Does Female Offspring Matter?

Abstract The article examines the influence of female lineage and affiliation through the lens of women’s anecdotes as portrayed in Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih’s book, al-ʿIqd al-Farīd . It analyzes the interaction dynamics between maternal ties and the concepts of honor as well as disgrace associated with a woman’s offspring. The study employs a qualitative content analysis using a combined inductive-deductive approach to trace patterns across historical examples. While Arab customs and Islamic legal traditions emphasize paternal nasab , this article argues that maternal intisāb played a significant role in shaping tribal and individual identity, prestige and belonging. Ibn ‘Abd Rabbih’s portrayals highlight how maternal lineage was used to asset honor or diminish social standing. These portrayals also reflect cultural concerns in his Andalusian context concerning Arabness, lineage purity and the authority of genealogical memory.