The Question of Imāmah

The Third Point

According to one interpretation, the verse:

إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَى

has the following meaning: the Noble Messenger (saw) asks for no reward for fulfilling his duties as Prophet; he only asks that love be shown toward his descendants.

If it is said:

According to this meaning, some benefit appears to be sought through familial kinship. However, according to the secret of:

إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ

the mission of prophethood does not proceed on the basis of lineage, but on the basis of nearness to Allah.

The answer:

The Noble Messenger (saw), with his penetrating vision, saw that his descendants would serve as a luminous tree within the Islamic world, and that the greater part of those who would act as guides and teachers for the development of human perfections in every level of the Islamic world would arise from among them. He foresaw that the following supplication of his ummah, recited in the final part of the prayer for his descendants, would be accepted:

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ

In other words, just as the overwhelming majority of the luminous guides among the descendants of Ibrāhīm (as) were prophets, so too the Noble Messenger (saw) foresaw that, similar to the prophets among the Children of Israel, aqtāb would arise from among his descendants, who would play a prominent role in the greatest duties, the foremost paths, and the various currents within Islam. For this reason, he was commanded to ask for love toward his descendants through the following statement:

لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَى

In confirmation of this truth, he (saw) also declared in other narrations:

“I leave behind among you two things. If you hold fast to them, you will attain salvation: one is the Book of Allah, and the other is my descendants.”

For the descendants of the Prophet (saw) are the source and guardians of the Sunnah, and they have been charged with holding fast to it in every respect. Thus, through this narration, the importance of adhering to the Book and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) is made known. By the word “descendants,” then, he referred to his Sunnah in view of his prophetic mission. This means that whoever abandons the Sunnah can neither be a true descendant of the Prophet, nor a true friend of his descendants.

Moreover, he (saw) wished his ummah to gather around his descendants because of the following secret: with the permission of Allah, he knew that his descendants would multiply over the course of time, and he understood that his ummah would grow distant from Islam. For this reason, a very strong and extensive group of mutually supportive people was needed to serve as a source and centre for the spiritual development and progress of the Islamic world. With Allah’s permission, he considered this reality and wished for his ummah to gather around his descendants.