The Significance of the Ahl Al-bayt
The Excellences of the Imam Husayn
in Sunni Hadith Tradition
M. Ayoub
University of Toronto
Al-Serat, Vol XII (1986)
HUMAN history may be seen as a record of the eternal
struggle between right and wrong, virtue and vice,
good and evil, and righteousness and wickedness. This
struggle was decreed by God when Adam, an earthly
creature, was sent to earth to engage in this eternal
battle. It is through this struggle that human beings
can earn their eternal bliss in the Gardens of
Paradise, or their eternal punishment in the Fire. In
the history of nations this struggle often attains
universal significance as that moment of the struggle
can speak to all subsequent times and situations. Thus
the Qur'an urges us over and over again to ponder the
end of those who were before us, and how God dealt
with them. In every case, moreover, a prophet or
messenger of God was rejected by his people and killed
or driven out. In this sense, therefore, the struggle
is in the end between God and humankind, between truth
and falsehood, and between right guidance and manifest
error.
Nowhere is this struggle placed in sharper relief than
in the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and the lives of
the people of his House. The life and witness of the
Imam Husayn in particular, has acquired special
significance in Muslim piety. This is because he has
provided a model for all martyrs in the way of God,
for all time.
The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the
universal significance of the Imam in Muslim
tradition. It is important to observe that all the
traditions cited in this essay are found in both Shi'i
and Sunni hadith literature. But while in the Sunni
community such traditions remain purely pietistic,
Shi'i tradition has made them the basis of a complex
theological system.
However, to appreciate the place of Husayn, 'the
prince of martyrs', in Muslim history, a word must be
said about the place of the Prophet's family (the ahl
al-bayt) in Muslim piety. At the same time the people
of the House of the Prophet Muhammad are not unique in
the prophetic history of human societies. A word is,
therefore, necessary concerning the families of other
prophets, if we are to appreciate fully the devotion
which Muslims throughout their long history have
accorded the people of the House of Muhammad, the seal
of the prophets.
Prophetic history begins, according to the Qur'an,
with Adam, called safwat Allah (the elect of God). He
was followed by Noah, the first of the prophets of
power or resolve (ulu al-'azm). Noah was sent as a
messenger by God to his people who rebelled against
God's message, and were thus destroyed by the flood.
Then came Abraham, the father of prophets. With his
son Ishmael he built the Ka'ba, the first house for
the worship of God.[1] Ishmael was also a prophet, and
the ancestor of the prophets Shu'ayb, Salih, Hud, and
finally Muhammad, the last messenger of God to
humankind.
Isaac, Abraham's second son, was also a prophet and
the father of prophets. Among his descendants were the
family of 'Imran, the father of Moses, and Jesus, as
well as other earlier prophets who were sent by God to
the Children of Israel. The Qur'an declares that God
has elected Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the
family of 'Imran. It further states that they were a
single progeny, one from the other'.[2] All the
prophets and their families are therefore of one
physical and spiritual lineage They and their
households are the elect of God, purified and honoured
over the rest of humankind.
The people of the House of the Prophet Muhammad were
likewise chosen by God and purified from all evil and
sin. The Muslim community did not, however, infer the
status of the family of Muhammad from that of earlier
prophets and their families.
Rather they too were chosen by God and purified from
all evil and sin. Yet because Muhammad was the last
prophet sent to guide humanity to God and the good,
his descendants could not assume his prophetic role.
Their mission was to be the Imams, or guides, of the
Muslim community. Their task is to safeguard the
message vouchsafed to Muhammad by God for humankind.
