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Bin Haider Darwish: the family behind the name.

BHD stands for Bin Haider Darwish, “son of Haider Darwish”. The group carries the name of its founder's grandfather, the Muscat merchant Haider Darwish (1894 to 1969), and of his father Darwish. This page sets out what the family archive records about them.

Darwish, the only known portrait. It was found in the family house in Wuljat.
Darwish, the only known portrait. It was found in the family house in Wuljat.

Darwish

درويش بن أحمد بن حيدر الزعابي

According to family accounts, Darwish was a translator and scribe in Muscat, and he signed as a witness and scribe on an agreement between Britain and Oman.

He married Fatima, sister of Abdulrahim. Their sons were Ahmed, the elder, and Haider. Darwish died while the boys were young, and they grew up in the house of their maternal uncle Abdulrahim, with his son Jaffer Abdulrahim. The family tree also records a third son, Hassan.

Darwish wrote down the birth of his son Haider in his own hand, with the family line back five generations to Nizam Al-Zaabi. That page is the oldest document the family holds.

Haider Darwish, 1957. The mount is labelled “Founder” and carries his own inscription dated 9 October 1957.
Haider Darwish, 1957. The mount is labelled “Founder” and carries his own inscription dated 9 October 1957.

Haider Darwish (1894 to 1969)

حيدر بن درويش بن أحمد بن حيدر بن مير أحمد بن حيدر بن نظام الزعابي

Haider was born on the night of Wednesday 10 October 1894 (10 Rabi al-Thani 1312). His father recorded the hour, 9 at night, and a prayer that the boy be blessed.

He became a Muscat merchant. His firm wrote to the world from P.O. Box 69, Muscat, including to marine insurers in Rome. In June 1946 Ahmed and Haider Darwish wrote together to Haj Ali bin Issa Al-Zadjali, asking him to receive a guest of the state. The letter is signed “Ahmed and Haider Darwish”.

The family's world ran from Muscat to Bombay and Manama. His son Hassan married in Bombay in 1946 and later kept a shop in Manama souq. His son Mohsin married in Bombay in 1958, on an invitation sent in Haider Darwish's name.

Haider Darwish died in Bahrain at noon on Monday 3 February 1969 (15 Dhu al-Qadah 1388). His son Hassan recorded the date on the same page where Haider's father had written his birth 75 years before.

From the family archive

Haider's birth, written by his father Darwish in 1894. Below it, his son Hassan recorded his death in 1969.
Haider's birth, written by his father Darwish in 1894. Below it, his son Hassan recorded his death in 1969.
A registered airmail letter from Haider Darwish, P.O. Box 69, Muscat, to an insurer in Rome.
A registered airmail letter from Haider Darwish, P.O. Box 69, Muscat, to an insurer in Rome.
The letter of 12 June 1946, signed by Ahmed and Haider Darwish.
The letter of 12 June 1946, signed by Ahmed and Haider Darwish.
Haider Darwish, seated in the centre, with his peers. Each name is written under the man.
Haider Darwish, seated in the centre, with his peers. Each name is written under the man.
The invitation from Haider Darwish to the marriage of his son Mohsin, Bombay, 2 October 1958.
The invitation from Haider Darwish to the marriage of his son Mohsin, Bombay, 2 October 1958.
Sawt Oman, published in Cairo, reported the marriage of Mohsin Haider Darwish in 1958.
Sawt Oman, published in Cairo, reported the marriage of Mohsin Haider Darwish in 1958.
The Hassan Haider Darwish shop in Manama souq, late 1960s. Photo shared by Dr Abdulla Almadani.
The Hassan Haider Darwish shop in Manama souq, late 1960s. Photo shared by Dr Abdulla Almadani.
Class 5 at the Saidiya School, Muscat, 15 April 1951. Aziz Haider Darwish is named among the pupils.
Class 5 at the Saidiya School, Muscat, 15 April 1951. Aziz Haider Darwish is named among the pupils.

Timeline

  1. 1894 Haider bin Darwish is born. His father Darwish records the birth in his own hand.
  2. 1946 Ahmed and Haider Darwish write to Haj Ali bin Issa Al-Zadjali. Hassan Haider marries in Bombay.
  3. 1951 Aziz Haider Darwish is in class 5 at the Saidiya School, Muscat.
  4. 1957 Haider Darwish sits for the portrait labelled “Founder”.
  5. 1958 Mohsin Haider Darwish marries in Bombay, on his father's invitation.
  6. 1960s Hassan Haider Darwish trades from his shop in Manama souq.
  7. 1969 Haider Darwish dies in Bahrain on 3 February.
  8. Today His grandson Ali Adnan Haider Darwish carries the name forward as BHD Group, from Muscat.

The Darwish family tree

From Haider Darwish's 1894 birth record and the family tree «أسرة آل درويش». Ancestors, Darwish's sons, Haider's children and the founder of BHD Group.

Ali's direct lineBrothers and sisters
  • Nizam Al-Zaabi
    • Haider bin Nizam
      • Mir Ahmed bin Haider
        • Haider bin Mir Ahmed
          • Ahmed bin Haider
            • Darwish bin Ahmedm. Fatima, sister of Abdulrahim
              Sons of Darwish
              • Ahmed
              • Haider bin Darwish1894 to 1969
                Children of Haider Darwish
                • Hassan
                • Hussain
                • Darwish
                • Mohsin
                • Aziz
                • Hafidha
                • Qais
                • Zuhair
                • Adnan
                  • Ali bin AdnanFounder of BHD Group
                • Suad
              • Hassan

Full name

علي بن عدنان بن حيدر بن درويش بن أحمد بن حيدر بن مير أحمد بن حيدر بن نظام الزعابي

Ali bin Adnan bin Haider bin Darwish bin Ahmed bin Haider bin Mir Ahmed bin Haider bin Nizam Al-Zaabi

Sources: documents and photographs kept by the Darwish family. Where a fact rests on family accounts rather than a document, the page says so.

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