The Ahulbayt in Quran [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Who are Ahlul-Bayt? (Part I)

Introduction
According to most authentic traditions in collections of both
Sunni and Shia, Ahlul-Bayt (People of the House) of the Prophet
are one of the two most precious Symbols of Islam after the departure
of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

There are numerous traditions in
the collection of both schools that the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
has reminded us to stick to these two weighty things (al-Thaqalain),
namely Quran and Ahlul-Bayt, in order not to go astray after him.

The Messenger of Allah also informed us that these two weights
are non-separable and are with each other till the day of Judgment.

This requires us that for understanding the interpretation of
Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) we should refer
to those who are attached to it, namely Ahlul-Bayt.

Knowing exactly who Ahlul-Bayt are, thus becomes a very vital
matter when one considers the above tradition of the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
as well as many other traditions which unequivocally state that
adherence to Ahlul-Bayt is the only way of salvation.

This clearly
implies that the one who follows a wrong set of Ahlul-Bayt (!!),
will be led astray.

Considering the critical importance of the subject, it will not
be surprising to see that the Shia differ from some Sunnis in
this subject.

In fact, the Sunnis do not have one voice in specifying
the Members of the House the Prophet.

Most Sunnis are in the opinion
that the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) are:

Fatimah al-Zahra (AS) (the daughter of the Messenger of Allah),

Imam Ali (AS),

Imam al-Hasan (AS),

Imam al-Husain (AS),

Wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF)

Others among the Sunnis further include ALL the descendants of
the Prophet to the list! Some other Sunnis are very generous and
include all the descendants of Abbas (the Abbasid) as well as
the descendants of Aqil & Ja'far (the two brothers of Imam
Ali) to the list.

It should be noted, however, that there have
been some leading Sunni scholars who did NOT consider the wives
of the Prophet among Ahlul-Bayt.

This happens to be consistent
with the Shia point of view.

To the Shia, the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) consist
of the following individuals ONLY:

Fatimah al-Zahra (AS),

Imam Ali (AS),

Imam al-Hasan (AS),

Imam al-Husain (AS),

Nine descendants of Imam al-Husain (AS).

and including the Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself, they will become
fourteen individuals.

Of course, at the time of the Holy Prophet
only five of them (including the Prophet) were living and the
rest were not born yet.

The Shia further assert that these fourteen
individuals are protected by Allah from any kind of flaws, and
thus worthy of being obeyed beside Quran (the other Weighty Symbol),
and they are the only people who have the full knowledge of the
interpretation of the Quranic verses.

In this discussion, we would like to explain why the Shia exclude
the wives of the Prophet from Ahlul-Bayt, and also we will briefly
discuss why Ahlul-Bayt are protected/infallible.

(More detailed
discussion on the infallibility is provided in Chapter 2).

We
base our proofs on:

1.
Quran,

2.
Traditions from the authentic Sunni Collections,

3.
Historical events.

Evidence From Quran
The Holy Book of Allah mentions Ahlul-Bayt and their exceptional
virtue in the following verse which is known as "Purification
Verse" (Ayah al-Tat'hir):

"Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of
uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you
with a perfect purification".

(Quran, the last sentence of
Verse 33:33)

Note that the word "Rijs" in the above verse has got
the article "al-" at its beginning which makes the word
universal.

Thus "al-Rijs" means "EVERY KIND of
impurity".

Also at the end of the verse, Allah states "and
purify you a PERFECT purification.

" The word "perfect"
comes from the emphasis of "Tat'hiran".

This is the
only place in Quran that Allah uses the emphasis of "PERFECT
purification".

According to the above verse, Allah expresses his intention to
keep Ahlul-Bayt pure and flawless/sinless, and what Allah intends
it will certainly take place as Quran itself testifies (see 16:40).

Indeed, a human can be sinless because he is not forced to commit
sin.

It is the human's choice to accept the instructions of Allah
and get His help to avoid sin, or to neglect Allah's commandments
and commit the sin.

Allah is advisor, and encourager, and warner.

A sinless human is still a human; no doubt about it.

Some people
assert that in order to be human, one SHOULD have some mistakes.

Such claim is unsupported.

The truth is that Human CAN make mistakes
but he does not have to.

