Hadith of the thaqalayn

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The Hadith of the two weighty things is a famous Mutawatir Hadith attributed to Muhammad, prophet of Islam. It is included in several hadith collections, among them Sahih Muslim.

Narration

The hadith (although sometimes reported or narrated slightly differently depending on source) reads:

"Certainly I leave among you two weighty things. If you attach yourself to them, you will not go astray after me. One of them is greater than the other. (One is) the book of Allah, (which is) a firm rope from the heaven to the earth, and (secondly) my progeny, My Ahlul Bayt. They shall not separate with each other until they reach me at the pool. Then be careful how you deal with them.

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Muhammad said: "I am leaving for you two precious and weighty Symbols that if you adhere to BOTH of them you shall not go astray after me. One of them is greater than the other. They are, the Book of Allah, and my progeny, that is my Ahlul-Bayt. The Merciful has informed me that These two shall not separate from each other till they come to me by the Pool (of Paradise)”

Source: English: Sunan al-Tirmidhi, v5, pp 662-663,328, report of 30+ companions, with reference to several chains of transmitters.

Ibn Hajar al-Haythami wrote: "The Traditions of Adherence has been handed down through a large number of sources and more than twenty of the disciples have related it." He further wrote: "Here a doubt arises, and it is that while the Tradition has come down through various sources, some say that the words were spoken during the last pilgrimage, others that they were spoken at Medina when he lay on his deathbed and the room was packed with his disciples, yet another saying that he spoke these words at Ghadir Khum, or in another Hadith, on the return from Ta'if. But there is NO inconsistency in these, since having regards to the importance and greatness of the Qur'an and the pure Ahlul-Bayt, and with a view of emphasizing the point before the people, the Holy Prophet might have repeated these words on all these occasions so that any one who had not heard them before might hear them now." Sunni reference: al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p230

http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Sects/Shiite/Encyclopedia/Chapter_1a_Part01.htm

Someday (after his last pilgrimage) the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) stood to give us a speech beside a pond which is known as Khum (Ghadir Khum) which is located between Mecca and Medina. Then he praised Allah and reminded Him, and then said: "O' people! Behold! It seems the time approached when I shall be called away (by Allah) and I shall answer that call. Behold! I am leaving for you two precious things. First of them is the book of Allah in which there is light and guidance... The other one is my Ahlul-Bayt. I remind you in the name of Allah about my Ahlul-Bayt. I remind you in the name of Allah about my Ahlul-Bayt. I remind you in the name of Allah about my Ahlul-Bayt. (three times)."

Sunni Reference: ahih al-Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad (see below). http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Sects/Shiite/Encyclopedia/Chapter_1a_Part01.htm

Muhammad said: "I am leaving for you two precious and weighty Symbols that if you adhere to BOTH of them you shall not go astray after me. They are, the Book of Allah, and my progeny, that is my Ahlul-Bayt. The Merciful has informed me that These two shall not separate from each other till they come to me by the Pool (of Paradise)." Sunni references: Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, pp 662-663,328, report of 30+ companions, with reference to several chains of transmitters. al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, Chapter of "Understanding (the virtues) of Companions, v3, pp 109,110,148,533 who wrote this tradition is authentic (Sahih) based on the criteria of the two Shaikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim). Sunan, by Daarami, v2, p432 Musnad, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v3, pp 14,17,26,59, v4, pp 366,370-372, v5, pp 182,189,350,366,419 Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p585, Tradition #990 al-Khasa'is, by al-Nisa'i, pp 21,30 al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p230 al-Kabir, by al-Tabarani, v3, pp 62-63,137 Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Chapter al-Iti'sam bi Habl Allah, v1, p44. Tafsir Ibn Kathir (complete version), v4, p113, under commentary of verse 42:23 of Qur'an (four traditions) al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, p194, Pub. by Dar Isadder, Lebanon. al-Jami' al-Saghir, by al-Suyuti, v1, p353, and also in v2 Majma' al-Zawa'id, al-Haythami, v9, p163 al-Fateh al-Kabir, al-Binhani, v1, p451 Usdul Ghabah fi Ma'rifat al-Sahaba, Ibn al-Athir, v2, p12 Jami' al-Usul, Ibn al-Athir, v1, p187 History of Ibn Asakir, v5, p436 al-Taj al-Jami' Lil Usul, v3, p308 al-Durr al-Manthoor, al-Hafidh al-Suyuti, v2, p60 Yanabi al-Mawaddah, al-Qundoozi al-Hanafi, pp 38,183 Abaqat al-Anwar, v1, p16 ... and many more ... http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Sects/Shiite/Encyclopedia/Chapter_1a_Part01.htm

"enni jaelon fikomo ethaghelain ,ketab-allah wa etrati ,ahlebeiti, ma en tammasaktom behema lan tazello abada " I will leave you two precious things, Quran and my alhlulabayt ,whoever attach himself to these two will never be misguided.

Muslim view

This hadith is mutawatir and is strongly accepted by both Sunnis and Shi'as as authentic. In fact, it is the hadith narrated thought most amount of first hand narrators, most amount of channels and though the highest amount of Sahaba.

Shi'a view

It is used by the Shi'a, among other reasons, to justify their claim of Ali's succession to Muhammad.

Shi'as view this hadith as a clear indication of the Prophet's intention in the question of succession, and also as to who should be consulted in order to access the Sunnah.

Sunni view

This hadith has been interpreted by Sunnis in quite another way so as to leave this question open and unanswered. They rather quote the Hadith of Qur'an and Sunnah. Bukhari did not include it in his Sahih Bukhari, the most authentic collection in the view of Sunnis, however, it is included in Sahih Muslim, the second most trusted Sunni collection, both belived by Sunnis to include only Sahih hadith.

Sunnis belive that the Sunnah can be derived from all Sahaba, due to the uprightness of all Sahaba.

References

This Hadith has been trasmitted from over a hundred channels from over 35 of the prophet's closest companions. It has been verified through 39 channels of Sunni texts, and 89 channels of Shi'a sources.

al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, Chapter of "Understanding (the virtues) of Companions, v3, pp 109,110,148,533 who wrote this tradition is authentic (Sahih) based on the criteria of the two Shaikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Arabic Source: http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/Display.asp?Doc=2&Rec=5803

Sahih Muslim 031.5920 031.5921 031.5923

For details see:

The book Abaqāt of Musawi. India. Vol on Hadith-i Thaqalayn.
Ghāyat al-Marām, p211.
"Shi'ite Islam", by Allameh Tabatabaei and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, State University of New York Press, 1979, p177.

External links

Shi'a links: