Event of the mubahala

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The event of the mubahala (Arabic: مُبَاهَلَة, romanized: mubāhala, lit. 'mutual cursing') was an aborted attempt to resolve a theological dispute between Muslims and Christians in c. 632 CE by invoking the curse of God upon the liars. These debates took place in Medina, located in the Arabian Peninsula, between a Christian delegation from Najran, a city in South Arabia, and the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who proposed this solution probably when their discourse had reached a deadlock concerning the nature of Jesus, human or divine.

The Christian delegation withdrew from the challenge and negotiated a peace treaty, either immediately, or when Muhammad arrived for the mubahala with his family, according to the majority of Islamic traditions. This episode has been linked to certain verses of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, particularly verse 3:61. The event is particularly significant for Shia Muslims because Muhammad was accompanied by his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn, who are pivotal to Shia beliefs. At the time, this event must have raised their religious rank as the partners of Muhammad in his prophetic claims.

The word mubahala (مُبَاهَلَة) is derived from the root verb bahala, which means 'to curse', while the noun al-bahl can mean either 'the curse' or a scarcity of water.^[1] The word mubahala can also mean 'withdrawing mercy from one who lies or engages in falsehood'.^[2] The act of mubahala (lit. 'mutual imprecation, curse') thus involves swearing a conditional curse, for instance, "May I be cursed if...," together with a purifying oath.^[3] As a last resort, mubahala remains a lawful option to resolve disputes in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).^[3]

With the rise of Islam in the Hejaz,^[4][5] Muhammad wrote to nearby personages around the year 9 AH (631–632 CE) and invited them to Islam.^[6] One such letter was apparently addressed at the bishops of the Christian community of Najran.^[7] A delegation of Najrani Christians later arrived in Medina to meet with Muhammad in 8,^[8] 9,^[9][10] or 10 AH,^[8][11][3] perhaps to ascertain his claims to prophethood.^[12] In view of their weak ties with the Sasanian Empire, these and other Christians of the south were probably in a position to independently negotiate with Muhammad.^[7] By one account, the delegation was led by Abd al-Masih, Abu al-Harith ibn Alqama, and Sayyid ibn al-Harith.^[7][13] There a peace treaty was finally reached by which the Christians agreed to pay an annual poll-tax (jizya) but were not required to convert to Islam or partake in Muslims' military campaigns,^[14] and remained in charge of for their own affairs.^[10] This was perhaps the first such treaty in Muslim history,^[4][10] but also resembled the treatment of Christians elsewhere by Muhammad.^[15] It was not until the caliphate of Umar (r. 634–644) that the Christians of Najran were expelled from the Arabian Peninsula.^[4]

In Medina, Muhammad and the Christian delegation may have also debated the nature of Jesus, human or divine, although the delegation ultimately rejected the Islamic belief that Jesus was merely human,^[16] as represented by verse 3:59 of the Qur'an, which acknowledges the miraculous birth of Jesus but rejects the Christians' belief in his divinity, "Truly the likeness of Jesus in the sight of God is that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, 'Be!' and he was."^[17] Indeed, this and some other verses of the third chapter (surah), perhaps even its first seventy to eighty verses,^[3] are said to have been revealed to Muhammad on this occasion.^[18] Among these is verse 3:61, sometimes known as the verse of mubahala, which instructs Muhammad to challenge his opponents to mubahala,^[19] perhaps when the debate had reached a deadlock:^[20]

فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا۟ نَدْعُ أَبْنَآءَنَا وَأَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وَأَنفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ
And to whomsoever disputes with thee over it, after the knowledge that has come unto thee, say, "Come! Let us call upon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us pray earnestly, so as to place the curse of God upon those who lie."^[18]

The following verse 3:63, "And if they turn away, then God knows well the workers of corruption,"^[10] has been interpreted as the subsequent rejection by the Christian delegation of tawhid, that is, the Islamic belief in the oneness of God.^[21]

