Event of the mubahala
Part of a series on Shia Islam |
---|
Shia Islam portal |
The event of the mubahala (
The Christian delegation withdrew from the challenge and negotiated a peace treaty, either immediately, or when Muhammad arrived for the mubahala with his family, according to the majority of Islamic traditions. This episode has been linked to certain verses of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, particularly verse 3:61. The event is particularly significant for Shia Muslims because Muhammad was accompanied by his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons, Hasan and Husayn, who are pivotal to Shia beliefs. At the time, this event must have raised their religious rank as the partners of Muhammad in his prophetic claims.
Etymology
The word mubahala (مُبَاهَلَة) is derived from the root verb bahala, which means 'to curse', while the noun al-bahl can mean either 'the curse' or a scarcity of water.[1] The word mubahala can also mean 'withdrawing mercy from one who lies or engages in falsehood'.[2] The act of mubahala (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 in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).[3]
Event
With the rise of Islam in the Hejaz,[4][5] Muhammad wrote to nearby personages around the year 9 AH (631–632 CE) 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 in Medina 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 the Sasanian 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 for their own affairs.[10] This was perhaps the first such treaty in Muslim history,[4][10] but also resembled the treatment of Christians elsewhere by Muhammad.[15] It was not until the caliphate of Umar (r. 634–644) that the Christians of Najran were expelled from the Arabian Peninsula.[4]
Mubahala
In Medina, Muhammad and the Christian delegation may have also debated the nature of Jesus, human or divine, although the delegation ultimately rejected the Islamic belief that Jesus was human,[16] as represented by verse 3:59 of the Quran, 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 of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, 'Be!' and he was."[17] Indeed, this and some other verses of the third chapter (sura), 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 of mubahala, which instructs Muhammad to challenge his opponents to mubahala,[19] perhaps when the debate had reached a deadlock.[20]
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 of tawhid, that is, the Islamic belief in the oneness of God.[21]
Participants
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 the Sunni exegete Muqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 767),[24] and by the Sunni historian Ibn Sa'd (d. 845) in his Tabaqat.[13] In a tradition cited by Muqatil, Muhammad reflects hypothetically that he would have taken with him to the mubahala 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 the mubahala.[25]
Yet according to other reports, Muhammad did appear for the occasion of mubahala, accompanied by his family, as instructed by the verse of mubahala,
Ahl al-Kisa
Some traditions about the mubahala add that Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn stood under Muhammad's cloak, and the five have thus become known as the
Significance in Shia Islam
That Muhammad was accompanied to the mubahala by the above four is also the Shia view,
The verse of mubahala is often cited by Shia scholars to support their claims concerning the prerogatives of the ahl al-kisa.[19][3] In particular, if the word 'ourselves' in the verse is a reference to Ali and Muhammad, as Shia authors argue, then the former naturally enjoys a similar authority as the latter.[42][23] Likewise, the Shia exegete Muhammad 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 of mubahala targets only the liars.[43]
Eid of the mubahala
Eid of the mubahala (عِيْد ٱلْمُبَاهَلَة) is the Shia commemoration of the mubahala with the Najrani Christians, celebrated annually on 21,[3] or 24 Dhu al-Hijja of the Islamic calendar,[23] although the date in the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year because the former calendar is lunar and the latter is solar. The equivalent Gregorian date to 24 Dhu al-Hijja is shown below for a few years.
Islamic year | 1440 | 1441 | 1442 | 1443 | 1445 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eid of mubahala | 14 August 2020 | 3 August 2021 | 23 July 2022 | 12 July 2023 | 1 July 2024[44] |
Footnotes
- ^ Berjak 2006, p. 419.
- ^ Massignon 1999.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Schmucker 2012.
- ^ a b c Shahid.
- ^ Nickel 2006.
- ^ Momen 1985, p. 13.
- ^ a b c Watt 1956, p. 127.
- ^ a b c d Shah-Kazemi 2015.
- ^ Momen 1985, pp. 13–14.
- ^ a b c d e Nasr et al. 2015, p. 380.
- ^ Lalani 2000, p. 6.
- ^ a b Momen 1985, p. 14.
- ^ a b c Nickel 2006, p. 181.
- ^ Watt 1956, pp. 127–128.
- ^ Watt 1956, p. 126.
- ^ a b c d Madelung 1997, p. 16.
- ^ Nasr et al. 2015, pp. 378–379.
- ^ a b Nasr et al. 2015, p. 379.
