Virtues of the Ahlul Bayt

Abu Hurairah radiyallahu ‘anhu narrates that Rasulullah ﷺ said:
من سره أن يكتال بالمكيال الأوفى إذا صلى علينا أهل البيت فليقل اللهم صل على محمد وأزواجه أمهات المؤمنين وذريته وأهل بيته كما صليت على آل إبراهيم إنك حميد مجيد
If anyone would like to have the fullest measure granted to him when he invokes blessings on us, the members of the prophet’s family, he should say: O Allah, send peace upon Muhammad, his wives who are the Mothers of the Faithful, his offspring, and Ahlul Bayt as you have sent peace upon the family of Ibrahim. You are indeed praiseworthy and glorious. [Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith: 982]

Honour of the Ahlul Bayt
As for the evil among them (Ahlul Bayt), who abandons the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ thus he should be hated based on his deception and how distant he is from the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ, that is if his abhorrence takes him not to a degree of disbelief and atheism, so a man among them should be supported for his Islam and kinship and to be hated for his sin and own vain desire.

For a man among Ahlul Bayt to sin and fail to do what ought to be done does not void his kinship from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the same as debauchery that takes not one out of Islam. Likewise, wickedness nullifies not the right of kinship from the Prophet ﷺ.

However, a man can embrace various affairs so one loves him for some from certain sides and hates him for some from different directions. The Ulama have thus issued a ruling on the Sharif (noble), who fell into immorality, stating that the Sharif’s disobedience drops not his right of kinship to the Prophet ﷺ, just as the disloyal son who cannot be proscribed from the inheritance of his father.

Nonetheless, all this does not allow any of the Ahlul Bayt to commit any sin; indeed sin coming from them is condemned by Allah, the Almighty and by people more than if it is committed by others, for the honour of being connected to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and for the accountability of this honour being significant. On account of that, the scholars have agreed that the misguided Hashimi cannot be given priority over the pious from other than Banu Hashim, as the rivalry for superiority to be used as a balance is piety and not lineage.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ settled this:
وَمَنْ بَطَّأَ بِهِ عَمَلُهُ لَمْ يُسْرِعْ بِهِ نَسَبُهُ
“Whosoever’s deeds slow him down his lineage cannot speed him up”. [Sahih Muslim 2699]
Consequently, lineage will not save anyone nor will it intercede for him to Allah if he behaves wrongly and contradicts the guidance of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

As for the disbeliever and apostate among Banu Hashim, he cannot be ascribed to the Ahlul Bayt of the Prophet ﷺ nor respected. This does not mean to deny his kinship by descent from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as none can disaffirm it. But rather what is disproved is to use the name Ahlul Bayt – which is connected with honour from the Lord of the Worlds – for the apostate and disbeliever. Therefore, no one can say that Abû Lahab and the like among the disbelievers are from the Ahlul Bayt of the Prophet ﷺ, though Abû Lahab is, in reality, the paternal uncle of the Messenger ﷺ. If parentage could preserve any one from misguidance it would have done so with the son of Nûh (AS); when his father Nûh (AS) called him:
“O my son! Embark with us and be not with the disbelievers.” The son favoured drowning over guidance.