It is the Grace of Allah that attracts His servants towards Him,
WITHOUT compelling them any way.

This is our choice to pursue
this attraction and refrain from doing mistakes, or to turn away
and commit the mistakes.

However, Allah has GUARANTEED to show
the Right Path and to provide a pure life for those who seek it:

Whoever works righteousness man or woman and is faithful, We shall
revive a PURE life for him.

(Quran 16:97)

And whosoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way
out for him.

(Quran 65:2)

It is worth mentioning the sentence of Quran in verse 33:33 which
is related to purification of Ahlul-Bayt, has been placed at the
middle of verses related to the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF),
and this was the main reason why some Sunnis include the wives
of the Prophet in Ahlul-Bayt.

However, the sentence related to
Ahlul-Bayt (given above) distinguishes itself from the sentences
before and after it with a clear distinction.

The sentences before
and after, use only feminine gender which clearly shows they are
addressing the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

However, in
contrary, the above sentence uses only masculine gender which
is a clear indication that that Quran is changing the individuals
who is referring to.

People who are familiar with Quran to some extent, know that such
a sharp change of addressee is not a weird-thing, and it has been
applied to several places in Quran.

For instance we read in Quran:

"O Joseph! pass this over and (O wife of Aziz!) ask forgiveness
for your sin, for truly you have been at fault.
"

(Quran 12:29)

In the above verse, "O wife of Aziz" has not been mentioned
and the address to Joseph (AS) looks to continue.

However the
transition of the address from masculine gender to feminine gender
clearly shows that the second sentence is addressing the Aziz's
wife and not Prophet Joseph (AS).

Notice that both sentences are
WITHIN one verse.

Also note the immediate change of addressing
from Aziz's wife to Joseph and again back to the wife in verses
before verse 29 and also WITHIN that verse.

In Arabic language, when a group of women are being addressed,
feminine gender is employed.

However, if only one man exists among
that group, masculine gender is used instead.

Thus the above sentence
of Quran clearly shows Allah is referring to a group other than
the wives of the Prophet, using masculine gender, and that group
includes some male members.

From the verse 33:33 alone, we can not conclude that the wives
of the Prophet are not included in Ahlul-Bayt.

This latter claim
can be proven by the authentic traditions of the Sunnis from Sihah
Sittah in which the Prophet mentioned who Ahlul-Bayt are; and
also by comparing the specifications of Ahlul-Bayt given in the
verse of Quran with the behavior of the some of the wives of the
Prophet mentioned in Sihah Sittah to prove the contrary.

What can be understood from the verse ALONE is that Allah is changing
His address (which was exclusively the wives of the Prophet at
the beginning of the verse) to some people who include some male
members, and may or may not include the wives of the Prophet.

Authentic Traditions
It is interesting to see that both Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi
as well as many others confirm the Shi'ite point of view explained
above.

In Sahih Muslim, there is a chapter named "Chapter
of Virtues of the Companions".

Inside this chapter, there
is a section called "Section of the Virtues of the Ahlul-Bayt
of the Prophet".

There exists ONLY ONE tradition in this
section, and this tradition has no reference to the wives of the
Prophet (PBUH&HF).

The tradition is known as "The Tradition
of Cloak/Mantle" (Hadith al-Kisaa), and is as follows:

Narrated Aisha:

One day the Prophet (PBUH&HF) came out afternoon wearing a
black cloak (upper garment or gown; long coat), then al-Hasan
Ibn Ali came and the Prophet accommodated him under the cloak,
then al-Husain came and entered the cloak, then Fatimah came and
the Prophet entered her under the cloak, then Ali came and the
Prophet entered him to the cloak as well.

Then the Prophet recited:
"Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of
uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you
a perfect purification (the last sentence of Verse 33:33).
"

Sunni reference:

Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of companions, section of
the virtues of the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), 1980
Edition Pub.

in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1883, Tradition
#61.

Below is the Arabic text of above tradition given in Sahih Muslim:

One can see that the author of Sahih Muslim confirms that:

Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain are the Ahlul-Bayt,

The purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse
33:33) was revealed for the virtue of the above-mentioned individuals,
and NOT for the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Muslim (the Author) did not put any other tradition in this section
(section of the virtues of Ahlul-Bayt).

