Ahl Al-Bayt: Difference between revisions

'''Ahl al-bayt,''' or “people of the house,” is a phrase used with reference to the family of the prophet [[Muhammad]], particularly by the Shiʻa. In early Arabian tribal society, it was a designation for a noble clan. Thus, the term Ahl al-Bayt in its most generalized understanding refers to the descendants of the Prophet’s forbear Hashem, who had been a Bayt or a family possessing honor among the pre-Islamic Qoraysh; during the Islamic period the term continues to refer to all the descendants of Hashim. However, the vast majority of the traditions quoted by [[Tabari]] explain Ahl al-Bayt as referring to the Prophet, [[ʿAli ibn Abi Talib|ʿAli]], [[Fatima]], [[Hasan]], and [[Hussain ibn Ali|Hussain]]; in some of these traditions the Prophet gathered the others under his cloak ([[Al-e ʿAba]]) in a specific occasion.

Ahl al-bayt occurs only twice in the Qur'an, once in regard to Ibrahim's family (11:73), but more significantly in a verse that states, “God only wishes to keep evil away from you, O people of the house, and to purify you completely" (33:33). The context suggests that this statement pertains to women in Muhammad's household, a view held by Sunni commentators. Some authorities have applied it more widely to descendants of Muhammad's clan (Banu Hashim), the Abbasids, and even the whole community of Muslims. Since the eighth century C.E., however, the Shi’a and many Sunnis have maintained that Qur'an 33:33 refers specifically to five people as Ahl al-Bayt: [[Muhammad]], [[ʿAli ibn Abi Talib|Ali b. Abi Talib]] (Muhammad's cousin), 'Ali's wife [[Fatima]] (Muhammad's daughter), and their two children, [[Hasan]] and [[Hussain ibn Ali|Hussain]]. Ulema invoke hadiths in support of this view, as seen in Tabari's Jami' al-Bayan (c. tenth century C.E.). Thus, in South Asia, they are called "the five pure ones" (panjatan pak). They are also known as “people of the mantle” ([[kisa']]) in remembrance of the occasion when the Prophet enveloped them with his mantle and recited this verse.

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