Posted by Ibnu Martha

Offices of the Ka'bah

Ever since its establishment, the Ka'bah gave rise to a number of offices such as those which were held by Qusayy ibn Kilab when he took over the kingship of Makkah, in the middle of the fifth century C.E. His offices included hijabah, siqayah, rifadah, nadwah, liwa and qiadah. Hijabah implied maintenance of the house and guardianship over its keys. Siqayah implied the provi­sion of fresh water - which was scarce in Makkah- as well as date wine to all the pilgrims. Rifadah implied the provision of food to the pilgrims. Nadwah implied the chairmanship of all convocations held. Qiyadah implied the leadership of the army at war. Liwa was the flag which, hoisted on a spear, accompanied the army whenever it went out to meet the enemy and, hence, it meant a secondary command in times of war. All these offices were recognized as belonging to Makkah, indeed to the Ka'bah, to which all Arabs looked when in worship. It is more likely that not all of these offices developed at the time when the house was constructed but rather that they arose one after the other inde­pendently of the Ka'bah and its religious position, though some may have had to do with the Ka'bah by nature.

At the building of the Ka'bah, Makkah could not have con­sisted, even at best, of more than a few tribes of 'Amaliq and Jurhumis. A long time must have lapsed between Ibrahim and Isma'il's advent to Makkah and their building of the Ka'bah on the one hand, and the development of Makkah as a town or quasi-urban center on the other. Indeed, as long as any vestiges of their early nomadic life lingered in the mind and customs of the Makkans, we cannot speak of Makkah as urban. Some historians would rather agree that Makkah had remained nomadic until the kingship of Qusayy in the middle of the fifth century C.E. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine a town like Makkah remain­ing nomadic while her ancient house is venerated by the whole surrounding country. It is historically certain that the guardian­ship of the house remained in the hands of Jurhum, Isma'il's in-laws, for continuous generations. This implies continuous resi­dence near the Ka'bah - a fact not possible for nomads bent on movement from pasture to pasture. Moreover, the well-estab­lished fact that Makkah was the rendezvous of the caravans traveling between Yemen, Hirah, al Sham and Najd, that it was connected to the Red Sea close by and there from to the trade routes of the world, further refutes the claim that Makkah was merely a nomad's campsite. We are therefore compelled to ac­knowledge that Makkah, which Ibrahim called "a town" and which he prayed God to bless, had known the life of settlement many generations before Qusayy.

Ascendency of Quraysh

After their conquest of the 'Amaliq, the tribe of Jurhum ruled Makkah until the regime of Mudad ibn 'Amr ibn al Harith. During these generations, trade had prospered so well that the tribe of Jurhum waxed fat and forgot that they were really living in a desolate place and that they ought to work very hard to keep their position. Their neglect led to the drying up of the Zamzam spring; furthermore, the tribe of Khuza’ah had even thought of conquering Makkah and establishing their authority over its whole precinct.

Mudad's warning to his people did not stop their indulgence and carelessness. Realizing that his and his tribe's power was on the decline and would soon be lost, he dug a deep hole within the well of Zamzam in which he buried two golden gazelles and the treasure of the holy house, with the hope that he would return some day to power and reclaim the treasure. Together with the Jurhum tribe and the descendants of Isma'il he with­drew from Makkah in favor of the tribe of Khuza'ah, who ruled it from generation to generation until the advent of Qusayy ibn Kilab, the fifth grandfather of the Prophet.

Qusayy ibn Kilab (circa 480 C.E.)

Fatimah, daughter of Sa'd ibn Sayl, mother of Qusayy, married Kilab and gave him two sons, Zuhrah and Qusayy. Kilab died when Qusayy was an infant. Fatimah then married Rabi'ah ibn Haram who took her with him to al Sham where she gave birth to a son called Darraj. Qusayy grew up knowing no other father than Rabi'ah. When a quarrel broke out between Qusayy and some members of the Rabi'ah tribe, they reproached him as they would a foreigner and betrayed the fact that they never re­garded him as one of their own. Qusayy complained to his mother and related to her the reproach he heard. Her answer was as de­fiant as it was proud. "0 my son." she said, "your descendance is nobler than theirs, you are the son of Kilab ibn Murrah, and your people live in the proximity of the holy house in Makkah."

