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85-622: Abu Sufyan was a leader and merchant from the Quraysh tribe of Mecca . During his early career, he often led trade caravans to Syria . He had been among the main leaders of Meccan opposition to Muhammad , the prophet of Islam and member of the Quraysh, commanding the Meccans at the battles of Uhud and the Trench in 625 and 627 CE . However, when Muhammad entered Mecca in 630, he was among

170-575: 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

255-523: A caravan at Nakhla , Muhammad learned of a larger Quraysh caravan returning from Gaza . He attempted to intercept it, but the caravan rerouted. Instead, Muhammad encountered Quraysh troops led by Amr ibn Hisham , and despite being outnumbered, won the Battle of Badr , gaining prestige and followers. The Quraysh defeat at Badr was significant, causing them to lose many of their influential or experienced men and their prestige. Seeking to restore their honor,

340-554: A class of men with well-developed managerial and organizational skills. It was a development unheralded, and almost unique, in central Arabia. The Banu Makhzum and Banu Umayya , in particular, acquired vast wealth from trade and held the most influence among the Quraysh in Meccan politics. The Banu Umayya and the Banu Nawfal , another clan descending from Abd Manaf that had become wealthy from their commercial enterprise, split from

425-586: A key component in the Muslim elite. Many leading Qurayshi tribesmen were installed in key government positions and in Muhammad's policy-making circle. 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

510-572: A key role in the city's surrender, being among the first Qurayshi leaders to submit and guaranteeing protection for his partisans. He fought alongside the Muslims at the Battle of Hunayn against the Banu Thaqif of Ta'if , traditional rivals of Mecca, and the latter's tribal backers from the Hawazin confederation. During this battle, which ended in a decisive Muslim victory, he lost an eye, and

595-584: A precedent for Muslims later on towards Jews and Christians, namely jizya . He did not slaughter those who surrendered but let them stay and tend their fields, with half the produce going to him and his followers. The Jewish colony of Wadi al-Qura also came into his possession with this expedition, making the Muslim community rich. In early 627, Muhammad undertook the Umrah known as the 'fulfilled pilgrimage' in Mecca, during which time he reconciled with his family,

680-631: A secretarial position in the Iraqi administration. Ziyad became the powerful governor of Basra in 665, and after al-Mughira's death, was assigned the governorship of Kufa as well, making him the viceroy of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate. He enacted major reforms to Iraq's military organization and restarted the Muslim conquests into Central Asia. After his death in 673, he was succeeded by his son Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad , while several more of his sons gained deputy governorships and important commands. Their education, experience with Iraqi affairs, and close ties with

765-510: A ten-year truce with the Meccans, allowed Muhammad to perform Umrah in Mecca the following year. During this pilgrimage, Muhammad reconciled with his family, the Hashim clan, which was symbolized by his marriage to Maymuna bint al-Harith . Several prominent Meccans, such as Khalid ibn al-Walid and Amr ibn al-As , recognized Muhammad's increasing influence in Arabia and converted to Islam. At

850-537: A trench to be dug around Medina. This led to the Battle of the Trench . The trench hampered the Quraysh advance, and Muhammad conducted secret negotiations with the Ghatafan to induce distrust among his enemies. Unfavorable weather eventually caused the besiegers to lose morale and retire. Afterwards, Muhammad turned his attention to the Banu Qurayza , who were accused of betraying the Muslims by conspiring with

935-538: A violation of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiya, Muhammad then set out with his army to Mecca. With those willing to fight from the Mecca side becoming fewer and fewer, Abu Sufyan set out with several others, including Muhammad's friend, Budayl ibn Warqa al-Khuza’i, to ask for amnesty for all the Quraysh who abandoned armed resistance. Muhammad thus managed to enter Mecca unopposed, and almost all the inhabitants adopted Islam. In 630, Muhammad entered Mecca victoriously , prompting

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1020-639: 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. The Quraysh's progenitor was Fihr ibn Malik , whose full genealogy, according to traditional Arab sources, was the following: Fihr ibn Malik ibn al-Nadr ibn Kinana ibn Khuzayma ibn Mudrika ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma'add ibn Adnan. Thus, Fihr belonged to

1105-422: Is uncertain." The Quraysh, the dominant tribe of Mecca , initially showed little concern when Muhammad began preaching his new faith in the city. However, as Muhammad's message increasingly challenged traditional Meccan religious and social practices, tensions gradually arose. As relations with the Quraysh deteriorated, Muhammad coordinated the gradual emigration of his followers to Medina , eventually making

1190-618: The al-Muṭayyabūn faction in 605 and engaged in business with the al-Aḥlāf . Their financial fortunes had enabled them to become a force of their own. During a commercial incident where a Yemenite merchant was robbed of his trade by al-As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi, the al-Muṭayyabūn reformed in the Hilf al-Fudul , which consisted of the Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib , which, like the Banu Umayya, were descendants of Abd Manaf, and

1275-699: The Banu Abd Shams clan of the Quraysh, the brother clan of the Banu Hashim , to which the Islamic prophet Muhammad belonged. Abu Sufyan was among the leaders of the Qurayshi opposition to Muhammad in the years preceding the Hijrah (emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622). A prominent financier and merchant, Abu Sufyan engaged in trade in Syria , often heading Meccan caravans to

1360-482: The Banu Hashim , which was sealed by marrying Maymuna bint al-Harith . Some important people of Mecca, such as Khalid ibn al-Walid and Amr ibn al-As , recognized Muhammad as a man of the future in Arabia and converted to Islam. In December 629, after the belligerent party in Mecca, against the advice of Abu Sufyan, decided to support one of their client clans against the Khuzaa, who were allied with Muhammad, resulting in

1445-593: The Banu Mustaliq were defeated in battle, with many captives later freed. Over time, tensions between Muhammad and the people of Mecca eased, leading to the Treaty of al-Hudaybiya , a ten-year armistice. Muhammad and his followers were then allowed to perform Umrah next year in Mecca. A short time later, Muhammad attacked the Jewish-inhabited Khaybar, where he instituted a practice that set

1530-565: The Banu Nadir , driving them to Khaybar and other settlements, and seizing their property. The Quraysh, with their caravans still under attack and urged by the Jews in Khaybar, recognized the importance of occupying Medina. They negotiated with various Bedouin tribes and managed to raise 10,000 troops. To defend against the Quraysh troops, Muhammad, advised by one of his followers, ordered

1615-751: The Banu Sa'd and cousins of the Banu Nasr and Banu Amir . The Thaqif may have adopted their descent from Hawazin to secure an alliance with the nomadic Hawazin tribe of Banu Amir. Before this, when the Thaqif lived in the outskirts of Ta'if , the tribe claimed lineage from the Iyad . When the Banu Amir drove out Ta'if's dominant tribe, the Adwan, the Thaqif proposed to settle in the city and cultivate its lands under

1700-647: The Banu Taym , Banu Asad , Banu Zuhra and Banu al-Harith ibn Fihr , were known as al-Muṭayyabūn ('the Perfumed'). 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

1785-555: The Battle of Badr in 624. After Muhammad captured Mecca and gained the submission of the Quraysh, his emergent Muslim polity came under threat by the Thaqif in Ta'if and the tribe's nomadic Hawazin confederates. They viewed with alarm the greatly boosted position of Muhammad, now with their chief rival, the Quraysh, behind him. Muhammad moved to subdue the Thaqif and Hawazin in the ensuing Battle of Hunayn . The Thaqif–Hawazin coalition under Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri gained an early advantage but

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1870-653: The Battle of the Yarmuk against the Byzantines in Syria. His sons Yazid and later Mu'awiya were given command roles in that province and the latter went on to establish the Umayyad Caliphate in 661. Abu Sufyan's given name was Sakhr and he was born around c.  560 to his father Harb ibn Umayya , a leader of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca, and mother Safiyya bint Hazn ibn Bujayr. The family belonged to

1955-527: The Hejaz (western Arabia). 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,

2040-561: The Indian Ocean , East Africa , and the Mediterranean . They ran caravans to Gaza and Damascus in summer, and Yemen in winter. They also mined and pursued other enterprises on these routes, placing business interests first. When Muhammad began spreading Islam in Mecca, the Quraysh initially showed little concern. However, opposition grew as he challenged the existence of gods other than Allah (an Arabic name for God or

2125-514: The Kinana tribe and his descent is traced to Adnan the Ishmaelite , 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 Kaaba, 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

