Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Subject: salam (peace) dear brother Burhan and members of the forum; salamalaikum to you all. All of you are performing a great service, may Allah keep you all well, in good shape & health, increase in your determination & strength to carry out the great work you all are undertaken, of bringing the true message of Allah & His messenger to a group of people who have gone astray, But they are convinced and made to believe that they are the best of the ummah and the rightly guided ones`. Self criticism always hurts and is a difficult excercise. On one subject I like to hear your opinion . Many books written by Shia scholars, (especially the 12`ers) quote one saying of the prophet , which he was said to have made at the end of his farewell pilgrimage, I quote; " I am leaving two things among you, the book of Allah and my ahle-bayt (descendents) , whosoever will hold on to these both will not go astray". My knowledge and study tells me that he said "the book of Allah and my Sunnah" , ofcourse this in no way tries to lessen or discount the great personilities which belong to his descendents. Pl. comment, salamalikum regards,

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Answer:

Prophet (Saws) narration about leaving behind Quran and Sunnah/Descendents

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol,  no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Jazak Allah Kheir and may Allah reward you with the best of this life and the hereafter for your kind words of encouragement and supplications to the Merciful Lord for the brothers and sisters who volunteer their time and effort on this humble forum.    May Allah reward and honor with more than what you have implored the Merciful Lord for us, and keep you and us all on the Straight Path of Islam.

Both the hadiths that you have quoted are indeed authentic and found in the authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws).   The hadith about the Quran and Sunnah are numerous and well known, and sufficiently supported by the very Words of Allah in the Glorious Quran: 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 79-80:We have sent you (O Mohamed) as a Messenger to mankind, and Allah’s witness suffices for this.   Whoever obeys the Messenger, in fact obeys Allah, and whoever turns away from him, he will be accountable for his deeds.  Anyhow, we have not sent you (O Mohamed) to be a guardian over them.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32:O Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah,  follow me.   Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.”  Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His Messenger.”  And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.

Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 21:There is indeed the best example for you to follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.

but the exact words of the hadiths about the Quran and the noble ‘ahle-bayt’ are as follows:

Sahih Muslim Hadith 5920     Narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam

One day Allah's Messenger (saws) stood up to deliver a sermon at a watering-place known as Khumm, situated between Mecca and Medina.   He praised Allah, extolled Him, delivered the sermon, exhorted (us) and said:  “Now to our purpose, O people: I am a human being.  Perhaps I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord, and I, in response to Allah's call, (shall bid good-bye to you).  But I am leaving among you two weighty things:  the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.”  He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah, and then said:  “The second are the members of my household; I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family.”

There is absolutely no dispute amongst the sects of Islam regarding the superiority and importance of following the commands and guidance of the Book of Allah, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

In the hadith regarding the ‘ahle-bayt’ the Messenger of Allah (saws) is simply exhorting the believers and reminding them of their duties to the members of his noble household… his wives, his daughter and her descendants, his uncle and their descendants, his cousins, etc.  But some people have taken to the meaning of the above narration to the extreme, and conveniently removed the wives of the Prophet from the members of the ‘ahle-bayt’, and conveniently chosen a few members from the ‘ahle-bayt’ and made them infallible and sinless… and invented sects in their noble names, long after their deaths!   

They have, without any authority from Allah and His Messenger (saws) chosen only a few of the Prophet’s family as the actual ‘ahle-bayt’ and discarded the rest!  They claim that by ‘ahle-bayt’ the Messenger of Allah (saws) actually meant only his cousin Imam Ali (r.a.), his daughter Hadrat Fatima (r.a.), their two sons from among their children, Hadrat Hassan (r.a.) and Hadrat Hussain (r.a.), and then specific sons from the many children among their descendants!   

They have invented and created their own list of the chosen ‘ahle-bayt’, and some amongst them stopped at five, while others at seven, while others at eleven, and others at twelve, and others at seventeen, and some at twenty-one!    

The Truth is that the Messenger of Allah (saws) was simply reminding the believers about the duties to the members of his family and ‘ahle-bayt’, including his noble and chaste wives, his only surviving daughter Hadrat Fatima and her righteous children, his uncle Hadrat Abbas and his children, and his cousins and their children like Hadrat Ali, Hadrat Aqeel, the children of Hadrat Jaafar-al Tayyar.  It is the duty of every believer to love and respect all the members of the noble ‘ahle-bayt’ and their righteous offsprings.  

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan