The Maalouf family belongs to the group of tribes known as Ghassanids that emigrated from Yemen to Houran in modern Syria prior to the collapse of the Marib Dam (Arabic: سد مأرب) around 102 AD.

Ibrahim Maalouf nicknamed "Abi Rajih" (Arabic: ابي راجح) reflecting his wisdom[citation needed] was a prominent and rich landowner in the town or village of Upper Damia in Houran.

[citation needed] He had seven sons: Issa (عيسى), Medlej (مدلج), Farah (فرح), Hanna (حنا), Nasser (ناصر), Nehme (نعمة), and Semaan (سمعان).

For political, social and religious reasons, and as a result of a conflict that his family engaged in with neighboring clans in 1519 AD, Ibrahim decided to sell his land and leave Houran for the mountains of Lebanon, an area that became known for its rule of law under the Ottoman Empire.

The family crossed ash-Shām and the plains of Damascus, over the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, and at first settled for a few years in the village of Seriin (سرعين) to the northwest of the town of Zahlé in the Bekaa Valley.