Analyzing Political-Social Role of Ahnaf ibn Qais Tamimi in History of Islam

The leaders and nobles of clans—under the auspices of the Umayyad governors and influence of the tribal structure and social grounds of the age of Ignorance—played an influential role in the socio-political transformations. The present paper studies the role of one of these personalities in the historical events of the first century of Islam. Ahnaf ibn Qais was one of the prominent figures of Bani Tamim. Islamic resources provide scattered and conflicting information about him. The present paper aims at studying Ahnaf’s personality, and evaluates existing reports on his presence and the consequences of his performances. Ahnaf’s presence dates back to the early years of Islam and Islamic conquests. He was one of the clan leaders, military commanders, and intellectuals of Iraq. He dwelled in Basra and attracted the attention of others by adopting dissimilar positions and attitudes. His personality was prominently shaped by his tribal origin and Bedouin and individualistic views dominating the socio-political atmosphere of the Islamic society. The present historical study adopts a descriptive-analytic methodology and relies on Islamic sources and documents. The paper suggests that by evaluating the degree of human relationship with history, a part of significant issues in the history of Islam could effectively be answered.