The Prophet’s pure Household (i.e., Ahl al-Bayt) are highly respected personality in Islam. They are praised in the Qur’an and Hadith. In this article, therefore, we shall examine some of the sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUHH) on the esteemed status of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s).
Both al-Tabrani’s Al-Mujma’ al-Kabir and Shafi’i’s Musnad, quoting Ibn Abbas, state that “The Messenger of Allah (PBUHH) has said: “Let whoever is pleased to live like me and die like me and inhabit Eden’s Paradise which my Lord cultivated take `Ali as his master after me, and let him obey whoever he places in charge over him, and let him follow the example of my Ahl alBayt after me, for they are my progeny: they are created of my own mould and blessed with my own comprehension and knowledge. Woe unto those who reject them and separate me from them! May Allah never permit them to enjoy my intercession?” (1)
Al-Matir, al-Barudi, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Shahin, and Ibn Mundah have all quoted Ishaq citing Ziyad ibn Matraf saying: “I have heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “Whoever wishes to live my life and die my death and enter the Garden which my Lord promised me, the Garden of eternity, then let him take `Ali and his progeny after him as his masters, for they shall never take you out of guidance, nor let you stray” (2).
Similarly, Zayd ibn Arqam is quoted in one hadith saying: “The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH&HP), has said: `Whoever wishes to live like me and die my death and inhabit the perpetual Garden promised to me by my Lord, let him take `Ali as his master, for he shall never get you out of guidance, nor shall he let you stray” (3).
Also, consider this tradition narrated by `Ammar ibn Yasir: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) has said: `I admonish whoever believed in me and held me truthful to accept the government of Ali ibn Abu Talib, for whoever accepts him as the ruler accepts me as such, and whoever loves him loves me too, and whoever loves me loves Allah. Whoever hates him hates me, and whoever hates me hates Allah, the Sublime, and the Almighty.”(4) Ammar quotes others stating this hadith: “O Lord! Whoever believed in me and held me truthful, let him take `Ali as his master, for his government is also mine, and mine is that of the Almighty Allah” (5).
He (PBUHH) once delivered a sermon wherein he said: “O people! Favors, honours, prestige, and government are for the Messenger of Allah and his progeny; therefore, let no falsehood divert you.” (6) He (PBUHH) also said: “In every generation of my nation there are members of my Household who equal only my own self and who safeguard this religion from the distortion of wrongdoers and the interpretation of the ignorant. Be informed that your Imams are your deputies to Allah; so, see who you send to Him as your deputies” (7).
He (PBUHH) has also said: “Do not go ahead of them else you should perish, nor should you lag behind them else you should perish. Do not teach them, for they are more learned than you” (8). He (PBUHH) has said: “Consider my Ahl alBayt among you as you consider the head of the body, and the eyes in the head, for the head is guided by the eyes” (9).
He, (PBUHH), said: “Uphold loving us, we Ahl al-Bayt, for whoever faces Allah loving us shall enter Paradise through our intercession. I swear by the One in Whose Hands my soul is placed that the good deeds of a believer shall never avail him except through recognizing our rights” (10). And he has also said: “The knowledge of the progeny of Muhammad brings salvation from the Fire, and loving Ahl al-Bayt is walking on the Straight Path. Allegiance to the progeny of Muhammad is a security against the torture” (11). He (PBUHH), has said: “The feet of any servant of Allah shall never move on the Day of Judgment unless he is asked about four things: how he spent his life, what he wore his body out for, how he made and spent his wealth, and about loving us, we Ahl al-Bayt.” (12)
To be continued!
NOTES:
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1. This hadith, verbatim, is hadith 3819 of the ones included on page 217, Vol. 6 of Kanz al-`Ummal. He also quotes it in Muntakhab al-Kanz; so, refer to the latter’s text at the beginning of the footnote on page 94 of Vol. 5 of Ahmed’s Musnad, although the author states: “They were endowed with my comprehension,” rather than “comprehension and knowledge.” The copier may have committed a mistake. Al-hafiz Abu Na`im, in his Hilyat al-Awliya’, has also quoted it, and he in turn is quoted by the Mu`tazilite scholar on page 450, Vol. 2, of his commentary on Nahjul Balaghah, Egyptian edition. He also quoted something similar on page 449 from Abu `Abdullah Ahmed ibn Hanbal in both his Musnad and his book titled Manaqib `Ali ibn Abu Talib (as).
