The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 117
III - Makkah, the Ka ‘ bah & the Quraish 117 necessary that the elaborate distribution of these responsibilities were entirely conducted at the hand of Qusaiyy. To be more precise, it is very possible that perhaps a certain branch was in place prior to him and some were established as so required. In any case, the principal markings were laid out at the hand of Qusaiyy. ‘Abdu Manāf Qusaiyy had 4 sons: ‘ Abdud-Dār, ‘ Abdul-‘Uzzā, ‘ Abdu Manāf and ‘ Abdu Qusaiyy. Since ‘Abdud-Dār was the eldest, upon his deathbed Qusaiyy entrusted the entirety of his responsibilities, namely, the three offices in the custodianship of the Ka‘bah, Dārun-Nadwah and Liwā’ to him. However, ‘Abdud-Dār was not a man of his father’s ability and intelligence. Therefore, ‘Abdu Manāf who was a very intelligent and able man acquired the common rule of the Quraish. ‘Abdu Manāf had 4 sons: ‘ Abdu Shams, Muṭṭalib, Hāshim and Nawfal, all four of them inherited the abilities of their father. As such, succeeding the death of ‘Abdu Manāf, they collectively sought to take away the custodianship of the Ka‘bah from the children of ‘Abdud-Dār, upon which both parties fell into mutual dissention. Some of the tribes of the Quraish took one side while the others took another. All were at the brink of war, but ultimately a decision was made in peace and harmony. The two offices of Rifādah and Siqāyah were given to the ‘Abdu Manāf, and the remaining three, in other words, the administration of Dārun-Nadwah , Liwā’ and Ḥijābah , remained with the ‘Abdud-Dār. After mutual consultation, the ‘Abdu Manāf made Hāshim the custodian of the tasks of Siqāyah and Rifādah. 1 Hāshim Hāshim was an exceedingly able, understanding and generous man. He provided pilgrims with much comfort and made vigorous appeals before the Quraish in order to fulfill their various requirements. During his time, there was a severe famine and he provided for many poor people at his own expense. Due to these acts of munificence, Hāshim’s name received great eminence. In addition to this, Hāshim personally approached the sovereignties of Rome and Ghassān to acquire formal rights for the mercantile caravans of the Quraish. Similarly, Hāshim’s other brothers, more or less, offered services of the same 1 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Dhikru Qusaiyy bin Kilāb, Volume 1, p. 31-32, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)