Hashim

From Islamica
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Hashim ibn Abd Manaf was the Holy Prophet’s third ancestor. He was the chief of the Quraysh and did many things for the comfort of the people of Makkah and the grace of the Kaabah, including enlivening business in Makkah, establishing the tradition of sharing wealth with the poor and digging wells in Makkah. Umayyah, the son of his brother Abd al-Shams, was jealous of his position and this jealousy continued for years after Islam between the children of Hashim and Umayyah. Eventually, he passed away on the business route between Makkah and the Levant in Gaza.

Birth and titles

The third ancestor of the Holy Prophet was named Amr. After his father, he took the duty of feeding and quenching the thirst of the pilgrims. He was a great and hospitable man in such a way that he was known as Amr al-Ala (the great), Sayyid al-Batha and Abu al-Batha. In the year when Makkah was stricken by drought, he prepared food by cooking bread with flour from Palestine and camel meat. He would tear the bread apart and put it in the food with his own hands. Therefore, he was known as Hashim (the one who tears) and after him, his children and lineage were known as Bani Hashim. He was the first person to start winter and summer journeys in order to do trade in the Levant and Yemen in the Quraysh. [1] [2] [3] [4] These journeys are referred to in Surah Quraysh.

Children

Hashim had several wives and had four sons and five daughters from them. [5] [6] The names of his sons were Shaybah, known as Abd al-Muttalib, Asad, Abu Sayfi and Nadlah. [7] [8] The Holy Prophet was from the lineage of Abd al-Muttalib and Fatimah, the mother of Imam Ali, was the daughter of Asad ibn Hashim. The lineage of Hashim only continued through Abd al-Muttalib but the lineages of Nadlah, Abu Sayfi and Asad didn’t continue. [8] No other child except the mother of Ali has been mentioned for Asad. [9]

Positions and roles

Giving food and water to the pilgrims

After the death of Abd Manaf, Hashim, his brothers (Abd Shams, Muttalib and Nawfal) and paternal cousins (Bani Abd al-Dar) disputed over the positions of the Kaabah. Every group had entered an agreement with a tribe of the Quraysh. At the end, the two sides made peace without a battle taking place and the two positions of quenching the thirst of and feeding the pilgrims. Hashim worked hard to do these duties during the Hajj season. Every year during the Hajj season, he would stand among the Quraysh, invite them to honour the pilgrims with a sermon and requested from them to prepare food with their own wealth as long as the pilgrims are in Makkah. Hashim required much wealth for this and the Qurayshis would give money to him according to their financial condition. [5] [10] [11] [12] In the days of Hajj, he would make pools from skin and then he would make the water sweet with well water and give it to the pilgrims. Also, from the seventh of Dhu al-Hijjah until the pilgrims returned from Mina, he would feed them in Makkah, Mina, Mashar al-Haram and Arafah with bread, soup with bread, meat, oil and dates. [13] [14] [15] One of the other things he did was to gild the Kaabah’s doors. [16]

Digging wells in Makkah

In order to perform the duty of quenching the pilgrims’ thirst better, he dug two wells in Makkah. He dug Badhdhar Well at the start of Shib Abi Talib (the valley of Abu Talib) which he made public. He also dug Sajlah Well which was used for a long time by the Mutim ibn Uday ibn Nawfal Tribe. [17]

Encouraging business and making business partnerships

According to the historians, Hashim was the first person to establish winter business journeys (to Yemen or Abyssinia or Yemen and Abyssinia) and summer journeys (to the Levant). [18] [19] [14] Before this, the Quraysh would merely do business in Makkah and non-Arab merchants would pass through this city to buy products. As Hashim would go to Yemen and the Levant often for business and travel a lot, he organised business routes for the Quraysh and with his encouragement, his tribe started to make business journeys in the two seasons. [20] [9] [21] Also, in a letter to Najashi, the Abyssinian ruler, he requested from him to allow the Quraysh to visit the lands under his control for business purposes. [13] Hashim also made contracts with the heads and chiefs of the Arab tribes between Makkah and the Levant so that the Quraysh could pass through their land securely and in return, the caravans of the Quraysh would take their products without charge and sell them for them. [13] [22]

Establishing charity

Hashim established a tradition where every Qurayshi businessman would share his profit with a poor person. With this policy, the poor became self-dependent like the rich. This policy was kept upright until the advent of Islam. As a result, there was no tribe as established and respected as the Quraysh among the Arab tribes. [20] By following Hashim’s policies and working with him, the Qurayshis were able to live a more comfortable life. [9] Hashim was the main source of glory, grandeur and security for the people of Quraysh and they were very attached to him to such an extent that when he passed away, they were worried that the other Arab tribes would prevail over them. [23]

