JA'ALIN, the largest, most widely distributed and most loosely knit main group of the Arabs of the Sudan. The term is used generally of most of the northern riverain tribes and in a more restricted sense of a large group comprising the Sa'adab, Nifi'at, Kiti'ab and other tribes. They claim to be of the Koreish tribe and even trace descent from Abbas, uncle of the prophet.
They are of Arab origin, but now of very mixed blood. Accord ing to tradition they emigrated to Nubia in the 12th century. They are a proud religious people, formerly notorious as Jaye dealers.
See H. A. MacMichael, History of the Arabs of the Sudan (1922).