The Verse of Mubahala, Surah Aal e Imran, verse 61.

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

The Need and the Truth

There was a great need, a stark necessity, to spread the true doctrines. To make clear the Shi'i thought. With sound reason and proof from the Book and the Sunnah. To fix it in the minds of the believers. To push back the doubts the مخالفين raised. So begins this treatise. Scientific. Doctrinal. Varied. Deep in thought. Strong in proof. Clear in statement. Its title: "Know the Truth, and You Will Know Its People." We hope we have done some of what was required of us. In these days of many doubts and much deviation. We ask God Almighty to guide our steps on the path of the Book and the Pure Household (peace be upon them). As the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) commanded. All praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.

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In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds. And blessings and peace be upon Muhammad and his pure family. And the curse of God be upon all their enemies.

This is a treatise. It is written to explain the Verse of Mubahala. And to show its meaning regarding the Imamate and Guardianship after the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his  Purified Family). In light of the narratives from the Ahl e Sunnat brethren. And during it, I touched on the words of their great scholars, the Hufadh. I hope God Almighty makes it useful for the people. He is the Helper, the Sustainer.

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Chapter One: The Descent of the Verse Concerning the People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt) peace be upon them.

God Almighty said: "Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, 'Be,' and he was. The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among the doubters. Then whoever argues with you concerning him after what has come to you of knowledge - say, 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then supplicate earnestly [to Allah] and invoke the curse of Allah upon the liars.' Indeed, this is the true narration. And there is no deity except Allah. And indeed, Allah is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. But if they turn away, then indeed, Allah is Knowing of the corrupters."

And the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) went out for the Mubahala with Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them).

Mention of Those Who Narrated It from the Companions and the Successors 

This news was narrated by a group of prominent Companions and Successors. We mention here those from whom the narration came in books other than the Imamiyyah. Among them:

 * Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him).

 * Abdullah ibn al-Abbas.

 * Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari.

 * Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.

 * Uthman ibn Affan.

 * Sa'id ibn Zayd.

 * Talha ibn Ubaydullah.

 * Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam.

 * Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf.

 * Al-Bara' ibn Azib.

 * Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman.

 * Abu Sa'id al-Khudri.

 * Abu al-Tufayl al-Laythi.

 * The grandfather of Salama ibn Abdishoo.

 * Umm Salama, wife of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family).

 * Zayd ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them).

 * Albah ibn Ahmar al-Yashkuri.

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 * Al-Sha'bi.

 * Al-Hasan al-Basri.

 * Muqatil.

 * Al-Kalbi.

 * Al-Suddi.

 * Qatadah.

 * Mujahid.

As for Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), he appealed to the people in the Shura regarding the descent of the verse concerning him... The news will come soon.

As for Uthman, Talha, al-Zubayr, Sa'id ibn Zayd, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, they affirmed this to Ali (peace be upon him).

Sa'd also narrated the news. It was part of his excuse for not cursing our master Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), as in the authentic tradition... Its text will come.

As for Abu al-Tufayl, he is the narrator of the appeal news.

As for the others... The texts of their narrations will come.

Among Its Narrators from the Great Imams in Hadith and Tafsir 

The books of Hadith, Tafsir, and Kalam have agreed on narrating the Hadith of Mubahala, either with chains of transmission or by sending it as a certainty. Among the most famous of them:

 * Sa'id ibn Mansur, died 227 AH.

 * Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Abi Shaybah, died 235 AH.

 * Ahmad ibn Hanbal, died 241 AH.

 * Abd ibn Humayd, died 249 AH.

 * Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, died 261 AH.

 * Abu Zayd Umar ibn Shabbah al-Basri, died 262 AH.

 * Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi, died 279 AH.

 * Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i, died 303 AH.

 * Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, died 310 AH.

 * Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir al-Naysaburi, died 318 AH.

 * Abu Bakr al-Jassas, died 370 AH.

 * Abu Abdullah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, died 405 AH.

 * Abu Bakr ibn Mardawayh al-Asfahani, died 410 AH.

 * Abu Ishaq al-Tha'labi, died 427 AH.

 * Abu Nu'aym al-Asfahani, died 430 AH.

 * Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi, died 458 AH.

 * Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi, died 468 AH.

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 * Muhyi al-Sunnah al-Baghawi, died 516 AH.

 * Jar Allah al-Zamakhshari, died 538 AH.

 * Al-Qadi Iyad al-Yahsubi, died 538 AH.

 * Abu al-Qasim ibn Asakir al-Dimashqi, died 571 AH.

 * Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi al-Hanbali, died 579 AH.

 * Abu al-Sa'adat ibn al-Athir al-Jazari, died 606 AH.

 * Al-Fakhr al-Razi, died 606 AH.

 * Izz al-Din ibn al-Athir al-Jazari, died 630 AH.

 * Muhammad ibn Talhah al-Shafi'i, died 652 AH.

 * Shams al-Din Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, died 654 AH.

 * Abu Abdullah al-Qurtubi al-Ansari, died 656 AH.

 * Al-Qadi al-Baydawi, died 685 AH.

 * Muhibb al-Din al-Tabari, died 694 AH.

 * Nizam al-Din al-A'raj al-Naysaburi, died (year not specified).

 * Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi, died 710 AH.

 * Sadr al-Din Ibrahim al-Hamawi, died 722 AH.

 * Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Juzzi al-Kalbi, died 741 AH.

 * Ala al-Din al-Khazin, died 741 AH.

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 * Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi, died 745 AH.

 * Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi, died 748 AH.

 * Ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi, died 774 AH.

 * Wali al-Din al-Khatib al-Tabrizi, died (year not specified).

 * Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, died 852 AH.

 * Nur al-Din ibn al-Sabbagh al-Maliki, died 855 AH.

 * Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, died 911 AH.

 * Abu al-Su'ud al-Imadi, died 951 AH.

 * Al-Khatib al-Shirbini, died 968 AH.

 * Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Makki, died 973 AH.

 * Ali ibn Sultan al-Qari, died 1013 AH.

 * Nur al-Din al-Halabi, died 1033 AH.

 * Shihab al-Din al-Khafaji, died 1069 AH.

 * Al-Zarqani al-Maliki, died 1122 AH.

 * Abdullah al-Shabrawi, died 1162 AH.

 * Qadi al-Qudat al-Shawkani, died 1250 AH.

 * Shihab al-Din al-Alusi, died 1270 AH.

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And other prominent figures of Hadith, Tafsir, Kalam, and history throughout various centuries.

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Texts of the Hadith in Reputable Books 

Here are the wordings of the reports about the blessed verse's descent concerning Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them), as narrated by the Hufadh with their chains of transmission in reputable books:

 * Ibn Asakir, with his chain, and Ibn Hajar, through the path of al-Daraqutni, from Abu al-Tufayl: Indeed, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) appealed to the companions of the Shura and argued with them using a number of his virtues and merits. Among them, he said to them:

   "I ask you by God, is there anyone among you closer to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) in kinship, and whom the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) made himself, and his sons his sons, and his women his women, other than me?!"

   They said: "By God, no." (1)

  

   The appeal of Amir al-Mu'minin in the Shura was narrated by a large number of scholars from both parties, with their chains of transmission from: Abu Dharr and Abu al-Tufayl. And among those who transmitted it from the Hufadh of the majority: al-Daraqutni, Ibn Mardawayh, Ibn Abd al-Barr, al-Hakim, al-Suyuti, Ibn Hajar al-Makki, and al-Muttaqi al-Hindi.

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   (1) Tarikh Dimashq - Biography of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) - 3/90, Hadith 1131.

