Editorial Introduction:
The Rights of the Ahl al-Bayt

In precise terms, the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet’s Household) of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—are ʿAlī, Fāṭimah, their children, and their lineal descendants until the Day of Resurrection.

Loving the Prophet’s Household is obligatory upon the Muslims by the command of Allah in His Noble Book:
“Say, ‘I ask of you no recompense for it except affection for (my) near kin.’”⦗1⦘

The believers’ love for the Ahl al-Bayt is, in truth, a consequence of their love for the head of that house, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. This issue of love has preoccupied the minds of earlier and later generations alike. The misguidance that arose within it can be traced to a failure to distinguish between emotional love (hubb nafsī) and rational-spiritual love (hubb ʿaqlī qalbī).

Emotional love is a surface-level reaction to outward appearances, without delving into the inner realities and the hidden beauty that give rise to such a response. It is concerned solely with externals. Thus a person may love something beautiful both in form and in essence, such as admiring a precious substance like gold or diamond; or he may love something whose beauty lies only on the surface, such as an eye-catching piece of artificial jewelry. Yet in either case this love does not go beyond