Huquq Al al-Bayt
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah
Huquq Al al-Bayt (Rights of the Prophet's Household) is a theological epistle by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) dedicated to outlining the status, virtues, and legal rights of the family of the Prophet Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt) according to the Sunnah .
Title and Identity
The work is known under several titles in scholarly bibliographies and printed editions. It was titled by some editors as Risalat Fadl Ahl al-Bayt wa-Huququhum (Epistle on the Virtue of the Ahl al-Bayt and Their Rights) and Huquq Al al-Bayt bayna al-Sunna wa-l-Bid'a (Rights of the Ahl al-Bayt Between Sunnah and Innovation) . In scholarly catalogs and collections of Ibn Taymiyya's writings, it is also identified by its epistolary heading, Risala ila al-Mansubin ila al-Tashayyu' wa-Ghayrihim fi al-'Iraq wa-Mashhad al-Muntazar (Epistle to Those Attributed to Shi'ism and Others in Iraq and the Shrine of al-Muntazar) .
Contents and Themes
The epistle addresses the moderate Sunni position regarding the Prophet's family, positing it between two opposing deviations: those who harbor animosity against the Ahl al-Bayt and deny their established rights, and those who exceed proper boundaries through extremist veneration .
Ibn Taymiyya begins by framing love for the Prophet's family as an extension of love for Allah and His Messenger, quoting Quranic verses on obedience and loyalty, such as: إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ("Your ally is only Allah, His Messenger, and those who have believed") . He enumerates the legitimate rights established for the Prophet's kin, including:
- Cultivating legitimate love, loyalty, and honoring them .
- Invoking blessings upon them alongside the Prophet during the ritual prayer .
- Observing their legal share in the fifth of the war spoils (al-khums) and state revenues (al-fay') .
- Upholding the prohibition against giving them obligatory charity (zakat or sadaqah) .
The author underscores that noble lineage does not substitute for personal faith and righteousness, emphasizing that salvation is ultimately contingent upon piety and righteous action rather than ancestry alone .
Manuscripts and Publication
A manuscript of the work is preserved in the Egyptian National Library and Archives (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya) under the shelfmark 2577 Tasawwuf, bound alongside Ibn Taymiyya's al-Risala al-Qubrusiyya (The Cypriot Message) and copied in Naskh script by Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Dawud ibn al-Jawhari al-Shafi'i .
The text has been published in multiple editions:
- Edited by Abu Turab al-Zahiri under the title Risalat Fadl Ahl al-Bayt wa-Huququhum, published by Dar al-Qiblah in 1405 AH (1985 CE), which included an appended compilation of hadiths on the virtues of the Prophet's household .
- Published under the title Huquq Al al-Bayt by Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya in Beirut in 1406 AH (1986 CE), and in a second edition in 1407 AH (1987 CE) edited by 'Abd al-Qadir Ahmad 'Ata .
- Printed within the modern compilation Jami' al-Masa'il (vol. 3, pp. 67–116) .
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