Tarim, Yemen
Encyclopedia
Tarim is a historic town situated in the Hadhramaut Valley of South Yemen
, South Arabia. Tarim is widely acknowledged as the theological, juridical, and academic center of the Hadhramaut Valley. An important locus of Islamic learning, it is estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
(sayyid
s) anywhere in the world. The city is distinguished for producing numerous Islamic scholars, including Imam al-Haddad
. Additionally, Tarim is also home to Dar al-Mustafa, a well-known educational institute for the study of traditional Islamic Sciences.
bounded by the steep escarpment
of a broad plateau
(averaging 1,370 meters [4,500 feet]), with a sparse network of deeply sunk wadi
s (seasonal watercourses). Although the southern edge of Hadhramaut borders the Arabian Sea
, Tarim is located about 110 miles (176 kilometers) inland from the coast and 35 kilometers north-east of Seiyun
. The region is characterized by rocky plateaus that reach elevations of around 3000 feet (900 m) and are separated by numerous valleys.
Wadi Hadhramaut and its tributaries have been inhabited since the Stone Age
. Small mounds of flint chippings - debris from the manufacture of stone tools and weapons - and windblown dust can be found close to canyon walls. Further north and east are lines of Thamudic
‘triliths’ with a few surviving crude inscriptions. On the fringes of the Rub' al Khali north of Mahra
a seemingly ancient track leads – according to local legend – to the lost city of Ubar.
Hadhramaut's early economic importance stemmed from its part in the incense trade. Authorities exploited their position on the overland route from Dhufar through Mahra, Hadhramaut and Shabwa to the Hejaz
and Eastern Mediterranean to tax caravans in return for protection. Shabwa was Hadhramaut’s capital for most of the Himyaritic period. The kingdom of Saba had its capital at Marib. The Queen of Sheba (Bilqis) could have come from either Saba, or been the Queen of the Tamim (who currently reside east of Tarim). The Himyaritic civilization flourished from ca. 800 BC to 400 CE, when the incense trade was diverted to the newly opened sea route via Aden and the Red Sea
.
Early in the 6th century Ethiopians invaded Yemen, encouraged by Byzantium
to protect Yemeni Christians from the ruler Najran
, a convert to Judaism
. The Yemenis opposed Ethiopian rule and sought the Sassanid Persians for assistance. The result was that the Persians took over about 570 CE. The Persians appear to have been in Hadhramaut, but the only clear evidence of their presence is at Husn al Urr, a fort between Tarim and Qabr Hud.
, the Persian Governor of Sana’a accepted Islam and the rest of the country soon followed. Arab historians agree that Tarim was established in the fourth century of Hijra. The citizens of Tarim converted to Islam in the early days of Islam when the delegation of Hadhramaut met the Prophet Muhammad in Medina in the tenth year of Hijra (631). Tarim is often referred to as Al-Siddiqi City, in honor of Abu-Bakr al-Siddiq
, the first caliph
of Sunni Islam (r. 632-34). Abu Bakr prayed that Allah
would increase Tarim’s scholars and water, as its citizens stood with him during the Ridda wars
after the Prophet’s death (632-633). A battle occurred in the Al-Nujir fortress in which many of the Prophet’s companions (Sahaba
) were injured and taken to Tarim for treatment. Some sahabi were martyred and buried in Zambal Cemetery in Tarim.
As part of the Great Arab Expansion, Hadhramis formed a major part of the Arab armies that conquered North Africa
and the Iberian Peninsula
. In the mid-8th century, a preacher from Basra
called Abdullah bin Yahya arrived in Hadhramaut and established the Ibadhi rite of Islam. By the 10th century conflict had erupted between the Hashid
and Bakil
, the two dominant tribes in the Northern Highlands. Sheikh al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim ar-Rassi (a sayyid) was called from Medina
to settle this affair at Sa’da in 893-897. He founded the Zaidi Imamate which reigned until Imam Al-Badr was disposed in 1962. In 951 CE, Seyyid Ahmed bin Isa al Mohajir
arrived from Iraq
with a large number of followers and established the Shafi`i madhab of Sunni Islam, which remains dominant in the region. A Rabat
, or University, was first established in Zabid
, in the Tihama, and, later, in Tarim. The latter still functions.
In 1488, the Kathiri
s, led by Badr Abu Towairaq, invaded Hadhramaut from the High Yemen and established their dola, first in Tarim and then in Seiyun. The Kathiris employed mercenaries, mainly Yafa’is from the mountains north-east of Aden
. About a hundred years after arriving their momentum was lost. The Yafa’is usurped western Hadhramaut and created a separate dola, based at Al Qatn.
