A Critical Study of an Orientalist Approach to the Concept of Ahl ul-Bayt: A Critique of the Paper Ahl ul-Bayt in Leidan Encyclopedia of the Quran

In some of the Quranic verses and also in the holy prophet’s statements, a group has been mentioned as “Ahl ul-Bayt” who are pure from any evilness and have special virtues and positions in Islam. This issue has drawn a special attention of the orientalists to this Quranic word and led to various written works in this field. The paper entitled “Ahl ul-Bayt” written by Moshe Sharon in the Leiden Encyclopedia of the Quran is among these works which is introduced and comes under criticism in this paper. The mentioned paper includes various strengths and weaknesses. The study of the concept of the word “Ahl” in the Quran, mentioning hadith of safineh, pointing to the verses in which the word “Ahl ul-Bayt” is used, and also Hadith of Kasa’ which is one of the most famous narrations mentioned in fariqain’s resources about commentary of Verse 33 of Surah Al-Ahzab are among the positive points of this article. On the contrary, some of its weaknesses include: incomplete study of the concept of the word “Ahl ul-Bayt”, correspondence of that concept with Quraysh tribe, incorrect analysis of some narrations, and a vague commentary of the political message of hadith of Kasa’. The present study provides responses for the mentioned problems.