Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Farid Esack, The Quran: A User’s Guide

(Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2005); Jane Dam-

men McAuliffe, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the 

Quran (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006); 

Kristina Nelson, “The Sound of the Divine in Every-

day Life.” In Everyday Life in the Middle East, edited 

by Donna Lee Bowen and Evelyn A. Early, 257–261 

(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002); Abu 

Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, An Introduction to the Sciences of 

the Quran (Birmingham, England: Al-Hidaayah Pub-

lishing and Distribution, 1999); Fazlur Rahman, Major 

Themes of the Quran (Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 

1980); Michael Sells, Approaching the Quran: The Early 

Revelations (Ashland, Oreg.: White Cloud Press, 1999); 

W. Montgomery Watt and Richard Bell, Introduction to 

the Quran (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 

1970).

Quraysh

The tribe that dominated m

ecca

 when m

Uham

-

mad

 (ca. 570–632) was born was the Quraysh. 

It was composed of 10 main clans. The Banu 

Hashim clan was the one to which Muham-

mad belonged. Another clan, the Abd Shams, 

was more wealthy and powerful. Both branches 

played very important roles in the first centuries 

of Islamic history.

The Quraysh profited from control of the holy 

sites in Mecca and the caravans that traveled to 

y

emen

 and s

yria

. They were also responsible for 

taking care of pilgrims who came to worship at 

the k

aaba

, the leading temple in Mecca. Muslim 

historians claimed that the Quraysh were descen-

dants of a

braham

 and Ishmael, the builders of the 

Kaaba. According to these accounts, the Quraysh 

became dispersed for about seven centuries after 

the time of Ishmael. Qusayy, one of Muhammad’s 

ancestors, reunited the tribe in Mecca. He claimed 

the right to take care of the Kaaba and feed and 

water pilgrims. In the history of religions it is very 

common for a particular family or clan to be in 

charge of operating holy places, and Mecca was 

no exception. When Qusayy died, his sons took 

control and divided the city into quarters in which 

the different tribes and clans were to reside. One 

K  574  

Quraysh

---

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 q

Uran

, 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 z

amzam

, 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: 

a

bU

 b

akr

 (r. 632–634), U

mar

 

ibn

 

al

-k

hattab

 (r. 

634–644),  U

thman

 

ibn

 a

FFan

 (r. 644–655), and 

a

li

 

ibn

 a

bi

 t

alib

 (r. 655–661). Leading women in 

Muhammad’s life were from the same tribe—his 

wives k

hadiJa

, Hafsa, and a

isha

. Most of the e

mi

-

grants

 who participated in the h

iJra

 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  U

mayyad

  c

aliphate

 (661–750) in d

amas

-

cUs

. This dynasty was eradicated by members 

of the Banu Hashim clan who claimed descent 

from Muhammad’s paternal uncle Abbas. They 

established the a

bbasid

  c

aliphate

 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  m

orocco

 and J

ordan

 claim to be his heirs, 

as reflected in the official name of Jordan, which 

is called the Hashimite Kingdom. Also, b

edoUin

tribes living in the vicinity of Mecca today still 

claim to be of the Quraysh.

See also 

ahl

 

al

-

bayt

; 

aUthority

;  c

ompanions

oF

 

the

  p

rophet

; 

fitna

;  h

ashimite

 

dynasty

; 

kafir

; 

s

hiism

; s

UFism

.