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 * In "Al-Musnad": "Abdullah narrated to us, my father said: Qutaybah ibn Sa'id narrated to us, Hatim ibn Ismail narrated to us, from Bukayr ibn Mismar, from Amir ibn Sa'd, from his father, who said:

   I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) say to him, when he left him behind in some of his campaigns, Ali (peace of God be upon him) said: 'Are you leaving me with women and children?!'

   He said: 'O Ali! Are you not pleased to be to me in the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no prophethood after me?!'

   And I heard him say - on the Day of Khaybar -: 'Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man who loves God and His Messenger, and whom God and His Messenger love.'

   We all stretched our necks for it, and he said: 'Call Ali (may peace of God be upon him) for me.' So he was brought, suffering from ophthalmia, and he spat in his eye and gave him the banner, and God granted victory through him.

   And when this verse was revealed: 'Let us call our sons and your sons,' the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his  Purified Family) called Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn (peace  be upon them all), and he said: 'O God, these are my family.'" (1)

 * Muslim narrated, saying: "Qutaybah ibn Sa'id and Muhammad ibn Abbad narrated to us - and their wording was similar - they said: Hatim - meaning Ibn Ismail - narrated to us, from Bukayr ibn Mismar, from Amir ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, from his father, who said: Mu'awiyah ibn

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   (1) Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 1/185.

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Abi Sufyan commanded Sa'd, and he said: 'What prevents you from cursing Abu Turab?!'

So he said: 'As for the three things the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) said about him, I will never curse him. To have one of them would be dearer to me than red camels:

I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) say to him [when] he left him behind in some of his campaigns, Ali said to him: 'O Messenger of God! You left me with women and children!'

The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said to him: 'Are you not pleased to be to me in the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no prophethood after me.'

And I heard him say on the Day of Khaybar: 'Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man who loves God and His Messenger, and whom God and His Messenger love.'

He said: So we all stretched our necks for it, and he said: 'Call Ali for me.' So he was brought, suffering from ophthalmia, and he spat in his eye, and gave him the banner, and God granted victory through him.

And when this verse was revealed: 'Say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons,"' the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) called

Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, and he said: 'O God, these are my family.'" (1)

 * Al-Tirmidhi narrated it with the same chain and wording, and he said:

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   (1) Sahih Muslim 7/120.

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"This is a good, sound, gharib hadith from this route." (1)

 * Al-Nasa'i narrated: "Qutaybah ibn Sa'id al-Balkhi and Hisham ibn Ammar al-Dimashqi informed us, they said: Hatim narrated to us, from Bukayr ibn Mismar, from Amir ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, who said: Mu'awiyah commanded Sa'd, and he said: 'What prevents you from cursing Abu Turab?!'

   So he said: 'As for the three things the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said about him, I will never curse him. To have one of them would be dearer to me than red camels:

   I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) say to him, when he left him behind in some of his campaigns, Ali said to him: 'O Messenger of God! Are you leaving me with women and children?!'

   The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Are you not pleased to be to me in the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no prophethood after me.'

   And I heard him say on the Day of Khaybar: 'Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man who loves God and His Messenger, and whom God and His Messenger love.'

   We all stretched our necks for it, and he said: 'Call Ali for me.' So he was brought, suffering from ophthalmia, and he spat in his eyes and gave him the banner.

   And when 'Indeed, God intends to remove from you the impurity, O people of the household, and to purify you with [complete] purification' was revealed, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) called Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn and said: 'O God, these are my household.'" (1)

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   (1) Sahih al-Tirmidhi 5/596, Book of Virtues, Virtues of Ali.

   (1) Khasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin: 48-49.

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 * Al-Hakim narrated, saying: "Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Nusayr al-Khaldi informed me, Musa ibn Harun narrated to us, Qutaybah ibn Sa'id narrated to us, Hatim ibn Ismail narrated to us, from Bukayr ibn Mismar, from Amir ibn Sa'd, from his father, who said: When this verse was revealed: 'Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves,' the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) called Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn (may God be pleased with them all) and said: 'O God, these are my family.'

   This hadith is sahih according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs, but they did not transmit it." (2)

 * And al-Dhahabi agreed with him in (Talkhis).

 * And al-Hakim's narration from Jabir will come.

 * He also narrated from Ibn Abbas, who said: "Mention of the seventeenth type of hadith sciences: This type of knowledge is the knowledge of the children of the Companions, for whoever is ignorant of this type will be confused by many narrations.

   The first thing a hadith scholar must know from this is: the children of the Master of Mankind, Muhammad al-Mustafa (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and from whom the narration is sound among them:

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   (2) Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn 3/150.

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Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Isa al-Dahqan in Kufa narrated to us, he said: Al-Husayn ibn al-Hakam al-Hibari narrated to us, he said: Al-Hasan ibn al-Husayn al-Urani narrated to us, he said: Hibban ibn Ali al-Anazi narrated to us, from al-Kalbi, from Abu Salih, from Ibn Abbas regarding the saying of God Almighty: "Say, 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women' - to His saying: - 'the liars.'" It was revealed concerning the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and Ali himself, "Our women and your women": Fatima, "Our sons and your sons": Hasan and Husayn. And the curse upon the liars was revealed concerning al-Aqib and al-Sayyid and Abd al-Masih and their companions." (1)

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 * Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, in his commentary on the Hadith of the Status, said: "And in the narration of Amir ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas in Muslim and Tirmidhi, he said: Mu'awiyah said to Sa'd: 'What prevented you from cursing Abu Turab?!'

   He said: 'As for the three things the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said about him, I will never curse him...'

   Then he mentioned this hadith, and his saying: 'Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man whom God and His Messenger love...' And his saying: 'When "Say, 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons'" was revealed, he called Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn and said: "O God, these are my family."'" (2)

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   (1) Ma'rifat Ulum al-Hadith: 49-50.

   (2) Fath al-Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari 7/60.

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Know the Truth, You Will Know Its People, The Verse of Mubahala

It is observed that they narrate Sa'd's words in response to Mu'awiyah in different forms, even though the chain is one and the incident is one!!

Rather, the same hadith scholar narrates it in the same book in different forms. So the wording we mentioned from al-Nasa'i is one of its wordings.

While he narrated it with another wording from Bukayr ibn Mismar, who said: I heard Amir ibn Sa'd say: Mu'awiyah said to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas: "What prevents you from cursing Ibn Abi Talib?!"

He said: "I will not curse him as long as I remember three things the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said. To have one of them is dearer to me than red camels. I will not curse him as long as I remember when the revelation came to him, and he took Ali and his two sons and Fatima, and put them under his cloak, then he said: 'My Lord, these are my household' - or: 'my family'..." (1)

He narrated it with a third wording: Mu'awiyah mentioned Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon them), and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas said: "By God, if I had one of three qualities, it would be dearer to me than anything the sun rises upon.

If he had said to me what he said to him when he sent him back from Tabuk: 'Are you not pleased to be to me in the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no prophet after me'; it would be dearer to me than anything the sun rises upon.

And if he had said to me what he said to him on the Day of Khaybar: 'Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man whom God and His Messenger love, through whom God will grant victory, who is not a runaway'; it would be dearer to me than anything the sun rises upon.

And if I had his daughter and had children from her as he did, it would be dearer to me than anything the sun rises upon." (1)

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(1) Khasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin: 81.

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He narrated it with a fourth wording from Sa'd, who said:

"I was sitting and they belittled Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon them), so I said: I have heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) say three qualities about Ali (peace be upon him). To have one of them is dearer to me than red camels.

I heard him say: 'He is to me in the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no prophet after me.'

And I heard him say: 'Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man whom God and His Messenger love, and whom God and His Messenger love.'

And I heard him say: 'Of whomsoever I am master, Ali is his master.'" (2)

Ibn Majah narrated it with a fifth wording, saying: "Mu'awiyah arrived during one of his pilgrimages, and Sa'd came in to him. Then they mentioned Ali (peace be upon him), and he spoke ill of him. So Sa'd became angry and said: You say this about a man about whom I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) say: 'Of whomsoever I am master, Ali is his master.'

And I heard him say: 'You are to me in the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no prophet after me.'

And I heard him say: 'Today I will give the banner to a man whom God and His Messenger love.'" (1)

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(2) Khasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin: 49-50.

(1) Sunan Ibn Majah 1/45.

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Even if we assume a correct interpretation for the variation in the wordings of the three qualities, and there is no distortion, there is no doubt about their distortion of the wording in another aspect, which is the issue of cursing Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and speaking ill of him, especially with a single chain! For Ahmad, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Asakir (2) all shared the narration with a single chain, and it came from others than Ahmad: "Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan commanded Sa'd and said: 'What prevents you from cursing Abu Turab?!' So he said: 'As for the three things you mentioned... I heard...'"

But Ahmad omitted all of that and began the hadith with "I heard..." as if there was no occasion for Sa'd's words at all!!

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(2) Tarikh Dimashq - Biography of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) - 1/206, Hadith 271.

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As for al-Hakim, he narrates the news with the same chain and omits the occasion and two of the three qualities!!

And al-Nasa'i omits the occasion in one wording, and says: "Mu'awiyah mentioned Ali ibn Abi Talib, so Sa'd said..."!!

And in another, he omits it and replaces it with the phrase "I was sitting and they belittled Ali ibn Abi Talib..."!!

And Ibn Majah said: "Mu'awiyah arrived during one of his pilgrimages, and Sa'd came in to him. Then they mentioned Ali, and he spoke ill of him, so Sa'd became angry and said..."

Ibn Kathir then omitted "then he spoke ill of him, so Sa'd became angry" from it. (1)

In (Al-Fada'il) by Ahmad: "Ali was mentioned to a man and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas was with him. So Sa'd said to him: 'Do you mention Ali?!'" (2)

And Abu Nu'aym and some others omitted the story from its origin, saying: "From Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas, who said: The Messenger of God said: 'About Ali, there are three qualities...'" (3)

This, and the reason for all of this is known! They try to cover up the faults of their masters, even with lies and falsification! And some of them openly declared this,

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(1) Tarikh Ibn Kathir 7/340.

(2) Fada'il Ali - by Ahmad ibn Hanbal -: Mixed.

(3) Tarikh Ibn Kathir 7/340, Hilyat al-Awliya 4/356.

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Like al-Nawawi, who said: "The scholars said: The reports that outwardly appear to involve a Companion must be interpreted. They said: And nothing is found in the narrations of reliable narrators except what can be interpreted. So this saying of Mu'awiyah does not explicitly state that he ordered Sa'd to curse him. Rather, he asked him about the reason preventing him from cursing, as if he was saying: 'Did you refrain out of piety, or fear, or something else?! If it was out of piety and veneration for him from cursing, then you are right and have done well. If it was something else, then there is another answer.'

And perhaps Sa'd was among a group who were cursing, and he did not curse with them, and he was unable to object, and he objected to them, so he asked this question.

They said: And another interpretation is possible, that its meaning is: 'What prevented you from finding his opinion and ijtihad to be wrong, and showing people the goodness of our opinion and ijtihad, and that he erred?'" End of quote. (1)

And al-Mubarakfuri quoted it in his commentary on the hadith. (2)

Would you - O reader - accept this statement in such a context?!

Firstly: If there is room to interpret the speaker's words as correct and to interpret them in an acceptable way, this is not exclusive to the words of a Companion.

Secondly: If this was a rule that must be followed for the sayings of the Companions, why do they not apply it to all Companions?!

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(1) Al-Minhaj - Sharh Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj - 15/175.

(2) Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi - Sharh Jami' al-Tirmidhi - 10/156.

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Thirdly: If this rule is for the narrations which outwardly appear to involve a Companion! Why do they apply it to the narrations concerning the virtue of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), and they did not take their apparent meanings, but rather turned away from their texts?! Among them is the Hadith of Mubahala, where there is not just interpretation, but obfuscation and distortion, as we will see in the next chapter.

Fourthly: Interpretation and attributing correctness is only where possible. And their saying: "It does not explicitly state that he ordered Sa'd to curse him, rather he asked him" is a lie, for some texts previously mentioned explicitly "the order," and "speaking ill of," and "belittling." All of this is with refinement of the expression, as is not hidden.

Rather, Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned: that Mu'awiyah ordered the cursing of Ali. (1)

Rather, the narration came from Muslim and al-Tirmidhi as it was, for in the narration of al-Qunduzi al-Hanafi from them, he said: "And from Sahl ibn Sa'd, from his father, who said: Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan ordered Sa'd to curse Abu Turab, he said: 'As for the three things you mentioned...' Narrated by Muslim and al-Tirmidhi." (2)

Fifthly: Their saying: "As if he was saying... if it was out of piety... then you are right and have done well" is contradicted by what was explicitly stated in some wordings of the report that Sa'd left Mu'awiyah's gathering angry and swore never to return to it!!

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(1) Minhaj al-Sunnah 5/45.

(2) Yanabi' al-Mawaddah: 193.

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In any case... this is an example of their tampering with the faults of their masters, to hide them. And you will see in the next chapter - an example of their tampering with the virtues of Ali (peace be upon him), to hide them. This is the religion of the people and their custom. May God gather them with those who defend and love them!!

 * Ibn Shabbah, who died in 262 AH, narrated, saying: "Al-Hizami narrated to us, he said: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, he said: Al-Layth ibn Sa'd informed me, from someone who narrated to him, he said: The two monks of Najran came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to offer them Islam... He said: So the Prophet invited them to Mubahala and took the hand of Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn (may God be pleased with them), and one of them said to the other: 'The man has been fair to you.'

   So they said: 'We will not perform Mubahala with you.'

   And they agreed to pay the jizya and disliked Islam." (1)

.....

 * Al-Husayn ibn al-Hakam al-Hibari (2), who died in 286 AH, narrated, saying:

   "Ismail ibn Abban narrated to me, he said: Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us, from Abu Harun, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: When this verse was revealed: 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons,' he said: So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) came out with Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn." (1)

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   (1) Tarikh al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, Volume 1/583.

   (2) He is also in the chain of al-Hakim in "Al-Mustadrak."

   (1) Tafsir al-Hibari: 248.

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 * Al-Tabari narrated: "Ibn Humayd narrated to us, he said: Isa ibn Farqad narrated to us, from Abu al-Jarud, from Zayd ibn Ali, regarding His saying: 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons,' the verse, he said: It was the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) and Ali and Fatima and Hasan and Husayn."

   "Muhammad ibn al-Husayn narrated to us, he said: Ahmad ibn al-Mufaddal narrated to us, he said: Asbat narrated to us, from al-Suddi, 'Then whoever argues with you concerning him after what has come to you of knowledge,' the verse, so he - meaning the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) - took the hand of Hasan and Husayn and Fatima, and said to Ali: 'Follow us.' So he went out with them, but the Christians did not come out that day and they said: 'Indeed, we fear...'"

   "Al-Hasan ibn Yahya narrated to me, he said: Abd al-Razzaq informed us, he said: Ma'mar informed us, from Qatadah, regarding His saying: 'Then whoever argues with you concerning him after what has come to you of knowledge - say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons,"' he said: It reached us that the Prophet of God (peace be upon him and his family) went out at night to the people of Najran. When they saw him come out, they feared and were terrified, so they returned.

   Ma'mar said: Qatadah said: When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) wanted to address

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the people of Najran, he took the hand of Hasan and Husayn, and said to Fatima: 'Follow us.' When the enemies of God saw that, they returned."

"Yunus narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd narrated to us, he said: It was said to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family): 'If you were to curse the people, whom would you bring when you said 'Our sons and your sons'?'

He said: 'Hasan and Husayn.'"

"Muhammad ibn Sinan narrated to me, he said: Abu Bakr al-Hanafi narrated to us, he said: Al-Mundhir ibn Tha'labah narrated to us, he said: Albah ibn Ahmar al-Yashkuri narrated to us, he said: When this verse was revealed: 'Say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women,"' the verse, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purifief Family) sent for Ali and Fatima and their two sons Hasan and Husayn..." (1)

 * Al-Suyuti said: "Al-Bayhaqi narrated in (Al-Dala'il) through the path of Salama ibn Abdishoo, from his father, from his grandfather: Indeed, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) wrote to the people of Najran... When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) rose the next morning after informing them of the news, he approached, covering Hasan and Husayn with a Yemeni cloak of his, and Fatima was walking behind him, for the purpose of the Mula'ana, and he had at that time several wives..."

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   (1) Tafsir al-Tabari 3/212-213.

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"And al-Hakim narrated - and he authenticated it - and Ibn Mardawayh, and Abu Nu'aym in (Al-Dala'il) from Jabir, who said: ...

So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) went early and took the hand of Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn...

Jabir said: About them was revealed: 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons,' the verse.

Jabir said: "'Ourselves and yourselves': the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) and Ali. 'Our sons': Hasan and Husayn. 'Our women': Fatima."

"And Abu Nu'aym narrated in (Al-Dala'il) through the path of al-Kalbi, from Abu Salih, from Ibn Abbas: ...And the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) had come out with Ali, Hasan, Husayn, and Fatima, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) said: 'If I supplicate, then you say amen.' So they refused to perform Mula'ana with him and reconciled with him for the jizya."

"And Ibn Abi Shaybah, and Sa'id ibn Mansur, and Abd ibn Humayd, and Ibn Jarir, and Abu Nu'aym narrated from al-Sha'bi... So the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) went early and with him were Hasan and Husayn and Fatima..."

"And Muslim, and al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn al-Mundhir, and al-Hakim, and al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan, narrated from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, who said: When this verse was revealed: 'Say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons,"' the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) called Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, and said: 'O God, these are my family.'" (1)

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(1) Al-Durr al-Manthur fi al-Tafsir bi al-Ma'thur 2/38-39.

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 * Al-Zamakhshari said: "And it is narrated that when he called them to Mubahala, they said: 'Until we return and consider.' So when they withdrew, they said to al-Aqib - who was their man of opinion -: 'O Abd al-Masih! What do you think?'

   He said: 'By God, you have known - O community of Christians - that Muhammad is a sent prophet, and he has come to you with the decisive word concerning your companion. By God, no people ever performed Mubahala with a prophet and their elders lived or their young grew. And if you do so, you will perish. But if you refuse except your religion and to remain upon what you are, then make peace with the man and return to your lands.'

   So he came to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) who had come early, holding Husayn and taking Hasan by the hand, and Fatima walking behind him and Ali behind her, and he was saying: 'When I supplicate, then you say amen.'

   So the bishop of Najran said: 'O community of Christians! Indeed, I see faces which, if God willed to remove a mountain from its place, He would remove it by them. So do not perform Mubahala, lest you perish, and no Christian remains on the face of the earth until the Day of Judgment.'

   So they said: 'O Abu al-Qasim! We have decided not to perform Mubahala with you, and to acknowledge you in your religion and remain firm in our religion.'

   He said: 'If you refuse Mubahala, then embrace Islam, and you will have what the Muslims have and owe what they owe.' But they refused.

   He said: 'Then I will fight you.'

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They said: 'We have no power for war with the Arabs, but we will make peace with you on the condition that you do not raid us, nor frighten us, nor turn us away from our religion, on the condition that we pay you two thousand garments each year, a thousand in Safar and a thousand in Rajab, and thirty ordinary iron shields.'

So he made peace with them on that, and he said: 'By Him in whose hand is my soul, indeed, destruction has fallen upon the people of Najran, and if they had performed Mula'ana, they would have been transformed into monkeys and pigs, and the valley would have blazed with fire upon them, and God would have uprooted Najran and its people, even the birds on the tops of the trees, and a year would not have passed over all the Christians until they perished.'

And from Aisha: Indeed, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) came out and he had a patterned black wool cloak. So Hasan came and he brought him in, then Husayn came and he brought him in, then Fatima, then Ali, then he said: 'Indeed, God intends to remove from you the impurity, O people of the household.'

If you say: His calling to Mubahala was only to distinguish the liar from him and his opponent, and that is a matter specific to him and his opponent, so what is the meaning of including the sons and women?

I say: That is a stronger indication of his confidence in his state and his certainty of his truthfulness, as he dared to expose his dearest ones, the fruits of his loins, and the most beloved people to him to that, and did not limit it to exposing himself to it; and of his certainty of his opponent's lie, so that his opponent and his loved ones

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and dearest ones would perish with him, a perishing of uprooting if the Mubahala were completed.

And he singled out the sons and women because they are the dearest of family and the closest to the hearts, and perhaps a man would sacrifice himself for them and fight for them until he is killed. And from there, they would drive their women in battles to prevent them from fleeing, and those who defended them with their lives were called the protectors of the women.

And he mentioned them before the selves to draw attention to their subtle position and close status, and to announce that they are prioritized over the selves and sacrificed for.

And in it is proof, nothing stronger, of the virtue of the People of the Cloak (peace be upon them).

And in it is clear proof of the prophethood of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), because no one, neither agreeer nor opponent, narrated that they agreed to that." (1)

 * Ibn al-Athir narrated Sa'd's hadith concerning the three qualities, with his chain of transmission from al-Tirmidhi. (2)

   And he sent it in his history as a certainty, saying: "As for the Christians of Najran, they sent al-Aqib and al-Sayyid with a group to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Puridied Family), and they wanted to perform Mubahala with him. So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) came out and with him were Ali and Fatima and Hasan and Husayn. When they saw them, they said: 'These are

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   (1) Al-Kashshaf 1/369-370.

   (2) Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma'rifat al-Sahabah 4/26.

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faces which, if they were to swear by God to remove mountains, He would remove them.' And they did not perform Mubahala with him, and they made peace with him for two thousand garments, the price of each garment forty dirhams, and that they would host the envoys of the Messenger of God ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family). And he gave them the protection of God Almighty and His covenant that they would not be tempted from their religion nor be tithed, and he stipulated that they would not eat usury nor deal in it." (1)

 * Al-Hakim al-Haskani narrated with his chain: "From Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i, from Silah ibn Zufar, from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who said: Al-Aqib and al-Sayyid - the two bishops of Najran - came inviting the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) to Mula'ana. So al-Aqib said to al-Sayyid: 'If he performs Mula'ana with his companions, then he is not a prophet, but if he performs Mula'ana with his household, then he is a prophet.'

   So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) stood up and called Ali and placed him on his right, then called Hasan and placed him on his left, then called Husayn and placed him to the right of Ali, then called Fatima and placed her behind him.

