Is there Hadith encouraging us to love the family of the Prophet ﷺ?

Yes, there are numerous Hadith encouraging us to love the family of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. The Hadith below is amongst the most explicit regarding this issue.

عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «أَحِبُّوا اللَّهَ لِمَا يَغْذُوكُمْ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ وَأَحِبُّونِي بِحُبِّ اللَّهِ وَأَحِبُّوا أَهْلَ بَيْتِي لِحُبِّي». هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ إِنَّمَا نَعْرِفُهُ مِنْ هَذَا الوَجْهِ

(Sayidina) Ibn Abbas (May Allah Most High be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Love Allah (Most High) for what He gives you of His blessings, love me due to the love of Allah, and love the people of my house due to (your) love for me.’ (Tirmidhi 3789, Hasan).

The Hadith above has been considered Hasan by Imam al-Tirmidhi. It was also narrated by Imam Hakim in his al-Mustadrak. Imam Hakim mentioned that the Hadith is Sahih and Imam al-Dhahabi concurred:

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَحِبُّوا اللَّهَ لِمَا يَغْذُوكُمْ بِهِ مِنْ نِعَمِهِ، وَأَحِبُّونِي لِحُبِّ اللَّهِ، وَأَحِبُّوا أَهْلَ بَيْتِي لِحُبِّي. هَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحُ الْإِسْنَادِ، وَلَمْ يُخَرِّجَاهُ. قال الامام الذهبي: صحيح

(Sayidina) Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah Most High be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Love Allah (Most High) for what He gives you of His blessings, love me due to the love of Allah, and love the people of my house due to (your) love for me.’ (Hakim): This Hadith has a Sahih chain. Imam al-Dhahabi said, (it is) Sahih. (Hakim, 4716).

In these authentic narrations we find that the Holy Prophet ﷺ linked loving the Ahl al-Bayt to loving the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself. And loving the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is a manifestation of loving Allah (Most High). Therefore, it must be given due consideration.

Muslims have been consistently reminded to avoid extremes in the Holy Quran and Noble Sunnah. Unfortunately, many people have fallen into extremes regarding this issue. One extreme is of those people who give no consideration to loving the Ahl al-Bayt and neglect it altogether. The other extreme is to attribute false beliefs to the Ahl al-Bayt. Amongst these false beliefs are the following:

• The Ahl al-Bayt are infallible. Thus, they cannot fall into sin or error.
• Only someone from the Ahl al-Bayt can guide the Muslims.
• A true scholar must be from the Ahl al-Bayt.

These are clearly extremes and contradict the Quran and Sunnah. A Muslim must always refer to Quran and Sunnah and not allow emotional arguments to persuade one to accept a false interpretation of Islam. This behaviour has caused many to stray from the middle path.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

-Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (04.08.2022)

See also:
Can Sunni Masjid hold Karbala gatherings like the Shia?

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