HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
and its
Kaaba The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
. The
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets ar ...
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Quraysh staunchly opposed Muhammad, until converting to Islam ''en masse'' in CE. Afterwards, leadership of the Muslim community traditionally passed to a member of the Quraysh, as was the case with the Rashidun,
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
,
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...
, and purportedly the Fatimid
caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
s.


Name

Sources differ as to the etymology of Quraysh, with one theory holding that it was the diminutive form of ''qirsh'' (shark).Watt 1986, p. 435. The 9th-century genealogist Hisham ibn al-Kalbi asserted that there was no eponymous founder of Quraysh;Peters 1994, p. 14. rather, the name stemmed from ''taqarrush'', an
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
word meaning "a coming together" or "association". The Quraysh gained their name when Qusayy ibn Kilab, a sixth-generation descendant of Fihr ibn Malik, gathered together his kinsmen and took control of the Ka'aba. Prior to this, Fihr's offspring lived in scattered, nomadic groups among their Kinana relatives. The '' nisba'' or surname of the Quraysh is ''Qurashī'', though in the early centuries of the Islamic '' Ummah'', most Qurayshi tribesmen were denoted by their specific clan instead of the tribe. Later, particularly after the 13th century, claimants of Qurayshi descent used the ''Qurashī'' surname.


History


Origins

The Quraysh's
progenitor In genealogy, the progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; german: Stammvater or ''Ahnherr'') is the – sometimes legendary – founder of a family, line of descent, clan or tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines ...
was Fihr ibn Malik, whose full genealogy, according to traditional Arab sources, was the following: Fihr ibn Mālik ibn al-Naḍr ibn Kināna ibn Khuzayma ibn Mudrika ibn Ilyās ibn Muḍar ibn Nizār ibn Maʿadd ibn ʿAdnān.Watt 1986, p. 434. Thus, Fihr belonged to the Kinana tribe and his descent is traced to Adnan the Ishmaelite, the semi-legendary father of the " northern Arabs". According to the traditional sources, Fihr led the warriors of Kinana and Khuzayma in defense of the Ka'ba, at the time a major pagan sanctuary in Mecca, against tribes from
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
; however, the sanctuary and the privileges associated with it continued to be in the hands of the Yemeni Khuza'a tribe. The Quraysh gained their name when Qusayy ibn Kilab, a sixth-generation descendant of Fihr ibn Malik, gathered together his kinsmen and took control of the Ka'ba. Prior to this, Fihr's offspring lived in scattered, nomadic groups among their Kinana relatives.


Establishment in Mecca

All medieval Muslim sources agree that Qusayy unified Fihr's descendants, and established the Quraysh as the dominant power in Mecca. After conquering Mecca, Qusayy assigned quarters to different Qurayshi clans. Those settled around the Ka'ba were known ''Quraysh al-Biṭāḥ'' ( ar, قُرَيْش ٱلْبِِطَاح, lit=Quraysh of the Hollow), and included all of the descendants of Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy and others. The clans settled in the outskirts of the sanctuary were known as ''Quraysh al-Ẓawāhīr'' ( ar, قُرَيْش ٱلظَّوَاهِر, lit=Quraysh of the Outskirts). According to historian
Ibn Ishaq Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār (; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, ar, محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار بن خيار, or simply ibn Isḥaq, , meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767) was an 8 ...
, Qusayy's younger son,
Abd Manaf Abd Manaf al-Mughirah ibn Qusai ( ar, عبد مناف ٱلمغيرة ٱبن قصي, ''ʿAbd Manāf al-Mughīrah ibn Quṣayy'') was a Qurayshi and great-great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. His father was Quṣai ibn Kilāb. Biogr ...
, had grown prominent during his father's lifetime and was chosen by Qusayy to be his successor as the guardian of the Ka'ba. He also gave other responsibilities related to the Ka'ba to his other sons Abd al-'Uzza and Abd, while ensuring that all decisions by the Quraysh had to be made in the presence of his eldest son Abd al-Dar; the latter was also designated ceremonial privileges such as keeper of the Qurayshi war banner and supervisor of water and provisions to the pilgrims visiting the Ka'ba.Peters 1994, p. 15. According to historian
F. E. Peters Francis Edward Peters, SJ (June 23, 1927 – April 30, 2020), who generally published as F. E. Peters, was Professor Emeritus of History, Religion and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University (NYU). He died on April 30, 2020 in hosp ...
, Ibn Ishaq's account reveals that Mecca in the time of Qusayy and his immediate offspring was not yet a commercial center; rather, the city's economy was based on pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, and "what pass dfor municipal offices esignated by Qusayyhave to do only with military operations and with control of the shrine". During that time, the tribesmen of Quraysh were not traders; instead, they were entrusted with religious services, from which they significantly profited. They also profited from taxes collected from incoming pilgrims. Though Qusayy appeared to be the strongman of Quraysh, he was not officially a king of the tribe, but one of many leading
sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
s (tribal chieftains).Peters 1994, p. 16. According to historian Gerald R. Hawting, if the traditional sources are to be believed, Qusayy's children, "must have lived in the second half of the fifth century".Hawting 2000, p. 22. However, historian W. Montgomery Watt asserts that Qusayy himself likely died in the second half of the 6th century. The issue of succession between Qusayy's natural successor, Abd al-Dar, and his chosen successor, Abd Manaf, led to the division of Quraysh into two factions; those who backed the Abd al-Dar clan, including the clans of Banu Sahm,
Banu Adi Banu Adi ( ar, بنو عدي) was a clan of the Quraysh tribe descended from Adi ibn Ka'b. The Banu Adi were with the Meccans as part of the escort that preceded the Battle of Badr; they did not join Quraysh further. Notable members Among the clan ...
, Banu Makhzum and Banu Jumah, became known as ''al-Aḥlāf'' (the Confederates), while those who backed the Abd Manaf clan, including the Banu Taym, Banu Asad, Banu Zuhra and
Banu al-Harith ibn Fihr Banu or BANU may refer to: * Banu (name) * Banu (Arabic), Arabic word for "the sons of" or "children of" * Banu (makeup artist), an Indian makeup artist * Banu Chichek, a character in the ''Book of Dede Korkut'' * Bulgarian Agrarian National Union ...
, were known as ''al-Muṭayyabūn'' ( ar, ٱلْمُطَيَّبُوْن, lit=the Perfumed).


