Al Faiz family

After al-Mutawakkil was killed in 861, the Alids found peace under his son, al-Muntasir, who helped keep them safe and protect them.[6] The first known Alid to settle in Karbala was Ibrahim al-Mujab bin Muhammad al-Abid bin Musa al-Kadhim, also known as Taj al-Din Ibrahim al-Mujab.[7][8]

After the Alid's settled, al-Mujab took responsibilities for the two holy shrines, and through this became known as saden (custodian of) al-rawdhat (the shrines), i.e. the head role tending to the holy shrines of Husayn and Abbas, which is known as the sidana.

The sidana was passed down from al-Mujab to his eldest son, Muhammad, nicknamed al-Ha'iri, as they lived in the Ha'ir (another name for Karbala), in 913.[9] This then kept being passed on down as follows:

• Ahmed Abu al-Tayyib (962–995)[10]
• Ali al-Majthoor (995–1029)[11]
• Ahmed al-Ha'iri (1029–1068)[12]
• Ibrahim al-Ha'iri (1068–1097)[13]
• After Ibrahim, a sayyid from the descendants of Ali Zayn al-Abidin took the sidana, and later many different figures, until it returned to the descendants of al-Mujab with Muhammad Abu al-Faiz in 1259.[14]

In the late 10th-century, the naqib (supervisor of) al-ashraf (the descendants of Muhammad) i.e. the head or supervisor of the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which is known as the niqaba, was established, in Karbala, during the Buyid era. Muhammad al-Husayni, a descendant of Zayn al-Abidin, took the niqaba and became the first naqib of the Ha'ir.[15][16] After al-Husayni, Sharaf al-Din Ahmed, a descendant of al-Mujab took over as naqib in c. 985.[17] His son, Ibrahim al-Ha'iri then took over in 1001, and then when he passed away in 1049, it went to other sayyids, until it returned to Muhammad Abu al-Faiz in 1259.[18]

It is also worthy to mention, that the niqaba and sidana in Karbala at some points in time, were merged, so whoever held the niqaba, would also be saden of the two holy shrines.[19]

By 1317, the Ilkhanate state was disintegrating. This left the Euphrates region without a stable government. Karbala then split into two factions, Al Faiz and Al Zheek. The Faiz tribe were descendants of Muhammad al-Abid bin Musa al-Kadhim, and the Zheek tribe were descendants of Ibrahim al-Asghar bin Musa al-Kadhim. The city witnessed a feud that lasted for nearly half a century. The famous Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battuta, witnessed the unrest when he visited Karbala in 1326.[20]

Al Faiz is older in residence in Karbala, since Ibrahim al-Mujab moved to Karbala in 861 during the rule of al-Muntasir. Many branches of descendants were formed from al-Mujab, but it was Muhammad Abu al-Faiz that later stood out and became their patriarch in Karbala. One must also understand that, the feud began during the late life of Abu al-Faiz, meaning his tribe couldn't have consisted of just his descendants, but rather, he had united all of his cousins under his name.[21]

As for Al Zheek, they are named after their patriarch Yahya Zheek, great-great-great-grandson of Abdullah al-Ha'iri, the naqib of the Talibids that moved to Karbala in the early 11th-century. All of the al-Asghar descendants had united under their cousin, Zheek's name. Al Zheek today is known by the families of Al Thabit, Al Daraj (later Al Naqib), and Al Wahab. The Al Eshaiker and Al Jolokhan families were cousins of Al Zheek, and also took under their name.[22]

Al Faiz believed that the niqaba of Karbala belonged to them because they were the older residing family, whilst Al Zheek believed it belonged to them because they previously held the niqaba of the Talibids of Iraq.