Umayyah ibn Abd Shams’s jealousy

Umayyah, the son of Abd Shams and Hashim’s nephew, was jealous of his uncle’s greatness. He tried to attract people’s hearts towards himself through generosity but despite all of his efforts and slandering, Hashim’s greatness increased. The fire of jealousy was burning inside of Umayyah and eventually, he forced his uncle to go to an Arab sorcerer and whoever he chose would take the reins of power. Hashim didn’t wish to get into an argument with his nephew, but Umayyah insisted so much that they decided to go on two conditions:

  1. The one who loses must slaughter one hundred black-eyed camels in the Hajj season
  2. The one who loses must leave Makkah for ten years

As soon as the sorcerer Asfan saw Hashim, he started to praise him and according to the conditions, Umayyah was exiled and lived in the Levant for ten years. [24] The effects of this jealousy can be seen for 130 years after the advent of Islam and the crimes caused in history because of it are unequalled. Not only did Umayyah’s presence in the Levant for ten years, in which he was undoubtedly politically and economically active, start enmity between Bani Umayyah and Bani Hashim (the children of Ali), it shows how the Umayyads (Muawiyah and the rulers after him) took control of the Levant and it becomes clear how the Umayyads established the foundations of such a government in their land.

Death

Eventually, Hashim passed away in the city of Gaza which is along the business route between Hijaz and the Levant. After his death, Hashim’s companions buried him and brought his wealth to his children. [25] [26] [27] Hashim’s tomb is situated in Sayed al-Hashim Mosque in the province of al-Darraj in the Old City of Gaza and it is known as the largest and oldest mosque in the city. The current building was built in 1850 A.D. and was built under the command of the Ottoman sultan Abdul Majid. Hashim’s tomb is located in the north-west of the mosque. [28] Most historical sources do not mention how old Hashim was at the time of his death. According to Baladhuri, at the time of his death, Hashim was 25 or 20 years old, [29] but this age seems unlikely because of Hashim’s social position and the amount of his children. Ibn Sad mentions that one of the companions of Hashim who took his wealth back to his children by the name of Abu Rahm ibn Abd al-Uzza al-Amiri Amir ibn Luay was twenty years of age. [30] It appears that some people have mistakenly thought that this was Hashim’s age. Hashim placed his brother Muttalib as his successor and from then on, Bani Hashim and Bani Muttalib were united. [26]

References

  1. ↑ Tārīkh Ya`qūbī, vol. 1, p. 241
  2. ↑ ‘al-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 62
  3. ↑ Tārīkh ‘al-‘Umam wa ‘al-Mulūk, vol. 2, p. 247, 252
  4. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ (‘Ibn Hishām), vol. 1, p. 136
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ (‘Ibn Hishām), vol. 1, p. 112, 113
  6. ↑ ‘al-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 79-80
  7. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ (‘Ibn Hishām), vol. 1, p. 113
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jamharaḧ ‘Ansāb ‘al-`Arab, text, p. 14
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sharḥ Nahj ‘al-Balāghaḧ, vol. 15, p. 202
  10. ↑ ‘Ansāb ‘al-‘Ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 60
  11. ↑ Tārīkh (Ya`qūbī), vol. 1, p. 242
  12. ↑ Sharḥ Nahj ‘al-Balāghaḧ, vol. 15, p. 209, 211
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 ‘al-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 78
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Tārīkh Ya`qūbī, vol. 1, p. 242
  15. ↑ Sharḥ Nahj ‘al-Balāghaḧ, vol. 15, p. 210, 211
  16. ↑ Sharḥ Nahj ‘al-Balāghaḧ, vol. 15, p. 211
  17. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ (‘Ibn Hishām), vol. 1, p. 149
  18. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ (‘Ibn Hishām), vol. 1, p. 143
  19. ↑ ‘al-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 75
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Tafsīr ‘al-Kabīr, vol. 32, p. 100
  21. ↑ Tafsīr Rūḥ ‘al-Bayān, vol. 10, p. 519
  22. ↑ Tārīkh (Ya`qūbī), vol. 1, p. 243
  23. ↑ Tārīkh (Ya`qūbī), vol. 1, p. 244
  24. ↑ ‘al-Kāmil fī ‘al-Tārīkh, vol. 2, p. 10
  25. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ (‘Ibn Hishām), vol. 1, p. 146
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 ‘al-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 79
  27. ↑ Sharḥ Nahj ‘al-Balāghaḧ, vol. 15, p. 210
  28. ↑ Gaza website
  29. ↑ ‘Ansāb ‘al-‘Ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 63
  30. ↑ ‘al-Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 65
Retrieved from "https://en.islamica.org/index.php?title=Hashim&oldid=779"