Quraysh Tribe
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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 sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
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 in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
was born into the
Hashim Hashim ( ar, هاشم) is a common male Arabic given name. Hashim may also refer to: *Hashim Amir Ali *Hashim (poet) *Hashim Amla *Hashim Thaçi *Hashim Khan * Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan *Hashim al-Atassi *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf *Hashim ib ...
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 , image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png , caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia , known_for = Companions of t ...
,
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-Muttalib ...
, and purportedly the
Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dy ...
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 Hishām ibn al-Kalbī ( ar, هشام بن الكلبي), 737 AD – 819 AD/204 AH, also known as Ibn al-Kalbi (), was an Arab historian. His full name was Abu al-Mundhir Hisham ibn Muhammad ibn al-Sa'ib ibn Bishr al-Kalbi. Born in Kufa, he spent ...
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 languages, 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 ...
word meaning "a coming together" or "association". The Quraysh gained their name when
Qusayy ibn Kilab Qusai ibn Kilab ibn Murrah ( ar, قصي ٱبن كلاب ٱبن مرة, ''Qusayy ibn Kilāb ibn Murrah''; ca. 400–480), also spelled Qusayy, Kusayy, Kusai, or Cossai, born Zayd ( ar, زيد), was an Ishmaelite descendant of the Prophet Abraha ...
, 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 The Arabic language, Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **c ...
'' or surname of the Quraysh is ''Qurashī'', though in the early centuries of the Islamic ''
Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...
'', 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 G ...
was
Fihr ibn Malik Fihr ibn Malik ( ar, فِهْر ٱبْن مَالِك, Fihr ibn Mālik, ), is counted among the direct ancestors of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In the lineage of Muhammad from Adnan, Fihr precedes Muhammad by eleven generations. Meaning of ...
, 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 The Kinana ( ar, كِنَاَنَة, Kināna) were an Arab tribe based around Mecca in the Tihama coastal area and the Hejaz mountains. The Quraysh of Mecca, the tribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was an offshoot of the Kinana. A number of mod ...
tribe and his descent is traced to
Adnan Adnan ( ar, عدنان, 'adnān) is the traditional ancestor of the Adnanite Arabs of Northern, Western, Eastern and Central Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtanite Arabs of Southern Arabia who descend from Qahtan. His ancestry can be traced back t ...
the Ishmaelite, the semi-legendary father of the " northern Arabs". According to the traditional sources, Fihr led the warriors of Kinana and
Khuzayma This family tree is about the relatives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad known as a family member of the family of Hashim and the Qurayshs tribe which is ‘Adnani. "The ‘arabicised or arabicising Arabs’, on the contrary, are believed to be ...
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 Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north 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 Qusai ibn Kilab ibn Murrah ( ar, قصي ٱبن كلاب ٱبن مرة, ''Qusayy ibn Kilāb ibn Murrah''; ca. 400–480), also spelled Qusayy, Kusayy, Kusai, or Cossai, born Zayd ( ar, زيد), was an Ishmaelite descendant of the Prophet Abraha ...
, 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 Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy ( ar, كَعْب ٱبْن لُؤَيّ) is an ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Arabic tradition. Ancestry Ka'b Lu'ayy was born in c. 305, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib and Ma'wiya bint Ka`b ibn al-Qayn i ...
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, 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, 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 Gerald R. Hawting (born 1944) is a British historian and Islamicist. Life Hawting's teachers were Bernard Lewis and John Wansbrough. He received his Ph.D. in 1978. He is Emeritus Professor for the History of the Near and Middle East at the Sc ...
, 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 The Banu Sahm ( ar, بنو سهم) is a clan of the Quraish tribe. They are related to the Banu Jumah, as they both were part of a larger clan descended from the same ancestor, the Banu Husays. People *Khunais ibn Hudhaifa * 'Amr ibn al-'As * His ...
,
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 The Banu Makhzum () was one of the wealthy clans of the Quraysh. They are regarded as being among the three most powerful and influential clans in Mecca before the advent of Islam, the other two being the Banu Hashim (the tribe of the Islamic prop ...
and
Banu Jumah The Banu Jumah ( ar, بنو جُمح) is a clan of the Quraish tribe. They are notable for being allies to the polytheist Meccans and being in war with the Muslims. They are related to the Banu Sahm, as they both were part of a larger clan descend ...
, became known as ''al-Aḥlāf'' (the Confederates), while those who backed the Abd Manaf clan, including the
Banu Taym ) , type = Qurayshi / Adnanite Arabs , image = Banu Taym Allah Flag.svg , image_size = 150 px , alt = , caption = Banner of Banu Taym , nisba = At-Taymī () , location = Western Arabian Peninsula, especially in ...
,
Banu Asad Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah ( ar, ابن أسد بن خزيمة ) is an Arab tribe. They are Adnanite Arabs, powerful and one of the most famous tribes. They are widely respected by many Arab tribes, respected by Shia Muslims because they have buri ...
,
Banu Zuhra ) , type = Quraysh, Adnanites , image = , image_size = , alt = , caption = , nisba = , location = Arabia , descended = Zuhrah ibn Kilab , branches = , religion = Paganism (before 620s) and later Islam ...
and Banu al-Harith ibn Fihr, were known as ''al-Muṭayyabūn'' ( ar, ٱلْمُطَيَّبُوْن, lit=the Perfumed).


