The Effect of Verbal Sentences on Understanding the Verse of Purification: An Examination of Context and Divine Will

Abstract: The Verse of Purification (إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا) refers to the distinctive qualities of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and conveys God’s continuous and perpetual will to purify them. In this verse, the use of verbal sentences, which indicate occurrence and continuity, emphasizes that the purification of the Ahl al-Bayt continues not only at the time of the verse’s revelation but in all times. This clearly shows that the Ahl al-Bayt (a) are under divine protection and purification and are never exposed to sin or impurity. The distinction between verbal and nominal sentences in Arabic is also highly significant: nominal sentences indicate stability and lack an indication of occurrence and time, whereas verbal sentences—especially in the Verse of Purification—indicate the occurrence and continuity of purification.

In the first session of Fatimiyya in the year 1403, the meaning of the Verse of Purification and its grammatical analysis were examined in detail, with emphasis on the fact that the purification of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) is a continuous and perpetual process ordained by God for this noble household.

The noble verse, إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا, known as the Verse of Purification, appears in Surah al-Ahzab. It introduces one of the unique characteristics of those described by the expression “Ahl al-Bayt.” In light of the narrations of the Shi‘a and their opponents, one definite instance of this noble verse is حضرت صدیقه طاهره سلام الله علیها. To understand the characteristics of those encompassed by this noble verse, its meaning must be carefully considered. Since the Noble Qur’an is expressed in Arabic and belongs to the category of speech, grammatical rules cannot be disregarded in its analysis. Precisely identifying the role of words in a sentence is necessary for correctly understanding its message. Examining all the words of this noble verse and determining the role of each one is a very broad and beneficial subject; here, however, attention is given to the structure of the verse in terms of its being a verbal sentence.

A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb, while a nominal sentence is one that begins with a noun. The latter has two forms: in the first, all elements of the sentence (the subject and predicate) are nouns; in the second, only one element is a noun (the subject is a noun and the predicate is a verb). In Arabic, sentences are divided into nominal and verbal sentences. A nominal sentence, when both its subject and predicate are nouns, has no tense and merely indicates the stability and realization of a meaning without referring to occurrence or renewal. A verbal sentence, by contrast, necessarily has a tense because it contains a verb and indicates the emergence and occurrence of an event in the past, present, or future, since the very nature of a verb expresses occurrence. In the Verse of Purification, the three verbs «يُرِيدُ», «لِيُذْهِبَ», and «يُطَهِّرَكُمْ» are used; all three are present-tense verbs and therefore carry tense and indicate occurrence and emergence.

🔹 Indication of occurrence: Every verb inherently indicates the emergence and occurrence of an event, because the concept of a verb is meaningless without considering its realization and occurrence.

🔹 Indication of time: The imperfect verb always has a temporal dimension and indicates continuity and renewal in the occurrence of the action. In this verse, «يُرِيدُ» (“He wills”) denotes the continuous Divine will, while «لِيُذْهِبَ» and «يُطَهِّرَكُمْ» likewise indicate the realization and continuance of the removal of impurity and the purification of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).

Therefore, according to the apparent meaning of the verse, God always and continuously wills to remove impurity from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and purify them. This act is a continuous Divine process that extends through the time of the verse’s revelation, before it, and after it.

🔹 The contradiction in interpreting the verse as a nominal sentence: If this verse is interpreted as a nominal sentence, it would contradict the apparent meaning of the verse, because a nominal sentence has no time reference and, although it indicates the fixedness and realization of a meaning, it does not indicate the occurrence and taking place of an action. Yet, in the Verse of Purification, the removal of impurity and purification are presented as a Divine act that is taking place and continuing. Therefore, interpreting it as a nominal sentence would disregard the verb’s indication of occurrence, time, and continuity.

The essential point is this: if the clauses of the Verse of Purification were nominal rather than verbal, or were interpreted as such, the result would be that God’s will for the “removal of impurity” from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) would also include other persons, including the Prophet’s wives (s), even if only for a short period.

🔹 Why?

✅ The key difference between a nominal sentence and a verbal sentence is that:

For example, in the nominal sentence «إِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ», death has been established for them, but it has not yet occurred; rather, it will certainly take place in the future. Here, the nominal sentence does not indicate actual occurrence, but only fixedness.

Some Sunni exegetes and lexicographers who attach great importance to the context of the verse believe that the sentences before and after the Verse of Purification concern the wives of the Prophet (PBUH); therefore, this verse too must be interpreted within the same context. Accordingly, in order to harmonize the Verse of Purification with its context, they have interpreted the sentence as nominal so as to broaden its scope. In that case, the purification of the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH) would be a fixed matter, but without indicating occurrence and continuity.

Because all the sentences in the Verse of Purification are verbal sentences, and this itself is evidence that context is not operative in this verse.

The sentences of the Verse of Purification are verbal sentences, and this shows that this divine will is occurring and continuing. Had it been a nominal sentence, context could have affected its interpretation, because a nominal sentence lacks an indication of occurrence. But since it is a verbal sentence and indicates origination, time, and continuity, context cannot remove it from being exclusive to the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH).

1️⃣ The difference between the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and other human beings: God has exercised a special and continuous will concerning the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), distinguishing them from all other people. This difference is not merely a fixed and static attribute; rather, it is an ongoing and continuous divine act that persists at every moment.

