Loving the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)

The Virtue of Loving the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)


Foundation of Islam
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Islam is unclad and its garment is modesty, its ornament is dignity, its chivalry is good deeds and its pillar is chastity. Everything has a foundation, and the foundation of Islam is the love of Ahl-al-Bayt (A.S.).
Imam al-Baqir(A.S.): Loving us the Ahl-al-Bayt is the order of the religion.
Loving the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) is Loving Allah
Imam 'Ali (AS.): I heard the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) saying: I am the master of Adam's progeny and you! O 'Ali and the Imams after you are the leaders of my "Ummah". Whoever would like us, has liked Allah and whoever would be enemy to us, has shown enmity to Allah. Whoever cherishes our friendship has cherished the friendship of Allah and whoever does enmity to us has cultivated the enmity of Allah, whoever obeys us has obeyed Allah and whoever disobeys us, has disobeyed Allah.
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.): Whoever would recognize our status and would love us, has doubtless loved Allah, The Magnificent and the High.
Loving the Ahl-al-Bayt(A.S.) Equals Loving the Messenger of Allah (SA.W.)
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Love Allah for His bounties which He gives to you and love me for the sake of Allah and love my Ahl al-Bayt for my sake.
Zayd lbn Arqam: I was at the service of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) when Fatima (A.S.) had left her house, clad in a woolen garment, and was coming to the room of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.). Her sons al-Hasan (A.S.) and al-Husayn (A.S.) accompanied her too and Ali(A.S.) was walking behind them. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) looked at them and said: "Whoever loves them, has loved me and whoever is hateful towards them has actually hated me.


Divine Gift
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Allah created Islam and ordained for it an area, a light and a fortification and a helper. Its area is the Qur'an and its light is wisdom and its fortification is benevolence and its helpers are me and my Ahl al-Bayt and our followers. So love my Ahl al-Bayt, the Shi'as and their helpers, because the night in which I was ascended to the heaven and Gabriel introduced me to the heavenly creatures Allah entrusted the love for me and my Ahl al-Bayt and their Shi'as to those Angels' hearts which shall remain deposited there till the Resurrection Day. Then Gabriel brought me down and introduced me to the residents on the earth, and Allah the Glorious and Magnificent entrusted the love for me, my Ahl-al-Bayt and their Shi'as to the true believers of my Ummah, therefore true believers of my Ummah shall safeguard this trust regarding my Ahl al-Bayt till the Resurrection Day.


The Highest Worship
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): One day spent in loving the Muhammad's progeny is better than worshipping for one year, and whoever dies with this love would enter the Paradise.
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.): For every form of worshipping there exists another form which is superior. The Love of Ahl al-Bayt is the highest form of worship.
Loving the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) is Among the Everlasting Virtues
Muhammad Ibn Isma'il Ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Ju'fi: My uncle, Ibn "Abd al-Rahman and I went to Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.). The Imam invited my uncle to sit near him and said: Whose son is this man who is in your company? He replied He is my nephew, Isma'il's son. He said: May Allah bless his soul and forgive his sins. What kind of a successor have you been for him? He replied: After him, we have safeguarded the best thing which Allah has bestowed upon us and that is loving you. The Imam said: O Do not reckon our friendship an unimportant matter because it is among the ever-lasting virtues. My uncle continued: O son of the Prophet of Allah (S.A.W.) I have not considered it an unimportant matter, and I am thankful of Allah for this.


The Characteristics of Loving the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
The Sign of Being a Legitimate child
The Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.) in praise of Imam 'Ali(S.A.W.): O people test your children with the touchstone of Imam 'Ali's love; because he never leads you astray and he never diverts the right path. So if any one of your children would love 'Ali (A.S.) is from you and whoever is hostile to him, is not from you.
Imam Ali (A.S.): the Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.) said: O Abu Dhar whoever loves the Ahl-Bayt, should thank Allah for the first bounty. Abu Dhar asked: "What is the first bounty O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: Legitimate birth. Only those who are born legitimate love us.
The messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): O 'Ali! Whoever loves me you and the Imams who are your descendants should thank Allah for his legitimate birth, because only illegitimate born are our enemies, those who are born legitimate love us.
