Ahl al-Bayt
refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and their two sons, Ḥasan and Ḥusayn. A common Sunni view adds the wives of Muhammad to these five.
While all Muslims revere the Ahl al-Bayt, Shia Muslims assert that members of the Ahl al-Bayt are spiritual successors to Muhammad, possessing divine knowledge and infallibility. The Twelver Shiʿa also believe in the redemptive power of the pain and martyrdom endured by the members of the Ahl al-Bayt, particularly Husayn. Sunni Muslims, who do not believe in spiritual succession to Muhammad, only hold the Ahl al-Bayt in high regard.
Definition
When appears in construction with a person, it refers to his blood relatives. However, the word also acquires wider meanings with other nouns. In particular, is translated as 'habitation' and 'dwelling', and thus the basic translation of is ' inhabitants of the house'. That is, literally translates to ' people of the house'. In the absence of the definite article, the literal translation of is 'household'.Other prophets
The phrase appears three times in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, in relation to Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad. For Abraham and Moses, in the Quran is unanimously interpreted as their families. Yet merit is also a criterion of membership in a prophet's family in the Quran. That is, pagan or disloyal members of the families of the past prophets are not excluded from God's punishment. In particular, Noah's family is saved from the deluge, except his wife and one of his sons, about whom Noah's plea was rejected according to verse 11:46, "O Noah, he is not of your family." Families of the past prophets are often given a prominent role in the Quran. Therein, their kin are selected by God as the spiritual and material heirs to the prophets.Muhammad
The household of Muhammad, often referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt, appear in verse 33:33 of the Quran, also known as the verse of purification. The last passage of the verse of purification reads, "God only desires to remove defilement from you, O, and to purify you completely." Muslims disagree as to who belongs to Muhammad's and what privileges or responsibilities they have.Inclusion of the Ahl al-Kisa
The majority of the traditions quoted by the Sunni exegete al-Tabari identify the Ahl al-Bayt with the Ahl al-Kisa, namely, Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn. Such reports are also cited in,,, all canonical Sunni collections of hadith, and by some other Sunni authorities, including al-Suyuti, al-Hafiz al-Kabir, al-Hakim al-Nishapuri, and Ibn Kathir.In possibly the earliest version of the hadith of the, Muhammad's wife Umm Salama relates that he gathered Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn under his cloak and prayed, "O God, these are my and my closest family members; remove defilement from them and purify them completely." Some accounts continue that Umm Salama then asked Muhammad, "Am I with thee, O Messenger of God?" but received the negative response, "Thou shalt obtain good. Thou shalt obtain good." Among others, such reports are given in,, and by Ibn Kathir, al-Suyuti, and the Shia exegete Muhammad H. Tabatabai. Yet another Sunni version of this hadith appends Umm Salama to the Ahl al-Bayt. In another Sunni version, Muhammad's servant Wathila bint al-Asqa' is also counted in the Ahl al-Bayt.
Elsewhere in, Muhammad is said to have recited the last passage in the verse of purification every morning when he passed by Fatima's house to remind her household of the morning prayer. In his with a delegation of Najrani Christians, Muhammad is also believed to have gathered the above four under his cloak and referred to them as his, according to Shia and some Sunni sources, including and. This makeup of the Ahl al-Bayt is echoed by the Islamicist Laura Veccia Vaglieri, and also reported unanimously in Shia sources. In Shia theology works, the Ahl al-Bayt often also includes the remaining Shia imams. The term is sometimes loosely applied in Shia writings to all descendants of Ali and Fatima.
Inclusion of Muhammad's wives
Perhaps because the earlier injunctions in the verse of purification are addressed at Muhammad's wives, some Sunni authors, such as al-Wahidi, have exclusively interpreted the Ahl al-Bayt as Muhammad's wives. Others have noted that the last passage of this verse is grammatically inconsistent with the previous injunctions. Thus the Ahl al-Bayt is not or is not limited to Muhammad's wives. Ibn Kathir, for instance, includes Ali, Fatima, and their two sons in the Ahl al-Bayt, in addition to Muhammad's wives. Indeed, certain Sunni hadiths support the inclusion of Muhammad's wives in the Ahl al-Bayt, including some reports on the authority of Ibn Abbas and Ikrima, two early Muslim figures.Alternatively, the Islamicist Oliver Leaman proposes that marriage to a prophet does not guarantee inclusion in his. He argues that, in verse 11:73, Sara is included in Abraham's only after receiving the news of her imminent motherhood to two prophets, Isaac and Jacob. Likewise, Leaman suggests that Moses' mother is counted as a member of in verse 28:12, not for being married to Imran, but for being the mother of Moses. Similarly, in their bid for inclusion in the Ahl al-Bayt, the Abbasids argued that women, noble and holy as they may be, could not be considered a source of pedigree. As the descendants of Muhammad's paternal uncle Abbas, they claimed that he was equal to Muhammad's father after the latter died.
Broader interpretations
As hinted above, some Sunni authors have broadened its application to include in the Ahl al-Bayt the clan of Muhammad, the Banu Muttalib, the Abbasids, and even the Umayyads, who had descended from Hashim's nephew Umayya. Indeed, another Sunni version of the hadith ''al-kisa is evidently intended to append the Abbasids to the Ahl al-Bayt. This Abbasid claim was in turn the cornerstone of their bid for legitimacy. Similarly, a Sunni version of the hadith al-'' defines the Ahl al-Bayt as the descendants of Ali and his brothers, and Muhammad's uncle Abbas.The first two Rashidun caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, have also been included in the Ahl al-Bayt in some Sunni reports, as they were both fathers-in-law of Muhammad. Nevertheless, these and the accounts about the inclusion of the Umayyads in the Ahl al-Bayt might have been later reactions to the Abbasid claims to inclusion in the Ahl al-Bayt and their own bid for legitimacy. The term has also been interpreted as the Meccan tribe of Quraysh, or the whole Muslim community. For instance, the Islamicist Rudi Paret identifies in the verse of purification with the Kaaba, located in the holiest site in Islam. However, his theory has only found few supporters, notably Moshe Sharon, another expert.