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Theevent of themubahala (Arabic:مُبَاهَلَة,romanized: mubāhala,lit. 'mutual cursing') was an aborted attempt to resolve a theological dispute betweenMuslims andChristians inc. 632CE by invoking the curse of God upon the liars. These debates took place inMedina, located in theArabian Peninsula, between a Christian delegation fromNajran, and theIslamic prophetMuhammad, who proposed this solution probably when their discourse had reached a deadlock concerning the nature ofJesus, human or divine.
The Christian delegation withdrew from the challenge and negotiated a peace treaty, either immediately, or when Muhammad arrived for themubahala with his family, according to the majority of Islamic traditions. This episode has been linked to certain verses of theQuran, the central religious text ofIslam, particularly verse 3:61. The event is particularly significant forShia Muslims because Muhammad was accompanied by his daughterFatima, her husbandAli, and their two sons,Hasan andHusayn, who are pivotal toShia beliefs. At the time, this event must have raised their religious rank as the partners of Muhammad in his prophetic claims.
The wordmubahala (مُبَاهَلَة) is derived from the root verbbahala, which means 'to curse', while the nounal-bahl can mean either 'the curse' or a scarcity of water.[1] The wordmubahala can also mean 'withdrawing mercy from one who lies or engages in falsehood'.[2] The act ofmubahala (lit. 'mutual imprecation, curse') thus involves swearing a conditional curse, for instance, "May I be cursed if...," together with a purifying oath.[3] As a last resort,mubahala remains a lawful option to resolve disputes inIslamic jurisprudence (fiqh).[3]
With the rise of Islam in theHejaz,[4][5]Muhammad wrote to nearby personages around the year 9AH (631–632CE) and invited them to Islam.[6] One such letter was apparently addressed at the bishops of the Christian community of Najran.[7] A delegation of Najrani Christians later arrived inMedina to meet with Muhammad in 8,[8] 9,[9][10] or 10 AH,[8][11][3] perhaps to ascertain his claims to prophethood.[12] In view of their weak ties with theSasanian Empire, these and other Christians of the south were probably in a position to independently negotiate with Muhammad.[7] By one account, the delegation was led by Abd al-Masih, Abu al-Harith ibn Alqama, and Sayyid ibn al-Harith.[7][13] There a peace treaty was finally reached by which the Christians agreed to pay an annual poll-tax (jizya) but were not required to convert to Islam or partake in Muslims' military campaigns,[14] and remained in charge of their own affairs.[10] This was perhaps the first such treaty inMuslim history,[4][10] but also resembled the treatment of Christians elsewhere by Muhammad.[15] It was not until thecaliphate of Umar (r. 634–644) that the Christians of Najran were expelled from the Arabian Peninsula.[4]
In Medina, Muhammad and the Christian delegation may have also debated the nature ofJesus, human or divine, although the delegation ultimately rejected the Islamic belief that Jesus was merely human,[16] as represented by verse 3:59 of theQur'an, which acknowledges the miraculous birth of Jesus but rejects the Christians' belief in his divinity, "Truly the likeness of Jesus in the sight of God is that ofAdam; He created him from dust, then said to him, 'Be!' and he was."[17] Indeed, this and some other verses of the third chapter (surah), perhaps even its first seventy to eighty verses,[3] are said to have been revealed to Muhammad on this occasion.[18] Among these is verse 3:61, sometimes known as the verse ofmubahala, which instructs Muhammad to challenge his opponents tomubahala,[19] perhaps when the debate had reached a deadlock:[20]
فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا۟ نَدْعُ أَبْنَآءَنَا وَأَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وَأَنفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ
And to whomsoever disputes with thee over it, after the knowledge that has come unto thee, say, "Come! Let us call upon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us pray earnestly, so as to place the curse of God upon those who lie."[18]
The following verse 3:63, "And if they turn away, then God knows well the workers of corruption,"[10] has been interpreted as the subsequent rejection by the Christian delegation oftawhid, that is, the Islamic belief in the oneness of God.[21]