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) I swear by Allah that among the Arabs and non-Arabs only those who are of noble and pure lineage love us and thus only those who are unclean and have dubious parents are hostile to us.
Mahbub ibn Abi al-Zannad: The "Ansar" used to say: We knew the illegitimate born people by the enmity and hatred they showed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.).
The Condition of Believing in Tawhid (the Unity of Allah)
Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari: A Bedouin came to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and asked: Is there a price for the paradise? The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) replied: "Yes". The man asked: What is its price? The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) answered: The words of "La ilaha-ill-Allah" I uttered with sincerity by a pious believer. The man continued: "What is sincerity? He replied: to do what I have been ordered to tell you and to love my Ahl al-Bayt. The Bedouin asked: Is the love of Ahl al-Bayt a condition for it? The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) replied: Yes loving them is the main condition.
Imam Ali (A.S.): La ilaha il-Allah has many conditions. My children and I are among its conditions.
The Sign of Faith
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): No servant believes faithfully unless they love me more than they love themselves, and love my kin more than they love their own, and love my family more than they love their own.
Umm Salama: I heard the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) addressing Ali (A.S.): The hypocrites do not love you and the believers do not feel enmity towards you.
The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.): The faith would not be completed unless it be accompanied by the love of Ahl al-Bayt.
Imam al-Baqir(A.S.): Loving us equals faith in Allah and hostility towards us denotes infidelity.
The First Thing Asked on the Resurrection Day
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): The first thing asked from a believer is the love towards Ahl al-Bayt.
On Doomsday no servant would take a step until he would be questioned concerning four things: About his life and how he has spent it, about his body and the way he has exhausted it, from his wealth and the way he has spent it, and how he has earned it, and about the love towards our family.
Training (your) Children to Love Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
The Holy Prophet(S.A.W.): Train your children within three qualities: Loving your Prophet, loving his "Ahl al-Bayt" and reciting the Qur'an; because on the Day when there is no shelter except that of Allah, those who have learnt the holy Qur'an by heart and have understood it, shall divinely be sheltered with the Prophets and the selected ones.
Abu Zubayr Makki: Once I saw Jabir who was walking with a cane among the "Ansar" and was saying: O group of the "Ansar" train your children so that they would love 'Ali(A.S.), and whoever refused, be suspicious of his birth nobility.
Encouraging People to Create Affection Towards the Ahl al-Bayt(A.S.)
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.): Allah's mercy be upon that believer who would make us loved by the people and would refrain from doing something which may arise people's hatred.
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.): .Allah's Mercy be upon that believer who would win people's affection toward us, telling them the "hadith which they accept and leave aside what they may reject.
The Signs of Loving the Ahl al - Bayt (A.S)
Diligence in Work and Action
Hammad ibn Lahham quoting Imam al-Sadiq who quoted his father [Imam al-Baqir (A.S.)] as saying: O my son! If you would act differently from what I do, you too, shall not have the same position as that of mine on the Resurrection Day. Then he added: Allah does not accept the services of those who believe but their acts are contrary to those of Ahl al-Bayt, and would expect to have the same position as that of theirs on the Day of Judgment. I swear to Allah, the Lord of Ka'bah that it would not be so.
Imam al-Mahdi(A.S.) in a letter to Sheikh Mufid: Everyone of you should act in such a way that would bring him closer to me and refrain from what causes our anger; because my appearing will be unpredictable and sudden, and thenceforth no remorse and repentance will save him from my punishment.
To Love Those Who Love the Ahl al-Bayt(AS.)
Hanash ibn al-Mu'tamir: I came to visit Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali ibn Abi Talib(A.S.) and said: May Allah's Bounties and peace be upon you O Amir al-Mu'minin! How did you spend your day? He replied: I spent my day in loving whoever loves me and has enmity for those who are my enemies. Those who love us spend their days with happiness in expecting Allah's mercy and our enemies spend their days on the verge of a shaky precipice which slides and throws them into the Hell-Fire the doors of blessing have been opened for the dwellers of paradise. Thus blessing is pleasant for the blessed people and annihilation and Hell-Fire is given to the inhabitants of Hell.
O Hanash! Whoever likes to know if he is a friend or an enemy of ours should look into his heart; if he would love our friend then he would not be our enemy; and if he would be enemy to our friends, he would not be our friends.
Allah, the Glorious and the most High has taken the pledge from our friends and has written the names of our enemies in "the Guarded Tablet". We are the selected ones, and our pioneers, [To Hawz Kawthar] are the pioneers of the prophet.
To be Hostile to those Who are the Enemies of Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) in answering someone who had said: such and such a man likes you, but is not eager to condemn your enemies. The Imam (A.S.) said: Well away! Whoever pretends to love us and would not condemn and loath our enemies is a liar.
Being Ready to Embrace Troubles and Calamities
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) to Abu Sa'id Khudri who was complaining about his poverty: Be patient O Abu Sa'id! Because poverty rushes to those who love me faster than the flood rushing down the mountain.
Muhammad ibn Muslim: I went to Madinah with an aching and heavy body. Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) was informed that Muhammad ibn Muslim is ill and painful. The Holy Imam ordered his servant to bring me a bowl of potion which was covered with a piece of cloth, the man asked me to drink it. He said the Imam has given an order to him not to return until I would drink it.
I took the bowl and smelt the fragrance of the musk. It was cool and delicious. When I drank it, the servant said that the Imam wished to see me.
I thought about what he said; that I was unable to stand up or walk, but as soon as the potion was absorbed, I felt ease and lightness and went to the Imam and asked the permission to enter the house. The Imam said to me loudly: May you be healthy! Come in. I went inside weeping, greeted him and kissed his hands and head. The Imam Said: O Muhammad! Why are you crying? I replied: May I be sacrificed to you because I feel nostalgic and I am poor and cannot stay near you and also because of the long journey [to another world]. The Imam said: But as for your poverty, Allah has destined calamities and hardships to happen for his friends, but what you said about homesickness and nostalgia, remember Imam al-Husayn (A.S.) in a far off land near the Euphrates and consider him as an example, and about the long Journey, know that a believer is a stranger among these perversions, till he would go to the abode of Allah's mercy. And as for saying that you desire to be close to us and see us, but you are not able to do so; know that Allah is aware of what is occurring in your heart and will give you the rewards accordingly.
The Outcome of Loving the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
Removing the Sins
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Loving my Ahl al-Bayt removes sins and doubles good actions.
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.): Loving us, the Ahl al-Bayt, removes the servants' sins just as a strong wind drops the leaves of trees.
Purity of the Heart
Imam al-Baqir (A.S.): There is no servant who would love and obey us, unless Allah would cleanse his heart, and Allah would do that only to those who obeyed us and surrendered to us. Such a person would be saved from the great Fear on the Day of Reckoning.
Peace of Mind
Imam Ali (A.S.): When this verse was revealed: Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace(28:13), the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) said: This verse is about someone who sincerely loves Allah and his Prophet, and loves my Ahl al-Bayt and the believers whether being present or absent. Lo! Remembering Allah makes them love one another.
Wisdom
Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.): Whoever would love the Ahl al-Bayt and harbor it in his heart, will have his faith renewed and springs of wisdom will flow from his tongue.
Completion of the Faith
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Loving me and my Ahl al-Bayt, is [the sign of] completion of faith.
Happiness at the Time of Death
Abd Allah ibn Walid: During the reign of Marwan, we came to "Abu 'Abd-Allah [Imam al-Sadiq(A.S.)], he asked: Who are you? We replied we are from Kufah. He said: In no other town do we have as many supporters as in Kufah, especially the present group. Allah has guided you to something which others are not aware of. You love us whereas other people are our enemies, you follow us and others disobey us, you agree with us while others do not. May Allah make your life and death similar to ours. I testify that my father used to say: Whoever of you whose breath reaches here-pointing to his Throat-, before taking the last breath shall behold something which would make him happy. Allah the Supreme and the High has said in His Book" And indeed we sent messengers before you, and we gave them wives and offspring" (13:38). We are the offspring of the Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.).