   So al-Aqib said to al-Sayyid: 'Do not perform Mula'ana with him, for if you perform Mula'ana with him, neither we nor our descendants will prosper.' Then the Messenger of God said: 'If they had performed Mula'ana with me, no eye would have blinked in Najran.'" (2)

   

   This is the same chain in al-Bukhari from Hudhayfah, but he omitted from the report what relates to "the household" and put in its place a virtue for "Abu Ubaydah," and it will come in

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   (1) Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh 2/293.

   (2) Shawahid al-Tanzil 1/126.

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the next chapter, so wait!!

 * Ibn Kathir said: "And Abu Bakr ibn Mardawayh said: Sulayman ibn Ahmad narrated to us, Ahmad ibn Dawud al-Makki narrated to us, Bishr ibn Mahran narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Dinar narrated to us, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from al-Sha'bi, from Jabir, who said: ...

   So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) went early and took the hand of Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn... Jabir said: And concerning them was revealed...

   And similarly, al-Hakim narrated it in his Mustadrak... Then he said: Sahih according to Muslim's conditions, but they did not transmit it like this.

   He said: And Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi narrated it from Shu'bah, from al-Mughirah, from al-Sha'bi, mursal. And this is more authentic.

   And it has been narrated from Ibn Abbas and al-Bara' something similar." (1)

   But he - in (Al-Tarikh) - first mentioned the curtailed hadith of al-Bukhari! Then he narrated the story from al-Bayhaqi, from al-Hakim with his chain from Salama ibn Abdishoo, from his father, from his grandfather; and there is no mention of Ali (peace be upon him) in it, as will come.

 * Al-Qari, in his commentary on the hadith, said: "From Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, who said: When this verse was revealed - meaning the one called the Verse of Mubahala - 'Let us call our sons and your sons,' its beginning is 'Then whoever argues with you concerning him after what has come to you of knowledge - say, "Come, let us call our sons

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   (1) Tafsir Ibn Kathir 1/319.

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and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves."

'' The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) called Ali; so he placed him in the position of himself due to the kinship and brotherhood between them, and Fatima, meaning because she is the most special of his women from his relatives, and Hasan and Husayn; so he placed them in the position of his sons (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and he said: 'O God, these are my household,' meaning: remove from them impurity and purify them with complete purification. Narrated by Muslim." (1)

Words on the Chain of Transmission 

Let us present the texts of some of the Imams of the people regarding the certainty of this report:

Al-Hakim said: "And the reports in the commentaries have been transmitted recurrently (mutawatir), from Abdullah ibn Abbas and others, that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) on the Day of Mubahala took the hand of Ali and Hasan and Husayn, and they placed Fatima behind them, then he said:

These are our sons and ourselves and our women. So bring yourselves and your sons and your women, then let us supplicate earnestly and invoke the curse of God upon the liars." (2)

Al-Jassas said: "Indeed, the narrators of the biographies and the transmitters of the traditions have not differed that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) took the hand of Hasan and Husayn and Ali and Fatima (peace be upon them), and invited the Christians who argued with him to Mubahala..." (3)

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(1) Al-Mirqat fi Sharh al-Mishkat 5/589.

(2) Ma'rifat Ulum al-Hadith: 50.

(3) Ahkam al-Quran 2/16.

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Ibn al-Arabi al-Maliki said: "The commentators narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) debated the people of Najran until he prevailed over them with proof and argument, but they refused to submit and embrace Islam, so God revealed this verse. Then he invited Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, then invited the Christians to Mubahala." (1)

Ibn Talhah al-Shafi'i said: "As for the Verse of Mubahala, trustworthy narrators and reliable transmitters have transmitted its descent concerning Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn." (2)

And al-Qadi al-Ijiy and al-Sharif al-Jurjani acknowledged the indication of the sound reports and the firm narrations among the people of transmission that he (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) invited Ali, Fatima, and their two sons only. Their complete statements will come in the chapter on the indication.

The Book of Reconciliation 

And it came in more than one book: that Ali (peace be upon him) wrote a document for them by the command of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family). (3) And Ibn Shabbah and al-Baladhuri and others mentioned the text of the document, and it appears from them that the people preserved it, he said

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(1) Ahkam al-Quran 2/16.

(2) Talhah, died 652 A.H., author of "Matalib al-Sa'ul fi Manaqib Al al-Rasul."

(3) Al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Kathir 2/569, and Al-Sirat al-Halabiyyah 2/323.

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He appeared among them. They kept him close. He said:

(1) Ahkam al-Qur'an 1/115. Al-Sa'ada Press, Egypt. In my edition, 1/360, the name Ali is missing. This needs checking.

(2) Matalib al-Sa'ul: 7.

(3) Also: Sunan al-Bayhaqi 10/120.

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Al-Baladhuri: "Yahya ibn Adam said: I saw a book in the hands of the Najranis. Its copy was like this copy. At its end: And Ali ibn Abi Talib wrote it." (1)

Proximities on the Day of Mubahala: ... 

The Day of Mubahala. A day when God showed His prophet's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) truth to the Christians. A day when Ali and the Household's (peace be upon them) standing was made clear to all. It was a great Islamic festival, a joyful day for believers. Each man should give thanks.

From this, the Shia remember this day. It is the twenty-fourth of Dhul Hijjah. (2)

Actions and devotions were mentioned: ablution, fasting, prayer, supplication. Those who read the books of this matter know this. (3)

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(1) Futuh al-Buldan: 76-77.

(2) Masar al-Shia - by Sheikh al-Mufid: 41.

(3) Misbah al-Mutahajjid: 758-767, Al-Iqbal bi Salih al-A'mal: 515.

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Know the Truth, Know its People, The Verse of Mubahala

Chapter Two: Desperate Attempts and Amazing Lies... 

A Note

The Mubahala. 

The blessed verse came down for the Household (peace be upon them), not others. It was the highest merit of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). It proved his Imamate after the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family). 

Some scholars from the school of the Caliphs tried to answer this. We will see how.

But there were attempts concerning the report itself. This shows the people admitted the tradition's meaning. They knew their arguments were useless.

These attempts were:

 * Hiding and Obscuring the Original Report: ... 

   Some did not mention the report at all. Yet it contained proofs of prophethood and Islam's triumph over other religions. Ibn Hisham (1) was among them. Ibn Sayyid al-Nas (2) followed him. This is the latter's wording in mentioning the delegations. It is a summary of the former's words:

"Then the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) sent Khalid ibn al-Walid in Rabi' al-Akhir or Jumada al-Ula of the tenth year, to Banu al-Harith ibn Ka'b of Najran. He ordered him to invite them to Islam for three days before fighting them. If they accepted, he should receive them. If not, he should fight them.

Khalid went to them. He sent riders in every direction. They called to Islam. They said: 'O people, embrace Islam, and you will be safe.' The people accepted Islam. They entered what they were called to. Khalid stayed with them, teaching them Islam. He wrote to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) about this.

The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family)  wrote to him to come back and bring their delegation with him. So he came, and their delegation came with him. Among them was Qays ibn al-Husayn Dhu al-Ghussah... He appointed Qays ibn al-Husayn over them.

They returned to their people in the rest of Shawwal or Dhu al-Qa'dah. They stayed there only four months until the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) passed away."

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(1) Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham 2/592.

(2) Uyun al-Athar fi al-Maghazi wa al-Siyar 2/244.

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 * Hiding and Obscuring the Hadith of Mubahala: ... 

   Others tried this. Among them:

 * Al-Bukhari – under the heading "The Story of the People of Najran, from the Book of Military Expeditions":

"Abbas ibn al-Husayn narrated to me, Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us, from Israel, from Abu Ishaq, from Silah ibn Zufar, from Hudhayfah, who said: Al-Aqib and Al-Sayyid – the two leaders of Najran – came to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), intending to invoke God's curse upon him.

