» Ar Raheeq Al Mukhtum
represents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine Message that he communicated in order to
deliver the human race from the swamp of darkness and polytheism to the paradise of light and
monotheism. An image, authentic as well as comprehensive, of this Message is therefore only
attainable through careful study and profound analysis of both backgrounds and issues of such a
biography. In view of this, a whole chapter is here introduced about the nature and development of
Arab tribes prior to Islam as well as the circumstantial environment that enwrapped the Prophet’s
mission.
LOCATION OF THE ARABS:
Linguistically, the word “Arab” means deserts and waste barren land well-nigh waterless and treeless.
Ever since the dawn of history, the Arabian Peninsula and its people have been called as such.
The Arabian Peninsula is enclosed in the west by the Red Sea and Sinai, in the east by the Arabian Gulf,
in the south by the Arabian Sea, which is an extension of the Indian Ocean, and in the north by old
Syria and part of Iraq. The area is estimated between a million and a million and a quarter square
miles.
Thanks to its geographical position, the peninsula has always maintained great importance..
Considering its internal setting, it is mostly deserts and sandy places, which has rendered it inaccessible
to foreigners and invaders, and allowed its people complete liberty and independence through the ages,
despite the presence of two neighbouring great empires.
Its external setting, on the other hand, caused it to be the centre of the old world and provided it with
sea and land links with most nations at the time. Thanks to this strategic position the Arabian Peninsula
had become the centre for trade, culture, religion and art.
ARAB TRIBES:
Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups:
Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were ‘Ad, Thamûd,
Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq, and others.
Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan. They were also called
Qahtanian Arabs.
Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael. They were also called ‘Adnanian Arabs.
The pure Arabs – the people of Qahtan – originally lived in Yemen and comprised many tribes, two of
which were very famous:
1.Himyar: The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda‘a and Sakasic.
2.Kahlan: The most famous of whose septs were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij, Kinda, Lakhm,
Judham, Azd, Aws, Khazraj and the descendants of Jafna — the kings of old Syria.
Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the
Great Flood (Sail Al‘
Arim of Ma’rib Dam),due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and
domain on both sea and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria.
Naturally enough, the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the evacuation of the first and the
settlement of the second in Yemen.
Location and Nature of Arab Tribes
Beyond a shadow of doubt, the biography of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) manifestedlyrepresents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine Message that he communicated in order to
deliver the human race from the swamp of darkness and polytheism to the paradise of light and
monotheism. An image, authentic as well as comprehensive, of this Message is therefore only
attainable through careful study and profound analysis of both backgrounds and issues of such a
biography. In view of this, a whole chapter is here introduced about the nature and development of
Arab tribes prior to Islam as well as the circumstantial environment that enwrapped the Prophet’s
mission.
LOCATION OF THE ARABS:
Linguistically, the word “Arab” means deserts and waste barren land well-nigh waterless and treeless.
Ever since the dawn of history, the Arabian Peninsula and its people have been called as such.
The Arabian Peninsula is enclosed in the west by the Red Sea and Sinai, in the east by the Arabian Gulf,
in the south by the Arabian Sea, which is an extension of the Indian Ocean, and in the north by old
Syria and part of Iraq. The area is estimated between a million and a million and a quarter square
miles.
Thanks to its geographical position, the peninsula has always maintained great importance..
Considering its internal setting, it is mostly deserts and sandy places, which has rendered it inaccessible
to foreigners and invaders, and allowed its people complete liberty and independence through the ages,
despite the presence of two neighbouring great empires.
Its external setting, on the other hand, caused it to be the centre of the old world and provided it with
sea and land links with most nations at the time. Thanks to this strategic position the Arabian Peninsula
had become the centre for trade, culture, religion and art.
ARAB TRIBES:
Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups:
Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were ‘Ad, Thamûd,
Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq, and others.
Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan. They were also called
Qahtanian Arabs.
Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael. They were also called ‘Adnanian Arabs.
