Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

Hence Ibn ʿAbbās L would say:
نزلت في نساء النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم خاصة
It was revealed regarding the wives of Nabī H specifically. 1
And ʿIkrimah 2 would say:
من شاء باهلته أنها نزلت في أزواج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم.‏
Whoever wants, I can enter into a Mubāhalah (mutual imprecation) with
him and claim that it was revealed regarding the wives of Nabī H. 3
Furthermore, according to majority of the scholars of the principles of Sharīʿah
the scenario which prompted the revelation of the verses, i.e. giving the wives of
Nabī H the option of enduring poverty whilst staying with him or parting
with him and attaining the riches of this world, is most certainly included in the
verses. Hence it would not be correct to exclude it due to a secondary excluding/
specifying text. 4
Secondly, even though the ḥadīth suggests exclusivity, the most that can be
said is that it excludes others besides those mentioned implicitly. But there are
many other narrations which explicitly state that they are part of the Ahl al-Bayt.
1 Tafsīr al-Samʿānī 4/280; Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 3/484; al-Durr al-Manthūr 6/603; Rūḥ al-Maʿānī 13/22.
2 ʿIkrimah ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Hāshimī (their client/ally), Abū ʿAbd Allah al-Madanī, the freed slave
of Ibn ʿAbbās. He was from the prominent successors (of the Ṣahābah) and a reliable narrator. He
learnt the exegesis of the Qurʾān from his master Ibn ʿAbbās L and became a master therein. He
would issue Fatwas during the lifetime of Ibn ʿAbbās upon his instruction. He traversed the lands and
thus many people benefitted from him. He was accused of having leanings toward the views of the
Ṣufriyyah, a sub-sect of the Khawārij. He passed away in Madīnah in 105 A.H. His narrations appears
in the six canonical works. See: Tahdhīb al-Kamāl 20/264; Tārīkh al-Islām 7/174; Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ
5/12; Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 7/234.
3 Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 3/484; al-Durr al-Manthūr 6/603; Rūḥ al-Maʿānī 13/22; Fatḥ al-Qadīr 4/279.
4 Aḍwāʾ al-Bayān 6/237; Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 3/484.
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