2. This hadith is number 2578 of the ones quoted in Kanz al-`Ummal, Vol. 6, page 155. It is also quoted by Muntakhab al-Kanz; so, refer to the latter and read the last line of the footnote on page 32, Vol. 5, which quotes Ahmad’s Musnad. It is also quoted by Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani abridged in the biography of Ziyad ibn Mutraf in Part One of his Isaba, then he adds: “This hadith is quoted by Yahya ibn Ya`li al-Muharbi, a weak traditionist.” This is strange coming from al-`Asqalani, for Yahya ibn Ya`li, according to the consensus of scholars of hadith, is quite trustworthy. In his Sahih, al-Bukhari quotes his ahadith related to the Hudaybiya treaty. He taught hadith to Muslim Ghaylan ibn Jami`. Moreover, al-Thahbi, in his Mizan, takes the man’s integrity for granted, and so do many authorities held reliable by both Shaykhs as well as by others.
3. This is quoted by al-Hakim at the end of page 128, Vol. 3, of his authentic book Al-Mustadrak. He adds the following: “The narrators of this hadith are all trustworthy, and they (both Shaykhs) did not quote it.” It is quoted by al-Tabrani in his Al-Jami` al-Kabir, and by Abu Na`im in his book dealing with the excellence of the sahabah. It is hadith 2577 of the ones included in Kanz al-`Ummal on page 155, Vol. 6. The author also quotes it in his Muntakhab al-Kanz; so, refer to the footnote on page 32, Vol. 5, of the Musnad.
4. Al-Tabrani has quoted it in his Al-Jami` al-Kabir, and so has Ibn `Asakir in his history book, and it is hadith 2571 of the ones included in Kanz al-`Ummal at the end of page 154, Vol. 6.
5. Al-Tabrani has quoted it in his Al-Jami` al-Kabir as narrated by Muhammad ibn Abu `Ubaydah ibn Muhammad ibn `Umayr ibn Yasir who quotes his father citing his grandfather `Ammar. It is hadith 2576 of the ones included in Kanz al-`Ummal, page 155, Vol. 6. It is also quoted in Muntakhab al-Kanz.
6. It is narrated by Abul Shaykh in a lengthy hadith and transmitted by Ibn Hajar at the end of maqsad 4 of his Maqasid while explaining, on page 105 of his Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa, the verse enjoining kindness to the Prophet’s kin after having scrutinized it, and in the supreme maqsad of his book Ghayat Al-Maram. Do not overlook his statement: “Do not accompany the wrong-doers.”
7. This is quoted by al-Malla in his Sirat, as in Ibn Hajar’s explanation of the verse “And follow in their footsteps, for they shall be questioned” in his Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa, page 90, suggests.
8. This is quoted by al-Tabrani who discusses the hadith of the Two Weighty Things, and he is quoted by Ibn Hajar when the latter explains the meaning of this verse of Chapter Four: “And follow in their footsteps, for they shall be questioned,” a verse which he discusses in Chapter 11 of Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa, page 89.
9. This is quoted by a group of authors of books of traditions from Abu Tharr, and it is transmitted by Imam al-Sabban while enumerating the excellences of Ahl al-Bayt (as) in his work Is`af al-Raghibin, and by Shaykh Yusuf al-Nabhani on page 31 of Al-Sharaf al-Mu’abbad, and by many other authorities. It is a text which enforces their leadership and implies that guidance to righteousness can be attained only through them.
10. This is quoted by al-Tabrani in his Al-Awsat as transmitted by al-Sayyuti in his Ihya’ul Mayyit; by al-Nabhani in his Forty Forty [ahadith]; by Ibn Hajar in his chapter discussing enjoining their love in Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa, in addition to many other renown authorities; so, consider his statement: `Nobody’s good deeds will avail him unless he is mindful of our rights,” then tell me what these rights are, the ones that are considered by Allah as prerequisites to the acceptance of good deeds. Is it not obeying them and attaining Allah’s Pleasure through following their RIGHT PATH? What is the commandment to which both Prophethood and caliphate attach such great significance? However, we have simply been inflicted by people who do not contemplate; so, “We are Allah’s, and unto Him is our return.”
11. This is quoted by judge `Iyaz in a chapter explaining the fact that to venerate the Prophet (PBUH) and be worthy of pleasing him is to please his progeny and descendants, as indicated at the beginning of page 40, Part Two, of the book titled Al-Shifa which was printed in Istanbul in 1328 A.H. You know that “knowing” them in this text does not mean just knowing their names and persons, and that they are kin of the Messenger of Allah, for even Abu Jahal and Abu Lahab knew all of that, but it means recognizing the fact that they are the authorities after the Messenger, (PBUHH), as he himself has said: “Whoever dies not knowing the Imam of his time surely dies the death of Jahiliyya,” and the meaning of loving them and their wilayat is the love and wilayat that are obligatory upon “those who follow righteousness,” i.e. the Imams of Truth, a fact that is quite obvious.
12. This is so due to the fact that Allah has granted them a special status which requires obedience to them. Loving them as such is rewardable. This hadith is quoted by al-Tabrani from Ibn `Abbas, and it is transmitted by al-Sayyuti in his Ihya’ul Mayyit, and by al-Nabhani in his Al-Arba`in, besides many other renowned authorities.