2210-458: The Quraysh of Mecca in both agriculture and trade, the two tribes often participating in joint caravans while also competing for ownership of Ta'if's agricultural estates. Before and after the advent of Islam in c.  630 , the Thaqif and Quraysh, especially the latter's influential Umayyad house, forged considerable marital ties. The Thaqif was divided into two sections: the more prestigious Banu Malik or Banu Hutayt, which consisted of

2295-539: The Trench . After these conflicts and following changes in Medina's political landscape, including the expulsion of three major Jewish tribes, Muhammad reportedly shifted his focus from Quraysh caravans to northern tribes such as Banu Lahyan and Banu Mustaliq . As Muhammad's position in Medina became more established, attitudes towards him in his hometown became more approving. The Treaty of al-Hudaybiya , establishing

2380-639: The early Muslim conquests and occupied prominent roles in the emergent Caliphate, especially in the wealthy region of Iraq. The Quraysh paid less attention to Sasanian Iraq than to Byzantine Syria in the leadup to the conquests of those two regions in the mid-to-late 630s. As the Muslim war efforts in Iraq began to intensify, the Thaqafites, as well as the Ansar natives of Medina, played the leadership roles and contributed significant numbers of men there, along with

2465-424: The pre-Islamic period , living in the city of Ta'if , which they built a wall around. The tribe benefited from hosting the pilgrims visiting the idol of al-Lat housed in the city, as well as the pilgrims passing through on their way to the nearby sanctuary town of Mecca . The tribe prospered from cultivating Ta'if's orchards and agricultural lands, and from the caravan trade. The Thaqif cooperated and competed with

2550-568: 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

2635-721: The Ansar were concerned about their political stake. The Quraysh apparently held real power during this period marked by the Muslim conquests . During the First Fitna , 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

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2720-477: The Banu Abd Shams and the generosity he had received from Muhammad, was duty-bound by a tribal code of honor to offer Ali such support, as doing otherwise "would have been shameful". Ali, however, refused his support, citing Abu Sufyan's late conversion to Islam and the potential backlash from the Muslim community should he accept his backing. Western historians generally dismiss this episode as propaganda by

2805-409: The Banu Amir's protection, in exchange for giving the latter half of the crop. While this narrative could be related to polemics against the tribe, such as another account which claims the Thaqif descended from Thamud , the historian Michael Lecker suggests it may reflect an actual phase in the tribe's history. Unlike its nomadic Hawazin counterparts, the Thaqif was a settled, or 'urban', tribe from

2890-691: The Banu Asad and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah of the Banu Taym. Later, during the Second Fitna , these same factions again fought for control of the caliphate , with the Umayyads victorious at the war's conclusion in 692/693. 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

2975-420: The Banu Umayya. Afterward, Islamic leadership was contested between different branches of the Banu Hashim. Banu Thaqif The Banu Thaqif ( Arabic : بنو ثقيف , romanized :  Banū Thaqīf ) is an Arab tribe which inhabited, and still inhabits, the city of Ta'if and its environs, in modern Saudi Arabia, and played a prominent role in early Islamic history. During the pre-Islamic period ,

3060-587: The Daws tribe had Anbasa. Other Abu Sufyan's children include Ḥārith, Al-Faraa, and Azzah. Quraysh The Quraysh or Qureshi ( Arabic : قُرَيْشٍ ) is an Arab tribe that inhabited and used to control Mecca and the Kaaba . Comprising ten main clans, it includes the Hashim clan into which the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born. By 600 CE , the Quraysh had become wealthy merchants, dominating trade between

3145-536: The Kaaba were known Quraysh al-Biṭāḥ ('Quraysh of the Hollow'), and included all of the descendants of Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy and others. The clans settled in the outskirts of the sanctuary were known as Quraysh al-Ẓawāhir ('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

3230-607: The Malik ibn Hutayt clan of the Jusham branch, and the Ahlaf ('Allies'), which consisted of the rest of the Jusham branch and all of the Awf branch. Though there were often clashes between the two sides, by the eve of the Muslim capture of Ta'if in 630 the two sides were on relatively equal footing in their control of Ta'if. The Thaqif contributed some men to the Quraysh against Muhammad during

