The verse of purification
Encyclopedia
The verse of purification is part of the 33rd verse of Surah
al-Ahzab
of Qur'an
, which says,
This verse has especial importance for Muslims due to giving information about Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad
. The two largest branches of Shia Islam believe it to designate the "People of the House" as being in a state of ismah
"infallibility".
s quoted by al-Tabari
in his Tafsir
describes Ahl al-Bayt as referring to Muhammad, Fatima, Ali, Hasan, and Husayn. He adds, however, that it is unlikely that the passage could have been separated from the first part of the verse, noting a "clear aim of the verse to elevate the rank of the wives of the Prophet above all Muslim women: "O wives of the prophet, you are not like any other women." Madelung writes that the "ahl al-bayt," as understood by the usage of the term during Muhammad's time, consisted of his blood relations, including the Banu Hashim.
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
al-Ahzab
Al-Ahzab
Surat Al-Ahzab is the 33rd sura of the Qur'an with 73 ayat.Verse 5: Adoption in Islam.Ayat 6 contains a reference to the term Mother of Believers.Ayat 25 contains a reference to Battle of the trench....
of Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, which says,
This verse has especial importance for Muslims due to giving information about Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. The two largest branches of Shia Islam believe it to designate the "People of the House" as being in a state of ismah
Ismah
‘Iṣmah or ‘Isma is the concept of infallibility or "divinely bestowed freedom from error and sin" in Islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad and other prophets in Islam possessed ‘iṣmah. Twelver and Ismaili Shia Muslims also attribute the quality to Imāms and Fatima Zahra, daughter of Muhammad...
"infallibility".
Tafsir
While this verse is among the verses which introduce some special laws for Muhammad's wives with feminine plural pronouns, the pronoun referring to the Ahl al-Bayt is in the masculine plural. According to Madelung, the great majority of the hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s quoted by al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
in his Tafsir
Tafsir al-Tabari
Jāmi` al-bayān `an ta'wīl āy al-Qur'ān, popularly Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī is a classic Sunni tafsir by the Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari...
describes Ahl al-Bayt as referring to Muhammad, Fatima, Ali, Hasan, and Husayn. He adds, however, that it is unlikely that the passage could have been separated from the first part of the verse, noting a "clear aim of the verse to elevate the rank of the wives of the Prophet above all Muslim women: "O wives of the prophet, you are not like any other women." Madelung writes that the "ahl al-bayt," as understood by the usage of the term during Muhammad's time, consisted of his blood relations, including the Banu Hashim.