Like many prophets, the Imams had to endure rejection
by their people and much suffering at their hands;
martyrdom in the cause of God was often their lot. Yet
the greater the suffering, the greater is the reward
and honour which God promises His prophets, friends
(awliya'), and righteous servants. Thus the Prophet
was asked: 'Who among men are those afflicted with the
greatest calamity?' He replied:
The prophets, then the pious, everyone according to
the degree of his piety. A man is afflicted according
to his faith (din); if his faith is durable, his
affliction is accordingly increased, and if his faith
is weak, his affliction is made lighter. Afflictions
continue to oppress the worshipful servant until they
leave him walking on the face of the earth without any
sin cleaving to him. [3]
EXCELLENCES OF THE AHL AL BAYT
In both Sunni and Shi'i Muslim tradition, one
important event symbolizes the status of the ahl
al-bayt and the human as well as spiritual dimensions
of their relation to the Prophet. This is the
tradition or episode of al-kisa' (the mantle, or
cloak) which the Prophet spread over himself and
Fatima his daughter, 'Ali, and their two sons Hasan
and Husayn. This tradition has come down to us in a
number of versions, each stressing one or another
aspect of the excellences of the family of the Prophet
and his love for them. Ahmad b. Hanbal relates on the
authority of Umm Salama, the Prophet's wife, that he
said to Fatima one day:
'Bring me your husband and two sons.' When they had
all come together he spread over them a mantle, and
laying his hand over them, he said: 'O God, these are
the people of the House of Muhammad! Let therefore
your prayers and blessings descend upon Muhammad and
the people of the House of Muhammad; for you are
worthy of all praise and glory.' Umm Salama continued:
'I then lifted the mantle to enter in with them, but
he pulled it away from my hand saying, "You too shall
come to a good end". [4]
The point which this version of the kisa' tradition
emphasizes is that the ahl al-bayt are only the five:
Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, and their two sons Hasan and
Husayn. Umm Salama, one of the most highly venerated
of the Prophet's wives, was denied this special
status. We shall have more to say about this point, as
it is emphasized in almost every version of this
tradition.
In another highly interesting version of the kisa'
tradition, related on the authority of 'Abd Allah b.
Jafar b. Abi Talib, we read:
As the Apostle of God saw mercy descending, he
demanded: 'Call them for me, call them for me!'
Safiyya asked: 'Who should we call, O Messenger of
God?' He answered: 'Call the people of my household:
'Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn.' When they were
brought, he spread a mantle over them; then lifting
his hands to heaven said: 'O God, these are the people
of my House; bless, O God, Muhammad and the people of
the House of Muhammad!' God then sent down the verse:
Surely God wishes to remove all abomination from you,
O People of the House, and purify you with a thorough
purification. [5]
This version of the tradition provides the meaning of
the kisa' and the basis of its significance. The
mantle is a symbol of divine mercy and blessing
covering the Prophet and his holy family. It is,
moreover, a source or haven of consolation and
serenity in the face of the great sufferings and
martyrdom which the Prophet's family had to endure
after him. In this infinite source of divine mercy,
the pious also share in times of sufferings and
afflictions. The kisa' finally sets apart the 'holy
five' from the rest of the faithful, and distinguishes
them from the rest of the Prophet's family.
The event of the kisa' provides the occasion for the
revelation of the verse of purification just cited.
Before the sectarian conflicts which split the Muslim
community set in, classical tradition was almost
unanimous in interpreting this verse as referring to
the Prophet, his daughter Fatima al-Zahra' (the
Radiant), her husband and cousin,' Ali, and their two
sons Hasan and Husayn. [6]
In still another version of the kisa' tradition, the
continuity of the Prophet's family with those of
earlier prophets is clearly indicated. Wathila b.
al-Asqa', on whose authority this tradition in most of
its variants is related, reports the following prayer
uttered by the Prophet:
O God, as you have bestowed your blessings, mercy,
forgiveness, and pleasure upon Abraham and the family
of Abraham, so they ['Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn]
are of me and I am of them! Bestow, therefore, your
blessings, mercy, forgiveness and pleasure upon me and
them.' [7]
This prayer echoes a prayer which Muslims repeat
daily:
O God, bless Muhammad and the people of the House of
Muhammad, as you have blessed Abraham and the people
of the House of Abraham among all beings.
