Hadith: One day, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to deliver a sermon at a watering place known as Khumm located between Makkah and Madīnah. He praised Allah, extolled Him, and gave us an admonition and reminder.

عن يزيد بن حيان قال: انطلقت أنا وحُصين بن سَبْرَة وعمرو بن مسلم إلى زيد بن أرقم رضي الله عنه فلما جلسنا إليه قال له حصين: لقد لقيتَ يا زيد خيرًا كثيرًا، رأيتَ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وسمعتَ حديثه، وغزوتَ معه، وصليتَ خلفه: لقد لقيت يا زيد خيرًا كثيرًا، حدثنا يا زيد ما سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: يا ابن أخي، والله لقد كَبِرَتْ سني، وقَدُمَ عهدي، ونسيتُ بعض الذي كنت أَعِي من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فما حدثتكم فاقبلوا، وما لا فلا تُكَلِّفُونِيهِ. ثم قال: قام رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يومًا فينا خطيبًا بماء يُدعى خُمًّا بين مكة والمدينة، فحمد الله، وأثنى عليه، ووعظ وذكَّر، ثم قال: «أما بعد، ألا أيها الناس، فإنما أنا بشر يُوشِكُ أن يأتي رسول ربي فأُجِيبَ، وأنا تاركٌ فيكم ثَقَلَيْنِ: أولهما كتاب الله، فيه الهدى والنور، فخذوا بكتاب الله، واستمسكوا به»، فحَثَّ على كتاب الله، ورغَّبَ فيه، ثم قال: «وأهل بيتي أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللهَ في أهل بيتي، أُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللهَ في أهل بيتي» فقال له حصين: ومن أهل بيته يا زيد، أليس نساؤه من أهل بيته؟ قال: نساؤه من أهل بيته، ولكن أهل بيته من حُرِمَ الصدقةَ بعده، قال: ومن هم؟ قال: هم آل علي، وآل عقيل، وآل جعفر، وآل عباس. قال: كل هؤلاء حُرِمَ الصدقةَ؟ قال: نعم. وفي رواية: «ألا وإني تاركٌ فيكم ثَقَلَيْنِ: أحدهما كتاب الله وهو حبل الله، من اتبعه كان على الهدى، ومن تركه كان على ضلالة».
[صحيح] - [رواه مسلم]

Yazīd ibn Hayyān reported: I went along with Husayn ibn Sabrah and ‘Amr ibn Muslim to Zayd ibn Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him). As we sat by his side, Husayn said to him: "O Zayd, you have acquired a great virtue as you saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) listened to his words, fought by his side (in different battles), and offered prayer behind him. You have, in fact, earned a great virtue. Could you narrate to us what you heard from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said: "I have grown old and it has been long. I have forgotten some of what I memorized from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him); so accept whatever I narrate to you, and do not compel me to narrate what I fail to narrate." He then said: "One day, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to deliver a sermon at a watering place known as Khumm located between Makkah and Madīnah. He praised Allah, extolled Him, and gave us an admonition and reminder. He then said: 'O people! I am only a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I will respond to Allah's call, but I am leaving with you two weighty things; the first is the Book of Allah, in which there is right guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.' He exhorted us to hold fast to the Book of Allah and then said: 'And members of my family. I remind you of Allah with regard to members of my family. I remind you of Allah with regard to members of my family.'" Husayn said to Zayd: "Who are the members of his family, O Zayd? Are his wives not members of his family?" Thereupon Zayd said: "His wives are members of his family. But here, the members of his family are those for whom Zakah is forbidden." He asked: "Who are they?" Zayd said: "The household of ‘Ali, ‘Aqīl, Ja‘far, and ‘Abbās." Husayn asked: "Is Zakah forbidden for all of them?" He said: 'Yes!' In another narration, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "But I am leaving with you two weighty things; the first is the Book of Allah, and it is the rope of Allah. Whoever holds fast to it shall be on the path of guidance, and whoever abandons it shall be on the path of error.”
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Muslim]

Explanation

Yazīd ibn Hayyān reported: I went along with Husayn ibn Sabrah and ‘Amr ibn Muslim to Zayd ibn Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him). As we were sitting with him, Husayn said to him: O Zayd, you have acquired a great virtue by seeing the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) listening to his words directly, fighting by his side, and praying behind him. You have, in fact, earned a great virtue. Could you narrate to us what you heard from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: I have grown old, and it has been long. I have forgotten some of the narrations I memorized from Allah's Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him); so accept whatever I narrate to you, and what I do not narrate, do not compel me to narrate. He then said: One day, the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to deliver a sermon in a valley that had a water known as Khumm located between Makkah and Madīnah. He praised Allah, extolled Him, and reminded us of observing the right of servitude to Allah, which we were distracted from by our preoccupation with our families and dependents. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said: O people! I am only a human being, and I am about to die, but I am leaving with you two great and significant things: the first is the Qur'an, in which there is right guidance and light. So, follow it and force yourselves to adhere to it. He urged us to follow the Qur'an and adhere to its rope. Afterwards, he prompted us to be kind to his household, to obey Allah in them and observe their rights. He said that twice. Husayn asked Zayd about his household, and whether or not his wives were members of his family. Zayd said that his wives were members of his family as they lived with him and were under his responsibility. He commanded us to respect and honor them. However, generally speaking, his household are the ones for whom obligatory charity is forbidden, and those were the household of ‘Ali, ‘Aqīl, Ja‘far, and ‘Abbās. All of these are forbidden from taking any of the obligatory charity (i.e. Zakah, vows, and expiation). In another narration: Indeed, I am leaving behind two great matters: one of them is the Book of Allah. It is His covenant and the only means to His pleasure and mercy. It is His light by which He guides. So whoever follows it through observing its commandments and refraining from its prohibitions is following guidance, which is the opposite of error, and whoever turns away from its commandments and prohibitions is on error.