—glory be to Him—and His kindness are sought for everyone (1). Yet it may be said that this is a right due to the family of Muhammad which Allah has commanded.

There is no doubt that the family of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has a right over the Muslim community that no one else shares. They are entitled to a greater degree of love and loyalty than the other clans of Quraysh, just as Quraysh are entitled (2) to a greater degree of love and loyalty than the other tribes, and just as the Arabs as a whole are entitled to a greater degree of love and loyalty than all other peoples descended from Adam. This accords with the position of the majority, who hold that the Arabs are superior to non-Arabs, Quraysh are superior to the rest of the Arabs, and Banū Hāshim are superior to the rest of Quraysh. This is explicitly reported from the leading imams, including Ahmad and others.

The textual evidence supports this position (3), such as the Prophet’s words—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in the authentic [hadith]: (4) “Allah chose Quraysh from Kinānah, chose Banū Hāshim from Quraysh, and chose me from Banū Hāshim” (5). Likewise, he said in the authentic [hadith]: (6) “People are mines, like mines of gold and silver. The best of them in the pre-Islamic era are the best of them in Islam, provided they attain understanding” (7), and other texts of this kind.