The House of Muhammad is, therefore, for all Muslims,
'the household of prophethood and the frequenting
place of angels'. The famous Qur'an commentator
al-Suyuti quotes a tradition attributed to Umm Salama
in interpretation of the verse of purification:
This verse was sent down in my house ... There were in
the house then, seven: Gabriel and Michael, and 'Ali,
Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, and I stood at the door of
the house. I asked: 'O Messenger of God, am I not of
the People of the House?' He said: 'You shall indeed
come to a good end! You are, however, one of the wives
of the Prophet.' [8]
The close friendship between the Prophet and the holy
family, a relationship which went far beyond the bond
of blood relation, may be seen in the incident of the
mubahala, or prayer ordeal, with which the Prophet
challenged the Christians of Najran.[9] In the
mubahala verse of the Qur'an, God orders the Prophet
and his opponents to 'Call together our sons and your
sons, our women and your women, and ourselves and
yourselves.' In the view of most Qur'an commentators
and traditionists, the Prophet's sons are Hasan and
Husayn, 'his women' refers to Fatima, and 'his self'
refers, apart from himself, to 'Ali. When the people
of Najran saw them, they recognized their high status
with God, and with great trepidation they declined the
mubahala and opted instead for peace.
Tradition asserts that the Prophet sensed the
hostility which his community was to show to the
People of his House after him. He is said to have
often declared, 'I am at war against him who fights
against you, and will show peace toward him who shows
peace to you.' This invective is strongly put in a
tradition related on the authority of Abu Bakr, the
Prophet's famous Companion and the first caliph. He
said:
I saw the Messenger of God pitch a tent in which he
placed 'Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. He then
declared: 'O Muslims, I am at war against anyone who
wars against the people of this tent, and am at peace
with those who show peace toward them. I am a friend
to those who befriend them. He who shows love toward
them shall be one of a happy ancestry and good birth.
Nor would anyone hate them except that he be of
miserable ancestry and evil birth. [10]
Love for the Prophet's family is enjoined by God in
the Qur'an, where He says: Say, 'I ask no other reward
of you save love of my next of kin' (42:23). Qur'an
commentators have generally agreed that 'the next of
kin' here intended are the ahl al-bayt. [11]
The People of the House of the Prophet Muhammad have
been for the pious an example of generosity,
steadfastness in the face of hardship, and a source of
solace in time of trials and afflictions. After days
of fasting and prayers for the health of the two sick
children Hasan and Husayn, the family fed the few
morsels of dry bread and dates for which 'Ali had
laboured so hard to the needy. On the first evening,
we are told, a beggar came. On the second, it was an
orphan, and on the third, a captive. To each in turn,
they gave the loaf of barley bread and few dates which
Fatima had prepared for the family to break their
fast. Thus God sent down the verse: They give food to
eat, even though they cherish it, to the needy, the
orphan and the captive. [12] Yet, in the end, God sent
down a celestial table to feed His friends.
Early tradition shows a tension in the relationship of
the Prophet to the community and in the relationship
of the latter to the holy family. Much of the
literature reflecting this tension was most likely the
product of a later age, but projected back to the time
of the Prophet and his Companions. Here love for the
Prophet's family is not simply recommended as a pious
act, but is presented as a challenge, and in a harsh
reproaching tone. Furthermore, it is on this love to
the ahl al-bayt that rewards and punishments on the
Last Day are predicated.[13] Thus we are told that the
Prophet said:
He who desires the pleasure to live my life, die my
death and dwell in a garden of Eden which my Lord has
planted, let him be a friend to 'Ali after me. Let him
also be a friend to his friends. Let him finally be
guided by the Imams after me, for they are my progeny.
