Qedar (person)

Qēḏār ben Yīšmāʿēʾl
Purported tomb of Qedar, located in the Zanjan Province of Iran
Born
Arabian Peninsula
Burial placeHis tomb at Zanjan, Iran (according to Twelver Shi'a tradition)
36°06′59″N 48°35′08″E / 36.11629°N 48.58542°E / 36.11629; 48.58542
NationalityArab
Other namesKēdár
OccupationCustodian of the Kaaba (in Islamic tradition)
Known forBeing the ancestor of the Qedarite tribal confederation
ChildrenQedarites
ParentIshmael
RelativesNebaioth (brother)

Qēḏār (Ancient North Arabian: 𐪄𐪕𐪇, romanized: qdr, Ancient Greek: Κηδάρ, romanized: Kēdár, Arabic: قيدار, romanized: qīdār, Hebrew: קֵדָר, romanized: qēḏār), also spelled as Kēdár, was the eponymous ancestor of the Qedarite tribal confederation. He is mentioned in the Bible as being a son of Ishmael, while in the Islamic tradition, he is regarded as being the ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The city of Qeydar in the Central District of Khodabandeh County in Iran is named after him.

Biblical narrative

Qedar is mentioned in the Book of Genesis as being one of Ishmael's twelve children alongside Nebaioth.[1] In the Books of Chronicles, Qedar is regarded as being the second son of Ishmael with Nebaioth being the firstborn.[2] The name "Kedar" is also later used by the Book of Isaiah, Book of Jeremiah and the Psalms as a name for a Middle Eastern tribal group, which is probably the Qedarites.[3][4][5] Qedar's princely descendants are also described in the Book of Ezekiel as being merchants.[6] In total, the name of Qedar is mentioned 11 times in the Old Testament.[7]

Arab traditions

A map of the locations of the tribes believed to have been descended from Qedar in the pre-Islamic period just before the rise of Islam

The Arab traditions relate that Qedar was the son of Ishmael and his wife, the daughter of the chief of the Jurhum tribe.[8] Qedar and his brother Nebaioth also become the caretakers of the Kaaba in Mecca after the death of their father, before their maternal grandfather takes over the role later on.[8] Qedar is also said to have been the ancestor of Adnan, hence making him an ancestor of the Adnanite tribes and confederations including the Mudar, Hudhayl, Kinana, Taghlib, Bakr ibn Wa'il and Quraysh.[9]

Islamic view

The Islamic view of Qedar affirms what is mentioned in the biblical and Arabian traditions. Additionally, Muslim historians cite Qedar as being the ancestor of the prophet Muhammad.[8][9][10] Ibn Hisham, however, proposes a different lineage and believes that Muhammad is descended from Nebaioth (the firstborn son of Ishmael) and not Qedar.[11]

Sites associated with Qedar

Arabian Peninsula

Main article: Qedarites
The kingdom of the Qedarites in the 5th century BCE, covering Wadi Sirhan, including the city of Dumat al-Jandal and parts of the North Arabian coast

The Qedarites ruled Wādī Sirḥān within Northern Arabia and are first attested to in the 9th century BCE.[12] Their capital was the city of Dumat al-Jandal. Assyrian records sometimes regarded the Qedarites as being synonymous with all of the Arab people.[13]

Iran

Main article: Mausoleum of Prophet Qeydar

The city of Qeydar, named after Qedar, contains a tomb dedicated to him which was built in the 14th century during the Mongol Ilkhanate rule. The room where the tomb is situated in is topped by a brick dome and the grave itself is covered by a wooden zarih. It is a national monument of Iran.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Book of Genesis 25:13
  2. ^ 1 Chronicles 1:29
  3. ^ The Book of Isaiah 21:16–17
  4. ^ The Book of Jeremiah 2:10
  5. ^ Psalms 120:5
  6. ^ The Book of Ezekiel 27:21
  7. ^ "Bible Verses About Kedar - 11 passages - World English Bible (WEB)". sarata.com. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  8. ^ a b c Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman (2008). The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Dar-us-Salam Publications. ISBN 978-9960899558.
  9. ^ a b Ṭabarī, Muḥammad Ibn-Ǧarīr aṭ-; Watt, William Montgomery (1988). The history of al-Ṭabarī. vol. 6: Muḥammad at Mecca / transl. and annot. by W. Montgomery Watt. Bibliotheca Persica. Albany, NY: State Univ. of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-707-5.
  10. ^ Ibn Hishām, ʻAbd al-Malik; Ibn Isḥāq, Muḥammad; Guillaume, Alfred (1997). The life of Muhammad: a translation of Isḥāq's Sīrat rasūl Allāh. Jubilee series. Karachi ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-577828-1.
  11. ^ Ibn Hisham (1 January 2000). Sirat Ibn Hisham [The Life Of The Prophet]. Cairo, Egypt: Al-Falah Foundation for Translation, Publication and Distribution.
  12. ^ al-Jallad, Ahmad (2022). The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia: A Reconstruction Based on the Safaitic Inscriptions. Ancient Languages and Civilizations. Vol. 1. Leiden, Netherlands; Boston, United States: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-9-004-50426-4.
  13. ^ Freedman, David Noel; Beck, Astrid B. (2000), Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (Illustrated ed.), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, ISBN 9780802824004
  14. ^ "Tomb of Kedar Nabi – Property Details". General Office of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Zanjan Province.