Hadith No: 11
Al-Tahawi - Sharh Mushkil al-Athar
Chapter on Clarifying the Ambiguity of What Was Narrated from Him, Peace Be Upon Him, regarding the Meaning of God's Words, Exalted and Almighty be He:
{Indeed, Allah only wants to remove the impurity from you, O People of the Prophet's House, and to purify you with a thorough purification} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33) - who they are
Volume: (2) - Page Number: (245)
773 - What has been narrated to us by Muhammad ibn al-Hajjaj al-Hadrami and Sulayman al-Kaysani, both said: Bishr ibn Bakr al-Bajjali narrated to us from al-Awza'i, who said: Abu Ammar
informed me, and Wathila ibn al-Asqa told me: I went to Ali but did not find him. Fatimah said, "Go to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny); he will summon him." So he came with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), and they entered, and I entered with them. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) called for Hassan and Hussein and seated each of them on his thigh, bringing Fatimah closer to his lap, along with her husband, and then he wrapped them all in a cloak while I was sitting at a distance. Then he said: {Indeed, Allah only wants to remove the impurity from you, O People of the Prophet's House, and to purify you with a thorough purification} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33).
Then he said, "O Allah, these are my family; they are the people of truth." I said, "O Messenger of Allah, am I not one of your family?" He replied, "You are one of my family." Wathila said, "This is one of the most hopeful things I hope for." Wathila was farther from him, peace be upon him, than Umm Salamah, because he was merely a man from Banu Laith, not from Quraysh, and Umm Salamah's position in relation to Quraysh was the same as hers in relation to him. Thus, his statement to Wathila, "You are one of my family," meant due to your following me and believing in me. You have thereby entered into my overall community. We have found that Allah mentioned in His Book something that indicates this meaning with His words: And Noah called to his Lord and said, "My Lord, indeed my son is of my family." So He answered him in that by saying, "Indeed, he is not of your family; he has acted unlawfully" (Surah Hud 11:45-46). Just as it was possible for Him to exclude him from his family, even though he was his son, due to his disagreement with him in faith, it was also possible to include in his family one who is in agreement with him in faith, even if he is not of his kin. This is also what occurred with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) in His response to Umm Salamah: "You are of my family," which may also be understood in this sense. His saying that to her was similar to what He said to Wathila, as well as the hadith of Sa'd and what we have mentioned along with it from the hadiths at the beginning of this chapter, is understood as being among the people of the verse recited therein. We have complete knowledge that when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) called those he called from his family at the time of its revelation, there was no one left from among the intended people of his family except for them. If that is the case, it would be impossible for anyone other than them to be included in what was meant with them. What we have mentioned clarifies what we have described. If someone were to say, "The Book of Allah indicates that the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) are the ones intended by that verse," because He said before it in the chapter that contains it: {O Prophet, say to your wives...} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:28) to His statement: {O Women of the Prophet, you are not} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:32) to His saying: {the first ignorance} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:32). All of this could indicate that they are the ones being referred to, as it is all addressed to women, not to men. Then He said, {Indeed, Allah only wants to remove the impurity from you, O People of the Prophet's House, and to purify you with a thorough purification} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33). Our response to him would be that what followed that statement, up to the end of what He said: {Indeed, Allah only wants to remove the impurity from you}, is a discourse to His wives, and then that was followed by His address to His family with His words, Exalted and Almighty be He: {Indeed, Allah only wants to remove the impurity from you} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33). Thus, it came as an address to men, as He said in it: {to remove the impurity from you, O People of the Prophet's House, and to purify you with a thorough purification} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33). This is how the address to men and what came before it was, and it was presented in the form of the plural. We also understand that His statement: {Indeed, Allah only wants to remove the impurity from you} (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33) is an address to those He intended from among the men, to make it known to them His honor for them and the elevation of their status, by showing that He made the women of their community worthy of the description He gave them, with what is in the recited verses before the address He had with them, Exalted be He, and also what indicates this.