The ancient Amalekites tribe tracing their full history from the Bible and Islamic sources (II)
In the first installment of the above article I established the historical fact that the Amalekites, whose origins are obscured in the Bible, were but a pure Arab tribe with history deeply rooted in the Arabs peninsula. In this article effort is being made to reconcile the presence of this extinct tribe in Arabia and in the Promised Land.
The Amalekites migrated from Babel to San’aa in the Yemen then to the region around Macca. From another eminent historical source we read about them as follows: “The Amalekites were first settled at San’a from where they went and settled at the region of the Ka’bah. A section of them then reached Syria (Sham) and Egypt, while another section migrated to the rest of the Arabian Peninsula including Iraq, Bahrain and Oman. It is said that the Pharaoh’s of Egypt were from the Amalekites, while the king of Hijaz (region encompassing Macca and Madina) called Arqam was an Amaliktes. Dihaq,well known to the Persians as Babiyuurasif was said to be an Amalekite” (Yacut,Mu’jim al-Buldan, Vol.5 ,p442). Let me add this little piece of historical evidence, namely that the Tasm and Jadis tribe,were ruled by a man called Amalek Bin Hayyash, said to come from the Tasm branch. But the Tasm, Jadis,Umaim and the Amalek descended frfom Luz (Lud. The first name Amalek Bin Hayyash, is a strong indicator that one of his parents or forefathers was an Amalekite (Al- Qazwini, p131). From all the above quotations and discussions it becomes cogently clear that after the great floods in the Yemen(Al-Siil) the Amalekites like fellow Arabs spread further to other Arab lands and those lands bordering Arabia. Particularly the Sinai. If therefore as far back as the time of Abraham the Amalekites were defeated by Chedolaomer and his Confederates (Gen 14:7) then the above spread of the Amalekites from southern Arabia to the adjoining countries should account for this.
Let me briefly state how the rest of the Arabs tribes migrated from Babylon into Arabia after the split in the common language of mankind, Syriac, spoken at Babylon: The Aads (the giant race) reached Al-Shihr in the region of the Southern –most tip of the peninsula facing the ocean. They were divinely destroyed in the valley of mugith. The Mahrans, another tribe, later reached the same destination (Al-Shihr) and inhabited it. The Abiil reached Madina then called Yathrib. The Amalekites reached San’a (capital of Yemn). A section of them then moved to Yathrib and removed the Abiil from it. They (Amalekites) then settled at Al-juhfan, mid-way between (Macca and Madina). There they perished from the devastating floods, from the Ma’rib dam that carried them away. The Thamud reached Al- Hijr located in the Waadil Qura in the norh –west of the peninsula. They were destroyed at Hijr, their capital. Tasm and Jadis reached Al-Yamamat, while Umaim reached Ubar(Wabaar) and were there destroyed . The location of the lengendary Wabar, frequently mentioned in Arabs history, has been discovered around 1992. It is located in the Shisr province of Oman. Banu Yaqtin Bin Abir reached the Yemen, while Bani Karian also reached Syria (Sham) (Tabari, Tha’labi, Ibn Athir). Other Arab lands including BAHRAIN AND Oman were all occupied by othe tribes after the confusion of languages.
SABAI:
Another event with catastrophic consequences to the Arabs was the destruction of the famous dam at Ma’rib in the Saba’I province of the Yemen. The capital was and is still San’aaa. Rain and river water used to collect in large quantities in the mountains of Ma’rib, Their kings, using skillful engineers , demand the water using hard rocks and to create a huge and wide water reservoir which they used to variegate crops , vegetables, fruits etc. Thereby boosting agriculture and animal husbandry. In the font part of the dam they made three perforations (holes) in the upper, middle and bottom part. By turning them on and off desired quantity of water would flow out to be collected and used. This famous dam eraned the Yemenite international fame with the result that it became economically powerful resulting in a rush of the Arabs and other nations to the Yemen. With abundant wealth and luxuries they became arrogant, boastful and heedless about God and religion.
Prophets were sent to them, but to no avail, so God caused a red species of rat to eat the inner part of the dam. It broke down and flooded the whole carve and beyond, save only buildings on top of high mountains. With the farms, castles, vine yards etc. ll gone there was mass exodus of Arabs from the Yemen. According to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace there were ten Yemeni tribes present at that time. The following six remained in the Yemeni: Kinda, Al-Ash’aariiyuun, Al-azd, Mazhaj, Anmar and Hionyar. The following four then migrated to Syria: Aamira, Juzaam, Lakhm and Ghasaan.
The history of the Amalekites is indelibly written in the pages of Arab history. Last but not the least they were also said to possess gigantic bodies like the Aads.
CONCLUSION:
The Amalekites, like other Arabs tribes, migrated from Babylon into Arabia and then spread from there to other lands including countries bordering the peninsula. Attached is a map of the peninsula.
BY KHALID KOFI AHMAD
