Nusaybah family

File:East Jerusalem Batch 1 (894).jpg]]

The Nussayba family, commonly spelt in English as Nuseibeh ({{langx|ar|عائلة نسيبة}}; also spelt Nusaibah and Nusseibeh) is a prominent Palestinian family and the oldest Muslim dynasty in Jerusalem.{{cite news |title= Green investors and right-wing sceptics clash on the meaning of scripture |newspaper=The Economist |date=1 November 2017 |url= https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2017/11/faith-finance-and-ecology}} The Nussayba family has a long history and tight bonds with the Holy Land and Arab Christians since their ancestors conquered Jerusalem in 637.

The Nusseibeh family is historically and genealogically linked to Ubadah ibn al-Samit, a companion of the Prophet, who was a member of the Banu Khazraj of Medina. Ubadah played a significant role in early Islamic history, including participating in the Aqaba pledges and the battles of Uhud and Badr. The family has been recognized for tracing its lineage to him, a well-documented connection in historical and genealogical sources. While Nusaybah bint Ka'ab (Umm Umarah), an esteemed female companion of the Prophet known for her bravery in battle, is sometimes mentioned with the family, this association is more symbolic than genealogical. The Nusseibeh name may reflect respect for Nusaybah's leadership and contributions, but genealogically, the family is more accurately descended from Ubadah ibn al-Samit.

Since the arrival of Islam in Jerusalem in the seventh century, this Sunni Muslim family has held the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's holiest site,{{Cite news |last=Tharoor |first=Ishaan |date=November 1, 2016 |title=Why Christianity's holiest shrine is guarded by two Muslim families |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/01/why-christianitys-holiest-shrine-is-guarded-by-two-muslim-families/ |access-date= |issn=0190-8286 |quote=The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City is Christianity's most hallowed shrine. It's believed that the rock-cut tomb at the heart of the church was where the body of Jesus Christ was once laid.}} alongside the [https://thejoudehfamily.simdif.com/custodians_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1.html Joudeh Al Husseini family] (who were added to the original arrangement in the time of Saladin, the Muslim conqueror who seized the holy city from the Crusaders in 1187).{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/201092/muslim-holds-ancient-key-jesus-tomb-site-jerusalem/|title = Muslim Holds Ancient Key to Jesus Tomb Site in Jerusalem}}[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/04/christian-monks-square-off-at-one-of-jerusalem-s-holiest-sites.html Nina Strochlic, Christian Monks Square Off at One of Jerusalem’s Holiest Sites, Daily Beast, 7 April 2013][http://jerusalemexperience.com/tour/opening-the-doors-of-the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre/ Opening the Doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, JerusalemExperience.com]{{cite web | last=Liebermann | first=Oren | title=Two Muslim families entrusted with care of holy Christian site for centuries | website=CNN | date=26 March 2016 | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/26/middleeast/easter-muslim-keyholder/index.html | access-date=16 December 2023|author-link=Oren Liebermann}} This arrangement emerged during the days of the second Rashid caliph, Umar, who hoped to avoid clashes among rival Christian sects for control over the church.{{Cite web |last=Figes |title=Religious Conflict Precedes the Crimean War |url=http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h47-crimea2.htm |access-date= |website=www.fsmitha.com |quote=The rival groups of worshippers fought not only with their fists, but with crucifixes, candlesticks, chalices, lamps and incense-burners, and even bits of wood which they tore from the sacred shrines. The fighting continued with knives and pistols smuggled into the Holy Sepulchre by worshippers of either side. - Orlando Figes, "The Crimean War", p 2.}} Although symbolic, the arrangement has provided the stability the city's Christians needed. It is a symbol of tolerance and interreligious harmony,{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Fred |date=December 1, 2017 |title=The Muslims who keep the peace at Christianity's holiest site |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2017/12/01/muslims-keep-peace-christianitys-holiest-site/ |access-date= |website=Patheos |language=en-US |quote=We Christians can’t trust ourselves with the keys to our own holiest site. But these good Muslim stewards have, for centuries, helped to save us from ourselves.}} and gave the Nussaiba family a visible role in Christian activities in Jerusalem, which include pilgrimages and visits by Western Christians.

