Rabīʿa ibn Nizar () is the patriarch of one of two main branches of the "North Arabian" (Adnanite) tribes, the other branch being founded by Mudhar.
Branches
According to the classical Arab genealogists, the following are the important branches of Rabīʿa: Abd al-Qays Anazzah Anz ibn Wa'il Bakr ibn Wa'il, which also included the following sub-tribes Banu Hanifa Banu Shayban Banu Qays ibn Tha'laba Taym Allah (or Taym Allat) Banu Yashkur Taghlib ibn Wa'il al-Nammir ibn Qasit
Location
Like the rest of the Adnanite Arabs, legend has it that Rabīʿa's original homelands were in the Tihamah region of western Arabia, from which Rabīʿa migrated northwards and eastwards. Abd al-Qays were one of the inhabitants of the region of Eastern Arabia, including the modern-day islands of Bahrain, and were mostly sedentary.
Bakr's lands stretched from al-Yamama (the region around modern-day Riyadh) to northwestern Mesopotamia. The main body of the tribe was bedouin, but a powerful and autonomous sedentary sub-tribe of Bakr also resided in al-Yamama, the Bani Hanifa.
Taghlib resided on the eastern banks of the Euphrates, and al-Nammir are said to have been their clients. Anz inhabited southern Arabia, and are said to have been decimated by the plague in the 13th century, though a tribe named "Rabīʿa" in modern-day 'Asir is said to be its descendant.
Anazzah was divided into a sedentary section in southern Yamama and a bedouin section further north.
Abd al-Qays, Taghlib, al-Nammir, and some sections of Bakr were mostly Christian before Islam, with Taghlib remaining a Christian tribe for some time afterwards as well. Anazzah and Bakr are said to have worshiped an idol by the name of al-Sa'eer.
Rabīʿa in Egypt
During the Abbasid era, many members of Bani Hanifa and related tribesmen from Bakr ibn Wa'il migrated from al-Yamama to southern Egypt, where they dominated the gold-mines of Wadi Allaqi near Aswan. While in Egypt, the tribesmen went by the collective name of "Rabi'a" and inter-married with indigenous tribes in the area such as the Beja peoples. Among their descendants are the tribe of Banu Kanz (also known as the Kunooz), who take their name from Kanz al-Dawlah of Bani Hanifa, the leader of Rabi'a in Egypt during the Fatimid era.
Some Notable people
Amr ibn Kulthum
Suhayb al-Rumi
Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha
Abu Layla al-Muhalhel
Tarafa
Bahira
Al-A'sha
Al-Harith ibn Hilliza al-Yashkuri
Musaylimah
Qatada ibn Di'ama
Malik ibn Tawk
Khalid ibn Yazid al-Shaybani
Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani
Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani
Abu Dulaf al-Ijli
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Al-Akhtal
Abu al-Atahiya
Harith al-Muhasibi
Haly Abenragel
Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani
Abu Firas al-Hamdani
Awn al-Din ibn Hubayra
Al-Bakri
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr
Said al-Andalusi
Abdullah bin Ali Al Uyuni
Ibn Saud
Abdul-Rahman Al-Sudais
Mohammed bin Ali Aba Al Khail
Royal families which stem from the Rabi'a tribe
Dulafid dynasty
Uyunid dynasty
Hamdanid dynasty. Al Saud, rulers of Saudi Arabia. Al Khalifa, rulers of Bahrain Al Sabah, rulers of Kuwait. El Assaad Family Banu Kanz Shirvanshah Taifa of Saltés and Huelva.