Al-Zuhri
A family name (nisba) attributed to Banū Zuhra b. Kilāb of Quraysh; al-Zahrānī, al-Azharī and al-Zuhayrī are different names built on different ancestors.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Banū Zuhra b. Kilāb, a clan of Quraysh (Mecca)
- Root
- z-h-r
Overview
Al-Zuhri (al-Zuhrī) is attributed to Banū Zuhra b. Kilāb b. Murra, a clan of Quraysh at Mecca in Ibn Ḥazm and al-Qalqashandī, and the nisba is taken from the singular Zuhra. The root is z-h-r: in Lisān al-ʿArab zahra is brightness and whiteness, the zahr of a plant is its blossom, and zahrat al-dunyā its bloom and show.
Names easily confused
Three neighbours are regularly merged with it in modern writing. Al-Zahrānī is the nisba to Zahrān, a tribe reckoned in Azd and unconnected to Quraysh. Al-Azharī is built on the personal name Azhar, not on Zuhra. Al-Zuhayrī belongs to the very common name Zuhayr, and differs from al-Zuhrī only in vowels the script does not always show. The four share a root and share nothing else.
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 — مادة: زهر
- القلقشندي، نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب، 821هـ — في بطون قريش، وفي زهران من الأزد
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources.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