Banu Hashim

All you want to know about Banu Hashim

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Banū Hāshim (Arabic: بنو هاشم) was a clan in the Quraish tribe. Islam's last Prophet, Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to in English and the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or carry the family name Hashmi or Hashemi.

History

Banu Hashim was one of the clans of Banu Abd al-Manaf (one of the most noble and respected tribes of the Quraish). Other branches of the Abdal-Manaf tribe were the Banu Muttalib and the tribe of Banu Abd Shams.

Abdu’l-Muttalib and later his family was in charge of feeding and watering the pilgrims who came to Mecca every year to venerate the Kaaba, believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham (known in Arabic as Ibrahim). At that time, the idols of the many tribes were placed in the Kaaba, numbering over 300.

In 617-619, the Meccan boycott of Hashemites and Muhammad was in effect.

The Banu Hashim accompanied the Meccan army when they moved to intercept the Muslim army, but they left the Meccan army and returned to Mecca before the Battle of Badr started.

When Muhammad took control of Mecca he removed all of the idols from the Kaaba and destroyed them.

The city of Mecca had special importance well before the advent of Islam. The Kaaba is located there. It was built by Ibrahim and his son Ismael, according to Islamic belief. The Kaaba contained objects of worship that were sacred to the Meccans and Bedouins. Worshiping idols was the prominent religion in the Arabian Peninsula before the birth of Islam.

From the 10th century onwards the Banu Hashim were the rulers of Mecca. Their rule was ended by Mohammed Ibn Saud in 1924. However members of the group rule in Jordan (hence its formal name, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan).