Account of the History of the Arabs

It has been said that all Arabs trace their lineage to Ishmael son of Abraham—upon them both be peace and honor. The sound and widely accepted view, however, is that the original Arabs (al-ʿArab al-ʿĀriba) existed before Ishmael. We have already noted that these early Arabs included ʿĀd, Thamūd, Ṭasm, Jadīs, Amīm, Jurhum, the ʿAmālīq, and other nations known only to Allah. They lived prior to the time of the Friend of the Most Merciful, Abraham, peace be upon him, and in his era as well.

As for the later Arabs (al-ʿArab al-Mustaʿriba)—the Arabs of the Ḥijāz—they descend from Ishmael son of Abraham, peace be upon him.

With respect to the Arabs of Yemen, the Ḥimyar, the prevailing opinion is that they spring from Qaḥṭān, whose personal name, according to Ibn Mākūlā, was Mihzam. It is said they were four brothers: Qaḥṭān, Qaḥiṭ, Muqaḥṭ, and Fālig. Some consider Qaḥṭān the son of the Prophet Hūd; others say he was Hūd himself; still another view holds that Hūd was his brother, while yet others maintain that Qaḥṭān was simply a descendant of Hūd.

Another opinion, reported by Ibn Isḥāq and others, asserts that Qaḥṭān descends from Ishmael. Some genealogists state that he was Qaḥṭān son of al-Humaysiʿ ibn Tayman ibn Qaydhir ibn Nabt son of Ishmael. Other lines linking him to Ishmael are also cited, and Allah knows best.

Al-Bukhārī devoted a heading to this topic in his Ṣaḥīḥ: “Chapter: The Affiliation of the People of Yemen to Ishmael.” He recorded:

Musaddad narrated to us; Yaḥyā narrated to us; from Yazīd ibn Abī ʿUbayd; Salama said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by a group from the tribe of Aslam who were competing with their arrows in the marketplace. He said, ‘Shoot, O sons of Ishmael! I am with such-and-such team,’—meaning one of the two sides. The archers thereupon stopped. He asked, ‘What is the matter with you?’ They said, ‘How can we shoot when you are with that team?’ He replied, ‘Shoot, for I am with all of you.’”

Al-Bukhārī alone reported this narration. In another wording he said, “Shoot, O sons of Ishmael, for your forefather was an archer. Shoot, and I am with Ibn al-Adraʿ.” When the people hesitated he added, “Shoot, for I am with all of you.”