and social status in Makkah, which helped them secure political power as well.
A branch of some influential Arab tribe of Makkah was settled there, with some small families living there. They had alliance with some Quraysh family or individual and were reckoned members of their sponsors. The list of the senior most Makkan Muslims, as provided by Ibn Hishām and other classical writers of sīrah, includes the names of these allies. Among the allies of Banū Umayyah were Banū Ghanam, Banū Dudan, and around forty members of Asad Khuzaymah. Men, women and children were part of it. A small group of Banū Ghanī was Banū Hishām’s ally. The former had close ties with the latter. Among the allies of Banū Zuhrah were influential members of Banū Hudhayl, Kindah and Tamīm tribes. Prominent among them were ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd al-Hudhalī, al-Miqdād ibn ʿAmr al-Kindī, Shuraḥbīl ibn Ḥasanah al-Kindī and his two or three brothers. Their females feature among the earliest Muslims. The same holds true for their children. Among BanūʿAdiyy’s allies were many members of Banū Bukayr of the Layth tribe. They were more than twenty in number. Among the allies of Banū Sahm were ʿAlī Yāsir, Madhḥij and others. Besides these early Muslims of Arab tribes, there were other allies of the Quraysh who embraced Islam at a later date.12
The non-Muslim allies of the Quraysh of various Arab tribes outnumbered the Muslim allies. This non-Muslim segment was of much importance in the socio-cultural and economic life of Makkah. Many of them had acquired a status equal to the one enjoyed by the Quraysh elites. By dint of their social standing they influenced Makkan politics, economy and polity. Of them, special mention should be made of the leaders of Banū Thaqīf of Ṭā’if, who lived close to Makkah in Ṭā’if, which was its rival politically and financially. Al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq al-Thaqafī was considered as a peer to the Makkan chiefs such as Abū Jahl al-Makhzūmī and Abū Sufyān. The former played a leading role in Makkan society and politics, especially in the Makkan phase of the Prophet’s career. He was merely an ally of Banū Zuhrah yet he was instrumental in important matters. Once along with Abū Sufyān he had tried to oppose the Quraysh hostility against the Prophet (peace be upon him). His move was, however, turned down by the bitterly hostile Quraysh chiefs. It was at his behest that members of the Banū Zuhrah tribe refused to join the battle of Badr. Again, it was he who had urged his tribesmen to insist on the safe return of the Quraysh trade caravan.13 Ibn Isḥāq speaks of him as one of the elites who had a powerful voice.14 He was also a member of the delegation comprising Quraysh chiefs that had called on Abū Ṭālib for putting an end to the Prophet’s message.15 Among the Makkan chiefs who had extended protection to the emigrants from Abyssinia, he featured as well. He had extended this privilege to Abū Ṣabrah ibn Abī Ruḥm. According to a variant report, it was done by Suhayl ibn ʿAmr al-ʿĀmirī. Both of them had, however, refused to extend hospitality to the Prophet (peace be upon him) on his return from Ṭā’if.16 That he occupied an important position is evident from the fact that after his return from Ṭā’if and being deprived of the protection of his own family Banū Hāshim, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) sought help from three Makkan chiefs, al-Akhnas was one of them. However, he excused himself, pleading that he was only an ally. Notwithstanding, being an ally of the Quraysh Abū al-Daghnah, however, provided protection to Abū Bakr and it was recognized by the Quraysh. Ibn Ḥajar correctly states that al-Akhnas was not prepared to do so whereas Abū al-Daghnah was willing.17 According to Balādhurī, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had sought help from Suhayl ibn ʿAmr al-ʿĀmirī and Muṭʿīm ibn ʿAdiyy al-Nawfalī, the Quraysh chiefs and the latter had obliged him while the former refused it.18 Balādhurī reports also that Akhnas had written to the Prophet (peace be upon him) for returning Abū Baṣīr who had escaped from Makkah and taken refuge in Madinah. In accordance with the clause of the Ḥudaybīyah treaty the Prophet (peace be upon him) made Abū Baṣīr return to Makkah.19
According to Ibn Isḥāq, Ḥakīm ibn Umayyah Sulmā, chief of an Arab tribe that was Banū Umayyah’s ally, succeeded tried to dissuade his people from opposing the Prophet. He resorted to poetry for the same end. He was a gentleman who was obeyed by his people.20
