Najd
Najd (Arabic: نَجْدٌ, pronounced [nad͡ʒd]) is the central region of Saudi Arabia, in which about a third of the country's modern population resides. It is the home of the House of Saud, from which it pursued unification with Hejaz since the time of the Emirate of Diriyah.[1]
For other uses, see Najd (disambiguation).
Najd
نَجْدٌ
Historic Najd was divided into three modern administrative regions still in use today. The Riyadh region features Wadi Hanifa and the Tuwaiq escarpment, which houses easterly Yamama with the Saudi capital, Riyadh since 1824,[2] and the Sudairi region, which has its capital in Majmaah. The second administrative unit, Al-Qassim, houses the fertile oases and date palm orchards spread out in the region's highlands along Wadi Rummah in central Najd with its capital in Buraidah, the second largest Najdi city, with the region historically contested by the House of Rashid to its north and the House of Saud to its east and south. The third administrative unit is northerly Ḥaʼil, which features the mountains of Jabal Shammar housing the Tayy capital of Ḥaʼil.
shallow lakes south of Buraida
Major towns[edit]
Riyadh is the largest city in Najd, as well as the largest city in the country as a whole, with a population of more than 7,676,654 as of 2018. Other cities include Ḥaʼil (936,465 in 2021), Buraidah (745,353 in 2021), Unaizah (163,729 in 2010) and Ar Rass (133,000 in 2010).[40] Smaller towns and villages include Sudair, Al-Kharj, Dawadmi, 'Afif, Al-Zilfi, Al Majma'ah, Shaqra, Tharmada, Dhurma, Al-Gway'iyyah, Al-Hareeq, Hotat Bani Tamim, Layla, As Sulayyil, and Wadi ad-Dawasir, the southernmost settlement in Najd.
Population[edit]
Social and ethnic groups[edit]
Before the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formed, the native population in that area was largely made up of tribal Arabs: some of them were part of the majority class of sedentary farmers and merchants who lived in villages and towns dotted around central Arabia; others (a minority of inhabitants) were nomads (bedouins) who roamed between the towns and villages of Najd, much like Hejaz. The rest of the population consisted mainly of Arabs who were unaffiliated with any tribes; most of these lived in the towns and villages of Najd and worked in various trades such as carpentry, or as Sonnaa' (craftsmen). The population also included a small number of African, Eastern European and South-Eastern European slaves and freedmen.
Most of the Najdi tribes are of Adnanite origin; their members emigrated to Najd from Northern Arabia, Tihamah and Hijaz in ancient times. The most famous Najdi tribes in the pre-Islamic era were: Banu Hanifa in the area around modern-day Riyadh; Banu Tamim, situated further north; Banu Abs, centered in Al-Qassim; Tayy, centered in modern-day Ha'il; and Banu 'Amir in southern Najd.
During the 15th through the 18th centuries, there was a considerable tribal influx from the west, increasing both the nomadic and settled population of the area and providing a fertile social environment for the Wahhabi movement.[41] By the 20th century, many of the ancient tribes had morphed into new confederations or had emigrated from other areas of the Middle East, and many tribes from other regions of the Peninsula had moved into Najd. However, the largest proportion of native Najdis today still belong to these ancient Najdi tribes or to their newer incarnations.
Many of the Najdi tribes, even in ancient times, were not nomadic or bedouin, but long-settled farmers and merchants. The royal family of Saudi Arabia, Al Saud, for example, trace their lineage to Banu Hanifa. On the eve of Saudi Arabia’s formation, the major nomadic tribes of Najd included Dawasir, Mutayr, 'Utaybah, Shammar (historically known as Tayy) Subay', Suhool, Harb, and the Qahtanites in southern Najd. Many members of the sedentary population belonged to tribes such as Anizzah, Banu Tamim, Banu Hanifa, Banu Khalid, Banu Zayd, Banu Lam, Dawasir, Subay', Shammar, and Bahila.
Most of the minority nomadic tribes are now settled either in cities such as Riyadh, or in special settlements, known as hijras, that were established in the early part of the 20th century as part of a country-wide policy undertaken by King Abdul-Aziz to put an end to the nomadic way of life. Nomads still exist in the Kingdom, however, in very small numbers – a far cry from the days when they made up the majority in the Arabian Peninsula.
Since the formation of modern Saudi Arabia, Najd—-and particularly the capital, Riyadh—-has seen an influx of immigrants from all regions of the country and from virtually every social class. Much of the native Najdi population has also moved away from its native towns and villages to Riyadh. However, most of these villages still retain a small number of their native inhabitants.
About a quarter of the population of Najd, including about a third of the population of Riyadh, are non-Saudi expatriates, including both skilled professionals and unskilled laborers. Slavery was abolished in Saudi Arabia by King Faisal in 1962. Some of those who were freed chose to continue working for their former owners, particularly if those former owners were members of the royal family.
Unlike the Hejaz and Tihamah, Najd is remote and stayed outside of the realm of important Islamic empires such as the Abbasids and the Ottoman Empire. This historical separation largely shaped its current dissimilarity to Hejaz.[42]
Religion[edit]
The region is traditionally known as a Hanbali stronghold, and after the 18th century became known for its strict interpretation of Islam and is generally considered a bastion of religious conservatism. The founder of the interpretation of Salafism, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, was born in 'Uyayna, a village in the Najd.[43]
The majority of people in the region consider themselves as Salafi Muslims. The name derives from advocating a return to the traditions of the "ancestors" (salaf), the first three generations of Muslims said to know the "purest" form of Islam. Those generations include the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions (the Sahabah), their successors (the Tabi‘un), and the successors of the successors (the Taba al-Tabi‘in). Practically, Salafis maintain that Muslims ought to rely on the Qur'an, the Sunnah and the 'Ijma (consensus) of the salaf, giving them precedence over later Islamic hermeneutic teachings.[44]
Hadith of Najd[edit]
The Hadith of Najd is a hadith in Sahih Bukhari with several chains of narration about Najd which is prophesied to be the source of calamities. Sunni Muslims accept that the classification of the hadith as "sahih" (authentic).
In popular culture[edit]
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani's first novel The Saddlebag – A Fable for Doubters and Seekers describes events set in the Najd plateau along the pilgrimage route between Mecca and Medina in 1844–1845.
A contest held in the Middle East brought light to a new character in famed SNK Playmore video game, The King of Fighters XIV. This character goes under the name Najd.
