Na'im

In 1818, according to the 'British Assistant Political Agent in Turkish Arabia', Captain Robert Taylor, the Na'im numbered some 20,000 men in Buraimi and 400 in Ajman.

[4] By the beginning of the 19th century, the Na'im were spread across much of the area of the modern-day UAE, with families settled in Ajman, Dhaid, Hamriyah, Sharjah, Hafit, Heerah and Ras Al Khaimah.

[5] At the time, the Na'im were mostly settled in towns or in pastoral communities, although the Khawatir were Bedouins, roaming a dar consisting of the Jiri plain and the Hafit area with 800 camels, 1,500 sheep and goats and some 100 cattle.

A period of uncertainty followed as the various Sheikhs of the region attempted to jostle for influence in order to sign petroleum concessions, with the Sultan in Muscat and the Saudis paying tribute to the Na'im in Buraimi and other local tribes in the area in return for fealty which often turned out to be short-lived.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, the Na'im were arguably the dominant force in the area West of the Hajar Mountains, with some 13,000 members and the ability to raise at least 2,000 fighting men.

Lorimer's Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf published in 1904, he described the Na'im as "a Bedouin tribe who grazed their cattle on pastures surrounding Zubarah in 1873."

[15] In July 1937, Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani reported to the British agency that he was to take action against the Naim who were residing in Ath Thaqab over their perceived violation of the country's laws.

[18] After the Naim had conceded defeat, Abdullah Al Thani confiscated most of their weapons, including 40 rifles from the people of Ath Thaqab, and some of their livestock.