The Najran Pact, Mobaahelah (Mubahilah)Part 10

So, as we have seen, according to christian documents, two of the christian Najranites’ “HEROES”, were: a) UMAYYA and b) ABRAHA: 
A) UMAYYA: We have briefly expressed his and his descendants’ evil character and behavior, and their obvious animosity against anyone and anything Chosen by God. And very importantly, we have also observed that Umayya and his descendants have been Cursed by Allah in Qur’an (Qur’an 17:60, …). 
b) ABRAHA: We saw that he captured Najran and Yemen, and instigated by Umayya …, later he unsuccessfully attacked Mecca and died a painful and shameful death as the result … . And they too, he and his companions, were Cursed in Qur’an and were destroyed by Allah (Qur’an Surah 105).
It is very important to pay attention that christians, when talking about Najran and the Najran Pact or Treaty, withhold this very significant information that these heroes of the Najran history have been clearly cursed by Allah in the Majestic Qur’an. By not presenting this historically proven information, the Christians- in the process of providing background information for the Najran Pact in accordance to their goal i.e. in accordance to their barren attempt of presenting Islam as inferior- go on and claim that the christian Najranites have been PRAISED by Allah in Qur’an. Let us keep the christian intention of paving the way for also claiming that Hadrat Muhammad (SBUH&HA) highly regarded the Najranites’ beliefs, in mind. In this manner the christians wish to make Muslims believe that christian beliefs are approved by the Prophet Muhammad (SBUH&HA) and the Qur’an and therefore, thru distorting the Truth, invite Muslims, specially the youth, to embrace christianity and … .
Let us now continue reviewing these unbelievable and deceitful christian claims:
Here, it is vital to remember that, as mentioned before, one of the major beliefs of the christian Najranites- even years before the advent of Islam- was that Jesus was God, as prescribed by the Byzantine Empire and its affiliations:
“The Najranite Christians, like other Southern Arabian Christian communities, had close connections with the ecclesiastical authorities in Byzantium and Abyssinia. They were identified by virtue of their religion as "pro-Axumite" and "pro-Byzantine".”
Many additional christian documents support this very fact that the Najranites’ beliefs at the time of the invasion of the jewish Dhu Nuwas (who is claimed by some that he was a pagan before becoming a jew for political reasons) were blasphemous; As one example, documented in christian sources is a conversation of a Najranite woman, considered a martyr by christians, named Habsa bint Hayyan, with Dhu Nuwas shortly before being killed by him, contains the following words:
“… Jesus Christ our Lord and our God … you have wrought upon the holy churches and upon those who worship Christ God.” (Harvey, Susan Ashbrook; Brock, Sebastian P. (1998). Holy women of the Syrian Orient. University of California Press. P. 117, as cited in the English Wikipedia)
Then unbelievably- in spite the fact that the Majestic Qur’an so directly and enlighteningly declares believing in divinity of Prophet Jesus (SBUH),in any form whatsoever,  as blasphemous, and for instance in verses 17 and 72 of Surah Maa’edah (5) it strongly emphasizes: “Indeed, HAVE BLASPHEMED AND DISBELIEVED ( LAQAD KAFARA), those who have said: surely Allah, he is The Maseeh (Masih, Messiah, Christ) son of Maryam (Mary) …”-  still the christians claim: “The martyrs of Najran are remembered in the Christian calendars and are even mentioned in the Surat al-Buruj of the Q'uran 85:4–8, where the persecutions are condemned and the steadfast believers are praised.”!!!
Even more unbelievable is that some Muslim historians have blindly followed the lead of christian historians and, in their books and in even some Islamic Encyclopedias, have introduced the Najranite christians as those “Believers” praise in Qur’an; while some of them themselves, such as the sunni ibn Heshaam and ibn Qutaybah, have also mentioned that the people of Najran became monophysite Roman christians under the influence of the Byzantine Empire (ibn Heshaam (Hisham), al-Tijaan, 301; ibn Qutaybah, 637). It is noteworthy to mention that most of Historians in the beginning of Islam were sunni obtaining their records from pagan, jewish, christian and … sources, while disregarding genuine Hadiths from the Prophet and the AhlulBayt (SBUT) narrated by the Infallible Ones whose Knowledge is Allah Bestowed.
This is what the Webster Unabridged Dictionary says under monophysite: “a person who maintains that Christ has one nature, partly divine and partly human.”
Some christian sources themselves mention the sect which the Najranites perhaps belonged to at the time: “The bishops of Najran, who were probably Nestorians, …”
And this is what the Webster Unabridged Dictionary says in regard to Nestorians: “one of a sect of followers of Nestorius who denied the hypostatic union and were represented as maintaining the existence of two distinct persons [God and human] in Christ.” And under Nestorius, it says: “diedA.D.451?, Syrian ecclesiastic: patriarch of Constantinople 428–431.”
In any case, whichever christian sect or belief they followed, that which is important for us is that it is definite that the Najranites- even before the Prophet Mohammad (SBUH&HA)- believed in divinity of the Prophet Jesus (SBUH) … SOBHAANALLAH … and thus are considered as “disbelievers” by the Majestic Qur’an.
… And even more and more unbelievable are some of the Shi’ah, who without paying careful attention, have copied the writings of the sunni historians and have not thoroughly considered the glorious Hadith from Imam Baaqer (SBUH) in which it is clearly stated that the story claimed by Najranites is not the event referred by the Majestic Qur’an!!!
Firstly, let us look at the referred Qur’anic verses:
Qur’an 85:4-8 Slain were the Ashaab (Companions …) of Al-Ukhdood (The Pit) of the fuel-fed fire. The time when they sat by it and were witnesses of what they did with the BELIEVERS. And they did not take vengeance on them for aught except that they believed in Allah, the Aziz (Mighty and Undefeatable), the Hamid (Praised).
Here it is noteworthy to mention that we are not necessarily saying that a burning event in Najran did not occur, for, burning used to be a form of punishment. Although inconsistency has been observed, specially in the reported number of the killed; reports of 7 or 10 people killed, instead of the more often claimed 20000 or 70000, also exist. 
… Anyhow history has reported that “Burning was used as a means of execution in many ancient societies. [for instance] According to ancient reports, Roman authorities executed many of the early Christian martyrs by burning, sometimes by means of the tunica a flammable tunic. According to Julius Caesar, the ancient Celts executed thieves and prisoners of war by burning them to death inside giant “wicker men”. (Caesar, Julius; Hammond, Carolyn (translator) (1998). The Gallic War, p. 128; Caesar, Gallic War 6.16, English translation by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869); Latin text edition, from the Perseus Project. As cited in the English Wikipedia)
What we are saying is that the event referred by Qur’an is definitely not the Najran event reported by christians; Allah never has approved of any blasphemous belief and Qur’an, and He has NEVER called the followers of  such beliefs as “AL-MO’MENIN (THE BELIEVERS)”; certainly the true followers of Prophets Moosa and ‘Eesa (SBUT) who followed the Pure Teachings of the Prophets and their Allah Chosen Successors (SBUT) and then, if living in the time of the next Prophet and finally the very Last Promised Prophet and His AhlulBayt (SBUT), have submitted to their Pure Teachings … have been BELIEVERS, but definitely not those who followed usurpers and distortions, those whom Qur’an clearly calls DISBELIEVERS.
Now, let us look at the beautiful Hadith from Abu Ja’far, Imam Baaqer (SBUH); Jaaber ibn Jo’fi, a devoted companion of the Imam, said that the Imam (SBUH) has said:
AmirulMo’menin, Hadrat ‘Ali, (SBUH) sent some one to the bishop of Najran asking his story in regard to the Ashaab Al Ukhdood; so the bishop said his story. AmirulMo’menin (SBUH) said that it was not as he had said; then Hadrat (SBUH) informed him of the fact. He (SBUH) said:
Indeed, Allah had appointed to the people of Habashah (Abyssinia, Axum, Aksum) a Prophet- a man from Habashah-. The people rejected him. So he fought them back; they killed some of his companions and arrested the rest. Then they prepared an Ukhdood (pit …) and filled it with fire. They gathered the people and told those who were following their beliefs to stay aside, and demanded those following the Prophet to throw themselves in the fire [i.e. to either denounce the Prophet and his Divine beliefs, or jump …]. So came the companions of the Prophet throwing themselves in the fire; then came a lady, with her was her one month old son, as she got ready to jump, she became afraid for her baby, feeling compassion for the child. The child started to speak [miraculously] telling his mother not to be afraid and to throw him and herself in the fire, swearing by Allah, he said that, for, surely this was very little in the cause of Allah! And the lady, as the baby was speaking, threw herself and him in the fire.
In another Hadith, Maysam Tammaar, a devoted companion of Hadrat ‘Ali (SBUH), said that he had heard from the AmirulMo’menin (SBUH), while talking about the Ashaab al Ukhdood, that the number of those killed was ten (Maysam Tammaar said that he heard ten or some thing like ten).
(Tafsir Noor al Thaqalayn, vol. 5, p. 544; Mahaasen (Mahasin) al-Barqi, pp. 249-250, Hadith 262; Kanz al Daqaa’eq, vol. 14, p. 216; …)
To be continued …