Awan soldier in uniform The majority of Awans maintain (and have always maintained) they are descended from an individual named Qutb Shah, a general in the army of Mahmud of Ghazni, who himself was a descendant of the Prophet Mohammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali (but by a wife other than the Prophet's daughter, Fatima).

It is said that Qutb Shah and four of his sons accompanied and assisted Mahmud in his early eleventh century conquests of what today forms parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India.

It is claimed that in recognition of their services and valour, Mahmud bestowed upon Qutb Shah and his sons (who settled in the Salt Range.

Tribal history holds that Qutb Shah's sons married local women who converted to Islam from Hinduism), the title of Awan, meaning "helper".