Control of Meccan trade

Toward the end of the 6th century, the Fijar War broke out between the Quraysh and the Kinana on one side and various Qaysi tribes on the other, including the Hawazin, Banu Thaqif, Banu Amir and Banu Sulaym. The war broke out when a Kinani tribesman killed an Amiri tribesman escorting a
Lakhmid The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capita ...
caravan to the Hejaz. The attack took place during the holy season when fighting was typically forbidden. The Kinani tribesman's patron was Harb ibn Umayya, a Qurayshi chief. This patron and other chiefs were ambushed by the Hawazin at Nakhla, but were able to escape. In the battles that occurred in the following two years, the Qays were victorious, but in the fourth year, the tide turned in favor of the Quraysh and Kinana. After a few more clashes, peace was reestablished.Fück 1965, p. 883. According to Watt, the actual aim in the Fijar War was control of the trade routes of
Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the ...
. Despite particularly tough resistance by the Quraysh's main trade rivals, the Thaqif of Ta'if, and the Banu Nasr clan of Hawazin, the Quraysh ultimately held sway over western Arabian trade.Fück 1965, p. 884. The Quraysh gained control over Ta'if's trade, and many Qurayshi individuals purchased estates in Ta'if, where the climate was cooler. The sanctuary village of Mecca developed into a major Arabian trade hub. According to Watt, by 600 CE, the leaders of Quraysh "were prosperous merchants who had obtained something like a monopoly of the trade between the Indian Ocean and East Africa on the one hand and the Mediterranean on the other". Furthermore, the Quraysh commissioned trade caravans to Yemen in the winter and caravans to Gaza, Bosra,
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
and al-Arish in the summer.Donner 1981, p. 51. The Quraysh established networks with merchants in these Syrian cities. They also formed political or economic alliances with many of the
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...
(nomadic Arab) tribes in the northern and central Arabian deserts to ensure the safety of their trade caravans. The Quraysh invested their revenues in building their trading ventures, and shared profits with tribal allies to translate financial fortune into significant political power in the Hejaz (western Arabia). In the words of
Fred Donner Fred McGraw Donner (born 1945) is a scholar of Islam and Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Near Eastern History at the University of Chicago.
:
y the end of the 6th century, Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh ...
Meccan commerce was flourishing as never before, and the leaders in this trade
he Quraysh He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
had developed from mere merchants into true financiers. They were no longer interested in "buying cheap and selling dear," but also with organizing money and men to realize their commercial objectives. There was emerging, in short, a class of men with well-developed managerial and organizational skills. It was a development unheralded, and almost unique, in central Arabia.
The Banu Makhzum and Banu Umayya, in particular, acquired vast wealth from trade and held the most influence among the Quraysh in Meccan politics. The Banu Umayya and the Banu Nawfal, another clan descending from Abd Manaf that had become wealthy from their commercial enterprise, split from the ''Muṭayyabūn'' faction in 605 and engaged in business with the ''Aḥlāf''. Their financial fortunes had enabled them to become a force of their own. During a commercial incident were a yemenite merchant was robbed of his trade by al-As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi, the ''Muṭayyabūn'' reformed in the
Hilf al-Fudul Hilf al-Fudul ( ar, حلف الفضول) was an alliance or confederacy created in Mecca in the year 590 AD, to establish justice for all through collective action, especially for those who where not under the protection of any clan. Because of M ...
, which consisted of the Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib, which, like the Banu Umayya, were descendants of Abd Manaf, and the Taym, Asad, Zuhra and al-Harith ibn Fihr clans. The Banu Hashim held the hereditary rights surrounding the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, though the Banu Umayya were ultimately the strongest Qurayshi clan. According to Watt, "In all the stories of the pre-Islamic period there is admittedly a legendary element, but the main outline of events appears to be roughly correct, even if most of the dating is uncertain."


