Sermon's Title: The Family of the Prophet ﷺ: Realities and Rights
Themes of the Sermon:
1- Who are the family of the Prophet ﷺ?
2- Their virtues, honor, and rights.
3- The balanced stance of Ahl al-Sunnah regarding them.
4- One’s lineage does not benefit him if his deeds are deficient.
All praise is due to Allah, who creates whatever He wills and chooses, who selects from His servants the pure and righteous, and who sends His wrath upon the unjust and the wicked. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah’s peace and abundant blessings be upon him.
To proceed: Fear Allah, servants of Allah, with true fear, and be mindful of Him in secret and in public, as He says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.” [Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: 102]
Servants of Allah:
The Prophet ﷺ left among us two weighty things (thaqalayn). What are they? And why did he describe them as thaqalayn?
One day, the Prophet ﷺ stood as a preacher among his Companions and said:
“O people! I am but a human being. Soon the Messenger of my Lord will come to me, and I will respond. I am leaving among you two weighty things: the first of them is the Book of Allah, in which there is guidance and light. It is the Rope of Allah; whoever follows it will be guided, and whoever abandons it will go astray. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.” He then urged them concerning the Book of Allah and encouraged them to cling to it. Then he said: “And [the second are] my family (Ahl al-Bayt). I remind you by Allah concerning my family, I remind you by Allah concerning my family, I remind you by Allah concerning my family.” (Reported by Muslim.)
The Book of Allah — and the Prophet’s family. Caring for their rights is a weighty responsibility, and that is why the Prophet ﷺ called them thaqalayn — to show the greatness of their worth and the magnitude of their sanctity.
As for the Book of Allah, it is the light and guidance, the extended Rope of Allah. Whoever clings to it is saved, and whoever turns away from it is lost. Its due right is to be followed, used for guidance, and referred to in judgment.
As for the family (Ahl al-Bayt) of the Prophet ﷺ, Allah has given them rights upon the Muslims, and obligated that those rights be fulfilled.
Who, then, are the family of the Prophet ﷺ? What are their virtues? And what are their rights?
Indeed, the family (Āl al-Bayt) of the Prophet ﷺ includes his wives and his descendants, as well as every Muslim from Banū Hāshim and Banū al-Muṭṭalib, the two sons of ʿAbd Manāf.
Allah Himself made his pure wives (may Allah be pleased with them) among the noble members of his household, saying:
يَا نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ
“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women, if you fear Allah…” until He says:
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا
“Indeed, Allah intends only to remove from you impurity, O people of the household, and to purify you completely.” [Sūrat al-Aḥzāb: 32–33]
And our Prophet ﷺ, during the incident of the slander (ḥadīth al-ifk), when the hypocrites spread lies, stood before his Companions and said: “Who will defend us against a man whose harm has reached me concerning my family? By Allah, I know nothing about my family except good.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
So whoever claims to love and support the family of the Prophet ﷺ, yet harbors hatred toward the Mothers of the Believers, know that he is a liar, a slanderer, deviated and doomed.
Among the most distinguished members of his family are ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, his wife Fāṭimah (the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ), and their two sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn (may Allah be pleased with them all). The Prophet ﷺ granted them special honor and great virtue.
ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “One morning the Prophet ﷺ went out wearing a cloak of black wool. Then al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī came, and he entered it with him. Then al-Ḥusayn came and entered with him. Then Fāṭimah came and entered with them. Then ʿAlī came and entered with them. Then the Prophet ﷺ recited:
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا
‘Indeed, Allah intends only to remove from you impurity, O people of the household, and to purify you completely.’” [Sūrat al-Aḥzāb: 33] (Reported by Muslim.)
Al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn are the masters of the youth of Paradise. The Prophet ﷺ said about them: “These two are my sons, the sons of my daughter. O Allah, I love them, so love them, and love those who love them.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī.)
So, whoever claims to love the family of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, yet you find that he harbors enmity or hatred toward ʿAlī, Fāṭimah, al-Ḥasan, or al-Ḥusayn (may Allah be pleased with them), know that he is a liar, a deceiver, misguided, and doomed.
Servants of Allah:
Allah, the Exalted, chooses from His creation whom He wills, and He places within His servants purity of origin and nobility of character, making them worthy of all goodness. Allah chose Banū Hāshim, and from them He chose our Prophet ﷺ. Thus, his lineage is the purest of all, and his descendants are among the most chosen of Allah’s servants.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed, Allah chose Kinānah from among the descendants of Ismāʿīl, and chose Quraysh from among Kinānah, and chose Banū Hāshim from among Quraysh, and He chose me from among Banū Hāshim.” (Reported by Muslim.)
The family of the Prophet ﷺ possesses distinctions that no others share. Due to their honor and noble status, Allah has forbidden them from receiving obligatory Zakāh (alms).
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed, charity is not befitting for the family of Muḥammad; it is but the impurities of people’s wealth.” (Reported by Muslim.)
