Ahl al-Bayt

Ahl al-Bayt (Arabic: أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, lit. 'people of the house') refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib, and their two sons, Ḥasan and Husayn. A common Sunni view adds the wives of Muhammad to these five.

While all Muslims revere the Ahl al-Bayt, it is the Shia Muslims who hold the Ahl al-Bayt in the highest esteem, regarding them as the rightful leaders of the Muslim community after Muhammad. The Twelver Shias also believe in the redemptive power of the pain and martyrdom endured by the members of the Ahl al-Bayt, particularly Husayn.