Ismaelites

Ismaelites, the Bedouin or nomad element in Arabia, in contradistinction to the Kahtanides, or settled population, of Yemen; are traditionally regarded as Arab cl-Mostarebah, that is, mixed Arabs, the issue of an alliance between Ismael and a woman of Kahtan stock. They are commonly known as Maadites, from Maad, a descendant of Ismael, and to this connection are referred the Nabotheans, Kedarenes, Edomites (Idumeans), Amalekites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Midianites of the Biblical records. The Ismaelites hold the

Kahtanides in contempt, calling them Ahl-el-Madar, that is, "House People," because they dwell in towns and not in tents. Their speech is the classical language of the Koran and of Arabic literature, Mohammed having been an Ismaelite of the Koreish tribe.