Myno
17-08-2007, 08:52
Prophet’s Wives are Ahlel Bayt
The term “Medinatul-Nabi” translates to “the City of the Prophet.” This was eventually shortened to “Medinah” which although it translates technically to simply “city,” it is referring to the City of the Prophet (i.e. formerly Yathrib, and now the second most holy city of the Muslims).
The term “Ahle Bayt Muhammad” translates to “People of the House of Muhammad.” This phrase was also shortened to simply “Ahlel Bayt” but it is implicit that this refers to the House of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
Both the Ahlus Sunnah and the Shia believe it is important to love the Ahlel Bayt. Now, the question is: who are the Ahle Bayt Muhammad (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
Dictionary Definition of “Ahlel Bayt”
Let us first define the words “Ahlel Bayt.” To establish absolute objectivity, we will not define it ourselves, but rather we will quote straight from the most popular Shia website, Al-Islam.org (emphasis is ours):
Citaat:
Ahl: noun; relatives including wives, children, brothers, sisters, and other kinsmen, and sometimes used to refer to fellow tribesmen
Bayt: noun; house; place of residence
Ahl-Al-Bayt: noun; those people in relation to a man who live in his house, especially his wives and unmarried children that live under his roof and are provided for by him
In fact, the primary definition of Ahl Bayt is a man’s wives; in Arab culture, it is considered rude to call a man’s wives by their actual names, and hence people will refer to a man’s wives simply as his “Ahl Bayt”.
The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah
The Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah thus take the wives of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
The Shia
The Shia Ayatollahs do not have a positive viewpoint of the Prophet’s wives. In fact, the Shia Ayatollahs possess “baraa” (hatred) for Aisha (رضّى الله عنها
The Shia Ayatollahs say that only four people are part of the Ahle Bayt Muhammad, namely Ali (رضّى الله عنه
The Shia also include their Infallible Imams in the Ahlel Bayt. We wonder on what basis they do this as well, since none of these individuals (other than Ali [رضّى الله عنه], Hasan [رضّى الله عنه], and Hussain [رضّى الله عنه]) lived in the time of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
Common Usage of the Term “Ahl-Al-Bayt”
The Quran is an Arabic book that has been revealed to people whose language was Arabic. We will misinterpret the Quran if we attempt to understand its words in a way that was not (and could not be) understood by the primary addressees of the book. Today, if we ask an Arab friend to come to our house with his Ahl-Al-Bayt, the default is that he will come to our house with his wife and children who are staying in his house. He might bring his married children or he might not. He might even bring a friend if the friend is a permanent resident of his house. But primarily, an Arab will understand from this that he should bring his wives, since this is the central and primary definition of the phrase “Ahl-Al-Bayt”.
An Arab will be extremely shocked if he finds that by Ahl-Al-Bayt we meant his cousin, married children, and grandchildren, all of whom live in another house. He will be extremely shocked that we do not mean his wife who lives in his Bayt. This is because for any Arab, the word Ahl-Al-Bayt (which literally means those staying in the house) includes the wife (or wives) of a person. This was in no way any different at the time of the Prophet. It is the same in all Arab countries. It is interesting that even in Iran (being a Shia dominated country) people use the word Ahl-Al-Bayt to refer to the wife as well as children of a person. If we look at any popular book of Arabic words we will find that in the definition of Ahlel Bayt, wife is included. We would thus like to ask the Shia Ayatollahs why they proclaim a different definition of the word Ahlel Bayt? Why should it be that the Prophet’s wives are not part of Ahlel Bayt but rather the Infallible Imams are? In our opinion, this defies logic.
Logic and Common Sense
Ahlel Bayt means the family of a man living in his house. If we were to ask any Shia who is a part of his own family, he would most definitely include his mother (or his spouse) in his response. Mothers and wives are the basic foundation of a family. If we were to ask an unbiased third party as to who the family of Muhammad (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
The Quran Refers to the Prophet’s Wives as Ahlel Bayt
As Muslims, we believe in the absolute authority of the Quran. It is the highest source of legislation; in fact, it is the very speech of Allah. The Quran refers to the Prophet’s wives as the Ahlel Bayt. Allah Almighty Himself negates all those who dare argue that Aisha (رضّى الله عنها
The Quran specifically refers to the wives of the Prophet as Ahlel Bayt in the following verse:
“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other of the women; If you will be on your guard, then be not soft in your speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease yearn; and speak a good word. And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance; and establish regular Prayer, and give regular Charity; and obey Allah and His Messenger. And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, you Ahlel Bayt (People of the House), and to make you pure and spotless.” (Quran, 33:32-33)
The transliteration reads:
“Ya nisa al-nabiyi lastuna kahadin mina alnisa-i ini itaqaytuna fala takhdaAAna bialqawli fayatmaAAa allathee fee qalbihi maradun waqulna qawlan maAAroofan Waqarna fee buyootikunna wala tabarrajna tabarruja aljahiliyyati al-oola waaqimna alssalata waateena alzzakata waatiAAna Allaha warasoolahu innama yureedu Allahu liyuthhiba AAankumu alrrijsa Ahlul Bayt-i wayutahhirakum tatheeran” (Quran, 33:32-33)
There is in fact not a single verse in the Quran which identifies Ali (رضّى الله عنه
The term “Medinatul-Nabi” translates to “the City of the Prophet.” This was eventually shortened to “Medinah” which although it translates technically to simply “city,” it is referring to the City of the Prophet (i.e. formerly Yathrib, and now the second most holy city of the Muslims).
