Parents Joktan Cousin Reu Uncle Peleg | Children Yashjub Grandparents Eber, Azurad Great-grandparents Nimrod, Salah, Muak | |
Similar Eber, Peleg, Reu | ||
Ya'rub (Arabic: يعرب, also spelled Ya'rob, Yarrob, Yarab or Yaarub) is an ancient Arabic personal name. Arab and Islamic genealogies identify Ya'rub as the grandson of Hud (biblical Eber), being the son of Qahtan (biblical Joktan) and the ancestor of the Himyarite kings of Yemen. A similar account places Ya'rub as Qahtan's grandson (Ya'rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan) and holds that he is the forefather of al-'Arab al-'Ariba ("the arab arabs" or "pure arabs"), who are generally identified with the Qahtanites and its two main tribes, the Himyar and the Kahlan. Some legendary accounts relate that Ya'rub was the first to speak Arabic and that the language was named for him. Shams-i Qais Razi, writing in the 12-13th century CE, traced the origins of Arabic poetry to Ya'rub and he is also credited with having invented the Kufic script.
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Ancestor of kings
Ya'rub was said to be one of greatest Arab kings; he was the first to rule the entire lands of Yemen (southwestern Arabia). He expelled or destroyed the Adites, consolidated the empire of Yemen, and gave to his brothers Oman and Hadhrarmaut. His son was the king Saba or Sheba, the founder of Saba or Sheba kingdom, mentioned in the Qur'an.
Descendant of the Prophet Ishmael, Son of Abraham
The lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad was traced by some Arab and Islamic genealogists back to Adam through Ya'rub, who in these accounts is designated the grandson of Nabit, who was the son of Ishmael. For example, Ibn Kathir quoting Mohammed Ibn Ishak in As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah denotes the part of the lineage of Mohammad from Adnan through to Abraham as follows:
Adnan ibn Udad ibn Muqawwam ibn Nahor ibn Terah ibn Ya'rub ibn Yashjub ibn Nabit ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim Al-Khalil.
Note that ibn means "son" and al-Khalil, the appellation appended to Ibrahim (Abraham)'s name means "the Friend of God".