Al-Hudhali
A family name (nisba) to Hudhayl, the Hijazi tribe of the mountains between Mecca and Ṭāʾif, known above all for its poets.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Hudhayl
- Region recorded
- Between Mecca and Ṭāʾif
- Notable for
- Its poets; Hudhalī verse cited throughout the lexicons
Overview
Al-Hudhali (al-Hudhalī) is the nisba of Hudhayl, whose country the sources place in the rough highland between Mecca and Ṭāʾif. The nisba is unusually well represented in the literary record: the tribe's poetry was gathered as the Dīwān al-Hudhaliyyīn, and the lexicographers cite Hudhalī verse constantly as evidence for usage — so Hudhalī poets survive by name in numbers, where other tribes are known through genealogy alone.
The name, and what the nisba does not settle
The lexicons record hudhayl as a diminutive formed on its root, a shape Arabic produces readily, so the word is not confined to this tribe in every occurrence. Bearing a tribal nisba establishes no particular line by itself — it may reflect descent, alliance (ḥilf) or clientage (walāʾ) — and families should verify their own documented lineage.
Sources
- ابن حزم الأندلسي، جمهرة أنساب العرب، 456هـ — أنساب هذيل؛ يُراجَع ويُوثَّق قبل إثبات التفاصيل
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب، 711هـ — مادة: هذل، وشواهد الهذليين في المعجم
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — في ذكر ديار هذيل بين مكة والطائف
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Last reviewed: 2026-08-31