Qureshi

Qureyshi
قريشي
Pronunciation [qureːʃiː], [qureʃiː]
Origin
Region of origin Arabia
Meaning Member of the Quraish tribe
Other names
Variant(s) Kureshi, Qurashi, Quraishy, Qureishy, Qureyshi, Qurayshi, Quraishi, Qureshy, Quraishy, Qoraishi, Qoreshi, Koraishi, Kureshi, Kureshy, Kureishi, Kourashi, Coreishi
Families
Hashmi, Siddiqui, Farooqi, Usmani, Syed, Abbasi, Jafri, Shah, Shaikh, Kazi, Alawi[1]

Qureyshi (also known as Qureshi, Quraishi, Qurayshi, Qureshy, Quraishy, Qoraishi, Qoreshi, Koraishi, Kureshi, Kureshy, Kureishi, Coreish) is a Muslim family name, though in English it has many spelling variations but in Arabic, there is a single spelling as " قريشي ", which means part of Qureish Family (Arabic: قريش).

Most bearers of the name, by far, are in Pakistan (82%: 1,210,000, out of 1,470,000 worldwide), where it is the ninth commonest surname. India has the second most (11%: 162,000), followed by Saudi Arabia (2.5%: 36,300) and England (0.65%: 9,580).[2]

History

According to the dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford University Pres) it indicates that the Qureshis are descendants of the Quraish, the leading tribe in Mecca at the time of the birth of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (ad 570); Muhammad's father was a member of it. Quraish are the descendants of Abraham through Ismail in Arabia. The Quraish at first opposed Muhammad’s teachings and are said to have persecuted him and his followers, but by the time of his death they had begun to convert to the new faith and played an important role in bringing Arabia under the banner of Islam.[3]

There would be more Qureshis in Sindh because the Arabs settled down and married local women. The first form of contact between the Arab people and modern-day Pakistan originally came in 711 in Sindh.[4]

They are entirely Sunni Muslims, and are fairly orthodox. They were one of the earliest groups to shift towards the Deobandi sect. [5]

In Bihar, the Qassab are a class of Muslim butchers, and are generally known as Qureshis. They are found throughout Bihar, and are one of the few Bihari Muslim communities who speak Urdu. The Qassab consist of two sub-groups, the Bara Karbar, who were involved in the slaughtering of buffaloes, and Chota Karbar, who slaughtered goats. Closely related to the Qassab are the Chik, a caste also associated with the slaughtering of goats. The Anjuman Quresh has a Bihar branch, which acts as a welfare association for Qassabs. [6]

Notable people called Qureshi or Kureshi

References

  1. ↑ "Qureshi Family Information". Qureshifamily.info. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  2. ↑ "Qureshi Surname Meaning & Statistics". Forebears. Retrieved 31 March 2017. Data as of 2014. Frequency counts rounded to 3 significant digits; percentages to 2 significant digits. See Talk page.
  3. ↑ Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
  4. ↑ https://www.webcitation.org/5knIf7rYp?url=http://www.geocities.com/pak_history/arab2.html
  5. ↑ People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part One, edited by S. Gopal & Hetukar Jha, pages 501 to 505, Seagull Books
  6. ↑ People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part One, edited by S. Gopal & Hetukar Jha, pages 501 to 505, Seagull Books
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