Al-Hajri
A family name (nisba) attributed in eastern Arabia and Qatar to the tribe of Banī Hājir; al-Ḥājirī with ḥāʾ, and al-Hajarī from the town of Hajar, are different names.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Banī Hājir (eastern Arabia and Qatar)
- Root
- h-j-r
Overview
Al-Hajri (al-Hājirī) is borne in eastern Arabia and Qatar, where it is attributed to the tribe of Banī Hājir, recorded in the country between al-Aḥsāʾ and the Gulf coast. Hājir is also an ordinary personal name from the root h-j-r — in Lisān al-ʿArab, parting and severance, the root of hijra — so the same form can arise wherever an ancestor bore the name.
Names easily confused
Two other names sit close to it. Al-Ḥājirī, with ḥāʾ, is a separate nisba: Yāqūt records Ḥājir as a halting place on the pilgrim road to Mecca. And Yāqūt records Hajar as a town of eastern Arabia, the nisba to which is al-Hajarī — different again. Modern writing merges the three; the sources keep them apart.
Bearing the name
A tribal nisba records what a family is called, not who its ancestors were. It may follow descent (ṣarīḥ), alliance (ḥilf) or clientage (walāʾ), and only a family's own documented record tells those apart.
Sources
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب، 711هـ — مادة: هجر
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — مادة: حاجر — منزل في طريق مكة؛ ومادة: هَجَر
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources. It is not an authority on lineage. Where sources differ, we report the difference without taking a position. Corrections are welcome via our contact page.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-31