The term “Ahle Bayt Muhammad” translates to “People of the House of Muhammad.” This phrase was also shortened to simply “Ahlel Bayt” but it is implicit that this refers to the House of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
Both the Ahlus Sunnah and the Shia believe it is important to love the Ahlel Bayt. Now, the question is: who are the Ahle Bayt Muhammad (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
Dictionary Definition of “Ahlel Bayt”
Let us first define the words “Ahlel Bayt.” To establish absolute objectivity, we will not define it ourselves, but rather we will quote straight from the most popular Shia website, Al-Islam.org (emphasis is ours):
Citaat:
Al-Islam.org says
“The term “ahl” signifies the members of a household of a man, including his fellow tribesmen, kin, relatives, wife (or wives), children, and all those who share a family background, religion, housing, city, and country with him…“Bayt” refers to habitation and dwelling, including tents and buildings both. The “ahl-al-bayt” of any person refers to his family members and all those who live in his house.
source: http://al-islam.org/mot/default.asp?url=14ahlbayt.htm”
We encourage our readers to verify this defintion by picking up any Arabic dictionary. There are three words to look up: Ahl, Bayt, and Ahl-Al-Bayt. Let us reproduce what one such Arabic dictionary has to say, although the results will no doubt be virtually identical in any other dictionary.“The term “ahl” signifies the members of a household of a man, including his fellow tribesmen, kin, relatives, wife (or wives), children, and all those who share a family background, religion, housing, city, and country with him…“Bayt” refers to habitation and dwelling, including tents and buildings both. The “ahl-al-bayt” of any person refers to his family members and all those who live in his house.
source: http://al-islam.org/mot/default.asp?url=14ahlbayt.htm”
Ahl: noun; relatives including wives, children, brothers, sisters, and other kinsmen, and sometimes used to refer to fellow tribesmen
Bayt: noun; house; place of residence
Ahl-Al-Bayt: noun; those people in relation to a man who live in his house, especially his wives and unmarried children that live under his roof and are provided for by him
In fact, the primary definition of Ahl Bayt is a man’s wives; in Arab culture, it is considered rude to call a man’s wives by their actual names, and hence people will refer to a man’s wives simply as his “Ahl Bayt”.
The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah
The Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah thus take the wives of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
The Shia
The Shia Ayatollahs do not have a positive viewpoint of the Prophet’s wives. In fact, the Shia Ayatollahs possess “baraa” (hatred) for Aisha (رضّى الله عنها
The Shia Ayatollahs say that only four people are part of the Ahle Bayt Muhammad, namely Ali (رضّى الله عنه
The Shia also include their Infallible Imams in the Ahlel Bayt. We wonder on what basis they do this as well, since none of these individuals (other than Ali [رضّى الله عنه], Hasan [رضّى الله عنه], and Hussain [رضّى الله عنه]) lived in the time of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
Common Usage of the Term “Ahl-Al-Bayt”
The Quran is an Arabic book that has been revealed to people whose language was Arabic. We will misinterpret the Quran if we attempt to understand its words in a way that was not (and could not be) understood by the primary addressees of the book. Today, if we ask an Arab friend to come to our house with his Ahl-Al-Bayt, the default is that he will come to our house with his wife and children who are staying in his house. He might bring his married children or he might not. He might even bring a friend if the friend is a permanent resident of his house. But primarily, an Arab will understand from this that he should bring his wives, since this is the central and primary definition of the phrase “Ahl-Al-Bayt”.
An Arab will be extremely shocked if he finds that by Ahl-Al-Bayt we meant his cousin, married children, and grandchildren, all of whom live in another house. He will be extremely shocked that we do not mean his wife who lives in his Bayt. This is because for any Arab, the word Ahl-Al-Bayt (which literally means those staying in the house) includes the wife (or wives) of a person. This was in no way any different at the time of the Prophet. It is the same in all Arab countries. It is interesting that even in Iran (being a Shia dominated country) people use the word Ahl-Al-Bayt to refer to the wife as well as children of a person. If we look at any popular book of Arabic words we will find that in the definition of Ahlel Bayt, wife is included. We would thus like to ask the Shia Ayatollahs why they proclaim a different definition of the word Ahlel Bayt? Why should it be that the Prophet’s wives are not part of Ahlel Bayt but rather the Infallible Imams are? In our opinion, this defies logic.
Logic and Common Sense
Ahlel Bayt means the family of a man living in his house. If we were to ask any Shia who is a part of his own family, he would most definitely include his mother (or his spouse) in his response. Mothers and wives are the basic foundation of a family. If we were to ask an unbiased third party as to who the family of Muhammad (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم
The Quran Refers to the Prophet’s Wives as Ahlel Bayt
As Muslims, we believe in the absolute authority of the Quran. It is the highest source of legislation; in fact, it is the very speech of Allah. The Quran refers to the Prophet’s wives as the Ahlel Bayt. Allah Almighty Himself negates all those who dare argue that Aisha (رضّى الله عنها
The Quran specifically refers to the wives of the Prophet as Ahlel Bayt in the following verse:
“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other of the women; If you will be on your guard, then be not soft in your speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease yearn; and speak a good word. And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance; and establish regular Prayer, and give regular Charity; and obey Allah and His Messenger. And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, you Ahlel Bayt (People of the House), and to make you pure and spotless.” (Quran, 33:32-33)
The transliteration reads:
“Ya nisa al-nabiyi lastuna kahadin mina alnisa-i ini itaqaytuna fala takhdaAAna bialqawli fayatmaAAa allathee fee qalbihi maradun waqulna qawlan maAAroofan Waqarna fee buyootikunna wala tabarrajna tabarruja aljahiliyyati al-oola waaqimna alssalata waateena alzzakata waatiAAna Allaha warasoolahu innama yureedu Allahu liyuthhiba AAankumu alrrijsa Ahlul Bayt-i wayutahhirakum tatheeran” (Quran, 33:32-33)
There is in fact not a single verse in the Quran which identifies Ali (رضّى الله عنه