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Arabia and the Prophet’s Early Years Arabia, a peninsula situated in the south western part of Asia, is a desert country which has been inhabited since ancient times. Various tribes lived here in different regions, ruled by their respective chiefs. It was in this country, at Makkah, that four thousand years ago, the Prophet Abraham settled his family, his wife Hajira and his infant son Ishmael. The progeny of Ishmael were known as Mustariba, or naturalized Arabs, and they greatly multiplied. They were divided into many tribes and clans. The Quraysh, the largest tribe had several clans. They were settled in Makkah by an ancestor of renown called Qusayy. The clans who lived in the vicinity of the Kabah were considered most honourable. These were called Quraysh al-Bitah (the Quraysh of the Hollow). The location of Makkah on important caravan routes across the Peninsula, and the prestige of the Kabah gave it great advantages as a trading city. This is why the Quraysh became one of the richest and most powerful tribes. The Prophet Muhammad was of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh, who lived in the vicinity of the Kabah