Zirid dynasty
Abdelhamid Ben Badis was born in Constantine in 1889. His family were a prestigious family of "ulama" and notables that descended from the Berber Zirid dynasty, rulers of Ifriqiya. Ben Badis' grandfather Si Makki ben Badis (d. 1889), was a "qadi". His father, Muḥammad Mustafa (b. 1868), was an adjunct judge and member the , the colonial parliament. Ben Badis grew up in a scholarly and religious household and as a result memorized the Quran at the age of thirteen.