Avagana in the 6th century CE by Indian astronomer Varahamihira
Varahamihira
Varāhamihira , also called Varaha or Mihira, was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain...
.
It is mentioned that Afghana was orphaned at a young age, and brought up by King David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
. When Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
became the king, Afghana was made commander-in-chief of the army. Afghana is also credited with the building of the first temple (also known as Bait ul-Mukaddas or the Temple of Jerusalem):
According to Tadhkirat al-Muluk, Afghana migrated to the place known as Takht-i-Sulaiman and generations later Qais Abdur Rashid
Qais Abdur Rashid
Qais Abdur Rashid Khan , also known as Kesh, Kish, Qesh and Imraul Qais is a legendary ancestor of the Pashtun race, claimed to be the first ethnic Pashtun who travelled to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia during the early days of Islam.) He is believed to be the 37th descendent of King Saul .He...
a descendant of Afghana embraced Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
Qais Abdur Rashid
Qais Abdur RashidQais Abdur Rashid
Qais Abdur Rashid Khan , also known as Kesh, Kish, Qesh and Imraul Qais is a legendary ancestor of the Pashtun race, claimed to be the first ethnic Pashtun who travelled to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia during the early days of Islam.) He is believed to be the 37th descendent of King Saul .He...
(575 - 661), also known as Kesh
Kesh
Kesh may refer to:* Kesh , an ancient Sumerian city and religious center* Kesh, the former name of Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan* Keş, Azerbaijan* Kesh, County Fermanagh, a small village in Northern Ireland* Long Kesh, a prison in Northern Ireland...
, Qesh and Imraul Qais, is another legendary ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
of the ethnic Afghans (Pashtuns). He is the first Afghan who travelled to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
during the days of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. Qais Abdur Rashid's pedigree ascended in a series of thirty-seven degrees to King Talut (Saul) through Afghana.
Death
According to legend, after his death he was buried in what is now Ghor, AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. In other folklore however, Qais Abdur Rashid in his old age, when he felt his time was near, asked his sons to bury him in the vicinity of Zhob
Zhob
-Roads:Zhob is 333 kilometers from Quetta, 225 kilometers from Dera Ismail Khan. However, the road linking with Dera Ismail Khan is for most part fair nowadays track passing through water streams and almost complete road is metalloid....
(Sulaiman Mountains
Sulaiman Mountains
The Sulaiman Mountains are a major geological feature of southeastern Afghanistan and northern Balochistan province of Pakistan. In Pakistan, it forms the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau where the Indus River separates it from the Asian Subcontient...
) at the location where his ancestor Afghana was buried.
See also
- Nimat Allah al-HarawiNimat Allah al-HarawiNi'mat Allah al-Harawi is the author of a Persian language epic history of the Afghans while serving as a chronicler at the court of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir...
author of Tarikh-i-Khan Jahani Makhzan-i-Afghani also known as The History of the Afghans - Ten Lost TribesTen Lost TribesThe Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
External links
- Shariat and Tasawwuf
- The Legendary Qais Abdur Rashid
- Pashtun clue to lost tribes of Israel: Genetic study sets out to uncover if there is a 2,700-year-old link to Afghanistan and Pakistan
- Pashtun Bani Israelite Origins
- Hebrew Pashtun Article 1
- Hebrew Pashtun Article 2
- Alden Oreck, The Virtual Jewish History Tour: Afghanistan from Jewish Virtual LibraryJewish Virtual LibraryJewish Virtual Library is an online encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise . Established in 1993, it is a comprehensive website covering Israel, the Jewish people, and Jewish culture.-History:...