3315-511: The Meccan forces were transferred to his Qurayshi rivals, Safwan ibn Umayya , Ikrima ibn Amr and Suhayl ibn Amr . Though Abu Sufyan did not participate in the truce negotiations at al-Hudaybiya in 628, he held peace talks with Muhammad in Medina when allies of the Quraysh apparently broke the truce. Information about the results of these talks is unclear, but Watt surmises that Abu Sufyan and Muhammad entered into an understanding of sorts. When Muhammad conquered Mecca in 630, Abu Sufyan played

3400-437: The Meccans pursued a direct confrontation with the Muslims, which resulted in the rout of the Quraysh at the Battle of Badr . One of Abu Sufyan's sons, Hanzala, was killed at Badr and another son, Amr, was taken captive, but released. Among the other Meccan casualties were Abu Jahl himself and Utba ibn Rabi'a , who was one of Abu Sufyan's fathers-in-law. In the aftermath of Badr, Abu Sufyan was charged with avenging Meccan losses,

3485-463: The Muslim community and, in the words of the historian Hugh N. Kennedy , Muhammad had "secured the allegiance and services" of another "able and experienced group" as he had done with the Quraysh. As with the latter, the Thaqafites marshaled their political knowhow and tribal contacts in service of the Muslim state as its formed and expanded its territory. Among the Thaqafite delegates to Muhammad

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3570-523: The Muslim community traditionally passed to a member of the Quraysh, as was the case with the Rashidun , Umayyad , and Abbasid Caliphates , and purportedly the Fatimids . Sources differ as to the etymology of Quraysh, with one theory holding that it was the diminutive form of qirsh (shark). The Arab genealogist Hisham ibn al-Kalbi asserted that there was no eponymous founder of Quraysh; rather,

3655-513: The Muslim traditional sources, which were hostile to the Umayyads , the branch of the Banu Abd Shams to which Abu Sufyan belonged and which ultimately became the ruling family of the Caliphate in 661 until 750. Abu Bakr ordered the Muslim conquest of the Levant , in which he gave the Banu Abd Shams a stake, despite their early opposition to him, which he sought to allay. Abu Sufyan's son Yazid

3740-558: The Muslim troops. His son Yazid held a command role in the battle and later died in a plague in Palestine in 639. Another of his sons, Mu'awiya , was appointed the governor of Syria by Caliph Umar ( r.  634–644 ). Umar's successor, Uthman ( r.  644–656 ), shared descent with Abu Sufyan from Umayya ibn Abd Shams and was known to show special favor to his kinsmen. To that end, he symbolically honored Abu Sufyan, along with al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As and al-Walid ibn Uqba of

3825-531: The Quraysh and Kinana. After a few more clashes, peace was reestablished. 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. The Quraysh gained control over Ta'if's trade, and many Qurayshi individuals purchased estates in Ta'if, where

3910-548: The Quraysh, led by Abu Sufyan , mobilized 3,000 troops to confront Muhammad, resulting in the Battle of Uhud . Initially, Muhammad's forced had the upper hand, but a setback occurred when his archers abandoned their positions and pursued the fleeing Meccan soldiers. The Meccan military strategist Khalid ibn al-Walid exploited this and Muhammad's forces retreated. The Quraysh did not pursue further, considering their objective achieved. In Medina, some Jewish tribes expressed satisfaction at Muhammad's defeat, prompting him to target

3995-456: The Quraysh, particularly its Umayyad house, well-positioned the Thaqafites to administer Iraq and its eastern dependencies under the Umayyad caliphs. According to Kennedy, Mu'awiya contracted the governance of Iraq and the east "to what must have been seen as a Thaqafi mafia". The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ( r.  685–705 ) appointed the Thaqafite al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf over Iraq and

4080-542: The Quraysh. A hadith holding that the caliph must be from Quraysh became almost universally accepted by the Muslims, with the exception of the Kharijites . Indeed, control of the Islamic state essentially devolved into a struggle between various factions of the Quraysh. 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

4165-469: The Quraysh. Following a siege, their men were judged to be executed, while the women and children were taken captive. This event marked a significant turning point, with Muhammad consolidating his control in Medina. Muhammad's focus then shifted to other tribes, such as the Banu Lahyan and Banu Mustaliq . The Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina after being accused of plotting against Muhammad, and

4250-402: The Taym, Asad, Zuhra and al-Harith ibn Fihr clans. The Banu Hashim held the hereditary rights surrounding the pilgrimage to the Kaaba, though the Banu Umayya were ultimately the strongest Qurayshi clan. 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

