'File 61/11 VI (D 102) Hejaz-Nejd Miscellaneous' [196v] (419/522)
The record is made up of 1 volume (259 folios). It was created in 2 Feb 1931-30 Aug 1934. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
30
87. Sha'ibi Family.
Important in Mecca as the Keepership of the Key of the Ka'aba is hereditary
in the family. The prerogative is very lucrative because all persons entering the
Ka'aba are supposed to make a present to the Keeper according to their means.
The family are admittedly descendants of the Quraysh tribe, but not of the
Prophet. It is claimed that the pedigree is continuous from pre-Islamic times
and that the right to keep the key also dates from that early period. According
to one story, there was a blot on the escutcheon in the 19th century, when the male
descent failed and the succession passed through a lady of the family who married
a slave. The late Keeper's physical appearance suggested that this might be
true, but there is no proof of it. Another branch of the family, claiming similar
descent, formerly lived in Tunis, but now resides in Mecca. The present Keeper
of the Key is—
(1) Muhammad ash-Sha'ibi, an elderly man, probably the nephew of the late
Keeper, who died in January last and whom this relative was appointed to
succeed.
The following two persons, who have come to notice in connexion with the
activities of expatriated Hejazis against Ibn Sa'ud, are not improbably members
of one or other branch of this family :—
(2) M. Huseyn Sha'iba. —Accompanied Huseyn ad-Dabbagh {q.v.) on his visit
to India in 1927.
(3) Hasan Slntiiba. —Mentioned in reports from Aden as a Hejazi, who was
in 1932 intimate with Huseyn ad-Dabbagh, and had been a school-master at Terim
in Hadhramaut before coming from Mokalla to Aden in March 1932. If of
sufficient age, he may possibly be identical with the man of the same name, who
was a member for Mecca of the Turkish Parliament for some years, fled from
Constantinople to Mecca in 1916, and at first supported but afterwards turned
against King Huseyn.
88. Sherifian Family.
Also called Hashimites by virtue of descent from the great-grandfather of
the Prophet, but this name seems to be more particularly affected by the family
of King Huseyn. There have been in the past and are in the present numerous
families claiming this descent through one or other of the sons of 'Ali, the fourth
Caliph and son-in-law of the Prophet. There are in Arabia itself many
individuals bearing the title of Sherif, which is held to imply descent from
Hasan, the elder son of ' Ali, and whole clans known collectively as Ashraf. The
strains most conspicuous in the Hejaz trace this descent through an intermediate
common ancestor Hasan ibn Abu Numey, who was Grand Sherif of Mecca in the
latter part of the 16th century. Three groups of his descendants are accounted
specially important, viz.—
The Dhawi Zeyd,
The Abadila, a particular branch of whom are the Dhawi 'Aun, and
The Dhawi Barakat.
All Grand Sherifs of Mecca in the 17th century were drawn from the rival
Dhawi Zeyd and Dhawi 'Aun. The last Grand Sherif belonging to the former
was 'Abdul-Mutallib, who held the post three times at long intervals. The
majority belonged to the Dhawi 'Aun, of whom came the late King Huseyn and
his sons.
Although the most important members of the Sherifian family now live
outside Sa'udi Arabia, their connexion with the Hejaz is so close as to justify this
general notice. The following list, very incomplete, shows those who have come
to notice in recent years :—
(A) Dhdwi Zeyd.
(1) 'Ali Haydar. —Now elderly. Formerly resided in Constantinople.
Worked in with the Young Turks and was at one time Minister of Auqaf.
Appointed Grand Sherif to supersede King Huseyn in or about 1917, but was
naturally unable to assume the post effectively. Sought early in 1926 for British
support in obtaining post of Regent or Governor of Hejaz under Ibn Sa'ud.
Moved later that year to Beirut, where he still resides. Has several sons, the
eldest of whom Abdul-Mejid is married to a daughter of his namesake, the
About this item
- Content
The volume contains two original files bound together. The first file (folios 1A-207) has the original reference 61/11 VI (D 102) and covers the period 7 November 1933 to 30 August 1934 and relates to Hejaz-Najd affairs. The second file (folios 208-243) has the original reference 61/6 VII (D 95) and covers the period 2 February 1931 to 5 August 1932 and relates to Najd affairs. Both contain letters, telegrams, memoranda, and reports sent between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Foreign Office in London, the Political Residencies in Bushire and Aden, the Political Agencies in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat, the High Commissioner in Trans-Jordan, the High Commissioner in Baghdad (later the British Embassy following Iraqi independence in 1932), the Colonial Office in London, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud.
The main subject of the first file is the territorial dispute between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Contained in the volume are papers concerning Saudi Arabian advances into the territories of 'Asir and Yemen and the subsequent Treaty of Taif that largely settled the dispute. There is also coverage of diplomatic conversations between Italy and Britain regarding the dispute, including secret talks in Rome. Included is the full Arabic text of the Treaty (folios 143-150A) and an English translation (folios 156-177).
Other subjects covered in the first file are:
- the visit of M. Maigret, the French Charge D'Affairs, to Riyadh to speak with Ibn Sa'ud;
- the visit of Talaat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Harb;
- a provisional agreement signed by the United States and Saudi Arabia;
- the prospect of gold in commercial quantities in the Hejaz.
Notable documents contained in the volume are a report on the heads of foreign missions in Jeddah, and a revised (June 1934) report on the leading personalities in Saudi Arabia.
The subjects covered by the second file are:
- details and significance of a resurgence in war dancing by the Saudis;
- the visit of Charles Crane to see Ibn Sa'ud;
- a request for military assistance made by Saudi Arabia to Turkey;
- the conditions of entry into Hasa for Hindu merchants.
At the end of each file are several pages of internal office notes.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (259 folios)
- Arrangement
Each of the two separate files which make up the volume is arranged chronologically.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, circled, and located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. There are the following anomalies: 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D; 11A and 11B; 24A; 30A; 132A; 143A; 150A; and 236A. There are two other sequences, both uncircled and incomplete.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/569
- Title
- 'File 61/11 VI (D 102) Hejaz-Nejd Miscellaneous'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1ar:1dv, 2r:11v, 11ar:11bv, 12v:17v, 19r:24v, 24ar:24av, 25r:29v, 30v:67v, 68v:74v, 76v:83v, 91v:96r, 97v:128r, 129r:132v, 132ar:132av, 133r:142v, 143ar:143av, 151r:247v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence