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Who are Household of the Prophets
(S.A)?
Ahlul-Bayt (The Members Of The House)
Who were Ahlual-Bayt?
The Holy Book tells us about the Words of Allah, the Great and
Almighty, concerning them:
Allah only desires to keep away uncleanness from you, O
members of the House! and to purify you a (thorough
purification). (XXXIII:33)
It is a virtue for them. No one of all people has this virtue.
There is no dignity more precious than keeping away uncleanness
from them and purifying them from all defects, that is the
purifying which the Most kind (Allah) likes for them with His
care, and it is not limited to a certain uncleanness or from a
certain thing. So, it implies general purifying from every defect
and sin. From this holy verse, we conclude the infallibility of
the members of the Prophetic House (Ahlul-Bayt), because every
sin is uncleanness and committing sins does not agree with their
keeping away from them and their purification from them, so, they
are, according to this verse purified from uncleanness and sins.
Is infallibility a thing behind this? Yes, all importance is in
the concerned persons with this virtue which no one of the
community had, except them. Does this virtue concern those who
were in the House when the above- mentioned Holy Verse came down
or does it concern every one who belonged to the most purified
Prophet because of a certain affinity or ancestry? If the second
question is accepted, then the reality opposes it, because some
of the Prophet's wives disobeyed him, and no uncleanness is
greater than this disobedience. So, certainly his wives are not
concerned with this virtue. Also some of those who belonged to
the Prophet because of ancestry committed grave sins and crimes,
and it is not right that Allah, the Almighty, wants to do a thing
by the creation will, (1) but the thing does not happen. As it is
impossible that Allah wants to create a thing and the thing does
not happen, so all the Prophet's wives and all the Hashimites are
not included in the foregoing verse, because the women and the
Hashimites might commit what conflicts with purification, besides
no one has said that all his wives and all the Hashimites were
infallible. And if the intended meaning in the verse was the
legal will, then no sense would the will of purification
concerning the members of the House (Ahlul-Bayt) have because
Allah, the Exalted, wants it from all people. As the verse
concerns the outstanding merit of Ahlul-Bayt, it indicates that
the creation will is confined to them. Then the legislation will
is related to the acts of creatures, while the verse concerns the
act of Allah. Therefore, if the verse was related to the
legislation will, He (Allah) would say: Go and purify
yourself. So, there is no doubt that the concerned persons
in the verse are those who have been mentioned in the first
question, namely the intended meaning of the verse refers to
certain people, and they were those who were in the House of our
master Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family, where he
covered them and himself with his cloak (kisa'). So, the verse
was sent down to them and concerning them. They were Ali,
Fatima, and their sons, peace be on them. Moreover the correct
traditions of the two parties (Shi'a and Sunna) affirm that. And
if there was no religious text that denotes that the verse
concerns them (Ahlul-Bayt), then their behavior would be the
greatest evidence for the relation between them and the verse,
because their actions and sayings force us to admit their
honesty. This plain truth has been well known for the clear-
headed persons since the revelation of this clear verse till
today. They certainly know that the members of the House
(Ahlul-Bayt) were the people of the cloak (kisa'), who had
countless noble qualities of which were purification from defects
and taking away uncleanness and sins. Yes, maybe, some of the
Hashimites made use of the general sense of the word (Ahlul-Bayt)
to achieve their aims and to reach the throne, so all the
Hashimites used this verse to convince people to follow them.
Also the word 'Shi'ism' (tashayy) maybe used to refer to 'Ali
and (the members of the) House (Ahlul-Bayt) in the general sense,
not the members of the cloak (kisa') and the Imams from the sons
of al- Husayn, peace be on them, but the persons whom the floods
of the rabble do not deviate them from the truth. People knew
that Shi'ism (tashayy) was limited to those certain Imams when
silence spread over them after the first one- third of the
Abbasid dynasty when the revolts of the Alawids were over. Our
evidence is that the Abbasid were able to destroy the Marwani
dynasty and to take the reins of government by using the words
(Ahlul-Bayt). The Abbasid used these words to make the hearts of
Shl'a incline to them and to make them a bridge to build an
entity for their authority and to destroy the entity of the
Omayyad dynasty that resisted the members of the House
(Aahlul-Bayt) and their followers throughout its' days and
colored the surface of the ground with their shed blood. Thus the
Abbasids achieved their ambition through the members of the and
their the followers House (Ahlul-Bayt). They used them both as a
bridge to achieve their goals. Generally speaking they
madeuseofall parties: the Abbasid, the Talibis, the Alawids, the
Ja'farids, the 'Aqilis, the Hassanis, and Husaynis. Then every
Hashimite used the same manner to summon people to support his
rising. For example, Abd Allah b. Mu'awiya b. Abd Allah ibn
Ja'far revolted against Abu Muslim in Kufa then in Persia because
they had the followers of the members of the House (Ahlul-Bayt),
but Abu Muslim was able to kill Abd Allah when his followers
abandoned him. Besides Zaid and his son, and the two brothers
Mohammed and Ibrahim rose to take the authority from the enemies
of the members of the House (Ahlul-Bayt). After that, people
realized that the Abbasids did not belong to the members of the
House (Ahlul-Bayt) because they pulled out the sword of
aggression against the members of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), who
were the kinship of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his
family. Moreover, people knew that the Abbasids wanted to achieve
their aims when they summoned them to overthrow the Omayyad
dynasty under the pretext of avenging the blood of those who were
killed in (the Battle of) al-Taf and the crucifixion of Kanasah
and Jawzjan and the like. That was because the Abbasids had built
their authority on the skulls of those who loved the members of
the House (Ahlul-Bayt). In other words, they showed the spite of
their chests and their evil inner most thoughts to ward
Ahlul-Bayt and their followers. Besides, Mohammed and Ibrahim
disappeared when al- Safah took the reins of government because
they were aware of his intentions toward the close relatives of
the Prophet. (Muhammad Al-Husayn Al-Muzaffar, Imam al-Sadiq,
p.21-23)
The Rights and Attributes of Ahlul-Bayt, in the Qur'an and
Sunnah
The following is a discourse on the rights and attributes of
Ahlul-Bayt sccording to our Holy Book (Qurm) and the Sunnah (way
of life) of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.).
Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from
you, O people of the House! and to purify you a (thorough)
purifying (XXXIII:33)
By Ahlul-Bayt, we meam the progeny of our beloved prophet
(p.b.u.h.) since this is how Ayah 33 of Surah Al-Ahzaab, is
intributes.
Discourse can only be logical when first we explore the
justification of Ahlul-Bayt and then we introduce their
attributes.
The Identity of Ahlul-Bayt: Umm Salama, the wife of our
beloved Prophet says, Ayah 33 of surah 33 (Al-Ahzaab) was
revealed to the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) when he was at my house. After
this revelation, the Messenger of Allah called upon Ali, Fatima,
Al-Hasan and Al-Husain to come to him and be under the mantle
with him; then he proclaimed O' Lord, these are my
Ahlul-Bayt, I implore thee to cleanse them of all stigmas, and to
purify them.
Thus, the Prophet made known the identity of Ahlul-Bayt so as
to prevent any exploitation of this verse in the future.
Umm Salama then remarked, I asked if I could join them,
but the Prophet said halt and declared that I
am in goodness, meaning she was not of Ahlul-Bayt as
mentioned in the Ayah.
No statement could have more clearly identified Ahlul-Bayt
than this one. The Messenger of Allah did not even permit his
wife Umm Salama to join the ranks of Ahlul-Bayt, thus by so doing
he hindered any claims by his other wives in the future to that
honor.
