(Allah’s wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household…) [33:33].
Abu Bakr al-Harithi informed us> Abu Muhammad ibn Hayyan> Ahmad ibn ‘Amr ibn Abi ‘Asim> Abu’l-Rabi‘ al-Zahrani> ‘Ammar ibn Muhammad> al-Thawri> Sufyan> Abu’l-Jahhaf> ‘Atiyyah> Abu Sa‘id [al-Khudri] who said regarding the verse (Allah’s wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household…): “It was revealed about five people: the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, ‘Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, may Allah be well pleased with all of them”.
Abu Sa‘id al-Nasruyiyy informed us> Ahmad ibn Ja‘far al-Qati‘i> ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal> his father> Ibn Numayr> ‘Abd al-Malik> ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah who said: “Some of those who heard Umm Salamah related to me that she mentioned that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, was in her house when Fatimah, may Allah be well pleased with her, came with a pot containing a meat dish. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to her: ‘Call for me your husband and your sons!’ ‘Ali, al-Hasan and al-Husayn came in and sat down to eat from the meat dish while the Prophet was sitting on his place of sleep and he had under him a garment made in Khaybar. Umm Salamah said: ‘I was praying in my room when Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse (Allah’s wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household…). He grabbed the extension of the garment and covered them with it. Then, he got his hands out, raised them toward heaven and said: ‘O Allah, these are the folk of my household and my closest family members, please remove uncleanness from them and cleanse them with a thorough cleansing’. I put my head inside and said: ‘And I am with you, O Messenger of Allah!’ And he answered: ‘You will gain good! You will gain good!’ ’ ”
Abu’l-Qasim ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Sarraj informed us> Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub> al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Affan> Abu Yahya al-Hamani> Salih ibn Musa al-Qurashi> Khusayf> Sa‘id ibn Jubayr> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “This verse was revealed about the wives of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace (Allah’s wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household, and cleanse you with a thorough cleansing)”.
‘Aqil ibn Muhammad al-Jurjani informed us (through a verbal authorisation)> al-Mu‘afa ibn Zakariyya al-Qadi> Muhammad ibn Jarir> Ibn Humayd> Yahya ibn Wadih> al-Asbagh> ‘Alqamah> ‘Ikrimah who said, regarding the words of Allah, exalted is He (Allah’s wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household): “This verse was not revealed about whom you think it was revealed. Rather, it is about the wives of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace”. ‘Ikrimah used to proclaim this in the marketplace.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou