The Cordial Relations between Ahlul Bait and the Companions

The Cordial Relations between Ahlul Bait and the Companions

Who are the Ahlul Bait (the family of the House)?

This term is used in the Quran in two places, and is used to mean the wife of a Prophet.In Verse 73 of Surah Hud this word refers to Sara, wife of the Prophet Ibrahim. It says:

“They (i.e. the Angels) said: Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? May the mercy of Allah and his blessings be upon your people of the House. Indeed He is praiseworthy and Honourable.” (Surah Hud: 73)

The second place is the end of verse 33 of Surah Al-Ahzab which says:

“Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity, O People of the Prophet's household, and to purify you with (extensive) purification.”

The context of this verse is a direct command to the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The verse preceding it says,

“O Wives of the Prophet! You are not like anyone among women. If you fear Allah, then do not be soft in speech (to men), lest he in whose heart is a disease should covet, but speak with appropriate speech.  And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as (was) the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayers and give Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity, O People of the Prophet's household and to purify you with (extensive) purification.”

The verse after it says,

 “And remember what is recited in your houses of the verses of Allah and wisdom. Indeed Allah is ever Subtle and Aware.”

Apart from the wives of the Prophet (SAW), his household includes his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali and his grandsons Hasan and Hussain. This understanding is according to Ahadith reported by Wathila b. Al-Asqa, Umm Salama and A'isha.

Here follows one of the narratives by Umm Salama as transmitted by Ibn Jarir:

“Umm Salama reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) called upon Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain, then sheltered them under his mantle and then supplicated to Allah Al-Mighty by saying, “These are the people of my House.” Umm Salama said: O Messenger of Allah, admit me with them.” He said: You are from my Ahl.”

There is no doubt that a man's family (Ahl) is his wife and his children. Because the Prophet (SAW) wanted to include his son-in-law, Ali, among his household, he spelled it out in this way. So all his wives, all his four daughters and their progeny, as well as Ali b. Abi Talib are among his “Ahl” (Household).

In the next section we will show examples of those cordial relations which existed among all of them i.e. among the wives of the Prophet (SAW) and the House of Ali as well as the other three rightly-guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, May Allah be pleased with them.

It is clear that a beautiful relationship existed the household of the Prophet (SAW) and the Companions, especially the rightly guided Caliphs. Sayyedina Ali was engaged to Fatima (RA), the daughter of the Prophet (SAW) but he could not afford any money to offer her as dower. The only valuable object he had was a shield which he took to the market to sell for a large amount. Uthman b. Affan (RA) bought it for four hundred dirhams. Ali took the money and was about to retreat when Uthman offered him the same shield as a wedding gift. Among the witnesses of his marriage was Abu Bakr (ra).

1.     Sayyedina Umar Al Khattab (RA), the second Caliph, used to consult Ali in each important matter during his caliphate. He deputised Ali three times in Medinah when he had to leave for a mission abroad.

Ali is the one who advised him not to leave Medinah when he wanted to command the military himself for some of his expeditions in Persia and Syria. Ali told him that his presence in the Capital was more urgently needed then to be with the forces in the battlefield. Umar was grateful for this advice.

2.     Sayyedina Umar (RA) had a great desire to have some relations with Ahlul Bayt. This is why he approached Ali (RA) asking him for the hand of his daughter Umm Kulthum in marriage. There was no hesitation on the part of Ali. Umar gave her an exorbitant sum of ten thousand Dinars as a wedding dowry in marriage. A son, Zaid by name, was born from this union.

3.     Sayyedina Uthman (RA), the third caliph, was besieged by the mutineers in the last days of his Caliphate. Ali asked his two sons, Hasan and Hussain (RA), to guard his house. Unfortunately, the mutineers were able to sneak into the house and murdered Uthman.

4.     Ali’s Caliphate witnessed two very sad events: The battle of the Camel, between him and the supporters of Umm ul Muminin Aysha (RA), and the battle of Siffin, against Mu’awiya, the governor of Damascus since the times of Uthman (RA). As for the battle of the Camel, both parties were regretful of this unwanted encounter. At the end of the battle, when Ali (RA) heard some people slandering Aysha (RA), he said to them: “She is the wife of your Prophet (SAW) in this world and in the Hereafter”. He escorted her for a while when she was on her way to Medinah.

It is reported that when Umar bin Abdul Aziz (the rightly guided caliph among Bani Umayya) heard some people making derogatory remarks about the participants of both these battles, he said to them: “Once Allah has saved our swords from entering these battles, why don’t we save our tongues from commenting about them”. And this is the right approach adopted by all the Muslims concerning these two encounters among the Companions of the Prophet (SAW).

5.     Another interesting aspect of their cordial relations is the fact that the Ahlul Bayt used to name their children after the names of the Caliphs and the names of the wives of the Prophet (SAW).

For example, we find three children of Ali named after Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. His son Hasan (RA) named one of his sons after the name of Abu Bakr. Imam Hussain’s son, Ali Zain Al-Abidin named his daughter Aysha and his son Abu Bakr.

Imam Musa bin Ja’far named his daughter Aysha and his two sons Abu Bakr and Umar.  Imam Ali bin Muhammad Al-Hadi also named one of his daughters Aysha. Why would they have adopted such names if there was animosity or feelings of hatred towards the caliphs or the wife of the Prophet (saw)?

There were inter-marriages between Ahlul Bayt and the progeny of the caliphs, even those from Bani Ummaya as well.

a)     Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq said “Abu Bakr gave me birth twice”. By saying this he meant that his own mother Umm Farwah came from the house of Abu Bakr. She is the daughter of Al-Qasim, the son of Muhammad who is the son of Abu Bakr. Umm Farwah’s mother is Asma, the daughter of Abdul Rahman who is the son of Abu Bakr.

b)    Nafisa, the daughter of Abdullah who is the son of Abbas bin Ali married Abdullah Bin Khalid who is the son of Yazid b. Mu’awiyah.

c)     Sakina, the daughter of Hussain bin Ali married Zaid bin Amr, the son of Uthman.

d)    Zainab, the granddaughter of Imam Hasan bin Ali married the Umayyad caliph Yazid bin Abdul-Malik.

There are several examples of this nature but the above mentioned should be an eye opener for those people who try to give a false picture of Ahlul Bayt, as if they were at daggers drawn with other companions and the wives of the prophet (SAW) and that they would slander them or remember them with derogatory remarks. Instead the real picture which has emerged is that of love and affection, kindness and protection and that of help and co-operation.