If the author of Sahih
Muslim believed that the wives of the Prophet were included in
Ahlul-Bayt, he would have quoted some traditions about them in
this section.

It is interesting to see that Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
is the narrator of the above tradition, and she herself is testifying
that Ahlul- Bayt are the above-mentioned individuals (i.
e.
, Imam
Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, may the blessing of Allah
be upon them all).

Another version of the "Tradition of Cloak" is written
in Sahih al-Tirmidhi, which is narrated in the authority of Umar
Ibn Abi Salama, the son of Umm Salama (another wife of Prophet),
which is as follows:

The verse "Verily Allah intends to


(33:33)" was
revealed to the Prophet (PBUH&HF) in the house of Umm Salama.

Upon that, the Prophet gathered Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain,
and covered them with a cloak, and he also covered Ali who was
behind him.

Then the Prophet said: "O' Allah! These are
the Members of my House (Ahlul-Bayt).

Keep them away from
every impurity and purify them with a perfect purification.

"
Umm Salama (the wife of Prophet) asked: "Am I also included
among them O Apostle of Allah?" the Prophet replied: "You
remain in your position and you are toward a good ending.
"

Sunni reference:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, pp 351,663

Here is the Arabic text of above tradition given by Sahih al-Tirmidhi:

As we see, al-Tirmidhi also confirms that Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan,
and al-Husain are the Ahlul-Bayt, and the purification sentence
in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33) was revealed for the
virtue of the above-mentioned individuals, and NOT for the wives
of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Also it is apparent from above authentic
tradition that the Prophet himself excluded his wives from Ahlul-Bayt.

If Umm Salama (RA) was among Ahlul-Bayt, why didn't the Prophet
answer her positively? Why didn't he enter her into the cloak?
Why did the Prophet tell her that she remains in her own position?
If the Prophet (PBUH&HF) would consider Umm Salama among Ahlul-Bayt,
he would surely have entered her to the cloak and would have prayed
for her perfect purity as well.

It is also worth mentioning that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did
NOT say: "These are among the Members of my House".

He rather said: "These are THE Members of my House"
since there was no other member of Ahlul-Bayt who was alive at
the time of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Also notice that Umm Salama
(RA) who is the virtuous wife of the Prophet is the narrator of
the tradition to his son and gives the testimony that who Ahlul-Bayt
are.

In the tradition of al-Hakim the wording the last question and
answer is as follows:

Umm Salama said: "O Prophet of Allah! Am I not one of the
members of your family?" The Holy Prophet replied: "You
have a good future but only these are the members of my family.

O Lord! The members of my family are more deserving.
"

Sunni reference: al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p416

Also the wording reported by al-Suyuti and Ibn al-Athir is as
follows:

Umm Salama said to the Holy Prophet: "Am I also one of them?"
He replied: "No.

You have your own special position
and your future is good.
"

Sunni reference:

Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v2, p289

Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v5, p198

Also al-Tabari quotes Umm Salama saying:

I said, "O Prophet of Allah! Am I not also one of your Ahlul-Bayt?"
I swear by the Almighty that the Holy Prophet did NOT grant me
any distinction and said: "You have a good future.
"

Sunni reference:

Tafsir al-Tabari, v22, p7 under the commentary
of verse 33:33

Beside Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Tirmidhi from which we quoted
the Tradition of Cloak on the authority of Aisha and Umm Salama
respectively, below are more Sunni references of the Tradition
of Cloak who reported both versions of the traditions:

(3) Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, pp 323,292,298; v1, pp 330-331;
v3, p252; v4, p107 from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri

(4) Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p578, Tradition
#978

(5) al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p416 (two traditions) from
Ibn Abi Salama, v3, pp 146-148 (five traditions), pp 158,172

(6) al-Khasa'is, by an-Nisa'i, pp 4,8

(7) al-Sunan, by al-Bayhaqi, narrated from Aisha and Umm Salama

(8) Tafsir al-Kabir, by al-Bukhari (the author of Sahih), v1,
part 2, p69

(9) Tafsir al-Kabir, by Fakhr al-Razi, v2, p700 (Istanbul), from
Aisha

(10) Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-Suyuti, v5, pp 198,605
from Aisha and Umm Salama

