The Najran Pact,

Mobaahelah (Mubahilah)

Part 18

Conclusion of ‘Allaamah Majlisi (r.a.)

‘Allaamah Majlesi in Hayat al-Qulub, after narrating the various- yet similar- accounts of the event of Mubahila, including the detailed account presented here, has stated a conclusion which we are going to mention parts of it:

Accounts of this Mubahila, transmitted down from hand to hand by Shia and Sunni without much difference, in many respects prove the Prophethood of Muhammad, the Imamate of Ali and the exalted rank of those under the cloak.

First, if the prophet had not full confidence in his own truth, he would not have been so bold in making a divine appeal, nor would he have exposed those dearest to him to imminent danger.  

Second, he forewarned his opponents that if they joined issue with him in the ordeal, the wrath of God would descend upon them, and to bring on the appeal, which, if he had not been perfectly confident of success, would have only exposed his own falsehood, a result which no sensible man would have risked.

Third, the Christians backed out from Mubahila, and if they had no certainty in the veracity of the Prophet, they should not have cared for the curse of few people and they should have taken up the challenge like they were used to being prepared to fight and sacrifice their blood and their families for their faith, since retreat was injurious to their own rank among their people and besides, they submitted to the humiliating terms of Jiziya.

Fourth, all accounts declare that the Christians restrained one another from participating in the ordeal, by saying: The truth of Muhammad is manifest, and it is evident that he is the Promised Prophet.

Fifth, it was proved that His Eminence, Amirul Momineen (a.s.) and Fatima, and Hasan, and Husain, next to the Prophet, were the most exalted of mankind, and dearest of all to Muhammad, as indeed is admitted by our opponents, the Sunni; for instance, by Zamakhshari, Baidhawi, Fakhruddin Razi and others.

Zamakhshari, who is the most bigoted of them all, in the book entitled Kashaf, says: “Since the Prophet challenged his enemies to a divine appeal, in order to make evident which party was true and which false, of what use it was then to bring to that trial women and children?” I answer: “His doing so proves more perfectly his own confidence and faith in his religion, than if he had made the appeal by himself alone. For, in bringing them to the ordeal, he exposed those dearest to him - parts of his own liver - and those of all mankind he loved best, to divine curse and destruction, which he never would have done had he not been sure that his enemies were liars, and he wished them and those most dear them to be destroyed if they joined issues with him in the trial, because they are dearest of all and closer to the heart more than any others, and often it happens that a man will expose himself to death in order to protect them, for which reason they have been sometimes taken with an army to prevent flight, and therefore verse communicated respecting the ordeal required their presence.”  

To the above Zamakhshari adds, “This is the most weighty proof possible of the exaltation of the people of the cloak, or those who were privileged to sit under it with the prophet.”

So far if it is evident that they were the dearest of mankind to the prophet, every man of sense must see they were the best of creatures, and in that time, next to him in excellence, for it is obvious that his love was not due to their relationship, but that those dearest to God were most beloved by himself. Now if they are better than others, it is not proper that others should take precedence over them. 

Sixth, this account proves that the Imams Hasan and Husain were the children of the Prophet, for in the verse Allah, the Most High says, “Our sons and your sons,” and Muhammad introduced none but these in the ordeal. [The sunni] Fakhruddin Razi observes that the Shia from this verse maintain that Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) is superior to all the prophets except Muhammad, and more exalted than all companions of Muhammad, for Allah the Most High has declared in this text, “Let us call ourselves and yourselves;” the reference here not being to Muhammad, for he makes the challenge with respect to others, since a man does not call himself.  

This term must therefore mean another than the Prophet, and it is agreed on all hands that no one but a woman and children was there present except, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.), who therefore must here be denoted by the term Nafs (soul or self) …

More Sunni documents

Let us look at more sunni statements regarding Qur’an 3:61:

On page 73 the sunni Fakhruddin Razi writes in his Tafseer-e-Kabeer, volume 2: "When this verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet, the Christians of Najran accepted the challenge of ‘Mubahala’ and the Holy Prophet took along with him Hussain, Hasan, Fatima and Ali to the field of ‘Mubahala’."

The sunni Zamakhshari in his ‘Tafseer Kashshaf’ states: "There can be no more authentic and stronger evidence for the integrity of Ashab-e-Kisa (the people of the cloak), i.e. Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain than this Qur’anic verse. For in compliance with the order of God the Holy Prophet summoned his Ahl-ul-Bayt, took Hussain in his arms, grasped Imam Hasan’s hand in his own, asked Janab-e-Fatima to follow him and Hazrat Ali to follow her. This proved that the Holy Ahl-ul-Bayt were those to whom the Qur’anic verse was directed."

It is related by Sa’d Ibne Waqas that: "When this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet sent for Hazrat Ali, Janab-e-Fatima, Hasan and Hussain and prayed to God thus: "O My God! These are the very Ahl-ul-Bayt of mine." (the very highly regarded documents by the sunni: Sahih Muslim, Vol. 1, Sahih Tirmizi)

Some have also stated that the companions of the Prophet- the so called sahaba- were in a state of shock. They wanted to know why yet again these members of his family had been singled out. The prophet explained to them, that they were going to go forward and to invoke ALLAH that WHOSOEVER amongst them is a LIAR then May Allah's curse and wrath be upon him. ANY LIAR would come under that curse. If ANYONE of them had NEVER told ANY kind of a lie EVER, to step forward, because the curse was going to be on the liar. But Nobody had the guts to step forward.

The prophet took ONLY those who Allah has guaranteed their purification with the ayah of Tatheer (Purification) in Surah 33 Verse 33. This was a challenge of Truth over Falsehood. Hence only those individuals could accompany the prophet who were singled out under the cloak of the prophet as being those to whom the verse of purification (Quran 33:33) applies.

"Had there been any soul on the whole earth better than Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain, God would have commanded me to take them along with me to ‘Mubahala’. But as they were superior in dignity and respect to all human beings, God confined His Choice on them only for participation in ‘Mubahala’". (Tafseer of the sunni Baizavi)

To be continued …