Ahl al-Bayt

Ahl al-Bayt (أهل البيت‎, Persian: اهلِ بیت‎), also Āl al-Bayt or Ahlul Bayt, is a phrase meaning, literally, "People of the House" or "Family of the House". Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.In Shia Islam the Ahl al-Bayt are central to Islam and interpreters of the Quran and Sunnah. Shias believe they are successors of Muhammad and consist of Muhammad, Fatimah, Ali, Hasan, and Husayn (known collectively as the Ahl al-Kisa, "people of the mantle") and the rest of the Imams from The Fourteen Infallibles.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 4 years ago

Yes, you can still be considered a true follower of Ahl al-Bayt if you do not take part in matam or public mourning ceremonies. These things are optional. The most important things are (a) inner belief (i.e. belief in the theology taught by Ahl al-Bayt as well as belief in their authority), and (b) following them in your outer actions to the best of your ability (acts of worship, how you treat others, how you live, etc).

Of course, as you are likely aware, one of the things that is mentioned in hadith is that the followers of Ahl al-Bayt feel happy at their times of happiness and sad in their times of sadness; that is, there is a sort of empathy or emotional link. Since you say you feel grief, this is already there; I am just mentioning it so it is not neglected.

I agree that sometimes people from more reserved cultures are uncomfortable with matam ceremonies. This is particularly the case if someone grew up with the tacit message that expressions of emotion are socially unacceptable, unmanly, weak, undignified, etc, or if someone was punished for them.

Sometimes people from a Sunni background are also uncomfortable at these gatherings (even if they come from emotionally expressive cultures).

However, even if you choose not to participate in these activities, it is good to acknowledge and respect that many other Shi'is do and this is the way they express their emotions and loyalty towards Ahl al-Bayt. That is, it is better simply to acknowledge that it is one's personal preference not to attend, rather than to try to make a blanket statement that it is wrong for others to do so. There is a strong spiritual component to these gatherings (although I could understand that this might not be felt if one is feeling shock instead), and they do function to forge a link between the individual and the teachings of Ahl al-Bayt that can come into play in other life circumstances.  

To some degree, you will miss out on a sense of community spirit, belonging, or shared experience by not participating in these activities, because they are so widespread, but this is a different issue. 

Also, this may or may not be of interest, but if you do look around at world religions, there are actually a lot of religions that have ritual or spiritual acts which involve a sort of emotional/intellectual abandon or self-harm. (For instance, speaking in tongues or nailing one's self to a cross) What makes these things "safe" ways of exploring or expressing one's spirituality is that they are controlled and there are unwritten rules about what is and is not acceptable, and when. For instance, someone walking down the street randomly doing matam would be seen as mentally unstable, but someone doing it in a ritual setting at the appropriate time would be seen as normal. Also this is similar for a some Sufi practices. This is more of a comparative religious studies perspective, but I just thought I'd put it out there.

Anyway, back to the main question, here are some hadith (which you may have already read!) about what constitutes a true follower of Ahl al-Bayt:
 

Imam al-Hasan (a.s.) said in answer to a man who said to him, ‘Verily I am one of your Shi’ah’, ‘O ‘Aabdallah, if you are truly obedient to us in our commands and prohibitions, then you are telling the truth. But if not, then do not add to your sins by falsely claiming such a dignified position that you are not worthy of. Do not say, ‘I am one of your Shi’ah’, but say rather, ‘I am one of your adherents and one of your lovers and an enemy to your enemies.’ You are [doing] good and aiming towards good.’[Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 2, p. 106]

Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, ‘Our Shi’ah are none other than those who are consciously wary of their duty to Allah and obey Him. They are known solely for their humbleness, their humility, their returning promptly whatever is entrusted in their care and their Abundant remembrance of Allah.’[Tuhaf al-’Uqul, p. 295]

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘Verily the Shi’ah of Ali were those who restrained their stomachs and their sexual desires, who struggled and fought intensely, who worked hard for their Creator, who hoped for His reward and feared His punishment. If you have seen such people, then they are the very Shi’ah of Ja’afar.’[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 233, no. 9]

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘Test our Shi’ah with regard to three things: the prayer times to see how well they observe them, their secrets to see how well they guard them from our enemies, and their wealth to see how they help out their fellow brothers with it.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 83, p. 22, no. 40]

Anyway, I hope you are able to find a way to sort out the unease you are feeling.

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 4 years ago

Bismillāh 

Thank you for your question. There is no correct chain for this Khutbah and so its contents have to be affirmed through other traditions or rational proofs. There are differences in opinion among the scholars as to how much or what parts are acceptable and what are not, based on their understanding of the stations of the Infallibles (as).

May you always be successful 

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 4 years ago

It is authentic in both Sunni and Shia books that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) celebrated the birth of his grand children, Hasan, Husain and Zainab.

Celebrating the birth anniversary of the twelve Imams is highly recommended as it reminds us with the great teachings of Islam for which the whole life of the twelve Imams was dedicated and sacrificed.

Wassalam.

