And 'tribes' (al-qaba'il) are the tribes of the Arabs.

Muhammad said: The singular of 'peoples' (al-shu'ub) is 'sha'b' with a fatha (vowel sign) on the 'ayn' letter. However, 'shi'b' with a kasra (vowel sign) means a path; meaning, in a mountain.

[That you may know one another] (Quran 49:13): Then the speech is interrupted, and then He said: [Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah]—meaning in rank—[is the most righteous of you] (in this world).