4335-461: The Thaqafites played the central role in the front that was opened in southern Iraq, around the port of al-Ubulla , and neighboring Khuzistan . The commander there, Utba ibn Ghazwan al-Mazini , was married into the Thaqif, and his successor was the Thaqafite companion of Muhammad, al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba . These Thaqafites founded Basra , the chief garrison city of the Muslim Arabs in southern Iraq, in c.  638 and continued to be prominent in

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4420-431: The Thaqif and they blockaded the roads leading into Ta'if. The siege compelled the Thaqif to send a delegation led by one of their chiefs, Abd Yalil , to Muhammad to negotiate their conversion to Islam. After the submission of the Thaqif, its idols in Ta'if were destroyed and the tribe lost the religious prestige it previously held as the idols' guardians. Despite their defeat, the Thaqif became firmly incorporated into

4505-420: The Thaqif rivaled and cooperated with the Quraysh tribe of Mecca in trade and land ownership. The tribe initially opposed the Islamic prophet Muhammad , but following the Muslim siege of Ta'if in 630, they came to terms and embraced Islam. The Thaqif's inter-tribal networks and their relatively high education helped them quickly advance in the nascent Muslim state. They took on an especially important role in

4590-475: The Umayyad caliph Yazid II ( r.  720–724 ) and was the mother of his son, Caliph al-Walid II ( r.  743–744 ). Al-Hajjaj generally was not tribally partisan in his administrative and military appointments, but nevertheless paid special favor to his Thaqafite kinsmen. He appointed three of al-Mughira's sons, his brother Muhammad, and several other family members as district governors, while commissioning his capable nephew, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim , as

4675-541: The Umayyad line of the Banu Abd Shams, and al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib of the Banu Hashim, by allowing them to sit on his throne in Medina. Abu Sufyan died in 653 at the age of 88. Abu Sufyan's wife Ṣāfiya bint Abi al-As was the mother of Ramla (Umm Ḥabība) (She first married Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh , by whom she had one daughter, Ḥabība bint Ubayd Allah . After Ubayd Allah's death, she married Muhammad) and Umayma (She first married Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza, by whom she had one son called Abu Sufyan). Abu Sufyan's son Yazid

4760-526: 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 Kaaba. Prior to this, Fihr's offspring lived in scattered, nomadic groups among their Kinana relatives. All medieval Muslim sources agree that Qusayy unified Fihr's descendants, and established the Quraysh as the dominant power in Mecca. After conquering Mecca, Qusayy assigned quarters to different Qurayshi clans. Those settled around

4845-437: The city through later decades. The literacy of the Thaqif in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods was on par with the Quraysh, and was a key factor in the Muslim state's recruitment of Thaqafite tribesmen to important administrative positions. Al-Mughira founded the tax administration in Basra, and was later appointed governor of Kufa in 642, remaining in the post until he was dismissed in 645. Knowledgeable in Persian ,

4930-468: The climate was cooler. 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". Furthermore, the Quraysh commissioned trade caravans to Yemen in the winter and caravans to Gaza , Bosra , Damascus and al-Arish in

5015-411: The command he held likely being hereditary. Subsequently, Abu Sufyan inflicted significant losses on the Muslims at the Battle of Uhud in 625, but the Quraysh were generally unsatisfied with the battle's results. Two years later, he led the attempted siege of Medina, but was defeated by the Muslim defenders at the Battle of the Trench , and his morale may have taken a blow at this failure. The command of

5100-416: The conqueror and governor of Sind . During his travels to Arabia, including Ta'if, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt noted that the Thaqif remained "a very powerful tribe" which controlled most of Ta'if's gardens and agricultural lands, as well as elsewhere along the eastern ridges of the Hejaz mountains. They constituted half of Ta'if's inhabitants at that time, while part of the tribe lived as Bedouins outside of

5185-450: The conqueror of Sind in the 710s, and pro-Alid revolutionary Al-Mukhtar Ibn Abi Ubayd . The Thaqif is a branch of the Hawazin , a major tribal grouping of the Qays , but is often counted separately from the Hawazin in the traditional Arabic sources. According to Arab genealogical tradition, the progenitor of the Thaqif was Qasi ibn Munabbih ibn Bakr ibn Hawazin, whose epithet was 'Thaqif'. This supposed genealogy made them 'nephews' of

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5270-501: The conquest and administration of Iraq, providing the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs capable and powerful governors for that province and the eastern Caliphate. Among their notable governors in Iraq were al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba (638, 642–645), and al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (694–714), while major Thaqafite commanders included Uthman ibn Abi al-As , who led the first Muslim naval expeditions in the 630s, and commander of Islamic conquest of Persia Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi , Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ,

5355-401: The east in 694. Although coming from Ta'if, al-Hajjaj benefited from his tribal ties with the Thaqif of Iraq. Like the other Thaqafites who administered Iraq, al-Hajjaj had been a man of letters, in his case, working as a teacher before taking up a military career. He married several Qurayshite women, including an Umayyad, while his niece, the daughter of Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi , married

5440-592: The end of 629 CE, a belligerent party within the Quraysh, against the advice of their chief Abu Sufyan , supported one of their client clans in a conflict against the Khuza'a , allies of Muhammad. This act was seen as a violation of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiya. As Muhammad advanced with his army to besiege Mecca, Abu Sufyan, along with others, including Muhammad's ally Khuza'i Budayl ibn Warqa, met with Muhammad to request amnesty for all Quraysh who did not resist. Thus Muhammad entered Mecca unopposed, and almost all of its inhabitants converted to Islam. Afterwards, leadership of

5525-411: The first to submit and was given a stake in the nascent Muslim state, playing a role at the Battle of Hunayn and the subsequent destruction of the polytheistic sanctuary of al-Lat in Ta'if . After Muhammad's death, he may have been appointed as the governor of Najran by Caliph Abu Bakr ( r.  632–634 ) for an unspecified period. Abu Sufyan later played a supporting role in the Muslim army at

5610-487: The god of Abraham). As relations deteriorated, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (the Hijrah ) after negotiating with Banu Aws and Khazraj to mediate their conflict. The Quraysh had prevented Muslims from performing the pilgrimage to Mecca . Unable to reach a peaceful resolution, Muhammad decided to confront the Quraysh through armed conflict, beginning with raids on Meccan caravans. This led to several major battles, including those at Badr , Uhud , and

5695-490: The guardian of the Kaaba. He also gave other responsibilities related to the Kaaba 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 Kaaba. According to historian F. E. Peters , Ibn Ishaq's account reveals that Mecca in

5780-576: The journey himself, after negotiations with various factions in Medina had established a base of support there. This event, known as the Hijra , followed complex negotiations with different groups in Medina, where Muhammad was seen as a potential mediator for ongoing tribal conflicts, though his role was likely more multifaceted than just mediation. In Medina, Muhammad received a divine revelation allowing Muslims to defend themselves, which included targeting Quraysh trade caravans in response to their ongoing hostility and persecution. After obtaining spoils from

5865-512: The language of the bureaucracy in Iraq, and having gained considerable experience among the Arab tribal soldiery who settled in Iraq, he was reappointed by Caliph Mu'awiya I ( r.  661–680 ) as governor of Kufa in 661 and held office until his death in 671. Through al-Mughira's good offices with the caliph, he secured the pardon of his protege, the adoptive Thaqafite Ziyad ibn Abihi , in 664. Ziyad had been educated by al-Mughira's cousin, Jubayr ibn Hayya ibn Mas'ud ibn Mu'attib, who served

5950-427: The latter's succession of Muhammad as leader of the nascent Muslim state. Abu Sufyan, seeing no hope that a member of the Banu Abd Shams could attain the role, aimed to keep the leadership in the hands of his next closest kinsmen, the Banu Hashim, specifically Ali ibn Abi Talib , a cousin, son-in-law and early supporter of Muhammad. According to the historian Wilferd Madelung , Abu Sufyan, by dint of his chieftainship of

6035-408: 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 Kaaba . Prior to this, Fihr's offspring lived in scattered, nomadic groups among their Kinana relatives. The nisba or surname of the Quraysh

6120-761: The nomadic tribes who lived near the region, such as the Banu Tamim and the Banu Bakr . Caliph Umar appointed the Thaqafite Abu Ubayd ibn Mas'ud as the conquest's overall commander in 634, but he was slain during the Battle of the Bridge , where the Sasanians defeated the Muslims. While the overall command in Iraq eventually passed to the Qurayshite companion of Muhammad, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ,

