Introduction
الأشراف عائلة الدجاني المقدسية الدواهده
The Origins of the Dajani name, and the (al-Dahoudi) title: Why do We Hold It?
The Dajani (al-Dahoudi) Family of Jerusalem are lineal descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein who is the son of Ali and Fatima (Azhara) - the Daughter of the Prophet. These descendants of the Prophet are known as "Sayyid" or "Sharif," and form a distinct social category because their status can afford them special treatment in the political and social sphere in the Muslim world.
----(The Sayyid Book Link)----
The family has been using Dajani as a family name, and (al-Dahoudi) as a title since the 16th century. The Dajani name did NOT originate from the port of Jaffa or the village of Beit Dajan (more accurately Beit Degan) which was the name of a god the Philistine worshiped long ago. The Dajani name came from the Dajaniya village near Jerusalem. The first to carry this name was al-Sharif al-Sayyid Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali . This Sufi Sheikh Ahmad was taught by his father the Holy Qur'an and Islamic fiqh as his father was taught by his forefathers before him. Sheikh Ahmad's occupation was to lead a diverse Haj Caravan from Fez in Morocco and Jerusalem in Palestine to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia and back.
According to oral tradition, when Sheikh Ahmad returned the remaining pilgrims to Fez, he had a visitation from Prophet King David who requested that Sheikh Ahmad return to Jerusalem to clean and guard David's Tomb. After his return to Jerusalem, Sheikh Ahmad maintained the King David Tomb. That evening, Prophet King David made another visitation to Sheikh Ahmad informing him that God will reward Sheikh Ahmad with two gifts; the first was that he will have more male descendants, and the second was that God would preserve Sheikh Ahmad's lineage.
----(King David Complex Link)----
During Sheikh Ahmad's stay in Jerusalem in the 16th century, he resided in the Dajaniya village near the Old City of Jerusalem. According to oral tradition, a few members of that village became hostile towards Sheikh Ahmad for a judgement he made over a dispute between two families. His judgement favored the rights of the weaker family as dictated by Islamic law. Sheikh Ahmad determined to leave the Dajaniya in response to the hostility of its residents. The Mukhtar - Village Leader - requested to meet with Sheikh Ahmad. During their meeting, the Mukhtar requested of Sheikh Ahmad to remain in his residence. However, Sheikh Ahmad declined. In response, the Mukhtar requested of Sheikh Ahmad to carry the name Dajani so that all who meet Sheikh Ahmad would associate the Sheikh with the Dajaniya village. He accepted the Mukhtar's request and since the 16th century Sheikh Ahmad and his descendants were known as Dajani in relation to that village.
According to oral tradition, the year Sheikh Ahmad Dajani left, the harvest of that village was putrefied. Angry with the harvest, the Mukhtar related the bad harvest to the departure of Sheikh Ahmad. He blamed the villagers for Sheikh's departure and announced that the village will no longer be called Dajaniya but Janiya (Transgressor) because it transgressed against itself by causing the departure of the righteous Sheikh. About the naming of the Janiya Village you can see the fourth reason for its naming:
----(The Janiya Village Link)----
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A summary of the Jerusalem Islamic Court Documents
about the Dajani Family
Translation of the above Document
"According to the records of Jerusalem Courts, the Dajani Family descends from Badr al-Din Muhammad al-Husseini al-Yassini. Initially, this family was known by the name al-Yassini then al-Dajani because of Sheikh Ahmad al-Dajani who became custodian of the Prophet David Tomb in 1529 until his death in 1561.
From the Dajani family emerges the Daoudi family who adopted the name in reference to the Prophet David Tomb. And from the Daoudi family another family emerges also known as Danf al-Daoudi. The author, Al-Muhbi, mentions the Dajani family in his work Khulasat al-Athar about the nobles of Jerusalem during the eleventh century Hijri.
The Dajani family occupied several important positions such as heading the Naqabat al-Ashraf (The Honorable Families of Jerusalem Institution) , in addition to leading judicial positions in which they represented the Shaffi school of Islamic jurisprudence. In addition, this family headed the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem particularly the Dome of the Rock , and positions of translation in the Islamic Courts by a special edict of the Ottoman Sultan. This family was one of the influential families in Jerusalem".
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Since the 16th century, Sheikh Ahmad was known as Dajani, and received the title al-Dahoudi in reference to the King David Tomb . In 1529, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent gave a firman (edict) bestowing on al-Sayyid al-Shareef Sheikh Ahmad Dajani and his descendants the custodianship of King David Tomb. From that time onward, Sheikh Ahmad Dajani and his descendants were given the title by the residents of Jerusalem of (al-Dahoudi) in relation to the King David Tomb and the mosque that was first established in 1524 by the Sheikh.
ضريح الشريف السيد الشيخ احمد الدجاني الداهودي في مقبرة مملة في القدس الغربية
The Tomb of al-Sharif al-Sayyid Sheikh Ahmad Dajani in Mamila in West Jerusalem
Painting of the Tomb of Sheikh Ahmad Dajani in 1940
Who was al-Shareef Sheikh Ahmad Ali Alaa Din al-Dajani?
Sheikh Ahmad al-Dajani, an Ottoman Jerusalem figure of considerable importance, a member of the Dajani family, appointed to the Jerusalem aristocracy alongside the Khalidi, Nuseibeh, Jaouni, Nashashibi, Rasas al-Imam and Alami families.
