Al-Sahmi
A family name (nisba) attributed to Banū Sahm of Quraysh; Sahm recurs as an ancestor's name in other tribes, and al-Suhaylī is a different name on a different root.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Banū Sahm b. ʿAmr b. Huṣayṣ, a clan of Quraysh (Mecca)
- Root
- s-h-m
Overview
Al-Sahmi (al-Sahmī) is attributed to Sahm b. ʿAmr b. Huṣayṣ b. Kaʿb b. Luʾayy, brother of Jumaḥ, a clan of Quraysh at Mecca. The root is s-h-m: in Lisān al-ʿArab a sahm is an arrow, and by extension a share or lot in a division — the sense that gave the word its place in the language of inheritance.
Names easily confused
Sahm is an ordinary personal name, and it recurs as an ancestor's name outside Quraysh, so al-Sahmī names a house reckoned to some Sahm by descent, alliance or clientage, and the written form does not say which. Separately, al-Sahlī is a different nisba on the root s-h-l, level ground and ease, which the script brings close to al-Sahmī without any relation between them.
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 — مادتا: سهم، سهل
- القلقشندي، نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب، 821هـ — في بطون قريش
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources.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: 2026-09-07