So when he said, “These are the members of my household,” although the Qur’anic context shows that the address was directed to his wives, we learn that while his wives are indeed among his household, as the Qur’an affirms, these individuals are even more entitled to the designation, for the bond of blood is stronger than the bond created through marriage.1

The Arabs employ this manner of speech to indicate the perfection of a quality, not to claim exclusive possession of the underlying ruling. Thus the Prophet ﷺ said: “The destitute person is not the one who goes about seeking a mouthful or two of food, a date or two; rather, the truly destitute is he who finds nothing sufficient for him, is not noticed so that charity might be given to him, and does not beg insistently from people.”2

By this he clarified that the description applies to the one who embodies destitution in its fullness, whereas the itinerant beggar does not attain that level—someone may occasionally give him something—though he too remains poor.

Similarly, one may say, “He—none other—is the scholar,” or “He is the enemy,” or “He is the Muslim,” when a person has perfected the trait in question, even though others share it to a lesser degree.

A comparable instance mentioned “in”3 the hadith is what Muslim relates in his Ṣaḥīḥ: when the Prophet ﷺ was asked about the mosque that was founded upon piety, he replied, “This mosque of mine,” meaning the mosque in Madinah—despite the Qur’anic passage concerning the Mosque of Harm: “Do not ever stand in it. A mosque founded on piety from the very first day is more worthy that you stand therein…”