A033
Surah: 033 - Ayah: 033
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33:33
Ahl al-bayt (The people of the house of Muhammad (s.a.s.))
It is mentioned in verse (33:33): "O you the people of the house (of the Prophet)! Verily Allah intends but to keep off from you (every kind of) uncleanness and purify you with a thorough purification." By the people of the house or ahl-i bayt are meant the holy Prophet himself, Hazrat cAli, Hazrat Fatimah, Hazrat Hasan and Hazrat Husayn. (Muslim, IV, 1883; Tirmidhi, V, 663)
The pure body of the holy Prophet is referred to in the verse (33:33). This purity is both external and internal, in which the Perfect Men are with the Prophet. Further, the best manners (khuluqin `azim = an exalted standard of character, 68:4) are also a model for the people. We must say without any hesitation, that these manners or habits are those of God, which the Prophet, the mercy of the world, had adopted. Therefore, it is said: “Takhallaqu bi-akhlaqi'llah (Adopt the manners of God!)”. Perfect faith (iman-i kamil) implies that belief and ideology are common, but perfect faith is special. The satisfied soul is the developed form of the soul (89:28). The Qur'anic name of the sound intellect, is the sound heart (26:89; 37:84).
The Holy Spirit literally means the sacred soul. It is the mazhar (locus of manifestation) of the Divine name quddus (the Holy). Therefore, the Holy Spirit itself is pure and keeps pure from all kinds of uncleanliness all those from whom, according to the Divine command, it manifests in the form of knowledge, wisdom, rectitude and guidance. This is the purport of the verse which is revealed about the pure ahl al-bayt (the Family of the Holy Prophet): "Indeed Allah wishes to remove (all kinds of) uncleanliness from you, O ahl al-bayt, and purify you as ought to be purified." (33:33). Thus the ahl al-bayt are called "Five Holy Persons (panj tan-i pak)" because of this Holy Spirit. The purpose of God in keeping them away from all kinds of uncleanliness is to grant them the lofty ranks of heavenly revelation and Divine knowledge and make them the model of mercy and means of guidance for the people of the world.
Therefore, ahl al-bayt means the people of the house of prophethood, namely, panjtan-I pak. Here by the house is meant the Holy Prophet’s spiritual place and rank where he always used to receive revelation. Thus the real meaning of ahl al-bayt is the panj tan-I pak, who were the companions of the Prophet in the house of spirituality and his confidants in Devine knowledge; they were purified and unified by the Holy Spirit. The example of the unity of their heart and soul is evident from the meaning of “ ᾱl-I cabᾱ ( the people of the cloak)”. This is the title of the panj tan-I pak. The reason for this title is that on the revelation of the verse of “Tathir” (33:33), according to the Divine command, the Prophet made the ahl-bayt sit under the same clock with him. This signifies that although physically the ahl-bayt are five, but with respect to the spirit, they are one, and the spirit with respect to which they are one is the Holy Spirit. Thus the ta’wil of the sitting of the panj tan-I pᾱk under one cloak and the revelation of the verse “Tathir ( purification)” about them is that they are immersed in the spirituality of the Holy Spirit aand are purified from every kind of uncleanliness.
Question: In what sense had the Holy Prophet considered Salman-i Farsi part of the Ahl-i bayt? Which
"bayt (house)" was meant? Is Salman-i Farsi included in the five holy persons mentioned in the verse of purification (33:33)? Are all the Imams of guidance who are going to come also mentioned in this verse?
Answer: The Holy Prophet included Salman-i Farsi in the holy Ahl-i bayt in the sense that he had become their companion because he had entered the house of luminosity by his obedience and devotion. Here by the house is meant the house of light and luminosity. Yes, in the verse of purification (33:33) Salman is also included although apparently he was not included in the demonstration of the cloak (kisa’), because this demonstration was meant only symbolically and because in reality, these individuals were purified at different times. In the verse of purification all the holy Imams are included because each of the Imams lives
in this house of light that the five holy persons lived in. It is for this reason that the term "Ahl-i bayt" is applicable to every Imam.
Zahra’:
Root: Za’, ha’, ra’. Zahra’ whose masculine form is azhar, means bright, brilliant, splendid, radiant. It stems from zahara, which means glittering and brightening of a lamp, moon or face. Zuhrah is another word from the same root zahara, which is used in the sense of beauty. This same zuhrah is the name of a star, which was considered to be the goddess of beauty. In short, all those virtues and perfections, which should be in the Chief of the ladies of paradise were present in the pure and holy personality of Fatimah-yi Zahra’. She was pure intellectually, spiritually and physically in the fullest sense of purity, for God in the verse of Tathir (purification) has given the guarantee of the perfect and complete purity of the Ahl al-bayt of the Prophet (33:33). In this world material things are purified in many ways, but the best purification takes place by the sun’s rays and then by water. When water in reaching the ocean becomes turbid, the sun elevates it by rarifying and purifying it and causes it to rain in the form of pure water (25:48). This example reveals the reality that the purification of the Ahl al-bayt is from the rain of light, which is purification par excellence.
This verse has been referred 11 times.