The Quraish is the tribe in which the Holy Prophetsa was born, and which was settled in Makkah during that era. Based on the unanimous narrations of the Arabs, this tribe was from the descendants of Ishmaelas and was a branch of the tribes of ‘Adnān.
Varied narrations exist with relevance to the founder of the Quraish. In some narrations, Naḍr bin Kinānah has been declared its founder and others confirm, Fihr bin Mālik as its founder. However, this discrepancy, does not pragmatically affect historical accounts in any way – the reason being that Naḍr bin Kinānah had no sons except Mālik bin Naḍar through which his lineage could continue. In the same manner, Mālik, with the exception of Fihr bin Mālik had no sons. In other words, the genealogical line of Naḍar is ultimately the same as that of Fihr.1
There is also a disagreement in the etymological reasoning behind the name of the Quraish. Some believe that the tribe was given the name of the Quraish in resemblance to a fish, which is exceedingly large in size and consumes the rest of the fish around it and it is called ‘Quraish’ in the Arabic language. It was as if this word alluded to the strength and power of the Quraish. However, another party believes when Qusaiyy gathered the various branches of this tribe and settled them in Makkah, in order to acquire the custodianship of the Ka‘bah, it was at that time that they were identified as the Quraish. The reason being that in the Arabic language, one root meaning of the word ‘Quraish’ is also ‘to gather’.2
1 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az-Zarqānī, Volume 1, pp. 143-145, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)
2 * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Dhikru Qusaiyy bin Kilāb, Volume 1, p. 32, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)
* Ar-Rauḍul-Anf, By Imām Abul-Qāsim ‘Abdur-Raḥmān Suhailī, Volume 1, pp. 187-188, Dhikru Auladi Mudrikata wa Khazīmata wa Kinānata wan-Naḍri, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)
* Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az-Zarqānī, Volume 1, pp. 144-145, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)