Ahl al-Bayt (Arabic: أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, lit. 'people of the house') refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended 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, and their two sons, Ḥasan and Ḥusayn. A common Sunni view adds the wives of Muhammad to these five.
While all Muslims revere the Ahl al-Bayt, Shia Muslims assert that members of the Ahl al-Bayt are spiritual successors to Muhammad, possessing divine knowledge and infallibility. The Twelver Shiʿa also believe in the redemptive power of the pain and martyrdom endured by the members of the Ahl al-Bayt, particularly Husayn. Sunni Muslims, who do not believe in spiritual succession to Muhammad, only hold the Ahl al-Bayt in high regard.
