Al Faiz family


The family of Al Faiz, also transliterated in a number of other ways, including Al Fa'iz, Al Fa'ez, Al Faez, or Al Fayez, is the oldest Alid family of Karbala, which they have occupied, on some occasions ruled, and held custodianship of its holy sites, since 861.
They are the descendants of Ibrahim al-Mujab, the 9th-century grandson of the seventh Shi'ite Imam, Musa al-Kadhim. Their eponymous ancestor is considered to be Muhammad Abu al-Faiz, the 12th great-grandson of al-Mujab. In Karbala, the family holds a high prestige where they maintained the authority of the niqaba of Karbala's Sayyids and the sidana of Karbala's holy sites numerous times over different periods.
The family is currently known by the families of Al Tumah, Al Nasrallah, Al Dhiya al-Din, Al Tajir, Al Ouj, and Al Sayyid Amin.

History

Alid settlement in Karbala

After al-Mutawakkil was killed in 861, the Alids found peace under his son, al-Muntasir, who helped keep them safe and protect them. The first known Alid to settle in Karbala was Ibrahim al-Mujab bin Muhammad al-Abid bin Musa al-Kadhim, also known as Taj al-Din Ibrahim al-Mujab.

Sidana and Niqaba

After the Alid's settled, al-Mujab took responsibilities for the two holy shrines, and through this became known as saden al-rawdhat, i.e. the head role tending to the holy shrines of Husayn and Abbas, which is known as the sidana.
The sidana was passed down from al-Mujab to his eldest son, Muhammad, nicknamed al-Ha'iri, as they lived in the Ha'ir, in 913. This then kept being passed on down as follows:
In the late 10th-century, the naqib al-ashraf i.e. the head or supervisor of the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which is known as the niqaba, was established, in Karbala, during the Buyid era. Muhammad al-Husayni, a descendant of Zayn al-Abidin, took the niqaba and became the first naqib of the Ha'ir. After al-Husayni, Sharaf al-Din Ahmed, a descendant of al-Mujab took over as naqib in c. 985. His son, Ibrahim al-Ha'iri then took over in 1001, and then when he passed away in 1049, it went to other sayyids, until it returned to Muhammad Abu al-Faiz in 1259.
It is also worthy to mention, that the niqaba and sidana in Karbala at some points in time, were merged, so whoever held the niqaba, would also be saden of the two holy shrines.

Tribal feud

By 1317, the Ilkhanate state was disintegrating. This left the Euphrates region without a stable government. Karbala then split into two factions, Al Faiz and Al Zheek. The Faiz tribe were descendants of Muhammad al-Abid bin Musa al-Kadhim, and the Zheek tribe were descendants of Ibrahim al-Asghar bin Musa al-Kadhim. The city witnessed a feud that lasted for nearly half a century. The famous Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battuta, witnessed the unrest when he visited Karbala in 1326.
Al Faiz is older in residence in Karbala, since Ibrahim al-Mujab moved to Karbala in 861 during the rule of al-Muntasir. Many branches of descendants were formed from al-Mujab, but it was Muhammad Abu al-Faiz that later stood out and became their patriarch in Karbala. One must also understand that, the feud began during the late life of Abu al-Faiz, meaning his tribe couldn't have consisted of just his descendants, but rather, he had united all of his cousins under his name.
As for Al Zheek, they are named after their patriarch Yahya Zheek, great-great-great-grandson of Abdullah al-Ha'iri, the naqib of the Talibids that moved to Karbala in the early 11th-century. All of the al-Asghar descendants had united under their cousin, Zheek's name. Al Zheek today is known by the families of Al Thabit, Al Daraj, and Al Wahab. The Al Eshaiker and Al Jolokhan families were cousins of Al Zheek, and also took under their name.
Al Faiz believed that the niqaba of Karbala belonged to them because they were the older residing family, whilst Al Zheek believed it belonged to them because they previously held the niqaba of the Talibids of Iraq.
Due to the continuous chaos as a result of the feud, as well as the destabilisation of the central government, a tribe, by the name of, Al Muhanna, claimed they wanted to end the unrest and used this excuse to invade Karbala in 1355. They took full control of the city and the holy sites. Shihab al-Din Al Muhanna declared himself the naqib of the Ha'ir. When Al Faiz and Al Zheek realised what had happened, they decided to put aside their disputes, unite, and revolt against the invading al-Muhanna tribe. With their rebellion, they managed to oust the naqib, and exile him and his tribe, out of the city. The two tribes then formed an alliance, and decided they will split the roles between them, where Muhammad Sharaf al-Din, grandson of Abu al-Faiz, became governor of Karbala and saden al-rawdhat, whilst Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, son of Yahya Zheek, became naqib. The two tribes also married from each other to further forge the two factions.

