Who are the ahlul bayt ?

[Abubakar]

A Rafidha wrote this as a proof that ahlul are the "ahlul kisaa".
Can I know which hadiths are authentic and how can refute them ?:
___
" Narrated Aisha:
One day the Prophet (S) came out
afternoon wearing a black cloak
(upper garment or gown; long coat),
then al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali came and the
Prophet accommodated him under
the cloak, then al-Husayn came and
entered the cloak, then Fatimah came
and the Prophet entered her under
the cloak, then ‘Ali came and the
Prophet entered him to the cloak as
well. Then the Prophet recited:
"Verily Allah intends to keep off from
you every kind of uncleanness O’
People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt),
and purify you a perfect purification
(the last sentence of Verse 33:33)."
Sunni reference:
• Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of
companions, section of the virtues of
the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet (S),
1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia,
Arabic version, v4, p1883, Tradition
#61.
…………
Another version of the "Tradition of
Cloak”is written in Sahih al-Tirmidhi,
which is narrated in the authority of
Umar Ibn Abi Salama, the son of
Umm Salama (another wife of
Prophet), which is as follows:
The verse
"Verily Allah intends to ... (33:33)"
was revealed to the Prophet (S) in
the house of Umm Salama. Upon
that, the Prophet gathered Fatimah,
al-Hasan, and al-Husayn, and
covered them with a cloak, and he
also covered ‘Ali who was behind
him. Then the Prophet said: "O’
Allah! These are the Members of my
House (Ahlul-Bayt). Keep them away
from every impurity and purify them
with a perfect purification.”Umm
Salama (the wife of Prophet) asked:
"Am I also included among them O
Apostle of Allah?”the Prophet replied:
"You remain in your position and you
are toward a good ending."
Sunni reference: Sahih al-Tirmidhi,
v5, pp 351,663.
…
Also the wording reported by al-
Suyuti and Ibn al-Athir is as follows:
Umm Salama said to the Holy
Prophet: "Am I also one of them?”He
replied: "No. You have your own
special position and your future is
good."
Sunni reference:
• Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v2,
p289
• Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthoor, by al-
Suyuti, v5, p198
……
Also al-Tabari quotes Umm Salama
saying:
I said, "O Prophet of Allah! Am I not
also one of your Ahlul-Bayt?”I swear
by the Almighty that the Holy Prophet
did NOT grant me any distinction and
said: "You have a good future."
Sunni reference: Tafsir al-Tabari,
v22, p7 under the commentary of
verse 33:33."

[Aba AbdAllah]

Refer this article:
https://youpuncturedtheark.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/a-scientific-dialogue-regarding-incident-of-kisa-revealing-some-facts/


Also these:
https://youpuncturedtheark.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/for-whom-the-verse-of-purificationtatheer-was-revealed-and-what-is-the-concept-of-purification-let-the-quran-answer/

https://youpuncturedtheark.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/quran-explicitly-shows-that-wives-of-prophetsaw-are-ahlebayt/

[Farid]

Ahlulbayt has three linguistic meanings.

1- Wives
2- Descendants
3- Close family

We know it cannot mean descendants, since Ali is not a descendant of the Prophet peace be upon him.

Which means that it is suggesting the "close family". Do note, this usage includes all the Prophet's uncles and cousins, not only Ali. These four were the closest to him though. It is also not logical for him to bring all of Bani Hashim under a cloak.

According to the hadith you shared above, some do not include the wives, while others do. We need to check which is the most authentic usage. However, the verse from the Qur'an clearly is about wives, due to context.

[Al Dukhan]

The hadith of cloak contradicts with Quran: surah al Ahzab verse 33, if taken whole verse for members of cloak !
It doesnt contradicts if the verse is taken for wives of Prophet s.a.w. So according to ijma of ahl sunnah, it cant be rejected too. Maybe first half of the verse is for wives of Prophet s.a.w and other half is for Ahl al'bait of cloak ! So we cant take half verse and "reject" the other part of verse as being muslims 'maazAllah', like we cant take only ahl al'bait and "reject" wives of Prophet s.a.w ! So it can be wives+members of cloak= Ahl al'bait.
Allah knows best

[MuslimK]

^ There is no contradiction.

The verses of Surah Ahzaab are about the wives, no doubt about it, it is very explicit. The hadith of cloak is the Dua of the Prophet (saw) to Allah to include Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain in his WILL as well just like his will in the Quran about the wives.