Banu Hashim

The Banū Hāshim (Arabic: بنو هاشم) is an Arab clan within the Quraysh tribe to which Muhammad belonged, named after Muhammad's great-grandfather Hashim ibn Abd Manaf.

Banu Hashim (Arabic: بنو هاشم)
Qurayshi Arab clan
Ethnicity	Arab
Nisba	al-Hashimi
Location	Mecca, Hejaz Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa
Descended from	Hashim ibn Abd Manaf
Parent tribe	Quraysh
Branches	Banu Hasan Banu Husayn Banu al-Abbas Banu Abbas ibn Ali
Religion	Islam

Members of this clan, and especially their descendants, are also referred to as Hashimids, Hashimites, or Hashemites, and often carry the surname al-Hāshimī. These descendants, and especially those tracing their lineage to Muhammad through his daughter Fatima, hold the traditional title of Sharīf (often synonymous to Sayyid).^[1]

From the 8th century on, Hashimid descent came to be regarded as a mark of nobility, and formed the basis upon which many dynasties legitimized their rule.^[2] Some of the most famous Islamic dynasties of Hashimid descent include the Abbasids (ruled from Baghdad 750–945; held the caliphate without exercising power 945–1258 in Baghdad and 1261–1517 in Cairo), the Fatimids (ruled from Cairo and claimed the caliphate 909–1171), the Alaouit (rulers of Morocco, 1631–present), and the Hashemites (rulers of Jordan, 1921–present).^[3]

History

Traditionally, the tribe is named after Hashim ibn Abd Manaf. He was married to Salma bint Amr of the Banu Najjar, an Azdi clan.^[4][5]

Amongst pre-Islamic Arabs, people classified themselves according to their tribe, their clan, and then their house/family. There were two major tribal kinds: the Adnanites (descended from Adnan, traditional ancestor of the Arabs of northern, central and western Arabia) and the Qahtanites (originating from Qahtan, the traditional ancestor of the Arabs of southern and south eastern Arabia).^[6][7] Banu Hashim is one of the clans of the Quraysh tribe,^[8] and is an Adnanite tribe. It derives its name from Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, the great-grandfather of Muhammad, and along with the Banu Abd-Shams, Banu Al-Muttalib, and Banu Nawfal clans comprises the Banu Abd al-Manaf section of the Quraysh.

The House of Abdul-Muttalib of Banu Hashim comprised nobility in Pre-Islamic Mecca. This was based on their hereditary duty to act as stewards and caretakers of the pilgrims coming to Mecca to worship at the Kaaba, the sacred shrine that in Islamic tradition was built by Ibrahim (Abraham) and his first-born son and heir Ismail (Ishmael) was a Monotheist site of worship.

With time, the Kaaba had come to be occupied by some hundreds of idols. Visiting of these idols by the different tribes caused traffic which added considerably to the wealth of the merchants of Mecca, which also benefited from its position astride the caravan routes from Yemen (Arabia Felix) up to the Mediterranean markets.

It was into the House 'Abd al-Muttalib of Banu Hashim of Quraysh that Muhammad was born. At the age of 40, his establishment of Islam set him at odds with the established powers in Mecca. His membership of the 'top house, of the top clan' (in terms of prestige and power) was a factor (according to Islamic tradition) through which God kept him safe from assassination during the early years of his mission, as a number of his uncles would not countenance any such insult to their so-called clan honour. After 13 years, the Muslim community of Mecca migrated (made Hijrah) to the city of Yathrib (which subsequently became known as Medina) to avoid their often murderous persecution by the non-believers of Mecca. With the conquest of Mecca, the city was captured by the army of Islam. The Kaabah was cleansed of idols and became the centre of pilgrimage for Muslims, once again the centre of pure Abrahamic monotheism. (It is illegal for non-Muslims to enter an area designated surrounding the city of Mecca).

The two major lines of descent of Muhammad are those of his two grandsons, Al-Hasan and Al-Husain, born of the union of his daughter Fatimah and his cousin and son-in-law Ali. Muhammad besought the love of the Muslims on his grandsons, thus their descendants have become spiritual aristocracy among the Muslims. The descendants of the Banu Hashim are known by the titles of Saiyed, Sayed, Sayyid, Syed and Sharif.