In 1809, disaster struck Hadhramaut following a Wahhabi invasion. Valuable books and documents from the Robat at Tarim were destroyed by fire or by dumping in wells. While the Wahhabi occupation was short-lived, it ravaged the economy. As a result emigration increased, the top destination being Hyderabad (India
), where the Nizam
employed a considerable army. Here, a Yemeni soldier named Umar bin Awadh al Qu’aiti rose to the rank of Jemadar
and amassed a fortune. Umar’s influence enabled him to create the Quaiti dynasty in the late 19th century. Having secured all valuable land excluding the areas around Saiyun and Tarim, the Qu'aitis signed a treaty with the British
in 1888, and created a unified sultanate in 1902 that became part of the Aden Protectorate
.
and wished to spend some of their wealth improving living conditions at home. Led by Sayyid Abu Bakr al-Kaf bin Sheikh, they built a motor road from Tarim to Shihr - hoping to use it to import goods into Hadhramaut, but were frustrated by opposition from the camel-owning tribes who had a transport monopoly
between the coast and interior.
In February 1937, a peace between the Qu’aiti and Kathiri sultanates, totally unprecedented in the history of that region, was brought about essentially by the efforts of two men: Sayyid Abu Bakr al-Kaf and Harold Ingrams, the first political officer in Hadhramaut. Sayyid Abu Bakr used his personal wealth to finance this peace, which was known universally thereafter as “Ingrams Peace.” This brought some stability, permitting introduction of administrative, educational and development measures.
, which was dominated by radical Marxists, seized power, and Tarim, with the rest of South Yemen, came under communist rule. The Aden Protectorate
became an independent Communist state, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
(PDRY). Religion was savagely repressed, Islamic scholars were abducted and killed, women went about uncovered and alcohol was sold in the streets. Hadhramaut, despite being part of the communist-aligned PDRY continued to live to a great extent on remittances from abroad. In 1990, South and North Yemen
were unified.
settlements, Hadhramaut is still tribalised, although tribal bonds are no longer as powerful as they once were. Hadhramis live in densely-built towns centered on traditional watering stations along the wadis. Hadhramis harvest crops of wheat
, millet
, tend date palm
and coconut
groves, and grow some coffee
. On the plateau Bedouin
s tend sheep and goats.
The Sayyid aristocracy
, descended from Islamic prophet Muhammad
, traditionally educated and strict in Islam
ic observance, are highly respected in both religious and secular affairs. Zaydism is largely confined to the Yemeni mountains, where Hashid and Bakil are the dominant tribes. The rest of Yemen primarily adheres to the Shafi’i school of Islamic jurisprudence. Although Zaydis are Shias and Shafi’is are Sunnis, the practical religious differences are generally minor and each will freely worship in the other’s mosque
if their own is not convenient.
i origin. Exceptions are mainly of Kindi stock, originating from an invasion from the north in the 6th century. Kindah
are credited with the final destruction of Shabwa when they arrived, but they subsequently settled among and intermarried with Himyaris. The incidence of straight rather than curly hair often denotes Kindi blood and some Kindi are bigger physically than most Himyaris. Kindi tribes include the Seiar, Al Doghar (Wadi Hajr), the Ja’ada (Wadi Amd) and one of the sections of the Deyyin (on the plateau south of Amd).
Living among the tribes, but a little different, are the Mashaikh. Unlike the tribes, they did not raid nor were they raided. They also wore a different type of jambiya
, more designed for domestic use than aggression. Al Buraik still supply the bulk of the population of the Shabwa area. Most are settled but some are nomads grazing with the Kurab. Other Mashaikh are dotted around the hills and valleys. The most important are Al Amoodi of Budha, many being successful traders throughout the Middle East
.
Most tribesmen and Mashaikh are farmers, those in the mountains and the plateau almost entirely so. Further east or north, however, there is less rainfall and more nomadic people. The Manahil are almost entirely nomadic, except for those absorbed into modern life, and the Hamum and the Mahra are mostly nomadic. On the fringes of the Rub' al Khali, the people continue to graze where they can, although a surprising number of Seiar and Awamr farm on the ill-watered plateau north of the Hadhramaut.
s); one, the Sirjis mosque, dates back to the seventh century. From the 17th to the 19th century, these mosques played a decisive role on the influence of Islamic scholarship in the area. Tarim’s famous al-Muhdar mosque is crowned by a 46-meter-high mud minaret
(150 ft), the highest in Yemen. The minaret was designed by the local poets Abu Bakr bin Shihab and Alawi Al Mash’hūr. Completed in 1914, the al-Muhdar mosque is named in honor of Omar Al-Muhdar, a Muslim leader who lived in the city during the 15th century.
Tarim also features the massive al-Kaf Library which is attached to the Al-Jame’a Mosque and houses more than 5,000 manuscripts from the region covering religion, the thoughts of the Prophets, Islamic law, Sufism, medicine, astronomy, agriculture, biographies, history, mathematics, philosophy, logic, and the eight volumes of Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī’s Al-Iklil (crown). Many go back hundreds of years and often contain vibrantly colored illustration. Between 300 to 400 manuscripts are believed to be unique in the Islamic world, according to the scholar Abd al-Qader Sabban. What distinguishes these manuscripts is that the majority belong to Yemeni authors and editors who resided in the Wadi Hadhramaut area. Nevertheless, there are others that belonged to scholars from Morocco
, Khurasan
, and other Muslim
regions. In 1996, estimates for the annual number of visitors to the Al-Kaf Library exceeded 4,780 individuals.
s constructed between the 1870s and 1930s. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hadhramaut’s merchant families grew rich from trade and investments abroad. The al-Kaf family was considered the most influential. Many members of the family were respected religious scholars. At the same time, they were among the regions first Western
izing elite and contributed to public works projects in the name of modernization
. Their palaces remain as testament to both their affluence and the complex identity of the modernizing elite of the colonial
period.
