"Then God divided people into families and households and...

"Then God divided people into families and households and placed me in the most virtuous of all households. For He said 'God wishes to remove all filth and impurity from you O House of the Prophet and to render you utterly free of pollution. (33:33) I and my House are then utterly free of all impurity and immune to sin." ( 2 ) In this tradition we see that the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him and his family has unambiguously interpreted the "purification verse" as referring to inerrancy.

The events that constituted the occasion for the revelation of the verse were the following as related by Umm Salamah a wife of the Prophet renowned for her piety and nobility in whose the events took place: "One day Fatimah peace be upon her the daughter of the ( 178 ) Prophet brought a dish of food to her father. He told her to summon her husband 'Ali peace be upon him and their children Hasan and Husayn peace be upon them which she did.

When they were all gathered and engaged in eating the 'purification verse' was revealed. Thereupon the Prophet took a piece of cloth that he had on his shoulders and cast it over their heads saying three times 'O Lord these are the People of my House; remove filth and impurity from them and render them utterly pure." ( 3 ) Many Sunni scholars remark that the "purification verse" was revealed concerning five people: The Prophet 'Ali Fatimah Hasan and Husayn. ( 4 ) 'Umar b.

Abi Salamah who was a witness to the incident described it as follows: "The 'purification verse' was revealed in the house of Umm Salam ah.

Then the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him and his family told 'Ali Fatimah Hasan and Husayn to approach him and threw over their heads a piece of cloth that was covering his shoulders and said 'These are the People of my House; remove from them all filth and render them utterly pure.' Umm Salamah then asked 'O Messenger of God am I also one of them?' He replied 'Be content with your own place for you are one of the virtuous." ( 5 ) 'A'ishah relates: "One day the Prophet left the house with a piece of cloth slung over his shoulders.

Hasan Husayn Fatimah and 'Ali came to see him and he threw the cloth over their heads reciting the 'purification verse.' ( 6 ) Abu 'l-Hamra' one of the relates: "I stayed in Madinah for eight months watching the Prophet constantly. He would never leave his house to perform the prayers without first passing by 'Ali's house. He would place his hands on each side of the door and cry out 'Prayer!