How does one respond to the claimant who cites the حديث (hadith): "The Book of Allah and my progeny, my household" to advocate for adherence to the progeny (Ahl al-Bayt)? Is it obligatory for Muslims to adhere to the Ahl al-Bayt? Did Muslims take their religion from the Ahl al-Bayt? Is it obligatory to respond to him? And is one sinful if they do not know the answer and ignore his questions?

If a Muslim is advised to love the Household of the Prophet (Ahl al-Bayt) and benefit from their knowledge, he must accept this advice. The sacred texts encourage their love, honor, loyalty, support, and emulation. Adhering to them is a religious requirement, as stated in the Hadith: "I am leaving among you that which, if you hold fast to it, you will never go astray after me: the Book of Allah and my progeny, my Household." What is meant by adhering to the progeny is emulating their scholars who adhere to the Sacred Law, not the ignorant or confused among them. The Sunnis have always loved and esteemed the Household of the Prophet and taken knowledge from them, without exaggeration or falsehood. The jurists of the [Sunni] schools of thought have mentioned them and their virtues, as found in books like Sahih al-Bukhari and Musnad Ahmad, among others. The Household of the Prophet, in turn, showed their appreciation for the Rightly Guided Caliphs, held Abu Bakr and Umar in high esteem, and it is narrated from them that they condemned those who disparaged them. Indeed, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq and his father acknowledged the imamate of Abu Bakr and Umar and disavowed those who disavowed them. The Sunnis have transmitted knowledge from Ja'far al-Sadiq, and their prominent scholars narrated from him.