Due to the continuous chaos as a result of the feud, as well as the destabilisation of the central government, a tribe, by the name of, Al Muhanna, claimed they wanted to end the unrest and used this excuse to invade Karbala in 1355.[23] They took full control of the city and the holy sites. Shihab al-Din Al Muhanna declared himself the naqib of the Ha'ir.[24] When Al Faiz and Al Zheek realised what had happened, they decided to put aside their disputes, unite, and revolt against the invading al-Muhanna tribe. With their rebellion, they managed to oust the naqib, and exile him and his tribe, out of the city.[25] The two tribes then formed an alliance, and decided they will split the roles between them, where Muhammad Sharaf al-Din, grandson of Abu al-Faiz, became governor of Karbala and saden al-rawdhat, whilst Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, son of Yahya Zheek, became naqib. The two tribes also married from each other to further forge the two factions.[26]

Faizid Sayyids wearing the kashida and jubba, Karbala 2017

In the 9th century, the Alids of Karbala dressed in traditional Arabic garments (turban, thawb and bisht) that came in various colours, although green was the more common colour.[27] Later in 1372, Sultan Shaban introduced a kind of nobility with the privilege of wearing green turbans for the Alids; and to distinguish them from the Abbasid's black symbol.[28]

With the rise of the popularity of the fez in the 19th century, in Ottoman Iraq, Nasir Nasrallah imported fez's from Vienna, and green shawl wool from England, and created what is now known as a kashida (a fez with a green scarf wrapped around it). The kashida along with a jubba (long coat with sleeves, similar to a cassock but without buttons), became the dress code of the Faizids, which was then adopted and turned into the official attire of the sadens and servants of the Husayn and Abbas shrines', and it quickly spread to the rest of the shrine cities of Iraq.[29]

The kashida's differ slightly between Karbala and other cities. In Karbala, the wrapped green scarf is much longer and takes up half the of the fez, and it is wrapped in a way that overlaps, allowing the front side to be distinctive. However in Najaf, the wrap is shorter, but there is still an overlap[30], whilst in Samarra, it is much shorter, and there is no overlap in the wrap, forming a consistent line.[31]

He is:

Moḥammed Abu al-Faʾiz bin Abu al-Ḥassan ʿAli bin Aḥmed Jalal al-Din bin Abu Jaʿfar Moḥammed bin Abu Jaʿfar Moḥammed bin Abu Jaʿfar Najm al-Din al-Aswad bin Abu Jaʿfar Moḥammed bin ʿAli al-Ghareeq bin Moḥammed al-Khair bin Abu al-Ḥassan ʿAli al-Majthoor bin Abu al-Ṭayyib Aḥmed bin Moḥammed al-Ḥaʾiri bin Ibrahim al-Mujāb bin Moḥammed al-ʿAābid bin Musa al-Kāthim.[33]

He is the progenitor of the Tumah, Nasrallah, Dhiya al-Din, Tajir, Ouj and Sayyid Amin families. He is reported to have been a valiant and noble man, followed by the majority of the city. He was the one that united all of the branches from the descendants of al-Mujab, that resided in Karbala, under his name.[21] Abu al-Faiz owned vast lands across Karbala and Shfatha.[34] In 1259, under the rule of Hulegu, he was made naqib and ruler of Karbala.[35][36] He died in the first third of the 14th-century, before the Al Muhanna tribe invasion.

Ahmed Shams al-Din's mausoleum in Shfatha

He was the son of Abu al-Faiz and one of the nobles of Karbala. In c. 1311, the Ilkhanate minister, Rashid al-Din, called for Ahmed in Hilla, and ordered him to kill the naqib which they had instated over the Ilkhanate kingdom, Taj al-Din al-Lawi al-Aftasi,[37] and his two sons, Hussain and Ali. In return, he promised that he will make him naqib. Upon hearing this, Ahmed strongly refused, and fled that night to Karbala, and remained in hiding until Rashid al-Din's motive was exposed, in 1318.[38]

He was appointed Minister of Ras al-Ayn (Shfatha) in 1334 by Bahadur Khan. He died in 1349, and has a shrine and mosque in northwest Shfatha.[39]

He was the son of Ahmed Shams al-Din. After the exile of the al-Muhanna tribe in the last third of the 14th-century, Muhammad was made ruler of Karbala. In 1393, when Timur Lang's forces, under the command of his son Miran Shah, defeated Ahmed Jalayir,[40] they entered Karbala, to which they were met with its noblemen, headed by Muhammad who was ruling the city. Just before the Timurid invasion, the saden, Shaykh Ali al-Khazin, had passed away, Miran saw that the most appropriate person to hold the sidana was Muhammad, so he appointed him as saden of the Husayn and Abbas shrines', in 1393.