According to the family traditions, Ahmad ibn 'Alaa al-Din al-Dajani was born in al-Dajaniya village (located 8 km north of Ramallah) in the year 876 AH (1471), and died in Jerusalem in 969 AH (1561). Several versions offer an interpretation of the last name; other than the version that ties the last name to al-Dajaniya village, there is another story that refers to the meaning of the word Dajaniya village in Arabic, “staying”. This version refers to the stay of Ahmad al-Dajani in the Ahmad al-Dajani seems to have settled in al-Dajaniya village14 when he was young.
According to oral tradition, al-Dajani intervened in a conflict between two families in his native village and adjucated between the two according to Muslim law; the family of lesser distinction won. As a result, the stronger family sought to harm al-Dajani, who decided to flee from the village to Jerusalem. After he left, the letter “d” was removed from the name of the village and it became “al- Janiya”, which means “he who harms himself.” Thus did Ahmad al-Dajani become the founder of the family dynasty in the city.
15 Other sources16 relate that Ahmad al-Dajani was among the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (ashraf) due to his close familial relations to Ali ibn Abu Talib, the last of the first four caliphs and also a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad.
According to the tradition, al-Dajani was a great scholar and Sufi master of many pupils. He accepted the Sufi leadership in Jerusalem from Ali ibn Maimon17 and was considered the successor of the great scholar Muhammad Ibn ‘Arraq.18 Al-Dajani belonged to the Shafi’i School, and is said to have known the Quran by heart as well as the hadith commentaries. Many miracles are attributed to him, which were documented in writing under the title Appraisals to al-Sheikh Ahmad al-Dajani.
One of the famous miracles attributed to al-Dajani took place while he was sitting in the al-Aqsa mosque, before he became a scholar and was well educated in Arabic grammar. The Prophet Muhammad suddenly appeared before him and al-Dajani asked Muhammad to teach him the grammatic principles of the Arabic language. Another miracle associated with al-Dajani occurred at the burial place of David the Prophet19 (at Mount Zion), which was under Christian rule at the time. David the Prophet was revealed before al-Dajani and said: “help me.”
One document from the Sharia Court dated 10th Shawwal 968 AH (1560) confirms that Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent determined the place as a sacred endowment, that is, he dedicated Maqam al-Nabi Daud, a place which included a bakery and gardens, to the Sheikh Ahmad al-Dajani, his offspring and followers.20 Since then, the Dajani family has lived next to David’s tomb - al-Nabi Daud - and called themselves the Dajani al-Daudi family. The family members were in charge to the location throughout the entire Ottoman period as well as the Mandate period, until 1948.
Most likely, Ahmad al-Dajani was an associate of the Ottoman Empire, since it is known that he was sent by the residents of Jerusalem to Damascus, seat of the Turkish ruler of the Damascus district, to which Jerusalem belonged at the time, in order to bring represent Jerusalem residents on various issues. The exact purpose of the trip is not mentioned in the sources, but by comparison to similar cases, one can conclude that it was intended to advance the process of appointing an official to a particular position, or to request the alleviation of taxation and debts. In his final years, al-Dajani lived in his Jerusalem residence, until he passed away and was buried in the Mamilla Cemetery in 1561.
Later, at the end of the 18th century, several of his family members moved from Jerusalem to Jaffa. In 1933, Dr. Fouad Ismail al-Dajani founded the al-Dajani Hospital in Jaffa. He passed away in 1940 and was buried in the hospital garden. Ahmad Sidqi al-Dajani was a politician and one of the founders of the PLO. Three members of the Dajani family served as mayors of Jerusalem during the Ottoman period and the British Mandate. The sons of Ahmad, the founder of the dynasty, wrote a variety of compositions on him, and some of the original manuscripts can be found at the Israel National Library in Givat Ram.
Later, in 1986, an individual, described by representatives of the Dajani family as a criminal, took over the tomb structure and removed the tombs, following which he covered the walls with mirrors and opened a pub at the site. The Dajani family filed charges against the invader, and in 2012 managed to regain possession of the structure and renovate it at their own expense.
Today the structure is locked and the family representatives hold the key. In the center of the room is a modern tombstone, placed there during the renovation.
In 1933, the photographer Zeev Alexandrovich photographed a series of pictures of the Mamilla cemetery, and the grave of Sheikh al-Dajani appears in a number of them. The photos are located in one of the photo collections of the National Library.21 Several other graves are pictured in the photos, beside the tomb structure of Ahmad al-Dajani. In addition, another room can be seen next to the structure, which is no longer there. The circumstances of its disappearance are unknown. In the 17th century, Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi documented impressions from his visit to the Mamilla Cemetery, referring to the grave of Ahmad al-Dajani and those of his family members - Abd al- Manam al-Dajani and Yusuf al-Dajani22 - it may be that due to the importance of Sheikh Ahmad al-Dajani, those who were close to him asked to be buried beside him. In addition, it seems that many members of the Dajani family were buried there because it was the family plot.
One 1945 list from the Muslim Supreme Council indicates the names of those who were buried next to the Dajani grave: Muhammad Ahmad al-Dajani (one of the Sheikh’s sons), Ali Ahmad al-Dajani (one of the Sheikh’s sons), Musa Wafa al-Dajani, Darwish ibn Abdallah Hasan al-Dajani and Alshahi Anis al-Dajani.
These graves disappeared and cannot be identified.
Al-Shareef Sheikh Ahmad Ali Alaa Din Dajani (Link)