Palaces financed by the al-Kafs and other families were executed in the stylistic idioms they encountered in British India and Southeast Asia. Consequently, the palaces include examples of Mughal
, British Colonial, Art Nouveau
, Deco
, Rococo
, Neo-Classical
, and Modernist styles unparalleled in Yemen. While these foreign decorative styles were incorporated into the Tarimi architectural idiom, traditional Hadhrami construction techniques based on the thousand-year-old traditions of unfired mud brick and lime plasters served as the primary methods for executing these buildings.
in Singapore’s Grand Hotel de l'Europe during the 1930s. ‘Ishshah derives from the Arabic root ‘-sh-sh meaning to nest, take root, or establish. Qasr al-‘Ishshah is a collection of several buildings constructed over a forty year period. The first building, known as Dar Dawil, was constructed during the 1890s. As Umar’s family grew, so did the size of the complex.
Qasr al-‘Ishshah exhibits some of the finest examples of lime plaster decoration (malas) in Tarim. The decorative program of the exterior south façade finds its antecedents in Mughal royal architecture, as well as the colonial forms of the Near East
, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Interior stucco decoration differs from room to room, including Art Nouveau, Rococo, Neo-Classical and combinations of the three. The ornamentation often incorporates pilasters along the walls framing openings, built-in cabinetry with skilled wood carvings, elaborate column capitals, decorated ceilings, niches and kerosene lamp
holders, as well as complex color schemes.
From 1970 to 1991, Qasr al-‘Ishshah was expropriated by the PDRY and divided up as multi-family housing. The house was recently returned to the al-Kaf family and legal ownership rights are shared amongst many of Shaikh al-Kaf’s descendents. In 1997, the Historical Society for the Preservation of Tarim rented half of the house in order to present the building to the public as a house museum, the only one of its kind in the Hadhramaut.
is about 80°F (26.7°C), although during the summer high temperatures can exceed 100°F (37.8°C). During the winter, the average temperature occasionally falls below 70°F (21.1°C). The average rainfall is approximately 2.9 inches (73 millimeters) per year. A few times throughout the year, however, Hadhramaut experiences heavy rainfall resulting in significant flooding.
to Tarim is located approximately 19 miles (30 kilometers) away, in the city of Seiyun. The only international flights directly to Seiyun originate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai
and Abu Dhabi
, United Arab Emirates
. Otherwise, travelers can fly to the capital city of Sana’a. Then one can either take another flight from Sana’a to Seiyun, or travel by bus or car to Tarim from Sana’a. The distance from Sana’a to Tarim is approximately 335 miles (540 kilometers) and driving time ranges from six to eight hours.
of Hadhramaut, Abdul-Rahman Bin Mohammed Al-Meshhūr. Early teachers in Rubat Tarim were Alwi bin Abdul-Rahman bin Abibakr al-Meshhūr, Hussein bin Mohammed al-Kaf, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Bekri al-Khateeb, Hassan bin Alwi bin Shihab, Abu Bakr bin Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Bekri al-Khatīb and Mohammed bin Ahmed al-Khatīb. They were delegated to teach when Abdullah bin Omar al-Shatri was appointed upon returning from Mecca
, where he had studied for four years. Al-Shatri taught at Rubat Tarim voluntarily until his death in 1942. He was succeeded by his sons (Mohammed, Abu Bakr, Hasan and Salem). In 1979, Rubat Tarim was closed by the PDRY. It reopened after the unification of Yemen in 1991 and continues to function.
According to statistics from 2007, the number of scholars graduating from Rubat Tarim has reached over 13,000. Foreign students currently total about 300, with 1,500 Yemeni students. Many graduates later traveled abroad to propagate Islam and establish religious institutions. Several became author
s and publishers in the Tradition, Interpretation of Quran and other branches of religious knowledge. The most famous scholar among them was probably Abdul Rahman Al-Mash’hūr.
for traditional Islamic teaching in Arabic and its satellite campus for intensive Arabic linguistics study at the Badr Language Institute. Shaykh Habib Umar bin Hafiz
manages the school and is a renowned Islamic spiritual leader. Dar al-Mustafa has emerged as an important center of Islamic learning. In 2007, there were some 250 students from various counties studying at Dar al-Mustafa. East Tarim has continued to grow as a result of Dar al-Mustafa’s popularity and an influx of students and spiritual leaders relocating to the region with their families. Another famous institute is the Abu-Muraim Institutes for Quran Memorization, which was established in the sixth century of Hijra. Every year, Dar al-Mustafa organizes summer courses for 40 days during July-August known as the Dowra.