The Intercession of the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
The messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Cling to our Ahl al-Bayt's friendship; because whoever would meet Allah on Doomsday loving us, shall go to Paradise by our intercession.
Luminosity on the Day of Judgment
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Lo! I swear by Allah, no servant would love my Ahl al-Bayt unless Allah, the Glorious and the most High, would bestow on him a light which places him at my side near "the Hawz" on the Day of Judgment. Allah would be hidden from all those servants who are enemies of my Ahl al-Bayt.
Security on the Day of Judgment
Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Know that whoever loves Muhammad's (S.A.W.) family[A.S.] shall be protected in the Reckoning, the scale and the Pathway (Sirat).
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Loving me and my Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) will be beneficial on seven horrible occasions: In the agony of death, in the grave, on the Resurrection Day, the Reckoning time, when the book of deeds is presented, at the scale, and on crossing over the Sirat.
Being Steady on "The Sirat"
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): The steadiest one on''the Sirat" is a person who loves my Ahl al-Bayt most.
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): If a person who loves Ahl al-Bayt falters [on Sirat] the love of my Ahl al-Bayt(A.S.) would stabilize his next step till he is saved by Allah on the Day of Judgment.
Deliverance from the Hell-Fire
Bilal-ibn Hamamah: One day the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) came to us laughing and cheerful. Abd al-Rahman bin Awf asked: Why are you so happy O Messenger of Allah? The Holy Prophet replied: A glad tiding has been given to me by Allah. When Allah wanted to bind Ali (A.S.) and Fatima (A.S.) in a marriage, He ordered an angel to shake the tree of Tuba (knowledge) in the Paradise. The angel did as was ordered and the written leaves were scattered around. Allah created the angels to pick and keep them till the Day of Judgment. On that Day they should search among the people and give one leaf to each of our true friends and followers. On those leaves this sentence is written: "This paper is the deed of security from the Hell Fire and it is written by my brother and cousin [Ali(A.S.)], and my daughter. [Fatima Zahra (A.S.)] to deliver the men and women of my Ummah from the Hell-Fire.
To be Grouped with Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
Imam 'Ali (A.S.): the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) took the hands of Hasan (A.S.) and Husayn (A.S.) and said: Whoever loves me, these two sons and their parents, will be of equal rank with me on the Resurrection Day.
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Whoever would love the Ahl al-Bayt for the sake of Allah will be grouped with us and we shall take him to Paradise with us.
Imam al-Husayn(A.S.): Whoever would love us for the sake of worldly gains should know that worldly people are loved by good persons and evil doers and whoever loves us for the sake of Allah he and us will be together on the Day of Judgement.
Hakam ibn Utaybah: I was in Imam al-Baqir's(A.S.) presence and his room was packed with visitors. Suddenly an old man leaning on his walking stick came in and said: Peace be upon you! O son of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.), May Allah's bounties and mercy be upon you! And he remained silent. Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) replied: Peace be upon you and may Allah's bounties and mercy be upon you too.
Then the old man faced the crowd in the room and said: Peace be upon you all and remained silent. Till all who were present greeted him back. Then he turned to Imam al-Baqir(A.S.) and said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.)! May I be sacrificed to you! Let me sit close to you, because I love you and I love those who love you, and I swear to Allah that I do not love you and your followers out of a desire for worldly gains. I swear to Allah I hate your enemies and I swear to Allah that this hatred and reluctance is not the result of hatred and animosity between me and them. I swear to Allah I consider lawful whatever you consider lawful, and I consider unlawful whatever you consider unlawful, and I wait for your order: May I be sacrificed to you! Do you have any hope for my salvation in such conditions? Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) said: Come closer! Come closer! And asked him to sit next to himself and then said: O Sheikh (old man): Once a man came to Ali ibn al-Husayn(A.S.) and asked my father a question as yours. My father told him: When you depart from this world, you shall meet the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) and Ali (A.S.), al-Hasan(A.S.) and al-Husayn(A.S.). Your heart shall be filled with joy and shall be soothed and you shall have clear visions, and when your breath reaches here- the Imam pointed to his throat-the noble writers [Kiram al-Katibin] will welcome you warmly and enthusiastically, and if you remain alive, you shall see something [the advent of Qa'im(A.S.) and the government of Ahl al-Bayt(A.S.)] by which Allah shall light up your life and shall be of the highest rank with us.
