al-Khibā' al-shaāmī, al-Ḫibāʾ al-al-šaāmī (الْخِبَاء الشآمي)

Not to be confused with al-Ḫibāʾ al-yamānī or Alchiba.

Authors: Khalid Al-Ajaji

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Arabian ḫibāʾtent. image inspired by a century old photo in Matson collection in Library of Congress. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).

Star chart of the Arabian asterism al-Ḫibāʾ al-al-šaāmī (الخباء الشآمي) as described by al-Marzūqī in the area of Hercules constellation. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).

al-Ḫibāʾ (Arabic: الخباء), “the small tent” is an Arabic name for a region or an asterism of four stars in the northern sky forming a quadrilateral shape.

Provenance, Etymology, History

Variants The name appeared in historical resources as al-Ḫibāʾ (Arabic: الخباء, the Tent) without any specifier, but to avoid confusion with the Corvus asterism also known as al‑Ḫibāʾ and the star α Crv named Alchiba, this encyclopedia refers to the Hercules asterism as al-Ḫibāʾ al-al-šaāmī (Arabic: الخباء الشآمي, “Northern Tent” ), while reserving al-Ḫibāʾ al-yamānī (Arabic: الخباء اليماني, “Southern Tent”) for the Corvus asterism as specified by Ibn Qutayba and al-Ṣūfī (See al-Ḫibāʾ al-yamānī).

Etymology

al‑Ḫibāʾ (Arabic: الخباء), from the Arabic root خ ب ي) denotes a small tent. Lisān al-ʿArab defines al-Ḫibāʾ as:

الخِباءُ مِنَ الأَبنية: وَاحِدُ الأَخْبية، وَهُوَ مَا كَانَ مِنْ وَبَر أَو صُوفٍ وَلَا يَكُونُ مِنْ شَعَر، وَهُوَ عَلَى عَمُودَيْنِ أَو ثَلَاثَةٍ، وَمَا فوقَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ بَيْت.

al‑Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاء) is a tent made of camel wool or sheep’s wool, never of goat hair. It usually stands on two or three poles; anything larger than that is called a bayt (large tent).

Sources and Identification

Three primary sources discuss the Arabic al-Ḫibā' al-šaāmī (الخِبَاء الشآمي, "Northern Tent"): Ibn Qutayba, al-Marzūqī, and al-Ṣūfī. Their accounts differ, and to elucidate the significance of al-Ḫibā', one must compare it to other distinctly named stellar configurations that bear analogous nomenclature.

To understand how the Arabs imagined al-Ḫibā', we can look at two well defined Ḫibā' asterisms at our disposal. The first is al-Ḫibā' al-Yamānī (Arabic: الخباء اليماني, "the Southern Tent"), which corresponds to an asterism of four quadrilateral stars γ, ε, β, δ in Corvus.

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  Southern Tent (الخباء اليماني), al-Ḫibā' al-Yamānī in Corvus. Image produced by Stellarium. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).
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  Arabian Ḫibā' tent. image inspired by a century old photo in Matson collection in Library of Congress. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).

The other is Saʿd al-AḪbiya (Arabic: سعد الأَخْبِيَة, "Auspice of Small Tents"), an asterism of four stars in Aquarius: three form a triangle, which is al-Ḫibā' (the tent), and the fourth star inside the triangle is Saʿd (a man inside the tent). This description is given by Ibn Qutayba, al-Marzūqī, and al-Ṣūfī. Al-Ṣūfī said, description of Aquarius:

سَعْدَ الأَخْبِيَةِ، وهو المنزل الخامس والعشرون من منازل القمر، سُمِّيَ بهذا الاسم لأنه من أربعة كواكب: ثلاثة منها على مثلث، وواحد في وسط المثلث وهو الحادي عشر، فجعلوا هذا الواحد سعدًا والثلاثة له بمنزلة الخباء.

