al-Inbah ala Qabail al-Ruwat
- Author died
- 463 AH
- Editions
- t al-Ibyari
al-Inbah ala Qabail al-Ruwat (The Notice on the Tribes of the Transmitters) is a genealogical treatise by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Abd al-Barr (368–463 AH / 978–1071 CE) focusing on the Arab tribes to which the transmitters of prophetic traditions belonged .
Purpose and Scope
Ibn Abd al-Barr composed the book as an abridged guide to the major Arab tribes that transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ, intending it to serve as an introduction (madkhal) to his biographical work on the Companions, al-Isti'ab fi Ma'rifat al-Ashab . In his preface, the author noted that knowledge of genealogy is essential for people of culture and refinement due to its role in maintaining kinship ties and clarifying transmitted reports .
The work surveys the tribal groupings and lineages of early Islam, beginning with the universal lineage tracing back to Abraham, Adnan, and Qahtan, and explains genealogical categories such as shu'ub (nations), qaba'il (tribes), 'ama'ir (sub-tribes), butun (clans), afkhadh (branches), and fasa'il (families) . It closely complements another genealogical treatise by the author, al-Qasd wa-al-Umam, which covers the broader origins of both Arab and non-Arab nations .
Sources and Methodology
In compiling the work, Ibn Abd al-Barr drew upon foundational works of early Arab genealogy and historical traditions (ayyam al-Arab) . His primary sources include:
- Ibn Ishaq (Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq)
- Hisham ibn al-Kalbi (Abu al-Mundhir Hisham ibn Muhammad)
- Abu Ubaydah Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna
- Muhammad ibn 'Abdah ibn Sulayman
- Muhammad ibn Habib
- Abu 'Abd Allah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ubayd al-'Adawi's Nasab Quraysh
- al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar's Nasab Quraysh
- Mus'ab al-Zubayri (Mus'ab ibn 'Abd Allah al-Zubayri)'s Nasab Quraysh
- 'Ali ibn Kaysan al-Kufi
- Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Jurjani
- Abd al-Malik ibn Habib al-Andalusi
Alongside these genealogical texts, Ibn Abd al-Barr incorporated selected hadiths, reports, poetry, and historical anecdotes extracted from chroniclers (kutub ahl al-akhbar) to elucidate tribal identities and lines of descent .
Publication History
The work was printed alongside al-Qasd wa-al-Umam by Maktabat al-Qudsi at Matba'at al-Sa'adah in Cairo (1350 AH / 1932 CE) . An edition prepared by Ibrahim al-Ibyari was published by Dar al-Kitab al-'Arabi in Beirut (1405 AH / 1985 CE) .
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