Hadith of the ship

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Hadith-i Safinah is a famous Hadith in Islam.

It is one of the primary hadiths used by the Shia to justify Ali's right in the Succession of Muhammad. The Sunnis interpret it otherwise.

According to the Hadith, Muhammad is known to have said:

"My household is like the ship of Noah; whoever embarks upon it will be saved and whoever turns away from it will be drowned."

In his Ghâyat al-marâm wa-hujjat al-hisâm, p.237, al-Bahrani cites eleven chains of transmission for this hadith from Sunni sources and seven from Shi'a sources.

Sunnis argue that if the hadith is taken as believable, that the hadith clearly says "...whoever embarks upon it..." and therefore people must actually be able embark on it. This means that wives of the prophet would be considered as part of Ahl al-Bayt because although they may not have been born on the "ship" (like Muhammad's grandson's), they were invited on board it.

shias say that this was not an invitation of membership of ahlul bayt as sunnis do, but it was directed at all muslims warning them that they do not embark on the ship that is the metaphor for ahlul bayt (i.e follow and obey them) then they will be drowned. shias see it as non-sensical to interpret it as invitation to membership of ahlul bayt.

The hadith is found in the following sources, all of which are Sahih:

• Dhakha'ir al-uqba, p.20
• al-Sawa'iq al-muhriqah of Ibn Hajar, Cairo, 1312, pp. 150
• History of the Caliphs of Suyuti. Cairo, 1952, p.307
• Nur al-absar of Shiblanil Cairo. 1312. p. 114.