Eid al-Mubahila

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eid al-Mubahila

The 24th of Dhul-Hijja marks the anniversary of the day which prophet of Islam invite the Christians of Najran to imprecation each other in the year 10 A.H. The term mubahila in Arabic refers to the prayer of the faithful in order to rid themselves of the company of liars. The event was the result of a delegation lead by Abdul Masihm and 60 Christian followers addressing Muhammad regarding the nature of the Prophet Jesus then according to Qur'an prophet invite them to imprecation

"If any one disputes in this matter with thee, now after (full) knowledge Hath come to thee, say: "Come! let us gather together,- our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves: Then let us earnestly pray, and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie!3:61"

According to , the tradition is as follows:

"when the following verse was revealed : Let us summon our children and your children. Allah's messenger ( pbuh&f ) called Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain and said : O Allah , these are my family ..." [Sahih Muslim, v 4 p 1285 ( English Edition)]

Abdullah Ibne Umar quotes the Holy Prophet to have commented:

"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'". (Tasfeer-e-Baizavi)

No sooner had the caravan of the Prophet appeared to the sight of the opposing group of the Christians of Najran then they were awestruck and spellbound. Abdul Haris lbne Alqama, the greatest scholar among them, addressed his people: "Verily I see a divine light on the face of our combatants; I am beholding such faces among them as can make the mountains move from their spots if they pray to God. So beware! Never try to contest with them, otherwise you will perish and the entire nation of Christians will succumb to extinction!" Thereupon the Holy Prophet reiterated, "By God! Had the Christians of Najran contested with us, they would have been transformed into monkeys and swans. Fire would have rained over them from the sky and they would have been doomed." When the Christians refrained from 'Mubahala', the Holy Prophet put before them two alternatives: either to embrace Islam or to be prepared to come to terms. But the Christians would not agree till the matter was finally decided by an offer of treaty from their side. Thus a peace treaty was signed on the terms that the Christians of Najran would thereby be committed to pay the Holy Prophet an annual tribute consisting of two thousand costumes-worth: forty thousand Dinars, thirty horses, thirty camels, thirty armors and thirty spears. (Meraj-un-Nabuwat)