6205-481: The organizational skills of the Quraysh were put to use in the service of Islam". 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. The Ansar wanted one of their own to succeed the prophet as caliph , but were persuaded by Umar to agree to Abu Bakr. During the reigns of Abu Bakr ( r.  632–634 ) and Umar ( r.  634–644 ), some of

6290-454: The region. He owned land in the vicinity of Damascus . In 624, a caravan Abu Sufyan was leading back to Mecca from Syria faced an assault by Muhammad, prompting him to send for aid. In response, a 1,000-strong Meccan army led by Abu Jahl ibn Hisham was dispatched. In the ensuing confrontation, Abu Sufyan, "by skillful and vigorous leadership eluded the Muslims", according to the historian W. Montgomery Watt . However, under Abu Jahl's command,

6375-400: 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

6460-403: The strongman of Quraysh, he was not officially a king of the tribe, but one of many leading shaykhs (tribal chieftains). 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". However, historian W. Montgomery Watt asserts that Qusayy himself likely died in the second half of

6545-504: The summer. 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

6630-580: The tide turned and the Muslims routed the coalition, taking thousands of Hawazin women and children captive and considerable booty. The Muslims proceeded to besiege Ta'if , where many of the Bedouin warriors of the Hawazin took refuge. Many of the Qurayshites in the Muslim army were motivated to prevent the Thaqafites from capturing their estates near Ta'if. When the siege faltered, Muhammad succeeded in turning Malik ibn Awf and his Bedouin warriors against

6715-531: 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 Kaaba, and "what pass[ed] for municipal offices [designated by Qusayy] have to do only with military operations and with control of the shrine". 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

6800-677: Was Uthman ibn Abi al-As of the Banu Malik, who Muhammad appointed as his amil (agent, governor, or tax collector) over the Thaqif. When most of the Arab tribes discarded the authority of the Muslim state following Muhammad's death in 632, in what became known as the Ridda wars , Uthman played an important role in preventing the Thaqif from similarly defecting. With the Ridda wars' conclusion in 633, Uthman and several Thaqafis played command roles in

6885-552: Was Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith), and Umm Hakam (She married Abd Allah ibn Uthman al-Thaqafi, by whom she had one son, Abd al-Rahman ). Another of his wife Lubaba bint Abi al-As was mother of Maymuna (Amina) (She married Abi Murrah bin Urwa bin Mas'ud al-Thaqafi , and bore him a son, Dawud and a daughter, Layla , who married al-Husayn bin Ali and bore al-Husayn his eldest son, Ali al-Akbar who

6970-570: Was martyred in Karbala. Maymuna's second husband was al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba ). Abu Sufyan and his wife Safiya bint Abi Amr ibn Umayya had Amr (taken captive in the Battle of Badr and later released), Hind (he married al-Harith ibn Nawfal, by whom she had six children: Abd Allah, Muhammad al-Akbar, Rabi'a, Abd al-Rahman, Ramla and Umm al-Zubayr), and Sakhra (She married Sayyid ibn al-Akhnas and is said to have had children by him). Atiqa bint Abi Udhayhir of

7055-461: Was rewarded a relatively high percentage of the spoils to reconcile his heart. Because of his past trade relations with Ta'if, where he also owned property and had kinsmen, Abu Sufyan played a leading role in the dismantlement of the pagan sanctuary of al-Lat in the city. Abu Sufyan was appointed the governor of Najran , in southern Arabia, either by Muhammad or more likely, by the first caliph, Abu Bakr ( r.  632–634 ). He initially opposed

7140-458: Was the son of Zaynab bint Nawfal of the Kinana . Abu Sufyan's well-known wife Hind bint Utba was the mother of Hanzala (killed in the Battle of Badr; Hind refers to Hanzala as her "firstborn"), Mu'awiya , Utba (He is said to have been born "in the time of the Prophet," i.e., after 610. He had a son named al-Walid ), Juwayriya (Her first husband was al-Sayib ibn Abi Hubaysh. Her second husband

7225-548: Was ultimately appointed to a leading command role in the conquest. Abu Sufyan was present at the Battle of the Yarmuk , which resulted in a decisive Muslim victory against the Byzantines in Syria. His advanced age at the time renders it unlikely that he actively participated in the battle. According to an account cited by Sayf ibn Umar , he observed the battle alongside unspecified Arab shaykhs (chieftains), and accounts cited by al-Tabari further note that he "exhorted"

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