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Kahlan

كهلان

One of the great Qahtani stocks; its branches left Yemen around the time of the Arim flood, among them al-Azd, Lakhm, Judham, Tayy, Kinda, Hamdan, and the ancestors of the Aws, Khazraj, Khuzaʾa and the Ghassanid house of Jafna.

Depth

At a glance

Era
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Region
Arabia
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Family, marriage and kinship

Summary

Kahlan is one of the two great tribes of Qahtan, alongside Himyar. Its best-known clans are Hamdan, Anmar, Tayy', Madhhij, Kinda, Lakhm, Judham, Azd, the Aws and the Khazraj, and the sons of Jafna, kings of Syria 1 2.

Their departure from Yemen

Kahlan's clans left Yemen and spread through the peninsula. Most of them emigrated shortly before the Flood of al-Arim, when their trade failed 1. The author holds that the rivalry between the clans of Kahlan and the clans of Himyar led to Kahlan's departure, as shown by Himyar's remaining in Yemen while Kahlan left 3.

The four groups of emigrants

The author divides the emigrating clans of Kahlan into four groups 3 4:

  • Azd: they emigrated on the opinion of their chief Imran ibn Amr Muzayqiya', and scattered after travelling. Some went to the Hijaz and Medina (Tha'laba and his sons, the Aws and the Khazraj), some to Mecca (Harith ibn Amr, who is Khuza'a), some to Oman (Imran), some to Tihama (Azd Shanu'a), and some to Syria (Jafna, father of the Ghassanids) 3.
  • Lakhm and Judham: among the Lakhmis was Nasr ibn Rabi'a, father of the Manadhira kings of al-Hira 3.
  • Banu Tayy': after the Azd they went north and settled the two mountains Aja and Salma 3.
  • Kinda: they settled Bahrain, then Hadramawt, then Najd, and there they formed a government of great standing that soon perished 3.

He adds that a tribe of Himyar, though its descent from him is disputed, namely Qudaa, left Yemen and settled the desert of al-Samawa at the edge of Iraq 3. He notes the wide disagreement among the sources on the dates and causes of these migrations 3.

For young visitors

Kahlan is a great tribe of Yemen. Its sons went out as emigrants, and from them came many tribes in Medina, Mecca and Syria.

Connections

Explore the connections

Has part
Judham· Kinda· Tayy

People and things also explored

Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays comes with the delegation of Kinda· Christianity in Arabia before Islam· The capture and release of Hatim al-Ta'i's daughter· Zayd al-Khayl comes with the delegation of Tayy· The Expedition of Dhat al-Salasil· Adi ibn Hatim's flight to Syria, his coming to the Prophet and his conversion· Rifa'a ibn Zayd al-Judhami comes to the Prophet, embraces Islam and carries his letter to his people· Zayd ibn Haritha's raid on Judham and the Prophet's restitution

Sources

  1. al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.16
  2. Muhadarat Tarikh al-Umam al-Islamiyya — Muhammad al-Khudari , 1/11-13
  3. al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.17
  4. Qalb Jazirat al-Arab — Fuʾad Hamza , p.231-235
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Kahlan”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/group/kahlan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Related

Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays comes with the delegation of Kinda

Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays came with Kinda's delegation, eighty riders according to al-Zuhri, who entered the mosque with combed locks and kohl, wearing Hira robes edged with silk; the Prophet asked whether they had not become Muslims, and what the silk on their necks was, and they tore it off. Al-Ash'ath said, we are Banu Akil al-Murar and you are Ibn Akil al-Murar; the Prophet laughed, attributed that lineage-claim to al-Abbas and Rabi'a ibn al-Harith who used it for prestige as merchants, and said: no, we are Banu al-Nadr ibn Kinana, we do not trace ourselves through our mother nor disown our father.