Ahl al-Bayt

Ahl al-Bayt — the Prophet's own House — a term the traditions contest: in Sunni usage it widens to the wives and uncles; in Shia usage it narrows to Ali, Fatima and their descendants, bearers of the imamate.

The Qur'an coined the expression in the "purification verse" (33:33) — among Sunnis some say it means the wives; among Shia some say the People of the Cloak: Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn ¹. After the Prophet's death the line branched into the Alids, Hasanids and Abbasids, and states rose on it in the east and west of the world ².

In the Imami tradition they are the axis itself: the imamate is a divine inheritance within the House in which no others share ³.

Love of Ahl al-Bayt is an obligation in Sunni view — incumbent on whoever blesses the Prophet — and in Shia view it is the heart of the religion; Fatima's house alone is of the highest rank in both traditions ².

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.), by I. Goldziher, C. van Arendonk and A. S. Tritton, traces the phrase to the clan sense of the pre-Islamic Arabs, where al-bayt was the ruling family of a tribe, and notes that "al" and "ahl al-bayt" carry the same meaning. Early Muslim families used the term for themselves: 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar for the house of 'Umar, and 'Umar II for the Umayyad house. ⁴

The interpretation of the phrase was disputed. In one tradition Salman al-Farisi (may God be pleased with him) is counted among the ahl al-bayt and set against the emigrants and helpers. Among the Shia and in circles friendly to 'Ali it was limited to Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, by way of the "tradition of the cloak", which was also accepted in Sunni circles. Some versions include Umm Salama. The "tradition of the two weighty things" widens the term to those forbidden to receive alms, among them the families of 'Ali, 'Aqil and Ja'far, and al-'Abbas; so the 'Abbasids, the most important branch of the Banu Hashim, were included. Malik and Abu Hanifa extended it to all the Banu Hashim, al-Shafi'i to the Banu al-Muttalib, and others to the whole community. ⁴

The current orthodox view harmonises these positions, counting the ahl al-kisa', that is the Prophet, Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, together with the wider family. The Shia call the family by preference 'itra, and limit it to the people of the cloak and their descendants, making devotion to them an essential part of religion. Shia belief gives the Imams, who are infallible and sinless, the headship of the family, and the Mansuriyya called the family heaven and the Shia earth. Sunni opinion holds that love of the family is of no avail without obedience to the sunna. ⁴

In the invocation "O God, bless Muhammad and his al" the form al is used; Ibn Khalawayh listed twenty-five classes of people covered by the word in his book on al. ⁵