Abu Hejleh History

Mohammad ABU HEJLEH

Mohammad was nicknamed ABU HEJLEH because of a birthmark around one of his ankles which resembled a ring found around a horse's foot which in arabic is called a "hejleh" or due to a very little noticed limb while walking (to limb = hejleh). A great grandfather of Mohammad was said to have been nicknamed Abu Hejleh for the same reason but it is not known whom. Mohammad ABU HEJLEH is the one the rest of the family refer to as the founder.
ABU HEJLEH had at least two brothers: Mansoor & Taha. The Taha branch moved to the village of Bidya . It is a known fact that Taha is the younger brother of ABU HEJLEH from the same mother. In celebration songs the women say Yaqoubiyat to include the Taha family.
Other names such as Shadeed (prounounced Shdeed), Qasem, Yaqoub, Nassar and Makhloof are in disbute. Some say Shadeed is not a brother but a great grandfather who was forced out of the village of Kafr Al-Deek and that one of his sons or grandsons settled in Deir Estia, in the late 17th century or early 18th century, while others went to Egypt. As yet no one has confirmed in which order Yaqoub and Qasem are as the father and grandfather of ABU HEJLEH. Nassar are in-laws of ABU HEJLEH and Makhloof is said to be a family that lived in the neighbourhood.

ABU HEJLEH married at least three times and had 8 sons over a period of at least 40 years:
Ismael (his mother from Nassar family), moved to Saneerya
Yousef, Husain, Hasan & Yaseen (their mother from the village of Awarta)
Mousa, Othman & E'sa (their mother from the village of Rameen)
The number of the daughters is unknown to me.

It is said that the roots of the family go back to Al-Hweitat tribe who lived in the north of Arabia and the south of Palestine. Others say Sabahiyoun or Manasrah. Still many say some people of these tribes went to Tunisia or Algeria then came back to Palestine after sometime and settled there.

ABU HEJLEH was born in the late 18th century and lived in Deir Estia, Palestine, and most of his decendants lived there and neighbouring villages/towns of Saneerya, Qalqilya and Nablus. Although in 1948 and in the 50s many have moved to live in Amman/Jordan and to the Gulf states of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE and some have immigrated to USA, Canda, Australia, Europe and other countries, as at the end of the 20th century, the ABU HEJLEHs span from few 3^rd geneation survivors to 7^th generation who still live in Palestine.

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