Khuza'a

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Khuza'a was a Tihama tribe neighboring Mecca, in-law to the Prophet ﷺ's house, and inside the Prophet's pact on the day of the Hudaybiyya treaty. Banu Bakr raided it at al-Watir with Quraysh's backing, and it appealed to Medina — the appeal that set off the opening of Mecca.

Khuza'a was a Tihama tribe neighboring Mecca, in-law to the Prophet ﷺ's house — the mother of Abd Manaf, Hashim's father, and Qusayy's mother Fatima bint Sa'd ibn Sayl were of Khuza'a — and inside the Prophet's pact and covenant on the day of the Hudaybiyya treaty. In that truce Nawfal ibn Mu'awiya of Banu al-Dil raided it by night at al-Watir, struck a man of it and chased it until it took shelter in the houses of Budayl ibn Warqa and their client Rafi'; Quraysh supplied the attackers with arms. Amr ibn Salim went out to Medina, stood before the Prophet and appealed in his famous lines 'the pact of our father and his father, the Atlida'; then Budayl came with a party reporting the broken covenant — and Ibn Ishaq says 'that was among what set off the opening of Mecca'.

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Khuza'a was a Tihama tribe neighboring Mecca, in-law to the Prophet ﷺ's house, and inside the Prophet's pact and covenant on the day of the Hudaybiyya treaty. Its alliance to the Prophet's house was old: the mother of Abd Manaf, Hashim's father, and Qusayy's mother Fatima bint Sa'd ibn Sayl were of Khuza'a, lineage joining the two houses — in Amr ibn Salim's lines 'the pact of our father and his father, the Atlida'. In the Hudaybiyya truce Nawfal ibn Mu'awiya of Banu al-Dil raided it by night at al-Watir, struck a man of it and chased it until it took shelter in the houses of Budayl ibn Warqa and their client Rafi'; and Quraysh supplied the attackers with arms. Amr ibn Salim went out to Medina, stood before the Prophet and appealed in his lines; then Budayl came with a party reporting the broken covenant — Ibn Ishaq says 'that was among what set off the opening of Mecca'.

Summary

A Tihama tribe that neighboured Mecca and intermarried with the house of prophethood. It entered the Prophet's pact and covenant on the day of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyya ¹. Banu Bakr, backed by Quraysh, attacked it at al-Watir. It appealed for help to Medina, and that appeal was among what stirred the Conquest of Mecca ².

The old alliance

Khuza'a's alliance with the Prophet's house is old. Abd Manaf's mother (Abd Manaf being the father of Hashim) and Qusayy's mother, Fatima bint Sa'd ibn Sayl, were of Khuza'a, so lineage joins the two houses ³. In the appeal verses of Amr ibn Salim, the alliance is described as that of "our father and his father of old" ³.

The attack on al-Watir

During the truce of al-Hudaybiyya, Nawfal ibn Mu'awiya of Banu al-Dil raided them by night at al-Watir. They struck a man of them and pursued them until they took refuge in the houses of Budayl ibn Warqa' and Rafi', their freedman ⁴. Quraysh supported the attackers with weapons ¹.

The appeal

Amr ibn Salim went out to Medina, stood before the Prophet and appealed to him in his verses. Then Budayl came with a group of men to tell him that the covenant had been broken ⁵. Ibn Ishaq says: "That was one of the things that stirred the conquest of Mecca" ³.

For young visitors

A tribe that lived near Mecca and had an old alliance with the Prophet of the Muslims. It was attacked by night while at peace, and its men went to Medina seeking help. Its poet called out the most famous verses of appeal.

In the introduction to al-Raheeq al-Makhtum

Al-Raheeq al-Makhtum makes Khuza'a one of the Azd of Kahlan. Haritha ibn Amr, that is Khuza'a, and his sons moved through the Hijaz until they camped at Marr al-Zahran. Then they took possession of the sanctuary, settled Mecca and expelled its inhabitants, the Jurhum ⁶ ⁷. When Khuza'a camped at Marr al-Zahran and saw the Adnanites' aversion to the Jurhum, who had wronged visitors and made free with the Ka'ba's property, they fought Jurhum with the help of Banu Bakr ibn Abd Manaf ibn Kinana, until they drove them out of Mecca and took its rule around the middle of the second century CE ⁸ ⁹. Khuza'a took sole charge of Mecca's affairs, apart from three matters that remained with the Mudar tribes, and its rule over Mecca lasted three hundred years, until Qusayy ibn Kilab wrested it from Hulayl ibn Hubshiyya ¹⁰ ¹¹. For details see the expulsion of Jurhum and Qusayy's seizure of Mecca. Their chief, Amr ibn Luhayy, is in the author's account the one who brought the idols into Mecca ¹².

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Sources

al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/32

al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/31-37

al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/36

al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/32-33

al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/36-37

al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.17

Qalb Jazirat al-Arab — Fuʾad Hamza , p.231-235

al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.28

Qalb Jazirat al-Arab — Fuʾad Hamza , p.231

al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.29

Mu'jam al-buldan (Yaqut al-Hamawi), Cairo 1907 , 5/181

al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.35

Ansab al-Ashraf of al-Baladhuri

Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)

Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi

At a glance

Place in the story

Summary

The old alliance

The attack on al-Watir

The appeal

In the introduction to al-Raheeq al-Makhtum

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

The Bakr–Khuza'a clash at al-Watir