The high status of Ahl Al-Bait in the sight of the Sahabah (companions of the Prophet) and those who followed them in goodness
Abubakr Al-Siddiq
Al Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (3712) that Abubakr said to Ali: “I swear by Him in Whose Hands my soul is, to do good to the relatives of the Messenger of Allâh is loveable to me than to do good to my own relatives”.
Al Bukhari also narrated in his Sahih (3713) from Ibn Omar, from Abubakr : “Take care of Muhammad by doing good to his family”.
Ibn Hajar in explaining this Hadith said: “He is addressing the people with these words, giving them this advice. And to keep looking at something is to take care of it. That means care for him in them i.e. do not
hurt them and do not bring evil deeds to them.
In Sahih Al Bukhari (3544) it is narrated according to Uqbata bin Al-Harith that: “Abubakr prayed Salah Al-Asr and then went out walking; he saw Al-Hassan playing with kids and he carried him on his shoulder and said: ‘I ransom you with my father; you resemble the Prophet and not Ali, while Ali was laughing”.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in his explanation: “there is an omission in his word: ‘Be Abi (With my father) assumed to mean: I ransom him with my father)’. He also said: ‘the Hadith indicates a virtue of Abubakr and his love for the family of the Prophet”.
Omar bin Al-Khattab and Othman bin Affan
Al Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (1010) and (3710) according to Anas that whenever they were afflicted with drought, Omar would ask Al-Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib to invoke Allâh for rain. He used
to say: “O Allâh we used to ask the Prophet to invoke You for rain and You would bless us with rain, and now we ask his uncle to invoke You for rain. O Allâh! Bless us with rain”. He said: “and they would be blessed with rain”.
The appeal of Omar for Al-Abbas to invoke Allâh for rain means appealing for his supplication (i.e. invoking Allâh through his Du’a), as clarified in some versions of this Hadith. And Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar has mentioned it in the explanation of the Hadith in the book of the invocation for rain in Fath Al-Bari.
And Omar has chosen Al-Abbas to invoke Allâh through his supplication because of his kinship with the Prophet and that is why he said: “we ask the uncle of our Prophet to invoke You”. And it is known that Ali is superior to Al-Abbas (in Grace and Honnour) and is also a relative of the Messenger of Allah, but Al-Abbas is closer. If the Prophet was to be inherited, Al-Abbas would have been considered first, because of his statement
“And follow up the statutory portion to their owners and what is left is for the worthier male man”, as narrated by Al Bukhari and Muslim.
And in Sahih Muslim according to Abu Hurairah, the Prophet said to Omar about Abbas: “Don’t you know that the uncle of a man is the twin of his father”.
And in Tafsir Ibn Kathir is the explanation of the Ayât in Surah Al-Shura, that Omar bin Al-Khattab said to AlAbbas: “I swear by Allâh, your conversion on the day you embraced Islam was better to me than the conversion of (my father) AlKhattab if he had really embraced Islam; because your conversion to Islam was better to the Prophet than the conversion of Al-Khattab”. Ibn Sa’ad mentioned this in his book At-Tabaqaat (Vol. 4, page: 22 and 30).
It is stated in Iqtida As-Sirat AlMustaqeem of Shaikhul-Islam Ibn Taimiyah (Rahimahullah) (Vol.1, page: 446) that when Omar bin Al Khattab initiated
the Diwan¹of donations, he registered the people according to their lineage (Nasab) and started with the closest relatives of the Prophet, and when he finished with the Arabs, he registered the non-Arabs. And that is how the Diwan was, during the period of the Orthodox Caliphs and all the Caliphs of Banu Umayyah and during the period of the children of Al-Abbas, till changes happened after that.
He also said (Vol.1, page: 453): “Look at Omar bin Al-Khattab when he initiated the Diwan, people said to him: The Amir Al-Mu’minin must start with himself. He said: ‘No, but put Omar where Allâh has placed him, he then started with the family of the Prophet and those after them in sequence till his turn came in the Banu Adiy clan, which is below most of the clans of Quraish”.
It has been mentioned previously in the virtues of Ahl Al-Bait in the Sunnah, the
The Diwan is a book that records the names of soldiers and receivers of donations.
Hadith that says: “Every connection and kinship are cut off on the Day of Judgment except my connection and kinship”, and that it is this Hadith that urged Omar to seek the marriage of Umm Kulthum the daughter of Ali. Al Albani has mentioned the routes of this Hadith in his book Silsilatus Sahihah (No. 2036) according to Omar.
It is known that the four Orthodox Caliphs are the in-laws of the Messenger of Allâh. Thus, Abubakr and Omar have been blessed with additional dignity by the Prophet’s marriage with their daughters Aisha and Hafsa. Othman and Ali were also blessed with additional dignity by their marriage with the daughters of the Prophet, Othman got married to Ruqaiyah (RadiAllâhu Anha), and after her death he got married to Umm Kulthum. For this reason, he was called Zhun Nur’ain (The holder of the two lights), and Ali got married to Fatima (RadiAllâhu Anha).
In Siyar A’alam An-Nubala of AdhDhahabi and Tahdhib At-Tahdhib of Ibn
Hajar in the biography of Ibn Al-Abbas, it is stated that: “whenever Abbas passed by Omar or Othman while they were riding (on camels) they would come down until he exceeds them, in respect for the uncle of the Prophet”.
Omar bin Abdul Aziz (Rahimahullah)
It is stated in At-Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’ad (Vol. 5 Page: 333, 387 and 388) with its Isnad attributed to Fatima the daughter of Ali bin Abi Talib, that Omar bin Abdul Aziz said to her: “O the daughter of Ali, I swear by Allâh, there is no family on the earth more beloved to me than you, surely you are more beloved to me than my family”.
Abubakr bin Abi Shaibah (Rahimahullah) In Tahdhib Al-Kamal of Al-Mizi in the biography of Ali bin Al-Hussein, Abubakr bin Abi Shaibah said: “The most authentic Isnad is that of Az-Zuhri reporting from Ali bin Al-Hussein, reporting from his father reporting from Ali”.
Shaikhul-Islam Ibn Taimiyah (Rahimahullah)
Ibn Taimiyah (Rahimahullah) said in AlAqidah Al-Wasitiyah: “They (i.e. the people of As-Sunnah and Al-Jama’ah) love the family of the Prophet; they befriend them and upkeep the advice of the Prophet towards them, when he said on the day of Gadir Khum: “I am reminding you of Allâh (i.e. to fear Allâh and be kind) to my family”.
He also said to his uncle Al-Abbas when he complained to him that some of the Quraishites are being rough with the Banu Hashim: “I swear by Him in Whose Hands my soul is. They will not be believers until they love you for the sake of Allâh and for the sake of my kinship”. And he added: “Verily, Allâh selected Kinanah from among the children of Ismael, and selected Quraish from Kinanah, and selected from Quraish Banu Hashim and selected me from Banu Hashim”.
And they also befriend and support the wives of the Messenger of Allah, the mothers of the believers, and they believe that they are his wives in the Hereafter,
especially Khadija (RadiAllâhu Anha), the mother of most of his children, and the first woman to believe in him and assist him in his affairs. She attained a high position to the Prophet. And the righteous, daughter of the righteous (RadiAllâhu Anha), the one about whom the Prophet has said: “The superiority of Aisha over other women is like the superiority of the porridge over other meals”.
And they renounce the way of the Rawafid¹ (Shiites) who hate the companions of the Prophet and abuse them. They also renounce the way of the Nawasib2 who hurt the family of the Prophet by word or action.
He also said in The great advice, as it is in Majmu Al-Fatawa (vol. 3 page: 407-408):
1 The term “Rawafid” is the plural of Rafid which means to reject, the Rawafid are those who reject most of the companions of the Prophet especially Abubakr and Omar, and they claim to be friendly with members of his family.
² The term “Nawasib” is the plural of Nasib which means to oppose or declare enemity with others, the Nawasib are those who declare enemity with members of the Prophet’s family like the “Khawarij”
“And also the family of the Messenger of Allâh; they have their rights which deserve to be protected. Surely, Allâh has given them a right on the Khums (the 1/5th of the war booty) and the Fai’e (booty obtained without battle) and ordained to pray on them when praying on the Messenger of Allâh”. He said to us: “Say: O Allah! Send Your Salah (Grace and Honor) on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad, as You sent your Salah (Grace and Honor) on the family of Ibrahim. You are surely The Worthy of all praise full of glory. And send Your blessings on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings on the family of Ibrahim. You are indeed worthy of all praise full of glory”.
And the family of Muhammad are those for whom the charity is forbidden, according to the words of As-Shafi’e, Ahmad bin Hanbal and other learned scholars (Rahimahumullah). For surely, the Prophet has said: “Verily, charity is licit neither for Muhammad, nor for the family of Muhammad”, and Allâh has
said: (Allâh wishes only to remove Ar-Rijs (evil deeds and sins) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet), and to purify you with a thorough purification. Allâh has made charity unlawful (haram) for them because it is the dirts of the people”
He again said in Majmu Al-Fatawa (Vol. 28, page: 491): “And also the household of the Messenger of Allâh, it is obligatory to love them, befriend them and protect their right”.
