عَنْ اَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ وَ عَنْ بُرَيْدَةَ قَالَا قَرَاَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ ﷺ فِي بُيُوتٍ اَذِنَ اللَّهُ اَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَ يُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيها بِالْغُدُوِّ وَ الْآصالِ فَقَامَ اِلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ اَيُّ بُيُوتٍ هَذِهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللّهِ فَقَالَ بُيُوتُ الْاَنْبِيَاءِ فَقَامَ اِلَيْهِ اَبُو بَكْرٍ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللّهِ هَذَا الْبَيْتُ مِنْهَا وَ اَشَارَ اِلَى بَيْتِ عَلِيٍّ وَ فَاطِمَةَؑ قَالَ نَعَمْ مِنْ اَفْضَلِهَا
Anas Ibn Maalik and Buraidah report that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) recited the verse, “In houses that Allah has permitted that they be raised and His name is remembered in it; He is glorified in it in the mornings and the evenings[1]”. A person stood up and inquired, ‘What are these houses, O Messenger of Allah?’ He (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) replied, ‘Houses of the Prophets.’ Then, Abu Bakr stood up and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Is this house from them?’ indicating towards the house of Ali (peace be upon him) and Fatemah (peace be upon her). He (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) responded, ‘Yes. (It is) from the best of them.’ [That is, their house is better than the houses of the Prophets].
Note:
When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) migrated from Makkah to Madinah, he (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) halted at Quba and built a mosque there. Afterwards, he (s.a.wa.) build the famous Masjid-e-Nabavi. Along with this mosque, he (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) also built houses (buyut – rooms on the ground floor). Rooms on the upper floors are called as ghuraf (pl. of ghurfah). He (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) built buyut for each of his wives and built a room for Ali and Fatemah (peace be upon them both). Abu Bakr indicated towards this house and asked the above question.
Please note that the narrators of the tradition are Maalik and Buraidah. The former – despite being among the servants of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) – is among the three who have ascribed the maximum lies to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny).
Reference:
1. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 23, p. 325, H. 1 Chapter 19رفعة بيوتهم المقدسة في حياتهم و بعد وفاتهمؑ و أنها المساجد المشرفة
2. Kanz Jaame’
al-Fawaaed under the above verse
[1] Surah Noor (24): Verse 36