The Prophetic Biography

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. By His help we seek assistance.

From his birth to his noble Hijrah:

The lineage of the Master of mankind:

Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah—Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—Abū al-Qāsim, the leader of the messengers and the seal of the prophets.

He is Muḥammad son of ʿAbd Allah son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, whose name was Shayba; son of Hāshim, whose name was ʿAmr; son of ʿAbd Manāf, whose name was al-Mughīra; son of Quṣayy, whose name was Zayd; son of Kilāb; son of Murra; son of Kaʿb; son of Luʾayy; son of Ghālib; son of Fihr; son of Mālik; son of al-Naḍr; son of Kināna; son of Khuzayma; son of Mudrika, whose name was ʿĀmir; son of Ilyās; son of Muḍar; son of Nazār; son of Maʿadd; son of ʿAdnān. ʿAdnān is, by unanimous agreement, a descendant of Ishmael son of Abraham—peace be upon them both and upon our Prophet.

The scholars disagree, however, over the number of forefathers that separate ʿAdnān from Ishmael. Some say nine, others seven, while several authorities give similar figures yet differ over certain names. Some hold that the number is fifteen; others claim it is forty—a view that is far-fetched, though it has been reported by a group of Arab genealogists.

As for ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, he said: “We have found no one who truly knows what lies beyond ʿAdnān or Qaḥṭān; it is mere conjecture.”

Ibn ʿAbbās said: “Between Maʿadd son of ʿAdnān and Ishmael there are thirty ancestors.” This was related by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī, the genealogist, from his father, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Ibn ʿAbbās; yet both Hishām and his father are considered unreliable.