Hadith of the thaqalayn

Hadith of the thaqalayn

There exist several versions of this hadith in Sunni sources.

The version emphasizing the progeny of Muhammad, which forms the central foundation of Shia doctrine, appears in the Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Sahih Muslim:

"I [Muhammad] left among you two treasures which, if you cling to them, you shall not be led into error after me. One of them is greater than the other: The book of God (Quran), which is a rope stretched from Heaven to Earth, and [the second one is] my progeny, my Ahl al-Bayt. These two shall not be parted until they return to the pool [of abundance in paradise, kawthar." —

In contrast, another widely cited Sunni narration—frequently prioritized in mainstream Sunni sermonics and jurisprudence—substitutes the progeny with the Prophet's practice (Sunnah), as recorded in the Muwatta Malik:

"I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray: the Book of God (Quran) and the Sunna of His Prophet." — 'Muwatta Malik'

Muhammad might have repeated this statement on multiple occasions, including his Farewell Pilgrimage and later at the Ghadir Khumm, shortly before he died in 632. The version of this hadith in Al-Sunan al-kubra, another Sunni hadith collection, adds the warning, "Be careful how you treat the two [treasures] after me." Similar versions of the hadith can be found in other major Sunni sources, including Sahih Muslim, Sahih al-Tirmidhi, and Sunan al-Darimi. According to the Twelver Shi'a theologian Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i (d. 1981), the hadith of the thaqalayn has been transmitted through more than a hundred channels by over thirty-five Companions of the Prophet.

Shia Islam limits the Ahl al-Bayt to the Ahl al-Kisa, namely, Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn. In Shia theology works, the Ahl al-Bayt often also includes the remaining Shia imams. There are various interpretations in Sunni Islam, though a typical compromise is to include Muhammad's wives in the Ahl al-Bayt, in addition to the Ahl al-Kisa. In some Sunni versions of the hadith, however, ahl al-bayt has been replaced with sunna; that is, practices of Muhammad.

This divergence in wording reflects a fundamental theological distinction: while mainstream Sunni jurisprudence considers the "Quran and Sunnah" formula as the normative model for religious guidance, Shia theology treats the "Quran and Ahl al-Bayt" version (*Hadith al-Thaqalayn*) as the primary scriptural foundation establishing the spiritual authority (Wilayah) and divine guidance of the Imams alongside the Quran.