Arab
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
An Arab (Arabic: عربي); is a member of a Semitic group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabic language and culture began spreading throughout the Middle East as early as the 2nd century with ethnically Arab Christians such as the Ghassanids and even earlier ethnically Arab Jewish tribes. Outside of the cultural Arabs, some Arabs have become Christian and are known as Arab Christians. Socially, Arabs are divided into two groups: the settled Arab, fellahin (villagers) or hadar (townspeople) and the nomadic Bedouin.
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Origins and History
Based on the Bible and Qur'an, Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula are descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham. Keeping the surname is an important part of Arabic culture as some lineages can be traced far back to ancient times. Some Arabs claim they can trace their lineage back to Noah and Adam.
All contemporary Arabs were considered as descended from two ancestors, Qahtan and Adnan. Qahtan is identified as the Biblical Joktan of Gen. 10:25, was related to the "lost Arabs", and the Southern Arabs were identified as of his lineage, regarded as the "real Arabs", al-ʿArab al-ʿariba. The Northern Arabs, including the tribes of Mecca, were considered the descendants of Adnan, in Islamic tradition traced back to Ishmael, son of Abraham, said to have been Arabized later.
Descent from Ishmael
- Nabajoth: Nabataean Arabs.
- Kedar: Saudi Arabians and Iraqis.
- Adbeel: Sinai Bedouins.
- Mibsam: Eastern Saudi Arabians (merged with Mishma).
- Mishma: Mesha in Yemen (merged with Mibsam).
- Dumah: Dumat al-Gandal.
- Massa: Jordanians and Northern Arabians.
- Hadar: Christian Jordanians, Syrians, and Hadramites in southern Arabia.
- Tema: Taima in northern Arabia.
- Jetur: Bahraini Arabs.
- Naphish: Tunisian/Libyan Arabs (originally from Central Arabia merged with Carthaginians/Berbers).
- Kedemah: Algerian/Moroccan Arabs (originally from Central and South Arabia merged with Berbers).
Related References
See Also
Categories: Bible | Qur'an | Islam | History