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 4 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. The problem with many questions such as this is that they are not usually framed realistically. Is it really realistic for someone who does not believe in the religion of Islam to perform all of his or her actions according to its dictates? If that is not possible or unrealistic then this question is completely hypothetical. God will ultimately judge every person, but the value of being in the fold of Islam is such that in this hypothetical situation the Muslim will have a better end as the Prophet (saw) will intercede for the major sinners in his community, if they have the capacity to be interceded for.

May you always be successful 

May you always be successful.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 4 years ago

Despite all the atrocities committed by the enemies of the Ahlul Bayt (AS) in
Karbala, Allah (SWT) has protected all the members of the family of
the Ahlul Bayt (AS) so that no one can harm their sanctity and
dignity.

This fact was clearly mentioned by Imam Husain (AS) in his last will
to his sister Lady Zainab (SA) when he said that Allah (SWT) will
definitely protect all of you. ان الله حافظكن 

The enemies looted whatever they could loot from the tents and even from
the children, but no one could touch any of the noble women from the
Ahlul Bayt (AS). The compulsory Hijab of all the noble women of the
Ahlul Bayt (AS) was always preserved intact.

Some books mention of the veil being snatched away from the noble
women of the Ahlul Bayt (AS). Even if it proves authentic, it does not
mean at all that it was from that garment which formed part of the
compulsory Hijab, but can mean the extra cloth over and above the
compulsory Hijab.

Allah (SWT) did not allow the enemies to be able to expose any noble
women from the Ahlul Bayt (AS) even for a moment without the
compulsory Hijab

Wassalaam.

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 4 years ago

There is no clear evidence that this occurred and, in any case, no name of a specific person is mentioned in historical sources. It is simply something that is customarily mentioned.

The text of the sermon by Zaynab (A) to Yazid refers to the captives being bare-faced (i.e. removing face veils), which may have been done as a sort of humiliation because in that time noblewomen would have customarily covered their faces whereas slave women would have been bare-faced. This exposure and portrayal, for instance, lead someone in the court to try to purchase one of the young female captives as a slave-companion although he was stopped from doing so. 

God knows best. 

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 4 years ago

Sunni view:
(a) He never openly converted
(b) Some quotations from Sunni hadith and history books and interpretations of Qur'an.

Shi'i view:

(a) He was obviously a clear supporter of the Prophet and couldn't have done that if he were openly a Muslim.

(b) Hadith and quotations such as the marriage khutbah he is said to have recited for the Prophet (S) and Khadijah

In my view, the important thing is to maintain respect for him as a human being and not make this into a purely sectarian issue. Often, certain issues are hotly debated between Sunnis and Shi'is not for their own sake, but because they are closet debates aiming to prove "I'm right and you're wrong", which is more about ego or group identity than the actual issue at hand. 

Further details can found rather copiously online!

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answer updated 4 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. In the durood (the salawat) Aal Muhammad includes Imam Ali (as) as well as Bibi Fatimah (as) and the other Imams (as).

May you always be successful.

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Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answer updated 4 years ago

There does not appear to be much in-depth history on the circumstances of these narrations and who transmitted them. By the time that they were narrated in Bukhari and Muslim the concept of 'Imam' did exist explicitly and was known in wider circles. It certainly would not have been in the interests of Bukhari to cite a narration that mentioned the word 'Imam' and 'Bani Hashim', since that would have clearly overturned the forced legitimacy of Abu Bakr and 'Umar's caliphates. In particular 'Umar held that that the successorship belonged to 'the people' (meaning Quraysh). The Uthmaniyya, being of Quraysh, therefore held that the caliphate belonged to them. One can surmise that perhaps there may have been narrations in circulation predicting twelve Imams, but that the wording had been 'adjusted' to mask the true implication, if not to 'redirect' the meaning of the narration to suit political purposes. It really needs an expert like Suleiman Ali Mourad (who has analysed the 'transferral of authorship' between the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and various figures in the Sufi tradition, i.e. the attribution to Sufi figures of sayings of the Ahl al-Bayt) to do a proper textual, historical analysis of these narrations.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answer updated 4 years ago

The circulated narration is not authentic at all and it contradicts with the authentic narrations from the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) that his successors will be twelve only.

Those who are behind circulating this false narration are trying to prove a claim of a person in Basra Iraq who is been financed by enemies of Shia to create a rift between the Shia. He claims that he is the son of the Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) while people of his town know his father and family and confirm that he is a liar.

More details about this liar and his false claims and his financiers are available on many Shia websites.

Wassalam.

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Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 4 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

This is a theological topic that is vast and extensive. Is it possible for a non-Shi'a to enter heaven.

In general, Shi'a Ulama do not condemn all non-Shi'ah to Hell. There might be some people who were not informed in any way about the true path of Islam and the true path of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). 

If there is someone who hates Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), and shows hostility to them, they are certainly condemned to Hell. 

If there is someone who knows the true status of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), and out of stubbornity refuses to follow the truth, then of course their judgment will be harsh. 

The important thing to mention in this topic is that as Muslims we must stay away from the Takfeeri mentality, and treat all Muslims equally in this Dunya. As for what happens in the Akhirah, that is with Allah ta'ala.

And Allah knows best.

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 4 years ago

No, they are not condemned to hell.