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Some Important Hadith To Remember Regarding The Ahl Al-Bayt(‘A)

  1. Imam ‘Ali (‘a) said: “People often hate those things that they don’t understand”1.

  2. Imam ‘Ali (‘a) said: “Whoever loves us, members of the Prophet’s family, should be prepared to face destitution”.2

  3. Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) said: “It is surprising to hear people claim that they have derived all their knowledge from the Prophet (S) and having acted accordingly they are guided. And they believe that we, Ahl Al-Bayt, have not derived his knowledge, nor have we been guided by him, in spite of being his family members and descendants! The revelation descended in our homes and from us the knowledge reached the people. Do you believe that they knew and were guided while we remained ignorant and lost? This is indeed impossible!”3

  4. The Prophet (S) said: “What has happened to some people in my ummah who become cheerful and jubilant when Ibrahim (‘a) and the progeny of Ibrahim are mentioned to them, but when I and my progeny are mentioned, they detest it and frown at it?! By He who sent me as a truthful prophet, if a person dies after having performed the deeds of 70 prophets but he has no liking for the authority of our Ahl Al-Bayt, Allah will not accept any of his obligatory or voluntary acts of worship!”4

  5. Narrated by Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (S) said: “Cling steadfastly to the affection for us, the Ahl Al-Bayt. For whoever meets Allah with our love in his heart shall enter paradise by our intercession. By He who controls Muhammad’s (S) breath, the acts and deeds of a servant shall not benefit him except coupled with our recognition and love!”5

  6. Imam ‘Ali (‘a) said: “Whoever loves us, his faith will benefit him and his works will bring him close to Allah. Whoever does not love us, his faith will not benefit him and his works will not bring him close to Allah even though he should strive night and day in prayer and fasting”.6.

  7. Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) said: “We are those that obedience to whom Allah has made an obligation. Nothing is proper for the people except to know us, nor are the people absolved from being ignorant about us. He who knows us is a believer (mu’min) and he who knows us and denies us is a disbeliever (kafir). He who neither knows us nor denies us is misguided, until he returns to the path of guidance, which Allah has made an obligation for him as a binding obedience to us. If he dies in his misguidance then Allah will do with him what he pleases”.7

  8. Imam al-Baqir (‘a) said: “The one who is unaware of the oppressions done upon us, the one who is oblivious of the snatching away of our rights, and the one who is not aware of the misbehavior of the ummah towards us, surely he is among those oppressors”8

  9. Abu Dharr (ra) narrated that the Prophet (S) said to ‘Ali (‘a): “O’ ‘Ali, Allah has made me and you from the same tree. I am its root and you are its branch. Allah will throw a man into hell by his face if he cuts its branch!”9

  10. The Prophet (S) said: “The example of my household is that of Noah’s (‘a) ship. Whoever boards it will get rescued and the one who opposes the boarding of it will drown”10

  11. Imam al-Baqir (‘a) said: “If a man keeps standing the whole night for salat, keeps on fasting during the day, gives out all his wealth as alms, and performs hajj all the years of his life while he does not recognize the guardianship of the vicegerent of Allah so as to love him and perform all his practices under his guidance and leadership does not have any right out of his rewards and is not from among the faithful”11

  12. Imam al-Baqir (‘a) said: “The person who serves Allah according to a religion so putting himself in great inconvenience and hardship for it, and doesn’t have an Imam fixed by Allah, then his endeavor is unaccepted and he is lost, gone astray, and a wandering person in a state of perplexity. Allah is the enemy to his practices and his example is that of a sheep that has lost her shepherd and herd wandering here and there all-day long. And by Allah, similarly, in this ummah too anybody who starts a morning in a condition that he doesn’t believe in the Imam appointed by Allah, an Imam who is apparent, evident, just, and equitable. He will start the morning in a condition that he is gone astray and perplexed. And if he dies in this very condition, he will die a death of disbelief (Kufr) and hypocrisy (Nifaq).”12

  13. Imam ‘Askari (‘a) said: “An age will approach when people’s faces would be laughing and their hearts would be dark, bleak, and dirty. The sunnah to them would be bidah and bidah would be considered sunnah among them. The faithful would be belittled and debased among them and the transgressors would be honorable and respected among them. Their lords and chiefs would be ignorant and aggressive ones. And the religious scholars would be on the threshold of aggressors and tyrants”.13

