28 THE NATIVE MANUSCRIPTS IV. ba. cxxil

\ou races and tribes that ye may know one another. Verily the noblest of

vou in God's sight is the most pioiis of you " and there you will find it.

CXXIII Now the tribe of Guhayna became [lit. "reached"] fifty- t\\'0 tribes in the land of Soba on the Blue Nile under the rule of the Fung, but most [of them] are in the West, [namely in] Tunis and Bornuh.

CXXIV Zubayr had two sons, 'Abdulla and Hasan. The descendants of 'Abdulla are the Kawahla, and the son of Hasan was 'Ati'a; and some say that the descendants of 'Ati'a are Guhayna : God knows the truth best.

CXXV The Beni Yunis and Beni Sira and Beni Hamza are all

branches of the descendants of Hilal son of Muhammad 'Amir.

CXXVI The descendants of Muhammad 'Akil are the Beni 'Akil and the Beni Huzayl and the Beni Matayr and the Beni 'Utayba and the Beni Yakum and the Beni Mukhallad and Beni Yunis and

Beni Meri'n: these [tribes] are his own proper descendants.

CXXVI I The Shamia and the Ma'aida are the descendants of 'Aid son of Khamsin.

CXXVI 1 1 The 'AwAMRA and Beni 'Omran and Beni Kelb and Beni Rafa'i and Beni 'Ulati^ and Beni 'Akil and Beni Dwayh and Beni Duriab are all Guhayna and very closely related. Here ends what I have learnt of the pedigree of Guhayna ; and knowledge belongs to God Almighty.

CXXIX Now as regards Ga'al, what is to be found here is as follows :

CXXX Kuraysh were in the time of the Prophet (God bless him) eighty tribes, and [similarly] Guhayna were eighty tribes:

CXXXI and accounts differ as to the Beni Ma'amur and Hilal, some saying they belong to Kuraysh and some to Guhayna.

CXXXII Now Ga'al are [descended from] Beni el 'Abbas (God bless him), and they should not be called a tribe \kabila'\ but rather one of the branches of Beni Hashim, They are only called "Ga'al" because their forefather, whose name was Ibrahim, was known as " Ga'al " from the fact that he was a generous man, to whom in time of famine the feeble branches allied themselves, and he used

to say to them "ga'alndkum minnd" ["we have made you a part of ourselves"]: so he was surnamed "Ga'al."

CXXXIII Now the man who collected all the tribes of Ga'al to-

gether was Kerdam son of Abu el Di's son of Kuda'a son of Harkan son of Masruk son of Ahmad el Yemani son of Ibrahim Ga'al son of

Idris son of Kays son of Yemen son of el Khazrag son of 'Adi son of

^ reading ^.^'^ for Is'^Jlt ,