Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an :
“And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former times of ignorance: and establish regular prayer, and give regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye members of the family, and to make you pure and spotless.” Quran 33 : 33
It was narrated by ‘Aisha
( May Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah 
once went out in the morning suspending a cloth
over his hair; When he saw Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali appearing, he hid it ,then came
Hussein and entered with him.When ‘Ali and his spouse Fatima came, he hid it and
said:
“ And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye members of the family, and to make you pure and spotless.” Quran (33:33)
The Shi’ite adherents claim that all members of the household of the Prophet and their posterity are infallible. And thus, it is a must to obey them.; For they deserve to be Imams. They do support their claim categorically with the above mentioned Qur’anic verse and the Prophetic Tradition. How true is their claim?
Commentary:
Indeed the purification verse was revealed in favor of the Prophet’s wives, as God Almighty stated in the Holy Qur’an:
“ O consorts of the Prophet! You are not like any of the (other) women. If you do fear (Allah), be not too complaisant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire: but speak ye a speech (that is) just.”
“ And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former times of ignorance: and establish regular prayer, and give regular charity,and obey Allah and His Messenger. Ang Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye members of the family and to make you pure and spotless.”
“ And recite what is rehearsed to you in your homes of the signs of Allah and His wisdom: For allah understands the finest mysteries and is well-acquainted (with them) “ Quran 33:32-34
So, whoever ponders these verses with a clear and objective mind, without prejudice will come to a conclusion that they were revealed exclusively in favor of the Prophet’s Consorts. Moreover, if one fathoms the verse: “ Stay quietly in your house…… will find out that, it is only one verse and the Messenger’s wives are the only ones addressed therein.
This might lead us to
quesion ourselves: If the verse addressed only the wives of the Prophet
, why didn’t it contain a feminine pronoun
of (Meem) instead of using an article implying plural of men? It should be clear
that the Messenger of Allah was the
head of his household. So, in order to include him, it was incumbent to use the
article “ Meem” that denotes talking about a group of men. For he was a man and
a leader of his household. For more explanation of this, we should refer to the
verse wherein Allah talks about Prophet Ibraahim (Pbuh).
“ They said: Do you wonder of Allah’s decree? The grace of Allah and His blessings on you, oh ye people of the house ! For He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of glory.” Quran 11 : 73
Since Abraham was also included in his family, the Holy Qur’an addressed his wife using musculine plural of men with the article ”Meem” as it is customary in the Arabic grammar. For the plural of men is applied even though there is only one man in the group of females according to the classical Arabic. Moreover, in Arabic, a wife is addressed as ”Ahl”, which also means ” People” as revealed in the verse wherein Allah almighty was talking about Prophet Moses sa
Allah Almighty says : ” Now when Moses had fulfilled the term, and was travelling with his family…” Quran 28 : 29
So, what do you find strange if this verse was addressed solely to the wives of the Prophet (Pbuh), though the article of musculine plural was applied ?!
2. What proves that this
verse was revealed solely for the wives of the Prophet ,is the Prophetic Tradition itself. In this regard, Prophet
Muhammad prayed for his close
relatives, including his in-laws and said: ( O Allah! Those are also
members of my family, O Allah purify them. )
Suppose the verse was
addressed to them, confirming that Allah had purified them, why could the
Prophet need to invoke Allah
Almighty to include this kith and kin in the purification promise ?!!
3. The household of the Messenger of Allah s includes his wives, Imam Ali, Lady Fatima, the two Imams Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein, and Zaid ibn Al-Arqam who was asked about the household of the Prophet and said in the Hadith: ( His spouses are a fibre of his household ). He went further to explain that his household includes also the people who were not allowed to receive any charity namely: the relatives of Ali, the kindred of Ja’afar, the family of Aqeel, and the kinsfolk of Al-Abbas. Therefore, the concept of the Prophet’s household encompasses also Al-Abbas- the son Abdul Muttalib, the kith and kin of ‘ Aqeel bin abi Talib, and the family of Ja’afar bin Abi Talib, as stated in the Tradition (Hadith) of Zaid bin Al-Arqaam. It also includes the family of Al-Harith bin Abdul Muttalib, due to what the Messenger s told Rabbea bin Al-Harith and Al-Abbas bin Abdil Muttalib: ( Verily , the family of Muhammad does not deserve any charity , for it is people’s filth ) Sahih Muslim
Even though, we accept the infallibility of the Shi’ite Imams, we will come to a conclusion that it is not logical or Substantial for a non-prophet to be infallible whatsoever he may be.
4. Referring to the above
mentioned verse, and deducting therefrom that Allah’s
purification from abomination was meant also for the in-laws and the entire kith
and kin of the Messenger of Allah
,prompts a person to wonder and get surprised. The reason for that is
self-evident and palpable for everybody.
