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Quraysh

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

Quraysh or Quraish (Arabic: قريش, Qurayš; other transliterations include "Quresh", "Qurrish", "Qurish", "Qirsh", "Quraysh", "Qureshi", "Koreish" and "Coreish") was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance of the religion of Islam. The tribe of Quraish still exists to the present day in many parts of western and central Arabia.

In the beginning of the 7th century, the Quraysh, the powerful merchant tribe of the Arabian Peninsula,controlled Mecca and its Kaaba. The Kaaba was an important Pagan shrine which also brought revenues to Mecca because of the multitude of pilgrims that it attracted.

Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim tribe of the Quraysh clan. When Muhammad started to preach Islam, the Quraysh clan forced him to leave Mecca. For the next ten years the Quraysh clan and Muhammad's men fought skirmishes and three major battles (the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, and the Battle of the Trench). In 630 Muhammad seized control of the Ka'aba from the Quraysh.


Early opposition to Muhammad

Main article: Battle of Badr

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.[1]

Lineage

According to Arabic history books, the Quraysh (literally means: "Shark",[2] a metonymy of their strength) was a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe, which descended from the Khuzaimah.

The Quraysh remained completely disunited until Qusai ibn Kilab managed to rally their ranks on honourable terms attaching major prominence to their status and importance[clarification needed].[3] 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.

Early history

For several generations the Quraysh 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 castle of the Meccan Sanctuary (the Kaaba). 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.

Arab lineages

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".

The Quraysh had become a prominent tribe in Mecca before the birth of Muhammad and essentially ruled the city. Before Muhammad's birth, the tribe had split into different clans, each with different responsibilities. There were some rivalries among the clans, but these became especially pronounced during Muhammad's lifetime. 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 persecute the followers of Muhammad, for example by boycotting them. This response led Muhammad to initially send some Muslims to Eritrea, and later would lead to his own emigration to Yathrib, now Medina.

After Muhammad's conquest of Mecca in 630, he pardoned many of those who had oppressed 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 Shi'a-Sunni divide.

Clans

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.

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

Leaders of the Quraysh

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:

Clans and the Caliphate

The split between the Shi'a and Sunni branches of Islam centers over the succession to Muhammad.[7] 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 Taim clan.[7]

The second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, was from the Banu Adi clan.[7]

The third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, was from the Banu Umayyah clan.[7]

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.[7] 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.[7]

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.

The fact that Muhammad's descendants through Ali would be persecuted by Umayyad Caliphs did not help the matter.

Main article: Arabian tribes that interacted with Muhammad

== =quraish=== is the branch of kanana Banu Kinanah

See also

References

  1. ^ "Witness-pioneer.org". Witness-pioneer.org. 2002-09-16. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  2. ^ Mecca: a literary history of the Muslim Holy Land, Francis E. Peters‏. p.14
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ GLUBB, John Bagot, The Life and Times of Mohammed, in A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims, chapter "Muhammad's Visit to Ta'if", Al-islam.org.
  5. ^ a b Sahih al-Bukhari, 5:59:286
  6. ^ a b M Pacuk.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Early Muslim Leaders from the Tribe of Quraysh" (PNG). Retrieved 2010-04-24.
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