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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)
|| /. . | | || | . |
w_7 _|| o_)_,_c .__,_8 ]_,_| 4_|_|| ]_, _, |_o_, |
(_/ . / ( . : : /:
| | : / | .. || | |
| _,_8_D_, o_) _8_D_, q .__,_,_,_|| |_8 |
/: ( / : / : . (_|
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:
| || ^ | | | : | . . || .
> q_w |_|| _e_w . _o |_7 _o _D _o 4_,_|_c q o | ]_c _,_,_|| _7 _7
/ / (_) (_| / / : / (_S. (_./
|| | ^ | . | . w | | || | .
. _,_w_7_|| _@ |_7 o_, 4_|_7 > |_9 _|_c . _,| . _w_7_|| _@ |_7_9
(_): . ( (_S (_). (_) .
| ^ | | . | . : | | . .. | ^ | . .
_@ |_7 o_, |_8_|_7 > |_9 4_o_D |_9 .__, _@ |_7 o_, 4_e_o |_7 ]_9
. ( . ( (_|
. | | || | . | | | : ^ | . | . w |
.__,_8 ]_,_| 4_|_|| ]_, _, |_o_, | | |_o o_, 4_|_7 > |_9 _|_c
. : : /: (_| ( (_S
| | : / | .. || | | || /.
| _,_8_D_, o_) _8_D_, q .__,_,_,_|| |_8 | w_7 _|| o_)_,_c
/: ( / : / : . (_| (_/ . / (
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:
" | || | . | " . || | : T || . .. |. .
... 4_|_|| ]_, _, |_o_, | _,_,_|| _|_c 4_, |_|| o ]_8 .__,_| _,
: /: (_S. (_S : /
|. : | | . . || | . : | | .. .
q |_,_w_7 q 4_o_D |_9 _,_,_|| |_c ]_9 4_o_|_w o | .__,_,_, _9
/ / (_S. ( : . (_S
|| : ^ |. . | . w | @ | / | | . |.
||_o o_, o _8_D .__9_|_7 _|_c q 4_, |_w_)_, o_8_|_|_7_9 |_,_,_w_7
(_| ( / (_S / . ( . :
|| . . | . : | | | | | ||
q w_7 _|| o_8_,_c .__,_8 > |_9 _,_,_, |_8 | _@ |_| q_8 o_8_|_||
/ (_/ . / ( . (_S : . (_| / (
. | |. | : | | .. || : | | : |
_,_, |_, o_8_e_o |_, | q 4_o_|_w o | .__,_||_o | _,_8_D_, o_8 _8_D
(_S. : ( / ( /: ( /
. || .. . | /. | / | .. . | || : | ||
_,_7 _|| .__,_, | q ,__)_, |_)_o _|_c .__,_, | ||_o ? 4_|_||
/: (_S / (_S (_|
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.
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