Al-Khuzai
A family name (nisba) to Khuzāʿah, the tribe the histories record as holding Mecca before Quraysh — and whose own place in the genealogies the sources never settled.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Khuzāʿah
- Branch
- Disputed — Azd (Qaḥṭān) or Muḍar
Overview
Al-Khuzai (al-Khuzāʿī) is the nisba of Khuzāʿah, recorded in the histories as holding Mecca and the guardianship of its sanctuary before Quraysh. It is an early nisba, attested from the first Islamic generations onward, and it is borne today in the Hijaz, Iraq and the Gulf.
What the nisba does not settle
Khuzāʿah's own placement is disputed. Some sources reckon it to the Azd, and so to Qaḥṭān; others place it with Muḍar. A family recorded as al-Khuzāʿī inherits that disagreement rather than resolving it — the nisba does not put a family on either branch. Nor is a shared nisba proof of shared descent: a tribal name may follow descent (ṣarīḥ), alliance (ḥilf) or clientage (walāʾ), and the classical works distinguish them only where they know.
Sources
- ابن حزم الأندلسي، جمهرة أنساب العرب، 456هـ — أنساب خزاعة والخلاف في إلحاقها؛ يُراجَع ويُوثَّق قبل إثبات التفاصيل
- القلقشندي، نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب، 821هـ — باب خزاعة
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources.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