Al-Imam Ibn Al-Qayim (Rahimahullah)
Ibn Al-Qayim said in explaining the reasons why the false interpretation will be accepted: “The third reason is when the interpreter attributes his interpretation to a greatly honored, noble minded scholar, or to a member of the Prophet’s household or to the one who has acquired beautiful praises in the Ummah, and who is known for a truthful tongue that beautifies his personality in the hearts of the ignorant people, for surely it is the attitude of the people to glorify the words of the one they
¹ Surah Al-Ahzab Ayah: 33.
consider to be great in their hearts, to an extent that they would prefer his word to the word of Allâh and His Messenger, and they would say: ‘he knows Allâh better than us”.
It is in this way that the Rafidah, the Baatiniyah, the Isma’eliyah and the Nusairiyah were able to publicize their falsehood and false interpretations, when they attributed them to the household of the Prophet, and that is because they knew that the Muslims have unanimously agreed to love and honor them. They claimed to be related to them, and pretended to love and honor them and mentioned some of their virtues, which appeared to the listener that they were their friends, and then they would publicize their falsehood by attributing it to them.
Verily, there is none fit to be worshiped except Allâh! How many disbeliefs and atheism and innovations have been publicized and have existed because of that, and surely they (i.e. the household of the Prophet) are innocent.
If you ponder on this reason, you will find it prevailing over many souls; they do not have but good and positive thoughts towards the one entertaining them without any proof from Allâh that lead them to it. And this is inheritance by blood relationship from those who contradict the religion of the Messengers with that of their fore fathers and predecessors, and this is the fate of all those who follow the one they honor and venerate in what contradicts the truth, till the Day of Judgment. Muktasar As-Swa’eq Al-Mursalah (Vol. 1 page: 90).
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (Rahimhullah):
Ibn Kathir said in his explanation of the Ayah in Surah As-Shura after having clarified that the actual meaning of Al Qurba (the kinship) is the clans of Quraish, as reported by Ibn Al-Abbas in his explanation of this Ayah in Sahih Al Bukhari.
He said: “We do not oppose the prescriptions in favor of the household of the Prophet, nor do we oppose the command to be kind to them and to respect
and honor them. They are indeed, from the pure offspring of the noblest house ever found on the earth in terms of pride, origin and descent, especially if they follow the authentic and plain Sunnah of the Prophet as it was the case with their predecessors, like Al-Abbas and his children, Ali and his household and his offspring. May Allah be pleased with all of them”!
And after he had related two statements from Abubakr and a statement from Omar which prove their honor and respect for the household of the Prophet, and the high position they attained, he said: “the way of the two Sheiks (i.e. Abubakr and Omar) is what should be followed by everyone: this is why they were the best believers after the Prophets and Messengers. May Allâh be pleased with them and with all the Sahabah”!
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (Rahimahullah):
Ibn Hajar said in his book Fath Al-Bari (Vol.3, page: 11) in a Hadith whose Isnad consists of Ali bin Hussein, from Hussein
bin Ali, from Ali bin Abi Talib: “And this is among the most authentic and the noblest Isnad (chains of narration) ever stated for one who narrates on the authority of his father narrating on the authority of his grand father”.
Shaikhul-Islam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab (Rahimahullah)
As for Shaikhul-Islam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab (Rahimahullah), he had six sons and a daughter. They were Abdullah, Ali, Hassan, Hussein, Ibrahim, Abdul Aziz and Fatima; all of them had the names of the people of the household except Abdul Aziz. So, Abdullah and Ibrahim were the children of the Prophet; the rest: Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussein were his son in law, his daughter and his two grandchildren. His choice to name his children by the names of these people is indeed a clear indication of his love and regard for the household of the Prophet and these names were also repeated in his grandchildren.
At the end of this chapter, I would like to say: Allâh has blessed me with sons and daughters and I named (some of them) Ali, Hassan, Hussein, Fatima and by seven names of mothers of the believers; and those whose names I chose, combined between companionship and kinship with the Prophet.
All praise belongs to Allâh The One who blessed me with the love of the companions of the Messenger of Allâh and his household. I ask Allâh to maintain this blessing in me and to protect my heart from hatred against anyone of them, and protect my tongue from uttering what is not suitable. “Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful”¹.
Surah Al-Hashr Ayah: 10.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 