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In the Name of Allah, the
Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
O Allah! Send your blessings to the head of your Messengers and the
Last of your Prophets
Muhammad ( S.A..W. ), and his pure and cleansed progeny.
Glorious Quran Chapter 3 Verse 61:
And unto him who disputeth with thee therein after the knowledge hath
come unto thee, Say !
( O' Our Apostle Muhammad ! ) ( Unto them ) come ye, let us summon our
sons, and ( ye
summon ) your sons, and ( we summon ) our women and ( ye ) your women,
and ( we summon
) ourselves and then let us invoke the curse of God on the liars !
Sixty chiefs and `Ulama of Najran, headed by Sayyid, Aqib, and Usquf
(religious
personalities) of the region in the 10th year A.H. came to Medina to
clarify their religious
and political stance vis-a-vis Islam which had spread over the Arab
peninsula and to engage
in discussions with the Holy Prophet of Islam(S.A.W.) to realize the
essence and truth of
Islam.
After lengthy discussions which have been presented in details in Ibn
Husham's "Sirah"
573/1, no agreement was reached on the position and standing of Jesus.
The Christians of
Najran believed in the divinity of Jesus and considered him as the son
of God. This is while,
based on the explicit wording of the Holy Qur'an (3:59), the Holy
Prophet of Islam(S.A.W.)
considered him as a prophet and the servant of God. At the end of the
discussions, the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W.) suggested that the two sides engage in "mubahalah",
in other words, to
invoke divine malediction for the lying side. The following verse was
descended in this
regard:
"But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come
to you of knowledge, then
say: come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your
women and our near
people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and
pray for the curse of Allah
on the liars." (3:61)
This verse refers to the famous event of ' Mubahila ' which took place
in the year 10 A.H
against the Christians of Najran. A deputation of 60 Christians of
Najran headed by Abdul
Masih their chief monkpriest came and discussed with the Holy Prophet
(S.A.W. ) the
personality of Hazrat Eesa ( A.S. ). The Holy Prophet ( S.A.W. ) told
them not to deify Jesus
for he was only a mortal created by God, and not God Himself. Then
they asked who the
father of Jesus was. By this, they thought that since he was born
without a father the Holy
Prophet ( S.A.W. ) would helplessly accept Jesus' father being God
himself. In reply to this
question was revealed the Verse
Verily, similitude of Jesus with God is as the similitude of Adam; He
created him out of dust
then said He unto him BE, and he became.
When the Christians did not agree to this line of reasoning, then this
verse was revealed
enjoining upon the Holy Prophet ( S.A.W. ) to call the Christians to
Mubahila. To this the
Christians agreed and they wanted to return to their place and would
have the Mubahila the
next day.
Early next morning the Holy Prophet ( S.A.W. ) sent Salman al Farsi (
May Allah be well
pleased with him ) to the open place, fixed outside the city for the
historic event, to erect a
small shelter for himself and those he intended to take along with him
for the contest. On the
opposite side appeared the Christian priests, while at the appointed
hour the Christians
witnessed the Holy Prophet (S.A.W. ) entering the field with Imam
Hussain ( A.S.) in his lap,
Imam Hasan ( A.S. ) holding his finger, and walking beside him, Lady
Fatima ( A.S. ) and
followed by Imam Ali al Murtaza ( A.S.). The Holy Prophet ( S.A.W. )
on reaching the
appointed spot stationed himself with his daughter, her two sons and
her husband, raising his
hands towards the heaven said :
Lord these are the People of my House
The Chief Monk on knowing that the baby in the lap of the Holy Prophet
(S.A.W. ) was his
young grandson, Imam Hussain ( A.S. ), the child walking holding the
Prophet's ( S.A.W. )
hand was his first grandson, Imam Hasan ( A.S. ), the Lady behind him
was daughter, his
only surviving issue was Fatima ( A.S. ) the mother of the two
children and the one who
followed the Lady was his son in law, the husband of Fatima ( A.S. ),
addressed the huge
crowd of the people who had gathered on the spot, and addressed them
saying
By God, I see the faces which, if they pray to God for mountains to
move from their places,
the mountains will immediately move !
O believers in the Jesus of Nazareth, I will tell you the truth that
should ye fail to enter into
some agreement with Muhammad(S.A.W.) and if these souls whom
Muhammad(S.A.W.) has
brought with him, curse you, ye will be wiped out of existence to the
last day of the life of the
earth !
The people readily agreed to the advice counseled by their Leader.
They beseeched the
Holy Prophet ( S.A.W. ) to give up the idea of the agreed Mubahila and
requested for
themselves to be allowed to continue their faith, offering to pay '
Jizya '.
- Al Tabari, Commentary of the Quran, v 2 p 192 - 193
The Christians were to annually offer twelve thousand exquisite
clothes, a thousand mithqal
of gold, and some other items to remain Christians under the umbrella
of Islam.
On the basis of the "mubahalah verse", Sunni interpreters
such as Zamakhshari, Baydawi,
Imam Fakhr Razi and others regard `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn (A.S.)
superior to all
other people and argue that Hassan and Husayn are the sons of the
Messenger (S.A.W.) of
Allah.
