Hadith al-Thaqalayn or Hadith al-Itrah is a widely narrated hadith from the Messenger of Allah explaining to us our duty after his passing. The Prophet (sa) left behind for us two things to hold on to, the Quran and his Ahlul-Bayt.
This hadith lies at the core of the Shi’a-Sunni debate and is seen by the Shi’a school of thought as one of the main proofs of referring to the family of the Prophet (sa) after his passing.
Alongside this hadith, we also come across narrations in both Shi’a and Sunni hadith corpuses relating to twelve khalifahs who should rule after the Prophet (sa). In this presentation, we delve into both sets of narrations and see what can be understood from them for the Muslim ummah.
Questions we answer:
- Is Imamah one of Usul al-Din?
- What are the sources of Hadith al-Itrah?
- What about Kitaballah wa Sunnati?
- Who are the Ahlul-Bayt?
- What is the minimal criteria to be considered Shi’a?
- What are the sources of the twelve khalifah narrations?
- What are the Sunni interpretations of these narrations?
