Kuraish
Kuraish
(ko͞orīsh`), ancient Bedouin tribe near Mecca to which Muhammad belonged. At one time camel drivers and caravan guides, they became, after acquiring custody of the KaabaKaabaor Caaba
[Arab.,=cube], the central, cubic, stone structure, covered by a black cloth, within the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The sacred nature of the site predates Islam: tradition says that the Kaaba was built by Adam and rebuilt by Abraham and the
..... Click the link for more information. (5th cent.), one of the most powerful tribes in central Arabia and the chief family of Mecca. They were at first bitter opponents of Muhammad but became his devoted followers when Muhammad retained the Kaaba, a source of pilgrim revenue, as a sanctuary of Islam. The great founders of the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid dynasties were of Kuraish origin. The modern Hashemite rulers of Jordan, the former Imam of Yemen, and the king of Morocco claim to be the descendants of Muhammad's tribe. The name also appears as Quraysh or Koreish.