Zahran tribe

Zahran Tribe (Arabic: زهران) is one of the Arabian tribes in the Arabian Peninsula. It is regarded to be one of the largest tribes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most members of the Zahran tribe are farmers. Therefore it is not considered a Bedouin tribe. Its members live in modern day Saudi Arabia.

The Zahran tribe is found throughout the Middle East. It is held by individuals in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Palestinian territories, and spans the entire globe. In addition, such individuals span many faiths. The name is derived during the Byzantine era from the Arabic word for flower.

Al Baha is the homeland of Zahran and Ghamid. Large numbers however, currently live in western Saudi Arabia (mainly in Mecca, Jeddah), Riyadh and Dammam due to large migration from villages and small cities during the 1960s and '70s in search of a better life. Zahran is a well-known tribe before and after Islam. Many of them left their houses, homes and relatives and joined the prophet Mohammed in Medina. The Islamic history has acknowledged many of the Zahrani companions such as Abu Hurairah and Tufayl ibn Amr. Others are known as Arabic scholars, such as Ibn Duraid and Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi.

Zahrani Arabic dialect

It is claimed by some Arab authors that the dialect of Belad Ghamid and Zahran (now known as Al Baha province in Saudi Arabia) is nearest to classical Arabic. Ahmed Abdul Ghafur Attar founder of Okaz newspaper, has said in an article that the language of the Hejaz (Arabic لهجات الحجاز), especially that which is spoken in Belad Ghamdi and Zahran is close to the Classical Language.

Faisal Ghori (Arabic فيصل غوري), a famous scholar of Arabic Literature in his book Qabayil Al- Hejaz (Arabic قبائل الحجاز) wrote: we can say is that there are some tribes in Arabia whose language today much closer to the classical Arabic language. The tribes of Belad Ghamid and Zahran are a good example of this.

Zahrani tribal governance

"Nearly 750,000 members of the Zahran tribe in Al Baha, one of the leading tribes in the kingdom, enthusiastically cast their ballots to elect their chief. It was the first-ever election to choose a tribal chief in the predominantly Saudi tribal society. Saudi Arabia held elections for municipal councils two years ago as part of its democratic reforms. Speaking to Gulf News, Prince Mohammad Bin Saud Bin Abdul Aziz, governor of Al Baha, said: "It is fabulous that even tribal people have joined in the new stream by choosing their chieftain in a democratic way." Mohammad Bin Yahya Al Zahrani won the election, defeating his lone rival by a big margin."

Zahrani tribal weddings

Modern times are changing the way tribal weddings are viewed and performed. "On women’s customs, Najma Al-Zahrani said, “The elder women in the bride’s family received members of the groom’s family and this was market by ululation, drum beats and recitation of welcoming poems. The food served at weddings was called "hospitality dishes" and consisted of traditional confectioneries, meals, coffee, dates and pastries,” Najma said, while adding that although many women wear extravagant and often-revealing clothes to weddings (women-only parties) these days, many tribal women still prefer to wear traditional clothes that are adorned with silver ornaments. Another major difference that many people spoke about is the value of dowry given to the bride. In the past, anything from SR5,000 to SR10,000 was acceptable. These days, dowries range from SR35,000 to SR100,000, which puts a huge burden on the groom and his family as they are also responsible for covering the costs of renting marriage halls and paying for all related expenses. “We used to give a few thousand riyals to the bride, slaughter a few goats and everyone went home happy. These days, girls aren’t happy when they receive tens of thousands of riyals, not to mentions the dozens of goats and camels that are sacrificed to feed guests on the day of the wedding. Guests are even served fruits and sweets, something that was rare during my day,” added Najma."