In the 19th Century CE, to try to resolve the confusion surrounding the descendants of Muhammad, the Ottoman Caliphs attempted to replicate the Almanach de Gotha (the tome listing the noble houses of Europe) to show known and verifiable lines of descent. Although not 100% complete in its scope the resulting Kitab al-Ashraf (Book of the Sharifs), kept at the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul is one of the best sources of evidence of descent from Muhammad.^[9] The Alids (the term given to the descendants of Muhammad via his daughter Fatima and Ali) lines of descent produced many once, present (and future) reigning dynasties across the Islamic imperium, amongst these stand:

Dynasties

The following Royal and Imperial dynasties claim descent from Hashim:

Europe

• Hummudid Dynasty (through Idris ibn Abdullah)

Arabia

• Hashemite Dynasty (through Qatadah ibn Idris)^[10]
• Abbasid dynasty of the Abbasid Caliphate (through Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib)^[11]
• Abbasids of Cairo, the ceremonial heads of Mamluk Sultanate from 1261 to 1517. (descendent of Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Hakim)
• Fatimid Dynasty of the Fatimid Empire including the later Agha Khans. (through Ismail ibn Jafar)^[12]
• Rassid Dynasty of Yemen (through Ibrahim al Jamr bin Hassan al Muthanna)^[13]
• Mutawakkilite Dynasty of Yemen (through Ibrahim al Jamr bin Hassan al Muthanna as cadets of the Rassid Dynasty)^[13]

Africa

• 'Alawi dynasty of Morocco (through Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyah bin Abdullah al-Kamal)^[10]
• Sa'di dynasty of Morocco (through Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyah bin Abdullah al-Kamal)^[10]
• Idrisid dynasty of Morocco (through Idris ibn Abdullah)^[13]
• Senussi Dynasty of Libya (through Idris ibn Abdullah as cadets of the Idrisid Dynasty)
• Ishaqids:
  • Tolje'lo Dynasty of the Isaaq Sultanate (through Sheikh Ishaaq bin Ahmed)^[14]
  • Guled Dynasty of the Isaaq Sultanate (through Sheikh Ishaaq bin Ahmed)^[14]
  • Ainanshe Dynasty of the Habr Yunis Sultanate (through Sheikh Ishaaq bin Ahmed)^[14]

Indo-Persia

• Alids of Tabaristan (through Zayd bin Hassan al Muthana)
• Zaydi Dynasty of Tabaristan (through Zayd ibn Ali)^[10]
• Barha Dynasty Including the later Nawabs of Samballhera (through Zayd ibn Ali)^[15]
• Rohilla Dynasty including the later Nawabs of Rampur (through Zayd ibn Ali as Cadets of the Barha Dynasty)^[16]
• The Agha Khans (Through Ismail ibn Jafar as cadets of the Fatimid Dynasty)^[17]
• Daudpota Dynasty including the later Nawabs of Bhawalpur and Sindh (Kalhora) (through Abbas ibn Muttalib)^[18]
• The Sultans of Mysore (lineage of the Hashemite tribe)^{[citation needed]}
• Sabzwari Dynasty (through Ali al Reza)^[19]
• Najafi Dynasty of Bengal. Including the later Nawabs of Murshidabad and the Tabatabai family of Iran (through Ibrahim Tabataba ibn Ismail al Dibaj)

East Asia

• Sultans of Siak (through Ahmad al Muhajir as cadets of the Ba alawai)^[20]
• Bendahara Dynasty of Pahang and Terengannu (through Ahmad al Muhajir as cadets of the Ba alawai)
• Bolkiah Dynasty of Brunei (through Ahmad al Muhajir as cadets of the Ba alawai)
• Jamal al layl dynasty of Perak and Perlis (through Ahmad al Muhajir as cadets of the Ba alawai)
• Sultans of Pontianak (through Ahmad al Muhajir as cadets of the Ba alawai)^[20]
• House of Temenggong of Johor (as cadet branches of Bendahara Dynasty)

Family tree

Kilab ibn Murrah

Fatimah bint Sa'd

Zuhrah ibn Kilab (progenitor of Banu Zuhrah) maternal great-great-grandfather

Qusai ibn Kilab paternal great-great-great-grandfather

Hubba bint Hulail paternal great-great-great-grandmother

`Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah maternal great-grandfather

`Abd Manaf ibn Qusai paternal great-great-grandfather

Atikah bint Murrah paternal great-great-grandmother

Wahb ibn `Abd Manaf maternal grandfather

Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf (progenitor of Banu Hashim) paternal great-grandfather

