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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Imamate and Leadership Confirmation From the Qur'an and the Sunnah ( 175 ) Lesson Nineteen One of the scriptural proofs for the inerrancy of the People of the Prophet's House is the "purification verse" (ayah al-tathir) a verse which depicts their utter purity and their unique character as follow: "God wishes to remove all filth and impurity from you O People of House of the Prophet and to render you utterly free of all pollution." (33:33) Rijs translated by us as "filth" has the meaning in Arabic of dirt and impurity whether it be outer or inner the latter being essentially synoymous with sin.

The word has been used in both senses in the Qur'an. Outer impurity is what is at issue in the following verse: "Carrion blood that has been shed and the flesh of the pig - all these are filth." (6:145) By contrast inner impurity is what is meant in this verse: "Those whose hearts are afflicted with sickness will find their filth increased by God so that they ultimately die in a state of unbelief." (9:125) In the verse which speaks of the removal of filth and impurity from the Prophet's House the word Rijs cannot be interpreted as referring to outer impurity insofar as all Muslims are required to shun outer impurity as a matter of religious obligation; this is not something that pertains exclusively to the Prophet's House whereas the verse clearly implies the grant of a particular distinction.

Moreover the avoidance of filth and impurity does not count as a virtue that in the view of the Qur'an characterizes a particular group of ( 176 ) people. Given all of this in order for the verse to be comprehensible. the word rijs must be taken in the sense of inward pollution of the spirit.

God's will and desire to remove all impurity from the People of the Prophet's House is a desire related to the whole scheme of creation in that God wished that within His created order the members of that house be free of all impurity and adorned with all purity. If we related God's wish to matters of law and legislation the meaning would simply be that it' the sphere of law they should not sin or pollute themselves.

This meaning would be clearly unacceptable for the avoidance of sin and the shunning of impurity is a universal religious duty the imposition of which does not confer honor or special status on anyone.