The pure Arabs – the people of Qahtan – originally lived in Yemen and comprised many tribes, two of
which were very famous:
1.Himyar: The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda‘a and Sakasic.
2.Kahlan: The most famous of whose septs were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij, Kinda, Lakhm,
Judham, Azd, Aws, Khazraj and the descendants of Jafna — the kings of old Syria.
Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the
Great Flood (Sail Al‘
Arim of Ma’rib Dam),due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and
domain on both sea and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria.
Naturally enough, the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the evacuation of the first and the
settlement of the second in Yemen.
THE EMIGRATING SEPTS OF KAHLAN CAN BE INTO FOUR GROUPS:
1.Azd: Who, under the leadership of ‘Imran bin ‘Amr Muzaiqbâ’, wandered in Yemen, sent pioneers
and finally headed northwards. Details of their emigration can be summed up as follows:
2.Tha‘labah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Hijaz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhi Qar.
When he gained strength, he headed for Madinah where he stayed. Of his seed are Aws and
Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Tha‘labah.
Haritha bin ‘Amr, known as Khuza‘a, wandered with his folks in Hijaz until they came to Mar AzZahran.
Later,
they
conquered
the
Haram,
and
settled
in
Makkah
after
having
driven
away
its
people,
the
tribe
of
Jurhum.
‘Imran bin ‘Amr and his folks went to ‘Oman where they established the tribe of Azd whose
children inhabited Tihama and were known as Azd-of-Shanu’a.
Jafna bin ‘Amr and his family, headed for Syria where he settled and initiated the kingdom of
Ghassan who was so named after a spring of water, in Hijaz, where they stopped on their way to
Syria.
2.Lakhm and Judham: Of whom was Nasr bin Rabi‘a, father of Manadhira, Kings of Heerah.
3.Banu Tai’: Who also emigrated northwards to settle by the so- called Aja and Salma Mountains
which were consequently named as Tai’ Mountains.
4.Kinda: Who dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and Najd where they instituted a
powerful government but not for long , for the whole tribe soon faded away.
l Another tribe of Himyar, known as Quda‘a, also left Yemen and dwelt in Samawa semi-desert on
the borders of Iraq.
The Arabized Arabs go back in ancestry to their great grandfather Abraham (Peace be upon him) from a
town called “Ar” near Kufa on the west bank of the Euphrates in Iraq. Excavations brought to light great
details of the town, Abraham’s family, and the prevalent religions and social circumstances.
It is known that Abrahaml (Peace be upon him) eft Ar for Harran and then for Palestine, which he made
headquarters for his Message. He wandered all over the area. When he went to Egypt, the Pharaoh
tried to do evil to his wife Sarah, but Allâh saved her and the Pharaoh’s wicked scheme recoiled on him.
He thus came to realize her strong attachment to Allâh, and, in acknowledgment of her grace, the
Pharaoh rendered his daughter Hagar at Sarah’s service, but Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife.
Abraham returned to Palestine where Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Sarah became so jealous of Hagar
that she forced Abraham to send Hagar and her baby away to a plantless valley on a small hill in Hijaz,
by the Sacred House, exposed to the wearing of floods coming right and left. He chose for them a place
under a lofty tree above Zamzam near the upper side of the Mosque in Makkah where neither people
nor water was available, and went back to Palestine leaving with his wife and baby a leather case with
some dates and a pot of water. Not before long, they ran out of both food and water, but thanks to
Allâh’s favour water gushed forth to sustain them for sometime. The whole story of Zamzam spring is
already known to everybody.
Another Yemeni tribe – Jurhum the Second – came and lived in Makkah upon Hagar’s permission, after
being said to have lived in the valleys around Makkah. It is mentioned in the Sahih Al-Bukhari that this
tribe came to Makkah before Ishmael was a young man while they had passed through that valley long
before this event.
Abraham used to go to Makkah every now and then to see his wife and son. The number of these
journeys is still unknown, but authentic historical resources spoke of four ones.
