Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf (Arabic: هاشم بن عبد مناف; c. 464–497), born ʿAmr al-ʿUlā (عمرو العلا), was the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the progenitor of the ruling Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca.
As a generous man, he initiated the practice of providing crumbled bread in broth that was later adapted for the pilgrims to the Ka'aba in Mecca.
[4] Hashim was accepted as the overall leader, with the responsibility of providing for the pilgrims in the Ka'aba precincts, with the support of his brothers 'Abd Shams and Muttalib, and his half-brother Nawfal.
The only person who challenged Hashim's authority was Umayyah, the son of his brother 'Abd Shams, but he had no real support and shifted to live out his life in Syria.
After obtaining privileges from the Ghassanid king of Syria, even went in person to Byzantium and procured an edict from the Byzantine Roman Caesar, exempting Quraish from duties or taxes when operating in the countries under his domain.
Caesar also wrote to the King Negus of Abyssinia to admit the Quraish there for trade, and Hashim's brother 'Abd Shams had a special permit with him.
[6] He commenced by going in person to Aden in Yemen to meet the ships coming from India, purchased the stock and transported it first to Mecca and then on to Syria, Gaza or Egypt.
According to tradition, Hashim's tomb is located beneath the dome of Sayed al-Hashim Mosque in the al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza which is named in his honor.
Hashim had two full brothers, the elder was 'Abd Shams and younger was Muttalib who would succeed him, and half-brother Nawfal whose mother was Waqida bint Amr.
For his fourth wife, he married his father's widow, Waqida bint Amr (Abu Adiy) al-Maziniyyah, who was the mother of his half-brother Nawfal.
[7] The following royal and imperial dynasties claim descent from Hashim: Europe Arabia Africa Indo-Persia: East Asia