Banu Khuza'a
Encyclopedia
the Khuza'a or Banu Khuza'a form a branch of the South Arabian (Yemenite
Yemenite
Yemenite may refer to:*Yemenite, a person from Yemen*Yemeni Arabic, dialect of the Arabic language*Yemenite step, an Israeli folk dance step originating from Yemen*Yemenite Jews...

) tribe of Azd
Azd
The Azd or Al Azd, are an Arabian tribe. They were a branch of the Kahlan tribe, which was one of the two branches of Qahtan the other being Himyar.In the ancient times, they inhabited Ma'rib, the capital city of the Sabaean Kingdom in modern-day Yemen...


Origin

Most traditionalists trace the origins of the tribe to Amr ibn Lahi al-Khuza'i, and agree that with the other branches of the Azd they at some point left the Yemen and moved north. 'Amr ibn Luhay and his clan settled themselves around 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...

. A date of around the fifth 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.

History

At this unknown date, the Banu Khuza'a managed to wrest over the Mecca valley and its well from the Banu Jurhum
Jurhum
Jurhum was a Qahtani tribe in the Arabian peninsula. An old Arab tribe, their historical abode was Yemen before they emigrated to Mecca....

, a tribe said to be related to the Biblical Amalekites. Their chief, Amr ibn Lahi al-Khuza'i brought an idol named Hubal
Hubal
Hubal was a god worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia, notably at the Kaaba in Mecca.-Hubal in Mecca:Hubal most prominently appears at Mecca, where an image of his was worshipped at the Kaaba. According to Karen Armstrong, the sanctuary was dedicated to Hubal, who was worshipped as the greatest of the...

 from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 to the sanctuary called the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...

, treating the safety of Hubal as the means of continuing his rule. Hubal had the figure of an old man with a long beard and was made of carnelian. Its right hand had been amputated but the Quraish provided it with a hand made of gold.

In the 5th century CE, the Banu Khuza'a lost their authority over the Kaaba to the allied tribe of the Quraish led by Qusai ibn Kilab
Qusai ibn Kilab
Qusai ibn Kilab ibn Murrah was the great-grandfather of Shaiba ibn Hashim . He was fifth in the line of descent to the Islamic Muhammad, and attained supreme power at Makkah. Qusai is amongst the ancestors of Sahaba and the progenitor of the Quraysh.-Background:He was born into the famous Quraysh...

, who had married a woman from the Khuza'a and succeeded his father-in-law.

The Khuza'a remained allies of the Quraish and in 570
570
Year 570 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 570 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Spoleto becomes the capital of an...

, the Year of the Elephant
Year of the Elephant
The Year of the Elephant is the name in Islamic history for the year approximately equating to 570 AD. According to Islamic tradition, it was in this year that Muhammad was born...

, took part in the battle against Abraha
Abraha
Abraha also known as Abraha al-Ashram or Abraha b...

.

In 630
630
Year 630 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 630 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Croats and Serbs settle in the...

 the Khuza'a were attacked by the Banu Bakr
Banu Bakr ibn Abd Manat
The Banu Bakr ibn Abd Manat were an Arabian tribe of the Hejaz region, in western Arabia.During Muhammad's lifetime, they were allies of the Quraish of Mecca....

, allies of the Quraish. Since the Khuza'a had recently formed an alliance with the Prophet Muhammad, this attack constituted a breach of the Treaty of Hudaybiyya of 628, that had brough about a truce between the Muslims and the Quraish and forbade hostilities between the two groups and their respective allies. This led to the conquest of Mecca
Conquest of Mecca
Mecca was conquered by the Muslims in January 630 AD .-Background:In 628 the Meccan tribe of Quraysh and the Muslim community in Medina signed a 10 year truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah....

 by the Muslim armies, which occurred without a battle.

The Banu Mustaliq
Banu Mustaliq
The Banu Mustaliq are an Arabic tribe. The tribe is a sub-clan of the Banu Khuza'a, descended from Azdi Qahtani. They occupied the territory of Qadid on the Red Sea shore between Jeddah and Rabigh.-History:...

 was a branch of Banu Khuza'a. They occupied the territory of Qadid on the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 shore between Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...

 and Rabigh
Rabigh
Rabigh is an ancient town on the western coast of Saudi Arabia . It is in Makkah Province. It used to be named "Al-Johfa" until the early years of the 17th century. In some ancient stories the town had been completely destroyed through a sea water...

.

external source

  • http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/04_abu_bakr.htm
  • Almaqhafi, Awwad: Qabayl Wa Biton Al-Arab
  • Almsaodi, Abdulaziz: Tarikh Qabayl Al-Arab
  • TheArabHistory.Com, Website
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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