Thaqalayn
Thaqalayn (Arabic: ثَقَلَین or ثِقْلَیْن) refers to the Qur'an and the Prophet’s Household. In the Hadith of Thaqalayn, the Prophet Muhammad (s) recommended adherence to both. The expression is derived directly from this hadith.
In Arabic, "thiql" means "burden,"[1] thiqal denotes "heaviness,"[2] and thaqal signifies a "valuable possession." Hence, thaqalayn is interpreted as "two precious things." The Qur'anic term thaqalān appears in verse 31 of Qur'an 55, where most exegetes understand it as referring to humankind and jinn. Some, however, interpret it as the Qur'an and the Prophet's progeny.
According to the hadith, the Prophet (s) entrusted his community with these two weighty legacies—the Qur'an and his Household—so that by adhering to them they would not go astray. In some versions, he (s) refers to the Qur'an as the [[ Al-Thiql al-Akbar|greater weight]] (thaqal al-akbar) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a) as the lesser weight (thaqal al-asghar).
Notes
References
- Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad b. Mukarram. Lisān al-ʿArab. Edited by Aḥmad Fāris. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr li-Ṭabʿat wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzī, 1414 AH.