Hashim ibn Abd Manaf

Great-grandfather of the Prophet ﷺ. Son of ʿAbd Manāf, and one of the most distinguished leaders Quraysh had produced before Islam. He and his three brothers, ʿAbd Shams, al-Muṭṭalib, and Nawfal, were the sons of ʿAbd Manāf, and they divided the commercial and diplomatic privileges of Makkah among them.

Hāshim was responsible for the Qurayshi caravans to Syria (riḥlat al-ṣayf, the summer journey). He was a famous host and provider, it is said that he would break bread (hashama al-khubz, breaking bread for others) for the pilgrims, and some say this is how the name "Hāshim" came to be attached to him. The Banū Hāshim clan bears his name.

On one of his journeys north to Syria passing through Yathrib, he met Salmā bint ʿAmr of the Banū ʿAdī ibn al-Najjār, a strong and independent businesswoman, and married her under conditions she set. He died in Gaza (Palestine) on a trading expedition, before his son Shayba was born. Salmā kept the pregnancy secret and raised Shayba in Yathrib. The Quraysh only learned of Shayba years later when his features were recognized as distinctly Qurashi; al-Muṭṭalib brought him back to Makkah, where he was renamed ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib.