Sabab Tasmiyat «al-Shaqqa» bihadha al-Ism
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- Sabab Tasmiyat «al-Shaqqa» bihadha al-Ism
Sabab Tasmiyat «al-Shaqqa» bihadha al-Ism (The Reason for Naming "al-Shaqqa" by This Name) is a historical and geographical monograph by the Saudi scholar Ibrahim bin Abdullah al-Mudayhish . The work is dedicated to refuting a widespread folk legend concerning the origin of the name of al-Shaqqa—a historical locality northwest of Buraydah in the al-Qasim region—by republishing, annotating, and expanding an earlier critical essay written by Sulayman bin Hammud al-Husayni (1357–1430 AH) .
Background and Composition
The author originally addressed the history of al-Shaqqa and its older name, Darij, in a brief historical overview written in 1431 AH for the website of the Mudayhish family . In that piece, he sought to address two main questions: verifying whether the location named "Darij" in the pre-Islamic Mu‘allaqah of Imru' al-Qays is identical to Darij of al-Qasim, and rejecting the folk narrative explaining the naming of al-Shaqqa .
He subsequently incorporated these remarks into the introduction of his critical edition of al-Barahin al-Mu'tabarah, a theological treatise by Shaykh Abd al-Aziz bin Muhammad al-Mudayhish (d. 1350 AH) . On 21 Rabi‘ al-Thani 1434 AH, he read this text to the historian Muhammad bin Nasir al-Abudi, who endorsed his critique of the legend despite having previously recorded the oral account from local elders in his geographical dictionary Mu'jam Bilad al-Qasim .
In al-Abudi's gathering, al-Mudayhish met Ali bin Nasir al-Husayni, who provided him with a copy of an old article published on 28 Sha‘ban 1403 AH in al-Riyadh (newspaper) by Sulayman bin Hammud al-Husayni titled Hal «al-Shaqqa» Ushturiyat bi-Shaqqat min Bayt al-Sha‘r Kama Yaqulun? ("Was al-Shaqqa Purchased with a Piece of a Hair Tent as They Say?") . Finding that al-Husayni had pioneered the rational critique of the story three decades earlier, al-Mudayhish re-edited the article, corrected its typographical errors, added explanatory footnotes—incorporating remarks by Ali al-Husayni—and appended his own research on the topic .
Content and Arguments
The central focus of the work is the critique of the oral tradition claiming that early settlers from al-Tuwaym in Sudayr found al-Shaqqa empty after the departure of the tribe of Anazah, except for an elderly Bedouin woman, and purchased the water source from her in exchange for a woven piece of a hair tent (shaqqat bayt sha‘r) because they lacked money, thereby naming the settlement "al-Shaqqa" .
The work refutes this account through several rational and historical arguments:
- Rational and economic implausibility: An expansive, fertile settlement endowed with abundant shallow wells, arable land, and rich salt deposits (Milh Dari / Darij) could not realistically be exchanged for a negligible strip of woven tent fabric, nor would a solitary woman possess the authority to sell her tribe's homeland .
- Classical toponymic evidence: The area had long been settled and recorded in classical Arabic geographical literature under the names Darij and al-Shuquq (plural of al-Shaqqa, referring to Upper and Lower al-Shaqqa) . The text cites classical geographers such as Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani in Kitab Bilad al-Arab (attributing al-Shuquq to the tribe of Asid of Tamim), Abu Ubayd al-Bakri, and Yaqut al-Hamawi, as well as modern scholars such as Muhammad bin Bulyahid and Hamad al-Jasir .
- Critique of accompanying folklore: The text also questions exaggerated oral tales of severe internal discord among the early settlers, such as the claim that worshippers carried weapons behind the imam during communal prayers .
The treatise further documents the geography and modern history of the two settlements (Upper al-Shaqqa and Lower al-Shaqqa), their administrative divisions, agricultural trade, and notable events, such as the visits of King Ibn Saud to al-Shaqqa, where he was hosted by its amir, Sanad bin Ibrahim al-Husayni (d. 1347 AH) .
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