The Victory of Islam!
“In the name of Allah, who is the most merciful and most beneficial”
Should anyone argue with you concerning him, after the knowledge has come to you, then say:

‘Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then supplicate earnestly and invoke the curse of Allah upon liars.’ (Quran 3:61)
This very verse refers to the famous event of ‘AL-Mubahalah’ which took place in the year 10 A.H.
The word Mubahalah means ‘invoking the curse of Allah upon liars.’
As we brought the discussion of Ghadeer Khumm into light. I would like to shed some light on Mubahalah as well. This event was held between the Prophet PBUH and the Christians of Najran.
Najran was a fertile land in Yemen. The inhabitants of this area were Christians or idol worshippers. A priest named Phemion preached christianity and soon Najran became an important centre for christians. A church was constructed and named “Ka’ba e Najran”.
After the conquest of Makkah, the influence of Islam grew and a number of people in the form of groups came to embrace it while a number opposed the teachings. In 10 A.H when the message was sent to the Christians of Najran, they decided to have a dialogue with Muslims. A delegation of Christians headed by Al-Aqib (greatest bishop, scholar of Christians and biggest strategist of the time) set off for Medina. They arrived in Medina with a pompous air. When they entered Masjid e Nabwi and Prophet Muhammad PBUH saw their lavish clothes and pomp, He PBUH turned his face away. They left the mosque and met Hazrat Usman and asked him that why were they called and then treated like this!?
Hazrat Usman advised them to consult Imam Ali a.s in this matter who then informed them of the displeasure that their lavish attires and ornaments had incurred which were a boastful display of their pride. If you want a talk time with Muhammad PBUH, take them off and wear simple clothes.
After this they came to Muhammad PBUH and said: “To what do you call?”
Prophet PBUH said:
“To bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I am the messenger of Allah and that Isa a.s is created a slave (of Allah), and he used to eat, drink and relieve himself.”
They said:
“Then who was his father?”
At this time revelation was revealed that said:
“Say to them — what do you say about Adam, he was created slave of Allah, who would eat, drink, relieve himself”
So the Prophet PBUH asked them and they replied: “Yes”. He PBUH then asked them: “Then who was his father?” They couldn’t answer so Allah revealed:
Verily the similitude of Jesus with Allah is as the similitude of Adam; Allah created him out of dust, said to him, ‘Be’, and he became. (Quran 3:59)
The messenger of Allah said:
“So challenge me: If I am telling truth the curse falls on you and if I am a liar the curse falls on me”.
They said : ‘You have been just.’
After all of this happened, the agreed on a date for Mubahila.
The time of Mubahila came and Prophet PBUH took Imam Ali a.s, Hazrat Fatimah a.s, Al Hassan a.s & Al Hussain a.s with him PBUH and said :
“O Allah, these are my Ahl al Bayt”
(Sahih Muslim, vol. 2 page 287{Vol. 4 pg. 1285 English Version} [Book 31 no. 5915]

The ‘purpose’ of Mubahalah was to show Christians the matters in which they had been led away from truth in their religion. In addition to this taking Ahl al Bayt with him PBUH displayed his sagacious foresight. This was to demonstrate that in matters of beliefs like Tawheed, Prophethood and the Quran, one should turn towards them (Ahl al Bayt) for utter guidance!
Here indeed a lot of questions are raised by our fellows beings. One of them is:
Why was Imam Ali a.s taken along?
This one without any doubt is the most frequently asked one. I’ll today answer this one with a sunni reference. As I quoted the verse of Mubahalah in the very start, according to that,
AL SUYUTI, who was a great sunni scholar wrote :
According to above verse (3:61) Jabir ibn Abdullah al Ansari (great companion of Prophet PBUH) said:
‘The word sons here refer to Imam Hassan a.s and Imam Hussain a.s, the word women here refers to Janab e Fatimah a.s and the word ourselves refer to Prophet PBUH and Imam Ali a.s. Thus Ali is referred as “self of Prophet PBUB” (Nafs of Prophet PBUH) ‘
Hubshi ibn Janadah reported that he heard the messenger of God saying :
Ali is from me and I am from him, and no one represents me but ‘Ali’.
(Sunan Ibn Majah)
It gets crystal clear from above references that why was Ali a.s taken along in Mubahalah! Subhan Allah. 🙏🏻 It gives a proof on Ghadeer Khumm as well.
The event of Mubahila proved to be a silent lesson for many in a variety of aspects.
They can no longer dare to have any competition with Muhammad PBUH. Moreover the matter of Imam Ali’s a.s succession followed by eleven Imams to the office of religious leadership should be viewed in this perspective. This event depicted who the members of the Prophet’s household (Ahl al Bayt) are, and their spiritual purity.
Along with this a very important point is that despite the childhood of Imam Hassan (a.s) and Imam Hussain (a.s), they served as active partners of Prophet Muhammad PBUH in the field of Mubahalah. This yields the conclusion that age is no criteria to judge the greatness of infallibles (Ma’sumeen). They are born adorned with virtues and majestic knowledge. This act of Prophet Muhammad PBUH elevates their status above all. Calling this important event as Eid is all because of the triumph that Islam got over Christianity.
Mubahalah teaches us a lot of lessons. As we discussed the importance of Ghadeer Khumm and how it is ignored in this so called modern world, similarly Mubahila is also one of those topics that needs to be understood and embraced in one’s life.
Summing it up with a wish and hope that in upcoming days and years we’ll be able enough to call ourselves the true Ummati of Muhammad PBUH, the one who taught us, the one who is alone enough to be followed and lights up our life like nobody else can!
Eid e Mubahila Mubarak to all Muslim Ummah! ❤
