Al-Wahībah
A tribe reported in eastern ʿUmān, in the sand country that later writing names after it. Names built on the root w-h-b are many and belong to unrelated groups. A historical tribe recorded here by name: the classical works this reference cites do not document it.
- Reported country
- Eastern ʿUmān, the sand belt between the mountains and the sea
- Origin as reported
- The reports differ — Azdī in some, Nizārī in others
- Written
- الوهيبة, also written آل وهيبة
- The name
- One of many formed on Wahb; not to be run together with sections called al-Wahbah elsewhere
- In the classical works
- Not documented; the name is recorded here, not a descent
- Scope
- Historical — no modern attribution
Overview
Al-Wahībah — written الوهيبة, and also written Āl Wahībah — is reported in eastern ʿUmān, in the belt of sand between the mountains and the sea and in the settled ground on its edges; later writing commonly names those sands after the tribe. The reports of origin differ: some place it with the Azd of ʿUmān, others reckon it Nizārī, on the ʿAdnānī side. This page describes a historical tribe as reported, and makes no claim about any modern family.
Names built on Wahb are many and separate
Wahb is among the commonest of Arabic personal names, and Wuhayb, Wahībah and Wahbah are all formed on it. Sections called al-Wahbah or Āl Wahb are reported in other parts of Arabia, under other tribes, with no relation asserted to this one; and the forms are close enough that later writing runs them together by accident. The page keeps them apart: a name formed on a common root is not evidence of a common ancestor, and the difference between Wahībah and Wahbah is not a difference the sources ever cared to argue.
The name
Ibn Manẓūr enters the root w-h-b for giving without return — al-hiba, the gift — and gives the personal names formed on it, Wahb and its diminutive. The lexicon explains the word; it does not say why a people came to be called by it, and it does not mention this tribe.
On sources
The classical works this reference cites — Ibn Ḥazm, al-Qalqashandī, al-Hamdānī, Yāqūt, Ibn Manẓūr and Ibn Khaldūn — do not document al-Wahībah. Al-Hamdānī describes ʿUmān and its country and Yāqūt names its places and sands, but neither names this tribe; and the naming of the sands after it belongs to later writing, not to the old place-books. The tribe's present shape postdates all six works, and what is reported about it comes from oral tradition and from modern writing outside what this reference may use. The page records the name and the reported country, not a descent.
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
Do the old place-books name the sands after this tribe?
No. Yāqūt names the places and sands of ʿUmān without attaching this name to them; the naming belongs to later writing.
Is al-Wahībah the same as sections called al-Wahbah?
Nothing in the sources says so. The names are formed on one common root, which is what such roots do; the page keeps the groups apart.
Sources
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب، 711هـ — مادّة وهب — المذكور اللفظ، لا القبيلة
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — في ذكر عُمان ومواضعها ورمالها — المذكور الموضع، لا القبيلة
- الهمداني، صفة جزيرة العرب، 334هـ — في وصف عُمان وبلادها ومن بها من الأزد — المذكور البلد، لا هذه 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