Allah also granted them a specific share in the spoils of war—one-fifth of the one-fifth—distributed among them with justice, as He says:
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ
“And know that whatever spoils of war you obtain, indeed one-fifth of it belongs to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to his near relatives, and to the orphans, the needy, and the traveler.” [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 41]
Allah has thus ordained rights for them that must be honored and fulfilled with love and reverence.
Among their rights are: to love them, to honor and respect them, to invoke prayers for them along with the prayer upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, to show patience if any of them errs, to forgive their mistakes, and to supplicate for them. Whoever among them is pious and righteous combines the honor of noble lineage with the excellence of righteous deeds.
And whoever among them falls into sin or wrongdoing should still be treated by Muslims with courtesy, gentleness, and kindness. He should be reminded of his noble ancestry and pure origin, and his faults should be excused as long as possible. But if he transgresses or departs from the truth, then the truth is more beloved to us than he is.
The best of people are those who fulfill the rights of the Prophet’s family out of devotion to Allah and in honor of His Messenger ﷺ, who said: “The best of you are those who are best to my family after me.” (Reported by Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim.)
Authentic ḥadīths confirm these rights clearly. The Prophet ﷺ included them in his own invocation of blessings when he was asked: “O Messenger of Allah, how should we send prayers upon you?”
He replied: “Say: O Allah, send prayers upon Muḥammad and upon his wives and descendants, as You sent prayers upon the family of Ibrāhīm, and bless Muḥammad and his wives and descendants, as You blessed the family of Ibrāhīm. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.” (Reported by Muslim.)
Loving the family of our Prophet ﷺ is part of faith, while hating them leads to the Fire.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, no man hates us—the people of the household—except that Allah will admit him into the Fire.” (Reported by Ibn Ḥibbān.)
He ﷺ also said: “Whoever loves al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn has loved me, and whoever hates them has hated me.” (Reported by Ibn Mājah.)
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) fulfilled these rights in the best manner, giving them utmost care and respect. Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Be mindful of Muḥammad ﷺ in regard to his family.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Meaning: guard his honor by treating his family well; do not harm them or wrong them, for doing so would grieve him ﷺ.
Abū Bakr’s love for the relatives of the Prophet ﷺ was greater than his love for his own kin. He said: “By Him in whose hand is my soul, maintaining the ties of kinship with the family of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is more beloved to me than with my own family.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
And ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) proposed marriage to Umm Kulthūm, the daughter of ʿAlī and Fāṭimah (may Allah be pleased with them), explaining his reason:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘Every bond and lineage will be severed on the Day of Resurrection except my bond and my lineage.’ So I wished to have a bond and lineage with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” (Reported by al-Ṭabarānī.)
This indicates that a noble lineage connected to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ may, by Allah’s permission, be a means for intercession on the Day of Resurrection.
Ahl al-Sunnah are balanced regarding the Prophet’s family. They believe in their virtue and honor, love them, recognize their rights, support and defend them, and oppose those who show them hostility. Yet they do not believe that they are infallible from error, nor do they elevate them in rank or leadership above Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān—the best of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
Nor do they ascribe to them divine attributes, nor ask them for their needs apart from Allah, nor build mosques over their graves. They affirm that they are human beings from among the children of Ādam, who do not know the unseen and possess no power to bring benefit or harm to themselves or others. And this, by Allah, is the way of the true scholars and Imams among the Prophet’s family themselves.
May Allah bless me and you through the Noble Qur’an, and benefit us through its verses and wise remembrance. I seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness—for He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Second Sermon:
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them. To proceed:
Servants of Allah:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage.” (Reported by Muslim.)
Some people rely upon their noble ancestry and neglect righteous deeds—but by Allah, that will avail them nothing.
The Prophet ﷺ once said: “Indeed, the family of Abī [so-and-so] are not my allies. My ally is Allah and the righteous believers.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
In conclusion, among the gravest forms of falsehood is lying about one’s lineage—especially the heinous claim of falsely attributing oneself to the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said: “There is no man who knowingly claims to belong to someone other than his father except that he has committed disbelief, and whoever claims a lineage to a people to whom he does not belong, let him take his seat in the Fire.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
Those who seek wealth or honor by falsely claiming a lineage will only increase themselves in humiliation and distance from Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever makes a false claim to increase his status, Allah will only decrease him.” (Reported by Muslim.)
O Allah, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts any rancor toward those who believe. Our Lord, indeed You are Most Kind and Most Merciful.
O Allah, be pleased with the rightly guided caliphs—Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī—and with all the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, his wives, his descendants, and his family, and with those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgment.
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and honor to the Muslims, and destroy the Zionist wrongdoers.
O Allah, send tranquility into the hearts of those striving in Your path, deliver Your oppressed servants, and raise high the banner of the religion by Your might, O Powerful, O Firm.
O Allah, forgive the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, the living among them and the dead.
O Allah, guide our leader to that which You love and are pleased with, and take him by the forelock to righteousness and piety.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Servants of Allah: remember Allah with much remembrance, and glorify Him morning and evening.
Our final call is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
