The Hadith al-Thaqalayn () refers to a
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
() attributed to the
Islamic prophet Muhammad that introduces the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
and his progeny as the only sources of divine guidance after his death. Widely reported by both
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
and
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...
authorities, the Hadith al-Thaqalayn is of particular significance for the
Twelver Shia
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
, where their
Twelve Imams
The Twelve Imams ( ar, ٱلْأَئِمَّة ٱلْٱثْنَا عَشَر, '; fa, دوازده امام, ') are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Islam, including that of the Ala ...
are viewed as the spiritual and political successors of Muhammad.
Hadith al-Thaqalayn
There are also several slightly different versions of this hadith in Sunni sources. The version that appears in the canonical Sunni collection
''Musnad Ahmad'' is as follows:
Muhammad might have repeated this statement on multiple occasions, including the
Farewell Pilgrimage
The Farewell Pilgrimage ( ar, حِجَّة ٱلْوَدَاع, Ḥijjatu Al-Wadāʿ) refers to the one Hajj pilgrimage that Muhammad performed in the Islamic year 10 AH, following the Conquest of Mecca. Muslims believe that verse 22:27 of the Quran ...
shortly before his death. The version of this hadith in the Sunni collection
''as-Sunan al-kubra'' also includes the warning, "Be careful how you treat the two
reasuresafter me." According to the Shia
Tabatabai (), the Hadith al-Thaqalayn has been transmitted through more than a hundred channels by over thirty-five of Muhammad's
companions. In some Sunni versions of the hadith, the word
appears instead of .
Ahl al-Bayt
Muslims disagree as to who belong to the
Ahl al-Bayt
Ahl al-Bayt ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, ) refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to apply to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. I ...
(), a term which also appears in verse 33:33 of the Quran, known as the
Verse of Purification
The Verse of Purification (Arabic:آية التطهير) refers to verse 33:33 of the Quran about the status of purity of the Ahl al-Bayt (). The last passage of this verse reads:
Muslims disagree as to who belongs to the Ahl al-Bayt and what ...
. Shia Islam limits the Ahl al-Bayt to the
Ahl al-Kisa
Ahl al-Kisa ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْكِسَاء, ʾAhl al-Kisāʾ, lit=people of the cloak, '), also known as the Aal al-Aba (, ), are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and his two grandsons Ha ...
, namely, Muhammad, his daughter
Fatima
Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, ...
, her husband
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
, and their two sons,
Hasan and
Husayn
Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...
. There are various views in Sunni Islam, though a typical compromise is to include also Muhammad's wives in the Ahl al-Bayt. In Shia theology works, the Ahl al-Bayt often also includes the remaining
Shia Imams
In Shia Islam, the Imamah ( ar, إمامة) is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further ...
. The term is sometimes loosely applied in Shia writings to all descendants of Ali and Fatima.
Inclusion of the Ahl al-Kisa
The majority of the traditions quoted by
al-Tabari () in his exegesis identify the Ahl al-Bayt in the Verse of Purification with the
Ahl al-Kisa
Ahl al-Kisa ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْكِسَاء, ʾAhl al-Kisāʾ, lit=people of the cloak, '), also known as the Aal al-Aba (, ), are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and his two grandsons Ha ...
, namely, Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn. These traditions are also cited by some other early Sunni authorities, including
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Dhuhli ( ar, أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل الذهلي, translit=Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal al-Dhuhlī; November 780 – 2 August 855 CE/164–241 AH), was a Muslim jurist, theologian, ascetic, hadith traditionist, and ...
(),
al-Suyuti (), al-Hafiz al-Kabir, and
Ibn Kathir (). The canonical Sunni collection
''Sunnan al-Tirmidhi'' reports that Muhammad limited the Ahl al-Bayt to Ali, Fatima, and their two sons when the Verse of Purification was revealed to him. In the
Event of Mubahala
The Event of Mubahala () was a meeting between the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a Christian delegation from Najran (present-day Saudi Arabia), in the month of Dhu'l-Hijja, 10 AH (October 631, October 631–32, October 632–33), where Muhamm ...
, Muhammad is believed to have gathered these four under his cloak and referred to them as the Ahl al-Bayt, according to Shia and some Sunni sources, including the canonical ''
Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim ( ar, صحيح مسلم, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), group=note is a 9th-century ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (815–875). It is one of the most valued b ...
'' and
''Sunan al-Tirmidhi''.
Veccia Vaglieri writes that Muhammad recited the Verse of Purification every morning when he passed by Fatima's house to remind them of the
prayer. This makeup of the Ahl al-Bayt is echoed by Veccia Vaglieri and
Jafri, and unanimously reported in Shia sources.
Inclusion of Muhammad's wives
Possibly because the earlier injunctions in the Verse of Purification are addressed at Muhammad's wives, some Sunni authors, such as Ibn Kathir, include Muhammad's wives in the Ahl al-Bayt. A number of Sunni hadiths also support the inclusion of Muhammad's wives in the Ahl al-Bayt. This view is shared by
Goldziher and his coauthors. Alternatively,
Leaman argues that only those wives of prophets who mother their successors are counted by the Quran in their .
Significance in Sunni Islam
Some Sunni versions of this hadith replace with .
Esposito elaborates, "The Prophet Muhammad is seen as the 'living Quran,' the embodiment of God's will in his behavior and words. Sunni Muslims ... take their name from '','' meaning those who follow the example of the Prophet." Both Sunni and Shia Muslims uphold the Quran and the
Sunna, though the Shia extends Sunna to also include the traditions and practices of their
Imams
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...
.
Significance in Twelver Shia Islam
Hadith al-Thaqalayn implies that the Quran and Muhammad's progeny jointly serve as the only source of divine guidance after Muhammad, writes the
Twelver
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
Tabatabai. He argues that a divine guide must be infallible lest he leads his followers astray. As such, he notes, Muhammad's progeny in the hadith must refer only to specific descendants of Muhammad, whom the Twelvers refer to as Imams. In particular, Tabatabai argues that the earth is never void of an infallible Imam of Muhammad's descent as the leader and guide of humankind in his time by divine designation. These are the
Twelve Imams
The Twelve Imams ( ar, ٱلْأَئِمَّة ٱلْٱثْنَا عَشَر, '; fa, دوازده امام, ') are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Islam, including that of the Ala ...
for the Twelver Shia. The last of these Imams,
Muhammad al-Mahdi, went into
occultation
An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them. The term is often used in astronomy, but can also refer to any situation in which an object in the foreground blocks ...
in 260/873-874 and his advent is awaited by the Twelvers.
While there are differences in details, the belief in the eschatological
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...
remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources.
See also
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadith Of The Two Weighty Things
Hadith
Shia Islam
Sunni Islam
The Fourteen Infallibles