Imam Ali (peace be upon him) narrated the event of Mubahila(invocation of God’s curse) as follows:
“When God revealed the Verse of Mubahila to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) –
فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ
“Say, ‘Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves’”
The opponents said with harsh words: ‘O Aba al Qasim! You have dealt with us fairly. So, when will our appointed meeting be?’
The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) replied: ‘If God wills, tomorrow!’
At this, the Jews, seeing this decision, said among themselves: ‘If they are destroyed tomorrow – whether God destroys the Christians or the Muslims – it does not matter to us!’”
The Presence of the Household of Prophethood at Mubahila
Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) continued:
“After the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had performed the morning prayer, he took my hand and placed me in front of him. Then he took Fatimah (peace be upon her) and placed her behind him, and placed al Hasan and al Husain (peace be upon them) on his right and left sides. In this manner, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) gathered them to go to the appointed place for Mubahila.”
The Enemy’s Remorse and Request for Pardon
Upon witnessing this scene, the opponents regretted and consulted one another, saying:
“By God! He truly is the Prophet of God (peace be upon him and his family). If he performs Mubahila with us, God will certainly answer his curse against us and destroy us. There is no way for us to be saved except to ask him to forgo this agreement.”
Finally, they came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said:
“O Aba al Qasim! Relinquish your decision for Mubahila.”
The Prophet’s Forgiveness and Final Warning
The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) replied to their request:
“I have forgiven you the Mubahila. But by the God who raised me with the truth, had I performed Mubahila with you, God would not have left a single Christian on the face of the earth without destroying him.” [1]
The Argument for the Rightfulness of Amir al-Muminin as Narrated by Imam al-Sadiq
The event of Mubahila is one of the most important scenes in Islamic history, in which the special station of the Ahl al Bayt is clearly manifested. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), by referring to this event, reminded of the rightfulness of the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).
Imam al Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrated from his noble forefathers:
“When Abu Bakr sat on the caliphal throne and the people pledged allegiance to him and withdrew from supporting Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) , he, in confronting Abu Bakr, argued for his own rightfulness as follows: ‘I adjure you by God! On the day of Mubahila with the Christians, did the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) bring me along with my family and children into the field, or did he bring you and your family and children with him?’
Abu Bakr answered this question by saying: ‘He appeared for Mubahila with you.’” [2]
The Virtue of Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) on the Day of Mubahila
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), while speaking about his specific virtues to one of the traditionists, referred to the day of Mubahila – the day when God, the Glorified, in the Quran addressed him as “anfusunā” (our souls), meaning the very self of the Final Prophet.
‘Abdullah, Makhul ibn Abi Muslim, a Sunni traditionist and jurist and the mufti of Damascus in the second century AH, explained that Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) said:
“Those of the Prophet’s Companions (peace be upon him and his family) who remember things well know that there is no one among them who has a virtue without my having been a partner in it and having surpassed them in it. But I have seventy virtues in which none of them shares with me.”
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) continued:
“Those of the Prophet’s Companions (peace be upon him and his family) who have good memories know that in every virtue and distinction that exists among them, I have been a partner and have even surpassed them. But in return, there are seventy unique virtues in which no one is my partner.”
Makhul said:
“I asked: ‘O Amir al-Muminin, inform me of those virtues.’”
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), while enumerating his specific virtues, referred to the thirty fourth virtue and said:
“When the Christians of Najran claimed that they would perform Mubahila with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), God revealed this verse:
فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ
‘Then whoever argues with you about it after knowledge has come to you – say, “Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then supplicate earnestly [and] call upon God’s curse upon the liars.”’
Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) continued:
“In this verse, ‘my self’ (nafsī) is the very self of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family). Also, ‘our women’ refers to Lady Fatimah al Zahra (peace be upon her), and ‘our sons’ refers to Imam al Hasan and Imam al Husain (peace be upon them).
Then the Christian group regretted and asked forgiveness from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), and the Prophet accepted. By the One who sent the Torah to Moses and the Quran to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) – had they performed Mubahila with us, they would all have been transformed into monkeys and pigs.” [3]
[1] Bihar al Anwar, vol. 21, p. 347
[2] Al Khisal, p. 548; Bihar al Anwar, vol. 29, p. 9
[3] Al Khisal, vol. 2, p. 576