They were created of my clay, and have been vouchsafed
knowledge and understanding. Woe to those of my
community who deny their superiority, and those who
violate the demands of kindness to my next of kin. May
God not grant them my intercession.' [14]
In another tradition, the Prophet promises his
intercession to those who honour his descendants,
provide them with whatever needs they may have, and
those who love them with their heart and profess this
love with their tongues. [15]
It has already been stressed that the ahl al-bayt
share with the prophets of old and their descendants a
high status and divine favour, but not the office of
prophethood. They share, moreover, with the Prophet
Muhammad the prerogative of intercession. This is
expressed in hagiographical language, a language
common to both Sunni and Shi'i tradition. One such
common example may suffice to demonstrate the devotion
in the piety of both traditions to the Prophet and the
people of his household.
The Qur'an tells us that Adam received certain words
of God which earned him God's forgiveness and mercy:
Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned
towards him; for He is relenting, compassionate
(2:37). Suyuti reports that Ibn 'Abbas, the famous
traditionist and authority on the Qur'an, asked the
Prophet about the words which Adam received. The
Prophet answered: 'He prayed saying, "O God, for the
sake of Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn, do
turn toward me", and He turned toward him.' [16] In
another highly dramatic version of this tradition,
Adam is taught the words as the only means by which
God would accept his repentance and forgive him. 'Ali,
we are told, enquired of the Prophet concerning the
verse under discussion. The Prophet told him that when
Adam and his wife were expelled from Paradise, Adam
wept bitterly over his sin for a hundred years.
Finally, Gabriel came to him and spoke thus on God's
behalf:
O Adam, did I not create you with my own hand? Did I
not breathe into you of my spirit? Did I not command
my angels to bow down before you? Did I not provide
you with Eve my servant?' 'Yes', Adam answered.
Gabriel asked: 'What then is the cause of this
weeping?' Adam replied, 'Why should I not weep when I
have been expelled from the proximity of the
All-Merciful?' The angel then said: 'You must pray
fervently with these words, and God will accept your
repentance and forgive your sin. Say: "O God, I
beseech you for the sake of Muhammad and the people of
the household of Muhammad; nor is there any god but
you. I have done evil, and have wronged my soul. Turn
towards me for you are relenting, compassionate." [17]
HASAN AND HUSAYN
Islamic tradition has preserved numerous anecdotes
depicting the tender care and love which the Prophet
showed Hasan and Husayn. They were both born in
Medina, and thus knew the Prophet only as children. It
is therefore with the intimacy and love of a
grandfather that the early life of the two Imams is
coloured. Once more, these family anecdotes also
reflect clearly the theological and political tension
within the community, a tension which largely centered
around Hasan and Husayn. One such anecdote is the
following.
One day, we are told, Hasan and Husayn were lost, and
their mother Fatima came to the Prophet greatly
alarmed. The angel Gabriel, however, came down and
told the Prophet that the two youths were asleep in an
animal fold some distance away. God, the angel
reassured the anxious family, had charged an angel to
keep watch over them. The Prophet went to the spot and
found the angel had spread his two wings: one under
them and the other over them as cover. The Prophet
stooped over the two children and began to kiss them
until they awoke. He then carried them on his
shoulders back to the city. A large crowd of Muslims
followed the Prophet and his two grandsons to the
mosque. The Prophet then addressed the assembled
people and said: 'O Muslims, shall I inform you of
those who have the best grandfather and grandmother of
humankind?' 'Yes, O Apostle of God', they all replied.
'They are Hasan and Husayn', he said. 'Their
grandfather is the Apostle of God, the seal of the
Messengers, and their grandmother is Khadija, daughter
of Khuwaylid, mistress of the women of Paradise.' The
Prophet then declared Hasan and Husayn to have the
best maternal uncle and aunt: Jafar and Umm Hani', son
and daughter of Abu Talib. Their maternal uncle and
aunt were likewise the best of all uncles and aunts:
they were al-Qasim, son of the Messenger of God, and
Zaynab, daughter of the Apostle of God. The Prophet
concluded: 'O God, you know that Hasan and Husayn
shall be in Paradise, their uncles and aunt shall be
in Paradise, and those who love them shall be in
Paradise, while those who hate them shall be in the
Fire." [18]
Abu Hurayra, the famous hadith transmitter, related
that often when they prayed behind the Messenger of
God Hasan and Husayn would jump on his back while he
was prostrate in prayer. When he lifted his head, he
would move them gently and place them beside him.
