User:Munawar Afshar

Wadda or Waddazai (meaning descendants of Wadda) is the tribe living in Eastern Baluchistan and near Sind-Baluchistan border in Pakistan. Waddazai has two main sub-castes: Mohammadzai and Ahmedzai after the sons of Wadda bin Hameed al-Azdi. Wadda(Wadd) is the Arabic word which means "beloved" or love. The word has its origin from the lunar deity "wadd" which was worshipped in old Ma'in kingdom (today Yemen), in pre-Islam beduoin tribes and in Banu Kalb. The word is also mentioned in the Holy Quran (Chapter Noah 71:23); "And said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwa' or Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr." The name is today interpreted in Arabic as "Wish" or "Love". Wadda is named after Wadda bin Hameed al-Azdi. He belonged to the Azd tribal group of Yemenites. Qahtanites Arabs are divided into Himyar and Kahlan main tribal groups; Azd being the sub-category of Kahlan tribe. Azd is today living almost all across the Middle East. Wadda bin Hameed al-Azdi is mentioned in the book "The Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf" by Colonel S.B. Miles in 1919, on page 59 and History of Islam by Akbar Shah Khan Najibabadi that he was a kiladar of a fortress in Kandabeel(today "Gandava" was conquered by Muslim Governor of Makran). Yazid bin Muhallab and his family, who were running from the wrath of the Ummayad Caliph Yazid bin Abdul Malik wanted to take asylum in this fortress. However, Yazid bin Muhallab himself got killed in a confrontation; his family reached the fortress. Later, Muhallab's whole family was lynched in 102 A.H (720 A.D) except his two sons. Wadda bin Hameed al-Azdi, was later raised to the position of "wali-e-Kandabeel" meaning Governor of Kandabeel. He had many children (sons and daughters). The prominent among them were Ahmed bin Wadda and Mohammad bin Wadda. After Wadda bin Hameed's death, his sons administered Kandabeel for a long. In the times of Arab rule, the family of Wadda bi Hameed al-Azdi was called Banu Wadda, however,later on, it was persianized as Waddazai.