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Quraysh is also the name of a Surah in the Qur'an.

The Quraysh or Quraish (Arabic: قريش‎, Qurayš; other transliterations include "Quresh", "Qurrish", "Qurish", "Qirsh", "Qureshi", "Kuraish", "Koraish", "Koreish" and "Coreish") were a powerful merchant tribe that controlled Mecca and its Kaaba upon the appearance of the religion of Islam.

Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe.

Early history[link]

According to Arabic history books, the Quraysh were a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe, which descended from the Khuzaimah. For several generations they were spread about among other tribal groupings. About five generations before Muhammad the situation was changed by Qusai ibn Kilab. By war and diplomacy he assembled an alliance that delivered to him the keys of the Kaaba, an important pagan shrine which brought revenues to Mecca because of the multitude of pilgrims that it attracted. He then gathered his fellow tribesmen to settle at Mecca, where he enjoyed such adulation from his kin that they adjudged him their de facto king, a position that was enjoyed by no other descendant of his. Different responsibilities were apportioned between different clans. There were some rivalries among the clans, and these became especially pronounced during Muhammad's lifetime.

Opposition to Muhammad[link]

Some clan leaders did not appreciate Muhammad's claim of prophethood and tried to silence him by putting pressure on his uncle, Abu Talib. Many of the clans also began to oppose the followers of Muhammad, for example by boycotting them. A number of early Muslims took refuge with the Christian king of Abyssinia,^[1] while Muhammad himself would later emigrate to Yathrib, now Medina. The Quraysh fought many battles against Muhammad, one major clash was the Battle of Badr, where the Quraysh were defeated, the event was seen as a turning point for Muslims.^[2] After Muhammad's conquest of Mecca in 630, he pardoned many of those who had opposed him before, and peace among the different clans was maintained. After Muhammad's death, clan rivalries reignited, playing central roles in the conflicts over the caliphate and contributing to the Shia-Sunni divide.

Clans and the Caliphate[link]

After the introduction of Islam, the Quraysh gained supremacy and produced the three dynasties of the Ummayad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate and the Fatimid Caliphate. The split between the Shi'a and Sunni branches of Islam centers over the succession to Muhammad.^[3] The Sunnis believe Abu Bakr was elected as Muhammad's successor while the Shi'a (literally "party [of Ali]") believe Muhammad appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor.

Ali was a member of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim. Abu Bakr, while a close companion of Muhammad, came from the Banu Taym clan.^[3]

The second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, was from the Banu Adi clan.^[3]

The third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, was from the Banu Umayyah clan.^[3]

When Ali was made caliph after the death of Uthman, the Caliphate was in the hands of the Banu Hashim, but he was almost immediately challenged by Muawiyah, who was a member of the Umayyad clan.^[3] After Ali's assassination at the hands of the Kharajites, the Shi'a hoped his son Hasan would become Caliph, but he was forced to defer to Muawiyah, who, in violation of the treaty signed with Hasan bin Ali, established the Umayyad line of Caliphs.^[3]

After the death of Muawiyah, his son Yazid became caliph but was almost immediately challenged by Ali's younger son, Hussein. Hussein would not swear allegiance to Yazid for a number of reasons, among those the alleged corruption of Yazid and Hussein's acknowledgment of the caliphate's non-hereditary lineage, which Yazid had breached. Hussein was killed by the stronger forces of Yazid at the Battle of Karbela. This event would ultimately lead to a full schism between Shi'a Islam and Sunni Islam.

In the Shi'a view Muhammad's descendants through Ali were persecuted by Umayyad Caliphs which did not help the matter.

Arab lineages[link]

According to traditional legends, Arab lineages allegedly originate from three groups:

1. Perished Arabs (العرب البائدة): These are the ancients of whose history little is known. They include ‘Ad, Thamûd, Tasam, Jadis, Imlaq and others.
2. Pure Arabs (العرب العاربة): They originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan bin Hud so were also called Qahtanian Arabs.
3. Arabized Arabs (العرب المستعربة): They originated from the progeny of Ishmael and were also called ‘Adnanite Arabs. The Quraysh are a branch of the "Arabized Arabs".

Clans[link]

Quraysh branched out into various sub-clans, who in turn branched out into yet further sub-clans. Roughly the division corresponded to the family lines of the current chieftain of that clan having sons.

• Banu Quraysh — Quraysh was divided into several sub-clans.

• Banu Abd-al-dar — sub-clan of Quraysh
• Banu Abd Manaf — sub-clan of Quraysh

• Banu Nawfal — sub-clan of Banu Abd Manaf, clan of Mut`im ibn ‘Adi^[4]
• Banu Muttalib — sub-clan of Banu Abd Manaf
• Banu Hashim — sub-clan of Banu Abd Manaf, clan of Muhammad.
• Banu Abd Shams — sub-clan of Banu Abd Manaf, parent clan of Banu Umayyah.

• Banu Umayyah — sub-clan of Banu Abd Shams, clan of Abu Sufyan and Uthman ibn Affan

• Banu Makhzum — sub-clan of Quraysh, clan of Khalid ibn al-Walid
• Banu Zuhrah — sub-clan of Quraysh, clan of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas
• Banu Taym — sub-clan of Quraysh, clan of Abu Bakr
• Banu Adi — sub-clan of Quraysh, clan of Umar ibn al-Khattab
• Banu Asad (Quraysh) — sub-clan of Quraysh, clan of Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr and Khadijah
• Banu Jumah — sub-clan of Quraysh
• Banu Sahm — sub-clan of Quraysh, clan of Amr ibn al-As

Leaders of the Quraysh[link]

The leaders of Quraysh, who formed Mecca's aristocracy upon the appearance of Muhammad, were referred to as the Lords of Quraish (by conventional translation), Dominants of Quraish (by literal translation) (Arabic: Sadat Quraysh).

A list of them include:

• Aaes ibn Waeel (Banu Saham)
• Abu Jahl (Banu Makhzum)^[5]
• Abu Lahab (Banu Hashim)
• Abu Sufyan ibn Harb (Banu Umayyah)
• Akhnas ibn Shariq (Haleef Banu Aadi)^[6]
• Aswad ibn Mutlib (Banu Asad)
• Hakeem ibn Huzaam (Banu Asad)
• Matum ibn Aadi (Banu Nawfal)
• Mughirah ibn Abd-Allah (Banu Makhzum)
• Nabeeha ibn Hujaj (Banu Jumahe)
• Nazar ibn Harris (Banu Abdudaar)
• Suhayl ibn Amr (Banu Aamir)^[6]
• Umayyah ibn Khalaf (Banu Jumahe)^[5]
• Uqba ibn Mueet (Banu Abdudaar)
• Utba ibn Rabi'ah (Banu Abdushams)

Related tribes[link]

• Banu Kinanah
• Banu Hothail
• Banu Sulaym
• Banu Tamim
• Bani Assad
• Thaqif
• Huwazin
• Banu Ghatafan

See also[link]

• Abbasid Caliphate
• Alaouite dynasty
• Banu Hashim
• Ba 'Alawiyya
• Darod
• Hashemite
• Idrisid dynasty
• Isaaq
• Quraishi
• Sayyid
• Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
• al-Ubaid (tribe)
• Muse

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.princeton.edu/~batke/itl/denise/quraysh.htm