family, household, people. e.g. ahl al-kitab: people of the Book, that is, Jews and Christians who possess their own scriptures; ahl al-bayt: people of the house, family of the Prophet Muhammad; ahl al-dhimma: people of the covenant, Jews, Christians, and others accepted as subjects under Muslim rule and entitled to legal protection in return for payment of taxes; ahl-i hadith: a community in India and Pakistan who profess to follow only the Quran and hadith as sources of Muslim law and do not accept the traditional Muslim schools of law.