Are the Wives of the Prophet Included in the Ahl al-Bayt?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Does the Prophet’s response (Allah bless him and give him peace) to Umm Salama (Allah be pleased with her) during the Hadith of the Cloak imply that his wives are excluded from Ahl al-Bayt?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
The hadith does not imply that the Prophet’s wives (Allah bless him and give him peace) were excluded. In fact, the Quranic verse quoted in the hadith, as mentioned below, indicates that they are already included.
Hadith of the Cloak (Kiswa)
‘Umar Ibn Abi Salama narrated – the step-son of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace): “When these verses were revealed to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace): ‘Allah only wishes to remove the evil from you, O members of the family, and to purify you with a thorough purification (33:33)’ in the home of Umm Salama, he called for Fatima, Hasan, Husayn, and wrapped him in the cloak, and ‘Ali was behind him, so he wrapped him in the cloak, then he said: ‘O Allah! These are the people of my house, so remove the evil from them and purify them with a thorough purification.’
So Umm Salama said: ‘And I, Prophet of Allah?’ He said: ‘You are in your place (meaning you are already a member of my household), and you are goodness.’”
[Tirmidhi]
The Wives of the Prophet are Members of His Household (Ahl al-Bayt)
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُـمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيــراً
Allah wishes only to remove evil from you, O members of the family, and to purify you with a thorough purification. [Quran, 33:33]
This is a clear statement that the wives of the Prophet are included among his family members (Ahl al-Bayt) here because they are the reason this verse was revealed. The scholars unanimously agreed that they were the reason for revelation in this case, whether this was the only reason or another reason, which is the correct view.
Ibn Jarir recorded that ‘Ikrima used to call out in the marketplace:
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُـمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيــراً
(Allah wishes only to remove evil from you, O members of the family, and to purify you with a thorough purification.)
“This was revealed solely concerning the wives of the Prophet.”
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn ‘Abbas said concerning the verse:
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُـمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ
(Allah wishes only to remove evil from you, O members of the family )
“It was revealed solely concerning the wives of the Prophet .”
‘Ikrima said: “Whoever disagrees with me that it was revealed solely concerning the wives of the Prophet, I am prepared to meet with him and pray and invoke the curse of Allah upon those who are lying.” So they alone were the reason for revelation, but others may be included by way of generalization.
[Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
This is clear evidence that the verse was revealed concerning the wives of the Prophet.
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) wanted the people of the cloak to be included in this divine revelation of purification, so he gathered them, covered them with the cloak, and prayed for them: ‘O Allah! These are the people of my house, so remove the evil from them and purify them with a thorough purification.’
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. In sha Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.
Related
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org), like from the Islamic Studies Curriculum (seekersguidance.org), building your way up doing each course?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
