Al-Oqilat in the Memory of Their Descendants

The Grandparents’ Struggle Through Their Descendants’ Eyes

When the Al-Oqilat crossed the deserts on camelback to reach the Levant, Iraq, and Egypt and trade with their Arab brothers there, they carried with them the authentic values of Arab character. Through the way they treated people, they earned respect, affection, and appreciation.

The Al-Oqilat felt deep longing for their families and homeland during their journeys, and expressed it in their poetry. I was moved to write these lines by the attention that Abdullatif bin Saleh Al-Wuhaibi has devoted to them, their history, and their honorable lives: tracing their footsteps, preserving their poems and stories, and collecting their photographs.

With the help of his father and brothers, Abdullatif Al-Wuhaibi converted a large part of their farm in the Uhaitan suburb southeast of Buraidah into an Al-Oqilat gathering place they named “Aqeel Coffeehouse.” Meetings held there enrich visitors with accounts of the Al-Oqilat and their achievements. A project like this deserves to be visited and encouraged so that future generations do not forget their ancestors’ struggles.