Shia and Sunni Exegetes on the Manifestation of Ahlulbayt in Ayat al-Tathir

The manifestation of 'Ahlulbayt (AS) in Ayat al-Tathir (verse of purification) is one of the highly contentious and controversial issues among the two branches of faith. Given the ideological significance of this verse i.e. verse 33 of Chapter al-Ahzab, the researcher tries to investigate various concepts that may be inferred from the verse as well as the oral and contextual relationships and the opinions of the exegetes of the two major branches of faith, to identify the main and real concept of Ahlulbayt (AS) in Ayat al-Tathir. Some Sunni commentators and exponents have said that the term Ahlulbayt (household) refers to the causal relatives of the Prophet i.e. the wives of the Prophet (S), and some others believe that in addition to the Prophet's wives, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussein, peace be upon them are also included. However, some Sunni scholars are of the view that only the five members of the Cloak are among the Ahlulbayt (AS) of the Prophet (S). The writer concludes that the reasons and arguments presented by the exegetes of both branches of faith can be categorized into three traditional, literary and contextual categories. Sunnis have relied on reports from Umm Salamah, 'Aisha, 'Akramah while presenting their views and notions. They have examined the concept of Ahlulbayt (AS) and the pronouns used in verses 28 to verse 34, as well as the coherence and relationship of the verse in question with the preceding and following ones.