Banu Hanifa

Banu Hanifa
بنو حنيفة
Rabi'aite Arab tribe
NisbaAl-Hanafi
LocationArabia
Descended fromHanifa bin Lujaim bin Saab bin Ali bin Bakr bin Wael
Parent tribeBanu Bakr
Branches
  • Banu Al-Du'ul
  • Banu 'Adi
  • Banu 'Amer
ReligionChristianity (pre-630)
Islam (post 630)

Banu Hanifa (Arabic: بنو حنيفة) is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdul Qays, Taghlib, al-Nammir ibn Qasit, and Anazzah. Though counted by the classical Arab genealogists as a Christian branch of Bani Bakr, they led an independent existence prior to Islam. The ruling House of Saud of Saudi Arabia belongs to it.