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, South Arabia. Tarim is widely acknowledged as the theological, juridical, and academic center of the Hadhramaut Valley. An important locus of Islamic learning, it is estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of the Islamic prophet 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...
(sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
s) anywhere in the world. The city is distinguished for producing numerous Islamic scholars, including Imam al-Haddad
Imam al-Haddad
Imam Abd Allah ibn Alawi al-Haddad born in 1634 CE .He lived his entire life in the town of Tarim in Yemen’s Valley of Hadramawt and died there in 1720 CE .In Islamic history, he was considered one of the sages...
. Additionally, Tarim is also home to Dar al-Mustafa, a well-known educational institute for the study of traditional Islamic Sciences.
Geography
The Hadhramaut Valley is a large region in (South Arabia) southern Yemen spanning approximately 34,708 square miles (90,000 square kilometers). It consists of a narrow, arid coastal plainCoastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
bounded by the steep escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
of a broad plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
(averaging 1,370 meters [4,500 feet]), with a sparse network of deeply sunk wadi
Wadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
s (seasonal watercourses). Although the southern edge of Hadhramaut borders the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
, Tarim is located about 110 miles (176 kilometers) inland from the coast and 35 kilometers north-east of Seiyun
Seiyun
Say'un is a town in the Hadhramaut region of Yemen. Postage stamps from the former Aden Protectorate sultanate of Kathiri are sometimes inscribed "Kathiri State of Seiyun." As of 2006 the population was 75,700....
. The region is characterized by rocky plateaus that reach elevations of around 3000 feet (900 m) and are separated by numerous valleys.
Pre-Islamic history
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. Small mounds of flint chippings - debris from the manufacture of stone tools and weapons - and windblown dust can be found close to canyon walls. Further north and east are lines of Thamudic
Thamudic
Thamudic is an Old North Arabian dialect known from pre-Islamic inscriptions scattered across the Arabian desert and the Sinai. Dating to between the 4th century BC and the 3rd or 4th century AD, they were incorrectly named after the Thamud people, with whom they are not directly...
‘triliths’ with a few surviving crude inscriptions. On the fringes of the Rub' al Khali north of Mahra
Mahra
Mahra may refer to:* Mahra a Jat clan found in Pakistani Punjab* Al Mahrah Governorate* Mahra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a town in Pakistan* Mahra Sultanate* The Mehri language* Meheri people...
a seemingly ancient track leads – according to local legend – to the lost city of Ubar.
Hadhramaut's early economic importance stemmed from its part in the incense trade. Authorities exploited their position on the overland route from Dhufar through Mahra, Hadhramaut and Shabwa to the Hejaz
Hejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
and Eastern Mediterranean to tax caravans in return for protection. Shabwa was Hadhramaut’s capital for most of the Himyaritic period. The kingdom of Saba had its capital at Marib. The Queen of Sheba (Bilqis) could have come from either Saba, or been the Queen of the Tamim (who currently reside east of Tarim). The Himyaritic civilization flourished from ca. 800 BC to 400 CE, when the incense trade was diverted to the newly opened sea route via Aden and 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...
.
Early in the 6th century Ethiopians invaded Yemen, encouraged by Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
to protect Yemeni Christians from the ruler Najran
Najran
Najran , formerly known as Aba as Sa'ud, is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated a New town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen from 47,500 in 1974 and 90,983 in 1992 to...
, a convert to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. The Yemenis opposed Ethiopian rule and sought the Sassanid Persians for assistance. The result was that the Persians took over about 570 CE. The Persians appear to have been in Hadhramaut, but the only clear evidence of their presence is at Husn al Urr, a fort between Tarim and Qabr Hud.
Early Islamic-Period
In 625, BadhanBadhan
Badhan may refer to:* Badhan, Sanaag, Somalia* al-Badhan, a Palestinian village in the West Bank* Badhan , a group founded at the University of Dhaka to promote blood donation* Badhan , a clan of the Jat people....
, the Persian Governor of Sana’a accepted Islam and the rest of the country soon followed. Arab historians agree that Tarim was established in the fourth century of Hijra. The citizens of Tarim converted to Islam in the early days of Islam when the delegation of Hadhramaut met the Prophet Muhammad in Medina in the tenth year of Hijra (631). Tarim is often referred to as Al-Siddiqi City, in honor of Abu-Bakr al-Siddiq
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
, the first caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
of Sunni Islam (r. 632-34). Abu Bakr prayed that Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
would increase Tarim’s scholars and water, as its citizens stood with him during the Ridda wars
Ridda wars
The Ridda wars , also known as the Wars of Apostasy, were a series of military campaigns against the rebellion of several Arabian tribes launched by the Caliph Abu Bakr during 632 and 633 AD, after prophet Muhammad died....
after the Prophet’s death (632-633). A battle occurred in the Al-Nujir fortress in which many of the Prophet’s companions (Sahaba
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
) were injured and taken to Tarim for treatment. Some sahabi were martyred and buried in Zambal Cemetery in Tarim.