(11) Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, v22, pp 5-8 (from Aisha and Abu
Sa'id al-Khudri), pp 6,8 (from Ibn Abi Salama) (10 traditions)

(12) Tafsir al-Qurtubi, under the commentary of verse 33:33 from
Umm Salama

(13) Tafsir Ibn Kathir, v3, p485 (Complete version) from Aisha
and Umar Ibn Abi Salama

(14) Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v2, p12; v4, p79 narrated
from Ibn Abi Salama

(15) Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
11, sec.
1, p221 from Umm Salama

(16) Tarikh, by al-Khateeb Baghdadi, v10, narrated from Ibn Abi
Salama

(17) Tafsir al-Kashshaf, by al-Zamakhshari, v1, p193 narrated
from Aisha

(18) Mushkil al-Athar, by al-Tahawi, v1, pp 332-336 (seven traditions)

(19) Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by Muhibb al-Tabari, pp21-26, from Abu
Sa'id Khudri

(20) Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p166 (by several transmitters)




and more .

Here is another authentic variation of "The Tradition of
Cloak" which is related to Safiyya who was another wife of
the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib narrated:

When the Messenger of Allah noticed that a blessing from Allah
was to descent, he told Safiyya (one of his wives): "Call
for me! Call for me!" Safiyya said: "Call who, O the
Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Call for me my Ahlul-Bayt
who are Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain.

" Thus we sent
for them and they came to him.

Then the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
spread his cloak over them, and raised his hand (toward sky) saying:
"O Allah! These are my family (Aalee), so bless Muhammad
and the family (Aal) of Muhammad.

" And Allah, to whom belong
Might and Majesty, revealed: "Verily Allah intends to keep
off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House
(Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you a thorough purification (Quran, the
last sentence of Verse 33:33)".

Sunni references:

al-Mustadrak by al-Hakim, Chapter of "Understanding (the
virtues) of Companions, v3, p148.

The author then wrote: "This
tradition is authentic (Sahih) based on the criteria of the two
Shaikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
"

Talkhis of al-Mustadrak, by al-Dhahabi, v3, p148

Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v3, p33

Although the majority of traditions on this issue show that the
last sentence of the verse 33:33 was revealed in the house of
Umm Salama (as quoted earlier), the above tradition implies that
it might have been revealed in the house of Safiyya.

Based on
the opinion of the Sunni scholars including Ibn Hajar, it is quite
possible that the verse was revealed more than once.

In each occasion,
the Prophet repeated his action in front of different wives so
that they all realize who his Ahlul-Bayt are.

The testimony of three wives of the Prophet (Aisha, Umm Salama,
and Safiyya) leaves us no room but to believe that the Ahlul-Bayt
at the time of the Prophet were no more than five individuals:
Prophet Muhammad, Lady Fatimah, Imam Ali, al-Hasan, and al-Husain
(Peace be upon them all).

The fact that the gender in later part of Verse 33:33 is switched
from feminine to masculine, has led the majority of Sunni commentators
to believe that the last part was revealed for Imam Ali, Fatimah,
al-Hasan and al-Husain, as Ibn Hajar al-Haythami indicated:

Based on the opinion of the majority of (Sunni) commentators,
the saying of Allah :"Verily Allah intends to .

(the last
sentence of the verse 33:33)" was revealed for Ali, Fatimah,
al-Hasan, and al-Husain, because of the usage of masculine
gender in the word "Ankum" and after that.

Sunni reference:

al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch.
11,
section 1, p220

Although the Shia have great respect for the highly righteous
wives among the wives of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), such as Khadija,
Umm Salama, Umm Ayman and .

(may Allah be pleased with them)
who closely followed the Prophet and his Ahlul-Bayt before and
after the demise of Prophet (PBUH&HF), yet we do not include
even those respected individuals into Ahlul-Bayt since the Prophet
clearly excluded them according to the authentic Sunni and Shi'i
traditions.

Ahlul-Bayt have exceptional virtues that no other
pious person after the Prophet would possess them in the world,
which are according to Quran: sinlessness, flawlessness and perfect
purity.

End of Part 1 of 8