of his grandsons, Hashim, was Muhammad’s great
grandfather. He was known for his involvement in
the caravan trade and was responsible for provid-
ing Food and drink to pilgrims. His descendants
are called the Banu Hashim, the sons of Hashim.
Muhammad’s grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, fol-
lowed in his father’s footsteps, but he was also said
to have been involved in organizing a successful
defense of Mecca when it was threatened by an
army from Yemen. This event was mentioned
in sura 105 of the qUran, entitled Al-Fil (The
Elephant) because these animals were used in
the army of the invaders. Abd al-Muttalib is also
remembered for having discovered the sacred well
of zamzam, next to the Kaaba.
The Quraysh gave Muhammad his first con-
verts and his first opponents. They also partici-
pated in the founding of the Islamicate civilization
that flourished in lands between the Atlantic
Ocean and eastern Iran during the Middle Ages.
In the Quran they were included among both the
believers (muminun) who are promised paradise
and the disbelievers (kafirun) who are threatened
with damnation. The first four caliphs to suc-
ceed Muhammad as leaders of the community,
known as the Rashidan, were all of the Quraysh:
abU bakr (r. 632–634), Umar ibn al-khattab (r.
634–644), Uthman ibn aFFan (r. 644–655), and
ali ibn abi talib (r. 655–661). Leading women in
Muhammad’s life were from the same tribe—his
wives khadiJa, Hafsa, and aisha. Most of the emi-
grants who participated in the hiJ ra in 622 were
from the Quraysh. Moreover, according to the
Quran commentaries, the Arabic language of the
Quran was said to have been in their dialect. The
members of Muhammad’s family who are consid-
ered the ideal Imams by the Shia are, of course,
also members of the Banu Hashim clan. On the
other hand, powerful members of the Abd Shams
persecuted Muhammad and his followers. They
plotted against his life, organized armies to fight
him after he took up residence in Medina, and
prevented him and his followers from fulfilling
their pilgrimage obligations. In 630 the leader of
the Abd Shams, Abu Sufyan (d. 653), converted
to Islam and surrendered Mecca to Muhammad
and his army, allowing the holy city to be taken
peacefully. Later, the sons of Abu Sufyan and
other members of the Abd Shams clan founded
the Umayyad caliphate (661–750) in damas-
cUs. This dynasty was eradicated by members
of the Banu Hashim clan who claimed descent
from Muhammad’s paternal uncle Abbas. They
established the abbasid caliphate that ruled
Islamicate civilization until they were destroyed
by Mongol invaders in 1258. Indeed, according
to medieval Islamic political writings, one of the
qualifications for a person to be caliph was that
he be a male of Quraysh descent.
The legacy of the Quraysh lives on today.
All the Sufi orders claim spiritual descent from
Muhammad through either Ali or Abu Bakr.
Many Shii religious authorities are considered to
be blood relatives of Muhammad, which makes
them members of the Banu Hashim. The kings
of morocco and Jordan claim to be his heirs,
as reflected in the official name of Jordan, which
is called the Hashimite Kingdom. Also, bedoUin
tribes living in the vicinity of Mecca today still
claim to be of the Quraysh.
See also ahl al-bayt; aUthority; companions
oF the prophet; fitna; hashimite dynasty; kafir;
shiism; sUFism.Further reading: Patricia Crone and Martin Hinds,
God’s Caliph: Religious Authority in the First Centuries of
Islam (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986);
Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: The
Classical Age of Islam. Vol. 1 (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1974); F. E. Peters, Muhammad and the
Origins of Islam (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1994).Qurtuba See cordoba.
qutb See wali.
qutb 575 J