In 1412, tensions grew between the Alid and non-Alid tribes as to the matters of the shrines'. For this reason Muhammad formed a number of groups, each representing a tribe, and designated a sarkoshk (leading minister) to lead each group.[41] Muhammad died in 1423.[42][43]

He was the son of Muhammad Sharaf al-Din. After the death of his father, in 1423, the governor of Baghdad, Shah Muhammad, of the Black Sheep Turcomen tribe, made Tumah naqib of the ashraf, and saden of the Husayn and Abbas shrines'. Tumah died in 1442.[44][45]

He was the son of Tumah I. Sharaf al-Din took the niqaba and sidana after his father, passed away in 1442, during the Black Sheep monarchy, and carried on during the White Sheep monarchy. He passed down the niqaba and sidana to his son, Yahya, in 1493. He died in 1500.[45] Iraqi historian, Dr. Imad Rauf in his book, al-Usar al-Hakima, mentions he holds a document that has both Sharaf al-Din's name and Sultan Yaqub's, dated from 1455.[46]

He was the son of Sharaf al-Din. In 1493, Yahya took charge of the niqaba and sidana after his father. He died in 1536.[47]

He was the son of Tumah I. After the death of his nephew, Yahya in 1536, Taj al-Din took charge of the niqaba and sidana. He was naqib and saden until his death in 1556.[45]

He was the son of Tumah II, the son of Sharaf al-Din. In 1573, the Sublime Porte issued a firman, appointing Alam al-Din as the minister of Charitable Endowments of Karbala. In November, 1589, he signed a power of attorney over all of his possessions to his son, Jameel; the document was witnessed by Muhammad-Ali al-Eshaiker and four other noblemen.[48] He died in 1598.[49]

He was the son of Husayn, the son of Ali, the son of Yunis, the son of Jameel, the son of Alam al-Din. Nasrallah was a senior jurist, teacher, poet, author and annalist. He was the patriarch of the Nasrallah family.[50]

He was the son of Hasan, the son of Mansur, the son of Nasir al-Din, the son of Yunis, the son of Jameel, the son of Alam al-Din. He was made saden of the Husayn shrine in 1752, until his death in 1790.[51]

• Khalifah Nimatullah Tumah (d. 1697) was the grandson of Tumah III, he became the first of the descendants of Tumah III to hold the niqaba of Karbala, and this was in 1680. His grandson, Abbas also became naqib in 1773, but he died two months later.[55][56]
• Muhammad Jafar Tumah (d. 1835) was the saden of the Abbas shrine in 1834 until 1838.[57]
• Jawad 'al-Killidar' Hasan Tumah (d. 1891) was the saden of the Husayn shrine in 1874 until his death in 1891.[58] His descendants took his nickname - al-Killidar (holder of the key) - as their family name, and are known as 'al-Killidar' or 'al-Killidar Tumah'.
• Ali Jawad al-Killidar (d. 1900) was the saden of the Husayn shrine in 1891 until his death in 1900.[59]
• Muhammad-Hassan Kadhim Rowdha-Khan (1864–1945) was a religious scholar and orator. He was a leader in the Iraqi revolt of 1920, and the first person to raise the Arab (Iraqi) flag over Karbala's civic centre, causing him to be imprisoned by the British. He was freed at the behest of a senior cleric. He died whilst on pilgrimage to Imam Ridha in Mashhad, in 1945, and his corpse was returned and buried in Karbala.[60]
• Abd al-Husayn Ali al-Killidar (1881–1961) was the saden of the Husayn shrine in 1900, until he passed it down to his son, Abd al-Salih in 1930.[61] He authored a number of books on the history of Karbala, including Tarikh Karbala al-Mualla and Baghiyat al-Nubala Fi Tarikh Karbala.[62]
• Dr. Abd al-Jawad Ali al-Killidar (1892–1959) was a doctor in Islamic history, and authored a number of books on the history of Karbala, including Tarikh Karbala and Ha'ir al-Husayn. He founded the al-Ahrar newspaper in the 1930's.[63]
• Abd al-Saleh Abd al-Husayn al-Killidar (1911–2005) was a saden of the Husayn shrine in 1930 until he retired in 1981.[64]
  

