During the 5th Century AD the Ma'rib dam in the Yemenite city of Najran, then the capital of all Christian Arabs, collapsed causing the migration of many of its inhabitants. Some traveled north to modern day Syria and Jordan. Rashed Haddad's ancestors settled in Jordan, in an area called El Shorat near the spring in Edreh, 20 miles west of Ma'an. Using this spring to irrigate the land and power a mill, the Haddad tribe (Haddadin) planted crops, raised animals and generally prospered.

Around the middle of the 13th Century the Kaysoom tribes pillaged and plundered their way to Edreh. When their chief, Emir Ibn Kaysoom saw the land around Edreh he asked the chief of the Haddadin for permission to graze there. Their strength, size and reputation made it imprudent for the Haddadin to refuse this request and so they were welcomed and friendship grew between the two tribes which lived in peace and harmony for some time.

Many years later crop failures and subsequent hardships in the Hijaz (Western Saudi Arabia) forced tribes to migrate in search of better grazing lands. Some went to the area around El Shorat and Edreh however crop failures also developed here and at the beginning of 16th Century the Haddadin moved with the Kaysoom to El Karak. Here the Haddadin once again set about cultivating the land. The Haddadin dominated economically while the Kaysoom were masters in terms of strength.

At around the middle of the 16th Century there was a man called Sabri Haddad. He had three brothers, one of whom was called Rashed. One day, while Emir Ibn Kaysoom, chief of the Kaysoom, was Sabri Haddad's guest, news came that Sabri's wife had given birth to a baby girl. On hearing this, Ibn Kaysoom requested the girl as a wife for his son. Sabri, believing that this was a joke rather than a serious request due to the religious differences between the families, politely replied, "She is at your disposal, O Emir."

Years past, and the girl grew up. At about the time when she reached a marriageable age, Ibn Kaysoom sent a delegation asking for the girl as had been agreed on the day of her birth. Sabri was amazed and sent the delegation back, and when the emir sent a second delegation, they again returned home empty handed. Angry at this refusal Ibn Kaysoom raided the Haddadin's herds, to which Sabri is said to have responded that it was better for a misfortune to befall one's property than one's family. However Ibn Kaysoom then kidnapped two of Sabri's sons, threatening to kill them if he was not given the girl. This time Sabri replied that it was better for a misfortune to befall one's family than a disgrace in honor and religion, at which point Ibn Kaysoom killed the two boys by rolling them down a steep mountain tied to two boulders. He then threatened to kill Sabri and all his relatives and take the girl by force.

Sabri hatched a plan to take revenge for his sons' deaths and the theft of his herd. After hearing the plan, his Muslim neighbours agreed to help him as they had also suffered at the hands of the Kaysoom. A message was sent to Ibn Kaysoom instructing him to come and take the girl on a certain date and so when the appointed day arrived so too did many members of the Kaysoom tribe. The custom at that time was for guests to remove their weapons and put them aside, while the hosts remained armed. And so during the meal the Haddadin and their neighbors drew their swords and killed each and every man, including the Emir's son. At the same time the women, who were traditionally entertained in a separate guest house, were trapped inside the building by a pile of stones placed against the door. Then, taking as many of their possessions as they could, the Haddadin and their neighbors fled to Palestine by way of El Lisan, the fording place across the Dead Sea. After the two tribes had made the crossing Sabri stuck a large number of swords and spears in the sea bed. When Ibn Kaysoom discovered Sabri's trick, he followed with his men in pursuit of the escapees, however when they began to cross the Dead Sea at El Lisan their horses struck the hidden swords and were unable to go any further, forcing Ibn Kaysoom to return to Al Karak.

The tribes first traveled to Halhoul near Hebron but after about six months went to the Beit Jala and Bethlehem region. Sabri and Rashed finally settled in Ramallah. Three centuries after the Crusaders had left Ramallah, it was an uninhabited wooded area, a fact which pleased Rashed and Sabri as a large supply of wood was useful for their trade as blacksmiths, (in Arabic 'Haddad' means blacksmith). They bought the land from some of the original Al Bireh inhabitants. Their Muslim neighbors settled in El Bireh.

As the years passed Sabri found it hard to cope with the hardships they faced in Ramallah and longed for his homeland. One day he was reminded of two old Roman wells his family had owned in El Karak and which they had used to store excess wheat. The wells were called El Ka'a and Abu El Dhedan and are well known in El Karak to this day. At these memories of his old home Sabri swore to return and either live or die there.

Sabri disguised himself and set off for the place where the Kaysoom were grazing their herds. When he found it, he entered Ibn Kaysoom's yard and hid between two camels. Early the next morning, while Ibn Kaysoom prepared himself for prayer, Sabri left his hiding place and hurried into the tent. The tradition was that if you entered a tribe's tent you sought sanctuary or refuge. Ibn Kaysoom's wife instantly recognised Sabri and knew what he intended to do. She decided to plead his case to her husband and so she went to him and sat on the edge of his cloak, which he was about to perform his prayers on. It was understood that this meant that she had an important request to make. Ibn Kaysoom told his wife that she could have as much money and as many animals as she wanted. She answered him saying that he had granted her nothing. He told her to ask for anything except for a divorce or a pardon for Sabri Haddad, and she again answered that he had granted her nothing. Then he asked her if she wanted to pardon men other than Sabri Haddad, and she replied for a third time that he had granted her nothing. At this Ibn Kaysoom asked if Sabri Haddad was in their home, and she told him that he was amongst their children seeking refuge and protection. Ibn Kaysoom promised that he would forgive and pardon him and after performing his prayers he went to greet Sabri.

Later, at a meeting with the chiefs of all the tribes, Ibn Kaysoom requested a guarantee that no one would harm Sabri or make any demands on him. Since Sabri's flight El Karak had suffered badly from crop failures and it was said by the people that when the Haddadin had left the country God had taken the blessing away from them. Perhaps this was why they happily gave their assent to his return, in the hope that he might bring the lost blessing with him. Sabri Haddad was thus able to move around the area without fear, however as he did so he was struck by the hunger and want from which the people were suffering and before returning to his family in Palestine, Sabri opened one of the hidden wells containing wheat.

The rest of the Haddadin and the Muslim tribe who had fled to Palestine with them did not believe that the Kaysoom would forgive them and were afraid to return, preferring to remain where they were. Sabri's brother Rashed stayed in Ramallah, the Muslim neighbours in Al Bireh, and two other brothers in Beit Jala and El Salt. The Haddad clans made up Ramallah's original eight families. Sabri returned to El Karak with his immediate family and his daughter (the cause of all the commotion) married an Egyptian Christian named Haleesa who came to El Karak as a refugee. Their descendants are members of the large Christian Halsa tribe in El Karak.