One evening, after prayers, Abu Hurayra offered to
take the two youths home, but the Prophet wished them
to stay. Soon, however, a flash of lightning
illuminated the sky, and they thus walked in its light
until they entered their home. [19]
The friends (awliya') of God, like the prophets, are
favoured with miracles. These are not miracles proper
(mu'jizat), but rather karamat (divine favours). The
lightning incident was one such divine favour by means
of which the Prophet wished to inform the community of
the special status with which God had favoured the two
Imams.
There is a unity between the Prophet and the ahl
al-bayt, a unity not simply of blood, but also of the
spirit. It is a unity symbolized by the kisa' event.
It is, therefore, a unity of love, as the following
statement of the Prophet clearly indicates. He said,
as related on the authority of Salman the Persian:
'Whoever loves Hasan and Husayn, I love him, and
whomsoever I love, God also loves, and whomsoever God
loves, He shall cause him to enter into the gardens of
bliss.' Likewise he who hates Hasan and Husayn shall
be consigned to the Fire, because both God and his
Messenger will hate him, 'and a terrible punishment
awaits him'. [20]
Muslim hagiographical piety extended this unity and
intimacy between the Prophet and his two grandchildren
to include the angels of heaven. Thus Hudhayfa, a well
known companion and traditionist, reported that the
Prophet said: 'An angel is here who never came down to
earth before this night. He sought permission from his
Lord to come down and greet me, and to bring me the
glad tidings that Fatima is the mistress of the women
of Paradise, and that Hasan and Husayn are the masters
of the youths of Paradise.' [21]
There is no doubt that the special status of the Imam
Husayn in Muslim piety and devotion has in large
measure been due to the Imam's great sacrifice of
family, wealth, and life itself in the way of God.
Husayn's martyrdom - his courage, steadfastness,
dignity, and true devotion in times of great crisis -
have inspired Muslims of all walks of life. Husayn has
inspired the best poetry in all Islamic languages;
even non-Muslim poets celebrated his great virtue and
valour. Above all, however, the Imam Husayn's
martyrdom became a source of strength and endurance
for Muslims in times of suffering, persecution and
oppression. He has stood with every wronged man or
woman before oppressive rulers, reproaching wrongdoers
and encouraging the oppressed to persist in their
struggle for freedom and dignity. The following
encounter between Zayd b. Arqam, a venerable companion
of the Prophet, and 'Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad is a living
testimony to the struggle between illegitimate
authority and the power of right. When the head of the
Imam Husayn was brought before him, Ibn Ziyad began to
poke its teeth and lips with a stick.
Zayd protested: 'Take away your stick! For, by God, I
saw the Apostle of God often kiss these lips.' Saying
this, Zayd began to weep. Ibn Ziyad reprimanded him,
saying: 'May God cause your eyes to weep! Had it not
been that you are an old and senile man, I would have
cut off your head.' Zayd then walked away, exclaiming:
'O men, you are slaves after this day. For you have
slain the son of Fatima and set as amir over you the
son of Marjana [i.e., Ibn Ziyad]. By God, he shall
kill the best of you and enslave the most wicked among
you. Perish those who accept humiliation and shame.'
