The Prophet’s Family Line No 1 – Adam to the Banu Khuza’ah

(Based on material gathered from Islamic and Biblical sources)

 

by

 

Sr. Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood.

 

 

The family line of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is one of the most cherished in history.  It is extremely well-known from Muhammad to Adnan, but there are variants from Adnan to Isma’il. From Isma’il back to Adam, the line corresponds exactly to the names of the descendants of Adam as given in the Old Testament of the Bible.

 

The generally accepted line of Muhammad goes like this:

 

Muhammad b. Abdullah b. Shaybah (Abdu’l Muttalib b. Amr (Hashim) b. Mughirah (Abdu’l Manaf) b. Zayd (Qusayy) b. Kilab b. Murrah b. Ka’b b. Lu’ayy b. Ghalib b. Fihr b. Malik b. Nadr b. Kinanah b. Khuzaymah b. Amir (Mudrika) b. Ilyas b. Mudar b. Nizar b. Ma’add b. Adnan b. Udd (Udad) b. Muqawwam b. Nahur b. Tayrah b. Yarub b. Yashjub b. Nabut b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Tarih (Azar) b. Nahur b. Sarugh b. Ra’u b. Falikh b. Aybar b. Shalikh b. Arfakhshadh b. Sam b. Nuh b. Lamk b. Mattushalakh b. Akhnukh b. Yard b. Mahla’il b. Qaynan b. Yanish b. Shith b. Adam.

 

 

Arabs and Jews both descended from the same Patriarch

 

It is commonplace for people to think of the Jews and the Arabs as completely different peoples, and a study of the Old Testament reveals an ongoing conflict between the Banu Isra’il and their enemies on both sides of the river Jordan (which sadly continues into this 21st century!). In fact, both the Jews and the Arabs of the Hijaz claim their descent from the Prophet-Patriarch Abrahim/Ibrahim.

 

Ibrahim lived at the time when the realm of myth was hardening into history, although there are some modern (Christian – agnostic) scholars who see his story as tribal mythology rather than history.  The Bible dates Abraham’s birth as 2018 BCE, 352 years after the Deluge in the time of Noah. Many modern scholars would date him around 1850 BCE.

 

There is much debate over whether Adam was literally the first created man, or whether the narratives about him in both Bible and Qur’an really represent the creation of humankind rather than an individual. Allah knows best. Islamic tradition firmly maintains that whatever his status as first human being, Adam was certainly the first prophet or messenger of God.

 

For all those who do accept the real existence of Ibrahim, and who also believe that Adam was not just a mythological figure but a real person, both Biblical and Arabic tradition maintains that Ibrahim was the 19th of Adam’s line.

 

The Prophet’s Line Before Ibrahim

 

As the Arab names of Ibrahim’s genealogy are perhaps not familiar, I give them here alongside the Biblical names for comparison. Muslims may not have realized that the genealogy ties in exactly with the Biblical version.

 

Arabic                 Biblical

Adam                  Adam

Shith                   Seth

Yanish (Anush)      Enosh

Qaynan (Qayin)     Kenan

Mahla’il               Mahalalel

Yard                   Jared

Akhnukh (Idris)     Enoch   (in Arab tradition, the first to write with a pen)

Mattushalakh        Methuselah

Lamk                  Lamech

Nuh                    Noah

Sam                    Shem

Arfakhshadh         Arpachshad

Shalikh                Shelah

Aybar (Abir)         Eber

Falikh                 Peleg

Ra’u (Arghu)         Re’u

Sarugh (Asragh)      Serug

Nahur                 Nahor

Tarih (Azar)          Terah

Ibrahim                Abraham

 

 

Another rendering of the ancestral names was:  Ibraham ibn Tarikh, ibn Nahur, ibn Sarough, ibn Raghu, ibn Phaligh, ibn Aher, ibn Shalih, ibn Arfghshand, ibn Sam, ibn Nuh.

 

The Prophet’s Line After Ibrahim

 

Christians and Jews are probably familiar with the descendants of Ibraham’s son Isaac/Yizhaq, the son of his favourite wife Sarah, whose own son Jacob/Yaqub became known as Isra’il (Israel), the patriarch of the Israelites. The line of Isaac’s firstborn, Jacob’s older unidentical-twin brother Esau is not usually studied. Muslims are more likely to have studied the descendants of Ibrahim’s firstborn son Isma’il/Ishmael, by his wife Hagar/Hajirah, and the descendants of Isaac’s firstborn son Esau who became known as the Edomites (one of Esau’s wives was a daughter of Isma’il).