The term "anfusina" in the "mubahalah verse"
proves the unity of the heart and soul of
Prophet Muhammad and `Ali. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) stated:
"`Ali is of me and I am of
`Ali." ("Fadail al-Khamsah" 343/1). The "mubahalah
tradition" has been recounted in
different books of "sirah" and history with various
wordings. These include those of Tirmidhi
("Sahih" 166/2) which quotes S`ad ibn Abi Waqqas as follows:
"When the mubahalah verse
was recited, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) summoned `Ali, Fatimah, Hasan,
and Husayn and
said: `O Allah, these are the Members of my Household." This
tradition has been narrated
by Hakim Nishaburi in "Al-Mustadrak" 150/3 and Bayhaqi in
"Sunan" 63/7. Hakim regards
this tradition as authentic.
The Verse of Malediction (mubahilah): "But whoever disputes with
you in this matter after
what has come to you of knowledge, then, say, 'Come, let us call our
sons and your sons, and
our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, and let us
beseech Allah and
invoke His curse upon the liars'." This milestone event in
Islamic history has been narrated
by all the historians, narrators, and commentators of the Qur'an and
is an event which
reveals the exalted status of the Family of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.).
The narrations say that a delegation of Christians from Najran came to
the city of Madinah
in order to meet with the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) to discuss his
prophethood and the new
religion he was bringing. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) proved to them
that Jesus (A.S.) was
the son of Mary - a human being, a prophet, and a servant of Allah, as
the Qur'an states -
and that regarding him as the son of God is blasphemy since Allah, the
Exalted, is high
above such human characteristics.
After discussing these points fully and convincingly, when the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W.) found
them still deliberately persisting in their false beliefs and
traditions - namely, the deification
of Prophet Jesus (A.S.) - Allah revealed this verse which was a major
challenge to the
Christians to pray and invoke Allah that a curse may overtake the
party that insists on
falsehood. Early the next morning, on the 24th of the lunar month of
Dhul Hijjah, in
accordance with Allah's command, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) arrived at
the meeting holding
Husayn in his arms and leading Hasan by his hand, followed by his
beloved daughter Lady
Fatima, behind whom came his son-in-law and cousin 'Ali ibn Abi Talib
carrying the banner of
Islam. Seeing that the Prophet (S.A.W.) was accompanied only by his
immediate family, the
Christians were convinced that he was truthful; otherwise, he would
never have dared to
bring his dearest kin along. The Christian delegation backed away from
the maledictory
confrontation and agreed to retreat back to Najran.
Although other women were present in the family the Prophet (S.A.W.)
at that time, all the
commentators, narrators, and historians agree that, in this Qur'anic
verse, "our women"
refers only to Lady Fatima al-Zahra' (A.S.), "our children"
refers only to Hasan and Husayn
(A.S.), and "ourselves" refers only to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)
and Imam 'Ali (A.S.).
Zamakhshari, in his Tafsir al-Kashshaf, narrates the event in this
way:
When this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) asked the
Christians to the
malediction to invoke the curse of Allah upon the liars. The
Christians held a discourse
among themselves that night in which their leader, 'Abd al-Masih,
states his views as
follows. He said: "O Christians, know that Muhammad(S.A.W.) is a
God-sent prophet who
has brought you the final message from your Lord. By God, no nation
ever dared to
challenge a prophet with malediction but that woe befell them. Not
only would they perish,
but their children would also be afflicted with the curse."
Saying this - that it is better to
reach a compromise with the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) rather than
challenge his truth and
perish - 'Abd al-Masih advised his party to stop hostilities and
retain their religion by
submitting to the Prophet's terms. "So if you persist (for a
confrontation) we will all perish.
But if you, to keep your faith, refuse (to have a showdown) and remain
as you are, then
make peace with the man (the Holy Prophet) and return to your
land."
The next day, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), carrying Husayn in his arms,
leading Hasan by the
hand, followed by his daughter Lady Fatima, behind whom came 'Ali,
entered the appointed
place and was heard saying to his family: "When I invoke Allah,
second this invocation."
The Pontiff of Najran, upon seeing the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and his
family, addressed the
Christians: "O Christians! I am beholding such faces that if God
wishes, for their sake, He
would move mountains for them. Do not accept their challenge for
malediction, for if you do,
you would all perish, and there would remain no Christians on the face
of the earth till the
Day of Resurrection." Heeding his advice, the Christians said to
the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.):
"O Abul-Qasim, we have decided not to hold malediction with you.
You keep your religion,
and we will keep ours." The Holy Prophet (S.A.W. told them:
"If you refuse to hold
malediction, then submit to Allah, and you will receive what the
Muslims receive and
contribute what the Muslims contribute." The Christians
delegates, saying that they had no
desire to fight the Muslims, proposed a treaty asking for peace. The
Prophet of Islam
(S.A.W.) accepted.
This historic event of a unique triumph of Islam is taken by the Shias
as a religious
thanksgiving festival of the triumph against falsehood. Some of the
significance of this event
are as follows :
· this event un-questionably establishes the truth about the
spiritual purity of the Ahl al
Bayt (A.S.)
· it proves beyond any doubt as to who are the members of the house
of the Holy Prophet (
S.A.W. )
· the seriousness and the solemnity of the occasion demands absolute
purity, spiritual as
well as physical in the individuals to serve in the fateful occasion
for the Holy
Prophet(S.A.W.) to present them to God as the best one of His creation
to be heard in the
prayers of Truth !
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