Event of Mubahala
| Shia Islam |
|---|
 |
Event of Mubāhala (Arabic: واقعة المباهلة) is an event in Islamic history in which the Prophet (s) and Christian delegations from Najran met to do mubahala attempting to reveal who was lying about their religious differences.
In the Qur'an, the term Mubadala is mentioned as a decisive solution to the dispute over Prophet Jesus (a), being one of the Trinity or not, between the Christians of Najran and Prophet Muhammad (s).
The Prophet (s) suggested Christians of Najran do mubahala, and they accepted; however, on the day they had agreed upon earlier, they refused to do mubahala since they saw that the Prophet (s) came with closest members of his family, who were his daughter, Fatima al-Zahra (a), his son-in-law, Imam Ali (a), his grandsons, al-Hasan (a) and al-Husayn (a), and thus Christians understood his truthfulness. This way, the Prophet (s) became victorious in this event.
The occasion of the Prophet's (s) mubahala with Christians of Najran is not only a sign of the truth of the Prophet's (s) claim [i.e., inviting them to Islam] but also shows the position of his family members since he introduced them alone among all his companions and relatives. Therefore, that event is among the merits of the Ahl al-Bayt (a). The encounter of mubahala happened on Dhu al-Hijja 24, 9/April 3, 631. However, some reported it on the 25th.
Meaning of Mubahala
Mubahala means "to curse each other";[1] for example, "bahalahu Allah" means "May Allah curse him and keeps him away from His mercy."[2] Mubahala (Arabic: مُباهَلَة, invocation of God's curse) means cursing and damning each other. Two people or two parties, who believe they are right, supplicate before God and ask Him to curse the liar so that everyone knows who is right[citation needed].
Story
When the Prophet (s) wrote letters to rulers of different countries and religious centers, he (s) also wrote a letter to the Bishop of Najran, in which he (s) asked the people of Najran to accept Islam. Christians decided to send a delegation to Medina to talk to the Prophet (s).
The delegation included a group of more than ten noblemen of Najran led by three people 'Aqib, Sayyid, and Abu Haritha, who came to Medina. The delegation talked with the Prophet (s) in the mosque of the Prophet (s). After both parties insisted on their rightfulness, they decided to end the dispute through mubahala; therefore, they decided to prepare for mubahala the other day outside Medina in the desert.
The morning of the day appointed for mubahala, the Prophet (s) went to Imam Ali's (a) house, took the hand of Imam al-Hasan (a), held Imam al-Husayn (a) up in his other arm and asked Imam Ali (a) and Lady Fatima (s) to come with him out of Medina for mubahala. When Christians saw the Prophet (s), Abu Haritha asked who were those coming with him? And he received the answer: "the one walking before him is his cousin and son-in-law and most beloved person to him; those two kids are his grandsons, and the lady with him is his beloved daughter."
The Prophet (s) sat on his knees for mubahala. Then Sayyid and 'Aqib asked their sons for mubahala. Abu Haritha said: "I swear to God that he has sat like prophets used to sit for mubahala", and returned. Sayyid asked him, "where do you go?!" Abu Haritha answered, "If Muhammad (s) was not right, he would not dare to come for mubahala like this, and if he (s) engages in mubahala with us, even one Christian will not remain alive before this year finishes!" In another narration, he said, "I see faces, that if they ask God to pull out a mountain, indeed it will be pulled out. So, do not engage in mubahala; otherwise, you would be dead, and not even one Christian will remain alive."
Then, Abu Haritha came to the Prophet (s) and said, "O Abu l-Qasim! Let us not do mubahala and make peace with us on something we can afford to do." Then, the Prophet (s) made peace with them with the condition that they pay two thousand robes (in Arabic: حُلَّة, romanized: ḥulla) every year, which every robe was forty dirhams, and also the condition that if Yemen engages in a war, they lend thirty shields, thirty spears and thirty horses to Muslims and the Prophet (s) is responsible for returning them. This way, the Prophet (s) wrote the peace treaty, and the delegation returned.
Later, the Prophet (s) said, "I swear to God, who my soul is in His grasp, that death of the people of Najran had become close and if they engaged in mubahala with me, they surely would turn into monkeys and pigs and their whole land would burn and they would burn and God would destroy all the people of Najran, and even birds would not remain on their trees and all Christians would die in less than a year."[3] Shortly after the delegation returned to Najran, Sayyid and 'Aqib came to the Prophet (s) with gifts and converted to Islam.[4]
People Present
Surely the ones the Prophet (s) took with himself to mubahala were Imam Ali (a), Fatima (s), Hasan (a) and Husayn (a); however, about how it happened, who came from Christians' side, who went to the Prophet (s) and what did they talk about are issues which are differently narrated in historical reports.
Day
Mubahala happened on Dhu l-Hijja 24, 9/April 3, 631.[5] It has also been reported on 21st of the same month.[6] Al-Shaykh al-Ansari says that 24th of Dhu al-Hijja is the more famous account and considers performing the ghusl recommended on this day.[7] In Mafatih al-jinan, Shaykh 'Abbas Qumi has mentioned the recommended practices for this event on 24th of Dhu al-Hijja including the ritual bath and fasting.
Verse
Verse 61 of Qur'an 3 refers to this event:
| “ | فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ
Should anyone argue with you concerning him (Jesus), after the knowledge that has come to you, say, 'Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls, then let us pray earnestly and call down Allah's curse upon the liars. |
” |
| — Qur'an 3:61 | ||
Shi'a and Sunni exegetes agree that this verse refers to the debate and mubahala happened between Christians of Najran and the Prophet (s) and in that debate they insisted that Jesus (a) is one of the Trinity and did not accept the Qur'an's account which said that Jesus (a) was the pious servant of God and his Prophet (s); so that the Prophet (s) suggested that they do mubahala.
In addition to Shi'a exegetes, Sunni exegetes (al-Zamakhshari, al-Fakhr al-Razi, al-Baydawi, etc.) also said that the word "abna'ana" (our sons) in this verse refers to Hasan (a) and Husayn (a) and the word "nisa'ana" (our women) refers to Lady Fatima (a) and the word "anfusana" (our souls) refers to Imam Ali (a); thus, these four people together with the Prophet (s) make the Ahl al-Kisa' (Companions of the Cloak), and according to al-Zamakhshari and al-Fakhr al-Razi, in addition to this verse, the Tathir verse (Qur'an 33:33) was revealed, following that verse to respect them more and to cleanse them:
- "Indeed Allah desires to repel all impurity from you, O, People of the Household, and purify you with a thorough purification." (Qur'an 33:33)
Mentioning the Event of Mubahala as Proof
Mentioning the event of mubahala as proof of the merits of Ahl al-Bayt (a) can be seen in the speeches of Imam Ali (a), Imam al-Hasan (a), Imam al-Husayn (a), other Imams (a), companions of the Prophet (s), and scholars. Here, we mention three examples:
By Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas
Amir b. Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas narrates from his father, Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas, that he was asked by Mu'awiya: "Why do not you curse Ali (a)?"
Sa'd said: "While I remember three things, I would not curse him; and if any of those happened about me, I would love it more than having red-haired camels." Then, he mentions those three merits of Imam Ali (a), the third of which is that when the verse revealed to the Prophet (s), (al-Mubahala verse), he (s) called Ali (a), Fatima (a), Hasan (a), and Husayn (a) and said: "O, God, these are my Ahl al-Bayt (a)!"[8]
By Imam al-Kazim (a)
Harun al-Rashid told Imam al-Kazim (a): "How do you claim that you are the progeny of the Prophet (s), while the Prophet (s) had no progeny! Since the progeny is made only through sons, not daughters and you are children of his daughter".
Imam al-Kazim (a) said: "Allow me not answer this!"
Harun said: "O, son of Ali (a), you may tell me your argument; and you O, Musa (a), are their (Shi'a's) leader now -I have been told so!; And I would not allow you not answer what I ask unless you bring a proof from the Qur'an and you sons of Ali (a) claim that there is nothing in the Qur'an unless you know its interpretation. You refer to the verse "We have not omitted anything from the Book." (Qur'an 6:38), and so, you regard yourself needless to analogy or scholars' opinions."
Imam al-Kazim (a) said: "Do you allow me to answer?"
Harun said: "Say."
Imam (a) said: "I seek the protection of Allah against the outcast Satan, In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the Most-merciful."
"And We gave him Isaac (Ishaq) and Jacob (Ya'qub) and guided each of them. And Noah (Nuh) We had guided before, and from his offspring, David (Dawud) and Solomon (Sulayman), Job (Ayyub), Joseph (Yusuf), Moses (Musa) and Aaron (Harun) —thus do We reward the virtuous— (84) and Zechariah (Zakaria), John (Yahya), Jesus ('Isa) and Elijah (Ilyas), —each of them among the righteous (85)" (Qur'an 6:84-85)
Imam continued: "Who was the father of Jesus?"
Harun answered: "Jesus did not have a father."
Imam (a) said: "Then, God joined him to the progeny of prophets only through [the Virgin] Mary (a) and has joined us the same way through our mother Fatima (s) to the progeny of the Prophet (s). Should I continue?"
Harun said: "Say."
