Al-Kinani
A family name (nisba) to Kināna of the Hijaz — a parent name broad enough that Quraysh itself is reckoned within it.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Kināna (Muḍar)
- Note
- A parent name — Quraysh is reckoned to Kināna
Overview
Al-Kinani (al-Kinānī) is the nisba of Kināna, an ancient tribe of the Ḥijāz placed by the genealogists under Muḍar; Yāqūt locates a number of Hijazi sites in its territory. It stands at the qabīla level in al-Qalqashandī's standard illustration of the tiers of descent, and the sources reckon Quraysh to it. The nisba is attested from the earliest Islamic generations and is borne today in Egypt, the Levant, the Maghreb and Arabia.
A parent name, not a branch
Because Quraysh and other groups are reckoned to Kināna, al-Kinānī is a wide attribution: it names the parent stock and identifies no particular branch within it, so two families bearing it may be recorded quite separately in the genealogies. And as with any tribal name, it may attach by descent (ṣarīḥ), by alliance (ḥilf) or by clientage (walāʾ). The nisba is therefore a starting point for research, not a conclusion about a family's line.
Sources
- ابن حزم الأندلسي، جمهرة أنساب العرب، 456هـ — أنساب كنانة؛ يُراجَع ويُوثَّق قبل إثبات التفاصيل
- القلقشندي، نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب، 821هـ — باب طبقات النسب — كنانة عند طبقة القبيلة
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — مواضع من ديار كنانة بالحجاز
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources.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