The verse of purification

Last updated February 28, 2019

The verse of purification (Arabic:آیه تطهیر ) is verse (Ayah) in the Qur'an. The verse has special importance for Shiite Muslims due to giving information about Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad. Shiite reportedly believe it to designate the "People of the House" as being Ismah , infallibility. Within Sunni Islam this viewpoint is seen as either rejected or partially supported such as the case of Sufism. Some verses refer to Muhammad's wives.

Arabical-ʻarabiyyah[alʕaraˈbijːa](listen) or ʻarabī[ˈʕarabiː](listen) or Arabic pronunciation: [ʕaraˈbij]) is a Central Semitic language that first emerged in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, in northwestern Arabia, and in the Sinai Peninsula. Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage comprising 30 modern varieties, including its standard form, Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic.

Ahl al-Bayt term referring to the family of Muhammad

Ahl al-Bayt, also Āl al-Bayt or Ahlul Bayt, is a phrase meaning, literally, "People of the House" or "Family of the House". Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Text and Translation

The verse of purification (Arabic : آية التطهير‎; Quran 33.33)
Text	Transliteration	Translation ^[1]
وَقَرْ‌نَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّ‌جْنَ تَبَرُّ‌جَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ ۖ وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّـهَ وَرَ‌سُولَهُ ۚ إِنَّمَا يُرِ‌يدُ اللَّـهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّ‌جْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَ‌كُمْ تَطْهِيرً‌ا	Waqarna fee buyootikunna walatabarrajna tabarruja aljahiliyyati al-oola waaqimnaassalata waateena azzakatawaatiAAna Allaha warasoolahu innama yureeduAllahu liyuthhiba AAankumu arrijsa ahlaalbayti wayutahhirakum tatheera	And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification.

Academic view

The previous verses include instructions to the wives of Muhammad, and the verbs and pronouns are in the feminine plural. However, in this verse, the pronouns are in the masculine plural. Therefore, it is no longer a discussion of the prophet’s wives or of them alone. Thus, the expression Ahl al-bayt must mean family of Muhammad. The privilege then refers to those nearest to him.

Muhammad was the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet, sent to present and confirm the monotheistic teachings preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is viewed as the final prophet of God in all the main branches of Islam, though some modern denominations diverge from this belief. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis of Islamic religious belief.

There is a story narrated in many traditions according to which Muhammad sheltered under his cloak, in varying circumstances including the Mubahala, his grandchildren Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, his daughter Fatimah and his son-in-law Ali and so it is those five who are given the title Ahl al-Kisa or people of the mantle.

Hasan ibn Ali The grandson of Muhammad, son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad, and second Shia Imam

Al-Ḥasan ibn Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, commonly known as Hasan or Hassan, was the eldest son of Ali and Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, and was the older brother of Husayn. Muslims respect him as a grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Among Shia Muslims, Hasan is revered as the second Imam. Hasan claimed the caliphate after his father's death, but abdicated after six or seven months to Muawiyah I, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty to end the First Fitna. Al-Hasan was known for donating to the poor, his kindness to the poor and bondmen, and for his knowledge, tolerance and bravery. For the rest of his life, Hasan lived in Medina, until he died at the age of 45 and was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery in Medina. His wife, Ja'da bint al-Ash'at, is commonly accused of having poisoned him.

Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abi Talib was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fatimah. He is an important figure in Islam as he was a member of the Bayt (Household) of Muhammad and the Ahl al-Kisā', as well as the third Shia Imam.

Fatimah bint Muhammad was the youngest daughter and, according to Shia Muslims, the only child of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and Khadijah who lived to adulthood, and therefore part of Muhammad's household. Her husband was Ali, the last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and her children include Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia Imams, respectively. She is the object of love and respect of Muslims, as she was the child closest to her father and supported him in his difficulties, was the supporter and loving caretaker of her own husband and children, and was the only child of Muhammad to have male children live beyond childhood, whose descendants are spread throughout the Islamic world and are known as Sayyids.

Some have attempted to add Muhammad's wives to the list; however, the number of the privileged is limited to those five.^[2]

Shia view

Each ayah is an individual sign of Allah. Ayah or aayah is the Arabic word for evidence or sign:

The ayah uses the words Ankum (from you) and Yutahhirakum (to purify you), which are both in the masculine plural form. Though it is known that in Arabic masculine is unisex, there is a problem since the fact that the previous sentence in reference to the wives used only feminine verbs and pronouns while this sentences uses the masculine. The feminine for the above would be Ankunna and Yutahhirakunna. The sudden change in grammatical gender reference means that it is not about the wives. The similar use of switching subjects after Ayahs is found all throughout the Quran. A great example of this is Surah Haqqah, which does so in nearly every ayah. Allah says 'Allah keep away bad things (rijs) from Ahlulbaiyt'.. We can believe the Ahlulbaiyt keep away from any (someone) Bad things (rijs).. Muhammad says 'After me only two things are remained who that guide people in every generation 1st: Quran 2nd:Ahlulbaiyt'

Notes

↑ "Qur'an 33.33".
↑ "Fāṭima." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2014. Reference. 08 April 2014

Related Research Articles

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References

Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.

Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung is a scholar of Islam. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where he completed his early education at Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

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[1] "Qur'an 33.33".

[2] "Fāṭima." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2014. Reference. 08 April 2014