Al-Tai
A family name (nisba) to the tribe of Ṭayyiʾ — a form built against analogy, best known through Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾī.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Ṭayyiʾ
- Homeland recorded
- Aja and Salma, northern Najd
- Form
- Against analogy — Ṭayyiʾ gives al-Ṭāʾī
Overview
Al-Tai (al-Ṭāʾī) is the nisba of Ṭayyiʾ, a large tribe the genealogists reckon to Kahlān. The geographies place its country in the northern Najdī mountains of Aja and Salma — still called jabalay Ṭayyiʾ, the two mountains of Ṭayyiʾ — with Ḥāʾil among them. The nisba is best known through Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾī, whose generosity became proverbial in Arabic, and it recurs throughout the biographical literature for narrators, poets and scholars.
The form, and what it does not settle
The nisba is irregular: Ṭayyiʾ yields al-Ṭāʾī rather than the form the ordinary rule would give, and the lexicographers note it among the nisbas built against analogy. The genealogists list branches under Ṭayyiʾ and differ over them, so the nisba on its own places a family in no particular branch, and none is recorded here for any living family. It may reflect descent, but equally alliance (ḥilf) or clientage (walāʾ); families should verify their own documented lineage.
Sources
- ابن حزم الأندلسي، جمهرة أنساب العرب، 456هـ — أنساب طيّئ؛ يُراجَع ويُوثَّق قبل إثبات التفاصيل
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — مادة: أجأ وسلمى، جبلا طيّئ
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب، 711هـ — مادة: طيأ — في النسب إليها
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources.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