A Research Study of the Hadiths (Narrations) Related to the Verse of Purification

The verse of purification is a testimony to the infallibility of the Holy Prophet’s Household. Muslim scholars present two possible views about who are “the Holy Prophet’s Household” mentioned in this verse. Most of them agree that it is “Al-e- Kasa (people of the Clock) and the Holy Prophet’s wives” or only "the Five People of Al-e- Kasa" who are meant here. An inquiry into the transmitted hadiths shows that the hadiths which affirm that the verse means only Al-e- Kasa are strongly emphasized. The Holy Prophet’s wives themselves relate from the Prophet as saying that the verse they are not meant in this verse. Furthermore, the words and action of the Holy Prophet prove that the verse refers to none other than Al-e- Kasa (i.e. the Prophet, Imam Ali- his daughter, Fatimah, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein- peace be upon them). Contrarily, there is a number of accounts which consider that the verse refers to “the Holy Prophet’s wives” or “Al-e-Kasa and the Holy Prophet’s wives, but the weakness in their texts and authenticity proves that they are not reliable. These hadiths strongly rely on a narration attributed to ‘Akramah and Ibn ‘Abbas. Given the fact that this narration has not come in the first-hand Shi’a and Sunni narrative sources besides the weakness of the authenticity and characteristics of its narrators- ‘Akramah and Ibn ‘Abbas-,it is rendered invalid.