to receive the fullest measure when invoking blessings upon us, the members of the household, should say: ‘O Allah, bestow blessings upon Muhammad the Prophet’”—and so on, to the end of the hadith.

The reason for this is that the word āl (family) was originally awal: the wāw carried a vowel and was preceded by a short a, so it was changed into an alif, yielding āl. The same applies to bāb (door) and nāb (canine tooth), and, among verbs, qāla (he said), ‘āda (he returned), and similar examples. Whoever says that its original form was ahl, with the hā’ changed into an alif, is mistaken. He has made an unsupported assertion and claimed an irregular letter substitution without evidence, contrary to the original rule.

Moreover, ahl is used in association with inanimate things and people of no elevated standing, as when one says “the members of the household,” “the inhabitants of the city,” “the poor man’s family,” and “the needy man’s family.” By contrast, āl is used only in association with someone of elevated standing whose role is to take charge of others or govern them, so that their affairs ultimately rest with him. From the same root comes iyālah, meaning governance. A person’s āl are those whom he governs and who turn and refer back to him. His own self comes first and has the greatest claim to his governance, and its affairs rest with him. Thus, the expression “the family of so-and-so” includes the person himself. This does not mean that it refers exclusively to him; rather, it includes both him and those whom he governs.

This is why most versions contain the wording, “as You bestowed blessings upon Abraham’s family, and as You blessed Abraham’s family.” Some versions name “Abraham” himself, because he is the primary recipient of blessings and purification; the other members of his household receive these only by virtue of their association with him. Some versions mention both him and his family, drawing attention to both aspects.

If it is asked: Why, then, does it say, “Bestow blessings upon Muhammad and upon Muhammad’s family, and bless