Ahl Al Bayt

wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatullahi!

Thank you for your question! As for the identity of Ahl al-Bayt in the holy verse, we dedicated a lot of ink towards this topic in our book . However, for the sake of brevity, we will address your concerns in abbreviated form. The verse in question is situated among verses that address the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny. However, it is not unlike the Qur'an to address a group and then another group and then the first group again. For example, you can refer to Q. 37:161-168 where it first refers to human beings then the Angels and then human beings again. Those familiar with the sciences of the Qur'an also know that the arrangement of the verses do not necessarily reflect the sequence and order in which they were revealed. A Meccan verse for example can be interwoven among Madinan verses. Therefore, the sequence of verses cannot always be used as a definitive proof.

All of that withstanding, the verse in question can either
a. refer to the wives exclusively
b. refer to the wives as well as Ali, Faatima, al-Hasan and al-Hussein
c. refer to Ali, Faatima, al-Hasan and al-Hussein exclusively

The first choice is eliminated because the pronouns used in the latter part of the verse changes. {Allah only intends to remove impurity from you (masculine plural) Ahl al-Bayt and purify you (masculine plural) with a thorough purification}. Whereas in the previous and subsequent verses, the pronouns used are feminine plural. This already establishes that a different group is being addressed.

As for the second choice, this is untenable for a number of reasons. There are no narrated traditions that connect this verse to the wives. As a matter of fact, most authenticated narrated traditions exclude the wives from being included. As for the authenticity of these traditions, it is well established since they were narrated by a number of Companions by a number of different chains of narrators by a number of different traditionalists with a number of different criteria of authentication. So the charge of fabrication is really out of the question.

Also consider the fact that according to the books of history and hadith, none of the wives both during the Prophet's lifetime or afterwards ever used this verse to claim authority or unique virtue. Even if we were to look at the Battle of Jamal where A'isha, one of the most notorious wives of the Prophet, attempted to rally soldiers to her cause to fight against the imam of the time, she did not use this verse as a rallying point or support. It would have been appropriate for her to use this verse to bolster her support and God-given purification from disobedience if she (and the other Muslims) believed that it referred to her; however, she didn't because she couldnt. On the other hand, when Imam al-Hasan b. Ali, upon him be peace, sought the support of the people for his leadership, he listed a plethora of unique virtues which included: "I am among the Ahl al-Bayt from whom Allah removed impurity and purified with a thorough purification!" [Ref. Maqaatil at-Taalibiyeen, Al-Kaamil fi Taarikh, Taarikh at-Tabari, Taarikh ad-Dimashq, Al-Bidaaya wan-Nihaaya, and others]

This leaves the third as the only viable option.

As for the reference to the wife of Ibrahim, upon him be peace, being referred to as Ahl al-Bayt, this is not sufficient as a proof because the speaker of Arabic knows that ahl al-bayt can be specific and general. As for the general meaning, there is ample usage in the literature. For example, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, was reported to have said regarding a housecat ((It is among the ahl al-bayt)). By this, he meant the general sense obviously. However, the use of ahl al-bayt in the verse 33:33 is specific as elucidated above and by numerous narrated traditions.

There is even a narrated tradition in which one of the narrators of the aforementioned hadith was asked whether the Ahl al-bayt in the verse referred to the wives or not, he replied that a wife could be divorced and return to her family. The question and reply are both instructive in that the questioner was in doubt as to whether the verse referred to the wives despite the verse's existence among other verses that refer to the wives specifically. Also, the reply shows that the prophet could easily divorce his wife and the virtue mentioned would cease to apply to her; however, a descendant will always be a descendant. Consequently, the unique virtue would always apply to a descendant.

Hopefully this helps!

And Allah knows best!

IRS