The Genealogy Books from Third to Ninth Century AH

6/05/2026

The Genealogy Books from Third to Ninth Century AH

Book Title: Literature of Genealogy Books of the 3rd–13th Centuries Hijriah: Proof of the Broken Lineage of the Ba'alawi (Bani Alawi, Habib, Habaib)
Original version in Indonesian: Literatur Kitab-Kitab Nasab Abad Ke-3-13 Hijriyah Bukti Terputusnya Nasab Ba'alwi (Habibs, Habaib)
Author: K.H. Imaduddin Utsman Al-Bantanie
Edition: 1st Printing
Page Count: 44 pages
Paper Size: B5
Publisher: Maktabah Nahdlatul Ulum BantenYear of Publication: 2024
Address: Kresek, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
Publisher of English version: Al-Khoirot Research and Publication
Fields of study: Ba'alawi history, history of the Prophet, science of lineage, Islamic history, genealogy, bloodline / lineage, philology/manuscripts, DNA testing

Table of Content

Other Islamic Book in English

(1) The Book Nasab Quraish (3rd Century)

The title of this text is Kitabu Nasabi Quraisy by Mus'hab bin Abdullah al-Zubairi (d. 236 AH). The printed version of this book was edited (tahqiq) by the French historian Évariste Lévi-Provençal [d. 1959 CE] and published by the publisher "Daar al-Ma'arif" without a year of publication.

In this book, the descendants of Al-Husain through the lineage of Ali al-Uraidhi bin Ja'far al-Shadiq have not yet been mentioned. The descendants of Al-Husain through Muhammad al-Baqir bin Ali al-Sajjad who are recorded only extend as far as Ja'far. The descendants of Husain through Zaid bin Ali al-Sajjad who are mentioned only reach as far as Ahmad bin Isa bin Zaid bin Ali bin Husain bin Ali bin Abi Thalib.

As for what is cited by the spurious book Al-Raudh al-Jaliy—falsely attributed to Murtadha al-Zabidi—claiming that Mus'hab bin Abdullah al-Zubairi mentioned Ahmad bin Isa al-Naqib as having two children, Abdullah and Muhammad (Al-Raudh al-Jaliy, Daar al-Fath, 1444 AH, p. 120), this is a fabricated quotation that does not exist within the book Nasab Quraisy.

(2) The Book Sirri Silsilat al-Alawiyyah (4th Century)

The full title of this book is Sirri Silsilat al-Alawiyyah Fi Ansab Sadat al-'Alawiyyah by Syaikh Abu Nashr Sahl bin Abdullah al-Bukhari (d. 341 AH). The printed version of this book was edited by Muhammad Shadiq Bahrul Ulum and published by the publisher "Al-Haidariyah" in Najaf in the year 1962 CE.

In this book, it is stated that Muhammad bin Ali al-Uraidhi bin Ja'far al-Shadiq had a son named Isa al-Aratt (p. 49). In this text, the name of Ahmad bin Isa has not yet appeared. The only name of Isa's children mentioned is Al-Husain. However, Al-Bukhari did not strictly limit the children of Isa al-Aratt to Al-Husain alone. Therefore, the possibility remains open that there were other children who were simply not mentioned.

In the spurious book Al-Raudh al-Jaliy, which is falsely attributed to Murtadha al-Zabidi, it is asserted that Syaikh Abu Nashr al-Bukhari mentioned Ahmad bin Isa al-Naqib as having two sons: Muhammad and Abdullah (Al-Raudh al-Jaliy, Daar al-Fath, 1444 AH, p. 120). This is a fabricated quotation that does not exist in the book Sirri Silsilat al-Alawiyyah.

(3) Tahdzib al-Ansab (5th Century)

This book is titled Tahdzib al-Ansab Wa Nihayat al-Alqab by Abul Hasan Muhammad bin Abi Ja'far Syaikh al-Syaraf al-'Ubaidili (d. 435 AH). The printed version of this book was edited by Muhammad Kadzim al-Mahmudi, published without a specified publisher in the year 1410 AH.

In this book, Al-Ubaidili mentions only one child of Ahmad al-Abah bin Isa, who is Muhammad. In the spurious book Al-Raudh al-Jaliy, which is falsely attributed to Murtadha al-Zabidi, it is stated that Syaikh Syaraf Al-Ubaidili remarked that Ahmad bin Isa al-Naqib migrated from Medina to Basra (p. 121); this quotation is a fabrication and cannot be found within the book Tahdzib al-Ansab.

(4) The Book Al-Majdi (5th Century)

This book is named Al-Majdi Fi Ansab al-Thalibiyyin by Ali bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad al-Alawi al-Umari (d. 490 AH). The second printed edition of this book was edited by Ahmad al-Mahdawi al-Damighani and published by the "Maktabah Ayatollah al-'Udzma al-Mar'asyi al-Najafi al-'Aammah" in the city of Najaf in the year 1422 AH.

In this book, Al-Umari elucidates the descendants of Isa bin Muhammad al-Naqib, mentioning that the lineage originating from Ahmad al-Abah bin Isa resides in Baghdad—specifically from Al-Hasan Abu Muhammad al-Dallal Aladdauri bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Isa (p. 337). Just like Al-Ubaidili, Al-Umari records only one child for Ahmad al-Abah.

(5) Al-Muntaqilat al-Thalibiyyah (5th Century)

This book is titled Muntaqilat al-Thalibiyyah by Abu Ismail Ibrahim bin Nashir bin Thabathaba (d. 479 AH). The first edition of this book was edited by Muhammad Mahdi Hasan al-Khurasan and published by Mathba'ah Al-Haidariyah in the year 1968 AH.

Muntaqilah al-Thalibiyyin is a text that describes the geographical regions where the descendants of Abi Thalib migrated. In this book, it is recorded that the descendant of Abi Thalib residing in Ramlah is Ali bin Ahmad al-Naffath (p. 146). As is widely known, the descendants of the Prophet are concurrently the descendants of Abi Thalib, because Siti Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet, married Ali bin Abi Thalib.

Furthermore, this book mentions that the descendant of Abi Thalib in the city of Ray is Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Naffat (p. 160). Thus, this book notes two children of Ahmad bin Isa: Muhammad and Ali. Both of them resided in Ray and Ramlah. No mention is made of any descendants of Ahmad bin Isa living in Yemen.

(6) Abna' al-Imam Fi Mishra Wa al-Syam (5th Century)

This book is named Abna' al-Imam Fi Mishra Wa al-Syam al-Hasan Wa al-Husain. It is a spurious book falsely attributed to Abu al-Mu'ammar Yahya bin Thabathaba (d. 478 AH). The printed version of this book was edited by Yusuf Jamalullail Ba'alwi and published by "Maktabah Jull al-Ma'rifah" and "Maktabah Al-Taubat" in the year 2004 CE.

This book is a fabrication and cannot be relied upon because it was composed by an author originating from the Thabathaba family who passed away in the year 199 AH. Yet, it mentions the name Abdullah or Ubaidillah as a child of Ahmad bin Isa, who passed away in the year 383 AH. How could someone who passed away in the year 199 AH record Ubaidillah, who passed away in 383 AH? To resolve this glaring anomaly, the book was subsequently attributed to another member of the Thabathaba family, namely Abul Mu'ammar Yahya, who passed away in the year 478 AH, as written on the volume of the text.

However, take note of the phrasing of the book Abna' al-Imam within its introduction; it still includes the year 199 AH as the year of the author's passing—see the screenshot below:

The member of the Thabathaba family who passed away in the year 199 AH was Muhammad bin Ibrahim Thabathaba (Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, 5/464), not Abul Mu'ammar Yahya bin Thabathaba, since the latter passed away in the year 478 AH. Yusuf Jamalullail Ba'alwi also admits that this book is not purely the writing of Abul Mu'ammar; rather, its contents have been appended by three scholars in the 12th and 13th centuries Hijriah. They are: Abi Shadaqah al-Halabi (d. 1180 AH), Abul 'Aun Muhammad al-Safarini (d. 1188 AH), and Muhammad bin Nashar Ibrahim Al-Maqdisi (d. 1350 AH). Therefore, this book is highly problematic and inconsistent. It cannot be classified as the work of a 2nd-century or 5th-century scholar because its contents were expanded by scholars of the 12th and 14th centuries Hijriah. In fact, it is highly reasonable to suspect that the one who inserted the name Abdullah or Ubaidillah was Yusuf Jamalullail himself.

(7) Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah (7th Century)

This book is named Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah Fi Ansab al-Thalibiyah by Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi (d. 606 AH). The second printed edition was edited by Mahdi al-Raja'i and published by "Maktabah Ayatullah Udzma al-Mar'asyi al-Najafi" in the year 1419 AH.

Imam Al-Fakhrurazi explicitly records that Ahmad al-Abh bin Isa only left descendants through three children: Muhammad in the city of Ray, Ali in Ramlah, and Husain in Nishapur (Naisabur). Ahmad al-Abh did not have a son named Ubaidillah (p. 127). According to Imam Al-Fakhrurazi, out of those three children, absolutely none of them resided in Yemen. It is further recorded that some of the descendants of Ahmad bin Isa relocated from the city of Qum to the city of Ray.

When declaring that the lineage of Ahmad bin Isa stems from only three children, Imam al-Razi utilizes a nominal sentence structure (Jumlah Ismiyyah). According to the foundational rules of genealogy, if the author of a text employs a Jumlah Ismiyah in this context, it denotes a meaning of restriction (hashr)—signifying that it is limited exclusively to those listed [see Umdat al-Thalib, p. 340].

The manuscript of the book Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah is preserved in the Sultan Ahmed III Mosque Library in Istanbul under collection number 2677. This manuscript copy was written by Wahid bin Syamsuddin in the year 825 AH, based on the original master copy signed by Imam Fakhruddin al-Razi, who completed writing the text in the year 597 AH. The title and the attribution of this text are clearly and neatly documented at the end of the book: stating that this text is named Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah, and its copy was authenticated by Muhammad bin Umar bin Husain al-Razi (the author of the book). Following this, Imam Al-Razi wrote that he had read this book aloud in the presence of Ali bin Syaraf Syah bin Abil Ma'ali and had granted a formal transmission license (ijazah) to him.

Displayed below is the physical handwritten manuscript form of the book Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah, as copied by Wahid bin Syamsuddin, alongside the final page of the second printed edition:

(8) The Book Al-Fakhri Fi Ansab al-Thalibiyyin (7th Century)

This book is titled Al-Fakhri Fi Ansab al-Thalibiyyin by Azizuddin Abu Talib Ismail bin Husain bin Ahmad al-Marwazi al-Azwarqani (d. 614 AH). The first printing was edited by Mahdi al-Raja'i and published by "Maktabah Ayatullah al-Udzma al-Mar'asyi al-Najafi" in the city of Najaf, Iran, in the year 1409 AH. It records the exact same information as the book Al-Majdi, namely mentioning only a single line of descent for Ahmad bin Isa, which is through the lineage of Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Isa. Judging from its highly similar phrasing, it appears this book simply extracted its information directly from Al-Majdi.

(9) The Book Al-Ashili Fi Ansab al-Thalibiyyin (8th Century)

This book is named Al-Ashili Fi Ansab al-Thalibiyyin by Shofiyuddin Muhammad Ibn al-Thaqtaqi al-Hasani (d. 709 AH). The first printed edition of this book was edited by Mahdi al-Raja'i and published by the publisher "Makatabah Ayatullah al-Udzma al-Mar'asyi al-Najafi" in the year 1417 AH. In this book, a single sample lineage line of Ahmad bin Isa is recorded, namely through his child named Muhammad bin Isa.

(10) The Book Al-Tsabat al-Mushan (8th Century)

This book is named Al-Tsabat al-Mushan al-Musrif Bi Dzikr Sulalat Walad Adnan by Ibnul A'raj al-Husaini (d. 787 AH). The printed version of this book was edited by Khalil bin Ibrahim bin Khalaf al-Dailami al-Zabidi and published by "Maktabah Ulum al-Nasab", Baghdad-London in the year 1988 CE.

It is stated in this book that a portion of the descendants of Ahmad al-Abah includes Abu Muhammad Al-Hasan al-Dallal in Baghdad, who was personally observed by Al-Umari, the author of Al-Majdi. He is the son of Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Isa (p. 83). Thus, this book mentions only one child out of the three children of Ahmad bin Isa recorded by Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah. It appears that this text used Al-Majdi as its primary reference.

(11) The Book Umdat al-Thalib al-Shugra (9th Century)

This book is titled Umdat al-Thalib al-Shugra Fi Nasab Al Abi Thalib by Jamaluddin Ahmad bin Ali al-Hasani al-Dawudi, who is widely known by the name Ibnu Inabah (d. 828 AH). The printed version of this book was edited by Mahdi al-Raja'i and published by "Maktabah Ayatullah al-Udzma al-Mar'asyi" in the city of Najaf in the year 1430 AH. In this book, it is noted that Ahmad Al-Abah bin Isa left behind descendants, but the specific names of his descendants are not explicitly detailed (pp. 135–136).

(12) Umdat al-Thalib Fi Ansab Al-Abi Thalib (9th Century)

This book is named Umdat al-Thalib Fi Ansab Al-Abi Thalib by Jamaluddin Ahmad bin Ali al-Hasani al-Dawudi, popularly known as Ibnu Inabah (d. 828 AH). In all likelihood, the preceding book, Umdat al-Thalib Shugra, constitutes a mukhtashar (abridgment) of this text. This book is also frequently referred to as Umdat al-Thalib Wushtha (The Medium) or Kubra (The Major).

The printed version of this book was edited by Muhammad Hasan Alu al-Thalifani and published by "Maktabah Al-Haidarah" in the city of Najaf; second printing in the year 1961 CE. In this text, the recorded descendant of Ahmad bin Isa is Ahmad al-Ataj bin Abi Muhammad al-Hasan al-Dallal bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Isa (p. 245). Subsequently, this 1961 printed edition was reissued by the "Markaz Tahqiqat al-Komputer Ulum al-Islami" without a specified year, containing the identical text but with differing page counts, displayed as follows:

(13) The Book Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyyah (9th Century)

This book is named Al-Nafhah al-Anbariyah Fi Ansab Khair al-Bariyyah by Muhammad Kadzim bin Abil Futuh bin Sulaiman al-Yamani al-Musawi (d. 880 AH). The printed version of this book was edited by Mahdi al-Raja'i and published by "Maktabah Ayatullah al-Udzma al-Mar'asyi" in the city of Najaf in the year 1411 AH.

This specific book is the very first genealogy text to record that Ahmad bin Isa bin Muhammad al-Naqib had a child named Abdullah and that he migrated to Hadramaut (pp. 52–53). Since the death of Ahmad bin Isa in the year 345 Hijriah, a span of 535 years had elapsed until this book was written before any report finally emerged from a dedicated genealogy text stating that Ahmad bin Isa had a child named Abdullah who migrated from Basra to Hadramaut. This book notes that Sayyid Abil Jadid (d. 620 AH) is a descendant of the aforementioned Abdullah.

This book completely fails to connect the family of Abdurrahman Assegaf as being a branch of Abul Jadid's family. Regardless, the claim made by this book that Ahmad bin Isa had a son named Abdullah lacks a single reference from any preceding genealogy text. Furthermore, that claim is explicitly refuted by a much older genealogy text, namely Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah (597 AH), which affirms that the lineage of Ahmad bin Isa stems solely from his three sons: Muhammad, Ali, and Husain. The quotation from the book Al-Nafhah is presented below:

It appears that this book, Al-Nafhah, drew its reference from an 8th-century history book, namely Al-Suluk Fi Thabaqat al-Ulama Wa al-Muluk by Al-Janadi (732 AH), wherein the biographical history of an individual named Syarif Abul Jadid is recorded, carrying a family tree extending from Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Isa (Vol. 2, p. 135).

According to expert genealogists, if a history book directly conflicts with a dedicated genealogy book, then the definitive standard that must be followed is the genealogy book. Dr. Abdurrahman bin Majid al-Qaraja states in his book Al-Kafi al-Muntakhab:

"(A historian) cannot take precedence over the verification of a genealogist, especially if that genealogist is closer to the events in time or place." (Al-Kafi al-Muntakhab, p. 71).

In the book Al-'Ibar by Ibnu Khaldun, it is stated:

"Many historians, commentators, and leading transmitters have fallen into errors regarding historical anecdotes and events because they relied on mere transcription without discerning the corrupted from the sound. They failed to verify these accounts against their primary sources, measure them against their parallels, examine them with the standard of wisdom, understand the nature of existence, or apply critical thought and insight to reports. Thus, they strayed from the truth and wandered lost in the wilderness of delusion and error." (Al-'Ibar, Al-Maktabah al-Syamilah, Vol. 1, p. 13).

Consequently, Abul Jadid is rejected from tracing his lineage to Ahmad bin Isa because he connects via Abdullah, whose name was never recorded as a child of Ahmad bin Isa in Al-Syajarah Al-Mubarakah or any other contemporary genealogy texts. In those texts, Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah unequivocally maintains that the lineage of Ahmad bin Isa is restricted exclusively to three children: Muhammad, Ali, and Husain.

(14) The Book Shihah al-Akhbar (9th Century)

This book is named Shihah al-Akhbar Fi Nasab al-Sadat al-Fathimiyah al-Akhyar by Abdullah Muhammad Sirajuddin bin Abdullah al-Rifa'i al-Makhzumi al-Washithi (d. 885 AH). The printed version of this book was edited by Arif Ahmad Abdul Ghani and published by "Daar al-Arab" and "Daar Noor Hauran" in the city of Damascus in the year 2014 CE.

In this book, it is recorded that Ahmad bin Isa had children named Abul Qasim al-Abah al-Naffath and Muhammad Abil Hasan. According to this text, Abul Qasim al-Abah al-Naffath left behind descendants in Baghdad. Aside from Baghdad, according to weak information ('ala ma yuqaalu: based on what people say), he also possessed descendants in Yemen (p. 122).

This book introduces a brand-new name for a child of Ahmad bin Isa, namely Abul Qasim al-Abah. It appears that the author of this book received flawed information regarding the name Abul Qasim Al-Abah al-Naffath, given that this name actually consists of three distinct titles belonging directly to Ahmad bin Isa himself, rather than being the name of his son, as verified by the book Al-Majdi (p. 337). In all probability, he read a manuscript copy of the book Al-Majdi that had already undergone distortion due to the aging of the paper or a copyist's error. Notice the close resemblance between this book and the phrasing of Al-Majdi below:

We will also observe that the spurious book Al-Raudh al-Jaliy uses phrasing that closely mimics this book, Shihah. It is highly probable that the spurious book Al-Raudh al-Jaliy cloned the phrasing and subsequently inserted the names Abdullah and Ubaidillah.[]