  14. The Prophet (S) said “Allah said: ‘I will punish every group of Muslims who recognized the leadership of any unjust ruler whom I did not select, even if the individuals of such a group are pious and fear Allah. Likewise, I will forgive every group of Muslims who recognized exclusively the leadership of the just imams (‘a) whom I appointed, even if the individuals of such a group wrong themselves and commit bad deeds.”14

  15. Ibn Abbas asked the Holy Prophet (S) to advise him. The Prophet (S) said “I advise you to love ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib (‘a). I swear by Allah who sent me as a Prophet that Allah will not accept the good deeds of any slave without first questioning him about his love for ‘Ali (‘a), and Allah knows the truth. So, if the slave had the wilayat (guardianship), Allah will accept all the deeds of the slave, despite his shortcomings. If the slave did not have the wilayat, Allah will not question him about anything else and will order him to be taken to Hell”.15

  16. Imam ‘Ali (‘a) said “If a man worships Allah between rukn and maqam and fasts every single day of his entire existence without believing in our wilayat, he will not benefit in any way.”16

  17. The Prophet (S) said “The dwellers of paradise are those who obey me and submit to ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a) after me and accept his wilayat (guardianship). The inmates of the fire are those who deny his wilayat, breach the covenant and fight against ‘Ali (‘a) after me”.17

  18. Imam as-Sajjad (‘a) “Allah has made 5 religious duties mandatory and everything Allah makes mandatory is beautiful; Salat, zakat, hajj, fasting, and our wilayat (guardianship). People obeyed Allah in the first 4 and ignored the 5th. I swear by Allah that the first 4 are not complete without the 5th.”18

  19. The Prophet (S) said “If everyone loved ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Allah would not have created hell.”19

  20. Ibn Abbas asked the Prophet (S) “Is there anyone who hates ‘Ali (‘a)?” The Prophet (S) replied “Yes, some people who think they are from my nation hate him and they have nothing to do with Islam. One of the signs of those who hate ‘Ali (‘a) is that they elevate people who are lower than ‘Ali (‘a) above ‘Ali (‘a).”20

“Praise be to Allah Who made perfect His religion and completed His favor with the establishment of the commander of the faithful, ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib’s (‘a) love and authority! Praise be to Allah Who blessed us to be among those who cling and hold to the love and authority of the commander of the faithful and all the Imams, peace be upon them all!”

  • 1. Nahjul Balagha #172.
  • 2. Nahjul Balagha #111.
  • 3. Al-Amali by Shaykh As-Saduq.
  • 4. Al-Amali by Shaykh As-Saduq.
  • 5. Al-Amali by Shaykh As-Saduq.
  • 6. Kitab Al-Irshad by Sheikh Mufid.
  • 7. Usul Al-Kafi vol. 1 Al-Usul pt. 2-4 “The Book of Divine Proof,” p. 60.
  • 8. Bihar ul-Anwar, vol. 55, p. 77; Eqaabul Amal, p.208.
  • 9. Abu Dharr, The Great Companion of the Prophet. Online at:
    https://www.al-islam.org/great-companion-prophet-s-abu-dharr-ra
  • 10. Discourses of the 14 Infallibles.
  • 11. Discourses of the 14 Infallibles.
  • 12. Discourses of the 14 Infallibles.
  • 13. Discourses of the 14 Infallibles.
  • 14. Fadail al Shi’ah - Hadith #12.
  • 15. Bisharat al-Mustafa, p. 64, Hadith 9; Amal al-Tusi, vol. 1, p. 104; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 16, p. 370 and vol. 28, p. 157, Tawil al-Ayaat, vol. 1, p. 277.
  • 16. Bisharat al-Mustafa, p. 402, Hadith 30.
  • 17. Bisharat al-Mustafa, p. 212, hadith 2; Bihar a-Anwar, vol 39, p. 208.
  • 18. Bisharat al- Mustafa, p. 160, hadith 143; Bihar al-Anwar, vol 23, p. 105.
  • 19. Bisharat Al-Mustafa, p. 114; Bihar Al-Anwar, vol 39, p. 249; Amali As-Saduq, p. 523; Kashf Al-Ghummah, vol 1, p. 99; Manaqib Al-Khawarezmi, p. 28; Tawil Al-Ayat, vol 2, p. 497.
  • 20. Bisharat al Mustafa, p. 64, hadith 9; Amal at Tusi, vol 1, p. 104; Bihar al Anwar, vol 16, p. 370 and vol 28, p. 157; Tawail Al-Ayat, vol 1, p. 277.