Stopping the genealogy at Ma'add
الوقوف في النسب عند معد
The Prophet's ban on pressing the lineage beyond Ma'add — a stop imposed by the span of time and the quarrel of versions, which al-Mas'udi documents from four divergent witnesses 1.
At a glance
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Overview
Al-Masudi mentions that the Prophet ﷺ forbade going beyond Ma'add ibn Adnan in lineage, so people stopped there. He explains this by the distance of lineages and the multiplicity of opinions over a long period. 2
The dispute over what lies above Ma'add
Al-Masudi says that the genealogists disagreed about what lies above Ma'add. He mentions different reports: the version of Ibn Hisham from Ibn Ishaq, another version, the report of Ibn al-A'rabi from Hisham al-Kalbi, and the book of Baruch ibn Naria. 2
What is not recorded here: the chain of the Prophet's prohibition and its grade. It needs a further source.
People and things also explored
Disputing the count of raids and sariyas· The Prophet's lineage and its three parts· Abd al-Jabbar al-Jumurd· Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti· Abd al-Rahman Badawi· Abu al-Arab al-Tamimi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad· Abu al-Khayr al-Armuni· Abu Bakr ibn Abi al-Qasim al-Ahdal
Sources
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p. 565-566
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p.565-566
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Stopping the genealogy at Ma'add”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/waqf-al-nasab-inda-maadd/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.