Allâh, the Sublime, stated in the Noble Qur’ân that He had Abraham see, in his dream, that he
slaughtered his son Ishmael, and therefore Abraham stood up to fulfill His Order:
l “Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the Will of Allâh), and he had laid him
prostrate on his forehead (or on the side of his forehead for slaughtering); and We called out to
him: “O Abraham! You have fulfilled the dream (vision)!” Verily! Thus do we reward the
Muhsinûn (good-doers, who perform good deeds totally for Allâh’s sake only, without any show
off or to gain praise or fame, etc. and do them in accordance to Allâh’s Orders). Verily, that
indeed was a manifest trial — and We ransomed him with a great sacrifice (i.e. a ram)” [37:103107]
It is mentioned in the Genesis that Ishmael was thirteen years older than his brother Ishaq. The
sequence of the story of the sacrifice of Ishmael shows that it really happened before Ishaq’s birth, and
that Allâh’s Promise to give Abraham another son, Ishaq, came after narration of the whole story.
This story spoke of one journey – at least – before Ishmael became a young man. Al-Bukhari, on the
authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, reported the other three journeys; a summary of which goes as follows:
When Ishmael became a young man, he learned Arabic at the hand of the tribe of Jurhum, who loved
him with great admiration and gave him one of their women as a wife, soon after his mother died.
Having wanted to see his wife and son again, Abraham came to Makkah, Ishmael’s marriage, but he
didn’t find him at home. He asked Ishmael’s wife about her husband and how they were doing. She
complained of poverty, so he asked her to tell Ishmael to change his doorstep. Ishmael understood the
message, divorced his wife and got married to the daughter of Mudad bin ‘Amr, chief of the tribe of
Jurhum.
Once more, Abraham came to see his son, but again didn’t find him at home. He asked his new wife the
same previous question, to which she thanked Allâh. Abraham asked her to tell Ishmael to keep his
doorstep (i.e. to keep her as wife) and went back to Palestine.
A third time, Abraham came to Makkah to find Ishmael sharpening an arrow under a lofty tree near
Zamzam. The meeting, after a very long journey of separation, was very touching for a father so
affectionate and a so dutiful and righteous son. This time, father and son built Al-Ka‘bah and raised its
pillars, and Abraham, in compliance with Allâh’s Commandment, called unto people to make pilgrimage
to it.
By the grace of Allâh, Ishmael had twelve sons from the daughter of Mudad, whose names were Nabet,
Qidar, Edbael, Mebsham, Mishma’, Duma, Micha, Hudud, Yetma, Yetour, Nafis and Qidman, and who
ultimately formed twelve tribes inhabiting Makkah and trading between Yemen, geographical Syria and
Egypt. Later on, these tribes spread all over, and even outside, the peninsula. All their tidings went into
oblivion except for the descendants of Nabet and Qidar.
The Nabeteans – sons of Nabet – established a flourishing civilization in the north of Hijaz, they
instituted a powerful government which spread out its domain over all neighbouring tribes, and made
Petra their capital. Nobody dared challenge their authority until the Romans came and managed to
eliminate their kingdom. After extensive research and painstaking investigation, Mr. Sulaiman An-Nadwi
came to the conclusion that the Ghassanide kings, along with the Aws and Khazraj were not likely to be
Qahtanians but rather Nabeteans.
Descendants of Qidar, the son of Ishmael, lived long in Makkah increasing in number, of them issued
‘Adnan and son Ma‘ad, to whom ‘Adnanian Arabs traced back their ancestry. ‘Adnan is the twenty-first
grandfather in the series of the Prophetic ancestry. It was said that whenever Prophet Muhammad ﻰﻠﺻ
ﻢﻠﺳو ﻪﯿﻠﻋ ﷲا spoke of his ancestry he would stop at ‘Adnan and say: “Genealogists tell lies” and did not go
farther than him. A group of scholars, however, favoured the probability of going beyond ‘Adnan
attaching no significance to the aforementioned Prophetic Hadith. They went on to say that there were
exactly forty fathers between ‘Adnan and Abraham (Peace be upon them).
Nizar, Ma‘ad’s only son , had four sons who branched out into four great tribes; Eyad, Anmar, Rabi‘a
and Mudar. These last two sub-branched into several septs. Rabi‘a fathered Asad, ‘Anazah, ‘Abdul Qais,
and Wa’il’s two sons (Bakr and Taghlib), Hanifa and many others.
Mudar tribes branched out into two great divisions: Qais ‘Ailan bin Mudar and septs of Elias bin Mudar.
Of Qais ‘Ailan were the Banu Saleem, Banu Hawazin, and Banu Ghatafan of whom descended ‘Abs,
Zubyan, Ashja‘ and Ghani bin A‘sur. Of Elias bin Mudar were Tamim bin Murra, Hudhail bin Mudrika,
Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah and septs of Kinana bin Khuzaimah, of whom came Quraish, the descendants
of Fahr bin Malik bin An-Nadr bin Kinana.
Quraish branched out into various tribes, the most famous of whom were Jumah, Sahm, ‘Adi,
Makhzum, Tayim, Zahra and the three septs of Qusai bin Kilab: ‘Abdud-Dar bin Qusai, Asad bin ‘Abdul
‘
Uzza bin Qusai and ‘Abd Manaf bin Qusai.
‘
Abd Manaf branched out into four tribes: ‘Abd Shams, Nawfal, Muttalib and Hashim. It is, however,
from the family of Hashim that Allâh selected Prophet Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib bin
Hashim (Peace be upon him).
Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
l “Allâh selected Ishmael from the sons of Abraham, Kinana from the sons of Ishmael, Quraish
from the sons of Kinana, Hashim from the sons of Quraish and He selected me from the sons of
Hashim.”
Al‘
Abbas
bin
‘Abdul-Muttalib
quoted
the
Messenger
of
Allâh
(Peace
be
upon
him)
as
saying:
l “Allâh created mankind and chose me from the best whereof, He chose the tribes and selected
me from the best whereof; and He chose families and selected me from the best whereof. I am
the very best in person and family.”
Having increased in number, children of ‘Adnan, in pursuit of pastures and water, spread out over
various parts of Arabia.
The tribe of ‘Abdul Qais, together with some septs of Bakr bin Wa’il and Tamim, emigrated to Bahrain
where they dwelt.
Banu Hanifa bin Sa‘b bin Ali bin Bakr went to settle in Hijr, the capital of Yamama. All the tribes of Bakr
bin Wa’il lived in an area of land which included Yamama, Bahrain, Saif Kazima, the sea shore, the
outer borders of Iraq, Ablah and Hait.
Most of the tribe of Taghlib lived in the Euphrates area while some of them lived with Bakr.
Banu Tamim lived in Basra semi-desert.
Banu Saleem lived in the vicinity of Madinah on the land stretching from Wadi Al-Qura to Khaibar
onwards to the eastern mountains to Harrah.
Thaqif dwelt in Ta’if and Hawazin east of Makkah near Autas on the road from Makkah to Basra.
Banu Asad lived on the land east of Taimâ’ and west of Kufa, while family of Tai’ lived between Banu
Asad and Taimâ’. They were five-day-walk far from Kufa.
Zubyan inhabited the plot of and between Taimâ’ and Hawran.
Some septs of Kinana lived in Tihama, while septs of Quraish dwelt in Makkah and its suburbs. Quraish
remained completely disunited until Qusai bin Kilab managed to rally their ranks on honourable terms
attaching major prominence to their status and importance.
» Ar Raheeq Al Mukhtum
RULERSHIP AND PRINCESHIPAMONG THE ARABS
When talking about the Arabs before Islam,we deem it necessary to draw a mini-picture of the history
of rulership, princeship, sectarianism and the religious dominations of the Arabs, so as to facilitate the
understanding of emergent circumstances when Islam appeared.
When the sun of Islam rose, rulers of Arabia were of two kinds: crowned kings, who were in fact not
independent; and heads of tribes and clans, who enjoyed the same authorities and privileges possessed
by crowned kings and were mostly independent, though some of whom could have shown some kind of
submission to a crowned king. The crowned kings were only those of Yemen, Heerah and Ghassan. All
other rulers of Arabia were non-crowned.
RULERSHIP IN YEMEN:
The folks of Sheba were one of the oldest nations of the pure Arabs, who lived in Yemen. Excavations at
“
Or” brought to light their existence twenty five centuries B.C. Their civilization flourished, and their
domain spread eleven centuries B.C.
It is possible to divide their ages according to the following estimation:
1.The centuries before 650 B.C., during which their kings were called “Makrib Sheba”. Their capital
was “Sarwah”, also known as “Khriba”, whose ruins lie in a spot, a day’s walk from the western
side of “Ma’rib”. During this period, they started building the “Dam of Ma’rib” which had great
importance in the history of Yemen. Sheba was also said to have had so great a domain that
they had colonies inside and outside Arabia.
2.From 650 B.C. until 115 B.C. During this era, they gave up the name “Makrib” and assumed the
designation of “Kings of Sheba”. They also made Ma’rib their capital instead of Sarwah. The ruins
of Ma’rib lie at a distance of sixty miles east of San‘a.
3.From 115 B.C. until 300 A.D. During this period, the tribe of Himyar conquered the kingdom of
Sheba and took Redan for capital instead of Ma’rib. Later on, Redan was called “Zifar”. Its ruins
still lie on Mudawwar Mountain near the town of “Yarim”. During this period, they began to
decline and fall. Their trade failed to a very great extent, firstly, because of the Nabetean domain
over the north of Hijaz; secondly, because of the Roman superiority over the naval trade routes
after the Roman conquest of Egypt, Syria and the north of Hijaz; and thirdly, because of the
inter-tribal warfare. Thanks to the three above-mentioned factors, families of Qahtan were
disunited and scatteredout.
4.From 300 A.D. until Islam dawned on Yemen. This period witnessed a lot of disorder and turmoil.
The great many and civil wars rendered the people of Yemen liable to foreign subjection and
hence loss of independence. During this era, the Romans conquered ‘Adn and even helped the
Abyssinians (Ethiopians) to occupy Yemen for the first time in 340 A.D., making use of the
constant intra-tribal conflict of Hamdan and Himyar. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) occupation of
Yemen lasted until 378 A.D., whereafter Yemen regained its independence. Later on, cracks
began to show in Ma’rib Dam which led to the Great Flood (450 or 451 A.D.) mentioned in the
Noble Qur’ân. This was a great event which caused the fall of the entire Yemeni civilization and
the dispersal of the nations living therein.
In 523, Dhu Nawas, a Jew, despatched a great campaign against the Christians of Najran in order to
force them to convert into Judaism. Having refused to do so, they were thrown alive into a big ditch
where a great fire had been set. The Qur’ân referred to this event:
l “
Cursed were the people of the ditch.” [85:4]
This aroused great wrath among the Christians, and especially the Roman emperors, who not only
instigated the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) against Arabs but also assembled a large fleet which helped the
Abyssinian (Ethiopian) army, of seventy thousand warriors, to effect a second conquest of Yemen in
525 A.D., under the leadership of Eriat, who was granted rulership over Yemen, a position he held until
he was assassinated by one of his army leaders, Abraha, who, after reconciliation with the king of
Abyssinia, took rulership over Yemen and, later on, deployed his soldiers to demolish Al-Ka‘bah, and ,
hence, he and his soldiers came to be known as the “Men of the Elephant”.
After the “Elephant” incident, the people of Yemen, under the leadership of Ma‘dikarib bin Saif Dhu
Yazin Al-Himyari, and through Persian assistance, revolted against the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) invaders,
restored independence and appointed Ma‘dikarib as their king. However, Ma‘dikarib was assassinated
by an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) he used to have him around for service and protection. The family of Dhu
Yazin was thus deprived of royalty forever. Kisra, the Persian king, appointed a Persian ruler over San‘a
and thus made Yemen a Persian colony. Persian rulers maintained rulership of Yemen until Badhan, the
last of them, embraced Islam in 638 A.D., thus terminating the Persian domain over Yemen.
RULERSHIP IN HEERAH:
Ever since Korosh the Great (557-529 B.C.) united the Persians, they ruled Iraq and its neighbourhood.
Nobody could shake off their authority until Alexander the Great vanquished their king Dara I and thus
subdued the Persians in 326 B.C. Persian lands were thenceforth divided and ruled by kings known as
“the Kings of Sects”, an era which lasted until 230 A.D. Meanwhile, the Qahtanians occupied some Iraqi
territories, and were later followed by some ‘Adnanians who managed to share some parts of
Mesopotamia with them.
The Persians, under the leadership of Ardashir, who had established the Sasanian state in 226 A.D,
regained enough unity and power to subdue the Arabs living in the vicinity of their kingdom, and force
Quda‘a to leave for Syria , leaving the people of Heerah and Anbar under the Persian domain.
During the time of Ardashir, Juzaima Alwaddah exercised rulership over Heerah, Rabi‘a and Mudar, and
Mesopotamia. Ardashir had reckoned that it was impossible for him to rule the Arabs directly and
prevent them from attacking his borders unless he appointed as king one of them who enjoyed support
and power of his tribe. He had also seen that he could make use of them against the Byzantine kings
who always used to harass him. At the same time, the Arabs of Iraq could face the Arabs of Syria who
were in the hold of Byzantine kings. However, he deemed it fit to keep a Persian battalion under
command of the king of Heerah to be used against those Arabs who might rebel against him.
After the death of Juzaima around 268 A.D., ‘Amr bin ‘Adi bin Nasr Al-Lakhmi was appointed as king by
the Persian King Sabour bin Ardashir. ‘Amr was the first of the Lakhmi kings who ruled Heerah until the
Persians appointed Qabaz bin Fairuz in whose reign appeared someone called Mazdak, who called for
dissoluteness in social life. Qabaz, and many of his subjects, embraced Mazdak’s religion and even
called upon the king of Heerah, Al-Munzir bin Ma’ As-Sama’, to follow after. When the latter, because of
his pride and self-respect, rejected their orders, Qabaz discharged him and nominated Harith bin ‘Amr
bin Hajar Al-Kindi, who had accepted the Mazdaki doctrine.
No sooner did Kisra Anu Shairwan succeed Qabaz than he, due to hatred of Mazdak’s philosophy, killed
Mazdak and many of his followers, restored Munzir to the throne of Heerah and gave orders to summon
under arrest Harith who sought refuge with Al-Kalb tribe where he spent the rest of his life.
Sons of Al-Munzir bin Ma’ As-Sama’ maintained kingship a long time until An-Nu‘man bin Al-Munzir took
over. Because of a calumny borne by Zaid bin ‘Adi Al‘
Abbadi,the Persian king got angry with An-
Nu‘man and summoned him to his palace. An-Nu‘man went secretly to Hani bin Mas‘ud, chief of
Shaiban tribe, and left his wealth and family under the latter’s protection, and then presented himself
before the Persian king, who immediately threw him into prison where he perished. Kisra, then,
appointed Eyas bin Qubaisa At-Ta’i as king of Heerah. Eyas was ordered to tell Hani bin Mas‘ud to
deliver An-Nu‘man’s charge up to Kisra. No sooner than had the Persian king received the fanatically
motivated rejection on the part of the Arab chief, he declared war against the tribe of Shaiban and
mobilized his troops and warriors under the leadership of King Eyas to a place called Dhee Qar which
witnessed a most furious battle wherein the Persians were severely routed by the Arabs for the first
time in history. That was very soon after the birth of Prophet Muhammad ﻢﻠﺳو ﻪﯿﻠﻋ ﷲا ﻰﻠﺻ
eight months
after Eyas bin Qubaisah’s rise to power over Heerah.
After Eyas, a Persian ruler was appointed over Heerah, but in 632 A.D. the authority there returned to
the family of Lukhm when Al-Munzir Al-Ma‘rur took over. Hardly had the latter’s reign lasted for eight
months when Khalid bin Al-Waleed fell upon him with Muslim soldiers.
RULERSHIP IN GEOGRAPHICAL SYRIA:
In the process of the tribal emigrations, some septs of Quda‘a reached the borders of Syria where they
settled down. They belonged to the family of Sulaih bin Halwan, of whose offspring were the sons of
Duj‘am bin Sulaih known as Ad-Duja‘ima. Such septs of Quda‘a were used by the Byzantines in the
defence of the Byzantine borders against both Arab Bedouin raiders and the Persians, and enjoyed
autonomy for a considerable phase of time which is said to have lasted for the whole second century
A.D. One of their most famous kings was Zyiad bin Al-Habula. Their authority however came to an end
upon defeat by the Ghassanides who were consequently granted the proxy rulership over the Arabs of
Syria and had Dumat Al-Jandal as their headquarters, which lasted until the battle of Yarmuk in the
year 13 A.H. Their last king Jabala bin Al-Aihum embraced Islam during the reign of the Chief of
Believers, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him).
RULERSHIP IN HIJAZ:
Ishmael (Peace be upon him) administered authority over Makkah as well as custodianship of the Holy
Sanctuary throughout his lifetime. Upon his death, at the age of 137, two of his sons, Nabet and Qidar,
succeeded him. Later on, their maternal grandfather, Mudad bin ‘Amr Al-Jurhumi took over, thus
transferring rulership over Makkah to the tribe of Jurhum, preserving a venerable position, though very
little authority for Ishmael’s sons due to their father’s exploits in building the Holy Sanctuary, a position
they held until the decline of the tribe of Jurhum shortly before the rise of Bukhtanassar.
The political role of the ‘Adnanides had begun to gain firmer grounds in Makkah, which could be clearly
attested by the fact that upon Bukhtanassar’s first invasion of the Arabs in ‘Dhati ‘Irq’, the leader of the
Arabs was not from Jurhum.
Upon Bukhtanassar’s second invasion in 587 B.C., however, the ‘Adnanides were frightened out to
Yemen, while Burmia An-Nabi fled to Syria with Ma‘ad, but when Bukhtanassar’s pressure lessened,
Ma‘ad returned to Makkah to find none of the tribe of Jurhum except Jursham bin Jalhamah, whose
daughter, Mu‘ana, was given to Ma‘ad as wife who, later, had a son by him named Nizar.
On account of difficult living conditions and destitution prevalent in Makkah, the tribe of Jurhum began
to ill-treat visitors of the Holy Sanctuary and extort its funds, which aroused resentment and hatred of
the ‘Adnanides (sons of Bakr bin ‘Abd Munaf bin Kinana) who, with the help of the tribe of Khuza‘a that
had come to settle in a neighbouring area called Marr Az-Zahran, invaded Jurhum and frightened them
out of Makkah leaving rulership to Quda‘a in the middle of the second century A.D.
Upon leaving Makkah, Jurhum filled up the well of Zamzam, levelled its place and buried a great many
things in it. ‘Amr bin Al-Harith bin Mudad Al-Jurhumi was reported by Ibn Ishaq, the well-known
historian, to have buried the two gold deer together with the Black Stone as well as a lot of jewelry and
swords in Zamzam, prior to their sorrowful escape to Yemen.
Ishmael’s epoch is estimated to have lasted for twenty centuries B.C., which means that Jurhum stayed
in Makkah for twenty-one centuries and held rulership there for about twenty centuries.
Upon defeat of Jurhum, the tribe of Khuza‘a monopolized rulership over Makkah. Mudar tribes,
however, enjoyed three privileges:
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