In his book entitled ‘Mustadrak Sahihayn’ Hakim quotes from son of Ja’far son of Abu Talib¹ as saying :

‘When the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) observed that the Divine blessing was forthcoming he said, ‘Call for me! Call for me!’ Safia asked ‘O Prophet of Allah! Whom should I call for you? He said, ‘Call for me the members of my family, namely, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husain’ (May peace and benediction be upon them). They were thus called to come close to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and when all of them were gathered, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) placed his cloak on them and thereafter raised his hands in supplication and said, ‘O Allah! These are the members of my family. Send your kind blessings on me and my progeny’. In the meantime Almighty Allah revealed the verse: ‘O people of the Prophet’s House! Allah intends but to remove all sorts of uncleanness and blemish from you and to purify you with a thorough purification.’ (Sura Ahzaab : 33)

After quoting this hadith Hakim says, ‘This hadith is authentic and correct as regards its sources.’

Muslim (in ‘Sahih’), Hakim² (in ‘Mustadrak’), Baihaqui (in ‘Sunan al-Kubra’) and Tabari,

IbneKathir and Suyuti (in their ‘Tafsirs’) quote from Ayesha³ with regard to this verse as having said :

‘One day the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) came out of the house⁴ carrying a printed cloak on his shoulder. At that time Hasan (a.s.) came upto him and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) accommodated him under the cloak. Then came Husain (a.s.) and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) accommodated him, too, under the cloak. Thereafter, Fatima (s.a.) approached and was accommodated under the cloak. Ali (a.s.) was the last to come and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) accommodated him also under the cloak. Thereafter, he (the Holy Prophet) recited this sacred verse: ‘O People of the Prophet’s House! Allah intends but to remove all sorts of uncleanness and blemish from you and to purify you with a thorough purification.’ (Sura Ahzaab : 33)

(b) According to the hadith quoted by Umm al-Momineen Umme Salma.⁵

In his ‘Tafsir’, Tabari has quoted Umme Salma as having said in connection with the sacred verse in question as under: -

‘When the verse, ‘O People of the Prophet’s House!’ was revealed the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) called Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husain (May peace and benediction be upon them) to himself and covered them under his cloak.’

In another hadith Umme Salma is reported to have said: ‘He placed his cloak on them.’ This hadith has also been quoted by Suyuti in his ‘Tafsir’ and has similarly been narrated by Ibn Kathir in his ‘Tafsir’.

Tabari and IbneKathir (in their ‘Tafsirs’), Tirmizi (in his ‘Sahih’) and Tahavi (in ‘Mushkil al-Athar’) have quoted ‘Umar⁶ son of Abu Salma as having said:

‘The verse, ‘O People of the Prophet’s House! ...’ was revealed to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) in the house of Umme Salma. After the revelation of this verse the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) called Hasan, Husain, and Fatima (s.a.) and made them sit in front of himself. Then he called Ali (a.s.) as well and made him sit behind his back. Then he covered himself and all of them with his cloak and said: ‘These are the People of my House. O Allah! Keep uncleanness away from them and make them clean and pure!’

Hakim (in ‘Mustadrak’) and Haithami (in ‘Majma al-Zawaid’) have quoted from Wasilat son of Asqaa that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) made Ali (a.s.) and Fatima (s.a.) sit in front of himself and placed Hasan (a.s.) and Husain (a.s.) on his knees or took them in his arms. And this hadith had also been quoted by Ibne Kathir and Suyuti (in their ‘Tafsirs’) and Bahiqui (in ‘Sunan’) and Ahmad bin Hanbal (in ‘Musnad’).

(a) As narrated in the hadith quoted by Abu Saeed Khudri:⁸

Suyuti has quoted Abu Saeed in ‘Durr al-Manthur’ as having said, ‘The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) was in the house of Umme Salma when Jibraeel descended and brought the verse, ‘O People of the Prophet’s House.......’

Abu Saeed says, ‘At that time the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) called Hasan, Husain, Fatima, and Ali (Peace be upon them) and made them come near him and spread his cloak on them when Umme Salma too, was sitting behind the curtain. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: ‘O Allah! These are the members of my family. Keep uncleanness away from them and make them pure’.

Ibne Kathir, Suyuti, Bahiqui, Tahavi and Khateeb in ‘Tareekh al-Baghdad’ have quoted Umme Salma as having said, ‘The verse, ‘O People of the Prophet’s House.....’, was revealed in my house and Fatima, Ali, Hasan, and Husain (a.s.) were in the room. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) spread his cloak on them and said: ‘These are the members of my family. (O Allah!) Remove uncleanness from them and make them pure’. And Hakim too has quoted Umme Salma in ‘Mustadrak’ as having said, ‘This verse was revealed in my house’.

Umme Salma has been quoted in the following books:-

Tirmizi narrated in his ‘Sahih’ in the chapter relating to the attainments of Fatima (s.a.) and similarly in ‘Riaz al-Nuzrah’ and ‘Tehzib al-Tehzib’ that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, ‘O Allah! These are the members of my family. Ward off uncleanness from them and make them pure.’

Ahmad also narrates in his ‘Musnad’ that Umme Salma said, ‘I put my head into the room and asked, ‘Am I also among you?’ The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, ‘You have a good future’.

Hakim, too, narrates that Umme Salma said, ‘O Prophet of Allah! Am I not one of the members of your family?’ The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) replied: ‘You have a good future but only these are the members of my family. O Lord! The members of my family are more deserving.’

In the ‘Tafsir’ of Suyuti and in ‘Mushkil al-Athar’ Umme Salma has been quoted to have said: ‘The verse, ‘O People of the Prophet’s House!.....’ was revealed in my house and at that time there were seven persons present in the room namely (besides the Holy Prophet) Jibraeel, Mikaeel, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain (May peace and benediction be upon them) and I was standing at the door of the house and said:

‘O Prophet of Allah! Am I not one of the members of your family?’ He replied, ‘You have a good future and you are one of the wives of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.).’

In ‘Tafsir’ of Tabari, Abu Saeed Khudri is reported to have narrated that Umme Salma had said, ‘This verse was revealed in my house and I was sitting at the door of the house.’ It has also been narrated in the same ‘Tafsir’ that Umme Salma said, ‘The members of the Holy Prophet’s family gathered around him and he covered them with a cloak which he was carrying on his shoulder and said, ‘These are the members of my family. Ward off uncleanness from them and make them pure’. And this verse was revealed when they were sitting on the ground. I said, ‘O Prophet of Allah! Am I not also one of the members of your family?’ I swear by the Almighty that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) did not grant me any distinction and said: ‘You have a good future’.