This was the cause of Qusayy's departure from al Sham and return to Makkah. His seriousness and wisdom soon won him the respect of the Makkans. At the time, the guardianship of the holy house was in the hands of a man of the Khuza'ah tribe called Hulayl ibn Hubshiyyah, a very wise man with deep insight. Soon Qusayy asked for and married Hubba, daughter of Hulayl. He continued to work hard at his trade and acquired much affluence, great respect, and many children. When his father-in-law died, he committed the keys of the Ka'bah to Hubba, wife of Qusayy. But the latter apologized and committed the keys to Abu Ghibshan, a man from Khuza'ah. Abu Ghibshan, however, was a drunkard and one day he exchanged the keys of the Ka'bah for a jug of wine from Qusayy. The Khuza'ah tribe realized that it was in danger should the guardianship of the Ka'bah remain in the hands of Qusayy whose wealth and influence were always increasing and around whom the tribe of Quraysh was now rally­ing. They therefore thought to dispossess him of his guardian­ship. Qusayy called upon the Quraysh tribe to help him and, with the concurrence of a number of tribes from the surrounding area, he was judged the wisest and the mightiest and confirmed in his guardianship. When the tribe of Khuza 'ah had to evacuate, Qusayy combined in his person all the offices associated with the holy house and became king over the Quraysh.

Construction of Permanent Residences in Makkah

Some historians claim that Makkah had no constructed houses other than the Ka'bah until Qusayy became its king because neither Khuza'ah nor Jurhum wanted to raise any other construc­tion besides the holy house and neither one spent his life outside of the holy area in the open desert. They added that upon his assumption of the kingship of Makkah, Qusayy commanded his people, the Quraysh tribe, to build their residences in the vicin­ity of the holy house. They also explained that it was Qusayy who built the house of Nadwah where the elders of Makkah met under his chairmanship in order to run the affairs of their city, for it was their custom not to allow anything to happen without their unanimous approval. No man or woman of Makkah married except in the Nadwah and with the approval of the Quraysh elders. According to this view, it was the Quraysh that built, at the command of Qusayy, their houses around the Ka'bah, leaving sufficient space for circumambulation of the holy house. Their residences in the vicinity were spaced so as to leave a narrow passage to the holy house between every two houses.

The Descendants of Qusayy

Although 'Abd al Dar was the eldest of Qusayy's children, his brother 'Abd Manaf was more famous and more respected by the people. As Qusayy grew old and weak and became unable to carry out the duties of his position, he delegated the hijabah to 'Abd al Dir and handed over to him the keys of the holy house. He also delegated to him the siqayah, the liwa and the rifadah. The rifadah implied a contribution the tribe of Quraysh used to levy from every member to help Qusayy in the provision of food for pilgrims incapable of procuring nourishment on their own. Qusayy was the first to impose the rifadah on the Quraysh tribe; and he incepted this practice after he rallied the Quraysh and dislodged the tribe of Khuzi'ah from Makkah. At the time the rifadah was imposed, Qusayy said, "0 people of Quraysh! You are the neighbors of God and the people of His house and temple. The pilgrim is the guest of God and visitor of His house. Of all guests that you receive during the year, the pilgrim is the most worthy of your hospitality. Provide for him food and drink during the days of pilgrimage."

The Descendants of 'Abd Manaf

'Abd al Dar discharged the new duties incumbent upon him as his father had directed. His sons did likewise after him but could not match the sons of 'Abd Manaf in honor and popular esteem. Hence, Hisham, Abd Shams, al Muttalib and Nawfal, the sons of 'Abd Manaf, resolved to take over these privileges from their cousins. The tribe of Quraysh stood divided into two factions, each supporting one of the contestants. The descendants of 'Abd Manaf concluded the Hilf al Muttayyibin, a treaty so called because the covenantors dipped their hands in perfume as they swore allegiance to its new terms. The descendants of 'Abd al Dar, for their part, entered into another treaty called Hilf al Ahlaf [literally, the alliance of the allies -Tr.], and the stage was set for a civil war which could have dissolved the Quraysh tribe. A peace was reached, however, under which the descend­ants of 'Abd Manaf were granted the siqayah and rifadah, and the descendents of 'Abd al Dar kept the hijabah, the liwa, and the nadwah. Thereafter the two parties lived in peace until the advent of Islam.

Hashim (646 C.E.)

Hashim was the leader of his people and a prosperous man. He was in charge of the siqayah and the rifadah. In the dis­charge of his duties he called upon every member of the Quraysh to make a contribution for use in providing food for the pilgrims.

Like his grandfather Qusayy, he argued with his contemporaries that the pilgrims and visitors to the house of God are God's guests and, therefore, worthy of their hospitality. He discharged his duties well and provided for all the pilgrims during the time of their pilgrimage in Makkah.