Translation of Sahih Muslim, Translator: Abdul Hamid Siddiqui
Book 31: Kitab Fada'il al-Sahabah
Pertaining to The Merits of The Companions (r)
of The Holy Prophet (s)
Chapter 9 : The Merits of The Family of The Prophet (s) (Ahlul-Bayt)
'Aisha reported that Allah's Apostle (s) went out one norning wearing a striped cloak of the black camel's hair that there came Hasan b. 'Ali. He wrapped hitn under it, then came Husain and he wrapped him under it along with the other one (Hasan). Then came Fatima and he took her under it, then came 'Ali and he also took him under it and then said: Allah only desires to take away any uncleanliness from you, O' people of the household, and purify you (thorough purifying)
One can see that the author of Sahih Muslim confirms that:
1.Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain are the Ahlul-Bayt,
2.The purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33) was revealed for the virtue of the above-mentioned individuals, and NOT for the wives of the Prophet (s).
Muslim (the Author) did not put any other tradition in this section (section of the virtues of Ahlul-Bayt). If the author of Sahih Muslim believed that the wives of the Prophet were included in Ahlul-Bayt, he would have quoted some traditions about them in this section.
It is interesting to see that Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (s) is the narrator of the above tradition, and she herself is testifying that Ahlul- Bayt are the above-mentioned individuals (i.e., Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, may the blessing of Allah be upon them all).
Another version of the Hadith al-Kessa (Tradition of Cloak) is written in Sahih al-Tirmidhi (v5, pp 351,663), which is narrated in the authority of Umar Ibn Abi Salama, the son of Umm Salama (another wife of Prophet), which is as follows:
The verse "Verily Allah intends to ... (33:33)" was revealed to the Prophet (s) in the house of Umm Salama. Upon that, the Prophet gathered Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain, and covered them with a cloak, and he also covered Ali who was behind him. Then the Prophet said: "O' Allah! These are the Members of my House (Ahlul-Bayt). Keep them away from every impurity and purify them with a perfect purification." Umm Salama (the wife of Prophet) asked: "Am I also included among them O Apostle of Allah?" the Prophet replied: "You remain in your position and you are toward a good ending."
As we see, al-Tirmidhi also confirms that Imam Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, and al-Husain are the
Ahlul-Bayt, and the purification sentence in Quran (the last sentence of Verse 33:33) was revealed
for the virtue of the above-mentioned individuals, and NOT for the wives of the Prophet
(s). Also it is apparent from above authentic tradition that the Prophet himself excluded
his wives from Ahlul-Bayt. If Umm Salama (r) was among Ahlul-Bayt, why didn't the Prophet
answer her positively? Why didn't he enter her into the cloak? Why did the Prophet tell her that she
remains in her own position? If the Prophet (s) would consider Umm Salama among
Ahlul-Bayt, he would surely have entered her to the cloak and would have prayed for her perfect purity as well.
