Ahl al-Bayṫ is a phrase meaning, literally, "People of the House" or "Family of the House".
Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
In Shia Islam and Alevism, the Ahl al-Bayt are central to Islam and interpreters of the
Quran and sunnah. Shias believe they are successors of Muhammad and consist of Muhammad, Fatimah,
Ali, Hasan and Husayn and the Imams. There are differing opinions on the scope and importance
of Ahl al-Bayt. In Sunni Islam, Muhammad's household refers
to Muhammad himself; his wives and daughters, including Fatimah; his cousin and son-in-law
Ali; and their two children, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali and all Muhammad's descendants
and sometimes the descendants of his paternal uncles, Abu Talib and al-‘Abbas. Some Sunnis
consider only the family up until Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali to be members of the
Ahl al-Bayt. In Sunni and Shia thought, every Muslim has the obligation to love the Ahl
al-Bayt.
Etymology The term Ahl signifies the members of a household
of a man, including his fellow tribesmen, kin, relatives, wife or wives, children and
all those who share a family background, religion, housing, city and country with him.
Bayt refers to habitation and dwelling, whether tented or built. It can also be roughly translated
as "household". The Ahl-Al-Bayt of a person refers to his family members and all those
who live in his house. Ahlul Bayt is the polite form of addressing the members and wife of
the family. In the Qur'an
The Qur'an uses the term Ahl al-Bayt twice as a term of respect for wives. The first
instance refers to Muhammad's wives,[Quran 33:33] and the second refers to Abraham's wife Sara.[Quran 11:73]
In Verse 33:33 of the Holy Quran, there is a change to masculinity of the Arabic text
'ankom' which symbolises the 'Ahlul Bayt', it is also believed, that as this specific
verse came down, it was when the prophet Muhammed had been sitting with the members of Ahlul
Bayt. According to some interpretations, the Qur'an also implicitly refers to Ahl al-Bayt
in 42:23 using the term al-qurbā. Interpretation
There has been much debate concerning which people constitute Ahl al-Bayt. Although there
have been many disagreements, there is a consensus amongst Sunni and Shi'a Muslims that the "Ahl
al-Kisa" hadith refers specifically to Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn. Mention of the
Ahl al-Bayt, Muhammad's household, is present in a verse of the Qur'an as follows:
O wives of the Prophet! you are not like any other of the women; If you will be on your
guard, then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease yearn; and speak
a good word. And stay in your houses and do not display
your finery like the displaying of the ignorance of yore; and keep up prayer, and pay the poor-rate,
and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from
you, O people of the House! and to purify you a purifying.
And keep to mind what is recited in your houses of the communications of Allah and the wisdom;
surely Allah is Knower of subtleties, Aware.
The precise definition of the term in this verse has been subject to varying interpretations.
In one tradition, according to which Muhammad's companion Salman al-Farsi is included as a
member, it is used to distinguish from the muhajirun and ansar. According to Sunni doctrine,
the term includes the wives and dependants of Muhammad, as it addresses them in the preceding
verse - an interpretation which is attributed to `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas and Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl,
both of whom were companions of Muhammad. This is supported by various traditions attributed
to Muhammad wherein he addresses each of his wives as Ahl al-Bayt. Further members of the
household, according to the Sunni perspective, include Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn, who
are mentioned in the tradition of the mantle. Some versions of this tradition recognise
Umm Salamah, a wife of Muhammad, as a part of the household. Thus, according to the Encyclopaedia
of Islam, "[t]he current orthodox view is based on a harmonizing opinion, according
to which the term ahl bayt includes the ahl al-ʿabāʾ, i.e. the Prophet, ʿAlī, Fāṭima,
al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥussain, together with the wives of the Prophet." According to Laura
Veccia Vaglieri in Encyclopaedia of Islam "there is a story narrated in many traditions
according to which Muḥammad sheltered under his cloak, in varying circumstances including
the Mubahala, his grandchildren Ḥasan and Hussein, his daughter Fatimah and his son-in-law
Ali; and therefore it is these five who are given the title Ahl al-Kisa or “People of
the Mantle”. Some have attempted to add Muḥammad’s wives to the list; however,
the number of the privileged is limited to these five."
Other interpretations include the family of Ali, as well as the families of Muhammad's
relatives such as Aqeel, Ja'far, and ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib|al-Abbas. Early Islamic
jurists Malik ibn Anas and Abū Ḥanīfa included the clan of Banu Hashim within the
definition, while al-Shafi'i included the whole of Banu Muttalib.
In Shia thought, the household is limited to Muhammad, Fatimah, Ali, Hasan, Husayn,
and their descendants; as per their deduction from the tradition of the mantle. They interpret
the change in pronoun in the Qur'anic verse as showing that only the aforementioned members
constitute Ahl al-Bayt. Madelung writes that "[t]his change of gender has inevitably contributed
to the birth of various accounts of a legendary character, attaching the latter part of the
verse to the five People of the Mantle." Shias view these individuals as infallible and sinless
Imams and regard devotion to them as an essential part of the religion.
Shia Muslims also support this claim with a hadith mentioned in the Sunni Ṣaḥīḥ
collection. Many Sunni scholars remark that the verse of purification was revealed concerning
five people: Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn.
