And in the latter days they shall have a prophet
who will deal them heavy blows, slaying many and leaving wounds among them.
It is also said that the name derives from Quraysh ibn al-Ḥāri th ibn Yakhlud ibn al-Naḍr ibn Kinānah. He was the guide of the descendants of al-Naḍr and the keeper of their provisions (1), so the Arabs would say, “The caravan of Quraysh (2) has arrived.” They further relate that his son (3), Badr ibn Quraysh, dug the well that bears his name, by which the momentous battle took place on the Day of Criterion, the day the two hosts met. God knows best.
When forming the nisbah from Quraysh one may say Qurashī or Qurayshī. Al-Jawharī observes that this accords with the linguistic norm. A poet said:
With every Qurayshī there dwells an aura of reverence,
swift to answer the summons of bounty and noble deed. (4)
Al-Jawharī continues: “If by Quraysh you mean the clan as individuals, you decline the word; if you mean the tribe as a collective, you leave it indeclinable.” A poet employing the indeclinable form recited:
Quraysh sufficed for the daunting tasks—and led them all. (6)
Muslim relates in his Ṣaḥīḥ (7), on the authority of Abū ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī who said: Shaddād Abū ʿAmmār narrated to me, from Wāthilah ibn al-Asqaʿ, that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Indeed, God chose Kinānah from the progeny of Ishmael; He chose Quraysh from Kinānah; He chose Hāshim from Quraysh; and He chose me from the sons of Hāshim.”
Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr notes: “The Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib are the Prophet’s sub-clan (faṣīlah); the Banū Hāshim his clan (fakhdh); the Banū ʿAbd Manāf his sub-tribe (baṭn); Quraysh his larger tribe (ʿimārah); the Banū Kinānah his tribal confederation (qabīlah); and Muḍar his broader grouping (shaʿb). May God’s blessings and peace be upon him continually until the Day of Judgment.” (8)
Ibn Isḥāq adds: “Al-Naḍr ibn Kinānah fathered Mālik and Yakhlud (9).” Ibn Hishām remarks: “And al-Ṣalt as well; all three were born to the daughter of Saʿd ibn al-Ẓarib al-ʿAdwānī.”
Kuthayyir ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān—better known as Kuthayyir ʿAzzah, of the Banū Mulayḥ ibn ʿAmr from Khuzaʿah—composed:
Is not al-Ṣalt my father? Are not my brothers renowned—
the fairest among every noble branch of al-Naḍr’s sons?