Tārūt
The island off the Qaṭīf shore. The classical works this reference cites do not name it; the page records the name and where it stands.
- Type
- Island, off the Qaṭīf shore
- Coast
- Al-Khaṭṭ, the seaboard of al-Baḥrayn
- Name
- Not an Arabic derivation the lexicon accounts for
- In the classical works
- Not named; the nearby harbour they do name is Dārīn
Overview
Tārūt is an island lying close inshore off al-Qaṭīf, on the coast the geographers call al-Khaṭṭ. It is separated from the mainland by shallow water, and its ground is part of the same palm country as the oasis opposite it.
The name
Tārūt is not an Arabic derivation that the lexicon accounts for. Ibn Manẓūr enters no root that yields the form, and it should not be read as an Arabic word with a meaning behind it. Names of this shape on this coast are old, and where the lexicographers cannot derive a name they do not invent a derivation for it; neither does this page.
In the sources
The classical works this reference cites — Yāqūt, Ibn Manẓūr, Ibn Ḥazm, al-Qalqashandī, al-Hamdānī and Ibn Khaldūn — do not name Tārūt. What Yāqūt does name on this stretch of shore is Dārīn, the harbour of the musk, and al-Khaṭṭ, the coast as a whole with its landing places; later usage places Dārīn on this island, but that identification is later than the sources, and reading it back into them would put words in Yāqūt's mouth. The page therefore records the name and the country it stands in, and not a history. Nothing here should be read as one.
Frequently asked questions
Does Yāqūt mention Tārūt?
No. He describes this coast under al-Khaṭṭ and names Dārīn on it. The identification of Dārīn with this island is later than the works cited here, so the page reports the name and its position rather than a documented history.
Sources
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — مادّة: الخَطّ، ومادّة: دارين — المذكور الساحل والفُرضة، لا هذه الجزيرة
Last reviewed: 2026-09-07