He said: One of them said to his companion: 'Do not do it. By God, if he is a prophet and we invoke God's curse, neither we nor our descendants will prosper after us.' They said: 'We will give you what you ask. Send with us a trustworthy man. Do not send with us anyone but a trustworthy man.' He said: 'I will send with you a truly trustworthy man.'

The Companions of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) looked forward to this. He said: 'Stand up, O Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.' When he stood, the Messenger of God said: 'This is the trustworthy man of this nation.'

Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Ja'far narrated to us, Shu'bah said: I heard Abu Ishaq, from Silah ibn Zufar, from Hudhayfah (may God be pleased with him) who said: The people of Najran came to the Prophet and said: 'Send us a trustworthy man.' He said: 'I will send to you a truly trustworthy man.' The people looked forward to this, so he sent Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah." (1)

The Hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman was presented earlier. Al-Qadi al-Haskani narrated it with the same chain of transmission. But Al-Bukhari did not mention the reason for the invocation of God's curse! Nor the revelation of the blessed verse! Nor the Prophet's going out with Ali, Fatimah, and the two Hasans (peace be upon them)!

The distortion in his narration is clear. His wording is very confused. He says:

"They came... intending to invoke God's curse upon him. One of them said to his companion: 'Do not do it.'" They came "intending to invoke God's curse upon him," so something must have happened? "One of them said to his companion..."

What happened?!

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, in his commentary, pointed to the revelation of the verse and the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) going out for Mubahala with the Household. But it was a very brief hint!

Then he said: "They said: 'We will give you what you ask.'" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) had asked for nothing. He invited them to Islam and what the Qur'an brought. They refused. So he warned them of war. They asked for peace and to pay the jizya. He wrote to them about this, and Ali (peace be upon him) was the scribe.

Then Al-Bukhari – after omitting the Hadith of Mubahala and wanting to hide the virtue of the People of the Cloak, peace be on them – attributed a virtue to Abu Ubaydah. He said that they (the Najranis) said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family): "Send with us a trustworthy man." So he sent Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah with them.

But in more than one book, the Prophet ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) sent Ali ( peace be upon him) to them. Al-Hafiz pointed this out and tried to resolve the contradiction. He said: "Ibn Ishaq mentioned that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) sent Ali (peace be upon him) to the people of Najran to bring him their charities and their jizya. This story is different from the story of Abu Ubaydah, because Abu Ubaydah went with them, collected the money of the peace treaty, and returned. Ali (peace be upon him) was sent by the Prophet ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) after that to collect from them what was due to him of the jizya and to take from those who embraced Islam what was due to them of charity. And God knows best." (1)

It is found in the narrations of the story only that they "agreed to the jizya" and committed to paying what was included in the letter the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) wrote for them. Among that: two thousand cloaks, "a thousand in every Rajab, and a thousand in every Safar." This was the jizya. Abu Bakr and Umar continued this until Uthman came and exempted them from some of it! And it was written: "I have exempted them from their jizya two hundred cloaks for the sake of God"! (2)

Then, their return to their people was in the rest of Shawwal or Dhu al-Qa'dah. (1) Where is Rajab? And where is Safar?

So what al-Hafiz mentioned—to resolve the contradiction—is baseless.

Perhaps for this reason, this sentence did not appear in Muslim's narration. He narrated the report from Abu Ishaq, from Silah ibn Zufar, from Hudhayfah, who said: "The people of Najran came to the Messenger of God ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) and said: 'O Messenger of God! Send us a trustworthy man.' He said: 'I will send to you a trustworthy man...'" (2)

Moreover, the people's traditions about "Abu Ubaydah's trustworthiness" multiplied, to the extent that they narrated with the wording "the trustworthy one of this nation is Abu Ubaydah." We have discussed these traditions from both aspects – chain of transmission and meaning – in detail in another book. (3)

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(1) Sahih al-Bukhari 5/217. Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi - Beirut.

(1) Fath al-Bari - Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari - 8/77.

(2) Futuh al-Buldan: 77.

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Dhu al-Qa'dah. (1) Where is Rajab? Where is Safar?

What al-Hafiz said to resolve the contradiction, it is fallen.

Perhaps this is why this sentence did not appear in Muslim's narration. He narrated the report from Abu Ishaq, from Silah ibn Zufar, from Hudhayfah, who said: "The people of Najran came to the Messenger of God and said: 'O Messenger of God! Send us a trustworthy man.' He said: 'I will send to you a trustworthy man...'" (2)

Furthermore, the traditions about "Abu Ubaydah's trustworthiness" became numerous among them, even to the extent that they narrated the phrase "The trustworthy one of this Ummah is Abu Ubaydah." We have discussed these traditions, both in terms of their chain of transmission and their meaning, in detail in our major book. (3)

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(1) Uyun al-Athar 2/244, and others.

(2) Sahih Muslim 7/139.

(3) Nafahat al-Azhar fi Khulasat Abaqat al-Anwar 11/315-338.

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 * Ibn Sa'd, he mentioned under the title "Delegation of Najran": The Messenger of God wrote to the people of Najran. Their delegation came to him, fourteen men from their nobles, Christians, among them Al-Aqib, who was Abdul Masih...

He invited them to Islam. They refused. Much talk and argument passed between them. He recited the Qur'an to them. The Messenger of God ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) said: "If you deny what I say to you, then let us invoke a curse upon each other." They left on that.

The next morning, Abdul Masih and two men of their esteemed elders came to the Messenger of God ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family). He said: "It has become clear to us that we will not invoke a curse upon you. So judge us as you wish, and we will give you and make peace with you." So he made peace with them on...

He called witnesses to this, among them: Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Al-Aqra' ibn Habis, and Al-Mughira ibn Shu'bah.

They returned to their lands. Al-Sayyid and Al-Aqib did not stay long before they returned to the Prophet ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and they embraced Islam. He lodged them in the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.

The people of Najran remained on what the Prophet ( peace be upon him and his Purified Famil had written for them until God took him... (1)

Then he said regarding the departure of the commanders and workers for charity: "And Ali ibn Abi Talib ( peace be upon him) was sent to Najran to collect their charities and bring their jizya to him." (2)

 * Ibn al-Jawzi said: "Also, in the tenth year of the Hijra, al-Aqib and al-Sayyid from Najran came, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family wrote a peace treaty for them." (3)

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(1) Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra 1/357-358.

(2) Tarikh al-Tabari 3/147.

(3) Al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Umam - Events of the Tenth Year - 4/3.

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 * Ibn Khaldun said: "In it, the delegation of Najran, Christians, came in seventy riders. Their leader, Al-Aqib Abdul Masih from Kindah, their bishop Abu Harithah from Bakr ibn Wa'il, and Al-Sayyid Al-Ayham, led them. They argued for their religion. Then the beginning of Surat Al Imran and the verse of Mubahala were revealed. They refused it. They feared and asked for peace. He wrote to them a peace treaty for a thousand cloaks in Safar and a thousand in Rajab, and for thirty of each: armor, spears, horses, and bedding. They asked him to send a governor with them to judge between them. He sent Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah with them. Then Al-Aqib and Al-Sayyid came and embraced Islam." (1)

 * Hiding and Obscuring Ali's Name! ... 

   Others tried to hide Ali's name.

 * They omitted his name from the hadith. As in the narration from the grandfather of Salamah ibn Abdishou' mentioned earlier.

 * Some even altered Muslim's hadith, dropping Ali's name, as will be seen from "Al-Bahr al-Muhit"!

