Ahl al-Bayt
[1][2] 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.
[6] The phrase ahl al-bayt appears three times in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, in relation to Abraham (11:73), Moses (28:12), and Muhammad (33:33).
[14] The last passage of the verse of purification reads, "God only desires to remove defilement from you, O ahl al-bayt, and to purify you completely.
[22] In possibly the earliest version of the hadith of the kisa,[23] Muhammad's wife Umm Salama relates that he gathered Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn under his cloak and prayed, "O God, these are my ahl al-bayt and my closest family members; remove defilement from them and purify them completely.
'mutual cursing') 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 ahl al-bayt, according to Shia and some Sunni sources,[28][17] including Sahih Muslim and Sunan al-Tirmidhi.
[29] This makeup of the Ahl al-Bayt is echoed by the Islamicist Laura Veccia Vaglieri (d. 1989),[26] and also reported unanimously in Shia sources.
[13][1][26] Ibn Kathir, for instance, includes Ali, Fatima, and their two sons in the Ahl al-Bayt, in addition to Muhammad's wives.
[15] 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.
He argues that, in verse 11:73,[6] Sara is included in Abraham's ahl al-bayt only after receiving the news of her imminent motherhood to two prophets, Isaac and Jacob.
[7] 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 (nasab).
[6][1] Similarly, a Sunni version of the hadith al-thaqalayn defines the Ahl al-Bayt as the descendants of Ali and his brothers (Aqil and Jafar), and Muhammad's uncle Abbas.
[3][15] 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.
'"[41] The Shia-leaning historian Ibn Ishaq (d. 767) narrates that Muhammad specified al-qurba in this verse as Ali, Fatima, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn.
[42] Most Sunni authors, however, reject the Shia view and offer various alternatives,[41] chief among them is that this verse enjoins love for kinsfolk in general.
[44][45] In Twelver Shia, the love in the verse of the mawadda also entails obedience to the Ahl al-Bayt as the source of exoteric and esoteric religious guidance.
A Christian envoy from Najran, located in South Arabia, arrived in Medina circa 632 and negotiated a peace treaty with Muhammad.
Indeed, almsgiving is considered an act of purification for ordinary Muslims and their donations should not reach Muhammad's kin as that would violate their state of purity in the Quran.
'two treasures') is a widely-reported prophetic hadith that introduces the Quran and the progeny of Muhammad as the only two sources of divine guidance after his death.
[28] This hadith is of particular significance in Twelver Shia, where the Twelve Imams, all descendants of Muhammad, are viewed as his spiritual and political successors.
[63] The version that appears in Musnad Ahmad, a canonical Sunni hadith collection, reads, I [Muhammad] left among you two treasures which, if you cling to them, you shall not be led into error after me.
[1] Most Sufi tariqs (brotherhoods) also trace their spiritual chain to Muhammad through Ali and revere the Ahl al-Kisa as the Holy Five.
[4] It is, however, the (Twelver and Isma'ili) Shias who hold the Ahl al-Bayt in the highest esteem, regarding them as the rightful leaders of the Muslim community after Muhammad.
