With the death of Qusayy...

With the death of Qusayy, his elder son ‘Abd-Manaf succeeded to his post and was followed by his own son ‘Amr or Hashim as the next custodian of the holy Ka’bah and the chief administrator of Makkah. It was during this time that a certain Umayyah claiming to be a son of Hashim’s younger brother ‘Abd Shams, made an unsuccessful attempt to seize the custodianship of the Ka’bah. This vain bid by Umayyah split the clan into two broad segments, the Bani Hashim and the Bani Umayyah.

The custodianship then passed on to Hashim’s son ‘Abd al-Muttalib and after him to his son Abi Talib the father of Imam ‘Ali (A.S.). It was during the time of Abi Talib that the Hashimites were faced with an internal crisis. Abi Talib lacked the wealth that chieftains normally possess, and this made two of his brothers, ‘Abbas and Abi Lahab, challenge his leadership.

The descendants of Umayyah who nursed a deep hatred towards the House of Hashim saw it as their chance to renew a bid for leadership, especially since they regarded themselves as the military class of Makkah. The emergence of (S.A.W.A) from the Hashimite clan made other Makkans jealous and they thought prophethood to be a trick by the Bani Hashim to exalt them and continue their leadership.

The following words of Abi Jahl to Akhnas bin Shurayq speaks of the inability of the infidel mind to understand God’s revelations: We and the sons of ‘Abd Manaf vied with each other in nobility and greatness. Whatever they did we also did, so as to be their equals. Now suddenly they are saying that from us is a Prophet who receives revelation from heaven.

Decades later in 61 AH when after the tragedy of Karbala the severed head of the Prophet’s grandson Imam Husayn (A.S.) was placed before the Umayyad scion Yazid who now ruled as caliph of Muslims, he recited the following couplet which is identical to Abi Jahl’s words to Akhnas in the days of Jahiliyyah: La’ibat Hashim bi al-mulk fala; Khabar ja’a wa la wahy nazal (The Hashimites played the game of kingdom; Neither any message came from heaven nor revelation.) This is how retarded minds viewed the divine mission of (S.A.W.A).

For them, the growth and spread of Islam was the victory of the Bani Hashim over the other Arab tribes and clans.