Hāshim was an exceedingly able, understanding and generous man. He provided pilgrims with much comfort and made vigorous appeals before the Quraish in order to fulfill their various requirements. During his time, there was a severe famine and he provided for many poor people at his own expense. Due to these acts of munificence, Hāshim’s name received great eminence. In addition to this, Hāshim personally approached the sovereignties of Rome and Ghassān to acquire formal rights for the mercantile caravans of the Quraish. Similarly, Hāshim’s other brothers, more or less, offered services of the same kind. Therefore, the passage of Quraish mercantile caravans between Syria and Yemen commenced in the time of Hāshim. Generally, mercantile caravans travelled to Yemen during the winter season and towards Syria in the summer season. The terms 1 رِحْلَتُ الشِّتَاءِ and 2 رِحْلَتُ الصَّیْفِ are used to describe these two trades.3
1 Journeys of Winter (Publishers)
2 Journeys of Summer (Publishers)
3 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Dhikru Hāshim bin ‘Abdi Manāf, Volume 1, p. 34, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)