Adnan | |
|---|---|
.svg) Approximate locations of certaintribes of Arabia, including those descended from Adnan, e.g.Hawazin andQuraysh | |
| Born | Before 600 BCE |
| Known for | Ancestor of theIslamic prophetMuhammad, being the traditional ancestor of theAdnanite Arabs and descendant ofIsmail (Ishmael), son ofIbrahim (Abraham) |
| Spouse | Mahdad bint Laham (of theBanu Yaqshan) |
| Children | Ma'add ibn Adnan Akk ibn Adnan |
| Parents |
|
Adnan (Arabic:عدنان,romanized: ʿAdnān) is traditionally regarded as the patriarch of theAdnanite Arabs, a major Arab lineage that historically inhabited Northern, Western, Eastern, and CentralArabia. TheAdnanites are distinct from theQahtanite Arabs of Southern Arabia, who trace their lineage toQahtan.[1]
Adnan is considered a direct descendant of theprophet Abraham (Ibrahim) through his sonIshmael (Ismāʿīl). His genealogy is of great significance inArab andIslamic tradition, as theIslamic prophet Muhammad is said to descend from him. Adnan’s lineage connects him to a broad network ofArab tribes that played a crucial role inpre-Islamic andIslamic history.
According to historical Arab genealogies, Adnan was a key figure in the continuation ofIshmaelite ancestry among the Arabs. His descendants, known as theAdnanites, included prominent tribes such asMudar,Rabi'ah, andQays ʿAylān, many of whom became dominant in theArabian Peninsula. TheQuraysh tribe, from which Muhammad emerged, is one of the most well-knownAdnanite groups.
Due to theoral transmission of genealogies in early Arabia, the exact number of generations between Adnan andIshmael remains uncertain, with various historical sources offering differing accounts. However, Adnan’s name is widely recognized inIslamic literature,Arab poetry, and pre-Islamic genealogical records.
According to tradition, Adnan is the father of a group of theIshmaelite Arabs who inhabited west and northern Arabia; he is believed to be a descendant ofIshmael, son ofAbraham. Adnan is believed by genealogists to be the father of manyIshmaelite tribes along the Western coast ofArabia, northern Arabia andIraq.[2][3][4][5]
Many family trees have been presented for Adnan, which do not agree about the number of ancestors betweenIshmael and Adnan but agreed about the names and number of the ancestors between Adnan and theIslamic prophetMuhammad.[6][7] Muhammad claimed that he descended from Ibrahim (Abraham) through Ishmael, in an unprecedented move, so in post-Islamic traditions Adnan is a descendant of Abraham, this modification was also carried over to theBanu Hashim branch of theQuraysh, but as Islam spread some other tribes also laid claim on the extension of the tree to Abraham, such as theHawazin.
The overwhelming majority of traditions and Muslim scholars state that Adnan is a descendant ofQedar the son of Ishmael,[5][8][9][10][11] except forIbn Ishaq who claimed that Adnan was a descendant ofNebaioth.[12] According to classical Muslim historianAl-Tabari, Ibn Ishaq's differing record may be due to one of the descendants of Qedar also bearing the name of "Nebaioth".[13]
Most Muslim scholars refused any attempt to recite the ancestors between Adnan to Ishmael, and condemned other scholars such asIbn Ishaq for doing it.[2][14][15][16][17] This partial absence of evidence for any ancestor between Adnan and Ishmael (and his son) has led some scholars to consider any personal name between the two figures as post-Islamapocrypha.[18][19]
Adnan married Mahdad bint Laham, who was a descendant of hisancestor's half brotherYaqshan. He had two sons with her,Ma'add ibn Adnan andAkk ibn Adnan. Akk dwelt in theYaman because he took a wife amongst the Asharites and lived with them, adopting their language. The Asharites were descended fromSaba' ibn Yashjub ibnYa'rub ibnQahtan.[20]
Adnan was mentioned in variouspre-Islamic poems, by poets Lubayb Ibn Rabi'a and Abbas Ibn Mirdas.[21]
Adnan was viewed bypre-Islamic Arabs as an honorable father among the fathers of Arab tribes, and they used this ancestry to boast against otherQahtani tribes who were a minority among theAdnanites.[22]
Layla Bent Lukayz, a pre-Islamicfemale poet, was captured by aPersian king and forced to marry him, so she composed a poem designated to other Arab tribes, asking for their help and reminding that she and they all belong to Adnan, which makes it a duty for them to rescue her.[23]
In other poems such as the ones composed by the pre-Islamic poet Qumma'a Ibn Ilias, it appears that Arabs considered it an honor to be a descendant of Adnan, and for some reason they appear to have been proud of it. Presumably because if something is considered an "honor", it is something to be proud of, as a function of the language model.[24]
The name of Adnan is often found in variousThamudic inscriptions, but with few details. In someNabataean inscriptions, Adnan seems to hold some kind of importance or venerability, to the extent that some Nabataeans (descendants of Nabioth, the eldest son of Ishmael) were named after him asAbd Adnon (meaning, "the slave [or servant] of Adnan"). This is no particular indication that he was worshiped, rather than venerated as an honorable figure, much as other Arabs sometimes named their sons "servants" of their forefathers.[25][26][27]
Adnan died afterNebuchadnezzar II returned toBabylon. After Adnan's death, his sonMa'add moved to the region of Central-WesternHijaz after the destruction of theQedarite kingdom nearMesopotamia, and the remainingQedarite Arabs there were displaced from their lands and forced to live inAl-Anbar province and on the banks of theEuphrates river under the rule of theNeo-Babylonian Empire.[28][29][30][31]
According to Islamic tradition, theIslamicprophetMuhammad was descended from Adnan. It has also been said that Adnan foretold the coming of Muhammad and ordered his successors to follow him.[32]: 6 The following is the list of chiefs who are said to have ruled theJazeera and to have been the intraline ancestors of Muhammad:[33]
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