That Ibn al-Daghnah extended protection to Abū Bakr Ṣiddīq is common knowledge. He belonged to Aḥābīsh, the alliance of the following Arab tribes – Banūal-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd Manāt ibn Kinānah, Banūal-Hawan ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah and Banū al-Muṣṭaliq/Khuzāʿah. It was named so because the alliance agreement was concluded in the lower valley of Makkah called al-Aḥābīsh. Ibn al-Daghnah was known as being the son of a lady named al-Daghnah while Mālik was his real name. According to Imām Bukhārī, he was a member of Qurrah and according to other chroniclers he hailed from Banūal-Ḥārith/Kinānah tribe and was the chief of al-Aḥābīsh in his day. Abū Bakr’s own Quraysh family, Banū Taym had acted cowardly in defending him. Therefore, al-Daghnah, in opposition to the Quraysh chiefs and tribes, extended protection to him. It was recognized by the Quraysh. The latter acted against Abū Bakr only at the expiry of this agreement. Otherwise, they would have to bear the brunt of Aḥābīsh. During the tenure, however, they could not do anything against Abū Bakr.21
For Shiblī the only motive which moved the Quraysh army in the battle of Badr was the killing of ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥadramī at Nakhlah at the hands of Wāqib ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Taymī, an associate of ʿAbdullāh ibn Jaḥsh al-Asadī. The Quraysh chiefs took the risk of waging war for avenging the killing of a Kindī ally chief. In contrast, Muslims of Madīnah exulted in the act of their Taymī ally and defended him at every cost. Ibn Isḥāq and others state that the killing of this Quraysh ally had caused the war.22 Although modern scholars have contested Shiblī’s stance, it is nonetheless true that the killing of an Arab ally did play a role in the break out of war.
As opposed to it, an incident of an earlier date underscores the role of the ally in peace. It is indeed a significant event. It was Surāqah ibn Mālik who had pursued the emigrating Prophet (peace be upon him) in order to get the reward money. He was an ally of the Quraysh i.e. Banū Mudlij/Kinānah. According to Suhaylī, he was one of Banū Kinānah elite. The Quraysh and Kinānah had an alliance which was political, military and social. Surāqah came to know of the Prophet’s emigration in a meeting of his tribe and he resolved to pursue him tactically. It is reported that Satan had appeared in his guise prior to the battle of Badr.23 The Prophet’s guide during his journey to Madinah was ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUrayqāt al-Wā’ilī, whose mother came from Banū Sahm, a Quraysh family and he was a resident of Makkah.24
The participation of the Quraysh allies in the battles of Uḥud and the Trench is a significant historical event. Some Quraysh allies were influential in concluding the Ḥudaybīyah treaty. Of them, mention must be made of Budayl ibn Waraqah al-Khuzāʿī, Ḥulays ibn ʿAlqamah al-Ḥārithī al-Kinānī, Sayyid al-Aḥābīsh, ʿUrwah ibn Masʿūd al-Thaqafī, whom the Quraysh had deputed as their representative for the negotiations. The Aḥābīsh chief dissuaded the Quraysh from killing the Prophet’s emissary, Khirāsh ibn Umayyah al-Khuzāʿī and ensured his safe return to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The treaty was concluded eventually by a Quraysh emissary while these non-Quraysh representatives had paved the way for it. Their role in such a decisive matter for the Quraysh brings out their important social rank.25
The above topic may be covered in another independent work. The above brief account points to the presence and role of these Arab tribes in the Makkan society.
Non-Arab Elements in Makkah
Much before the Prophet’s advent non-Arabs had made their way into Makkah. They were integrated with Makkan polity. All this was accomplished with reference to the Arab tribal norm of protection and amnesty. Slavery too, played its role in it. Makkah enjoyed greater fame as a place of worship than as a centre of trade and business. Non-Arabs particularly Persians, Abyssinians, Iraqis and Syrians did visit Makkah for pilgrimage. Some of them had settled down there. Some were enslaved and thus became part of its society. As compared to non-Quraysh Arab tribes they were limited in number