Dress

In the 9th century, the Alids of Karbala dressed in traditional Arabic garments that came in various colours, although green was the more common colour. Later in 1372, Sultan Shaban introduced a kind of nobility with the privilege of wearing green turbans for the Alids; and to distinguish them from the Abbasid's black symbol.
With the rise of the popularity of the fez in the 19th century, in Ottoman Iraq, Nasir Nasrallah imported fez's from Vienna, and green shawl wool from England, and created what is now known as a kashida. The kashida along with a jubba, became the dress code of the Faizids, which was then adopted and turned into the official attire of the sadens and servants of the Husayn and Abbas shrines', and it quickly spread to the rest of the shrine cities of Iraq.
The kashida's differ slightly between Karbala and other cities. In Karbala, the wrapped green scarf is much longer and takes up half the of the fez, and it is wrapped in a way that overlaps, allowing the front side to be distinctive. However, in Najaf, the wrap is shorter, but there is still an overlap, whilst in Samarra, it is much shorter, and there is no overlap in the wrap, forming a consistent line.

Figures

It is worthy to note that the notable figures of Al Faiz had the addition of al-Husayni to their name until the 16th century. This then changed to al-Musawi in the following centuries.

Muhammad Abu al-Faiz

He is:
Moḥammed Abu al-Faʾiz bin Abu al-Ḥassan ʿAli bin Aḥmed Jalal al-Din bin Abu Jaʿfar Moḥammed bin Abu Jaʿfar Moḥammed bin Abu Jaʿfar Najm al-Din al-Aswad bin Abu Jaʿfar Moḥammed bin ʿAli al-Ghareeq bin Moḥammed al-Khair bin Abu al-Ḥassan ʿAli al-Majthoor bin Abu al-Ṭayyib Aḥmed bin Moḥammed al-Ḥaʾiri bin Ibrahim al-Mujāb bin Moḥammed al-ʿAābid bin Musa al-Kāthim.
He is the progenitor of the Tumah, Nasrallah, Dhiya al-Din, Tajir, Ouj and Sayyid Amin families. He is reported to have been a valiant and noble man, followed by the majority of the city. He was the one that united all of the branches from the descendants of al-Mujab, that resided in Karbala, under his name. Abu al-Faiz owned vast lands across Karbala and Shfatha. In 1259, under the rule of Hulegu, he was made naqib and ruler of Karbala. He died in the first third of the 14th-century, before the Al Muhanna tribe invasion.

Ahmed Shams al-Din al-Faizi

He was the son of Abu al-Faiz and one of the nobles of Karbala. In c. 1311, the Ilkhanate minister, Rashid al-Din, called for Ahmed in Hilla, and ordered him to kill the naqib which they had instated over the Ilkhanate kingdom, Taj al-Din al-Lawi al-Aftasi, and his two sons, Hussain and Ali. In return, he promised that he will make him naqib. Upon hearing this, Ahmed strongly refused, and fled that night to Karbala, and remained in hiding until Rashid al-Din's motive was exposed, in 1318.
He was appointed Minister of Ras al-Ayn in 1334 by Bahadur Khan. He died in 1349, and has a shrine and mosque in northwest Shfatha.

Muhammad Sharaf al-Din al-Faizi

He was the son of Ahmed Shams al-Din. After the exile of the al-Muhanna tribe in the last third of the 14th-century, Muhammad was made ruler of Karbala. In 1393, when Timur Lang's forces, under the command of his son Miran Shah, defeated Ahmed Jalayir, they entered Karbala, to which they were met with its noblemen, headed by Muhammad who was ruling the city. Just before the Timurid invasion, the saden, Shaykh Ali al-Khazin, had passed away, Miran saw that the most appropriate person to hold the sidana was Muhammad, so he appointed him as saden of the Husayn and Abbas shrines', in 1393.
In 1412, tensions grew between the Alid and non-Alid tribes as to the matters of the shrines'. For this reason Muhammad formed a number of groups, each representing a tribe, and designated a sarkoshk to lead each group. Muhammad died in 1423.

Tumah I Kamal al-Din al-Faizi

He was the son of Muhammad Sharaf al-Din. After the death of his father, in 1423, the governor of Baghdad, Shah Muhammad, of the Black Sheep Turcomen tribe, made Tumah naqib of the ashraf, and saden of the Husayn and Abbas shrines'. Tumah died in 1442.

Sharaf al-Din al-Faizi

He was the son of Tumah I. Sharaf al-Din took the niqaba and sidana after his father, passed away in 1442, during the Black Sheep monarchy, and carried on during the White Sheep monarchy. He passed down the niqaba and sidana to his son, Yahya, in 1493. He died in 1500. Iraqi historian, Dr. Imad Rauf in his book, al-Usar al-Hakima, mentions he holds a document that has both Sharaf al-Din's name and Sultan Yaqub's, dated from 1455.

Yahya al-Faizi

He was the son of Sharaf al-Din. In 1493, Yahya took charge of the niqaba and sidana after his father. He died in 1536.

