The Prophet, , had the most honorable lineage as well as the most perfect morals and characteristics. There are many authentic Hadeeths that describe the honorable lineage of the Prophet, . One such Hadeeth is where the Prophet, , said: “Indeed, Allah The Almighty selected Kinaanah from amongst the descendants of Ismaa’eel, and He selected the Quraysh from amongst Kinaanah, and selected Banu Haashim from amongst the Quraysh, and selected me from the tribe of Banu Hashim.”[Muslim]
Al-Bukhari mentioned the lineage of the Prophet, , saying, “[He was] Muhammad bin ‘Abdullaah, bin ‘Abd Al-Muttalib, bin Haashim, bin ‘Abd Manaaf, bin Qusayy, bin Kilaab, bin Murrah, bin Ka‘b bin Lu’ayy, bin Ghaalib, bin Fihr, bin Maalik, bin An-Nadhr, bin Kinaanah, bin Khuzaymah, bin Mudrikah, bin Ilyaas, bin Mudhar, bin Nizaar, bin Ma‘add, bin ‘Adnaan.”
Al-Baghawi after mentioning the lineage of the Prophet, , in his Sharh As-Sunnah, said, “Any mention of the lineage beyond ‘Adnaan would be inauthentic.”
After mentioning the lineage of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, up to ‘Adnaan, Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “Up to here, the lineage is authentic and agreed upon by scholars without any disagreement at all. There are different opinions regarding the ancestors beyond ‘Adnaan. All scholars agree that ‘Adnaan was a descendant of Ismaa’eel, may Allah exalt his mention.” Ibn Sa’d said in At-Tabaqaat, “We all agree on not mentioning the lineage of the Prophet beyond ‘Adnaan up to Ismaa’eel.”
‘Urwah bin Az-Zubayr said, “We did not find anyone who knows the lineage of the Prophet beyond ‘Adnaan and Qahtaan except with conjecture.” Ath-Thahabi said, “’Adnaan is one of the descendants of Ismaa’eel who was the son of Ibraheem according to the consensus of people, but they had different opinions regarding the ancestors who are between ‘Adnaan and Ismaa’eel.”
People gave, and still give, great importance to honorable lineage. People can accept that those who are highborn be given leadership, either through prophethood or sovereignty; whereas, people will disapprove of those who have low lineage if they are given leadership and will disdain following such a person. Because the Prophet, , was being prepared for prophethood, Allah The Almighty granted him noble lineage so that this would help him and encourage people to obey him.
The origin of the Prophet, , is fine and exalted as he is from the offspring of Ismaa’eel the Sacrifice and Ibraaheem the Intimate Friend of Allah The Almighty. The Prophet, , is considered the response of the invocation of Ibraaheem, may Allah exalt his mention, and the glad tidings of ‘Eesa, may Allah exalt his mention. The Prophet, , said: “I am the invocation of my father, Ibraaheem, and the glad tidings of my brother, ‘Eesa.”
Being a descendant of honorable ancestry elevates a person and enables him to avoid trivial matters and care only for virtuous and worthy matters. In fact, messengers and callers to Allah The Almighty are keen on the purity of their offspring and are usually known for this. For this reason people praise and trust them.
Based on the above, it is now crystal-clear that Allah The Almighty selected the Arabs from all other people and selected the Quraysh from all other tribes. Because we love the Prophet, , we must also love the people among whom he appeared and the tribe into which he was born. This love for them is not related to them as individuals or a race but simply due to the fact that they are the people of the Prophet, .
The Arab Quraysh were, undoubtedly, honored by having the Prophet, , as one of them This does not contradict the degradation of some of the Arabs who deviated from the right path and sidetracked from the Islamic dignity that Allah The Almighty has chosen for His slaves as this deviation annuls any lineage relation between them and the Prophet, .