Descents from Muhammad in Medieval Spain

Are you descended from Muhammad?

The short answer is "probably not". Or more accurately, maybe you are but if you are claiming descent through medieval Spain there is no evidence.

This project shows the claims for descent from Muhammad (PBUH) through early medieval Spain into modern Europe. These lines are commonly reported in Internet genealogies. Comments in bold. Not all problems are shown.

Line 1

1. Muhammad (PBUH).
2. A'isha bint Muhammad, married Yazîd I (647-683), 2nd Umayyad Caliph. There is no evidence Muhammad had a daughter A'isha or that Yazid married a daughter of Muhammad.
3. Atikah bint Yazîd, married 'Abd al-Malik (c660-705), 5th Umayyad Caliph (see Line 2). Atikah was a daughter of Yazid by an unknown mother, perhaps a woman of the Kalb tribe.
4. Hishâm al-Mansourah (691-743), 10th Umayyad Caliph. His mother was Fatima bint Hisham, not Atikah bint Yazîd.
5. Mu'âwiya ibn Hishâm (c710-?)
6. 'Abd ar-Rahmân I (731-788), 1st Emir of Córdoba. He is said to have been an Umayyad dynast who escaped the massacre of his family. His claim was treated with skepticism in his lifetime. The earliest record of his specific connection to the Ummayads is 500 years later, in Kitab al-mujib fi talkhis akhbar ahl al-Maghrib by Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi (1224), which says he was a son of Mu'âwiya.
7. Hishâm I (757-793), 2nd Emir of Córdoba.
8. al-Hakam I (c770-822), 3rd Emir of Córdoba.
9. 'Abd ar-Rahmân II (792-852), 4th Emir of Córdoba.
10. Muhammad I (823-886), 5th Emir of Córdoba.
11. 'Abd-allâh I (844-912), 7th Emir of Córdoba.
12. Zayd ibn 'Abd-allâh (c870-?). Son or son-in-law of 'Abd-allâh I.
13. Zaydan ibn Zayd (c890-?).
14. Zaira bint Zaidan (c915-?), married Lovesendo Albõaçar. Zaira is fictional. See Notes on the Origin of the de Maia Family, below.
15. Albõaçar Lovesendiz "Abû-Nazir" (?-after 978). Son of an unknown Lovesendo.
16. Trastamiro Albõaçar, 1st senhor de Maia.

Line 2

1. Muhammad (PBUH), married Khadija bint Khuwaylid.
2. Ruqayyah, married 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (c605-656), 3rd Caliph. Sunni Muslims believe she was Muhammad's biological daughter. Shia Muslims believe she was Muhammad's stepdaughter, a daughter of Khadijah by a previous marriage.
3. A'isha bint 'Uthman (before 624-?), married Marwân I (623-685), 4th Umayyad Caliph. Claimed as a daughter of Ruqayyah, but Ruqayyah had only one known child, a son named 'Abd-allâh ibn 'Uthman, who died age 6. If A'isha was a daughter of 'Uthman, she was probably daughter of his Christian wife Nayla bint Farasa.
4. 'Abd al-Malik (c660-705), 5th Umayyad Caliph, married Fatima bint Hisham. His mother was A'isha bint Mu-awiah not A'isha bint 'Uthman.
5. Hishâm al-Mansourah (691-743), 10th Umayyad Caliph.
6. Mu'âwiya ibn Hishâm (c710-?)
7. 'Abd ar-Rahmân I (731-788), 1st Emir of Córdoba. He is said to have been an Umayyad dynast who escaped the massacre of his family. His claim was treated with skepticism in his lifetime. The earliest record of his specific connection to the Ummayads is 500 years later, in Kitab al-mujib fi talkhis akhbar ahl al-Maghrib by Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi (1224), which says he was a son of Mu'âwiya.
8. Hishâm I (757-793), 2nd Emir of Córdoba.
9. al-Hakam I (c770-822), 3rd Emir of Córdoba.
10. 'Abd ar-Rahmân II (792-852), 4th Emir of Córdoba.
11. Muhammad I (823-886), 5th Emir of Córdoba.
12. 'Abd-allâh I (844-912), 7th Emir of Córdoba.
13. Zayd ibn 'Abd-allâh (c870-?). Son or son-in-law of 'Abd-allâh I.
14. Zaydan ibn Zayd (c890-?).
15. Zaira bint Zaidan (c915-?), married Lovesendo Albõaçar. Zaira is fictional. See Notes on the Origin of the de Maia Family, below.
16. Albõaçar Lovesendiz "Abû-Nazir" (?-after 978). Son of an unknown Lovesendo.
17. Trastamiro Albõaçar, 1st senhor de Maia.

Line 3

1. Muhammad (PBUH), married Khadija bint Khuwaylid.
2. Ruqayyah, married 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (c605-656), 3rd Caliph. Sunni Muslims believe she was Muhammad's biological daughter. Shia Muslims believe she was Muhammad's stepdaughter, a daughter of Khadijah by a previous marriage.
3. A'isha bint 'Uthman (before 624-?), married Marwân I (623-685), 4th Umayyad Caliph. Claimed as a daughter of Ruqayyah, but Ruqayyah had only one known child, a son named 'Abd-allâh ibn 'Uthman, who died age 6. If A'isha was a daughter of 'Uthman, she was probably daughter of his Christian wife Nayla bint Farasa.
4. Umm bint Marwân, married Musa ibn Nuseir al-Bekir (c640-c716). Her mother was A'isha bint Mu-awiah not A'isha bint 'Uthman.
5. 'Uthman ibn Abû-Musa (c675-731), married Lampade of Acquitaine. 'Uthman is historical. Lampade is not.
6. Umm bint 'Uthman, married Siegbert V (c695-763/8), comte de Razès. The counts of Razès are a modern invention connected to the book "Holy Blood, Holy Grail".