Ibrahim’s previous heir - Eliezer of Damascus

 

Both Biblical and Muslim sources agree that Ibrahim’s beloved wife Sarah was barren, and for a long time he had no children at all. His heir was Eliezer of Damascus, who he referred to as a ‘son of my household’. (Genesis 15.2). The discovery of the Nuzi tablets in the land of Ibrahim’s origin threw light on the custom of the time – childless couples would adopt a son, who would then care for them in their old age and arrange for their proper burial, thereupon inheriting the property. It was stipulated that in the event of a son being born to the couple after this adoption, the real son would become the genuine heir. Eliezer was most probably the man spoken of as Abraham’s oldest servant and manager of his household, who was sent by Abraham back to his brother Nahor’s household in Mesopotamia to bring back a wife for Isaac (Genesis 42,2,4,12-14,56).

 

Ibrahim’s sons Isaac and Ishmael

 

When we come to Isaac and Ishmael, the Bible narratives differ in some crucial details from that of the Qur’an. The Bible reveals that Sarah was barren, and was allowed to substitute her Egyptian maidservant Hagar in place of herself, for Abraham to father a child by. Her son was Ishmael. Later, when Sarah had her own son, Isaac, there was trouble between the boys and she became jealous for Isaac, and persuaded Abraham to abandon Hagar and Ishmael in the desert, where they would have perished had they not been saved by an angel opening a spring for them. Later, Abraham was tested by God to see if he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, who knew nothing of his father’s intention until the last moment, but was saved by the intervention of an angel and a ram substituted in his place at God’s command.

 

The Qur’an and Islamic tradition agrees that Ibrahim’s wife Sarah was barren, but suggests that Hagar/Hajirah was not just a servant but possibly of noble birth. The narrative of the sacrifice states that Ibrahim was not commanded by God to kill his son as such, but had a dream that God wished him to do so. When Ibrahim told Hagar and Isma’il, Isma’il offered himself willingly, and despite three subtle attempts by the devil in the guise of an old man to tempt them from their purpose (and being driven away by hurling stones at him – the origin of the stone-throwing ceremony at Mina during the Hajj), Isma’il was nearly sacrificed but was spared at the last moment and a ram substituted.

 

It was as a reward for their devout obedience that God granted Ibrahim’s barren wife Sarah a child, and thus she became pregnant with Isaac. Hagar and Isma’il did separate from Ibrahim, but were not so much abandoned as left in a prestigious place, the Ka’bah shrine of the One True God at Makkah, which was indeed a waterless place, but was regularly frequented by passing caravans. However, none came by, and they did experience a lucky escape from dying of thirst when the angel opened up for them the spring of Zamzam, which still flows in the Ka’bah sanctuary to this day. Later, Ibrahim and Isma’il helped to repair the Ka’bah, which had suffered damage from flood and earthquake. The Biblical story makes no mention of the existence of the Ka’bah sanctuary.

Ibrahim’s concubine-wife Keturah and their Descendants

 

According to Genesis 25.1, after Sarah’s death Ibrahim took another wife, Keturah. He fathered six sons by her – Zimran, Jokshan, Medam, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. These were all sent (with gifts) to ‘the east’ while Ibrahim still lived. Genesis also listed Midian’s sons Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah; Jokshan’s sons Sheba and Dedan; and Dedan’s sons Asshurim, Letushim and Leummim.

 

The sons of Isma’il’s wife Rala

 

As his second and chief wife and the matriarch of his line, Ibrahim’s son Isma‘il married his distant cousin Rala bint Mudad. She was not named in the Bible. Her line is Rala bint Mudad b. Amr b. Jurhum b. Qahtan/Joktan b. Aybar b. Shalikh b. Arfakhshad b. Sam b. Nuh  (Isma’il being descended from Aybar’s son Falikh/Peleg).

 

According to both the Bible and Arab tradition, Isma’il fathered twelve sons and at least one daughter, Mahalath or Basemath, who married Isaac’s firstborn son Esau, and whose descendants were known as the Edomites (Genesis 28.9).[1]

 

Arab tradition maintains that all twelve of Isma’il’s sons were by Rala bt Mudad, and that both Isma’il’s and his son Nabt’s sons were raised by Rala’s father, Mudad b. Amr b. Jurhum/Jerah b. Qahtan b. Aybar.

