Al-Obaidi

Al-Obaidi (also spelled as Al Obaidi or Al-Obeidi) (العبيدي) is a surname that denotes the belonging to the Al-Obaidi tribe.^[1] The Al-Obaidi family is a noble family who are directly descended from the Islamic prophet Muhammed, through his grandson Imam Hussain.^[1] They are usually given the right to use the honorific title Sayed before their first name. The literal translation of the Arabic word Sayed is Lord or Sir in the English language.

Al-Obaidi family is directly descended from Khalil son of Obaid Ullah Qadi Al Mosul Abu Al'makarim son of Khalil son of Ali son of Ismaeel son of Ibrahim son of Dawood son of Muhammed son of Abd Al Ghaffar son of Muhammed son of Al Hasan son of Obaid Ullah son of Ahmad son of Ibrahim son of Muhammed son of Zayd son of Muhammed son of Dhiya'a Al Deen son of Muhammed son of Zayd son of Al-Naqeeb Ahmad son of Al-Ameer (Prince) Muhammed son of Al-Ameer (Prince) Muhammed son of Obaid Ullah III (the third) son of Ali son of Obaid Ullah II (the second) son of Ali son of Obaid Ullah Al-A'araj son of Al Hussain Al Asghar son of Al-Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin son of Imam Hussain son of Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib and Fatimah the daughter of the Prophet Muhammed.^[1] Members of the Al-Obaidi family are called with the title Sayed which literally means Lord. As an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammed.^[2] The Al-Obaidi family's common ancestor Obaid Ullah son of Khalil moved to Mosul where he became the Qadi of the city. Qadi can be literally translated to English as Judge. The position of Qadi was a privileged position in the Ottoman era; whereby every city had one Qadi to judge on the people's matters using Islamic jurisdiction.

The roots of the Al-Obaidi family is Arab from the Head tribe of Banu Hashim a clan of Quraish which makes them Adnani Arabs or Northern Arabs who are descended from the Prophet Ibrahim through his son the Prophet Ishmael who were originally from Mesopotamia which is present day Iraq in the ancient city of Ur near Nasariyah in Southern Iraq. Many Arab tribes trace their lineage through Adnan who is the Father of the Arabs that traces his lineage to Prophet Ishmael the son of Prophet Ibrahim the great great grandfather of the Adnani Arabs.

The Al-Obaidi family have a very high social status Middle East, because they are considered to be of the purest of lineages as they trace their direct lineage to Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib and his daughter Fatima bint Muhammad through their son Imam Hussain; the Al-Obaidis are also famous for kindness, generosity and good manners. They are of the 'upper class' in the Arabian tribal system. This large tribe has been the source of great undefeatable warriors throughout history. Additionally, many defense ministers of multiple middle east countries, especially Iraq, hold Al-Obaidi surname. The Al-Obaidis are also known throughout the middle east for their intelligence and charisma. Furthermore they are among the wealthiest families in the Middle Eastern region. The Al-Obaidi tribe is considered to be one of the largest tribes in Iraq. They have a long history and have always been considered an effective factor in solving crises and a key reason behind many of important decisions in the history of Iraq and other middle east countries. Indeed they are known to control many of the important decision across the Arabian Peninsula.

Though this noble family was mostly concentrated in Mosul and Kirkuk due to the recent wars in Iraq, many of its members have spread throughout the world, members of this family can now be found in other parts of Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, USA, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and many other countries around the world. Similar to the majority of tribes from Iraq, Al-Obaidis are Sunni and Shia muslims.

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