Banu Bakr
Various suggestions have been made as to his ancestry. Some say his father belonged to the Lakhmid clan of semi-nomads who lived east of the Euphrates and were allies of the Sassanians, while others claim he belonged to the Banu Bakr confederation. One account stated that Musa's father was taken captive after the fall of the Mesopotamian city of Ayn al-Tamr (633). According to this account, he was an Arab Christian who was one of a number being held hostage there. However, al-Baladhuri, relating the same events, states he was an Arab of the Balī tribe, from Jabal al-Jalīl in Syria.