Page 148 - UAE Truncal States

Administering a Tribal Society
mad al Kindi of the Qumzan section of the Bani Yas. During the rule
of Shaikh Shakhbul, Muhammad’s son Shaikh Mijarin bin Muham­
mad al Kindi and afterwards 'Abdul Rahim al Gharlb were qudah in
Abu Dhabi town. The qadi in al 'Ain was the father of Shaikh
Shakhbul’s secretary, Sayyid 'Abdullah, who was an Arab from the
Persian coast. In the Buraimi area there was a mulawwa' in most of
the villages, each of whom was partly maintained by the Ruler and
partly lived from the fees he obtained in kind from such functions as
officiating at marriages and certifying divorces. The brother of the
qadi in al 'Ain was mu(u wwn' in Mu'tirid. The authority of one of the
mujawwa', Thani bin Ahmad, who co-operated most frequently with
the Ruler’s wdli in the area, extended as far as Khatam. The most
respected mulawwcT in Dhafrah was called Attahir bin 'Ali al
Murri. He was succeeded in about 1966 by his nephew Musaba.
Some time during the 1940s Shaikh Shakhbul appointed Yusuf al
Badr from Bahrain as qadi for all of Abu Dhabi. He usually resided in
Abu Dhabi town, but was at times sent by the Ruler on a circuit to
settle cases in the desert and on the islands. He married in Haflf in
Llwa some time before 1955, and owned date gardens in that village.
In March 1951 Shaikh Shakhbul spent several weeks in Bainunah,
north of Llwa, with a large retinue. During this time many people,
mostly beduin because there were no permanent settlements in
Bainunah, came to pay their respects, and also to refer their disputes
to him for settlement. But he did not himself give a verdict. After his
return to Abu Dhabi he sent the wali of Dhafrah, Ahmad bin Fadil,
and his qadi, Yusuf al Badr, who spent more than three months in
that area settling disputes; they listened carefully to each case,
sometimes taking up to three weeks on one of them.96 Few of the
cases were disputes between members of the same tribe, but mostly
between a Manaslr, an 'Awamir or a Manahll on the one side and a
Bani Yas on the other side. The Manaslr had their own qdclis or
mutawwa' and preferred to settle their disputes among themselves;
but some cases, in particular serious criminal cases and disputes
with non-ManasIr neighbours over camels or the ownership of date
gardens were referred to the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, his wali or his
qadi.97
While the fact that cases were brought by the Ruler’s subjects
themselves to him or his qadi testifies to a certain amount of
practical, administrative authority over them, the extent of his
sovereignty may be assessed particularly well if, in a dispute
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