The Verse of Mawadda (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: آية الْمَوَدَّة, ) refers to verse 42:23 of 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.: , s ...
, the interpretation of which is disputed. This verse is often cited in
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, mo ...
sources to support the elevated status of the family of the
Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
, known as the
Ahl al-Bayt. Most
Sunni authors reject the Shia view and offer various alternatives. The Verse of Mawadda includes the passage
Shia view
The word "kinsfolk" () in this verse is interpreted in Shia exegeses as Muhammad's kin, the Ahl al-Bayt.
Ibn Ishaq similarly narrates that the prophet specified as his daughter
Fatima, 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", " ...
. Quoted by
Madelung, Hasan referred to the Verse of Mawadda in his inaugural speech as the
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
after the assassination of his father in 661:
The quote above contains the last sentence of the Verse of Mawadda. The
Isma'ili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al- ...
jurist
al-Qadi al-Nu'man
Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥayyūn al-Tamīmiyy ( ar, النعمان بن محمد بن منصور بن أحمد بن حيون التميمي, generally known as al-Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān () or as ibn ...
() writes that the Sunni
Hasan al-Basri
Abu Sa'id ibn Abi al-Hasan Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as Hasan of Basra (Arabic: الحسن البصري, romanized: ''Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī''; 642 - 15 October 728) for short, or as Hasan al-Basri, was an early Muslim preacher, asceti ...
() had once reported on the authority of
Ibn Abbas
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās ( ar, عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest mufassir of the Qur'a ...
() that Muhammad considered Ali, Fatima, and their sons as the . Al-Basri later changed his mind, saying that this verse means gaining proximity to God through obedience to him. This and other prevalent Sunni interpretations of the Verse of Mawadda are challenged in a theological argument attributed to the Shia Imam
Muhammad al-Baqir
Muḥammad al-Bāqir ( ar, مُحَمَّد ٱلْبَاقِر), with the full name Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, also known as Abū Jaʿfar or simply al-Bāqir () was the fifth Imam in Shia Islam, succee ...
(), who also labeled al-Basri a "misconstruer of God's words" ().
In
Twelver Shia, this love also entails obedience to the Ahl al-Bayt as the source of exoteric and esoteric guidance. This obedience is believed to benefit the faithful first and foremost, citing the following passage of verse 34:47, which contains the passage, "Say, 'I ask not of you any reward; that shall be yours ().'"
Sunni view
Some Sunni commentators agree with the Shia view, including
Baydawi,
Razi, and Ibn Maghazili. Most Sunni authors, however, reject the Shia view and offer various alternatives. The view preferred by
al-Tabari () is that the Verse of Mawadda instructs Muslims to love the prophet because of their blood relations to him. Madelung rejects this view because the Verse of Mawadda was likely revealed in Medina, where many Muslims did not have family ties with Muhammad. Instead, Madelung suggests that the Verse of Mawadda demands love towards relatives in general, saying that the wording does not agree with the Shia interpretation. This is what al-Tabari writes, arguing that the verse should have ended with for the Shia interpretation to hold. Alternatively,
Ibn Ajiba () suggests that the present ending () creates a more emphatic injunction to love Muhammad's kin.
See also
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:verse of Mawadda
Quranic verses
Islamic ethics
Philosophy of love
Family