The aforementioned Hadeeth
mentions Fatima ( the daughter of the prophet May Allah be pleased with
her ) as part and percel of the people who were meant for purification among
the family members of the Prophet
The Imamite Shi’ah claim that Allah Almighty granted the Shi’ite Imams infalliblity because the task they were to be assigned to undertake required of them to be so. The task they were to undertake was to lead people and to apply the Divine Laws of Allah Almighty in Judging among mankind. Now the question casts itself, suppose what they claim is correct, is Lady Fatima ( May Allah be pleased with her ) a prophet or an Imam to be infallible?! Why she should be infallible if she is not a prophet or an Imam ( like how shia believe ) ?!!
Allah Almighty bestowed the attribute of infallibility on the Prophets and Messengers because they had a task ahead of them that was to convey the message revealed to them to their respective peoples and to safeguard the supernatural message they were entrusted with by Allah Almighty.
5. Since the purification
verse was revealed in regard to the wives of the Allah’s
Messenger and Allah Almighty affirmed to make them pure and spotless, the
Messenger of Allah gathered his
closest kith and kin and invoked Allah Almighty to purify them as promised his
wives (Prophet’s).
He thus said in his
supplication: ( O Allah ! those are my kith and kin, remove all
abomination from them and make them pure and spotless ). So after Umm
Salama saw that the Messenger of Allah had included Ali, Fatima, Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein in the members of
his household, she requested him earnestly to include her among the people he
supplicated for. The Messenger of Allah informed her undoubtedly that there was
no need for himto include her among his kith and kin since she was one of his
wives, and the verse was revin their regard. This is a sound evidence that
states categorically the fact that the verse was not revealed in regard of the
Prophet’s kith and kin but rather it was addressing his
wives.Had it been addressing also his kith and kin there would be no need for
him to gather his daughter, son -in-law and his grandsons to invoke Allah to
include them among his spouses who were promised to be purified.
6. In the verse: ” And Allah wishes only to remove all abomination from you, ye members of the family, and to make you pure and spotless.” Allah’s statement was not to assure them that they had already been purified, but rather to stipulate a condition that if they obeyed Him, He would remove all abomination from them and thus purify them. He only wished to purify them if they met this Condition.
If you analyze the context, you will find that Allah Almighty was giving the prophet’s wives some divine directions to do all what He commanded them and to abstain from what He forbade. He thus informed them that if they Conformed to his commands and abstained from what he forbade, He would reward them by removing all abomination from them and make them pure and stainless.
It should be noted that God Almighty has used this pattern of speech to address our predecessors. Consider the following verse:
“ Allah does not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favor upon you , that ye may be grateful.” Quran 5 : 6
In another verse, He thus says: “Allah does wish to make clear to you and to show you the ordinances of those before you.” Quran 4 : 26
He also says: “ Allah does wish to lighten your (difficulties): For man was created weak (in flesh ). “ Quran 4 : 28
The wish of Allah expressed in the above mentioned verses comes as a condition of being loyal to His commands, to love Him and make Him pleased with you. Otherwise, without fulfilling this condition, His wish cannot come into reality, i.e the purification cannot occur.
7. The main aim of the
Prophet in his aforementioned
Hadeeth was to pray for his kith and kin to get all their abomination removed
from them by Allah, and to be purified as well. This implies that he prayed for
them to be among the pious believers who were purified by Allah Almighty. Hence,
avoiding abomination is a must for all the believers. For Allah Almighty wishes
to purify all the believers who subscribe only to Him in their acts of devotion
and not only the family of the Prophet
. Although the Prophet’s kith and kin are more entitled to get the
purification of Allah Almighty, the verse does not restrict Allah’s purification
to them only, to be regarded as impeccable. Allah Almighty says:
“ Allah does not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean and to complete His favour to you, that ye may be grateful.” Quran 5 : 6
In another verse, God Almighty says: “ For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly in repentance and loves also those who keep themselves pure and clean.” Quran 2 : 222
So, as Allah Almighty told us of His wish to purify members of the prophet’s family, He so informed us of His wish to purify the believers as well. Therefore, if we suppose that the wish of Allah to purify the believers was meant to make them impeccable, then all sincere pious believers are infallible.
8. The purification mentioned in the aforementioned verse was not meant to make the kith and kin of the Messenger of Allah infallible, but rather to remove all abomination and mischief from them. This style is widely used in the Holy Qur’an. We read in the Holy Qur’an:
“ Of their goods take alms, so that ye might purify them and sanctify them………” Quran 9 : 103
You will never find anybody say that the purification mentioned in the afore-mentioned verses was meant to make the Prophet’s family members infallible. We also read in the Holy Qur’an:
“ And thy garments keep thee from stain…… “ Quran 74 : 4
This is mentioned in many verses of the holy Qur’an. The stain here implies filth and dirt. By this Allah Almighty alludes to polytheism (Shirk). To substantiate this explanation and interpretation, Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:
“……. But shun the abomination of idols …” Quran 22:30
Also the word stain may mean , the forbidden foods and drinks as Allah has plainly stated:
“ Say: I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meal) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it unless it be dead meat, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine, for it is an abomination or what is impious, (meat) “ Quran 6 : 145
Another example is the following verse;
“ O ye who believe! Most certainly, intoxicants and gambling, (dedication) of stones and (divination by ) arrows, are an abomination of Satans handiwork, eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper.” Quran 5 : 90
There is no verse however, in the Holy Qur’an that refers to “stain” as to mean sins. For if it means sins, then the verse of purification came to confirm that those of the prophetic family were infallible from committing sins.
9. The verse does not
whatsoever mean that purification has already taken place, but it rather asserts
explicitly the will of Allah Almighty to purify the Staunch and sincere wives of
the prophet . From the previous
argument, we also deduct that the Messenger of Allah was eager to pray for his immediate and other relatives to
be included in the verse of purification, in order to achieve the same as his
spouses were promised.
Worthy of mention, is that whenever the Messenger Of Allah went to perform the daily obligatory prayer, he used to pass by the house of his cousin and son-in-law, Ali and his spouse Fatima, reminding them of the obligation of prayer by saying:
( Stick to the mandatory prayers, O members of the family! )
After this exhortation, he used to recite to them the following verse:
“ Allah so wills to remove all abomination from you O members of the family, and to make you pure and stainless.”
As stated before in the same verse. By this, he was reminding them, especially Ali, of performing Obligatory prayers in congregation in the mosque. For if one observes all obligatory acts of worship and obey Allah fully, then his reward will be to purify him from all abomination and stains.
10. If we presume that the
purification verse was revealed only to address the relatives of the Prophet
and not his spouses, so the
purification stated in the verse does not suit them, due to following Qur’anic
text in which Allah Almighty says: “ But He so will to purify you and
complete His favors on you.” He so addresses His servants in so many
other Qur’anic verses. So, if the aim of Allah Almighty in purifying the spouses
of the Prophet was to make them
infallible, it would necessitate us to say that all the believers are
infallible, following the Qur’anic verse which states that Allah Almighty so
Wills to purify them. I am pretty sure that neither the Sunnis nor the Shi’as
can allege that analogy. So how can the purification theory be executed in
respect of some sects of people and leave others out of bound? Can’t you see
that in this preposition, there is some whimsical and temperamental inclination?
There is no any scientific methodology in it.
It is surprising that the
Shi’ite Scholars cling to the purification verse and allege that is was revealed
with regard to the relatives of the Prophet , leaving out anything that deals with the purification. By this,
they claim that only the relatives of the Prophet are infallible. They thus intend to forget other verses that
Allah Almighty revealed to purify the companions the Holy Prophet from all abomination. We read for
example.” But He so wishes to purify you and complete His favor
on you.” They besides, slander the rightly guided Companions of the
Holy Prophet and allege that they will
be caused to turn upside down as a punishment for them. They claim this, inspite
of the fact that Allah Almighty confirmed His Will to purify the sincere
Companions of the Holy Prophet. You find many parities in the assumptions of the
Shi’ite Scholars, that cause you to shake your head incessantly and come to a
conclusion that, it is not but bigotry towards their Sect and utter hatred of
the rightly guided Companions of the Holy Prophet
11. To remove abomination
from the kith and kin of the Prophet does not entitle them to be Imams. Now we are on the outset of
looking for an evidence either from the Holy Qur’an or from the Hadith that
confirms the religious leadership of the Prophet’s relatives. If it is said that
among the pre-requisites of the Imamite is to be infallible, then the following
question casts itself; What do you say regarding Fatima bin Muhammad , who was
among his daughters and among the relatives who included in the purification
verse? Can we enforce the same principle on her and regard her as one of the
Imam? If they say no, then we should cast the following question; which is
matter of factly a quotation from a lengthy Qur’anic verse “ Do you
only believe in some portions of the book ( i.e. Qur’an) and disbelieve in the
others? ” You should either implement what you claim totally or admit
its futility. But tampering with the Qur’anic verses and trying to fix them in
some places to suit your desires without objectivity, is in fact, playing about
with the Holy Book of Allah! May Allah forbid!
However, I don’t think
that whoever follows the path of claiming the infallibility of the kith and kin
of the Messenger of Allah , is
committing less than bigotry and sticks to the wrong notions and assumptions,
and wrongly or intentionally misunderstands the Holy Book of Allah. May Allah
Almighty help us and save us from such dissimulators and hypocrites.