As part of the Great Arab Expansion, Hadhramis formed a major part of the Arab armies that conquered North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. In the mid-8th century, a preacher from Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
called Abdullah bin Yahya arrived in Hadhramaut and established the Ibadhi rite of Islam. By the 10th century conflict had erupted between the Hashid
Hashid
The Hashid tribal federation is the second largest tribal federation in Yemen. Member tribes of the Hashid Confederation are found primarily in the mountains in the North and Northwest of the country. It was headed by Sheikh Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar until his death on December 29, 2007 and is...
and Bakil
Bakil
The Bakil federation is the largest tribal federation in Yemen. Imam Yahya's campaign to subject the country, and more specifically the tribes, to his control, led him to undertake massive campaigns against their influence and power; in fact, his efforts succeeded in permanently eliminating all but...
, the two dominant tribes in the Northern Highlands. Sheikh al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim ar-Rassi (a sayyid) was called from 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...
to settle this affair at Sa’da in 893-897. He founded the Zaidi Imamate which reigned until Imam Al-Badr was disposed in 1962. In 951 CE, Seyyid Ahmed bin Isa al Mohajir
Ahmad al-Muhajir
Ahmad al-Muhajir also known as Al-Imam Ahmad bin Isa was the descendant of Ali bin Abu Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad, the daughter of Muhammad. He was the son of ‘Isa the son of 'Ali al-Uraidhi who was the fourth son of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq, a fifth generation descendant of the Prophet Muhammad...
arrived from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
with a large number of followers and established the Shafi`i madhab of Sunni Islam, which remains dominant in the region. A Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
, or University, was first established in Zabid
Zabid
Zabid is a town with an urban population of around 23,000 persons on Yemen's western coastal plain. The town, named after Wadi Zabid, the wadi to its south, is one of the oldest towns in Yemen...
, in the Tihama, and, later, in Tarim. The latter still functions.
In 1488, the Kathiri
Kathiri
Kathiri was a sultanate in the Hadhramaut region of the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now officially considered part of Yemen and the Dhofar region of Oman....
s, led by Badr Abu Towairaq, invaded Hadhramaut from the High Yemen and established their dola, first in Tarim and then in Seiyun. The Kathiris employed mercenaries, mainly Yafa’is from the mountains north-east of Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
. About a hundred years after arriving their momentum was lost. The Yafa’is usurped western Hadhramaut and created a separate dola, based at Al Qatn.
British and the Qu’aiti Dynasty: 1882–1967
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
), where the Nizam
Nizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
employed a considerable army. Here, a Yemeni soldier named Umar bin Awadh al Qu’aiti rose to the rank of Jemadar
Jemadar
Jemadar was a rank used in the British Indian Army, where it was the lowest rank for a Viceroy's Commissioned Officer . Jemadars either commanded platoons or troops themselves or assisted their British commander...
and amassed a fortune. Umar’s influence enabled him to create the Quaiti dynasty in the late 19th century. Having secured all valuable land excluding the areas around Saiyun and Tarim, the Qu'aitis signed a treaty with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1888, and created a unified sultanate in 1902 that became part of the Aden Protectorate
Aden Protectorate
The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of Aden following the acquisition of that port by Britain in 1839 as an anti-piracy station, and it continued until the 1960s. For administrative purposes it was divided into the Western...
.
Ingrams Peace
Despite establishing a regionally advanced administration, by the 1930s the Qu’aiti Sultan Saleh bin Ghalib (r. 1936–1956) was facing stiff pressure to modernize – a task for which he seriously lacked resources. These demands were largely initiated by returning Yemeni emigrants, such as the al-Kaf Sayyids of Tarim. The al-Kaf family had made fortunes in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and wished to spend some of their wealth improving living conditions at home. Led by Sayyid Abu Bakr al-Kaf bin Sheikh, they built a motor road from Tarim to Shihr - hoping to use it to import goods into Hadhramaut, but were frustrated by opposition from the camel-owning tribes who had a transport monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
between the coast and interior.
In February 1937, a peace between the Qu’aiti and Kathiri sultanates, totally unprecedented in the history of that region, was brought about essentially by the efforts of two men: Sayyid Abu Bakr al-Kaf and Harold Ingrams, the first political officer in Hadhramaut. Sayyid Abu Bakr used his personal wealth to finance this peace, which was known universally thereafter as “Ingrams Peace.” This brought some stability, permitting introduction of administrative, educational and development measures.
Modern Era: 1967 to Present
In November 1967, the British withdrew from South Yemen in the face of mass riots and an increasingly deadly insurgency. Their arch-enemies, the National Liberation FrontNational Liberation Front (Yemen)
The National Liberation Front or NLF was a military organization operating in the Federation of South Arabia in the 60s. During the North Yemen Civil War fighting spilled over into South Yemen as the British tried to exit its Federation of South Arabia colony...
