Quraysh
The Quraysh (Arabic: قريش, Qurayš; other transliterations include Qureish, Quraish, Quresh, Qurish, Kuraish, and Coreish) were a powerful merchant tribe that controlled Mecca and its Ka'aba and that, according to Islamic tradition, descended from Ishmael.
The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe.
Ancestry
The tribe traditionally traces a genealogical history backwards from their eponymous ancestor Mudhar to Adam, Abraham and Ishmael:
According to this tradition, Quraysh is Nadhr ibn ("son of") Kinanah ibn Khuzaimah ibn Mudrikah ibn Ilyas ibn Mudhar ibn Nazar ibn Ma'ad ibn Adnan ibn Add ibn Sind ibn Qedar ibn Ishmael ibn Abraham ibn Azar (Terah) ibn Nahur ibn Serug ibn Reu ibn Peleg ibn Eber ibn Salah ibn Arpachshad ibn Shem ibn Noah ibn Lamech ibn Methuselah ibn Idris (Enoch) ibn Jared ibn Mahalalel ibn Kenan ibn Enos ibn Seth ibn Adam.
Early history
According to Arabic history books, the Quraysh tribe was a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe, which descended from the Mudhar. For several generations, they 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 keys of the Kaaba, an important pagan shrine, which brought revenues to Mecca because of the multitude of pilgrims that it attracted. 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. Different responsibilities were apportioned between the clans, between whom there were some rivalries, which became especially pronounced during Muhammad's lifetime.