Conflict with Muhammad

The polytheistic Quraysh opposed the monotheistic message preached by the Islamic
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...
Muhammad, himself a Qurayshi from the Banu Hashim. The tribe harassed members of the nascent Muslim
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...
, and attempted to harm Muhammad, but he was protected by his uncle Abu Talib. To escape persecution, Muhammad and his companions, including the Qurayshi
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
, emigrated to
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
. Muhammad then confronted a Qurayshi caravan returning from Palestine and defeated the Quraysh at the ensuing Battle of Badr in 624. The Quraysh later besieged the Muslims at Medina in 627, but were defeated in the Battle of the Trench. The Treaty of Hudaybiyya was then signed between Muhammad and the Quraysh in 628, but was violated because of a dispute between Bedouin tribes from each camp. In January 630, Muhammad moved to finally settle the conflict with Quraysh and returned with his followers to capture Mecca.Peters 1994, p. 81.


Islamic leadership

In 630, Muhammad entered Mecca victoriously, prompting the rest of Quraysh to embrace Islam. Muhammad sought to consolidate the unity of his expanding Muslim community by "winning over this powerful group
he Quraysh He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
, according to Donner; to that end he guaranteed Qurayshi participation and influence in the nascent Islamic state. Thus, despite their long enmity with Muhammad, the Quraysh were brought in as political and economic partners and became a key component in the Muslim elite. Many leading Qurayshi tribesmen were installed in key government positions and in Muhammad's policy-making circle.Donner 1981, p. 77. According to Donner, the inclusion of Quraysh "in the ruling elite of the Islamic state was very probably responsible for what appears to be the more carefully organized and systematic approach to statesmanship practiced by Muhammad in the closing years of his life, as the organizational skills of the Quraysh were put to use in the service of Islam". With Muhammad's death in 632, rivalry emerged between the Quraysh and the two other components of the Muslim elite, the Ansar and the Thaqif, over influence in state matters.Donner 1981, p. 273. The Ansar wanted one of their own to succeed the prophet as
caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, but were persuaded by
Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
to agree to Abu Bakr. During the reigns of Abu Bakr (632–634) and Umar (r. 634–644), some of the Ansar were concerned about their political stake. The Quraysh apparently held real power during this period marked by the
early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
. During the First Muslim Civil War, the Ansar, who backed Caliph Ali of the Banu Hashim against two factions representing rival Qurayshi clans, were defeated. They were subsequently left out of the political elite, while the Thaqif maintained a measure of influence by dint of their long relationship with the Quraysh.Donner 1981, p. 274. A ''
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
'' holding that the caliph must be from Quraysh became almost universally accepted by the Muslims, with the exception of the Kharijites. Indeed, control of the Islamic state essentially devolved into a struggle between various factions of the Quraysh. In the first civil war, these factions included the Banu Umayya represented by Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the Banu Hashim represented by Ali, and other Qurayshi leaders such as Zubayr ibn al-Awwam of the Banu Asad and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah of the Banu Taym.Donner 1981, pp. 274–275. Later, during the Second Muslim Civil War, these same factions again fought for control of the
caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, with the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
s victorious at the war's conclusion in 692/93. In 750, the issue of which Qurayshi clan would hold the reins of power was again raised but this time, the
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...
s, a branch of the Banu Hashim, were victorious and slew much of the Banu Umayya. Afterward, Islamic leadership was contested between different branches of the Banu Hashim.Donner 1981, p. 275.


Clans


Quraysh relationship tree


See also

* Alaouite dynasty * Ba 'Alawiyya * Ba 'Alawi sada *
Hawk of Quraish The Hawk of Quraish ( ar, صَقْرُ قُرَيْشٍ, ṣāqr Quraysh) is a symbol which is found on a number of emblems, coats of arms and flags of several states of the Arab League. The Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula, today especially those fr ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{Authority control Tribes Life of Muhammad Tribes of Arabia Tribes of Saudi Arabia