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Aal Al-Bayt have a great status and a high position in the hearts of the believers for they are the family of the best of mankind and the most righteous of God’s messengers to the world, Muhammad (Peace be upon him). He is the highest of the divinely selected elite. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said “Allah selected the tribe of Kinanah from the offspring of Ismail, selected Quraish from Kinanah, Bani Hashim from Quraish and selected me from Bani Hashim”. Love for Aal Al-Bayt and the Prophet’s relatives is an essential part of love for the Prophet (pbuh) himself and his love is an essential article of faith in Allah. In the holy Quran, Allah states “Say (to people) if your parents, your children, your brothers, your wives, your clans, your possessions, your acquired money, your trades and your properties are more beloved to you than Allah and His Mesenger and struggling (jihad) in His cause, then expect the Divine Command (of punishment) to come unto you, for Allah does not guide the depraved”. Allah also said ‘The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own souls, and his wives are mothers to them”. Love of the Prophet (pbuh) and obeying him is the only way to please God and gain His love, as Allah Almighty says, “Say (to people) if you truly love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive your sins, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful”. Umar ibn Al-Khattab (RA) once said: “0 Messenger of Allah! Your more beloved to me than everything beside my soul”, whereupon the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “No, by the One Who possesses my soul, not until I am more beloved to you than your own soul”, Umar (RA) then remarked “By Allah you are more beloved to me than my own soul” to which the Prophet (pbuh) replied “Now, 0 Umar” (you completed your faith). Love of the Prophet (pbuh) is the means of entering Paradise. It is narrated that a Bedouin came the Prophet (pbuh) and asked: “When is the Last Hour?” The Messenger (pbuh) remarked: “And what have you prepared for it?” The man replied: “I have not prepared much except that I love Allah and His Messenger”. The Prophet (pbuh) said to him: “You will be with the one you loved”. Upon hearing this, Anas ibn Malik (RA) remarked: “And we too love Allah and His Messenger”, to which the Prophet replied “Yes (and you too).” Anas said “For this we became tremendously happy". Another man once said to the Prophet (pbuh): “What do you say about a man who loves some people but he is not of their high status?” The prophet (pbuh) replied “One is with whom he loves”. Aal Al-Bayt are among the closest and most beloved to the Prophet (pbuh) and there is no doubt that the believers’ love for them is part and parcel of their love for him (pbuh). Love for the Messenger (pbuh) ultimately leads to obeying him, liking what he likes and disliking what he dislikes. The Prophet (pbuh) enjoined upon his followers to treat his relatives well and solicited them to love and take extra care of his family members. The prophet (pbuh) advised thus repeating the following statements twice “I strongly solicit you for the sake of Allah to take care of the members of my household”. The narrator of this Hadith, Husayn ibn Saburah, asked Zayd (RA): “O Zayd! Aren't his wives also from his household (Aal Al-Bayt)? Zayd replied: “Yes, they are, but what is meant by Aal Al-Bayt are those who are not allowed to take from the charity; they are Aal Ali, Aal Aqeel, Aal ja’far and Aal Abbas. As a manifestation of the great status of Aal Al-Bayt, we have been commanded to include them in our prayers when we invoke prayers unto the Prophet (pbuh). Ka’b ibn Ujrah (RA) said: “The Prophet (pbuh) came out once and we asked him: “O Messenger of Allah! We now know how to greet you but how do we invoke prayers unto you”? The Prophet (pbuh) replied: “Say: ‘Allahumma Salli Ala Muhammad wa ala Aali Muhammad kama sallayta ala Aali Ibrahim innaka hameedun majeed. Allahumma baarik ala Muhammad wa ala Aali Muhammad kama baarakta ala Aali Ibrahim innaka hameedun majeed. Like love of the Prophet’s companions and the early Muslim scholars. Love of Aal Al-Bayt is not only due to their relation to the prophet (pbuh) but is also due to what they had offered and sacrificed for supporting the Prophet (pbuh) and in the cause of Islam. In this paper, I will mention a number of incidents and narrations that illustrate the love of the Prophet (pbuh) and his family and all companions, including the four righteous caliphs, which indicate the great position of Aal Al-Bayt in the hearts of all the Sunni Muslims. This will also disclose the lies that the Shia propagate against the Prophet’s companions and the early Islamic scholars. I will also mention the great standpoints of Aal Al-Bayt themselves in supporting the Prophet (pbuh) and Islam, which have been narrated in the Sunni books. I will also include some of the narrations mentioned in the anti-Sunni books which refute their authors’ claims.
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