'Personalities, Arabia' [‎157] (161/374)

SEDENTARY TRIBES OF THE WEST
(A) ASHRAF
T he ASHRAF (Sherifial clansmen) in general are the descendants of
Hasan, who was son of 'Ali and Fatimah, and through the latter grandson
of the Prophet. There are said to be twenty-one clans of this descent
scattered over Arabia, of which fifteen live wholly or in part in Hejaz
or North-west Asir, and chiefly in and near Mecca. For the most part
numerically small, they derive importance from the consideration which
their individual members enjoy throughout Arabia. Theoretically, the
Emirs (Grand Sherifs) of Mecca might be chosen from any clan of the
Ashraf; but, in fact, they have belonged to one or another branch of
the descendants of Abu Numej (who was of the Qatadah stock) for so
m any generations, that nowadays succession to this office is, in practice,
as much confined by prescription to only two or three clans, as the
Sultanate of Turkey is to the House of 'Othman.
The mutual affinities, the interconnexion, and the present condition
of the Ashraf clans, are not well known ; and many of them are mere
names to us.
{a) Ahddilah is the ruling clan at present, being that to which the
Emir (Grand Sherif) and his house belong. It is descended from Sherif
'Abdullah, grandson of Mohammed Abu Numej (1631). It was raised
to power by Mohammed 'Ali of Egypt in 1827 during his occupation of
Hejaz, in place of the Dhawi Zeid, who had held the throne since the
latter part of the eighteenth century and also at an earlier epoch. In the
earlier eighteenth century the Emirate had been with the Dhawi Barakat.
The Abadilah clan of Hejaz is entirely settled, the bulk of it living
outside Mecca south of the Jiddah road. Many of its members hold office
under the Emir. There is another branch in Asir (see p. 159) and scattered
families are found in other parts of Arabia.
{b) Dhawi Zeid. The Dhawi Zeid clan, which descends from Zeid,
great-great-grandson of Mohammed Abu Numej, is settled in Mecca.
The houses of Abd el-Mutallib and Ghalib are of the Dhawi Zeid clan,
and there is rivalry and bad feeling between it and the 'Abadilah.
The only leading members of the clan who live at Mecca are Sherif
Zeid, son of Feisal, a young man of about twenty, and the Sherifah Azza,
daughter (?) of Sheiif Aun er-Rafiq. 1 he latter appears to be a woman of
considei able character, with a keen interest in politics and some power
over the Harb. She is unmarried and about sixty years old. The
Dhawi Zeid own a large amount of property in Mecca and Jiddah
and possess many slaves.