Arab people

Arab people or Arabs  are a Semitic group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to the tribes of the Middle East and North Africa (essentially the Arabian Peninsula). The Arabic language and culture began spreading throughout the Middle East as early as the 2nd century with ethnically Arab Christians such as the Ghassanids and even earlier ethnically Arab Jewish tribes. Outside of the cultural Arabs, some Arabs have become Christian and are known as Arab Christians. Socially, Arabs are divided into two groups: the settled Arab, fellahin (villagers) or hadar (townspeople) and the nomadic Bedouin.

Origins and History
According to traditional legends, Arab lineages allegedly originate from three groups:


 * "Perished Arabs" : The ancient Arabs of whose history little is known. They include the ‘Ad, Thamud, Tasam, Jadis, and Imlaq, among others.
 * "Pure Arabs" : The descendants of Qahtan, identified as the Biblical Joktan of Genesis 10:25. They include the Southern Arabians of modern Yemen and Oman.
 * "Arabized Arabs" : The descendants of Adnan, who (in Islamic tradition) was a descendant of Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Quraysh are a branch of the "Arabized Arabs".

Keeping the surname is an important part of Arabic culture as some lineages can be traced far back to ancient times. Some Arabs claim they can trace their lineage back to Noah and Adam.

Descent from Ishmael

 * father of::Nabajoth: Nabataean Arabs.
 * father of::Kedar: Saudi Arabians and Iraqis.
 * father of::Adbeel: Sinai Bedouins.
 * father of::Mibsam: Eastern Saudi Arabians (merged with Mishma).
 * father of::Mishma: Mesha in Yemen (merged with Mibsam).
 * father of::Dumah: Dumat al-Jandal.
 * father of::Massa: Jordanians and Northern Arabians.
 * father of::Hadar: Christian Jordanians, Syrians, and Hadramites in southern Arabia.
 * father of::Tema: Taima in northern Arabia.
 * father of::Jetur: Ituraeans and Druze Arabs.
 * father of::Naphish: Tunisian/Libyan Arabs (originally from Central Arabia merged with Carthaginians/Berbers).
 * father of::Kedemah: Algerian/Moroccan Arabs (originally from Central and South Arabia merged with Berbers).

Islam

 * Main Article: Islam

Islam is a religion founded by Muhammad (Mohammed) in AD 622 during the Umayyad aristocracy (a golden age for the Islamic Ummah in which it was specifically Arab). Islam practices a theology based in the Qur'an, and an individual who follows Islam is called a Muslim. According to traditional Islamic belief, Isa or Jesus was sent by Allah to pave the road for Islam revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel revealed Allah's last message, the Qur'an to the utmost and final prophet, Muhammad. The word Allah is the name of God predominately used by Muslims and the word Islam means "submission" or total surrender to the will of Allah.