'A'isha reported that Allah's Apostle went out one morning wearing a striped cloak of
the black camel's hair that there came Hasan b. 'Ali. He wrapped him under it, then came
Husain and he wrapped him under it along with the other one. Then came Fatima and he took
her under it, then came 'Ali and he also took him under it and then said: Allah only desires
to take away any uncleanliness from you, O people of the household, and purify you
The tradition about this hadith goes from different sources to Fatimah, the daughter
of Muhammad. She narrated that once her father visited her home, he had fever and was not
feeling well, he asked for a Yemeni cloak which Fatimah brought to him and folded it
around him. Later he was joined in that Yemeni cloak by his grandsons Hasan and Hussein,
who were followed by their father Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was cousin and son-in-law of
Muhammad. Finally Fatimah asked the permission to enter that cloak. When all five of them
joined together under the cloak, Muhammad narrated the Qur'anic verse 33:33 to those
under the cloak that all five of them are chosen ones, and he further stated that he
wants God to keep all impurities out of reach and away from all of us. Muhammad then prayed
to God to declare all five of them as his Ahlul Bayt and keep away the Najasat. God,
at that request immediately sent Gabriel to reveal to Muhammad that all the five under
the cloak are dearest and closest to God and they are Taher without any traces of impurities.
The Twelver and Ismaili branches of Shia Islam differ in regards to the line of Imamate.
While the Twelver believe in a lineage known as the Twelve Imams, the Ismaili believe that
the descendants of Isma'il ibn Jafar, rather than his brother Musa al-Kadhim, were the
inheritors of the Imamate instead. According to Anas ibn Malik, Muhammad, for
six months straight used to pass by the door of Fatimah whenever he left for fajr prayers
and said, "it is time for salat, of family of the house! 'Surely Allah desires to remove
all imperfection from you, of family of the house, and purify you completely.'" From surah
Al Ahzab 33, verse 33, Sunan al-Tirmidhi- Vol. 2 sahih 902
Most, but not all Shi'a believe that these A'immah to be the divinely chosen leaders
of the Muslim community. This is based on the hadith, "People of the Cloak", where the
Prophet referred to only Fatimah, Ali, Hasan, Hussain and Himself, a hadith which many Sunni
Muslims believe in. Collectively Muhammad, Fatimah and the Twelve Imams are known as
the The Fourteen Infallibles. Significance
Muslims accord Muhammad's household a special status and venerate it. This is derived from
verses in the Qur'an and hadith which stipulate love towards Muhammad's relatives – though
in some cases interpretations differ, an example being: "Say: "No reward do I ask of you for
this except the love of those n of kin." According to classical exegete al-Tabarani the verse
most likely refers to Muslim believers related by blood ties. Another interpretation adopted
by Shia applies the verse to the ahl al-bayt; while another view interprets the verse as
commanding love for relatives in general. The latter view is favored by contemporary
academic scholar Madelung. Sharia prohibits the administration of sadaqah
or zakat to Muhammad's kin, as Muhammad forbade this income for himself and his family. The
explanation given by jurists is that these alms are considered the defilements of the
people, who offer them to purify themselves from sin, hence it would be unbecoming of
the kin to handle or use them. Instead, they are accorded part of the spoils of war. Muslims
in their daily prayers invoke blessings upon them by saying: "O God, bless Muhammad and
his family." In many Muslim communities, high social status is attributed to people claiming
to be blood-descendants of Muhammad's household, and are labelled sayyids or sharifs.
Most Sunni Sufi circles trace their spiritual chain back to Muhammad through Ali. In Shia
thought, Muhammad's household is central to the religion. In one version of Muhammad's
farewell sermon, he is represented as saying that God has given believers two safeguards:
the Qur'an and his family; in other versions the two safeguards are the Qur'an and his
Sunnah. Popular Shia belief ascribes cosmological importance to the family in various texts,
wherein it is said that God would not have created Jannah and earth, paradise, Adam and
Eve, or anything else were it not for them. The majority of Shia regard the heads of the
family as divinely chosen Imams who are infallible and sinless.
Ahl al-Bayt according to Shia Islam The Ahl al-Kisa together with the Imams make
up the Shia definition of Ahl al-Bayt. Ahl al-Bayt are seen as divinely appointed individuals
and teachers of the Islamic faith after Muhammad. Members of the Ahl al-Bayt include: - Prophet
Muhammad - Lady Fatima Zahra
- Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib - Imam Hassan Ibn Ali
- Imam Hussain Ibn Ali - Imam Ali Ibn Hussain
- Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali - Imam Jafaar Ibn Muhammad
- Imam Musa Ibn Jafaar - Imam Ali Ibn Musa
- Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali - Imam Ali Ibn Muhammad
- Imam Hassan Ibn Ali - Imam Hujjat Ibn Hassan
See also
Family tree of Muhammad Family tree of Shaiba ibn Hashim
Bani Shaiba Banu Hashim
Banu Quraysh Banu Kinanah
Hashemite Desposyni
Notes
References Madelung, Wilferd. The Succession to Muhammad:
A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.
Ordoni, Abu Muhammad; Muhammad Kazim Qazwini. Fatima the Gracious. Ansariyan Publications.
ASIN B000BWQ7N6. Tahir-ul-Qadri, Muhammad. Virtues of Sayyedah
Fatimah. Minhaj-ul-Quran Publications. ISBN 969-32-0225-2. Tritton, A.S; Goldziher, I.; Arendonk, C.
van. "Ahl al-Bayt". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs.
Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.
External links I. K. A. Howard, Ahl al-Bayt in Encyclopædia
Iranica. Shia-related
Shia Viewpoint Ahl-al-Bayt: Its Meaning and Origin
Sunni-related Interactive Family Tree of Muhammad saw by
Happy Books