By some reports, the delegation did not accept the challenge and instead negotiated a peace treaty with Muhammad, either because they thought possible that he was truthful in his claims,^[22][3] or because they were intimidated by the military might of Muslims.^[22][23] This is reported by the Sunni exegete Muqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 767),^[24] and by the Sunni historian Ibn Sa'd (d. 845) in his Tabaqat.^[13] In a tradition cited by Muqatil, Muhammad reflects hypothetically that he would have taken with him to the mubahala his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons Hasan and Husayn.^[24] Ibn Sa'd writes that two leaders of the delegation later returned to Medina and converted to Islam,^[13] which might explain their earlier refusal of the mubahala.^[25]

Yet according to other reports, Muhammad did appear for the occasion of mubahala, accompanied by his family, as instructed by the verse of mubahala,^[22][26] apparently at the khatib ahmar (lit. 'red dune') in the al-Baqi cemetery, later renamed to jabal al-mubahala (lit. 'mountain of the mubahala').^[3][27] Those who accompanied him are often identified as Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn.^[8][28][29] Such reports are given by the Shia-leaning historian Ibn Ishaq (d. 767) in his al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, the Sunni exegete Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1210) in his Tafsir,^[8] the Sunni traditionist Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 875) in his canonical Sahih Muslim, the Sunni traditionist Hakim al-Nishapuri (d. 1014) in his al-Mustadrak,^[30] and the prominent Sunni exegete Ibn Kathir (d. 1373).^[10] This indeed appears to be the majority view in exegetical works.^[31] Here, the Islamicist Wilferd Madelung argues that the term 'our sons' (abna'ana) in the verse of mubahala must refer to Muhammad's grandchildren, namely, Hasan and Husayn. In that case, he continues, it would be reasonable to include also in the event their parents, namely, Ali and Fatima.^[16]

Some traditions about the mubahala add that Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn stood under Muhammad's cloak, and the five have thus become known as the ahl al-kisa (lit. 'people of the cloak').^[32][33][34] On the same occasion, Muhammad may have defined his ahl al-bayt (lit. 'people of the house') as Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, according to Shia and some Sunni sources,^[31] including the canonical collections Sahih Muslim, Sunan al-Tirmidhi,^[35] and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal.^[36] Alternatively, some have suggested that these claims were possibly later additions.^[36][3] At any rate, the inclusion of these four by Muhammad, as his witnesses and guarantors in the mubahala ritual,^[37][38] must have raised their religious rank within the community.^[16][39]

That Muhammad was accompanied to the mubahala by the above four is also the Shi'a view,^[40] and Shia sources are unanimous that the term 'our sons' (Arabic: أَبْنَآءَنَا, romanized: abna'ana) in the verse of mubahala refers to Hasan and Husayn, the term 'our women' (Arabic: نِسَآءَنَا, romanized: nisa'ana) therein refers to Fatima, and that the term 'ourselves' (Arabic: أَنفُسَنَا, romanized: anfusana) is a reference to Muhammad and 'Ali.^[41] By contrast, most reports presented by the Sunni exegete al-Tabari (d. 923) are silent about the matter, whereas some other Sunni authors agree with the Shia reports.^[16][12][27]

The verse of mubahala is often cited by Shi'a scholars to support their claims concerning the prerogatives of the ahl al-kisa.^[19][3] In particular, if the word 'ourselves' in the verse is a reference to 'Ali and Muhammad, as Shi'a authors argue, then the former naturally enjoys a similar authority as the latter.^[42][23] Likewise, the Shi'a exegete Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i (d. 1981) contends that the participation of these four, to the exclusion of other Muslims, necessitates their partnership with Muhammad in his prophetic claims, for otherwise there could have been no negative consequence to their participation as the verse of mubahala targets only the liars.^[43]

Eid of the mubahala (عِيْد ٱلْمُبَاهَلَة) is the Shi'a commemoration of the prophet Muhammad's mubahala with the Christians of Najran, celebrated annually on 21,^[3] or 24 Dhu al-Hijja of the Islamic calendar,^[23] although the date in the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year because the former calendar is lunar and the latter is solar. The equivalent Gregorian date to 24 Dhu al-Hijja is shown below for a few years.