The old man said: What did you say O Imam Abu Ja'far? And he repeated what he had said before. The old man said: Allah is the greatest, O Abu Ja'far! When I leave this world will I see Ali (A.S.), al-Hasan(A.S.) Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.) and Ali ibn al-Husayn(A.S.); and will I be with al-Husayn(A.S.) and my heart be soothed and when my breath reaches here the Noble Writer welcome me, and if I remain alive will I witness something which lights up my life and will be at the highest status along with you ?! At this time the old man started to weep and fell on the ground. Those who were present started to weep loudly. Imam al-Baqir(A.S.) wiped the tears from the eyelids of the old man with his own hand.
The old man then raised his head and said to Imam al-Baqir(A.S.): O son of the Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.); may I be sacrificed to you! Give me your hand. The Imam stretched his hand. The old man kissed it and placed it on his eyes and cheeks; then uncovered his chest and belly and placed the Imam's hand on them. Then he stood up and took his leave.
Imam al-Baqir(A.S.) looked at his back and said to the people there: Whoever likes to see a man who will go to Paradise, should see this man. Hakam ibn 'Utaybah says: I have never seen such a lamentation rite in my whole life.
Paradise
Hudhayfa: I saw that the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) took Husayn Ibn 'Ali's hand and said: O people! Husayn's grandfather is dearer to Allah than the grandfather of Joseph the son of Jacob. Al-Husayn shall reside in paradise as his parents, his brother, their followers and those who love them will be residents in Paradise.
Imam Ali (A.S.): Whoever loves us deeply and helps us by his words and fights against our enemies, shall have the same status as ours in the Paradise, and whoever loves us and helps us by his words but does not fight against our enemies, shall be two levels below them; and whoever loves us but does not help us either in fighting against our enemies, or by his speech, shall go to paradise too.
Yunus: I said to Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.): The love I feel toward you and the understanding that I have of your rights is far better to me than the kingdom of the world, then I noticed signs of anger on Imam's face. He said: O Yunus! This is not a good comparison. What is world and all that belongs to it? Isn't it but filling the stomach and covering the private parts? Whereas you can attain eternal life through loving us.
The Good of this World and of the Next World
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.): Whoever wishes to have trust in Allah should love my Ahl al-Bayt and whoever wishes to be saved from the torment in the grave should love my Ahl al-Bayt, and whoever wishes to attain wisdom should love my Ahl al-Bayt and whoever wishes to go to Paradise without being reckoned should love my Ahl al-Bayt. Because I swear to Allah, none of those who loved them failed to be winners in this world and Hereafter.


The General Effects of Loving the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
The Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.): Whomsoever Allah would destine to love my Ahl al-Bayt, have doubtlessly gained the good of this world and that of the next world and no one should have any doubt that they shall be residents of paradise; because loving my Ahl al Bayt shall result in twenty consequences: ten in this world and ten in the world to come:
But its results in this world are: piety, eagerness for work and doing good deeds, devoutness to the religion, eagerness to worship, repentance before death,finding joy in nocturnal devotion, paying no attention to others' assets, abiding by the orders and prohibitions enjoined by Allah the High and the Great; the ninth having enmity towards the world and the tenth is generosity and mercifulness.
But its outcomes in the next world are: The book of his deeds will not be opened before him, no scale will be set up for him, the book of his deeds will be placed in his right hand, the draft for freedom of the Hell Fire will be written for him, he will be honored for his good deeds, he will be clad in heavenly garments, his intercession for one hundred persons of his family will be accepted, Allah, the Glorious and the Almighty will look at him with love and tenderness; the crowns of heaven will be placed on his head and then he will enter the Paradise without being reckoned. So blessed are those who love my Ahl al-Bayt.
Imam Ali (A.S.) to Harith Anwar: Your love for us shall doubtlessly benefit you on three occasions: When the Angel of death descends, at the time of questioning in the grave and when you will stand in Allah's presence.


Source:
Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) in The Qur'an and Hadith
By: Muhammadi Rayshahri