By some reports, the delegation did not accept the challenge and instead negotiated a peace treaty with Muhammad, either because they thought possible that he was truthful in his claims,[22][3] or because they were intimidated by the military might of Muslims.[22][23] This is reported by theSunni exegeteMuqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 767),[24] and by the Sunni historianIbn Sa'd (d. 845) in hisTabaqat.[13] In a tradition cited by Muqatil, Muhammad reflects hypothetically that he would have taken with him to themubahala his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons Hasan and Husayn.[24] Ibn Sa'd writes that two leaders of the delegation later returned to Medina and converted to Islam,[13] which might explain their earlier refusal of themubahala.[25]
Yet according to other reports, Muhammad did appear for the occasion ofmubahala, accompanied by his family, as instructed by the verse ofmubahala,[22][26] apparently at thekhatib ahmar (lit. 'red dune') in theal-Baqi cemetery, later renamed tojabal al-mubahala (lit. 'mountain of themubahala').[3][27] Those who accompanied him are often identified as Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn.[8][28][29] Such reports are given by the Shia-leaning historianIbn Ishaq (d. 767) in hisal-Sira al-Nabawiyya, the Sunni exegeteFakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1210) in hisTafsir,[8] the Sunni traditionistMuslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 875) in his canonicalSahih Muslim, the Sunni traditionistHakim al-Nishapuri (d. 1014) in hisal-Mustadrak,[30] and the prominent Sunni exegeteIbn Kathir (d. 1373).[10] This indeed appears to be the majority view in exegetical works.[31] Here, the IslamicistWilferd Madelung argues that the term 'our sons' (abna'ana) in the verse ofmubahala must refer to Muhammad's grandchildren, namely, Hasan and Husayn. In that case, he continues, it would be reasonable to include also in the event their parents, namely, Ali and Fatima.[16]
Some traditions about themubahala add that Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn stood underMuhammad's cloak, and the five have thus become known as theahl al-kisa (lit. 'people of the cloak').[32][33][34] On the same occasion, Muhammad may have defined hisahl al-bayt (lit. 'people of the house') as Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, according to Shia and some Sunni sources,[31] including the canonical collectionsSahih Muslim,Sunan al-Tirmidhi,[35] andMusnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal.[36] Alternatively, some have suggested that these claims were possibly later additions.[36][3] At any rate, the inclusion of these four by Muhammad, as his witnesses and guarantors in themubahala ritual,[37][38] must have raised their religious rank within the community.[16][39]
That Muhammad was accompanied to themubahala by the above four is also the Shi'a view,[40] and Shia sources are unanimous that the term 'our sons' (Arabic:أَبْنَآءَنَا,romanized: abna'ana) in the verse ofmubahala refers to Hasan and Husayn, the term 'our women' (Arabic:نِسَآءَنَا,romanized: nisa'ana) therein refers to Fatima, and that the term 'ourselves' (Arabic:أَنفُسَنَا,romanized: anfusana) is a reference to Muhammad and 'Ali.[41] By contrast, most reports presented by the Sunni exegeteal-Tabari (d. 923) are silent about the matter, whereas some other Sunni authors agree with the Shia reports.[16][12][27]
The verse ofmubahala is often cited by Shi'a scholars to support their claims concerning the prerogatives of theahl al-kisa.[19][3] In particular, if the word 'ourselves' in the verse is a reference to 'Ali and Muhammad, as Shi'a authors argue, then the former naturally enjoys a similar authority as the latter.[42][23] Likewise, the Shi'a exegeteMuhammad Husayn Tabataba'i (d. 1981) contends that the participation of these four, to the exclusion of other Muslims, necessitates their partnership with Muhammad in his prophetic claims, for otherwise there could have been no negative consequence to their participation as the verse ofmubahala targets only the liars.[43]
Eid of themubahala (عِيْد ٱلْمُبَاهَلَة) is the Shi'a commemoration of the prophet Muhammad'smubahala with the Christians ofNajran, celebrated annually on 21,[3] or 24Dhu al-Hijja of theIslamic calendar,[23] although the date in theGregorian calendar varies from year to year because the former calendar islunar and the latter issolar. The equivalentGregorian date to 24Dhu al-Hijja is shown below for a few years.
| Islamic year | 1441 | 1442 | 1443 | 1444 | 1445 | 1446 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eid ofmubahala | 14 August 2020 | 3 August 2021 | 23 July 2022 | 12 July 2023 | 1 July 2024 | 20 June 2025[44] |
Giulio Basetti-Sani, a Franciscan Islamicist, argued thatSt. Francis's meeting withSultan Malik al-Kamil was an act of reparation for the failure of the Christians of Najran to bear witness to Christ.[45]