‘Aqil used to be surrounded by those who were interested in...

‘Aqil used to be surrounded by those who were interested in genealogy as well as the history and origins of the Arab tribes in the center of the Prophet’s Masjid[^5]; they gathered to listen to him carefully and trust whatever he would tell.

Historians have reported uninterruptedly that Imam ‘Ali (a) summoned his brother ‘Aqil and asked: “Choose for me a woman who is the descendant of the Arab heroes so that I will marry her and she will give birth to a horseman.” [^6] ‘Aqil answered his brother: “Marry Umm-ul-Banin, from the tribe of Kelab, for no Arab individual is more courageous than her fathers and forefathers.” Fathers Al-’Abbas is the son of ‘Ali, son of Abu-Talib, son of Abd-ul- Muttalib, son of Hashim, son of Abd-Menaf, son of Qussay, son of Kelab, son of Murra, son of Kaab, son of Luway, son of Ghalib, son of Fihr, son of Malik, son of an-Nadhr, son of Kenana, son of Khuzayma, son of Mudrika, son of Ilias, son of Madhar, son of Nizar, son of Maad, son of Adnan… We have to stop at him (Adnan) because we recite the Prophet’s saying, ‘When you refer to my fathers, you should stop at Adnan’, because of seeming difficulty in pronouncing the names of the other forefathers or because of errors that might occur in the series of their names.

Moreover, it is unacceptable to mistake intentionally the names of those whose descendant was the great (S). To have little discussion about fathers of the Prophet (S), we may refer, first of all, to the following point: We believe that all fathers of the Prophet (S) up to Adam are pure in birth and belief. In other words, all ancestors of the Prophet (S) were believers as none of them had ever worshipped an idol or anything other than Almighty God.

The holy Qur’an proves this fact by saying: “And rely on the Mighty, the Merciful who sees you when you stand up and (watched you during) your turning over and over among those (ancestors) who prostrate themselves before Allah. Surely, He is the Hearing, the Knowing” [^7] Any contrary matter that may arise must be interpreted in a way befitting this principle. For instance, the one to whom the Holy Qur’an has referred as being Prophet Abraham’s father was not his father.

He was either his uncle or maternal grandfather. All historians have proved that Prophet Abraham’s father was called ‘Tarikh,’ not ‘Azar’ as the Qur’an says – “Consider when Abraham asked his father, Azar, Why do you believe idols to be your gods?