 * Al-Baladhuri titled his book "Peace Treaty of Najran" and mentioned the story, saying:

   "Then God Almighty revealed: 'This We recite to you of the Verses and the wise Reminder. Indeed, the example of Jesus to God is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was - until His saying: 'the liars.'' The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) recited it to them. Then he invited them to Mubahala. He took the hand of Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn ( peace be upon them). One of them said to his companion: 'Go up the mountain and do not invoke a curse on him. For if you do, you will incur the curse.'

He said: 'What do you think?' He said: 'I think we should give him tribute and not invoke a curse on him...'" (1)

 * Ibn al-Qayyim confined himself to the narration of Salamah's grandfather, and did not cite the wording found in Muslim and others. He said: "And we narrated from Abu Abd Allah al-Hakim, from al-Asamm, from Ahmad ibn Abd al-Jabbar, from Yunus ibn Bukayr, from Salamah ibn Abdishou', from his father, from his grandfather. Yunus said—and he was a Christian who embraced Islam—that the Messenger of God wrote to the people of Najran..." He narrated the story until he said:

"When the Messenger of God woke up the next day, after he had informed them of the news, he came wrapped in a cloak with Hasan and Husayn (may God be pleased with them) and Fatimah (may God be pleased with her) walking behind him for the Mubahala, and he had several wives on that day..." (2)

 * And Ibn Kathir did the same in his history... (3)

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(1) Tarikh Ibn Khaldun 4/836-837.

(1) Futuh al-Buldan: 75-76.

(2) Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khair al-Ibad 3/39-40.

(3) Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya 5/53.

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 * The transmission from Al-Sha'bi varied:

One: His narration from Jabir ibn Abd Allah, in which the verse was revealed concerning Ali, Fatimah, and the two Hasans (peace be upon them).

Second: His narration of the report with Ali's (peace be upon him) name omitted! A group narrated it from him, and Al-Suyuti from them, as previously mentioned.

And it came in Al-Tabari after the report from Ibn Humayd, from Jarir, from Mughira, from

Al-Sha'bi; and there is no mention of Ali in it: "Ibn Humayd narrated to us, he said: Jarir narrated to us, he said: So I said to Mughira: 'Indeed, people narrate in the hadith of the people of Najran that Ali, peace be upon him was with them!'

He said: 'As for Al-Sha'bi, he did not mention him. So I do not know if it was due to the bad opinion of Banu Umayyah towards Ali (peace be upon him), or if it was not in the hadith.'" (1)

Third: His narration of the report with Ali's (peace be upon him) name omitted! And adding "and people from his companions"!! This is what we mention:

 * Omitting Ali's (peace be upon him) Name and Adding "and people from his companions": ... 

   I found this report only with Ibn Shabih, from Al-Sha'bi, where he said:

"Abu al-Walid Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qurashi narrated to us, he said: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, he said: Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Fazzari narrated to us, from Ata' ibn al-Sa'ib, from Al-Sha'bi, who said: 

The delegation of Najran came, and they said to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family): 'Inform us about Jesus...' He said: 'Then the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) woke up and Hasan and Husayn and Fatimah (peace be upon them) and some of his companions went out. The Najaran delegation went to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) and said: 'We did not come for Mubahala, but we came for you to impose something on us that we will pay to you...'" (1)

If "Hasan went out..." meant they went out with the Messenger of God( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) for Mubahala, then he took out "some Companions" with his Household!

And if "some Companions" went out with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), why did the narrator not include Ali (peace be upon him) among them at least!

But Al-Sha'bi – if these distortions were from him and not from his narrators – was known for his Umayyad leaning. Perhaps one of the narrations we cited earlier from Tafsir al-Tabari hints at this... And Al-Sha'bi was the treasurer of the Marwan family and the judge of Kufa in their time. He was a close companion of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. All this and more is mentioned in his biography in the books, so it should be consulted.

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(1) Tafsir al-Tabari 3/211.

(1) Tarikh al-Madinah al-Munawwarah 1/581-582.

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 * The Distortion by Adding "Aisha and Hafsa": ... 

   I found this wording with Al-Halabi. He said: "In one wording: they made a truce with him for the next day. When he woke up, he came with Hasan, Husayn, Fatimah, and Ali (peace be upon them) and said: 'O God, these are my family...'

And from Umar, he said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family): 'If you were to invoke a curse on them, O Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), whose hand would you hold?' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) said: 'I would hold the hand of Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, Husayn (peace be upon them), Aisha, and Hafsa.'

And this – meaning the addition of Aisha and Hafsa – is indicated by God's saying: 'and our women and your women.' And they made peace with him..." (1)

 * The Distortion by Omitting "Fatimah" ( peace be upon her) and Adding "Abu Bakr and his children, Umar and his children, and Uthman and his children"

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   It is found this only with Ibn Asakir, specifically in Uthman's biography in his history! He said:

"Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim informed us, Abu al-Fadl ibn al-Kuraydi informed us, Abu al-Hasan al-Atiqi informed us, Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni informed us, Abu al-Husayn Ahmad ibn Qaj informed us, Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari – dictating to us – informed us, Sa'id ibn Anbasah al-Razi informed us, Haytham ibn Adi said: I heard Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father, regarding this verse: 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves.' He said: So he brought Abu Bakr and his children, and Umar and his children, and Uthman and his children, and Ali and his children (peace be upon them)." (1)

And Al-Suyuti (2), Al-Shawkani (3), Al-Alusi (4), and Al-Maraghi (5) narrated it from him, remaining silent about it! Yes, Al-Alusi said: "This is contrary to what the majority narrated."

Those were the people's attempts regarding the Hadith of Mubahala, and their manipulation of its wording... regardless of some of them using expressions like "it was said" and "it was narrated" and so on, by which they usually intend to belittle it.

Moreover, it is more appropriate for us to refrain from discussing these distortions – additions and omissions – due to their clear origin from Umayyad hands, attempting to conceal the merits of Ali ( peace be upon him), knowing

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(1) Insan al-Uyun - Al-Sirah al-Halabiyah 3/236.

(1) Tarikh Dimashq - Biography of Uthman ibn Affan - 168-169.

(2) Al-Durr al-Manthur 2/40.

(3) Fath al-Qadir 1/348.

(4) Ruh al-Ma'ani 3/190.

(5) Tafsir al-Maraghi 4/175.

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their implication of superiority. This they tried in the Hadith of Ghadir and the Hadith of Manzila, and such like.

In the Hadith of Mubahala, they sought to hide this virtue, even by omitting the original event! Or by removing the name of Ali, peace be upon him or the pure Fatima ( peace be upon her).

Had the hadith not pointed to superiority – as will come – some would not have added Aisha and Hafsa next to Fatima!( peace be upin her).

Indeed, some wished to remove the hadith from showing this virtue was exclusive to the Household (peace be upon them). So they fabricated, on the tongue of one of them – Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him), narrated by Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him)– what implied the three elders were equal to Ali (peace be upon him), and their children equal to his (peace be on them)!

They put it on the tongues of the Imams of the Household (peace be upon them) and their children so it would be accepted by simple folk!

How many times did they do this on the tongues of the Imams of the Household and their children (peace be upon them), in various chapters of exegesis, jurisprudence, and merits! (1)

What Ibn Asakir narrated, none of the masters of the Sahihs, Musnads, and Dictionaries transmitted. Nor does it withstand, by their own rules, what Ahmad, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and others transmitted. Al-Hakim confirmed its continuous transmission, and others its authenticity.

Indeed, even Ibn Taymiyyah, who clings to every straw, did not care for this hadith!

This hadith is a pure lie, false in chain and text. Let us speak of two of its narrators:

 * Sa'id ibn Anbasah al-Razi: ... 