Saʿd al-AḪbiya ("Saʿd of the Tents"), the twenty-fifth of the lunar stations, was given this name because it consists of four stars: three form a triangle, and one lies at the center of that triangle — the eleventh star of Aquarius. They considered the central one Saʿd, and the three surrounding it like the tent that shelters Saʿd.

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  Saʿd al-AḪbiya, in Aquarius. Image produced by Stellarium. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).
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  Arabian Ḫibā' tent supported by one pole. image inspired by a century old photo in Matson collection in Library of Congress. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).

Sources	Identification(s)
Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 H / 889) Original Arabic, p. 67 وأولاد الظباء كواكب صغار، فيما بين الظباء والنفزات، وعن يمين نفزات الظباء كواكب مستديرة غير متقارنة، تسمّى: الحوض. والخباء أسفل من الحوض، كواكب في مثل هيئة الخباء اليمانية. English translation The fawns, awlād al-Zibāʾ (أَوْلادُ الظِّبَاءِ), are small stars located between al-Zibāʾ (الظِّبَاءِ) and the Gazelle Leaps (النَّفَزَاتِ). To the right of the Gazelle Leaps (نَفَزَاتِ الظِّبَاءِ), there are round, non-aligned stars called al-Hawd (الحَوْضَ, "the Pool"). Below al-Hawd lies al-Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاءُ, "the Tent"), a group of stars shaped like the Southern tent (الخِبَاءِ اليَمَانِيَّةِ, al-Ḫibāʾ alyamāniyah). Stars identification It appears that al-Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاءُ), as described by Ibn Qutayba, denotes a quadrilateral configuration of four stars, reflecting the form of the southern tent (al-Ḫibā' al-Yamāniyah, الخِبَاءِ اليَمَانِيَّةِ). Two such arrangements meet this criterion: one located beneath al-Ḥawḍ at its rising, and another beneath al-Ḥawḍ at its setting. The first consists of the four stars of the Big Dipper, which may be discounted since these are well known stars, and Ibn Qutayba would likely have acknowledged this alternate designation. The other candidate is the quadrilateral formed by 15 Lyn, δ Aur, and α, β Cam.	Al-Ḫibāʾ as described by ibn Qutayba. Image produced by Stellarium. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).
Al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 H / 986) Original Arabic, description of Auriga Original Arabic وفي القطعة من السماء التي حواليها هذه الصورة ورأس الدب الأكبر والجَدْيُ وكوكبة ذات الكرسي، وهي رقعة من السماء شبه مفازة ليس فيها كوكب نيِّر ولا شيء من الكواكب المرصودة إلا الاثنين اللذين على الرأس من هذه الصورة، وفيها من الكواكب ما لا يمكن إحصاؤه لكثرته وكثافة جمعه، وفي الوسط منها، كواكب من القدر الخامس والسادس، تُسَمِّيها العرب: الخِبَاءَ؛ لأنّها على صورة الخباء، والاثنان اللذان على الرأس من هذه الصورة داخلان في جملة الخباء. English translation In the region of the sky surrounded by this constellation (referring to the constellation of Auriga), along with the head of the Great Bear, Polaris, and the constellation Cassiopeia, there is an area with no bright star, nor any reported by Ptolemy except for the two at the head of Auriga. This area contains countless stars, densely packed together. In its center are stars of fifth and sixth magnitude, which the Arabs call al-Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاءُ, "the Tent") because they resemble the shape of a tent. The two stars at the head of this constellation are considered part of al-Ḫibāʾ. Stars identification It is evident from the description that al-Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاء) refers to a region of the sky encompassing numerous stars, including the two on the head of Auriga, δ and ξ Aur. Restricting the definition to only a specific number of stars does not align with the account given by al-Ṣūfī.	Al-Ḫibāʾ region as described by al-Ṣūfī. Image produced by Stellarium. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).
Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 H / 1030) Original Arabic, vol 2, p. 345 وقال [ابن الأعرابي]: أسفل من بَنَاتِ نَعْشٍ كواكب كثيرة مختلطة يقال لها: الضِّبَاعُ. وأَوْلَادُ الضِّبَاعِ كواكب صغار، عن يمين الضِّبَاعِ، بينها وبين بَنَاتِ نَعْشٍ. قال: والخِبَاءُ كواكب في مثل هيئة الخِبَاءِ، أسفل من أَوْلَادِ الضِّبَاعِ. English translation [Ibn al-Aʿrabī] said: Below Banāt Naʿsh (بَنَاتِ نَعْش) are numerous, scattered stars called al-Ḍibāʿ (الضِّبَاعُ, "the hyenas"). Awlād al-Ḍibāʿ (أَوْلَادُ الضِّبَاعِ, "the young hyenas") are small stars located to the right of al-Ḍibāʿ, between them and Banāt Naʿsh. He also said: al-Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاءُ) is a group of stars resembling the shape of a tent, situated below Awlād al-Ḍibāʿ (أَوْلَادُ الضِّبَاعِ, "the young hyenas"). Stars identification Al-Marzūqī places al-Ḫibāʾ in spatial relation below al-Ḍibāʿ. From the text we can easily find a quadrilateral shape with relatively bright stars as described in the region of the constellation Hercules. The location of this tent fits nicely with the nearby shepherd with his goats and two dogs in the middle of a desert pasture. Notably, his description is clearer than those of Ibn Qutayba and al-Ṣūfī and corresponds well with the arrangement of stars in the night sky. According to his narrative, al-Ḫibāʾ refers to the four stars ζ, ε, π, η Her.	Al-Ḫibāʾ al-šaāmī (الخباء الشآمي) as described by al-Marzūqī. Image produced by Stellarium. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).