Zayd then said, 'O Ibn Ziyad, I shall tell you
something that will enrage you even more. I saw the
Apostle of God seating Hasan on his left leg and
Husayn on his right, and say, "O God, I commend them
and the most righteous of the people of faith to your
trust." How have you dealt with the trust of the
Prophet, O Ibn Ziyad?' [22]
Divine wisdom in creation can be best discerned,
according to the Qur'an, in the order of nature, and
in the human individual and his society. Muslim
hagiography has recorded the dramatic effect the death
of Husayn had on nature. Thus the famous traditionist
al-Bayhaqi reported that when al-Husayn b. 'Ali was
killed, the sun was so deeply eclipsed that stars were
seen at midday. People feared that it was the Day of
Resurrection.[23] Nadra al-Azdiya, a woman who was
contemporary with the Imam Husayn, is said to have
reported: 'When al-Husayn b. 'Ali was killed, the sky
rained down blood, so that next morning we found our
wells and water jugs filled with it.' [24]
The memory of the martyred Imam has been kept alive
and nourished by the tears of the faithful who
vicariously share in the tragedy of the Imam Husayn
and his loved ones and friends. Here again, tradition
has extended the grief displayed by the pious for the
tragedy of Karbala' to the cosmic order. Thus
al-Suyuti reports in his commentary on the verse
describing God's compassion towards the ancient martyr
John son of Zachariah that 'The heavens did not weep
for the death of anyone except John son of Zachariah
and al-Husayn b. 'Ali. Its redness [at sunset] is the
sign of its weeping.'[25]
CONCLUSION
It has already been argued that there is an
existential and all-inclusive unity between the
Prophet and his daughter Fatima, her husband, 'Ali,
and their two sons. This unity makes it impossible to
discuss one without discussing all the others. We
have, therefore, been concerned throughout this study
with the Imam Husayn in the context of this essential
unity. It must be added, however, that the Imam Husayn
was especially close to the heart of his grandfather,
the Prophet Muhammad. It is of Husayn alone that he
declared: 'Husayn is of me and I am of Husayn. May God
love those who love Husayn.'[26] When sura 108
(al-Kawthar) was revealed, the Prophet announced this
great favour to his close companion Anas b. Malik, on
whose authority this tradition is reported. Anas
asked: 'What is al-Kawthar?' He answered: 'It is a
river in Paradise, but neither those who violate my
covenant (dhimma), nor those who shall kill the people
of my House will be allowed to drink of it.' [27]
Finally, Shi'i tradition has always insisted on the
great merit the faithful earn in making pilgrimage
(ziyara) to the tomb of the Imam Husayn and the tombs
of the men who were martyred with him.
Yet Sunni tradition has likewise seen great merit in
this pious act.[28] The ziyara to the tomb of the
martyred Imam has acquired this great significance in
all Muslim tradition because the Imam and his fellow
martyrs are seen as models of jihad in the way of God.
It is related that the father of the Imams, 'Ali ibn
Abi Talib, passed by Karbala' after the battle of
Siffin. He took a handful of its soil and exclaimed:
'Ah, ah, on this spot some men will be slain, and will
enter Paradise without reckoning!' [29]
The spiritual unity of the ahl al-bayt, symbolized by
the kisa', is in turn a symbol of the unity of all
Muslims. It is for the sake of this unity in faith and
commitment (islam) to God and the truth that the Imam
Husayn sacrificed his life. He refused a partisan
Islam when he refused to legitimize Umayyad rule.
Because he refused humiliation, wrongdoing and
deviation from the ideals of Islamic leadership as
exemplified by the Prophet and his own father 'Ali,
the Commander of the Faithful, the Imam Husayn drew
once and for all the distinction between a true
khalifa (representative) of the Apostle of God and the
kings of this world. But above all, the Imam Husayn
and his fellow martyrs accepted God's bargain with the
people of faith to exchange their lives and wealth for
the eternal bliss of Paradise.[30] This divine
challenge is no less relevant to the Muslim community
today than it was fourteen hundred years ago. It
invites us still to 'a garden whose breadth is greater
than the heavens and earth, prepared for those who
fear God'.
Published by the Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Imam Husayn
in Sunni Hadith Tradition
M. Ayoub
University of Toronto
Al-Serat, Vol XII (1986)
For references click HERE.