Then, Imam (a) recited the al-Mubahala verse and said, "No one has ever said that the Prophet (s) took anyone other than Ali b. Abi Talib (a), Fatima (a), Hasan (a) and Husayn (a) under the Cloak, when he was going to mubahala; thus, by "our sons", the Qur'an meant Hasan (a) and Husayn (a), by "our women", the Qur'an meant Fatima (s) and by "our soul", the Qur'an meant Ali b. Abi Talib (a)."[9] (Therefore, in the al-Mubahala verse, God referred to Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a) as the sons of the Prophet (s) and this is the most obvious reason that the Ahl al-Bayt (a) are the progeny of the Prophet (s).)
By Imam al-Rida (a)
Once, al-Ma'mun told Imam al-Rida (a) that, "Tell me the greatest merit of Imam Ali (a) mentioned in Qur'an."
Imam al-Rida (a) said, "his merit in mubahala", Then, Imam (a) recited the al-Mubahala verse and said: "the Prophet (s) called Hasan (a) and Husayn (a) who were his sons and Lady Fatima (s) who is the reference for "women" in this verse and Imam Ali (a) who is the "soul" of the Prophet (s) in the word of God. And it is known that no one in creation is higher than the Prophet (s), then according to the word of God, no one should ever be higher than the soul of the Prophet (s)."
Then, al-Ma'mun said: "God has brought the expression "our sons" in plural form while the Prophet (s) brought only two of his sons and also "our women" is plural while the Prophet (s) only brought only his daughter; thus, why should not we say that calling "our souls" would also mean only the Prophet (s) himself; therefore, the merit you mentioned about Imam Ali (a) would become void."
Imam al-Rida (a) said: "Your argument is wrong, because a caller calls someone other than himself, like when a commander commands someone other than himself, and it is not alright if someone calls himself in reality while also no one can order himself. And since the Prophet (s) did not call any man in mubahala other than Imam Ali (a), then it is confirmed that he is the soul God referred to, in His Book and ordered about it there."
Then, al-Ma'mun said, "With the answer, the question destroyed".[10]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Jawharī, al-Ṣaḥāḥ, under the word "Bahala".
- ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 1, p. 368.
- ↑ Qummī, Muntahā l-āmāl, vol. 1, p. 182-84; Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 1, p. 166-71.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 2, p. 310; See: Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, p. 392.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, al-Manāqib, vol. 3, p. 144.
- ↑ Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 2, p. 147.
- ↑ Anṣārī, Kitāb al-ṭahāra, p. 48-49.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, under the verse 61 of Quran 3; According to Ṭabāṭabāʾī this hadith is mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhī and in the book Faḍāʾil ʿAlī by Abu l-Muʾayyad al-Muwaffaq b. Aḥmad, al-Ḥilya by Abu Naʿīm and Farāʾid al-samṭayn by Ḥimawī Shāfiʿī.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, p. 229-230.
- ↑ Mufīd, al-Fuṣūl al-mukhtārih, p. 38.
References
- Anṣārī, Murtaḍā al-. Kitāb al-ṭahāra. Qom: Kungira-yi Jhahāni-yi Buzurgdāsht-i Shaykh-i Aʿzam Anṣārī. [n.d].
- Ibn Athīr, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh. Beirut: Dār al-Ṣādir, 1965.
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Najaf: al-Maktaba al-Ḥaydarīyya, 1376 AH.
- Jawharī, Ismāʿīl b. Ḥammād. Al-Ṣaḥāḥ (Tāj al-lugha wa ṣiḥāḥ al-ʿarabīyya). Edited by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Ghafur Aṭṭār. Beirut: Dār al-ʿIlm, 1407 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Ḥaqq al-yaqin. Intishārāt-i Islāmīya, [n.d], [n.p].
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Fuṣūl al-mukhtārih. Edited by al-Sayyid MīrʿAlī Sharīfī. 2nd ed. Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1414 AH.
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād. Edited by Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth. Qom: al-Muʾtamar al-ʿĀlamīyya li-alfīya al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnah. 10th ed. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1371 Sh.
- Maybudī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Kashf al-asrār wa 'uddat al-abrār. Tehran: Amīr Kabīr, 1371 Sh.
- Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Muntahā l-āmāl. Qom: Muʾassisat Intishārāt-i Hijrat, 1374 Sh.
- Shūshtarī, Nūr Allāh al-Ḥusaynī al-. Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq wa izhāq al-bāṭil. Qom: Kitābkhāna-yi Āyatollāh Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1409 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 2nd ed. Qom: ʿIsmā'ilīyān, 1391 Sh.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1415 AH.
- Zamakhsharī, Maḥmūd b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Kashshaf. Second edition. Qom: Bilāghat. 1415 AH.