- Banu (Arabic)
Banu (بنو) is Arabic for "the sons of" or "children of" and appears before the name of a tribal progenitor. The English counterpart would be "House of", for example the
House of Saud [Article using both "Banu Saud" and "House of Bush" [http://www.cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/weblog/000165.html] ] . Another example of the usage is theBanu Quraish , the tribe from whichMuhammad came, and also has a Quranic Surah in its name.Grammar
For example, "Banu Kaab" literally means the sons of Kaab: the Kaab tribe. Due to the Arabic grammar rules, the word can sometimes become "Bani" depending on the context. For example, it is "Banu Kaab's language", but "belongs to the Bani Kaab". Sometimes, its "Banis".
An alternative transliteration of "Bani" is "Banee" ["Banee Israel" [http://talkislam.com/iquotes/index.php?nCatId=362] ] , or vernacular "Beni" ("Béni" in French transliterations).
The word itself is derived from the same root as the
patronymic s "ibn" or "bin" comes.Uses
"Banu Israel" is a common Arabic word for the
children of Israel ; a Quranic chapter is named so. The term itself is very close to its Hebrew counterpart: "B'nei Yisrael"' (בני ישראל) (also "B'nai Yisrael", "B'nei Yisroel" or "Bene Israel").Other than tribes, persons can have the words in their name,
Fatima bint Hizam was nicknamedUmm Baneen , "mother of many sons".Another use is the phrase "Banu Adam", denoting all the children of Adam. Since Adam is considered the first man in the
Abrahamic religion s, "Banu Adam" means "Humankind". "Bani Adam" (son of Adam) or "Bint Adam" (daughter of Adam) is used as a term for a "human being," especially when reminding or admonishing people to "act like human beings" (i.e. respect rules ofpoliteness and propriety)."Banu" is the plural of the word "Ibn" or "Bin", which means "Son of". Paternal lineage was clearly identified in Arab history as a sign of good or bad standing. All names were prefixed by "Bin" (for male) and "Bint" (for female), after which the name of the father is designated.
It forms several placenames on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, such as
Benidorm orBenicarló .As a form of
Arabization , the word "Beni" has often been used in official place names or personal names instead of Berber names such as "Ath", "Ayt" and so on. For instance, Beni Yénni or Béni Ourtilane are nowadays the administrative names ofAlgeria n districts called "At Yenni" and "Ayt Wartiran" by their inhabitants.References
ee also
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Tribes of Arabia
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