Bani Utbah

The Bani Utbah (Arabic: بني عتبة‎ banū l-`utbah) is a tribe that originated from the region of Hijaz in central Arabia. Utub is the plural name for the Al Utbi from the Bani Utbah tribe from the Bani Sulaim tribe. The name Utub applies to whoever carried the last name Al Utbi in their ownership's documents and whoever entered under their umbrella were also called Utub but they are considered to be Utub by name and not by origin from the descendants of Utbah from the section of Khafaf from the Bani Sulaim tribe.

The Al-Sabah and the Al-Khalifah, respectively the rulers of Kuwait and Bahrain were families that have entered under the umbrella of the Utub in Kuwait.

The Al Bin Ali Tribe are the Utub by origin relating to their great grand father Ali Al-Utbi who is a descendant of their great grand father Utbah hence the name Bani Utbah which means sons of Utbah. Utbah is a section of Khafaf from Bani Sulaim bin Mansoor from Mudhar from Adnan.Being that they are the only tribe to carry the last name Al Utbi in their Ownership's documents of Palm gardens in Bahrain as early as the year 1699 - 1111 Hijri. The plural word for Al Utbi is Utub and the name of the tribe is Bani Utbah. The Al Bin Ali were a politically important group that moved backwards and forwards between Qatar and Bahrain, they were the original dominant group of Zubara area [ Arabia's Frontiers: The Story of Britain's Boundary Drawing in the Desert, John C. Wilkinson, p44 ] .

The Utub had been present in the banks of Bahrain in the seventeenth century [ The Origins of Kuwait, B.J. Slot, p110 ] . One of th Documents which belongs to Shaikh Salama Bin Saif Al Utbi one of the Shaikh's of the Al Bin Ali backs this statement about the presence of the Utub in Bahrain in the seventeenth century. It states that Mariam Bint Ahmed Al Sindi, a shia women has sold a Palm Garden in the Island Of Sitra at Bahrain to Shaikh Salama Bin Saif Al Utbi dating to the year 1699 - 1111 Hijri before the arrival of Al-Khalifa to Bahrain by 84 years. [ Ownership's Document of a Palm Garden in Island of Sitra, Bahrain belonging to Shaikh Salama Bin Saif Al Utbi dated 1699 - 1111 Hijri, http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/alsahirr/up/pic/aalbin7.gif] .

The ruler of Basra has mentioned in an Ottoman document that the tribes of the Utub and Al-Khalayfat attacked Bahrain in revenge which was under the Persian rule due to their quarrel with the Howala Arabs when they (Utub and Al-Khalayfat) got attacked by the Howala Arabs when they were living in Bahrain. The Utub and Al-Khalayfat arrived at Basra and they had 150 ships and on each ship 2-3 cannons and 30-40 men carrying riffles. [ Ottoman document dated 21 Rajab 1113 Hijri - December 1701, in the archives at the Ottoman’s Prime Minister in Istanbul, http://www.attawash.com/doc01.jpg] .

This document not only proves that the Utub were living in Bahrain in 1701 but it also proves that the Utub that were mentioned in the Ottoman Document that were living in Bahrain in the year 1701 were the Al Bin Ali because this document which was dated in 1701 is two years after Shaikh Salama Bin Saif Al Utbi's buying of a Palm Garden in Bahrain which was dated in 1699 which means that the Utub that were meant were Al Bin Ali.

Isa Bin Tarif, Chief of the Al Bin Ali Al Utbi Tribe, is a descendant of the Original Utub who conquered Bahrain [ the Precis Of Turkish Expansion On The Arab Littoral Of The Persian Gulf And Hasa And Katif Affairs, By J. A. Saldana; 1904 , I.o. R R/15/1/724 ] . Isa Bin Tarif was the Chief of the Al Bin Ali Tribe from the beginning of the 19th Century until his death in 1847. This assertion by Saldanha along with the Ownership documents by the Al Bin Ali Tribe which carry the last name Al Utbi proves without a shadow of a doubt that the Al Bin Ali are the Original Utub who carried the last name Al Utbi in their ownership's document.

Another Document which belongs to Shaikh Mohamed Bin Derbas Al Utbi states that Juma Bin Athbi Al-Jalhimi( the uncle of Rahma Bin Jabir Al Jalahma ) has sold a Palm Garden in the Island of Nabih Saleh in Bahrain to Shaikh Mohamed Bin Derbas Al Utbi dating to the year 1804 [ Ownership's Document of a Palm Garden in Island of Nabih Saleh, Bahrain belonging to Shaikh Mohamed Bin Derbas Al Utbi dated 1804 - 1219 Hijri, http://www.attawash.com/albinali002.jpg] .

In 1782, the Utub conquered the Island of Bahrain from the Ruler of Bushire [ The Origins of Kuwait, B.J. Slot, p110 ] .

The Utub Al Bin Ali carry the Al-Sulaimi flag [ Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman, and Central Arabia, Geographical, Volume 1, John Gordon Lorimer, 1905 ] as they call it in Bahrain, Qatar , Kuwait , and Eastern province in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The correct name literally is Al-Sulami and it is red and white and is distinguished with four red stripes with three white stripes.It was raised on their ships during wartime and in the pearl season and on special occasions such as weddings and during Eid and in the "Ardha of war" [ Picture of the Al Sulaimi Flag in the "Ardha of War" which was celebrated in Eid Al Fitr in Muharraq 1956 which was attended by Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, ex Ruler of Bahrain, http://www.attawash.com/albinali.jpg] .

References

See also

* Al Bin Ali
*
* History of Bahrain
* History of Qatar