Sub-tribe of the Quraysh Tribe
Ban? Makhz?m
(
Arabic
:
??? ?????
)
|
---|
|
Nisba
| Makhz?m?
|
---|
Location
| Mecca
|
---|
Descended from
| Makhzum ibn Yaqaza
|
---|
Religion
| Islam
|
---|
The
Banu Makhzum
(
Arabic
:
??? ?????
,
romanized
:
Ban? Makhz?m
) was one of the wealthy clans of the
Quraysh
. They are regarded as being among the three most powerful and influential clans in
Mecca
before the advent of
Islam
, the other two being the
Banu Hashim
(the tribe of the
Islamic prophet
Muhammad
) and the
Banu Umayya
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Pre-Islamic era
[
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]
The Banu Makhzum were a major clan of the larger
Quraysh
tribal grouping which dominated
Mecca
.
[4]
Though in Arab genealogical tradition, there are some twenty branches descended from the progenitor Umar ibn Makhzum, the line of
al-Mughira ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn Makhzum
emerged as the principal family of the Banu Makhzum.
[4]
According to the historian
Martin Hinds
, the "extent of the power and influence of Makhzum in Mecca during the 6th century A.D. cannot be established with any certainty".
[4]
Based on the traditional Arabic sources, they formed part of the Ahlaf ("allies") faction of the Quraysh alongside the clans of
Abd al-Dar
,
Banu Sahm
,
Banu Jumah
and
Banu Adi
, in rivalry to the clans of the
Banu Hashim
and
Banu Abd Shams
.
[4]
Toward the end of the 6th century, a scion of the Makhzum, Hisham ibn al-Mughira, grew to such prominence in Mecca that the Quraysh established a dating system that began with his death.
[4]
His family, the Banu Hisham, thenceforth became the leading house of the Mughira line of the Makhzum.
[4]
At the time, Hisham, his brothers al-Walid, Hashim and Abu Umayya and a number of their sons dominated Meccan trade with Yemen and Ethiopia.
[5]
Early Islamic era
[
edit
]
The Banu Makhzum were among the foremost opponents of the
Islamic
prophet
Muhammad
in Mecca in the early 7th century.
[6]
One of their chieftains,
Abu Jahl
, led Meccan opposition to the Muslims and organized a boycott of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim, in circa 616?618.
[6]
The Muslims gained the advantage at the
Battle of Badr
, inflicting heavy losses on the Makhzum, with seven or eight nobles from the al-Mughira line slain and a roughly equal number from other cadet lines of the clan.
[6]
The casualties the Makhzum sustained led to a significant weakening of their position in Mecca and they were passed in prominence by the Banu Abd Shams under the leadership of
Abu Sufyan
. At least three members of the Makhzum, all from cadet branches, fought alongside Muhammad at Badr, and by the time he launched his
conquest of Mecca
in January 630, several others had defected to him, including one of their eminent military commanders,
Khalid ibn al-Walid
, a grandson of al-Mughira.
[6]
Nonetheless, among the most ardent opponents of negotiations with Muhammad was
Ikrima
, the son of Abu Jahl and principal leader of the clan.
[6]
Khalid participated in the city's conquest and Ikrima subsequently fled to Yemen.
[6]
The leaders who remained, i.e.
al-Harith ibn Hisham
of the al-Mughira line and Sa'id ibn Yarbu of the cadet branches, reconciled with Muhammad and the Banu Makhzum formed part of the nascent Muslim order.
[6]
Muhammad died in 632 and Ikrima was meanwhile pardoned and played an active role, along with Khalid, in the suppression of the Arab tribes that defected from the Muslim state after Muhammad's death in the
Ridda wars
(632?633).
[6]
Ikrima later died fighting
Byzantine
forces, possibly at the
Battle of Ajnadayn
, while other members of the Makhzum,
al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya
and Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'a ibn al-Mughira served various terms as governors of part or all of Yemen under the caliphs
Abu Bakr
(
r.
632?634
) and
Umar
(
r.
634?644
).
[6]
The most prominent role by a member of the Makhzum during this period was played by Khalid who scored key victories against
Musaylima
in the
Yamama
during the Ridda wars and against the Byzantines during the
Muslim conquest of Syria
(634?638).
[6]
His son
Abd al-Rahman
was appointed governor of
Homs
and the
Jazira
and fought reputably against the Byzantines. The forty or so male descendants of Khalid died in a plague in Syria toward the end of
Umayyad
rule.
[7]
Genealogical tree of key members
[
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]
Abbreviated tree of the Banu Makhzum clan of the
Quraysh
tribe
|
|
Notable members
[
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]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Brill, E. J. (1907).
Umayyad and ?Abbasids: Being the Fourth Part of Jurji Zaydan's History of Islamic Civilization
. Vol. 4. Imprimerie Orientale.
- ^
ul-Haq, Mazhar (1977).
A Short History of Islam: From the Rise of Islam to the Fall of Baghdad, 571 A.D. to 1258 A.D
. Bookland.
- ^
Brown, Jonathan A. C. (2011).
Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-151027-4
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Hinds, p. 137.
- ^
Hinds, pp. 137?138.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Hinds, p. 138.
- ^
Hinds, p. 139.
- ^
a
b
al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1998).
The History of al-Tabari Vol. 39: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors
. Translated and annotated by Ella Landau-Tasseron. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 201?202.
- ^
Muhammad, Shaykh; Hisham Kabbani; Laleh Bakhtiar (1998).
Encyclopedia of Muhammad's Women Companions and the Traditions They Relate
. Chicago: ABC International Group. p. 461.
ISBN
1-871031-42-7
.
- ^
Akram 2004
, p. 2
- ^
Ibn Sa'd, Muhammad.
Tabaqat al-Kabir
. Vol. 1. Translated by Haq, S. M. Delhi: Kitab Bhavan. pp. 142?143.
- ^
Menocal, Maria Rosa; Scheindlin, Raymond P.; Sells, Michael (2000).
The Literature of Al-Andalus
. Cambridge University Press. p. 306.
ISBN
0-521-47159-1
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]