Love of the Prophet's Ahlulbayt

Love of the Prophet's family is stressed both in the Qur'an and the Surnna. The Qur'an says:

Say, [O Muhammad], "I do not ask you for this message any payment [but] only good will through kinship." ( al-mawadda fi'l-qurba). (Sura al-Shura, 42:23)

The reference of the Arabic 'qurba' here is to those 'close' to the Prophet, as is evidenced by the fact that it is the Prophet himself who is making this request.

Loving his noble family, in addition to being a great honour, is a cause of remaining always in their proximity, emulating them in their exemplary virtues and their remoteness from any vice. In certain mutawatir hadiths, it is related that love of the Prophet's ahl al-bayt is a sign of faith, and enmity towards them a sign of faithlessness and hypocrisy. Whoso loves them, loves the Prophet andGod, and whoso opposes them, opposes God and His Prophet.

Loving his noble family, in addition to being a great honour, is a cause of remaining always in their proximity, emulating them in their exemplary virtues and their remoteness from any vice. In certain mutawatir hadiths, it is related that love of the Prophet's ahl al-bayt is a sign of faith, and enmity towards them a sign of faithlessness and hypocrisy. Whoso loves them, loves the Prophet andGod, and whoso opposes them, opposes God and His Prophet.

In principle, loving the family of the Prophet is one of the obligations of the faith of Islam, about which there is no doubt or confusion; and all Muslims are at one as regards this principle, except for one group, known as the Nawasib, [1] who are, for this very reason, regarded as having left the faith of Islam.

1. This is the name of an extremist Kharijite sect of the first century AH.