The 24th of ZilHijjah marks the anniversary of the auspicious occasion of
Mubahila – a challenge of religious debate and calling up God’s curse on liars.
The historical event of Mubahila also reveals the exalted status of the Ahlul
Bayt(a.s.) This is the day of victory of Muslims over Christians and was such
an important event that ever since it is celebrated as a day of Eid by muslims.
The event of Mubahila occurred in the 10th of Hijrah.
Historical perspective of Eid-e-Mubahila
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Najran was a fertile land located in the Northern mountainous region of Yemen
about 20 Kms from Sanaa. About 40,000 Christians inhabited the land divided
into 73 small towns. They were idol worshipers historically just like the Arabs
but a priest named Femeon, a constructor by profession, preached Christianity
in the area of Najran and soon all the population converted to Christianity and
Najran became a powerful center of activities of Christians. They also
constructed a church and named it 'Kaba-e-Najran'. They prayed and offered
various offerings there which resulted in an annual income of about two hundred
thousand Dinars which was used for the priest who lived and studied there.
After the conquest of Makkah when Islam started spreading rapidly and the
warring groups came under the flag of Islam, the Holy Prophet(sawaw) starting
sending emissaries to the tribes who had not yet accepted Islam. In 10 A.H. a
similar message was sent to the Christians of Najran and they were offered
either to accept the teachings of Islam or live in the protection of Muslims
and give 'Jazia' - a kind of fee for protection services. When the Bishop of
Najran received this message, he invited all the scholars and influential
people of Najran and asked them to think and find a solution to this situation.
This news spread rapidly among the masses and some people got infuriated as
well but the Bishop of Najran pacified them and advised them to be mindful of
the military might of the Islamic regime and try to find a peaceful solution.
Christian mission heads to Madina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After deliberations, it was finally decided to send a mission to Madina and
have a dialog with the Muslims. A 14 member deligation headed by Aqib Saidawar
and Abu Harisa started off for Makkah. Abu Harisa was considered as the
greatest Bishop and scholar of the Christian world at that time and Aqib
Saidawar was the biggest strategist and negotiator of the time. When the
delegation reached Madina, the people got impressed by their lavish dressing
and pomp and show since it was the first time that a mission had arrived in
such a manner.
When they entered the Masjid-e-Nabawi, the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) looked at
the precious stones, gold and silk clothes that they were wearing and turned
away his face and did not pay any attention to them. After a while when no one
noticed their pomp and show, they got out of the Masjid-e-Nabawi and met Hazrat
Usman and Ubaid-ur-Rehman outside and asked them as to why they were invited by
the Muslims and then treated in this manner. Hazrat Usman mentioned that he
did not have a clue about that but if they consult Imam Ali(a.s.), he would be
able to tell them what was going on. They took the delegation with them and
arrived at the house of Imam Ali(a.s.) and mentioned about the whole incidence
to him. Imam Ali(a.s.) said to the delegation that they were wearing dresses of
silk and ornaments of gold which depicted their superior mentality and that
they should take them off and dress simply. Only then the Prophet(sawaw) would
allow them to visit him and
entertain them. When they followed the instructions of Imam Ali(a.s.), they
were allowed to visit the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) after the Prayers of Asar and
have discussions with him.
Proposal of Mubahila
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After exchange of views on several issues, the delegation did not seem to be
willing to accept the observations about the incorrect beliefs of Christianity
and the logical explanations proving the incorrectness of their beliefs. At
that time Allah(swt) send down the famous Ayat-e-Mubahila of the Quran:
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 !
Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) recited this Ayat and invited them for Mubahila -
praying to God(swt) to destroy and banish the liars.
Mubahila became necessary since the Christian delegation was adamant to accept
the truth. After some hesitations the delegations asked to be given one day to
reconsider their options and then accepted to have the Mubahila after two days.
In their consultations among themselves, the grand Bishop Abu Harisa told his
companions that if tomorrow, Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) brings his companions and
his tribesmen and military might with him for Mubahila then they should accept
the challenge without fear but if he brings only the members of his family,
then never accept the challenge.
Whom did the Prophet(sawaw) take with him
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) selected a place close to Madina for the Mubahila
which was then cleaned and prepared by Hazrat Salman Farsi(r.a.) and the next
day the Christian delegation reached the designated place. A number of
muhajirren and ansaar also gathered at the site. The Holy Prophet
Mohammad(sawaw) took with him Imam Hasan(a.s.), Imam Hussain(a.s.), Bibi
Fatima(s.a.) and Imam Ali(a.s.) and headed towards the site in a manner that
Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) was leading the group holding Imam Hasan(a.s.) and Imam
Hussain(a.s.) and Bibi Fatima(s.a.) was behind him and Imam Ali(a.s.) was
behind Bibi Fatima(s.a.).
Saad bin Abi Waqas relates that when the Ayat-e-Mubahila was sent down, Prophet
Mohammad(sawaw) called Imam Ali(a.s.), Bibi Fatima(s.a.), Imam Hasan(a.s.) and
Imam Hussain(a.s.) and said "O my Allah(swt), these are my Ahl-e-Bait" . (Sahih
Muslim, Vol.2, Page 287).
Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) sat down under a tree with these weighty personalities
and said that when I pray to God, you all should say 'Ameen'. When the
Christian delegation saw a woman, two children and only one man with the
Prophet(sawaw), they got scared and worried and Abu Harisa chanted "O my
christian friends, I am seeing such bright faces that if they pray that God
move this mountain from its place then the mountain will be moved. I warn you,
do not have Mubahila with them or you all will be destroyed and banished."
The Christian delegation was still amazed and frightened when the brother of
Abu Harisa, Karz ibn-e-Alqama stated that "O my fellows, it appears that
Mohammad(sawaw) is the same last apostle and prophet that has been mentioned in
our sacred books. We should not have Mubahila with them because anyone who had
Mubahila with the prophets in the past as well was destroyed. Look around you
and observe that the signs of your destruction are appearing." When they
looked around, they observed that the entire atmosphere had changed and it
appeared that a furious storm is in offing.
Result of the Mubahila
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Witnessing this, they backed off from the contest and requested that their
friendship be accepted. Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) accepted their request and
asked Imam Ali(a.s.) to write the agreement according to which the Najran
tribes accepted to pay 'Jazia' and live under the protection of the Muslims.
This victory is a unique one in the history of this world.
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