Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE

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al-Ahdal family
(1,342 words)

The al-Ahdal family is an important family of sayyids (those who claim descent from the Prophet) living primarily in southwestern Arabia. The origins of the family are part of the sayyid elite that developed during the seventh/thirteenth century in the Tihāma region of Yemen (a plain bordering the Red Sea). The namesake of the family, Abū Ḥasan ʿAlī al-Ahdal, and his son Abū Bakr (d. 700/1300) lived in the small town of al-Marāwiʿa, and their graves became the centre of a major pilgrimage site. The family manṣabs (“stewards”) of this shrine became famous as healers, and the site …

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Voll, John O., “al-Ahdal family”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Devin J. Stewart. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23488>
First published online: 2010
First print edition: 9789004183902, 2010, 2010-1



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