Ilyas ibn Mudar

Ilyas ibn Mudar (Arabic: إلياس بن مضر) also spelled al-Yas was a pre-Islamic Arabian tribal chief and an ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is the progenitor of the Khindifite tribes, such as the Quraysh. A pioneer of pre-Islamic monotheism, Ilyas ibn Mudar lead a period of religious reform during his rule over the Hijaz to eradicate the worship of idols.

Ilyas ibn Mudar إلياس بن مضر
Family tree showing descent of Muhammad and the Arabian tribes (including Quraysh) from Adnan
Born	Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma'ad ibn Adnan
Nationality	Arab
Known for	Being the first to sacrifice an animal at the Kaaba Being the first Arab to have died of tuberculosis Being one of the ancestors of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Spouse	Khindif
Children	Mudrikah, Tabikha and Qam'ah
Relatives	Qays (brother)

Biographical information

Birth

His full birth name which shows his lineage is Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma'ad ibn Adnan; which indicates he is a fifth-generation descendant of the Arabian patriarch Adnan through Mudar.^[1] The name of Ilyas has also been rendered as al-Yas.^[2] He was a descendant of biblical patriarch Abraham through Ishmael.^[3]

Family

Ilyas was born to Mudar ibn Nizar and had a brother named Qays Aylan, the progenitor of the Qays tribal confederation. His mother was an Arab woman named Rabab.

The wife of Ilyas was named Khindif. Ilyas' sons were Amir, 'Amir and Umayr, whose names were later changed to Mudrikah, Tabikha and Qam'ah respectively.^[4][5] Through Mudrikah, Ilyas is the ancestor of the Banu Hudhayl.^[6]

Life

Rule over the Hijaz

Ilyas ibn Mudar succeeded his father as the ruler of the Hijaz. During his rule, he maintained the Kaaba in Mecca and was the first to start the custom of slaughtering an animal on the premises of the Kaaba.^[7] Ilyas also rediscovered the Maqam Ibrahim, repaired it, and then placed it in a corner of the Kaaba.^[8] In his old age, Ilyas died of tuberculosis and was the first Arab recorded to have died from it.^[9]

Religious reforms

Ilyas ibn Mudar followed a monotheistic form of religion that was incompatible with the pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism. As such, he openly denounced idol worship to the mixed reactions of his people, who would eventually accept his opinion and follow him in rejecting polytheism. Ilyas' reforms resulted in a period of the rise of monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia until the arrival of 'Amr ibn Luhay.^[7] Ilyas' grandson, Khuzayma ibn Mudrika would be the first to set up the idol of Hubal which the Arabs worshipped for generations until the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE.^[10]

Ilyas in the Islamic tradition

The 11th-century lexicographer, Abu Hilal al-Askari stated in al-Awāʿil that Ilyas was mentioned in the Qur'an, specifically in a verse in the chapter as-Saffat which says "Peace be upon Ilyas."^[7] Meanwhile, a Hadith forbidding cursing Ilyas due to his monotheism has been narrated as well.^[8]

Twelver Shi'ites believe that the ancestors of Muhammad were spared from accepting polytheism, which includes Ilyas and his father Mudar.^[11]

See also

• Family tree of Muhammad
• Monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia

References

1. Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman (2008). The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Dar-us-Salam Publications. ISBN 978-9960899558.
2. al-Munajjid, Shaykh Salih. "The Lineage of Prophet Muhammad: Question 289868". Islam Question & Answer.
3. Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume (1955). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Isḥāq's sīrat. London: Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0195778286. The Paternal Ancestral Lineage of Prophet Muhammad
4. Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume (1955). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Isḥāq's sīrat. London: Oxford University Press. p. 35. ISBN 0195778286. How 'Amir became Mudrikah
5. Ibn Kathir (1998). Le Gassick, Trevor (ed.). The life of the prophet Muh̜ammad: a translation of Al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya. Virginia: Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization. ISBN 9781873938294.
6. Ibn Abd Rabbih (1937). Kitāb al-ʿIqd al-Farīd [The Unique Necklace]. Morocco: Maktaba At-Ta'lif At-Taryama Wa'l Nasar.
7. al-Askari, Abu Hilal (1987). al-Awāʿil (in Arabic) (1st ed.). Tanta, Egypt: Dar Al Bashir. p. 55.
8. al-Halabi (1977). Seerat-e-Halabiyya (in Urdu). Deoband, India: Idara-e-Qasmiya.
9. Shihāb al-Dīn al-Nuwayrī (1923–1927). Nihāyat al-arab fī funūn al-adab. Cairo: al-Muʿassasa al-Miṣriyya al-ʿĀmma lil-Taʾlīf wa-l-Tarjama wa-l-Ṭibāʿa wa-l-Nashr.
10. N.A. Faris (1952). "The Book Of Idols: Being A Translation From The Arabic Of The Kitāb al-Asnām By Hishām Ibn Al-Kalbi". Princeton Oriental Studies. 14. New Jersey: Princeton University Press: 23.
11. al-Majlisi (2000). Biḥār al-ʾanwār al-jāmiʿat li-durar ʾakhbār al-ʾAʾimmat al-ʾAṫhār. Vol. 35. Beirut: Dar Ihya Turath Al Arabi. ASIN B00XDBJ2VG.