Al-Madinah: the city where the Prophet Muhammad drew his final breath

والصَّلَاةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ أَشْرَفِ اْلمُرْسَلِيْنَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ الطَّيّبِيْنَ الطَّاهِرِيْن

It is known that acquiring the knowledge of the science of genealogy is among the required matters and recommended forms of knowledge, due to what is incumbent upon it of religious judgments and rites; the purified Islamic laws have applied it in several situations, among which are:

* To Know the lineage of the Prophet ﷺ and that he is the Prophet from the tribe of Quraysh who was born in Makkah and revealed in it as a Prophet and then migrated to Madinah and died and was buried therein.

* To establish cognizance among the people so no one may attribute himself to other than his fathers and no one may attach his lineage to other than his fore fathers; This is signified in the saying of Allah the exalted in surah al-Hujurat :

{يا أيها الناس إنا خلقناكم من ذكر وأنثى وجعلناكم شعوبا وقبائل لتعارفوا}

The ayah means: O people we have created you as male and female and made you into nations and tribes so you may be acquainted.

The rules of the heirs apply based on that, whereby some of them are blocked by the others; and the rules of the guardians of marriage where some of them take precedence over others; and the rules of waqf (dedicating a particular property, for good, for a particular usage) whereby the waqif (the one who makes the dedication) specifies the usage to some relatives or ranks but not the others; and the rules of al-^aqilah regarding the indemnity of killing so that the indemnity would attach to some of the ^usbah (immediate kindred) but not the others and what is similar to that.

If it had not been for the knowledge of the Lineages then the aforementioned issues would have been missed and not achieved.

* To know ones kin due to the religious reports that urge one to connect with ones kin; the knowledge of ones kin can only be known through knowing the lineage.

* To know about the lineage of the family members of the Prophet, due to what is incumbent upon it of the rules among which is that they are not subjects of Zakat so it is not given to them as reported in the Hadith narrated by Muslim and Ahmad:

“إن هذه الصدقات إنما هي أوساخ الناس، وإنها لا تحلُّ لمحمد ولا لآل محمد”

The Hadith means: Indeed these Zakat-charities are similar to the filth people set out and they are not lawful for Muhammad and the family members of Muhammad.

The family members of Muhammad, with regard to the Zakat and the like, are: the family members of ^Aliyy, Ja^far, ^Aqil and al-^Abbas; this is over and above preserving their lineage and protecting it from anyone attaching his lineage to them who is not amongst them; this is a reason that reflects the importance of the role of the syndicate of the honorable family members of the Prophet in the countries of ash-Sham

* To Know the lineage of Bani al-Muttalib since they attach to Bani Hashim in that they also are not given from the Zakat; Hashim and al-Muttalib are brethren and they are the two sons of ^Abd Manaf.

* To consider the lineage for the purpose of Imam-ship which is the greater leadership; it is confirmed about the Prophet ﷺ that he said: “الأئمة من قريش”, which means, “the Imams (leaders) are from the tribe of Quraysh“, narrated by an-Nasa’iyy, Ahmad, Al-Bayhaqiyy and others.

The Shafi^iyys said: if there were no one from Quraysh then one from Kinanah, that is, among the sons of Kinanah the son of Khuzaymah, would be considered, and if not possible then one of the descendants of Isma^il, peace be upon him, would be considered, and if not possible one of the tribe of Jurhum would be considered, due to their esteemed honor of marital relationship with Isma^il; these considerations do not apply so long a suitable person among Quraysh exists and if a suitable one does not exist then it is permissible for other than him to be the Imam. If it had not been for the knowledge of the lineage then knowing the tribes would have been missed.

* To consider the lineage in determining the compatibility of the husband to the wife in marriage.

* Also it is applied regarding the women to be chosen for marriage since it is reported in the sahih Hadith that the Prophet ﷺ said: “

تُنكَحُ المرأة لأربع: لمالها ولحسبها وجمالها ولدينها، فاظفر بذات الدين تَرِبَت يداك

which means:” the woman is sought for marriage due to four matters: her money, prestigious lineage, beauty and religiosity, so choose the one attributed with religiosity and you shall be delighted“; the Prophet ﷺ considered in the woman the prestigious lineage which is the honor of the lineage of the fore fathers.

* To know the one who attaches his lineage to other than his father. If it had not been for the science of genealogy then this also would have been missed and whoever willed would have claimed a certain lineage whether attached to the Prophet or to others.

It is enough merit attributed to this science that Abu Bakr as-siddiq, the rightly guided Caliph, may Allah accept his deeds, had a tall standing in it and this is the first indication and the greatest witness of the honor of this knowledge and its high status; likewise his daughter, ‘Umm al-Mu’mimin (the mother of the believers) ^A’ishah may Allah accept her deeds, and Ibn ^Abbas, and Jubayr Ibn Mut^im and many others among the meritorious ones, may Allah accept the deeds of all of them, and this presents the clear honor and merit of this science. Sizeable groups among the general and elite scholars have authored works in the science of genealogy and this is a proof of its honor and high status.

The reference: Jami^ ad-Durar al-Bahiyyah li-‘ansab al-Qurashiyyin fi al-Bilad ash-Shamiyyah authored by Dr. Kamal al-Hout al-Husayniyy, published in Beirut 1424H/2003G (First edition)