2️⃣ The unique status of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them): Because this divine will is continuous, the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) are always under God’s special will. This shows that their purification is something beyond personal choice or individual piety; rather, they are encompassed by God’s perpetual creative will.

3️⃣ Impurity has never reached them and never will: Since the verbs in the verse indicate continuity, impurity—whatever its meaning may be, whether sin, polytheism, outward or inward uncleanness—has never reached the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) in the past, present, or future, nor will it ever do so. Had the sentence been nominal, it might have been possible that impurity had reached them in the past and was later removed from them; but the present-tense verb shows that impurity has, from the outset, never even come near them.

4️⃣ The special emphasis in the verse indicates the broad scope of purification: If the purpose of the verse were merely the avoidance of sin, this degree of emphasis in the verbs would not have been necessary. Yet it employs three consecutive verbs:

The syntactic structure of sentences in the Qur’an is not accidental. Wherever necessary, God has used a nominal sentence, and wherever the context required it, He has presented the sentence in verbal form. Careful attention to these structures clarifies many of the Qur’an’s subtle and conceptual points.

📌 An example of a nominal sentence in the Verse of Wilāyah: in the verse, “Indeed, your guardian is only Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe …”

“اللَّهُ” is the subject (mubtadaʾ), and “وَلِيُّكُم” is the predicate (khabar). In the verse, “Indeed, your guardian is only Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe …,” the sentence is nominal. In this structure, اللَّهُ is the subject and لِيكُمْ is the predicate. Given the grammatical characteristics of a nominal sentence, it signifies firmness and permanence; that is, Allah’s guardianship for the believers is a fixed and everlasting matter. This permanence is detached from time and is not confined to any particular time. In a nominal sentence, because the predicate is expressed by a noun and no verb plays a role in it, it indicates continuity and stability and makes no reference to occurrence or change in time. This means that Allah’s guardianship for the believers is equally fixed and established in the past, present, and future and has no temporal limitation whatsoever. In other words, Allah’s being the guardian of the believers is an enduring reality that is never affected by time or its changes. This feature is among the principal characteristics of the nominal sentence, which is clearly observable in this verse.

In the verse, “Indeed, your guardian is only Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe …,” Allah’s guardianship is expressed in the form of a nominal sentence. Because of its particular significance, this grammatical choice indicates firmness and does not emphasize the occurrence of an act or time. In other words, the established nature of guardianship for Allah has no dependence on time and is detached from time. This means that one cannot conceive of a time in which Allah is a guardian and another time in which He is not. This nominal indication is not exclusive to Allah; rather, it also occurs in the same manner for the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) and those who believe. That is, divine guardianship for the believers is expressed in the form of a nominal sentence, which indicates the perpetual and fixed nature of guardianship. In this grammatical structure, the guardianship of the Messenger and the guardianship of the believers are likewise firm and permanent, like Allah’s guardianship, and are never affected by temporal changes. In the noble verse, the subject includes Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe, while the predicate is وليكم, mentioned as a fronted predicate. According to the grammatical rule, when the subject is plural, the predicate should also be plural; therefore, the word أوليائكم should have been used instead of وليكم. Yet, contrary to this rule, وليكم has appeared in the singular, which conveys an important point. This grammatical structure shows that all dimensions of Allah’s guardianship also apply to the Messenger and to those who believe. In other words, Allah’s guardianship is established for the Messenger of Allah and those who believe in the same way that it is established for “كم.” These points are clearly derived from the nominal structure of the verse and are highly significant for a deeper understanding of it. Ultimately, this nominal structure in the verse indicates the firmness and continuity of guardianship: the guardianship of Allah, the Messenger, and the believers is never affected by time or its changes and is a fixed and enduring reality.

In the Verse of Purification as well, one cannot overlook its grammatical structure. To understand the verse’s precise meaning, one must attend to the manner in which the verse itself is expressed and avoid the interpreter’s mental presuppositions. The Verse of Purification introduces unique characteristics for the referents of “Ahl al-Bayt” that cannot in any way be confined merely to infallibility. Although sinlessness and avoidance of error and lapse have been stated for earlier prophets and even for those who were not prophets or messengers but were chosen by Allah, such as Lady Mary, this expression appears specifically concerning “Ahl al-Bayt” in the Verse of Purification through a verbal sentence and a present-tense verb.

It is very important that the divine will to remove impurity from Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa) is stated in this verse in an exclusive and restricted manner. These characteristics and this divine will are mentioned only for Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa), and this verse says nothing specifically about other individuals, even other prophets. Therefore, the Verse of Purification clearly indicates ranks and virtues that are immensely great and beyond reach. This verse demonstrates the special and unique state of Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa), who are under continuous divine protection and purification, such that they are never exposed to sin or error and their purification is everlasting and permanent.

This text is the lecture from the first session during the Fatimiyyah days of 1400, in which the Verse of Purification and the importance of “the verbal nature of the sentences” are analyzed. In this session, it is explained that the present-tense verbs in the Verse of Purification indicate a continuous and specific divine will to purify Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). The discussion also notes that this purification belongs specifically and exclusively to Ahl al-Bayt, not to others. This lecture contributes to a deeper understanding of the meaning of the verse and the spiritual rank of Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her).