  Abd al-Salih al-Killidar (centre left) during his sidanate with King Faisal II (centre) in the Imam Husayn Shrine, 1957.
• Muhammad-Hassan Mustafa al-Killidar (1913–1995) was a celebrated author, most famous for his book Madinat al-Husayn (City of Hussain) which narrates a great deal of detail about the history of Karbala in numerous volumes. He was an advocate for women's rights, and issued a chain of articles titled 'The necessity of liberating women according to Islam'.[65]
• Dr. Saleh Jawad Tumah (b. 1929) is a doctor of Arabic and Comparative Literature. He is professor emeritus of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, and has been associated with the university since 1964.[66][67]
• Salman Hadi Tumah (b. 1935) is a renowned author and poet. He is a graduate of Baghdad University's college of education, with many leading books on the history and culture of Karbala, as well as its notable figures.[68]
• Dr. Adnan Jawad Tumah (b. 1941) is a doctor in Language. He is a professor at Philipps-Universität Marburg. He has authored a number of books and publications, focusing on Arabic calligraphy and religious manuscripts.[69][70]
• Adel Abd al-Saleh al-Killidar (b. 1942) was the saden of the Husayn shrine in 1981 until 1991. He was studying for his PhD in Cairo in 1979, however he left it to attend to his duty as saden, which his father requested for him to take over.[71]
  

  Adel al-Killidar (far right) during his sidanate with Muhammad Ali in the Imam Husayn Shrine, 1990.

• Jawad Kathim Nasrallah (d. 1808) was the saden of the Husayn shrine after the sack of Karbala, in 1802 until his death in 1808.[80]
• Ali 'al-Tawil' Jawad Nasrallah was the saden of the Husayn shrine after his father Jawad, upon the royal decree issued by Sulayman Pasha, from 1808 until he was replaced on the orders of Fath Ali Qajar in 1810, because he was allegedly too young.[81] His descendants took his nickname - al-Tawil (the tall) - as their family name, and are known as 'al-Tawil' or 'al-Tawil Nasrallah'.
• Ahmed Nasrallah Nasrallah was the saden of the Abbas shrine in 1867.[82]
• Baqir Salih Nasrallah (d. 1886) was an Islamic missionary, that played a big role in the conversion of many of Talafar to Shia Islam. He was known to have a remarkable level of physical strength, it is narrated on the account of Sayyid Ibrahim al-Isfahani in Sayyid Muhammad al-Hindi an-Najafi's kashkool (diary), that "Sayyid Baqir was known for his exceptional strength, for he would stand on one leg on the edge of a well, and no man would be able to push him into the well."[83]. This story resonates with the strength usually displayed by his ancestors' from the Hashimite clan, and specifically Muhammad Ibn Al Hannafiyah, who was known to be unmovable if he were to sit on the ground with his legs crossed.[84]
• Muhammad 'Hammoud' Sultan Nasrallah (d. 1901) was head of the traders of Karbala in the Ottoman era, before the introduction of the chamber of commerce. He was an affluent man, and owned a whole parade along Bayn al-Haramayn.[85]
• Dr. Murtadha Nasir Nasrallah (1922–1996) was a doctor of law, he worked as a professor at the University of Baghdad's business school.[86] He was a celebrated author, writing some of the leading books on corporation law.[87]
• Hashem Hassan Nasrallah (1923–1997) was the chairman of the Karbala Chamber of Commerce for six terms from 1959 to 1969[88]. He supervised al-Iqtisad magazine that issued its first magazine in 15 July 1960.[89] He founded the Chamber's library in 1963.[90]
  

