'File 11/44 Leading Personalities in Iraq, Iran & Saudi Arabia' [‎37r] (73/96)

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
CONFIDENTIAL
E 512/512/25
ARABIA
January 13, 1948
Section 1
Co^y No. £ {
LEADING PERSONALITIES IN SAUDI ARABIA
Received in Foreign Office, VMh January, 1948
Index.
Note on Titles, &c.
1. Sherif. —Said to apply strictly in Arabia to
persons recognised as being in the direct male
descent from Hasan, the son of the Caliph Ali.
There is, however, much confusion as to the exact
meaning of this and the following term.
2. Seyyid. —Said to apply in Arabia, though much
abused in some other countries, only to persons
recognised as being in the male descent from
seyn, the son of ’Ali.
Amir. —Given as a title to all princes of the
blood and describes the office of practically all
provincial governors.
4. Sheykh .—Applied very widely, but not indis
criminately, not only to tribal personages, but to
townsmen of consequence, especially, perhaps,
though not exclusively, to those in official positions,
e.g., Sheykh Yusuf Yasin.
5. Bey .—Still used, sometimes in preference to
Sheykh, by persons who would have been so called
by right or courtesy in the Turkish system and who
, may dislike the association of “ Sheykh ” with age
or desert life, e.g., Fuad Bey Hamza.
6. Hajji. —Convenient, in a country where every
Hejazi adult has made the pilgrimage, for certain
persons not otherwise easy to give a title to, e.g., Hajji
Yusuf Zeinal.
7. Effendi. —Still applied to persons hardly
entitled to be called Sheykh or anything equally
honorific, e.g., Muhammad Effendi ’Ali Ridha.
Ibn, (fc.—Means, like its variant, Bin, “ son
or by extension, “ descendant of.” Replaced
^sometimes by the article “ al,” which it is not always
easy to distinguish from ” al,” meaning “ of the
house of.” All four forms are illustrated by the
name of the King, “ ’Abdul-’Aziz ibn (son of)
’Abdurrahman al (son of) Faysal al (of the house of)
Sa’ud,” and the abbreviated names ibn Sa’ud or
bin Sa’ud. The use of the patronymic ” Ibn So-and-
? So ” is so common as often to make a man’s personal
name difficult to trace.
9. Abu .—Means “ father.” Used in combination
with the name of an actual son or the name of an
object to form a familiar name or nickname, which
sometimes becomes an accredited surname. Thus,
Colonel Glubb is known in the desert as “Abu
Hunaik,” or the father of the Little Jaw. Similar
names are sometimes formed from other terms of
relationship.
10. Composition of Names. —The most normal
formation is to build from a person’s own name by
adding that of his father and sometimes names of
remoter ancestors and/or a family name. It is not
uncommon to omit at least the first Ibn and place
the father’s name immediately after that of the
person described, e.g., ’Abdullah Ibrahim al-Fadhl.
It cannot be assumed, however, that the second of
two unseparated names is that of the father,
especially if the first be Muhammad, which is often
little more than a prefix.
11. The following index gives, except in two cases,
the first name of all living Arabs mentioned other
wise than incidentally in the report, but where
Muhammad appears to be no more than a prefix it
is reduced to M. and ignored for purposes of alpha
betical order. Secondary entries have been made in
many, but not in all, cases, where a patronymic or a
family name seems likely to help to trace particular
individuals: —
’Abadila. 52
’Abbas ibn Yusuf Qattan. 44 (2)
Abdul-’Aziz ibn Abdurrahman. King. 1 (1)
’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Ibrahim. 2
’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Mu’ammar. 3
’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Muhammad al Idrisi. 36(5)
Abdul-’Aziz ibn Musa’id ibn Jiluwi ibn Sa’ud. 4
’Abdul-’Aziz as-Sidayri. 50(3)
’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Zeyd. 5
’Abdul Kerim ibn Zeyd. 59
’Abdullah ibn ’Abdul-’Aziz. Amir. 1 (6)
’Abdullah ibn ’Abdur-rahman. Amir. 1 (30)
’Abdullah ibn Blayhid. 6
’Abdullah ibn Hasan. 12 (1)
’Abdullah ibn Huseyn. Amir. 52 (9)
’Abdullah ibn Ibrahim al-Fadhl. 21 (4)
’Abdullah Kazim. 7
’Abdullah Khawaitir. 60
’Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn ’Aqil. 8
’Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Fadhl. 9
Abdullah an-Nafisi. 10
’Abdullah as-Sidayri. 50(1)
’Abdullah Suleyman el Hamdan. 11
’Abdullah ibn Turki ibn Madhi. 55
’Abdul-Latif family. 12 (3)
’Abdul-Majid ibn ’Ali Haydar, Sherif. 52 (1)
’Abdul-Muhsin ibn ’Abdul-’Aziz. Amir. 1 (7)
‘Abdul-Wahhab family. 12
’Abdul-Wahhab Abu Malha. 13
’Abdur-Rahman ibn ’Abdul-’Aziz. Amir. 1 (8)
Abdur-Rahman as-Sidayri. 50 (6)
’Abdur-Rauf as-Sabban. 14
Abu Tuqeyqa family. 54
Ahmed ibn ’Abdur-Rahman. Amir. 1 (21)
’Ajemi as-Suwayt. 53 (2)
’Ali ibn ’Abdullah. Sherif. 52 (6)
’Ali ibn Ahmed ibn Mansur. Sherif. 52 (15)
M. ’Ali al Bedeywi. Sherif. 52 (18)
’Ali Haydar. Sherif. 52 (1)
’Ali ibn Huseyn. King. 52 (7)
’Ali ibn Huseyn al Harithi. 52 (16)
’Ali J’far. Sherif. 52 (2)
’Ali ibn Muhammad al Idrisi. 36 (3)
’Ali Taha. 17
’Aqil, ibn. 8, 80
’Arafa. 1
’Araif. (Branch of Royal Family.) 1
As’ad al Faqih. 74
Asaf ibn Huseyn. 61
'Awayni, al. 30
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