Family roots

Ancestors of the family are believed to have arrived in Jerusalem as early as 300 BC during Hellenistic Palestine. The Nusayba settled in Palestine in 637. The family married and mixed with multiple notable Levant families from Christian and Muslim religious backgrounds, such as the el-Issa Family and Al Ghussein family. The original Muslim Nusseibeh clan included two companions of Muhammad — Abdullah bin Nussaiba and Muadh ibn Jabal, and many other of Muhammad's companions and maternal uncles, descendants of Salma from Banu Najjar, a clan of the banu Khazraj, the wife of Hashim, forefather of the Hashemite family and mother of its renowned leader Abd al-Muttalib, grandfather of Muhammed. The Nussaiba family is a clan of the Khazraj tribe of Medina, known in Islam as al-Ansar, for their support and protection of Muhammed during his exile from Mecca.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nusseibeh.org/ |title=Welcome to nusseibeh.org and nuseibeh.org - Home of the Nussaiba Family |access-date=2011-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623024449/http://nusseibeh.org/ |archive-date=2017-06-23 |url-status=dead }}

Nussaiba and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

After the conquest of Aelia Capitolina, which would be once again called Jerusalem, Sophronius, the Patriarch of the city, invited Umar to pray salah at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's holiest site. Umar refused to do so, fearing that future Muslim generations would claim the church as their own and turn it into a mosque. Umar instead prayed a few yards away, where the Mosque of Umar was built. Umar also signed the "Covenant of Umar", guaranteeing protection for the Christians to live and worship freely and also protection for the Christian places of worship in exchange for the Christians' surrender to the Muslims.

The ancient records and manuscripts kept by the various Christian denominations in their monasteries all record the Nussaiba family’s relationship and that of their ancestral forefathers from the banu Khazraj to the Holy Sepulchre, at least since the time of Saladin more than 800 years ago, specifically since 1192, when Sultan Saladin and King Richard the Lionheart concluded an agreement allowing western Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy Sepulchre under specific stipulations. Saladin entrusted the custody of the Holy Sepulchre's doors and all matters relating to it to a local notable, Ghanim ibn Ali ibn Hussein al-Ansari al-Khazraj the Jerusalemite. Ghanim had been born in Burin near Nablus in AH 562, where his family had taken refuge after the Crusader conquest of Jerusalem in (1087).[http://www.nusseibeh.com/ Nusseibeh website]

Notable members

Notable members of the family have included:

Anwar Nusseibeh a former minister in Jordan and diplomat to the UK{{Cite web |title=Anwar Nuseibeh - Political Leaders (1913 - 1986) |url=https://www.palquest.org/en/biography/16034/anwar-nuseibeh|website=Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question}}
Bashar Ahmad Nuseibeh (1967–), Professor of Computing at The Open University, UK[http://nuseibeh.com/ Bashar Nuseibeh]
Ghanem Nuseibeh civil engineer and founder of strategy and management consultancy, Cornerstone Global Associates{{Cite web |title=About |url=http://www.cstoneglobal.com/about |access-date= |website=www.cstoneglobal.com}}
Hazem Nuseibeh Jordanian foreign minister{{Cite web |last=Nuseibeh |first=Ghanem |date=2022-04-11 |title=Remembering Hazem Zaki Nuseibeh, 1922-2022, long-time Jordanian diplomat |url=https://allarab.news/remembering-hazem-zaki-nuseibeh-1922-2022-long-time-jordanian-diplomat/|website=All Arab News}}
Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, United Arab Emirates permanent representative to the United Nations and president of UN Women{{Cite web |title=H.E. Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh {{!}} United Arab Emirates |url=https://www.un.int/uae/staff/he-ambassador-lana-nusseibeh

|website=www.un.int}}

Nihad Nusseibeh, military officer and member of Fatah{{cite web | title=Nihad Nusseibeh | website=All 4 Palestine| url=https://www.all4palestine.org/ModelDetails.aspx?gid=13&mid=1469&lang=en | access-date=16 December 2023}}
N.S. Nuseibeh, British-Palestinian writer{{Cite web|url=https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/06/25/the-big-idea-n-s-nuseibeh/|title=The Big Idea: N.S. Nuseibeh|work=Whatever|first=John|last=Scalzi|date=25 June 2024|accessdate=10 June 2025}}
Sari Nusseibeh, professor of philosophy and president of the Al-Quds University in Jerusalem[http://sari.alquds.edu/ The Webpage of Sari Nusseibeh]
Zaki Nusseibeh, United Arab Emirates minister of state.{{Cite web |title=Members of The Cabinet |url=https://uaecabinet.ae/en/details/cabinet-members/his-excellency-zaki-anwar-nusseibeh |website=uaecabinet.ae}}
Jamal Nusseibeh, Palestinian-American-British political commentator, scholar, and investor.[https://time.com/author/jamal-nusseibeh/]

References

"The History of Jerusalem" by Muhammad Amin

Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya

Nusaybah family

Family roots

Nussaiba and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Notable members

References

Further reading