 

Isma’il’s twelve sons were all named in both the Bible and Arab tradition - Nabaioth (Nabit), Kedar (Qaydhar), Adbeel (Adhbul), Mibsam (Mabsha), Mishma (Misma), Dumah (Dimna), Massa (Mashi), Hadad (Adhr), Tema (Tayma), Jetur (Yatur), Naphish (Nahish) and Kademah (Qaydhuma). It is interesting that Nabaioth is a female  name.

 

The Bible goes on to name the sons and further descendants of Esau in Genesis 36.9-19.

 

Northern and Southern Arabs

 

As they spread and multiplied, the Arab tribes became classified as ‘northern Arabs’ (or the Aboriginal Arabs - al-'Arab al-'Aribah) and ‘southern Arabs’ (or Naturalized Arabs - al-'Arab al-Musta'ribah), but they all traced their descent through the same ultimate antique ancestry, the ‘northern Arabs’ through Adnan and the ‘southern’ through Qahtan (Yaqtan).

 

Adnan is straightforward – he was a descendant of Isma’il b. Ibrahim through Isma’il’s son Nabit (Nebaioth). His line is Adnan b. Udd b. Muqawwam b. Nahur b. Tayrah b. Yarub b. Yashjub b. Nabut b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim.

 

But there is a problem over the identity of Qahtan, and opinions are split.

 

The Problem of Qahtan

 

The problem is that the Qahtan of the Northern Arab tradition predates the Yemeni Qahtan by six generations. The majority of scholars identify Qahtan with the great-great-grandson of Nuh (Noah), the man who has his equivalent named in the Bible list - Qahtan/Yaqtan (Joktan) the son of Aybar/Abir (Eber). In the Biblical genealogy, Eber had two sons – Peleg and Joktan. These correspond to Aybar and his two sons Falikh and Yaqtan (Qahtan).

 

Qahtan/Joktan/Yaqtan b. Aybar had thirteen sons. They are named in the Bible as Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah and Jobab, and were said to have occupied all the land from Mesha to the hill country of the east. The son Jerah is identified in the Arab tradition with Jurhum.

 

One indication that this should be the correct identification of Qahtan comes from the fact that this Qahtan’s great-grand-daughter Rala bint Mudad was the second and chief wife of Isma‘il, and the matriarch of his line. Her line is Rala bint Mudad b. Amr b. Jurhum/Jerah b. Qahtan/Joktan b. Aybar b. Shalikh b. Arfakhshad b. Sam b. Nuh.

 

The celebrities of the Jurhumite lines all claim that Jurhum was the son of Qahtan b. Aybar.

 

However, the tradition of the Southern Arabs (Yemeni) claims that their patriarch Qahtan was not the son of Aybar but a son of Isma’il.

 

 Examples of Yemenite lines of descent from Qahtan b. Isma’il

 

Two examples showing descent from a Qahtan who was claimed to be a son of Isma’il occur in the lines of two eminent celebrities -  the matriarch Qaylah of Quda’a and her husband Harithah b. Thalabah.  Their origins were with the Himyarite nobility of Yemen.

 

Qaylah’s line was Qaylah bint Kahil b. Udhra b. Sa’d b. Zayd b. Layth b. Sud b. Aslam b. Haf b. Quda’ah b. Malik b. Himyar b. Saba b. Yashjub b. Yarub b. Qahtan b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim (Ibn Ishaq p.713 n.140).

 

Her husband Harithah’s line was Harithah b. Thalabah b. Amr b. Amir b. Harithah b. Imru’l Qays b. Thalabah b. Mazin b. Asd b. Ghauth b. Nabt b. Malik b. Zayd b. Kahlan b. Saba b. Yashjub b. Yarub b. Qahtan b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim  (Ibn Ishaq p.692 n.14).

 

 

Possible Explanation?

 

There is no Biblical equivalent for any son of Isma’il called Qahtan/Joktan, but there are a few suggested explanations:

 

Maybe the Qahtan of the Yemeni tradition was a son of Isma’il (pbuh) but not one of his twelve sons by Rala bint Mudad, and was simply not named in the Bible.

 

Possibly, as both Qahtan and Nabit had a son Yashjub followed by a grandson Yarub (sometimes given in reverse order), it can be seen how a confusion might easily have arisen. It does not mean that the suggestion of a confusion is 100% correct, however, as it is not at all impossible that both Qahtan and Nabit did have sons and grandsons named Yashjub and Yarub, since names do frequently get repeated in family lines.

 

The Jurhumites

 

The descendants of Qahtan b. Aybar’s son Jurhum/Jerah were known as the Jurhumites, the tribes that occupied the land in and around Makkah. Jurhum and his cousin Qaturah both settled near Makkah, but they fought each other with Jurhum gaining the upper hand.

 

Rala’s brother Harith b. Mudad b. Amr b. Jurhum had two sons, Amr and Amir. Amr became the ruler of Makkah and Guardian of the Ka’bah shrine.

 

Amir’s descendants moved to the Yemen.

 

The Khuza’ah

 

Years later, Amir’s descendant Amr Muzayqiya (the chief of the Banu Amr b. Amir b. Harith), led the migration of several tribes from the Yemen with his sons Harithah and Afsa. They came north and settled in the Tihamah, then split away (inkhaza’a) from the rest of the emigrants, to become known as the Khuza’ah.

 

The tribes that became known as the Banu Khuza’ah claimed descent from Qahtan (claimed as b. Isma’il) through Qahtan’s great-grandson Saba al-Akbar. Saba had two chief sons, Himyar and Kahlan.  Himyar b. Saba’s son Hamaisa founded the line of descent that led to the Tubba kings of Yemen, and Himyar’s son Malik founded the Banu Quda’a line (through his son Quda’a) that led to the heiress Qaylah, the ancestress of the famous Aws and Khazraj tribes. Saba’s son Kahlan founded the line of descent that led to Qaylah’s husband, Harithah b. Thalabah.

 

The Khuza’ah were the descendants of Amr b. Rabi’ah b. Harithah b. Amr b. Amir b. Harithah b. Imru’l Qays b. Thalabah b. Mazin b. Asd b. Ghauth b. Nabt b. Malik b. Zayd b. Kahlan b. Saba b. Yashjub b. Yarub b. Qahtan b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim. They consisted of the Banu Amr b. Rabi’ah b. Harithah together with the clans of Aslam, Malik and Milkan, sons of Afsa b. Harithah.

 

They occupied territory between Jiddah and Makkah, settled in hordes of horsemen in Marr al-Zahran, a day’s journey from Makkah, and their sub-tribes of Aws and Khazraj went to settle in Yathrib (the future city-state of Madinah).[2]

 

The Jurhumites of Makkah superseded by the Khuza’ah

 

The Jurhumites, who had been originally dominant in and around Makkah, became self-indulgent, unjust and oppressive. It was said that they were so unrestrained that when a certain Isaf b. Baghy could not find a place to fornicate with his girl-friend Na’ilah bint Dik, he went into the Ka’bah and did it there, for which foul deed the miscreants were transformed into two stones.[3] Eventually the Jurhumite ruler Mudad b. Amr b. Harith[4] warned them their ignoble behaviour had caused their reputation and authority to wane. He dug a deep hole within the well of Zamzam in which he hid the treasures of the Holy House, including two golden gazelles. The well was filled and the entire site buried under sand. The Jurhumites then withdrew (or were driven out) in favour of the Khuza’ah in around 429 CE.

 

The Banu Nadr

 

The immediate line of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was known as the Banu Nadr, taking the name from Nadr b. Kinanah b. Khuzaymah b. Amir (Mudrika) b. Ilyas b. Mudar b. Nizar b. Ma’add b. Adnan.

 



[1] Esau had other wives. Genesis 26.34 names them as Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite – of whom it states that ‘they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah’, and that the marriages took place in Canaan before they shifted to the hill country of Seir. Genesis 36.1-5 gives a variant, however – it names them as Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter (or son) of Zibeon the Hivite, and the daughter of Isma’il is named Basemath the sister of Nebaioth).  In the First Book of Chronicles, two Oholibamahs are mentioned, both descendants of Seir the Horite; one was the daughter of Anah b. Zibeon b. Seir, and the other the daughter of Anah b. Seir.

[2] Ibn Ishaq p.692 n.14.

[3] Ibn Ishaq  p.37, Tabari 6.52. Isaf and Na’ilah were actually two stone idols, sacrifices being frequently made in their vicinity.

[4] Not the same man as Isma’il’s father-in-law but a descendant.