Tibari, the great historian, writes in his interpretation of
the Holy Qur'an that Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) said, This
Ayah was a revelation about me, Ali, Fatima, Al-Hasan and
Al-Husain. It is true that this Ayah is revealed amidst verses
referring to the wives of the Prophet, however, references to the
masculine gender (words like An'kum and Yu'tahirukum) prevents
one from assuming that these verses were referring to the wives
of Allah's Messenger, too. On the contrary, according to
oft-repeated narrations and testimonials, no one but the daughter
of the Prophet and her husband and their two beloved boys,
meaning the progeny of the Messenger of God, are intended when
references are made to Ahlul-Bayt.
Fundamentally, this verse cannot be referring to the wives of
the Prophet because the language of the Qur'an in revelations
about the spouses of the Prophet is harsh and assertive whereas
the references in the aforementioned Ayah are affectionate and
benevolent.
To clarify these two languages, we point to the following
judgments rendered by the Qur'an regarding the wives of the Holy
Prophet.
1. At times the Revelation threatens them with distress and
declares:
O' Wives of the Prophet, those of you who commit
misdeeds will face twice the punishment and this is easy for
Allah to do. (XIII:35)
2. At times, the Holy Book forbids them from treading the same
course as the women of Jahiliya. When such references are seen in
the Qur'an (regarding the spouses of the Prophet), is it fair to
attribute the Ayah (which declares God's affection towards
Ahlul-Bayt) to no one but the Prophet's Pure Family?
3. In the 3rd Ayah, two spouses of the Prophet (who revealed
his secret) are reprimanded. They are told to repent and that
repentance is to their benefit since their hearts have veered
from righteousness and that if they conspire against the Prophet
they will not triumph since Allah and Gabriel, and the righteous
and the angels are the protectors and supporters of the Prophet.
The nature of the secret that was about to be revealed is not
pertinent at this point but the important fact is that such
people who are at the verge of openly opposing the Prophet and
are asked to repent are not in position to be pronounced
immaculate and cleansed. of sin as such.
There is no doubt that all the spouses of the Prophet deserve
special respect due to the fact that they are related to the
Messenger of God. However, such respect does not mean the
Qur'an's judgment about them can be ignored or that if anyone
would speak unkindly about them should be condemned.
Now that we familiarized ourselves with the meaning and the
usage of the term Ahlul-Bayt the time has come for
recounting some of their attributes.
1. The right to interpret the Word of God:
Numerous verses in the Holy Qur'an make it clear that an
understanding of the inner-meaning (the implied) and in other
words the true test of the Holy Book is specific to certain
individuals and that the true status of the Qur'an and the hidden
revelations therein will not be known to any but such special
individuals whose characteristics include integrity.
According to Ayah 80 of Surah Wa'qi'ah, these individuals are
the ones who have the ability to come in contact with this
fountain of knowledge in the Qur'an.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the Ahlul-Bayt of the
Prophet who are (according to Surah 33, Ayah 33), free of all
ignominy, are the ones who shall witness the true status
(meaning) of the Qur'an.
It is important to mention here that according to the Holy
Verses, the true standing of the Qur'an is the vastness of the
knowledge within its revelations. The final meaning thereof, and
that of the latent verses or the less than clear content, was to
be clarified to become the guidance to mankind. Therefore, those
who have access to the true status of the Qur'an, meaning the
true knowledge of the firm and unmistakable (Muh'kam) and to the
unspecified (Mu'tashaabah), no doubt have full command of the
interpretation and allegoric explanation of the Holy Verses.
The Qur'an calls the interpreters of the firm and unmistakable
(Muh'kam) and
the unspecified (Mu'tashaabah) verses as: Al-Rasikhoon fil
I'lm. meaning the Deeply Versed in Divine Knowledge (of the
Qur'an).
2. Ahlul-Bayt are entitled to one-fifth of Ghanaa'em
The Holy Qur'an, in Ayah 41 of Surah Anfaal, considers
one-fifth of the Ghanaa'em (livelihood-gains) as the property of
Allah and the Prophet (p.b.u.h.), his relatives, the orphans, the
poor and the helpless.
