al-Aflaj (Layla district, Nejd)

Al-Aflaj is a district of southern Nejd, whose capital is Layla. It is known for the spring-fed pools of 'Uyun al-Sayh and for its old underground aqueducts, which give the district its name.

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.), signed G. Rentz and W. E. Mulligan, describes al-Aflaj (al-Afladj) as a district in southern Nejd athwart the great cuesta of Tuwayq, bounded by Wadi Birk to the north, the plain of al-Bayad to the east, Wadi al-Makran to the south and the sands of al-Dahy to the west. Its most populous oasis and present capital is Layla. The district has the spring-fed pools of 'Uyun al-Sayh, the largest nearly a kilometre long, and remains of a system of channels that once irrigated a more prosperous land. The name comes from falaj (pl. aflaj), the underground aqueduct with surface apertures. ¹

At the dawn of Islam the dominant tribe was Dja'da, which embraced Islam in 9/630–1 and had its position confirmed by the Prophet ﷺ. Three centuries later Dja'da remained the foremost tribe, with its chief centre at Suq al-Aflaj. In 443/1051 Nasir-i Khusraw found the district in virtual ruin from internal dissension. In the medieval age the Djumayla became the leading power, and the Al Sabah and Al Khalifa, later rulers of Kuwait and Bahrain, emigrated from al-Haddar under pressure from the Dawasir. In 1199/1785 the people of the district adhered to the Wahhabi cause, and in 1328/1910 'Abd al-'Aziz Al Sa'ud executed the rebel leaders of the Hazazina at Layla. The dates of al-Aflaj were famous, and Nasir reckoned them better than those of Basra. ²