Al-Khizfar (الخِـزفـار)

Al-Khizfar Village is a mountaneous area at the western side of Qala'at Al-Maqatirah where the famous Hameed Ad-Deen Bin Ali Al-Khizfari Al-Muqabiri established his Soufi School at the beginning of the 1920's, just few years after the late Imam Yahya occupied Qala'at Al-Maqatirah in 1921. He started his Reformative Calls and Efforts towards alleviating the injustice practices by the Imami Regime. The followers of Sheikh Hameed Ad-Deen were from all over Taiz, namely from Saber, Jabal Habashi, Al-Qabbaita (Yusifiyeen, A'arooq, Aghabirah,As-Selw, ...etc) and other places like Aden where he started his teachings earlier in Hedjuff (Hugaif) Mosque. The villagers were expelled from their houses twice by the Imam's army; 1st time during the battle for Qala'at Al-Maqatirah in 1921, and the 2nd time was around 1928 immediately after the first capture of Sheikh Hameed Ad-Deen. In both incidents, many houses were either demolished or burned to the ground by the Imams' soldiers. In the 2nd time the villagers had to flee at night in one mass south to Aden in a well known trip that lasted several days. Some of them stayed for few years in Aden before returning back to their villages, while others preferred to settle down in Aden ever since.
Except for few references here and there, neither the people of this village (Al-Makabirah Tribe) nor the people of Al-Maqatirah as a whole got the fair attention that they deserve in reflecting their heroic contribution towards todays Yemen.
Al-Maqatirah people fought against not only the Imami Regime, but also against the various attempts made by the Turkish Forces to get hold of Qala'at Al-Maqatirah in the 19th century were they were retreated in humiliation in all their attempts.
The British Colony in Aden tried several times to establish a foothold in this strategic region (that is Qala'at Al-Maqatirah) with the aim of dominating the surrounding areas like Hujariyyah, Lahj, and coastal areas of Bab Al-Mandab.The British pursued their goal by all means; they tried pribing influential Sheikhs, tried to buy land in Qala'at Al-Maqatirah, and tried making treaties just to name some of the approaches they made. When they failed in all their attempts, they resorted, unsuccessfuly, to military means, whereby weeks after the start of the 1962 Revolution, the British Forces approached Al-Maqatirah from Ma'abaq (at the southern outskirts of Al-Maqatirah District bordering Al-Sabbaiha) where they met severe resistance by Al-Maqatirah people and had no choice but to retreat.

Throughout the afore-mentioned events, Al-Maqatirah tribes have sacrificed hundreds of the best of its people; however, They did not get the attention that they deserve wether historically or in the development side. The district is still far behind in all aspects of development, specially the western highlands where the inhabitants are leaving their villages due to the harsh life they are living. No roads, and consequently, no basic services of health, education, water, ...etc.
All the writings about the history of Al-Maqatirah are still scarce and the available ones are either fabricated (reference 3 below), misinforming or insufficient. Some writings that have been pulished on Al-Maqatirah are:
1. Al-Yaman Al-Gumhoory, by late Abdullah Al-Baradooni
2. Tareekh Al-Yaman Al-Askari, by the late Sultan Nagi (a Maqtari whose family migrated to Aden in the early twenties)
3. Seerat Al-Imam Yahya bin Mohammad Hameed Ad-Deen, by late Abdulkareem bin Ahmad Mutahar (Imam's bibliography author.
ANY INFORMATION ABOUT AL-MAQATIRAH, IN HISTORY, DOCUMENTS, GENEALOGY (ANSAB, specially on Maqabirah tribe family tree), MANUSCRIPTS, ...ETC, Please send me an e-mail to:
aboahmad2@maktoob.com