  Chairman Hashem Nasrallah (middle) and other members of the Karbala Chamber of Commerce, 1965.
• Abd al-Sahib Nasir Nasrallah (b. 1953) was the saden of the Husayn shrine from 1991 to 2003.[91] He is also an author with many published books, mostly about the history of Karbala.
• Dr. Hashim Muhammad al-Tawil (b. 1955) is a doctor of art history, he is the Tenured Professor and Chair of Art History Area Studies at Henry Ford College, Dearborn, MI. He has also been an advisory board member at the Arab Cultural Studies Program in Henry Ford College since 2011, and a board of directors member in the Asian & Islamic Art Forum of the Detroit Institute of Arts since 2006.[92]
• Muhammad-Husayn Muhammad-Ali Nasrallah (b. 1951) is a judge, prosecutor, and served as the president of appeals tribunal in four different Iraqi provinces.[93] He is currently the chief of the Nasrallah family, a post he has held since 2017.[94]
  

  Muhammad-Husayn Nasrallah (centre) during the technocratic government's press conference with Muqtada al-Sadr (far left) in Najaf, 2016.
• Dr. Hasan Ali Nasrallah (b. 1951) is a doctor of internal medicine, and the dean of the Medical College of the University of Karbala.[95][96]
• Aref Muhammad Nasrallah (b. 1958) is a social activist[97], he is the chairman of the al-Wala' wal-Fida' wal-Fath Association. He is currently the director of Ayatollah Shirazi's public relations office in Iraq.[98][99]

• Husayn Muhammad-Ali Dhiya al-Din (d. 1871) was the saden of the Abbas shrine in 1864 until his death in 1871.[102]
• Mustafa Husayn Dhiya al-Din (d. 1879) was the saden of the Abbas shrine after his father's death, until his death in 1879.[102]
• Murtadha Mustafa Dhiya al-Din (1869–1938) was the saden of the Abbas shrine after his father's death, until his death in 1938. When his father died, he was still too young to take on the duty of the sidana, so it was held by Muhammad-Mehdi Tumah until he was reported to the governor of Baghdad, Abd al-Rahman Pasha.[103] Abd al-Rahman reinstated Murtadha, upon receiving the news. He also issued a firman to solidify Murtadha's position, however, his uncle Abbas Dhiya al-Din took responsibility, until Murtadha came of age, as he was only ten years old.[104]
  

  Murtadha Dhiya al-Din (centre right) during his sidanate with King Faisal I (centre) in the Abbas shrine, 1921.
• Muhammad-Hassan Murtadha Dhiya al-Din (d. 1953) was the saden of the Abbas shrine after his father's death in 1938. He was one of the main contributors to the peace treaty between the people of Kadhimiya and the people of Najaf on Ashura of 1946. He also prevented the police from entering the Abbas shrine during the 1952 revolt.[105]
• Badr al-Din 'Badri' Muhammad-Hassan Dhiya al-Din (d. 1985) was the saden of the Abbas shrine after his father's death in 1953. He retired from his responsibilities in 1982.[106]
  

  Badri Dhiya al-Din (centre right) during his sidanate with Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim (centre) in the Abbas shrine, 1966.
• Muhammad-Husayn Mehdi Dhiya al-Din was the saden of the Abbas shrine in 1982 until 1991.[106]
• Ahmed Abbod Dhiya al-Din (d. 2015) was a renowned merchant. He opened a number of businesses in mulk (parade) Al Nasrallah. He is the first person to bring the radio and television to Karbala.  He was known as balur (crystal) because he owned a large crystal store. He was the chief of the Dhiya al-Din family until his death.

• Muhammad Ali Tajir was the sarkoshk of the Ha'iri group of custodians of the two shrines in the late 19th century.[108]

• Abd al-Amir Jawad Ouj (1958–2011) was an author and poet. He obtained a BSc in Project Planning and Management and pursued a career in writing and journalism. He has authored numerous books, including leading books on genealogy and Islamic folklore.[111] He disappeared in 2011, and has been missing since.

• Muhammad-Ali Muhammad Jolokhan (1928–2007) was a renowned cleric and orator. His descendants took his mother's surname – Jolokhan – as their family name, and are known as 'Jolokhan' or 'Jolokhan al-Faizi'.[114]