The 

Quraysh (Arabic:  ٌ‫ ُقرَ يْش‬, Hejazi pronunciation: [qʊrajʃ]) are a mercantile Arab tribe that historically

inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Ka'ba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was
born into the Hashemite clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Quraysh staunchly opposed
Muhammad, until converting to Islam en masse in c. 630 CE. Afterward, leadership of the Muslim
community traditionally passed to a member of the Quraysh, as was the case with the
Sunni Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Shia Fatimid caliphate.

Contents

 1Name
 2History
o 2.1Origins
o 2.2Establishment in Mecca
o 2.3Control of Meccan trade
o 2.4Conflict with Muhammad
o 2.5Islamic leadership
 3Clans
 4Quraysh relationship tree
 5See also
 6Notes
 7References
 8Bibliography

Name[edit]
Sources differ as to the etymology of Quraysh, with one theory holding that it was the diminutive
form of qirsh (shark).[1] The 9th-century genealogist Hisham ibn al-Kalbi asserted that there was
no eponymous founder of Quraysh;[2] rather, the name stemmed from taqarrush, an Arabic word
meaning "a coming together" or "association". The Quraysh gained their name when Qusayy ibn
Kilab, 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.[3][note 1] The nisba or surname of the Quraysh is Qurashī, though in the early
centuries of the Islamic Ummah, 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.[1]

History[edit]
Origins[edit]
The Quraysh's progenitor was Fihr ibn Malik, 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. [3] Thus, Fihr belonged to the Kinana tribe and
his descent is traced to Adnan, the semi-legendary father of the "northern Arabs". According to
the traditional sources, Fihr led the warriors of Kinana and Khuzayma in defense of the Ka'ba, at
the time a major pagan sanctuary in Mecca, against tribes from Yemen; 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, 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.[3][note 2]

Establishment in Mecca[edit]
All medieval Muslim sources agree that Qusayy unified Fihr's descendants, and established the
Quraysh as the dominant power in Mecca.[4] After conquering Mecca, Qusayy assigned quarters
to different Qurayshi clans. Those settled around the Ka'ba were known Quraysh al-
Uَ ‫رَ يْش ْٱل ِب‬Uُ‫ق‬, lit. 'Quraysh of the Hollow'), and included all of the descendants of Ka'b
Biṭāḥ (Arabic: ‫ط اح‬
ibn Lu'ayy and others. The clans settled in the outskirts of the sanctuary were known as Quraysh
al-Ẓawāhīr (Arabic: ‫ٱلظ َواهِر‬ َّ ‫رَ يْش‬UUُ‫ق‬, lit. 'Quraysh of the Outskirts'). According to historian Ibn Ishaq,
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.[5]
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[ed] for municipal offices [designated by
Qusayy] have to do only with military operations and with control of the shrine". [6] 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 sheikhs (tribal chieftains).[7]
According to historian Gerald R. Hawting, if the traditional sources are to be believed, Qusayy's
children, "must have lived in the second half of the fifth century".[8] 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, Banu Adi, Banu Makhzum and Banu
Jumah, became known as al-Aḥlāf (the Confederates), while those who backed the Abd Manaf
clan, including the Banu Taym, Banu Asad, Banu Zuhra and Banu al-Harith ibn Fihr, were known
ْ lit. 'the Perfumed').[1]
َ ‫ٱلم‬, 
as al-Muṭayyabūn (Arabic: ‫ُط َّيب ُْون‬

Control of Meccan trade[edit]

Toward the end of the 6th century, the Fijar War broke out between the Quraysh and
the Kinana on one side and various Qaysi tribes on the other, including the Hawazin, Banu
Thaqif, Banu Amir and Banu Sulaym. The war broke out when a Kinani tribesman killed an Amiri
tribesman escorting a Lakhmid 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, 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. [9] According to Watt, the actual aim in the Fijar War
was control of the trade routes of Najd. Despite particularly tough resistance by the Quraysh's
main trade rivals, the Thaqif of Ta'if, and the Banu Nasr clan of Hawazin, the Quraysh ultimately
held sway over western Arabian trade.[10] The Quraysh gained control over Ta'if's trade, and many
Qurayshi individuals purchased estates in Ta'if, where the climate was cooler.[3]
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".[3] Furthermore, the Quraysh commissioned trade caravans to
Yemen in the winter and caravans to Gaza, Bosra, Damascus and al-Arish in the summer.[3]
[11]
 The Quraysh established networks with merchants in these Syrian cities. They also formed
political or economic alliances with many of the Bedouin (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 (western Arabia).[11] In the words
of Fred Donner:
[By the end of the 6th century,] Meccan commerce was flourishing as never before, and the
leaders in this trade [the Quraysh] had 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.[12]
The Banu Makhzum and Banu Umayya, in particular, acquired vast wealth from trade and held
the most influence among the Quraysh in Meccan politics.[11] The Banu Umayya and the Banu
Nawfal, 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.[1] Their financial fortunes had enabled them to become a force of their own.
[1]
 The Muṭayyabūn was consequently replaced by the al-Fuḍūl alliance, which consisted of
the Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib, which, like the Banu Umayya, were descendants of Abd
Manaf, and the Taym, Asad, Zuhra and al-Harith ibn Fihr clans. [1] The Banu Hashim held the
hereditary rights surrounding the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, though the Banu Umayya were
ultimately the strongest Qurayshi clan.[8] 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."[1]

Conflict with Muhammad[edit]

See also: List of expeditions of Muhammad
The polytheistic Quraysh opposed the monotheistic message preached by the
Islamic prophet Muhammad, himself a Qurayshi from the Banu Hashim. The tribe harassed
members of the nascent Muslim community, and attempted to harm Muhammad, but he was
protected by his uncle Abu Talib.[13] To escape persecution, Muhammad and his companions,
including the Qurayshi Abu Bakr, emigrated to Medina.[14] Muhammad then confronted a Qurayshi
caravan returning from Palestine and defeated the Quraysh at the ensuing Battle of Badr in 624.
[15]
 The Quraysh later besieged the Muslims at Medina in 627, but were defeated in the Battle of
the Trench.[16] The Treaty of Hudaybiyya was then signed between Muhammad and the Quraysh
in 628,[17] 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.[18]

Islamic leadership[edit]
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 [the 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.[19] 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".[20]
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. [21] The
Ansar wanted one of their own to succeed the prophet as caliph, but were persuaded by Umar to
agree to Abu Bakr.[1] During the reigns of Abu Bakr (632–634) and Umar (r. 634–644), some of
the Ansar were concerned about their political stake. [22] The Quraysh apparently held real power
during this period marked by the early Muslim conquests. During the First Muslim Civil War, the
Ansar, who backed Caliph Ali 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 maintained a measure of influence by dint of their long relationship with the Quraysh.[23]
A hadith holding that the caliph must be from Quraysh became almost universally accepted by
the Muslims, with the exception of the Kharijites.[1] Indeed, control of the Islamic state essentially
devolved into a struggle between various factions of the Quraysh.[23] In the first civil war, these
factions included the Banu Umayya represented by Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the Banu Hashim
represented by Ali, and other Qurayshi leaders such as al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam of the Banu
Asad and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah of the Banu Taym.[24] Later, during the Second Muslim Civil War,
these same factions again fought for control of the caliphate, with the Umayyads 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 Abbasids, 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.[25]