The Verse of Purification in Shia Sources

The Revelation of the Verse of Purification

(a) Tradition of Ummul Momineen Umm Salma

(a) Tradition of Ummul Momineen Umm Salma [1]

Shahar Bin Hoshal says: I came to Umm Salma the wife of the Holy Prophet (S) and after salaam said: ‘Have you seen this verse, O mother of believers, ‘Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a (thorough) purifying’?’ She said: ‘I and the Messenger of Allah (S) were upon the bed and under the cloak of Khyber when Fatima (s.a) came with Hasan and Husain (a.s).

The Holy Prophet (S) said: ‘Where is your cousin?’ she said, ‘at home’. He said: ‘call him’, she called him. Then he took all of them under the cloak and raised up his hands (in prayer) saying: ‘O Allah these are my Ahlul bayt (a.s). So remove from them the impurity and purify them a thorough purification.’ I was sitting opposite the Messenger of Allah (S). I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah (S), may my parents be sacrificed upon you, and what about me?’ He replied, ‘You have a good future.’ And the Verse descended, ‘Allah only desires to ...’. It concerned the Prophet (S), Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husain (a.s).

Another reference

There is another narration of Umm Salma which states that the following verse was revealed for the Prophet (S), Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husain (a.s) [2]

Umm Salma says: The verse of “Allah only desires ...” was revealed in my house. And that the Holy Prophet (S) covered them with the cloak, raised his hands (in prayer) and said: “O Allah, these are my Ahlul Bayt (a.s) so remove from them uncleanness like You removed it from the progeny of Ismail, Ishaq and Yaqoob and purify them from the uncleanness like You purified the progeny of Lut, progeny of Imran and progeny of Haroon (a.s).

From Abi Abdullah Al Jalali

From Abi Abdullah Al Jalali [3]

He said: I came to Ayesha and asked, ‘where did the verse “Allah only desires ...” descend?’ She said: “It descended at the house of Umm Salma.” But Umm Salma said that if Ayesha is asked concerning this, she will say that it descended at her house. The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Is there any one who will call for me Ali, Fatima and their two sons?” She said, “Who is there other than me?” He said, “Then do as I say.” So they all came and sat: Ali (a.s) between his hands, Husain (a.s) on his right, Hasan (a.s) on his left and Fatima (s.a) opposite him. The Prophet covered them with the cloak of Khyber and said thrice, “May the fire never approach you, you are my soul, my progeny, my Ahlul Bayt from my flesh and my blood.”