The Love of Ahlul-Bayt is incumbent upon us The Messengers of God propagate Allah's Word in order to please the Almighty, and the motto of the final Messenger of God, Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), was commanded by the Qur'an in Surah Al-Shoora, Surah 42, Ayah 23:
" Declare [O' Muhammad]: "I ask you of no recompense for my toil except the love for my kin (family)." Whose earns good, We shall expand it for him. Verily Allah is oft-forgiving, appreciates good works". Thus, Allah commands the Prophet of Islam to demand from the Ummah the love of his progeny. In the Arabic language the term "Qur'ba" means kinship, and "Mawad'dat fil Our'ba" means love of Dhul Qur'ba (kin) that we see throughout the Holy Qur'an. As mentioned before, this word has been used with prefixes such as Dhi and Ulu. In addition, numerous narrations clarify the brevity in this Ayah and show that by love and affection toward relatives, the Qur'an means those closely related to the Prophet. Here we bring to your attention some narrations by believers of the Sunni School of Thought. Ahmad Bin Hanbal quotes the Prophet in his book "Fadha'il of the Sahaaba" and writes when the above quoted verse, (Surah Al-Shoora, Surah 42, Ayah 23) was revealed, Companions of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) asked "O' Prophet of God, who are those close to you and who are those people whose fondness and admiration is incumbent upon us." The Prophet replied, "They are Ali, Fatima and their two children" and he repeated this three times. In his interpretation of the Holy Qur'an, Sayooti quotes Ibn Abbas that the Ayah means that the right of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) must be honored by honoring this family, and that we should love them for his sake. Kumayt Assadi, the poet of the Umawi era has mentioned this Ayah in a poem and writes: "In a Surah that begins with letters Ha-meem, we found an Ayah whose meaning was altered by the dissimulators among us, Yet others (Imams) proclaimed the Ayah in its Rightful Worth. " Imam Shafi'i himself being a descendant of the Prophet, in his famous works of poetry, calls the love of Ahlul-Bayt an entitlement of the family of the Prophet and writes: "O' Pilgrims! On your way to the House of Allah, pause shortly in the sands of Muzdalifah. At dawn, when the caravans of pilgrims move toward Mina, like a roaring river, call upon them and say: "If love of the Prophet's family means to Refuse, "Rafidhi" then let Mankind know, that surely I am a "Rafidhi." Of course, it must be kept in mind that the love of this family benefits the Ummah more than it does good for Ahlul Bayt, since he who loves one from the heart will follow the path of his beloved and will take steps in such direction in life. When the head of such a great family stresses this issue and declares: (Who dies with the love of Ahlul-Bayt, he will have died as a martyr), he is referring to true love that is inseparable from action. Of course, this does not mean that he who loves Ahlul Bayt must be absolving Islamic integrity or vindicating Islamic commands. What it means is that a person should attempt to follow their examples and should not be negligent in religious duties or freely engage in what is prohibited. * * * Ahlul-Bayt are authorities in religious teachings of Usool, (the basics of the faith) and Furoo' (the branches, acts of worship) of Islam The oft-repeated Hadith of Thaqalain and the Mutawaatir Hadith of Safinah clearly illustrate that Ahlul-Bayt are the authentic source of religious and intellectual reference for Muslims after the demise of the Holy Prophet. According to the Hadith: "I leave after me two pivotal matters for you to cherish. One is the Book of Allah and the other my progeny (Ahlul-Bayt)." These two are further described in the following Hadith: "As long as you seek refuge in the Qur'an and Ahlul-Bayt in times of trouble, you will not go astray." If the Qur'an is the greatest source of knowledge for the Muslims, the progeny of the Prophet also have such a status and position. If resorting to the Qur'an is a means of finding guidance and avoiding the Qur'an results in deviation from the path of righteousness, then the same is true for the Ahlul-Bayt." According to the second Hadith: "The similitude of Ahlul-Bayt is the same as that of Noah's Ark. Whoever boards it will be saved and he who avoided it will drown." This hadith proves the religious authority of Ahlul-Bayt in the same manner the hadith of Thaqalain does. Avoidance of Ahlul-Bayt again is considered a deviance or aimlessly straying. Although the system of Khilaafah and Islamic leadership encountered indecision and lack of unity after the demise of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and individual based jurisprudence and (political) justifications prevailed, however, none of this tainted the image of Ahlul-Bayt and their religious authority. Ali and his sons continuously remained the problem-solvers of the Ummah and covered the roots and branches of the faith in their teachings. Despite this, the Umawi and Abbasi dynasties attempted to create a deep rift between the Ummah and Ahlul-Bayt. Shunning the progeny of Muhammad by Ahlul Sunnah in recent centuries is the result of such ominous policies of the Umawi and Abbasi dynasties. As a result, in Sunni jurisprudence, all scholars and writers of Ahadith are eagerly quoted, yet the progeny of the Prophet are rarely mentioned. This can only be explained by the mischief of the Muslim leadership in the past. Today, the Informed Society of Ahlul-Bayt can bring together all Islamic people around one single axis and end discord. We hope and pray for the culmination of such aspirations, success of the admirers of Ahlul-Bayt and harbingers of harmony and unity and cessation of discord and division among Muslim ranks. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "shiagroup" group. To post to this group, send email to shiagroup@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to shiagroup+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/shiagroup?hl=en.