Stars Identification

Source	Identification	Comment
Ibn Qutayba	The quadrilateral formed by 15 Lyn, δ Aur, and α, β Cam	This is the closest match of the description, but with some uncertainty as the asterism stars are not prominent.
Al-Ṣūfī	A region of the sky surrounded by Auriga, along with the head of the Great Bear, Polaris, and Cassiopeia, including the two stars δ and ξ Aur.	A region with no bright stars, but no prominent asterism or group of stars resembling a tent could be identified.
Al-Marzūqī	ζ, ε, π, η Her	Definitive identification from a clear description

Formerly, Kunitzsch (1961) mentioned al-Ḫibāʾ (English translation):

130. al-ḫibā "the tent". Ibn Qutayba 67, 3 (in the case of the stars discussed under lunar station 14): “al-hibāʾ: stars below al-ḥawḍ [= τhυφθef Ursae Majoris], in the form of the Southern Tent". In Marzūqī 2, 378, 19 the definition is: "al-hibāʾ are stars in the form of a tent, below "Awlād aḍ-ḍibāʿ [no. 20]". Ṣūfī 91, 16-17 includes among these stars called al-hibāʾ the faint stars of the modern image of Giraffe [Camelopardalis], which were not described by Ptolemy, as well as the 1st and 2nd of the Ptolemaic image of Aurigae = δξ Aurigae.

Discussion

Image Variants, Transfer and Transformation

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  ancient manuscript 1
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  Laffitte's mapping
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  something else ...

Verbal Discussion/ Conclusion

different opinions by modern scholars - e.g. Adams, Laffitte (2012, 2025), AlAjaji, Kunitzsch, Ideler ...

Deviating Identifications?

Header text	Adams	AlAjaji	Laffitte
Example	Example	Example	Example
Star Name	beta	alpha	gamma
Example	Example	Example	Example

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IAU Working Group Star Names

In 202x, the name ... was suggest as a star name in the area that is covered by the historical asterism. It is suggested to be used for ...

WGSN decided in ... 202x to name ... ...

This star is <a red giant or whatelse> ... here astrophysical data will be added (by Eric, most likely) after the decision.