Al-Ḥuwayṭāt
A tribe reported in the country between the Ḥijāz and the Levant, about the head of the Red Sea and the desert east of it. A historical tribe recorded here by name: the classical works this reference cites do not document it.
- Reported country
- Between the Ḥijāz and the Levant, about the head of the Red Sea
- Written
- الحويطات, a plural of a diminutive on the root ḥ-w-ṭ
- In the classical works
- Not documented; the name is not in them
- Origin accounts
- Rest on sources outside this reference's policy; not reported here
- Scope
- Historical — no modern attribution
Overview
Al-Ḥuwayṭāt — written الحويطات — is reported as a tribe of the country between the Ḥijāz and the Levant: the desert about the head of the Red Sea, the sandstone country inland from it, and the routes running north toward the Levantine districts. This page describes a historical tribe as reported, and makes no claim about any modern family.
The name
Ibn Manẓūr enters the root ḥ-w-ṭ for guarding, surrounding and keeping: ḥāṭa a thing is to encompass and protect it, and al-ḥāʾiṭ is the wall, so called because it encloses. Al-Ḥuwayṭāt is a plural of a diminutive on that root, a formation the lexicon accounts for as a shape without accounting for this name. Later writers have built origin stories on the shape; none of them rests on a source this reference is permitted to use, and this page reports the word and stops there.
The country
Yāqūt describes the country this tribe is reported in — Ḥismā and its red sandstone, Ayla at the head of the sea, and the roads between the Ḥijāz and the Levantine districts — as places, with their waters and their stages, several centuries before the tribe reported there today. That is the sense in which the geographer is cited here: he supports the country, not the tribe, and the citation note says so.
On sources
The classical works this reference cites do not document al-Ḥuwayṭāt. All six are earlier than the tribe's present shape, and none of them contains the name; what is reported about it, including everything said about its origin, comes from oral tradition and from modern writing outside the permitted sources. This is not a gap that can be filled by finding a similar-sounding name in an old book, and this page does not attempt it. The name and the reported country are recorded; a descent is not.
On lineage
Branch lists and affiliations here are given as reported, and the genealogists differ among themselves. Nothing on this page establishes any living family's descent: a shared name may reflect descent, alliance (ḥilf) or clientage (walāʾ), and the sources usually say which only when they know.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the page say nothing about the tribe's origin?
Because none of the six classical works this reference cites contains the name, and every origin account in circulation rests on sources outside its policy. Recording the name honestly is better than repeating a descent it cannot support.
Does Yāqūt's description of the country support the tribe?
No. Yāqūt describes places — Ḥismā, Ayla, the roads between the Ḥijāz and the Levant — centuries before the tribe reported there today. A geographer citing a place is not a genealogist citing a people.
Sources
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — في حِسمى وأيلة والطرق بين الحجاز والشام — المذكور الموضع، لا القبيلة
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب، 711هـ — مادّة حوط — المذكور اللفظ، لا القبيلة
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