Line 4

1. Muhammad (PBUH).
2. Fatima, married Ali ibn Abi Talib.
3. Hasan ibn Ali.
4. Husain al-Athram.
5. Zuhra bint Husain, married Abu-Farisi ibn Abu 'Abed al-Hirahi.
6. Na'im ibn Abu-Farisi al-Lakhmi.
7. Itaf ibn Na'im.
8. 'Amr ibn Itaf.
9. Aslan ibn 'Amr.
10. 'Amr ibn Aslan.
11. Abbad ibn 'Amr.
12. Qarais ibn Abbad, qadi in Seville.
13. Imam Isma'il ibn Qarais (c952-?)
14. Abu al-Qasim Muhammad I (c984-1042). Ibn Abbad not ibn Isma'il.
15. Abu Amr Abbad II al-Mu'tadid (c1005-1069), emir of Seville.
16. Abu-Nabet (c1030-?), emir of Seville.
17. Zaïda "Isabel" (c1063-1093/00), married (1) Abu Nasr al-Fath al-Ma'mun, emir of Córdoba; and (2) Alfonso VI, king of Castile. Zaïda's ancestry is speculative. Early sources contain three contradictory statements.

Line 5

1. Muhammad (PBUH).
2. Fatima, married Ali ibn Abi Talib.
3. Imam Husain ibn Ali.
4. Imam 'Alî Zain al-Abidin.
5. Imam Muhammad al-Bakhir. He was the first imam descended from both grandsons of Muhammad: Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. 
6. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq.
7. Isma'il ibn Ja'far (706-760).
8. Muhammad ibn Isma'il (c759-?).
9. Isma'il ibn Muhammad (c791-?).
10. Ahmed ibn Isma'il (c818-?).
11. Obeidallah al-Mahdi (c846-934), Caliph.
12. Muhammad al-Khaim (c873-946), Caliph.
13. Isma'il al-Mansur (c901-952), Caliph.
14. … bint Ismail, married Qarais ibn Abbad, qadi in Seville.
15. Imam Isma'il ibn Qarais (c952-?)
16. Abu al-Qasim Muhammad I (c984-1042). Ibn Abbad not ibn Isma'il.
17. Abu Amr Abbad II al-Mu'tadid (c1005-1069), emir of Seville.
18. Abu-Nabet (c1030-?), emir of Seville.
19. Zaïda "Isabel" (c1063-1093/00), married (1) Abu Nasr al-Fath al-Ma'mun, emir of Córdoba; and (2) Alfonso VI, king of Castile. Zaïda's ancestry is speculative. Early sources contain three contradictory statements.

Notes on the Origin of the de Maia Family

"[T]he Livro Velho de Linhagens is a collection of accounts of the noble families of Portugal, thought to have first been compiled in a preliminary form in the latter half of the 13th century, and finalized by Pedro, Count of Barcelos, in the mid 14th century. In its account of the origin of the Maia, it presents what is referred to as the Lenda de Gaia (the Legend of Gaia, also called the Miragaia), which relates that king Ramiro II of Leon, while campaigning in what is now Portugal, fell in love with the sister of the local lord, Alboazar Albocadam. He kidnapped her, planning to divorce his wife and marry her, only to have Alboazar kidnap his wife and when he tried to sneak in and rescue his wife, she revealed his presence to Alboazar out of revenge for Ramiro's infidelity. However, Ramiro's son Ordono stormed the castle, killing Alboazar, and Ramiro took the sister, baptized as Artiga, back to Leon, where he married her and had children (he having murdered his prior wife for her role in the affair). The Livro Velho then makes Alboazar (soemtimes called Cid - lord) the founder of the Maia, the son of Ramiro by Artiga.

"This connection has provided the basis for many claims of Muslim descent, but there have long been flaws observed in the connection. Notably, none of this finds any mention in the historical record of Leon. While one could argue that the christian chroniclers of the Reconquest may have purged a Muslim connection, it seems inexplicable that they would not at least have condemned Ramiro for murdering his wife. Likewise we are not restricted to histories, as there are surviving (as copies) charters from Ramiro's reign, and again no indication of this wife. Likewise, the account in problematic on the Maia side of the descent, for the Maia founder appears in contemporary documents, not as Alboazar Ramires as he is named in the Livro Velho, but as Alboazar Lovesendes - Alboazar, son of Lovesendo."

Source: Todd Farmerie, "New theory on the Muslim descent of the Maia" (June 14, 2016), at soc.genealogy.medieval.

How to Participate

• If you can improve this information with citations to primary sources or quality academic sources, add them to the relevant profile.
• If you can contribute other lines from Muhammad through medieval Spain, start a project discussion.

Sources

• "Banu-Qasi conjectured line" (2001), at soc.genealogy.medieval.
• "History of the house of maia in Portugal" (2018), at soc.genealogy.medieval.
• "Moslem Roots" (2000), at soc.genealogy.medieval.
• "Muhammad's family in Europe(1998), at soc.genealogy.medieval.
• "Muslim/Christian descents in Early-Medieval Spain" (2001), at soc.genealogy.medieval.
• "New theory on the Muslim descent of the Maia" (2016), at soc.genealogy.medieval.
• "Umayyad family tree", at Wikpedia.