Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf (Arabic: هاشم بن عبد مناف; c. 464–497), born ʿAmr (عمرو), was the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the progenitor of the ruling Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca. At some point in his life before his father's death, ʿAmr chose for himself the name Hāshim, as it was the name God used for Abraham (ʿAmr was a Hanif, follower of the "religion of Abraham"). The narrations from Islamic hagiographists to explain this name change are varied: A narration suggests that ʿAmr was called Hashim because Hashim translates as pulverizer in Arabic. As a generous man, he initiated the practice of providing crumbled bread in broth that was later adapted for the pilgrims to the Ka'aba in Mecca. Another narration claims the name derives from the Arabic root Hashm, to save the starving, because he arranged for the feeding of the people of Mecca during a seasonal famine, and he thus came to be known as "the man who fed the starved" (Arabic: هشم الجياع).

Islamic hagiographers give an exotic narration concerning the birth of Hashim. This narration states that Hashim and 'Abd Shams were conjoined twins born with Hashim's leg attached to his twin brother's head. It says that they had struggled in their mother's womb seeking to be firstborn. Their birth was remembered for Hashim being born with one of his toes pressed into the younger twin brother's forehead. Legend says that their father, 'Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, separated his conjoined sons with a sword and that some priests believed that the blood that had flown between them signified wars between their progeny (a confrontation did occur between Banu al-'Abbās, a branch of the Banu Hashim, and Banu Umayyah, a branch of the Banu 'Abd Shams, in the year 750 CE). The astrologers of Arabia predicted that Abd Manaf had committed a grave error when he separated both of them by means of a sword. Hashim was born to an Adnanite Arabian tribe.

Hashim was the son of Abd Manaf, who argued with his brother 'Abd ad-Dar over the inheritance. 'Abd ad-Dar was supported by their cousins Makhzum, Sahm, Jumah, their uncle Adi and their families. Abd Manaf contested his inheritance and was supported by their nephew Asad, their uncle Zuhrah ibn Kilab, their father's uncle Taym ibn Murrah, and al-Harith ibn Fihr. The effects of this conflict continued among their descendants, especially and affected the internal history of Mecca right up to Muhammad's time.

The conflict escalated under Hashim, who demanded that the rights be transferred from the clan of Abd ad-Dar to his clan. Those who supported Hashim and his brothers were the descendants of Zuhrah and Taym ibn Murrah, and all Qusay's descendants except those of the eldest line. The descendants of Makhzum and of the other remoter cousins maintained that the rights should remain in the family of Abd ad-Dar.

While assembled at the Ka'aba, Hashim and his brothers and all their allies dipped their hands in a bowl of rich perfume with nutmeg powder and swore that they would never abandon one another, rubbing their scented hands over the stone of the Ka'aba in confirmation of their pact. Hashim and his allies were thereafter known as the "Hilf al-Mutayyabun" ("Alliance of the Scented Ones"), while their rivals also swore an oath of union and organised themselves into the "Hilf al-Ahlaf" ("Alliance of the Confederates"). As neither side wanted a full-scale conflict, they reached a compromise whereby The Scented Ones retained control of the charity tax and the food and drink for pilgrims, where as the Confederates retained the keys to the Ka'aba and the running of the House of Assembly. Hashim's brothers agreed that he should have the responsibility of providing for the pilgrims. Their descendants in the clans named after them tended to keep this old alliance.

Hashim was accepted as the overall leader, with the responsibility of providing for the pilgrims in the Ka'aba precincts, with the support of his brothers 'Abd Shams and Muttalib, and his half-brother Nawfal. The only person who challenged Hashim's authority was Umayyah, the son of his brother 'Abd Shams, but he had no real support and shifted to live out his life in Syria. Makkah became the acknowledged capital of Arabia, and markets were established around the city to deal with all the business.

Hashim was held in much honour, both at home and abroad. It was he who first realised the potential for his family of taking part in the lucrative trade between Syria and Egypt that passed through Arabia. Trading was the most important means of livelihood for the inhabitants of Mecca, a barren 'valley without cultivation'.

He initiated and established the two great trade caravan journeys of Quraish from Mecca, the Caravan of Winter to Yemen and the Caravan of Summer to north-west Arabia, and beyond it to Palestine and Syria, which were then under Byzantine rule as part of the Roman Empire. After obtaining privileges from the Ghassanid king of Syria, even went in person to Byzantium and procured an edict from the Byzantine Roman Caesar, exempting Quraish from duties or taxes when operating in the countries under his domain. Caesar also wrote to the King Negus of Abyssinia to admit the Quraish there for trade, and Hashim's brother 'Abd Shams had a special permit with him. Muttalib had his treaty with the Himyarites of Yemen, and their half-brother Nawfal with the Persian governments of Iraq and Iran.