Men of the Al-Oqilat: ‘O riders, you who rise from among Aqeel, / Upon the pack saddles of tall, fully laden camels.’ Who were the Al-Oqilat? They were merchants from Najd, particularly Al-Qassim—Buraidah, Unaizah, Al-Rass, Al-Bukayriyah, Al-Khabra, Al-Badai, Uyun Al-Jiwa, Qusaiba, Al-Midhnab, Al-Qaraa, Al-Shiqqah, Al-Tarfiyah, Al-Shimasiyah, Al-Rubay'iyah, and Uthal. They did not belong to a single tribe or family. They were united not by lineage, but by ‘Aqeel’ as a commercial profession. They were settled townspeople who traded primarily in camels, as well as horses and general merchandise. They exported camels, horses, sheep, and ghee to Kuwait, Iraq, the Levant, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, and Egypt. They imported clothing, weapons, coffee, tea, sugar, rice, and everything their own country lacked. They observed the five daily prayers at their appointed times and proclaimed the call to prayer openly. They practiced this trade for nearly four hundred years, until it disappeared in 1368 AH. In doing so, they linked Arab and Muslim countries economically, commercially, and politically. The Al-Oqilat created an honorable and distinguished legacy for their homeland abroad, embodying trustworthiness, courage, patience, cooperation, knowledge of routes, selflessness, chivalry, patriotism, loyalty, and honesty in business. Their integrity and truthfulness became proverbial. In buying and selling across the Levant and other lands, people would say: ‘Be like an Al-Oqilat man.’
Buraidah was the best-known market from which the Al-Oqilat set out. Doughty wrote: ‘Buraidah is the most active town of the Al-Oqilat.’ Amin Al-Rihani wrote in Kings of the Arabs, p. 617: ‘Buraidah is the largest market for auctioning camels in the Arab lands.’ On p. 611, he wrote: ‘Buraidah is where the Bedouin of Mutair, Huta'im, Otaibah, Harb, and others halt; they come there to buy and sell.’ A British Admiralty intelligence report stated that the Al-Oqilat were people of Najd, and of Al-Qassim in particular: IOR/L/PS/20/E84, A Handbook of Arabia, Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Division, May 1916, vol. II, p. 19, cited in Najdis Beyond the Borders, p. 23. Another report stated that their sheikh was always a citizen of Buraidah residing in that town, and that the Al-Oqilat gathered under his banner: IOR/L/PS/20/C131, Personalities, Arabia, Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Division, April 1917, pp. 147–48, cited in Najdis Beyond the Borders, p. 23. The traveler Muhammad Shafiq Effendi Mustafa, who visited Najd in 1926, wrote that the people of Al-Qassim—especially the residents of Buraidah and Unaizah—were the wealthiest people in Najd, the most urbanized and energetic, and the most knowledgeable about methods of trade; cited in Najdis Beyond the Borders, p. 181. The orientalist Lorimer wrote in 1300 AH that Buraidah's principal market was the city's most prominent feature: it extended north and south and was divided into sections for different trades. The author of The Virtues of the Arabs wrote: ‘For the people of Al-Qassim, leaving their country and confronting hardship is considered natural. They are the people of the Arabian Peninsula most able to endure life away from home, and the most experienced in it. For one of their men, being absent from his family for ten days or for twenty years is equally ordinary, so long as it is in pursuit of work and lawful livelihood. They are trustworthy and truthful in their dealings and stand beside anyone among them in need. Most of their wealthy men are self-made: after God's grace, they earned and developed their wealth by leaving their homeland. They are the Al-Oqilat.’ End quote, p. 183. Al-Shafi'i, may God have mercy on him, said: ‘Leave your homeland in search of distinction, / And travel—for journeys bring five rewards: / Relief from worry, the earning of a living, / Knowledge, refinement, and noble company. / If it is said that travel brings hardship and distress, / Crossing deserts and confronting danger, / Then death is better for a young man than remaining / In a house of humiliation, among slanderers and the envious.’ The Al-Oqilat maintained exceptionally honorable and strong relations with the emirs of the tribes whose territories they crossed, foremost among them the emirs of Al-Shaalan. The Al-Shaalan emirs showed them chivalry, heroism, generosity, cooperation, and affection, as did the emirs of Shammar and Harb and most tribal sheikhs. The difference between an Al-Oqilat man, a rahili, a camel driver, and a ra'i al-shidad: The work of an Al-Oqilat man differed fundamentally from that of the rahili, the camel driver, and the ra'i al-shidad. The Al-Oqilat man was first and foremost a merchant in camels, as well as horses and sheep. He drove herds from across the Arabian Peninsula to Iraq, the Levant, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt for sale in favorable markets. They also bought camels in South Africa and drove them to Arab countries, then purchased various goods and brought them to Najd. The caravan emir was accompanied by guards and companions, cooks, coffee servers, herders, and assistants. The poet Al-Lahim said: ‘Those riding them are Al-Oqilat, not camel drivers; / Their mettle is unlike the mettle of the rahili. / This Al-Oqilat man possesses resolve and wealth; / His road is long, unlike the rahili's.’ The rahili resembled a hired camel driver. He traveled for wages or to buy goods in Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain and sell them in Najd and Al-Ahsa, and he carried goods for Bedouin communities from one place to another. A camel driver used his camel to earn wages and carry water, firewood, and similar necessities. The ra'i al-shidad rode his she-camel on military expeditions. The poet Nasser Al-Bukhait said: ‘Those riding them are Al-Oqilat, not pack-saddle camel drivers.’ Al-Lahim also said: ‘We are Aqeel, masters of tall, mature camels, / The pride of caravans when every homebody sleeps. / How often we crossed unknown, rolling wastes, / Pale expanses in whose folds the wolf howls. / Through resolve and strength, honor is our gain, / Alongside every valiant man whose hopes reach far. / Crossers of the desert, beloved of doe-eyed maidens, / Raised among lofty, wind-swept heights.’ Al-Oqilat terminology and the members of their journeys: Al-Oqilat man—the merchant and owner of capital. Herders—responsible for grazing and protecting the camels. Mulhaq—an assistant who served the journey. Coffee server—responsible for coffee and the shira', now known as the tent. Cook—responsible for cooking. Khawi—a companion drawn from a tribe whose territory the caravan crossed. ‘They went west’—their journey to the Levant, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt. ‘They went east’—their eastward return home. ‘They crossed’—they crossed the Jordan Valley. Muaddiyah—men who moved the camels from the eastern side of the bridge to the western side and delivered them to markets throughout the various countries; because of their knowledge of the routes, they also resided in those countries. Shira'—a group of Al-Oqilat merchants. People would say: ‘So-and-so, the emir of the Al-Oqilat, traveled to the Levant or Iraq with so many shira',’ meaning so many Al-Oqilat merchants. Mudahha—a place where the caravan stopped and stayed at midday to eat lunch. Muashsha—a place where it stopped and stayed in the evening to eat dinner. Compiled and prepared by Mr. Abdul Latif Al-Wuhaibi.
You must be logged in to post a comment.