Al-Jabiri

Al-Jabira, also sometimes spelled al-Jabri, (Arabic: الجابري‎) was the name of a family based in Aleppo.

The Jabri Family (الجابري) was one of the most prominent, patriotic and wealthy families in Syria during the 18th century and well into the 20th century. Patrilineally, the family is descendent of Ahmad bin Mousa Bin Abu baker Al Jabira Housaini. However, the family name Jabiri is derived matrilinearly through Fatima, daughter of an Ottoman judge named Jabir Bin Ahmad Al-Halabi of Aleppo who had considerable wealth and power at the time of her birth. One of their most influential descendents was Zaido Jabiri the Great.

After the early death of his father Mousa, Ahmad was raised by his grandfather Qadi (the judge) Jabir, as an orphan the young boy kept by his grandfather's side, people started to refer to him as jabir son (Ibn Jabir) which was passed along to some of his sons and grandsons who were later referred to as Jabiris (the sons of Jabir).

Members of this family had become important Ulema by the second half of the 18th century. In 1760 the head of the family was Ahmad Jabiri, who lived in the quarter of 'Aynayn in the western suburbs of the city and owned considerable property over there which he inherited from his mother mostly.

In 1765 about five years before his death, Ahmad created a waqf from this property, including the family home, which was to be a residence for his descendants, Nevertheless, before he died three of his four sons had moved into new houses in different quarters of the city:

'Taha: a clerk in court and moved to Farafira,

As'ad: stayed in 'Aynayn,

Yousif: started as teacher in Aleskandaria school in bab al jynayn, then he moved to Masabin although he spent most of his time in Istanbul where he had taken a post as clerk in the imperial divan.

Mustafa: Moved to Suwayqat 'Ali, he worked in court as Head of Kateb (chief clerk), later he became Mufti Halab and Naqeeb Al Alshraf two positions only given to direct descendants of profit Mohamed at that time, and considered the highest religious authority in the city.

All Jabiri's today are descendants from Mustafa, he was the first to make the name jabiri official in court.

Mustafa had two sons, Abdullah and Abdul Qader, Abdullah succeeded his father as Mufti and Naqeeb Alashraf, Abdul Qader was mutasalem and handled the family expanding business, these Jabiri brothers Abdullah and Abdul Qader were among the most powerful men in Aleppo in the first decades of the 19th century and were heavily involved in the factional politics of that time.

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