- ^ a b Haider 2014, p. 35.
- ^ Osman 2015, p. 110.
- ^ Nickel 2006, p. 179.
- ^ a b c Nasr et al. 2015, pp. 379–380.
- ^ a b c Bill & Williams 2002, p. 29.
- ^ a b Nickel 2006, pp. 179–180.
- ^ al-Hasan 1977, p. 370.
- ^ Lammens 2012.
- ^ a b Bar-Asher & Kofsky 2002, p. 141.
- ^ Shah-Kazemi 2007, p. 61n18.
- ^ Daftary 2008.
- ^ Osman 2015, p. 140n42.
- ^ a b Haider 2014, p. 36.
- ^ Momen 1985, pp. 14, 16–7.
- ^ Algar 1974.
- ^ Tritton 2012.
- ^ Momen 1985, pp. 16, 325.
- ^ a b Soufi 1997, p. 11n36.
- ^ McAuliffe.
- ^ Fedele 2018, p. 56.
- ^ Lalani 2006, p. 29.
- ^ Thurlkill 2007, p. 20.
- ^ Mavani 2013, pp. 71–2.
- ^ Mavani 2013, p. 72.
- ^ Thurlkill 2007, p. 110.
- ^ "Islamic Calendar in Iran 1444, 2022-2023". IslamicCal.com. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
References
- Algar, H. (1974). "Āl-e 'Abā". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. I/7. p. 742.
- Bar-Asher, Meir M.; Kofsky, Aryeh (2002). The Nusayri-Alawi Religion: An Enquiry into Its Theology and Liturgy. Brill. ISBN 978-9004125520.
- Berjak, Rafik (2006). "Mubahala". In Leaman, Oliver (ed.). The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 419. ISBN 9780415326391.
- Bill, James; Williams, John Alden (2002). Roman Catholics and Shi'i Muslims: Prayer, Passion, and Politics. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807826898.
- ISBN 9789004161658.
- Fedele, Valentina (2018). "Fatima (605/615–632 CE)". In de-Gaia, Susan (ed.). Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions: Faith and Culture Across History. ABC-CLIO. p. 56. ISBN 9781440848506.
- ISBN 9781400834020.
- Haider, Najam (2014). Shī'ī Islam: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107031432.
- al-Hasan, Sharif (1977). "Fresh Look at Ancient Christians of Najrän and Present Religious Dialogues". Islamic Studies. 16 (4): 367–375. JSTOR 20847053.
- Lalani, Arzina R. (2000). Early Shi'i Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1850435928.
- Lalani, Arzina R. (2006). "'Ali ibn Abi Talib". In Leaman, Oliver (ed.). The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 28–32. ISBN 9780415326391.
- ISBN 9789004082656.
- ISBN 0521561817.
- Massignon, Louis (1999). La Mubâhala de Médine et l'hyperdulie de Fatima [مباهله در مدینه] (in Persian). Translated by Eftekhar Zadeh, Mahmood Reza. Iran: Resalat-e Ghalam.
- Massignon, Louis (2012). "Mubāhala". In Houtsma, M.Th.; Arnold, T.W.; Basset, R.; Hartmann, R. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (First ed.). ISBN 9789004082656.
- Mavani, Hamid (2013), Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shi'ism: From Ali to Post-Khomeini, Routledge Studies in Political Islam, Routledge, ISBN 9780415624404
- . Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ISBN 9780300035315.
- ISBN 9780061125867.
- Nickel, Gordon (2006). ""We Will Make Peace With You": The Christians of Najrān in Muqātil's Tafsīr". Collectanea Christiana Orientalia. 3: 171–188. ISSN 1697-2104.
- Osman, Rawand (2015). Female Personalities in the Qur'an and Sunna: Examining the Major Sources of Imami Shi'i Islam. Routledge. ISBN 9781315770147.
- Schmucker, W. (2012). "Mubāhala". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). ISBN 9789004161214.
- Shahid, Irfan A. "Najrān". In Pink, Johanna (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān. . Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- Shah-Kazemi, Reza (2007). Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam 'Ali. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781845115265.
- .
- Soufi, Denise Louise (1997). The Image of Fatima in Classical Muslim Thought (PhD thesis). Princeton University. ProQuest 304390529.
- . Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- Thurlkill, Mary F. (2007). Chosen Among Women: Mary and Fatima in Medieval Christianity and Shi'ite Islam. University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 9780268042318.
- ISBN 9789004161214.
- Watt, W. Montgomery (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Clarendon Press.