In the answer to question no. 10055 we explained who Ahl al-Bayt are: they are the members of the household of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). At the end of that answer we said: 

So the family of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are: his wives, his children, and Banu Haashim, Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib and their freed slaves. End quote. 

Secondly: 

Allaah has bestowed upon the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) numerous virtues. Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah are unanimously agreed that it is obligatory to love them and respect their rights.  

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

Similarly the family of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have rights which must be paid attention to. Allaah has allocated to them a share of the khums and fay’, and He has enjoined that blessings be sent upon them along with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said to us: “Say: ‘Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin kamaa salayta ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka Hameedun Majeed, wa baarik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala aali Muhammadin kamaa baarakta ‘ala aali Ibraaheem innaka Hameedun Majeed (O Allaah, send prayer upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. And send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory)’”. 

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (3/407). 

And he also said: 

Similarly, with regard to the family of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (Ahl al-Bayt), it is obligatory to love them, be loyal to them and respect their rights. 

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (28/491). 

Thirdly: 

The virtues of the family of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): 

1.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allaah), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner.

33. And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, And perform As‑Salaah (Iqaamat‑as-Salaah), and give Zakaah and obey Allaah and His Messenger. Allaah wishes only to remove Ar‑Rijs (evil deeds and sins) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم), and to purify you with a thorough purification”

[al-Ahzaab 33:32, 33]

This does not apply only to the Prophet’s wives (may Allaah be pleased with them); rather it is narrated in the saheeh Sunnah that it also includes others. It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out one morning wearing a striped cloak of black camel hair. Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali came and he enfolded him in the cloak, then al-Husayn came and he enfolded him in it, then Faatimah came and he enfolded her in it, then ‘Ali came and he enfolded him in it, then he said: “Allaah wishes only to remove Ar‑Rijs (evil deeds and sins) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم), and to purify you with a thorough purification” [al-Ahzaab 33:33].   

Narrated by Muslim (2424). 

2.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are their (believers’) mothers (as regards respect and marriage)”

[al-Ahzaab 33:6]

3.

It was narrated that Waathilah ibn al-Asqa’ said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:

“Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, chose Kinaanah from among the children of Ismaa’eel (peace be upon him), and He chose Quraysh from among Kinaanah, and He chose Banu Haashim from among Quraysh, and He chose me from among Banu Haashim.”

Narrated by Muslim (2276). 

4.

It was narrated that Zayd ibn Arqam said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood and addressed us at a watering place called Khumm, between Makkah and Madeenah. He praised and glorified Allaah, and he exhorted and reminded us, then he said: “O people, I am only human, and soon the messenger of my Lord will come to me and I will respond. I am leaving among you two weighty things, the first of which is the Book of Allaah in which is guidance and light. Follow the Book of Allaah and hold fast to it.” And he encouraged us to adhere to the Book of Allaah, then he said: “And the people of my household, I remind you of Allaah with regard to the people of my household, I remind you of Allaah with regard to the people of my household, I remind you of Allaah with regard to the people of my household.”

Narrated by Muslim (2408). 

The companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) paid attention to this commandment; foremost among them were Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq and ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with them). 

Al-Bukhaari (3508) and Muslim (1759) narrated that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said to ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him): “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, kinship with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is dearer to me than kinship with my own people.” 

Al-Bukhaari also narrated in his Saheeh (3509) that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Pay attention to the rights of the household of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

The words “Pay attention to the rights of the household of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)” are addressed to the people, enjoining them to fulfil the rights of Ahl al-Bayt.  

Fath al-Baari (7/79). 

With regard to the respect of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab for the relatives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), that is apparent from many things, such as his preferring to put the ahead of himself or any other people with regard to allocating shares from bayt al-maal. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

Moreover, when ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) set up the registry of stipends, he wrote  down people’s names according to their lineage, so he started with those who were closest in lineage to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), When he had finished listing the Arabs, he listed the non-Arabs. This is how the registry was at the time of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and all the caliphs of the Umayyad and ‘Abbaasid dynasties, until things changed after that. 

Iqtida’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, p. 159, 160 

Fourthly: 

There is no intercession specifically for the family of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), rather that is something that may be granted to all those among the righteous, the martyrs and the scholars with whose intercession Allaah is pleased, whether they are among Ahl al-Bayt or are from among the ordinary people. 

In the answer to question no. 21672 we said: Intercession for those who committed sin will not be granted only to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), rather the Prophets, the martyrs, the scholars, the righteous and the angels will also join in that. A man’s righteous deeds may also intercede for him. But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will have the greatest share of intercession. End quote. 

Thus we may know the response to the extremists among the Raafidis who claim that intercession is only for the family of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Rather it is stated in their books that Ahl al-Bayt are the ones who will admit people to Paradise and to Hell! This is just part of a lengthy list of the different types of exaggeration that they have, the source of which is their ignorance of the religion of Allaah, may He be exalted, and their keeping away from the texts of Revelation in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. 

We advise you to read an essay entitled Fadl Ahl al-Bayt wa ‘Uluw Makaanatihim ‘inda Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, written by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Muhsin ibn Hamad al-‘Abbaad al-Badr, which we have benefited from in composing this answer, and which contains additional research on this topic. It is short but very useful, and may be seen here [in Arabic]:

http://www.saaid.net/open.php?cat=1&book-1135 

And Allaah knows best.