Nasab Quraysh
- Author died
- 236 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Ma'arif
Nasab Quraysh (Genealogy of Quraysh) is a foundational ninth-century Arabic genealogical work by the Medinan genealogist and traditionist Mus'ab al-Zubayri (156–236 AH / 773–851 CE), detailing the lineages, branches, and historical lore of the Quraysh tribe .
Subject Matter and Structure
The book traces the genealogical lineages of the Quraysh, rooted in the author's genealogical position that Fihr ibn Malik serves as the collective progenitor of the tribe, maintaining that anyone whose lineage does not reach Fihr is not considered a Qurashi . It opens by detailing the descendants of al-Nadr ibn Kinana and methodically records the major and minor Qurayshite clans—such as Banu Hashim, Banu Umayya, Banu Asad, Banu Zuhra, Banu Makhzum, Banu Taym, and Banu 'Adi—along with their marriages, maternal lines, and prominent historical personalities .
In addition to dry genealogical sequences, the text integrates historical narratives, biographical notes, verses of poetry, and accounts of pre-Islamic and early Islamic events, with particular depth on the families of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the first four caliphs . The work is structured into twelve parts (ajza'), with sections commonly prefaced by transmission chains naming transmitters from both the East and the West .
Transmission and Influence
The text was transmitted by major ninth-century scholars, with the chains of transmission at the head of its parts identifying figures such as Ibn Abi Khaythama among the scholars of Baghdad, alongside Ibn Jamil and Muhammad ibn Mu'awiya al-Marwani among the scholars of al-Andalus .
Nasab Quraysh served as a prime authority for subsequent historians and genealogists, including al-Baladhuri, al-Tabari, and various Andalusian chroniclers . The author's nephew, al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar (d. 256 AH / 870 CE), drew extensively on its verified reports in composing his own expansive work, Jamharat Nasab Quraysh wa-Akhbariha . The French Orientalist Évariste Lévi-Provençal characterized the work as a document of exceptional historical significance for the study of the beginnings of Islam, particularly the era of the early caliphs .
Editions
Nasab Quraysh was edited from manuscript copies by Évariste Lévi-Provençal and published in Cairo in 1953 .
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