Dhanial

Dhanyal دھنیال
Ethnicity	Punjabi
Location	Punjab (Pothohar Plateau)
Language	Punjabi (mainly Pothwari)
Religion	Islam

Dhanyal (Punjabi: دھنیال, romanized: Dhanyāl), also spelled Dhanial, is a Punjabi tribe and surname originating in the Pothohar Plateau of Punjab, Pakistan. The tribe is primarily concentrated in Rawalpindi District, Murree, Kotli Sattian, Islamabad, and adjoining regions of northern Punjab and Azad Kashmir.

History and traditions

According to tribal traditions recorded in Tareekh Qabeela Dhanyal by Professor Raja Haq Nawaz Dhanyal, the Dhanyal tribe traces its ancestry to Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Tribal genealogies identify Muazzam Shah, commonly known as Dhanni Pir, as the ancestral figure of the tribe. According to these traditions, the ancestors of the Dhanyals migrated from Iraq to Multan during the early period of Muslim rule in South Asia. The traditions further associate Dhanni Pir with the spread of Islam in the Pothohar region and the lower Himalayan foothills.

Dhanni Pir

Dhanni Pir (Muazzam Shah) is remembered in local tradition as a Sufi figure and spiritual leader associated with the Pothohar Plateau, Murree Hills, Kotli Sattian and parts of Kashmir. Local accounts describe him as an influential religious figure who is said to have supported Muslim rulers during the period of Ghurid expansion in northern India and contributed to the spread of Islam in the region.

A shrine dedicated to Dhanni Pir is located in Mouri Syedan on Lehtrar Road in Kotli Sattian Tehsil, Rawalpindi District. An annual Urs is held at the shrine each year in April.

Distribution

The Dhanyals are mainly found in:

• Rawalpindi District
• Islamabad Capital Territory
• Kotli Sattian
• Murree
• Azad Kashmir
• Abbottabad
• Hazara region
• Sialkot

Migration to urban centres during the twentieth century led many members of the tribe to settle in major cities throughout Pakistan.

Society

Historically, members of the Dhanyal tribe served in the armies of the Mughal Empire, the British Indian Army and later the Pakistan Army. In contemporary Pakistan, members of the tribe are represented in fields such as education, medicine, engineering, business, public service and the social sciences.

Some members of the tribe use titles such as Raja and Shah as honorifics. Tribal traditions regard the Dhanyals as being of Arab and Alid descent. During the British colonial period, however, census reports commonly classified the Dhanyals among the Rajput tribes of Punjab.

Genealogical tradition

According to genealogies recorded in Tareekh Qabeela Dhanyal, the lineage of Dhanni Pir is traced as follows:

• Ali ibn Abi Talib
• Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah
• Ibrahim
• Hasan
• Zayd
• Ismail
• Hasan al-Atrash
• Qasim
• Hasan
• Ibrahim
• Ali
• Muhammad
• Abdullah
• Muawiya
• Jafar
• Amir Malik
• Khusro Shah
• Muazzam Shah (Dhanni Pir)

The historical accuracy of this genealogy has not been independently verified and is primarily preserved through tribal tradition.

Further reading

• Dhanyal, Raja Haq Nawaz. Tareekh Qabeela Dhanyal (Urdu).
• Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1999. pp. 485. ISBN 8120815955