, which was dominated by radical Marxists, seized power, and Tarim, with the rest of South Yemen, came under communist rule. The Aden Protectorate
Aden Protectorate
The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of Aden following the acquisition of that port by Britain in 1839 as an anti-piracy station, and it continued until the 1960s. For administrative purposes it was divided into the Western...
became an independent Communist state, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen — also referred to as South Yemen, Democratic Yemen or Yemen — was a socialist republic in the present-day southern and eastern Provinces of Yemen...
(PDRY). Religion was savagely repressed, Islamic scholars were abducted and killed, women went about uncovered and alcohol was sold in the streets. Hadhramaut, despite being part of the communist-aligned PDRY continued to live to a great extent on remittances from abroad. In 1990, South and North Yemen
North Yemen
North Yemen is a term currently used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic , its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.Neither state ever...
were unified.
Culture
Hadhramaut is considered the most religious part of Yemen. It is a province in which the mixture of tribal and Islamic traditions determines the social life of its inhabitants. Apart from urbanUrban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
settlements, Hadhramaut is still tribalised, although tribal bonds are no longer as powerful as they once were. Hadhramis live in densely-built towns centered on traditional watering stations along the wadis. Hadhramis harvest crops of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
, tend date palm
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...
and coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
groves, and grow some coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. On the plateau Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
s tend sheep and goats.
The Sayyid aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
, descended from Islamic prophet 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...
, traditionally educated and strict in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic observance, are highly respected in both religious and secular affairs. Zaydism is largely confined to the Yemeni mountains, where Hashid and Bakil are the dominant tribes. The rest of Yemen primarily adheres to the Shafi’i school of Islamic jurisprudence. Although Zaydis are Shias and Shafi’is are Sunnis, the practical religious differences are generally minor and each will freely worship in the other’s mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
if their own is not convenient.
Tribal Groups
Nearly all Yemeni tribes are of HimyarHimyar
The Himyarite Kingdom or Himyar , historically referred to as the Homerite Kingdom by the Greeks and the Romans, was a kingdom in ancient Yemen. Established in 110 BC, it took as its capital the modern day city of Sana'a after the ancient city of Zafar...
i origin. Exceptions are mainly of Kindi stock, originating from an invasion from the north in the 6th century. Kindah
Kindah
The kingdom of Kindah was a vassal kingdom which ruled from Qaryah dhat Kahl in Nejd, Central Arabia . The kingdom controlled much of the northern Arabian peninsula in the 4th and 5th centuries AD.-Origin:...
are credited with the final destruction of Shabwa when they arrived, but they subsequently settled among and intermarried with Himyaris. The incidence of straight rather than curly hair often denotes Kindi blood and some Kindi are bigger physically than most Himyaris. Kindi tribes include the Seiar, Al Doghar (Wadi Hajr), the Ja’ada (Wadi Amd) and one of the sections of the Deyyin (on the plateau south of Amd).
Living among the tribes, but a little different, are the Mashaikh. Unlike the tribes, they did not raid nor were they raided. They also wore a different type of jambiya
Jambiya
Janbiya, also spelt janbia, jambiya, and jambia, , is the Arabic term for dagger, but it is generally used to describe a specific type of dagger with a short curved blade that is worn on a belt. Although the term jambiya is also used in other Arab countries, it is mostly associated with people of...
, more designed for domestic use than aggression. Al Buraik still supply the bulk of the population of the Shabwa area. Most are settled but some are nomads grazing with the Kurab. Other Mashaikh are dotted around the hills and valleys. The most important are Al Amoodi of Budha, many being successful traders throughout the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Most tribesmen and Mashaikh are farmers, those in the mountains and the plateau almost entirely so. Further east or north, however, there is less rainfall and more nomadic people. The Manahil are almost entirely nomadic, except for those absorbed into modern life, and the Hamum and the Mahra are mostly nomadic. On the fringes of the Rub' al Khali, the people continue to graze where they can, although a surprising number of Seiar and Awamr farm on the ill-watered plateau north of the Hadhramaut.
Architecture
Geographically and socially varied, Tarim’s diversity can be traced through the cultural interactions and hybrid architectural fabrics of various regions. Foreign styles and ornamental features entered Yemen as typological and aesthetic changes. In this way Tarimi architectural history represents a dialogue between cultures both within and outside of the modern nation.Mosques and libraries
It is estimated that Tarim contains up to 365 masājid (mosqueMosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s); one, the Sirjis mosque, dates back to the seventh century. From the 17th to the 19th century, these mosques played a decisive role on the influence of Islamic scholarship in the area. Tarim’s famous al-Muhdar mosque is crowned by a 46-meter-high mud minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
(150 ft), the highest in Yemen. The minaret was designed by the local poets Abu Bakr bin Shihab and Alawi Al Mash’hūr. Completed in 1914, the al-Muhdar mosque is named in honor of Omar Al-Muhdar, a Muslim leader who lived in the city during the 15th century.
Tarim also features the massive al-Kaf Library which is attached to the Al-Jame’a Mosque and houses more than 5,000 manuscripts from the region covering religion, the thoughts of the Prophets, Islamic law, Sufism, medicine, astronomy, agriculture, biographies, history, mathematics, philosophy, logic, and the eight volumes of Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī’s Al-Iklil (crown). Many go back hundreds of years and often contain vibrantly colored illustration. Between 300 to 400 manuscripts are believed to be unique in the Islamic world, according to the scholar Abd al-Qader Sabban. What distinguishes these manuscripts is that the majority belong to Yemeni authors and editors who resided in the Wadi Hadhramaut area. Nevertheless, there are others that belonged to scholars from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
, and other Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
regions. In 1996, estimates for the annual number of visitors to the Al-Kaf Library exceeded 4,780 individuals.
Tarimi Palaces
Tarim is famous for its innumerable palaces - a collection of approximately thirty mansionMansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
s constructed between the 1870s and 1930s. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hadhramaut’s merchant families grew rich from trade and investments abroad. The al-Kaf family was considered the most influential. Many members of the family were respected religious scholars. At the same time, they were among the regions first Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
izing elite and contributed to public works projects in the name of modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
. Their palaces remain as testament to both their affluence and the complex identity of the modernizing elite of the colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
period.
Palaces financed by the al-Kafs and other families were executed in the stylistic idioms they encountered in British India and Southeast Asia. Consequently, the palaces include examples of Mughal
Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture, an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture, is the distinctive style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It is symmetrical and decorative in style.The Mughal dynasty was...
, British Colonial, Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
, Deco
Deco
Anderson Luís de Souza, OIH , commonly known as Deco, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Fluminense....
, Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
, Neo-Classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
, and Modernist styles unparalleled in Yemen. While these foreign decorative styles were incorporated into the Tarimi architectural idiom, traditional Hadhrami construction techniques based on the thousand-year-old traditions of unfired mud brick and lime plasters served as the primary methods for executing these buildings.
Qasr al-‘Ishshah Complex
The complex of ‘Umar bin Shaikh al-Kaf, Qasr al-‘Ishshah is one of the original al-Kaf houses in Tarim. Shaikh al-Kaf built the house on proceeds made in South Asian trade and investmentInvestment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
in Singapore’s Grand Hotel de l'Europe during the 1930s. ‘Ishshah derives from the Arabic root ‘-sh-sh meaning to nest, take root, or establish. Qasr al-‘Ishshah is a collection of several buildings constructed over a forty year period. The first building, known as Dar Dawil, was constructed during the 1890s. As Umar’s family grew, so did the size of the complex.
Qasr al-‘Ishshah exhibits some of the finest examples of lime plaster decoration (malas) in Tarim. The decorative program of the exterior south façade finds its antecedents in Mughal royal architecture, as well as the colonial forms of the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Interior stucco decoration differs from room to room, including Art Nouveau, Rococo, Neo-Classical and combinations of the three. The ornamentation often incorporates pilasters along the walls framing openings, built-in cabinetry with skilled wood carvings, elaborate column capitals, decorated ceilings, niches and kerosene lamp
Kerosene lamp
The kerosene lamp is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. This article refers to kerosene lamps that have a wick and a tall glass chimney. Kerosene lanterns that have a wick and a glass globe are related to kerosene lamps and are included here as well...
holders, as well as complex color schemes.
From 1970 to 1991, Qasr al-‘Ishshah was expropriated by the PDRY and divided up as multi-family housing. The house was recently returned to the al-Kaf family and legal ownership rights are shared amongst many of Shaikh al-Kaf’s descendents. In 1997, the Historical Society for the Preservation of Tarim rented half of the house in order to present the building to the public as a house museum, the only one of its kind in the Hadhramaut.
Climate
Hadhramaut is generally hot and dry. The average annual temperatureTemperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
is about 80°F (26.7°C), although during the summer high temperatures can exceed 100°F (37.8°C). During the winter, the average temperature occasionally falls below 70°F (21.1°C). The average rainfall is approximately 2.9 inches (73 millimeters) per year. A few times throughout the year, however, Hadhramaut experiences heavy rainfall resulting in significant flooding.
Travel
The closest airportAirport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
to Tarim is located approximately 19 miles (30 kilometers) away, in the city of Seiyun. The only international flights directly to Seiyun originate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
and Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. Otherwise, travelers can fly to the capital city of Sana’a. Then one can either take another flight from Sana’a to Seiyun, or travel by bus or car to Tarim from Sana’a. The distance from Sana’a to Tarim is approximately 335 miles (540 kilometers) and driving time ranges from six to eight hours.