We do not want to divulge in a discussion of the term
Ghanaa'em, whether to mean what is gained in a war (spoils of
war), or the normal income of a person attained through any
legitimate means. Those who believe that it is limited solely to
the spoils of war are deceived by the language of the era after
the revelation.
In contrast to such a view, the Qur'an and the Sunnah consider
Ghanaa'em as the net profit or benefit that one obtains, that can
even include heavenly blessings and the benefits of the
hereafter.
In Ayah 94 of Surah Nisaa' reference is made to those who seek
the perishable wealth of this world while the heavenly blessings
are with God. Usage of the term Ghanaa'em in reference to
heavenly blessings is by itself proof of the truthfulness of the
claim that by Ghanaa'em the Qur'an means the total of what man
acquires for his livelihood, whether worldly, in the Hereafter,
through war or as a result of a business transaction.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Muslim or the Islamic
Jurisprudent to use one-fifth of Ghanaa'em for the six-fold uses.
These six-fold uses include the needs of the household of the
Prophet (p.b.u.h.).
The fact that the word (to the Messenger) precedes the term to
the kin, (Dhul Qur'ba) is proof that by kin the
Qur'an means the relatives of the Prophet, not those related to
the benefactors.
The three other groups meaning the orphans, the poor and the
travelers in special situation, (ibn al-sabeel) are also somehow
related to the Prophet.
Allah has forbidden payment of zakat to the Hashimites but on
the other hand has allowed payment of khums to members of this
family so that in addition to covering expenses associated with
leadership, they are able to support those who are dependent upon
this family for their sustenance.
But unfortunately, after the demise of our beloved Prophet
(p.b.u.h.), the rights of his progeny to the fifth of Ghanaa'em
was among the rights which were trampled upon.
Not only were their rights ignored but also their personal
possessions were confiscated under the pretext that the Prophet
had not granted it to his beloved daughter; and eventually all
ended in the hands of Benu Umayya (Benu Sufyan and Aal-Marwan).
In this regard, wrongful justifications and erroneous
jurisprudence replaced the command of revelation. The Qur'an
orders the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to pay the dues of relatives and
the poor and the traveler, and the Prophet grants the land of
Fadak to his daughter in accordance to this command. However,
after the demise of the Holy Prophet, personal vendetta replaced
the laws of the Book.
The term kin (Dhul-Our'ba) is mentioned in the Qur'an 16
times, once singularly and 15 times with prefixes like Dhi,
Dhawi, and Ulu. At times, it means t'nose close to the Prophet of
God. Depending on the Ayah, where the Prophet himself is being
addressed, the Ayah is naturally referring to his relatives.
According to interpreters of the Holy Qur'an, Fadak was granted
to Fatima (a.s.) after the Ayah about Dhul Qur'ba was revealed to
the Prophet.
Further deliberation about the rights of Ahlul-Bayt is avoided
since such discourse is broad and beyond the means of this work.
3. The Love of Ahlul-Bayt is incumbent upon us
The Messengers of God propagate Allah's Word in order to
please the Almighty, and the motto of the final Messenger of God,
Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), was commanded by the Qur'an in Surah
Al-Shoora, Surah 42, Ayah 23:
Declare [O' Muhammad]: I ask you of no recompense
for my toil except the love for my kin (family). Whose
earns good, We shall expand it for him. Verily Allah is
oft-forgiving, appreciates good works.
Thus, Allah commands the Prophet of Islam to demand from the
Ummah the love of his progeny. In the Arabic language the term
Qur'ba means kinship, and Mawad'dat fil
Our'ba means love of Dhul Qur'ba (kin) that we see
throughout the Holy Qur'an. As mentioned before, this word has
been used with prefixes such as Dhi and Ulu.
In addition, numerous narrations clarify the brevity in this
Ayah and show that by love and affection toward relatives, the
Qur'an means those closely related to the Prophet. Here we bring
to your attention some narrations by believers of the Sunni
School of Thought.
Ahmad Bin Hanbal quotes the Prophet in his book Fadha'il
of the Sahaaba and writes when the above quoted verse,
(Surah Al-Shoora, Surah 42, Ayah 23) was revealed, Companions of
the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) asked O' Prophet of God, who are
those close to you and who are those people whose fondness and
admiration is incumbent upon us. The Prophet replied,
They are Ali, Fatima and their two children and he
repeated this three times.
In his interpretation of the Holy Qur'an, Sayooti quotes Ibn
Abbas that the Ayah means that the right of Prophet Muhammad
(p.b.u.h.) must be honored by honoring this family, and that we
should love them for his sake.
Kumayt Assadi, the poet of the Umawi era has mentioned this
Ayah in a poem and writes:
In a Surah that begins with letters Ha-meem, we found an
Ayah whose meaning was altered by the dissimulators among us, Yet
others (Imams) proclaimed the Ayah in its Rightful Worth.
Imam Shafi'i himself being a descendant of the Prophet, in his
famous works of poetry, calls the love of Ahlul-Bayt an
entitlement of the family of the Prophet and writes:
O' Pilgrims! On your way to the House of Allah, pause
shortly in the sands of Muzdalifah. At dawn, when the caravans of
pilgrims move toward Mina, like a roaring river, call upon them
and say: If love of the Prophet's family means to Refuse,
Rafidhi then let Mankind know, that surely I am a
Rafidhi.
Of course, it must be kept in mind that the love of this
family benefits the Ummah more than it does good for Ahlul Bayt,
since he who loves one from the heart will follow the path of his
beloved and will take steps in such direction in life.
When the head of such a great family stresses this issue and
declares: (Who dies with the love of Ahlul-Bayt, he will have
died as a martyr), he is referring to true love that is
inseparable from action. Of course, this does not mean that he
who loves Ahlul Bayt must be absolving Islamic integrity or
vindicating Islamic commands. What it means is that a person
should attempt tofollow their examples and should not be
negligent in religious duties or freely engage in what is
prohibited.
4. Ahlul-Bayt are authorities in religious teachings of Usool,
(the basics of the faith) and Furoo' (the branches, acts of
worship) of Islam.
The oft-repeated Hadith of Thaqalain and the Mutawaatir Hadith
of Safinah clearly illustrate that Ahlul-Bayt are the authentic
source of religious and intellectual reference for Muslims after
the demise of the Holy Prophet.
According to the Hadith: I leave after me two pivotal
matters for you to cherish. One is the Book of Allah and the
other my progeny (Ahlul-Bayt).
These two are further described in the following Hadith:
As long as you seek refuge in the Qur'an and Ahlul-Bayt in
times of trouble, you will not go astray.
If the Qur'an is the greatest source of knowledge for the
Muslims, the progeny of the Prophet also have such a status and
position. If resorting to the Qur'an is a means of finding
guidance and avoiding the Qur'an results in deviation from the
path of righteousness, then the same is true for the
Ahlul-Bayt.
According to the second Hadith:
The similitude of Ahlul-Bayt is the same as that of
Noah's Ark. Whoever boards it will be saved and he who avoided it
will drown.
This hadith proves the religious authority of Ahlul-Bayt in
the same manner the hadith of Thaqalain does. Avoidance of
Ahlul-Bayt again is considered a deviance or aimlessly straying.
Although the system of Khilaafah and Islamic leadership
encountered indecision and lack of unity after the demise of the
Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and individual based jurisprudence and
(political) justifications prevailed, however, none of this
tainted the image of Ahlul-Bayt and their religious authority.
Ali and his sons continuously remained the problem-solvers of
the Ummah and covered the roots and branches of the faith in
their teachings.
Despite this, the Umawi and Abbasi dynasties attempted to
create a deep rift between the Ummah and Ahlul-Bayt. Shunning the
progeny of Muhammad by Ahlul Sunnah in recent centuries is the
result of such ominous policies of the Umawi and Abbasi
dynasties.
As a result, in Sunni jurisprudence, all scholars and writers
of Ahadith are eagerly quoted, yet the progeny of the Prophet are
rarely mentioned. This can only be explained by the mischief of
the Muslim leadership in the past.
Today, the Informed Society of Ahlul-Bayt can bring together
all Islamic people around one single axis and end discord. We
hope and pray for the culmination of such aspirations, success of
the admirers of Ahlul-Bayt and harbingers of harmony and unity
and cessation of discord and division among Muslim ranks.
5. Salawaat is due to the progeny of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)
Among the rights of Ahlul-Bayt is that salawaat is due to them
as well as the Prophet and that one should not separate the
Messenger of Allah from his progeny when chanting salawaat.
1
Verily Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet. O
you who believe! send blessings on him [Muhammad] and greet him
with the fitting salutation.
When the above Ayah was revealed, the Companions of the
Prophet inquired about the manner in which salawaat is to be
said. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) answered:
When saying salawaat, one must say: O Allah! send Thy
peace and blessings upon the Prophet and his progeny in the same
manner that You send it upon Ibrahim and his progeny for You are
Praiseworthy and Most High.
In his book (Sawaa'iq), Ibn Hajr quotes the Prophet saying,
Do not deliver an unfinished salawaat for me. Ibn
Hajr adds, when the Prophet was asked what he meant by an
unfinished salawaat, the Prophet replied:
Do not say 'O Allah! send Thy peace and blessings upon
Muhammad instead say: Allah! send Thy peace and blessings upon
Muhammad and upon Aali Muhammad.
Regretfully, this unfinished salawaat is quite popular in
writings of Ahlul-Sunnah and the lectures of Sunni preachers.
In a Hadith, the beloved Prophet (p.b.u.h.) insists that,
Whoever makes prayer and does not declare salawaat for him
and his family, his prayer is incomplete and will not be
accepted.
Imam Shafi'i attests to this Hadith in a famous poem:
2
Roughly translated Al-Shafi'i says: Oh the love of Ahlul-Bayt
is such That it is a must since the Qur'an has it established .
Suffice it that their distinction is such That the prayer is
invalid if no salawaat is offered for them.
6. Honoring the homes of Ahlul-Bayt.
It is incumbent upon the Muslim Ummah to honor and respect the
homes of Ahlul-Bayt and according to the Ayah mentioned earlier:
The light (of Allah) shines upon dwellings that are made
to be honored. In those homes men pray to Allah every morning and
every afternoon.
These homes are honored and endeared both physically by being
well-kept, and spiritually by being kept pure. Special respect is
due to such dwellings.
Sayooti writes in his interpretation of the Qur'an that when
this Ayah was revealed, the disciples of the Prophet asked him
what was meant by (homes). He replied, The homes of the
Prophets. Then Abu Bakr asked him if the residence of
Fatima (a.s.) was among such homes. Prophet Muhammad replied,
Yes, and it is one of the best among them.
Any disrespect towards the homes of the Prophets and the
residence of the Final Messenger of Allah is prohibited and
considered a transgression upon the person of the Prophet. Such
acts lead to apostasy.
If paying homage Tar'fii' refers only to the
physical appearance of these homes then their well-keeping is a
duty on Muslims. However, if dignifying means doing so in a
spiritual capacity, then respecting these dwellings is incumbent
upon all Muslims, too.
1. The creation
will is related to the Act of the willer (Allah) Himself;
legislation will is related to the acts of human beings, it
concerns the religious obligations.
(Ayatollah Muhaqiq Damad, Ahlul-Bayt Assembly of America
p.27-35 )
