However...

However, their standing in his place is (only) with regards to the (Ummah’s) obligation of love, kindness and care (to them), not in adherence to their words and opinions. Rather, the reference for actions are the Book and the Sunnah, and Allah the Most High knows best.”[^1] This is further strengthened by the fact that he called them both “the Two Weighty Things”, al-thaqalayn. Imam Ibn Manzur (d.

711 H), the leading classical Sunni linguist, explains what this means: وروي عن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، أنه قال في آخر عمره: إني تارك فيكم الثقلين: كتاب الله وعترتي، فجعلهما كتاب الله عز وجل وعترته، وقد تقدم ذكر العترة.

وقال ثعلب: سميا ثقلين لأن الأخذ بهما ثقيل والعمل بهما ثقيل، قال: وأصل الثقل أن العرب تقول لكل شئ نفيس خطير مصون ثقل، فسماهما ثقلين إعظاما لقدرهما وتفخيما لشأنهما It is narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said during the end of his lifetime: “I am leaving behind over you the Two Weighty Things (al-thaqalayn): the Book of Allah and my offspring.” So, he identified them both as the Book of Allah the Almighty and his offspring.

The word “itrah (offspring)” has already been explained. Tha’lab said: “He named them thaqalayn because holding fast to them both and following them both are weighty (responsibilities).” He said: “The origin of (the word) thaqal is that Arabs referred to every priceless weighty thing as a thaqal. Therefore, he named them thaqalayn to highlight their significance and to extol their importance [^2] Imam Ibn al-Athir (d.

606 H), an ace Sunni hadith linguist, has the same submission: ]إني تارك فيكم الثقلين : كتاب الله وعترت] سماهما ثقلين لأن الأخذ بهما والعمل بهما ثقيل . ويقال لكك خطير نفيس ثقل فسماهما ثقلين إعظاما لقدرهما وتفخيما لشأنهما. [I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things: the Book of Allah and my offspring], he named them both thaqalayn because holding fast to them both and following them are weighty (responsibilities). And every priceless weighty thing is called thaqal.

Therefore, he named them thaqalayn to highlight their significance and to extol their importance.[^3] Another leading Sunni linguist, al-Zubaydi (d. 1205 H), backs him: وكذلك الحديث} إني تارك فيكم الثقلين، كتاب الله وعترتي {جعلهما ثقلين إعظاما لقدرهما وتفخيما لهما. وقال ثعلب: سماهما ثقلين؛ لأن الأخذ بهما والعمل بهما ثقيل. And it is like that in the hadith: “I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things (al-thaqalayn): the Book of Allah and my offspring”.