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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Biographies of Leaders of Islam The Supreme Among the Prophets MUHAMMAD THE CHOSEN ONE (PEACE BE UPON HIM AND HIS PROGENY) NAME AND LINEAGE Prophet Abraham, the Friend of God, had two sons: ISHAQ (ISAAC), whose descendants included BANI (children of) Israel, Moses, Jesus and many other prophets arising from his tribe, and also Samuel (Ishmael) who had twelve sons one of whom was QAYDAR whose offspring inhabited HIJAZ (northern Arabia).

Among his other sons was 'ADNAN who earned a high reputation. 's family tree reaches up to 'ADNANA as follows: He is Muhammad son of 'ABD-ALLAH son of 'ABD AL-MUTTALIB son of HASHIM son of 'ABDU MANAF son of QUSAY son of KILAB son of MURRA son of KA'B son of LUAYY son of GHALIB son of FEHR son of MALIK son of NADR son of KANANA son of KHUZAYMA son of MUDRIKA son of ILYAS son of MUDAR son of NEZAR son MA'AD son of 'ADNAN. The descendants of NADR son of KANANA were known as QURAYSH.

's mother was 'AMINA daughter of WAHAB son of 'ABD MANAF son of ZUHRA son of KILAB son of MURRA. This shows that on both maternal and paternal sides, the Prophet belonged to the distinguished tribe of QURAYSH. BIRTH In 570 A.D., ABRAHA AL-ASHRAM, then vice-gerent of Yemen on behalf of the ABYSSINIAN king the NEGUS, was a staunch Christian who had built a magnificent cathedral in SAN'A' and had ordered the Arabs to go there for the pilgrimage instead of Mecca.

He had marble brought to it from one of the derelict palaces of the Queen of SHEBA. In it, he set up crosses made of gold and silver, and pulpits of ivory and ebony. He wrote to his master the NEGUS saying: "I have built thee a church, O King, the like of which was never built for any king before thee; and I shall not rest until I have diverted unto it the pilgrimage of the Arabs".

Not only was his order totally ignored, and man from KINANAH, a relative tribe of QURAYSH, went to SAN'A' to deliberately defile the church, which he did one night, returning safely to his people. ABRAHA'S fury knew no bounds and he vowed to raze the KA'BA to the ground in revenge. He advanced with a large army in the van of which he placed an elephant, hence the Year of the Elephant which started a whole era of reckoning.

That system of reckoning continued to be followed until the days of UMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB, the second caliph, when, upon the suggestion of IMAM ALI IBN ABU TALIB, the era of the HIJRI calendar was introduced.