Hisham ibn al-Kalbi

Hisham ibn al-Kalbi, born in Kufa in the year seven hundred thirty-seven, was a prominent Arab Muslim historian and genealogist who made significant contributions to the understanding of pre-Islamic Arabia. Spending much of his life in Baghdad, he followed in his father's footsteps by meticulously collecting information about the genealogies and histories of ancient Arab tribes.

His most renowned work, the Book of Idols (Kitab al-Asnam), serves as a crucial document that explores the veneration of idols and pagan sanctuaries across various regions and tribes in pre-Islamic Arabia. In this influential text, Hisham proposed a genealogical connection between Ishmael and the Islamic prophet Muhammad, asserting that all Arabs descended from Ishmael. His research was deeply rooted in ancient oral traditions, supplemented by references to Biblical and Palmyrene sources.

Despite his contributions, Hisham's hadith were often deemed unreliable by Sunni scholars due to his Shia background. Nevertheless, his works were preserved and referenced by later historians, including al-Tabari. Among his notable contributions is the preservation of Abu Mikhnaf's Maqtal al-Husayn, which recounts the events of the Battle of Karbala in six hundred eighty based on eyewitness accounts.

According to the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim, Hisham authored one hundred forty works, with his genealogical accounts frequently cited in the Kitab al-Aghani. Additionally, he wrote the Strain of Horses (Ansab al-Khayl), which chronicles the history of the Arabian horse from three thousand BC to his contemporary period.