That is why it is said that this verse indicates the...

That is why it is said that this verse indicates the infallibility of the members of the Prophet's Household and their being far above all sorts of impurities. Suppose we are neither the Shi'ah nor the Sunnis but are some Christian orientalists who want to see what the Divine Scripture of the Muslims says.

We come across this verse in the Qur'an and then when we refer to Islamic history and the Muslim traditions, we find that not only the partisans and followers of the Prophet's progeny, known as the Shi'ah, but even the members of that sect which is not a special supporter of the Prophet's progeny while mentioning the occasion of the revelation of the above verse, state in their most authentic books that it refers to Imam Ali, Fatimah Zahra', Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn and the Holy Prophet himself.

There is a Sunni tradition which says when this verse was revealed, Umm Salamah38 one of the Holy Prophet's wives came to him and asked him if the verse was applicable to her also. The Holy Prophet replied that she was blessed but she was not included among those to whom the verse applied. The authorities who have reproduced this tradition are more than one or two. Many reports to this effect are found in the books of the Sunnis.

We find that the above-quoted verse is mixed with some other preceding and following verses relating to the Holy Prophet's wives. "0 you wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. (Of course the verse does not mean to say that the Prophet's wives are superior to other women.) 0 you wives of the Prophet! Whosoever of you commits a sin, the punishment for her will be doubled.

The punishment will be doubled, because she not only commits that particular sin, but also violates the sanctity of her husband and is guilty of sacrilege. Similarly, "Whosoever of you is submissive to Allah and His messenger and does right, We shall give her double reward". She will be doubly rewarded because a virtuous act of hers actually consists of two acts.

This case is similar to that of the sayyids who are said to be doubly rewarded for their good deeds and doubly punished for their evil ones. That is not because a sin committed by them is different from that committed by others, but is due to the fact that their sin is twofold.