Taj al-Din al-Faizi

He was the son of Tumah I. After the death of his nephew, Yahya in 1536, Taj al-Din took charge of the niqaba and sidana. He was naqib and saden until his death in 1556.

Alam al-Din al-Faizi

He was the son of Tumah II, the son of Sharaf al-Din. In 1573, the Sublime Porte issued a firman, appointing Alam al-Din as the minister of Charitable Endowments of Karbala. In November, 1589, he signed a power of attorney over all of his possessions to his son, Jameel; the document was witnessed by Muhammad-Ali al-Eshaiker and four other noblemen. He died in 1598.

Nasrallah al-Faizi

He was the son of Husayn, the son of Ali, the son of Yunis, the son of Jameel, the son of Alam al-Din. Nasrallah was a senior jurist, teacher, poet, author and annalist. He was the patriarch of the Nasrallah family.

Mehdi al-Faizi

He was the son of Hasan, the son of Mansur, the son of Nasir al-Din, the son of Yunis, the son of Jameel, the son of Alam al-Din. He was made saden of the Husayn shrine in 1752, until his death in 1790.

Muhammad-Ali 'Abu Ridin' al-Faizi

He was the son of Muhammad-Musa, the son of Darwish, the son of Sharaf al-Din, the son of Abbas, the son of Hashim, the son of Muhammad, the son of Sharaf al-Din. He was named Abu Ridin as he used to wear a unique cassock-like dress, similar to ones worn by knights and leaders. When Muhammad-Ali Tumah abandoned the sidana to become vice governor of Karbala in 1821, Abu Ridin was assigned as saden of the Husayn shrine, at the behest of his father-in-law, the naqib, Husayn Daraj al-Naqib. However, when the governor of Baghdad, Dawud Pasha returned from the Ottoman-Persian war, he replaced Abu Ridin with Wahab Tumah in 1823. Abu Ridin had a large role in the Battle of Menakhur in 1826, and because of the Karbalaeis victory over the Ottomans, he was reinstated in August 1862. He died in 1829.

Al Tumah

Al Tumah branched off Tumah III al-Faizi. They own the famous muqata'a Fidan al-Sada which Tumah III endowed to his descendants on September 26, 1616, after it was granted to him by Sheikh Ahmed al-Nahawi. It is worthy to note that, it is a khairi endowment, i.e. devoted to a charitable purpose from its inception, rather than for the benefit of his descendants. The family held custodianship of the Husayn shrine numerously throughout the last four centuries. It is currently one of the largest Alid families in Karbala. The family branched into five clans:
Al Nasrallah branched off Nasrallah al-Faizi. They own vast lands across Shfatha and Karbala. Their grandfather Yunis al-Faizi excelled in business, and managed to purchase the muqata'a Maal Yunis which extended from the borders of Arba' Nahran to al-Jayya to Umm al-'Agareeg in Bab al-Salalma. He endowed his muqata'a to his descendants for their benefit. The family often held custodianship of the Husayn and Abbas' shrines. It is also the only Alid family to have two designated graveyards in the Husayn shrine, one near the old eighth kishwaniya, and the other near the tenth. It is also one of the largest Alid families in Karbala. The family branched into five clans:
Al Dhiya al-Din branched off Dhiya al-Din al-Faizi. They own lands in Umm Ramila in Shfatha, and in Karbala, they own the famous Dhway grove, which they were on some occasions named after. In 1799, the grove was endowed by Yahya, to his son, Dhiya al-Din and his descendants, for the benefit of the Husayn Shrine. In 1953, it was purchased by the city council, and made a public park. The family held the custodianship of the Abbas shrine numerous times throughout the 20th century.

Notable members

Al Tajir branched off Ali 'al-Tajir' al-Faizi. Ali was named al-Tajir, due to his frequent travels to East Asia for trade. The family owns farms known as Umm al-Sudan in mahalat Al Faiz, that Hassan al-Tajir endowed to his descendants in 1680. The family served in the holy Husayn and Abbas shrines'.

Notable members

Al Ouj branched off Muhsin Ouj al-Faizi. They have a partful ownership in Tumah III's Fidan al-Sada muqata'a. They also own parts of the farms known as Maal al-Saghir, in mahalat Al Faiz, endowed in 1847 and Maal Ju'an, near mahalat Al Faiz, endowed in 1853. The family served in the holy Husayn and Abbas shrines'.

Notable members

Al Sayyid Amin branched off Muhammad-Amin al-Faizi, also known as Sayyid Amin al-Faizi. They also own lands in Ayn al-Tamur that Muhammad-Amin endowed to his descendants in 1703. The family have an official Ottoman firman confirming this. The family served in the holy Husayn and Abbas shrines'. Today they are known as Al Jolokhan al-Faizi, as they married into, Al Jolokhan from Al Zheek, and took on their name in the late 19th century.

Notable members

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