بنو هاشم
There is controversy surrounding al-Kumayt and if his sympathies lay with 'Ali and his family or the Umayyads. An article by W. F. Madelung suggests that al-Kumayt was not praising the family of the Prophet specifically, but rather the Banu Hashim as a whole. He believes that al-Kumayt wanted the caliphate to be given to the Banu Hashim, but not necessarily the family of the Prophet. He says that, "The Hashimite imam for whose advent [al-Kumayt] was praying need not be a descendant of 'Ali” (Madelung 9).