Hashim Institutes the Winter and Summer Trade Journeys

A severe drought and famine once struck Makkah. It was so bad that a man would dig a grave for his family and simply wait for death, because there was no food left. Hashim, the son of Abd Manaf and grandson of Qusayy, an earlier leader of Makkah, decided that something had to change. His idea was Rihlat al-Shita' wa al-Sayf, the Winter and Summer Journey.

These were two trading caravans a year. In winter, a caravan went south to Yemen, where ships brought in goods from India and Africa. In summer, a caravan went north to Bosra, near Damascus. Bosra lay on the Silk Road, which carried the goods of Rome and Persia.

The Quraysh were the guardians of the Ka'bah, and other Arabs saw them as too sacred to rob. So even in a lawless land, their caravans could travel mostly unharmed. Hashim is also said to have made agreements with the rulers of Rome and Yemen, so that the Quraysh would be protected in their lands and given good terms of trade.

Makkah sat in the middle of this new trade route between Yemen and Syria, and it prospered. Hashim became extremely wealthy, and he used his wealth to feed the pilgrims. The name Hashim comes from a root meaning "to grind," because he would grind grain and give bread to the pilgrims. It is also said that he never ate a meal alone, and would always call others to share it.