Control of Meccan trade

Toward the end of the 6th century, the
Fijar War The Fijar Wars () were a series of battles that took place in the late 6th century mainly between two major tribal confederations of Arabia, the Quraysh and the Hawazin. Assuming the sources are correct, the fighting took place on eight days over ...
broke out between the Quraysh and the
Kinana The Kinana ( ar, كِنَاَنَة, Kināna) were an Arab tribe based around Mecca in the Tihama coastal area and the Hejaz mountains. The Quraysh of Mecca, the tribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was an offshoot of the Kinana. A number of mod ...
on one side and various
Qays Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic er ...
i tribes on the other, including the
Hawazin ) , type = Qaysi , image = Hawazin Flag (20).png , image_size =170px , alt = , caption = Banner of the Hawazin at the Battle of Siffin , nisba = , location = , descended = Hawazin ibn Mansur ib ...
,
Banu Thaqif The Banu Thaqif ( ar, بنو ثقيف, Banū Thaqīf) is an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe which inhabited, and still inhabits, the city of Ta'if and its environs, in modern Saudi Arabia, and played a prominent role in early Islamic history. Durin ...
,
Banu Amir The Banū ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿa ( ar, بنو عامر بن صعصعة) was a large and ancient Arab tribe originating from central Arabia, that dominated Najd for centuries after the rise of Islam. The tribe is an Arab Adnanite tribe and its ...
and
Banu Sulaym The Banu Sulaym ( ar, بنو سليم) is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Is ...
. 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 Arabs, Arab kingdom in Sawad , Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as ...
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 Ḥarb ibn Umayya ibn ʿAbd Shams ( ar, حرب بن أمية بن عبد شمس) was the father of Abu Sufyan and Arwa and the son of Umayya ibn Abd Shams. Harb is credited in the Islamic tradition as the first among the Quraysh to write in Arabic ...
, 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 H ...
. Despite particularly tough resistance by the Quraysh's main trade rivals, the Thaqif of
Ta'if Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
, 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 Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...
,
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 ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediter ...
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 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 and A ...
(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 The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
(western Arabia). In the words of Fred Donner:
y the end of the 6th century,Meccan commerce was flourishing as never before, and the leaders in this trade he Qurayshhad 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 Umayyad dynasty ( ar, بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, Banū Umayya, Sons of Umayya) or Umayyads ( ar, الأمويون, al-Umawiyyūn) were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In the ...
, 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 ) , type = Qurayshi / Adnanite Arab Tribe , image = , alt = , caption = Banner of Banu Taym , nisba = Al-Nawfal () , location = Western Arabian Peninsula, especially in Mecca (present-day Saudi Arabia) , descen ...
, 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, which consisted of the
Banu Hashim ) , type = Qurayshi Arab clan , image = , alt = , caption = , nisba = al-Hashimi , location = Mecca, Hejaz Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa , descended = Hashim ibn Abd Manaf , parent_tribe = Qu ...
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 s ...
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, tow ...
, 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 __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and defeated the Quraysh at the ensuing
Battle of Badr The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Quran, Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan (calendar month), Ramadan, 2 Anno Hegirae, AH), near the ...
in 624. The Quraysh later besieged the Muslims at Medina in 627, but were defeated in the
Battle of the Trench The Battle of the Trench ( ar, غزوة الخندق, Ghazwat al-Khandaq), also known as the Battle of Khandaq ( ar, معركة الخندق, Ma’rakah al-Khandaq) and the Battle of the Confederates ( ar, غزوة الاحزاب, Ghazwat al- ...
. The
Treaty of Hudaybiyya The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah ( ar, صُلح ٱلْحُدَيْبِيَّة, Ṣulḥ Al-Ḥudaybiyyah) was an event that took place during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad, representing the state of ...
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, 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 o ...
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 First Fitna ( ar, فتنة مقتل عثمان, fitnat maqtal ʻUthmān, strife/sedition of the killing of Uthman) was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of t ...
, the Ansar, who backed Caliph
Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
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 The Banu Thaqif ( ar, بنو ثقيف, Banū Thaqīf) is an Arab tribe which inhabited, and still inhabits, the city of Ta'if and its environs, in modern Saudi Arabia, and played a prominent role in early Islamic history. During the pre-Islami ...
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 approval ...
'' holding that the caliph must be from Quraysh became almost universally accepted by the Muslims, with the exception of the
Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
. 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 Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
, the Banu Hashim represented by Ali, and other Qurayshi leaders such as
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair. The name is also sometimes written Al ...
of the Banu Asad and
Talha ibn Ubayd Allah Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Taymī ( ar, طَلْحَة بن عُبَيْد اللّه التَّيمي, ) was a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, he is mostly known for being among ('the ten to whom Paradise wa ...
of the Banu Taym.Donner 1981, pp. 274–275. Later, during the
Second Muslim Civil War The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...
, 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-Muttalib ...
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

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Alaouite dynasty The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Morocco, Moroccan royal family and re ...
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Ba 'Alawiyya The Ba'Alawi tariqa ( ar, طريقة آل باعلوي), also known as the Tariqa Alawiyya is a Sufi order centered in Hadhramawt, Yemen, but now spread across the Indian Ocean rim along with the Hadhrami diaspora. The order is closely tie ...
*
Ba 'Alawi sada The Ba 'Alawi sadah or Sadah Ba 'Alawi ( ar-at, السادة آل باعلوي, al-sādatu al-bā'alawiy) are a group of Hadhrami Sayyid families and social group originating in Hadhramaut in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Th ...
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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 fro ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

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