Re: what is the definition of Ahl ul Bayt
Peace bro Ibn Sadique and bro Pagluu
I must agree with the definition of Ibn Sadique that Zurriat means 'progeny' and Aal means 'family' noting 'ahl' to mean the 'house/people'
Also I would like to reiterate that to be considered a member of the family of Abraham (AS) as in Jewish/Christian tradition one does not have to be from the bloodline, or rather being from the bloodline itself is not good enough.
To be Sayyid does count for something but not everything and also to be pious and righteous without being Sayyid is enough to be considered from the people who we should follow.
The people who have a lineage either in family or in tutelage demonstrates that there is a direct line of teaching going back to the prophet Muhammad (SAW). The family itself may demonstrate this, but to have sat with scholars who sat with scholars who sat with those people is called a silsila in some circles and may result in an unbroken chain of narrations which are considered reliable because they are passed on to those who are taught by those who know how to understand the knowledge that they are passing down.
There is a position amonst people that bloodline counts for nothing, alternatively there is another position that bloodline counts for everything. These are both extreme positions and we should agree that being from the bloodline and at the same time being from the authentic chains of traditional knowledge, ijaza and silsila is the best.
The Mahdi will be both best in character and a Sayyid and that is the position of most Muslims, for example.