Salma bint `Amr paternal great-grandmother

Fatimah bint `Amr paternal grandmother

`Abdul-Muttalib paternal grandfather

Halah bint Wuhayb paternal step-grandmother

Aminah mother

`Abdullah father

Az-Zubayr paternal uncle

Harith paternal half-uncle

Hamza paternal half-uncle

Thuwaybah first nurse

Halimah second nurse

Abu Talib paternal uncle

`Abbas paternal half-uncle

Abu Lahab paternal half-uncle

6 other sons and 6 daughters

Muhammad

Khadija first wife

`Abd Allah ibn `Abbas paternal cousin

Fatimah daughter

Ali paternal cousin and son-in-law family tree, descendants

Qasim son

`Abd-Allah son

Zainab daughter

Ruqayyah daughter

Uthman son-in-law family tree

Umm Kulthum daughter

Zayd adopted son

Ali ibn Zainab grandson

Umamah bint Zainab granddaughter

`Abd-Allah ibn Uthman grandson

Rayhana (marriage disputed)

Usama ibn Zayd adoptive grandson

Muhsin ibn Ali grandson

Hasan ibn Ali grandson

Husayn ibn Ali grandson family tree

Umm Kulthum bint Ali granddaughter

Zaynab bint Ali granddaughter

Safiyya tenth / eleventh wife*

Abu Bakr father-in-law family tree

Sawda second / third wife*

Umar father-in-law family tree

Umm Salama sixth wife

Juwayriya eighth wife

Maymuna eleventh / twelfth wife*

Aisha second / third wife Family tree

Zaynab fifth wife

Hafsa fourth wife

Zaynab seventh wife

Umm Habiba ninth wife

Maria al-Qibtiyya

Ibrahim son

• Note that direct lineage is marked in bold.

See also

• Non-Muslims who interacted with Muslims during Muhammad's era
• Abbasid caliphs
• Abbasid architecture
• Hashmi
• Sayyid
• Awan (tribe)
• Husseini
• Umayyads
• Umayyad Caliphate
• Abbasid Caliphate
• Family tree of Muhammad
• Quraysh

References

1. Van Arendonk, C.; Graham, W.A. (1960–2007). "Sharīf". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.
2. Van Arendonk & Graham 1960–2007.
3. Routledge, Bruce (2004-07-26). Moab in the Iron Age: Hegemony, Polity, Archaeology. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-8122-3801-3.
4. al-Tabari, Abu Jafar. The History of al-Tabari Vol. 6: Muhammad at Mecca. p. 125.
5. The Agrarian System of Islam Muḥammad Taqī Amīnī Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli, 1991
6. Reuven Firestone (1990). Journeys in Holy Lands: The Evolution of the Abraham-Ishmael Legends in Islamic Exegesis. p. 72. ISBN 9780791403310.
7. Göran Larsson (2003). Ibn García's Shuʻūbiyya Letter: Ethnic and Theological Tensions in Medieval al-Andalus. p. 170. ISBN 9004127402.
8. Al-Mubarakpuri, Safi-ur-Rahman (2002). The Sealed Nectar (Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum). Darussalam. p. 30. ISBN 1591440718.
9. "Home". asfa-widiyanto-scholarly.blogspot.com.
10. Vachon, Boudreau & Cogné 1998, p. 236.
11. Hoiberg 2010, p. 10.
12. Vachon, Boudreau & Cogné 1998, p. 238.
13. Vachon, Boudreau & Cogné 1998, p. 235.
14. I. M. Lewis, A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa, (LIT Verlag Münster: 1999), p. 157.
15. Abul Fazl (2004). The Āʼīn-i Akbarī (2nd ed.). Sang-e-Meel Publications. ISBN 9693515307.
16. Khan, Muhammad Najm-ul-Ghani (1918). Akhbar-us-Sanadeed, vol. 1. Lucknow: Munshi Nawal Kishore. pp. 79–83 (85–89).
17. Vachon, Boudreau & Cogné 1998, p. 237.
18. Punjab States Gazetteers Bahawalpur State Vol.36 (Volume 36 ed.). 1908. p. 47.
19. Khan, Shah Nawaz (1952). Maasir al Umara. Calcutta: Calcutta Oriental Press. pp. 259–262.
20. Vachon, Boudreau & Cogné 1998, p. 233.

Sources

• Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abbasid Dynasty". Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. I: A-Ak – Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
• Vachon, Auguste; Boudreau, Claire; Cogné, Daniel (1998). Genealogica & Heraldica: Ottawa 1996. University of Ottawa Press. ISBN 978-0-7766-1600-1.

External links

• Genealogy of the Hashemite Banu Abbas.