Family tree of Muhammad explained

This family tree is about the relatives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a family member of the family of Hashim and the Quraysh tribe which is ‘Adnani.[1] [2] [3] [4] According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad descends from the biblical Ishmael through the Hashem tribe.

Prophet Muhammad's family tree


Genealogy

Muhammad to Adnan

According to Islamic prophetic tradition, Muhammad descended from Adnan.[5] Tradition records the genealogy from Adnan to Muhammad comprises 21 generations. The following is the list of chiefs who are said to have ruled the Hejaz and to have been the patrilineal ancestors of Muhammad.[4] His Ancestors were generally referred to by their laqabs or titles, names will be mentioned alongside each title.

Adnan to Isma'il

Islamic tradition and Arabic oral genetic tradition agree that the lineage from Adnan to Isma'il is lost. It is narrated that when the prophet Muhammad recited a lineage then reached 'Adnan, he said "Do not surpass Ma'add ibn 'Adnan, the Genealogists lied!" and then proceeded to recite "وَقُرُوناً بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيراً" (And numerous generations between them; Quran 25:38[7]).[8] Nevertheless, there are records that survived, although they are deemed mere speculations by most scholars.

'Adnan was the ancestor of the 'Adnani Arabs of northern, central and western Arabia and a direct descendant of Isma'il.[9] It is not confirmed how many generations are between them; however, Adnan was fairly close to him. According to the Hebrew Bible, Isma'il had twelve sons who are said to have become twelve tribal chiefs throughout the regions from Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt).[10]

Genealogists differ from which son of Isma'il the main line of descent came, either his eldest son Nabeet or Al-Nabt (Nebaioth), or his second son Qidar (Kedar) was the father of the North Arabian people that controlled the region between the Persian Gulf and the Sinai Peninsula.

Ibrahim to Adam

Scholars, both Islamic and Western agree that the narrations considering Ibrahim's lineage to Adam are mythology. Most of the lineage is borrowed from Hebrew tradition or Isra'iliyyat.

It is unclear how many generations are between Ibrahim and Nuh. Nuh's son Sam (Shem) is considered the ancestor of the Semitic race.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Maqsood . Ruqaiyyah Waris . The Prophet's Line Family No 3 – Qusayy, Hubbah, and Banu Nadr to Quraysh . Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood Dawah . 2013-07-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080530213139/http://www.ruqaiyyah.karoo.net/articles/prophfamily3.htm . 2008-05-30 . dead .
  2. Book: Ibn Hisham . The Life of the Prophet Muhammad . 1 . 181 .
  3. Book: Parolin, Gianluca P.. Citizenship in the Arab World: Kin, Religion and Nation-State . limited . 2009 . 978-9089640451 . 30. Amsterdam University Press . "The ‘arabicised or arabicising Arabs’, on the contrary, are believed to be the descendants of Ishmael through Adnan, but in this case the genealogy does not match the Biblical line exactly. The label ‘arabicised’ is due to the belief that Ishmael spoke Hebrew until he got to Mecca, where he married a Yemeni woman and learnt Arabic. Both genealogical lines go back to Sem, son of Noah, but only Adnanites can claim Abraham as their ascendant, and the lineage of Mohammed, the Seal of Prophets (khatim al-anbiya'), can therefore be traced back to Abraham. Contemporary historiography unveiled the lack of inner coherence of this genealogical system and demonstrated that it finds insufficient matching evidence; the distinction between Qahtanites and Adnanites is even believed to be a product of the Umayyad Age, when the war of factions (al-niza al-hizbi) was raging in the young Islamic Empire."
  4. Book: Hughes, Thomas Patrick. A Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopaedia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, Together With the Technical and Theological Terms, of the Muhammadan Religion. July 24, 2010. 1995. First published 1885. Asian Educational Services. New Delhi. 978-81-206-0672-2. 19.
  5. Book: The genealogists do not differ concerning the descent of our Prophet Muhammad as far as Ma’add b. ‘Adnan.. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. The History of al-Tabari . 6 . 37.
  6. Book: Koenig, Harold G.. 2014-01-01. Springer Science+Business Media. Health and Well-Being in Islamic Societies. Differences and Similarities. 97. The Quraysh was Nadhr, the 12th tribal generation down from Kedar, the son of Ishmael mentioned in the Bible..
  7. https://quran.com/25?startingVerse=38 Al-Furqaan 38
  8. 'Uyoon Al-Ma'aarif; Al-Qudaa'i
  9. Book: Mackintosh-Smith, Tim . Arabs . 2019-04-30 . Yale University Press . 978-0-300-18028-2 . en.
  10. Book: Kaltner, John . Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qur'an for Bible Readers . 2017-06-15 . Liturgical Press . 978-0-8146-8363-7 . en.
  11. Ibn Hisham, Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen, 2/14-17.
  12. Firestone et al., 2001, pp. 11–12.
  13. Book: Hakim al-Nishaburi . Hakim al-Nishaburi . . 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas narrated Muhammad said: "Between Nuh and Adam were ten generations, all of them were upon Sharia of the truth, then they differed. So Allah sent prophets as bringers of good news and as warners.".

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Family tree of Muhammad".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.