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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Inquiries About Shi'a Islam The Ahlul Bayt The best way to introduce the Ahlul Bayt to the Muslim nation is to recall what the Noble Qur’an says about them. Several verses of the Noble Qur’an refer specifically to the virtues of the Ahlul Bayt and their outstanding position in Islam.

Whenever the Noble Qur’an refers to the Ahlul Bayt, it refers to a specific group of people who were related not only by blood, but more importantly, by ideology and faith to the Prophet. However, it does not refer to all of his blood relations, his friends or his wives. The Verse of Purity (Taharah) Allah only desires to keep away uncleanliness from you, O People of the House (Ahlul Bayt), and to make you as pure as possible.

[^1] The prominent scholars of Islam and the narrators of the Prophetic tradition unanimously agree that Ahlul Bayt (the household of the Prophet ) which Almighty Allah uses in the above verse of the Noble Qur’an refers to the daughter of the , Lady Fatima al-Zahra, his cousin, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and their children Hassan and Husayn.[^2] Tabarani narrates from one of the respected wives of the Prophet, Umm Salamah that the Messenger of Allah once told his daughter, Lady Fatima to call her husband ‘Ali and their two sons, Hassan and Husayn.

When they came, the Messenger of Allah covered them with a cloak, put his hand on them and said, “O Allah, these are Al-e -Muhammad (the family of Muhammad), so shower Your blessings and favors upon *Al-e-*Muhammad just as You showered them on *Al-e-*Ibrahim.

You are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.” Umm Salamah says that she raised the cloak to join them, but the Prophet took it from her hand saying, “You are also on the right.”[^3] Although the beginning of verse 33:33 addresses the wives of the Prophet and continues to address them up until the middle part of the verse, but upon reaching “Ahlul Bayt” it excludes them.[^4] The previous and subsequent statements which are directed towards the wives of the Prophet are in the feminine pronouns and gender, but this verse referring to the Ahlul Bayt is in the masculine or mixed gender; thus it makes it clear that it is not addressed to the wives of the Prophet.

However, even without the grammatical evidence, the relationship between some of the wives of the Prophet does not fit the spirit of this verse which asserts the physical, mental, and spiritual purity of the family of the .