[1] The Bani Qitab was a highly influential tribe and often involved in political jostling between the Trucial Rulers – one example of this being the dispute in 1905 over the Wadi Hatta.
The young sheikh, fearful of the intentions of his uncles and other family members, secured the town with the help of 100 Bani Qitab men.
They were involved in tribal fighting in Buraimi as well as raids and counter-raids that stretched as far as Al Falayah in the North (itself home to a number of Bani Qitab), with the Awamir, Duru, Manasir and Bani Yas all drawn into a complicated series of conflicts which, by 1925, brought the Rulers of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah together to try and broker a peace.
[9] Supporting Khalid bin Ahmad again in 1937, the Bani Qitab paid a key role in his accession as Ruler of Kalba.
[10] Effectively in control of the interior of the Northern emirates,[11] the tribe was courted by various Rulers over the granting of access to oil companies who had obtained concessions.