The Adnanite Arabs are the northern Arabian tribal groups who trace their genealogy through Adnan, a descendant of Ishmael through Kedar. Islamic genealogical tradition holds that Muhammad descends through the Adnanite line: Ishmael → Kedar → Adnan → Ma’add → Nizar → Mudar → Ilyas → Mudrika → Khuzaymah → Kinana → Quraysh → Hashim → Abd al-Muttalib → Abdullah → Muhammad. The Adnanite/Qahtanite division is the fundamental tribal distinction in Arab genealogy — roughly corresponding to northern versus southern Arabian origins. The Adnanites include the Quraysh (guardians of the Ka’ba), the Hawazin, the Ghatafan, and many other major tribes. Their oral genealogical traditions, preserved by professional genealogists (nassabun), maintained the chain of descent from Ishmael across two millennia.