The lineage of Prophet Muhammad can be traced back to Prophet Ishmael, the son of Abraham, through Adnan, a descendent twenty-one generations removed. Thus, the northern Arabs, of which the Prophet’s family was a part, were called Ishmaelites or Adnanis. (The other branch of Arabs was the Kahtanis, who resided in southern Arabia.)

The Prophet Muhammad himself traces his lineage back to Adnan. It is known to be as follows: Muhammad, son of 'Abd Allah, son of 'Abd al-Muttalib (Shayba), son of Hashim, son of ‘Abdulmanaf, son of Qusayy, son of Kilab, son of Murra, son of Ka‘b, son of Luayy, son of Ghalib, son of Fihr (Quraysh), son of Malik, son of Nadr, son of Kinana, son of Khuzayma, son of Mudrikah, son of Elias, son of Mudar, son of Nizar, son of Ma’ad, son of Adnan. Prophet Muhammad was the son of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, a member of the Hashimite family of the Quraysh tribe which was the Adnani branch of the descendents of Prophet Ishmael.