Rabat Tarim
Rabat Tarim is an educational institution teaching Islamic and Arabic sciences. In 1886, a group of Tarimi notables decided to build a religious institution for foreign and domestic students in Tarim, and accommodate foreign students. Those notables were Mohammed bin Salem Assri, Ahmed bin Omar al-Shatri, Abdul-Qader bin Ahmed al-Haddad, Ahmed bin Abdul-Rahman al-Junēd and Mohammed bin Omar Arfan. Rubat Tarim was inaugurated on October 2, 1887. Supervision was ascribed to the muftiMufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
of Hadhramaut, Abdul-Rahman Bin Mohammed Al-Meshhūr. Early teachers in Rubat Tarim were Alwi bin Abdul-Rahman bin Abibakr al-Meshhūr, Hussein bin Mohammed al-Kaf, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Bekri al-Khateeb, Hassan bin Alwi bin Shihab, Abu Bakr bin Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Bekri al-Khatīb and Mohammed bin Ahmed al-Khatīb. They were delegated to teach when Abdullah bin Omar al-Shatri was appointed upon returning from 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...
, where he had studied for four years. Al-Shatri taught at Rubat Tarim voluntarily until his death in 1942. He was succeeded by his sons (Mohammed, Abu Bakr, Hasan and Salem). In 1979, Rubat Tarim was closed by the PDRY. It reopened after the unification of Yemen in 1991 and continues to function.
According to statistics from 2007, the number of scholars graduating from Rubat Tarim has reached over 13,000. Foreign students currently total about 300, with 1,500 Yemeni students. Many graduates later traveled abroad to propagate Islam and establish religious institutions. Several became author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
s and publishers in the Tradition, Interpretation of Quran and other branches of religious knowledge. The most famous scholar among them was probably Abdul Rahman Al-Mash’hūr.
Dar al-Mustafa
The eastern section of Tarim offers the Dar al-MustafaDar al-Mustafa
Dar al-Mustafa is a madrasah in Tarim, Hadhramaut, Yemen.-History:In 1993, the Islamic seminary was founded by Habib Umar bin Hafiz. The Dar al-Mustafa campus was officially opened in May 1997 and incorporated as a center for traditional Islamic scholarship....
for traditional Islamic teaching in Arabic and its satellite campus for intensive Arabic linguistics study at the Badr Language Institute. Shaykh Habib Umar bin Hafiz
Habib Umar bin Hafiz
Habib Umar bin Hafiz , is an Islamic scholar, teacher, and founder and dean of Dar al-Mustafa Seminary in Tarim, Hadhramaut, Yemen.-Background:...
manages the school and is a renowned Islamic spiritual leader. Dar al-Mustafa has emerged as an important center of Islamic learning. In 2007, there were some 250 students from various counties studying at Dar al-Mustafa. East Tarim has continued to grow as a result of Dar al-Mustafa’s popularity and an influx of students and spiritual leaders relocating to the region with their families. Another famous institute is the Abu-Muraim Institutes for Quran Memorization, which was established in the sixth century of Hijra. Every year, Dar al-Mustafa organizes summer courses for 40 days during July-August known as the Dowra.
Dar al-Zahra
Dar al-Zahra is a sister institute of Dar al-Mustafa which offers education for Muslim women.Notable People from Tarim
- Shaykh Al-Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Salim bin HafeezHabib Umar bin HafizHabib Umar bin Hafiz , is an Islamic scholar, teacher, and founder and dean of Dar al-Mustafa Seminary in Tarim, Hadhramaut, Yemen.-Background:...
- Dean, Dar Al-Mustafa - Shaykh Al-Habib Ali Mashhour bin Muhammad bin Salim bin Hafeez: Imam of the Tarim Mosque and Head of Fatwas Council, Tarim, Yemen
- Shaykh Amjad Rasheed: Islamic scholar from Tarim
- Abdullah bin Omar al-Shatiri: Islamic scholar from Tarim. Died in 1942
- Habib Hasan bin Abdullah al-Shatiri: Grand-shaykh of Tarim. Died in 2007.
- Al-Habib Salim bin Abdullah al-Shatiri : Grand Syaich of Tarim
- Al-Habib Kazim Ja‘far Muhammad al-Saqqaf: Leading scholar and educator from Tarim
- Habib 'Ali Zain Al Abideen al-JifriHabib Ali al-JifriHabib Ali Zain al-`Abideen al-Jifri is an Islamic scholar from Hadhramaut, Yemen of the Shafi'i school of fiqh, and the Ashari school of aqida.-Background:...
: Sayyid scholar of Islam from Tarim - Abdul Rahman Al-Mash’hoor
External links
- Official Website of the Al-Quaiti Royal Family of Hadhramaut
- 360° panorama of Al-Mihdhar mosque in Tarim (Sergej Esnault)
- The Graves of Tarim: Genealogy and Mobility across the Indian Ocean, by Engseng Ho, a professor at Harvard. California World History series. A 500-year history of Hadramawt's diaspora, the most comprehensive account to date.
- The Tarim Documentation Project (Columbia University)
- Dar Al-Mustafa
- Video of the History of Tarim
- Ba`alawi.com Ba'alawi.com | The Definitive Resource for Islam and the Alawiyyen Ancestry.