   He is not among the narrators of the Sahihs, Sunans, and the like. He is a liar. Ibn Abi Hatim mentioned him, saying: "Sa'id ibn Anbasah, Abu Uthman al-Khazzaz al-Razi... My father heard from him but did not narrate from him, and he said: 'There is doubt about him.'

Abd al-Rahman narrated to us,

He said: I heard Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them) say: I heard Yahya ibn Ma'in – and he was asked about Sa'id ibn Anbasah al-Razi – and he said: 'I do not know him.'

It was said: 'He narrated a hadith about Walan from Abu Ubaydah al-Haddad.' He said: 'This is a liar.'

Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, he said: I heard Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them) say: Sa'id ibn Anbasah is a liar.

(1) 

We have mentioned examples of this in some of our published research. It would be good if they were collected and published in a separate treatise. And God is the Giver of Success.

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 * Al-Haytham ibn Adi: ... 

   They all agreed he was a liar.

Ibn Abi Hatim said: "Yahya ibn Ma'in was asked about Al-Haytham ibn Adi, and he said: 'A Kufan, not trustworthy, a liar.'

I asked my father about him, and he said: 'His hadith is abandoned.'" (1)

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar mentioned him in his Lisan and cited the remarks about him:

Al-Bukhari: Not trustworthy, used to lie.

Yahya ibn Ma'in: Not trustworthy, used to lie.

Abu Dawud: A liar.

Al-Nasa'i and others: His hadith is abandoned.

Ibn al-Madini: I am not pleased with him in anything.

Abu Zur'ah: Worthless.

Al-Ijli: A liar.

Al-Saji: Used to lie.

Ahmad: A master of reports and deception.

Al-Hakim and Al-Naqqash: Narrated rejected hadiths from trustworthy narrators.

(1) Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil 9/85.

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Mahmud ibn Ghaylan: Ahmad, Yahya, and Abu Khaythama discarded him.

Ibn al-Sakan, Ibn Shahin, Ibn al-Jarud, and Al-Daraqutni mentioned him among the weak narrators.

A group, like Al-Tahawi in "Mushkil al-Hadith," Al-Bayhaqi in "Al-Sunan," Al-Naqqash, and Al-Jawzajani in what they compiled of fabricated reports, deemed the hadith a lie because Al-Haytham was in its chain. (1)

Suppose Ibn Asakir narrated this fabricated report in his book "Tarikh Dimashq." This book contains many fabricated reports, as Ibn Taymiyyah (2) and others stated. So why do Al-Suyuti and those who followed him mention it in the interpretation of the Noble Qur'an and in explaining the meaning of a verse from God's wise words?!

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(1) Lisan al-Mizan 6/209.

(2) Minhaj al-Sunnah 7/40.

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Chapter Three: On the Verse of Mubahala's Indication of Imamate... 

A Note

Know that the day of the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) Mubahala with the Christians of Najran was a momentous day. It held many signs and miracles.

Among its signs: It was the first time God opened the door of decisive Mubahala in this noble nation when His proofs and clear signs were denied.

Among its signs: It was the first day when God's glory and His Messenger's (peace be upon him and his  Purified Family) might appeared, compelling the People of the Book from among the Christians to humiliation and jizya, and their submission to his prophecy and desires.

Among its signs: It was the first day when the divine power and prophetic might surrounded those who argued against him with reason and tradition, and those who denied his miracles.

Among its signs: It was the first day whose suns shone with the light of confirmation for Muhammad...

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(peace be upon him and his Purified Family) from God's side, differentiating between his enemies and those he trusted.

Among its signs: It was a day when the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his  Purified Family) showed the distinction of his Household (peace be upon them) by their high status.

Among its signs: It was a day when God revealed to His servants that Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn (peace be upon them) – despite their young age – were more worthy of Mubahala than the companions of the Messenger of God and those who strove for his messages.

Among its signs: It was a day when God revealed that His revered daughter Fatimah (peace be upon her) was superior in the station of Mubahala to his followers and the righteous among his men and those he cared for.

Among its signs: It was a day when God revealed that our master Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) is the very soul of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and that he is from his essence and attributes, and that his will is from his will, and though the form differed, the meaning is one in virtue from all aspects.

Among its signs: It was a day that marked everyone who lagged behind in the station of Mubahala with a mark indicating that he was inferior to those who were put forward in arguing for God Almighty and spreading His signs.

Among its signs: It was a day unlike any before Islam, as we know from sound transmission and narrations.

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Among its signs: It was a day that silenced the tongues of claims and brought joy to the council of fatwa, for the People of Mubahala were more honorable to God than all who were not fit for what they were fit for, among those who drew near through His obedience and worship.

Among its signs: The day of Mubahala was a day of clear proof for the truthful, whom God ordered to be followed in His sacred Qur'an and verses.

Among its signs: The day of Mubahala was a day when God bore witness to the infallibility of each of the People of Mubahala during their lifetime.

Among its signs: The day of Mubahala was closer to confirming the Prophet and Messenger (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) than challenging with the Qur'an, and clearer in its indication. Those whom he challenged with the Qur'an said: "If we wished, we could say the like of this." (1)

Even if their saying was a lie. On the day of Mubahala, they did not dare claim denial, due to their inability to invoke a curse, because his proof and signs were clear.

Among its signs: It was a day when God extinguished the fire of war, and protected the faces of the Muslims from struggle and hardship, and saved them from the excitement of risking lives and heads, and freed them from the bondage of conquest and misery due to the honor of the People of Mubahala (peace be upon them)

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(1) Surat Al-Anfal: 8:31.

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described in it by His attributes.

Among its signs: The tongue, the speech, and the heart confessed their inability to fully describe its graces." (1)

The scholars of the Imamiyyah used the verse of Mubahala as proof, that the Prophet invited only Imam Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them)... for the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful.

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 * Imam Al-Ridha's Proof: ...

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   A Note

   As for the verse's indication of the Imamate, the Imamiyyah took that from Imam Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Ridha. Al-Sharif al-Murtada al-Musawi (may God sanctify his soul) said:

"The Sheikh – may God perpetuate his glory – also narrated to me, he said: Al-Ma'mun once said to Al-Ridha (peace be upon him):

'Tell me the greatest virtue of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) that the Qur'an indicates.'

Al-Ridha (peace be upon him) said to him: 'His virtue in Mubahala. God Almighty said: 'And whoever argues with you concerning him after what has come to you of knowledge, say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves; then let us earnestly pray and invoke the curse of God upon the liars."'

So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) called Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them), and they were his sons. And he called Fatimah (peace be upon her), and she was – in this context – his women. And he called the Commander of the Faithful ( peace be upon him), and he was his very self by the judgment of God Almighty.

And it is established that none of God's creation is more noble than the Messenger of God ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and none is better. So it became necessary that none should be better than the very self (peace be upon him) of the Messenger of God ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) by the judgment of God Almighty.

Al-Ma'mun said to him: 'Did not God mention sons in the plural, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) only called his two sons (peace be upon them)? And He mentioned women in the plural, and the Messenger of God ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) only called his daughter (peace be upon her) alone. Why then is it not permissible that He mention the calling of one who is his very self, and the meaning is his very self in reality, not others, so that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) would not have the virtue you mentioned?'

Al-Ridha (peace be upon him) said to him: 'What you mentioned is not correct.  Regarding the Commander of the Faithful ( peace be upon him) this is because the caller is only a caller for others, just as the commander is a commander for others. And it is not correct for him to be a caller for himself in reality, just as he cannot be a commander for himself in reality. And when the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) did not call anyone in the Mubahala except the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), it is established that he is the very self whom God Almighty meant in His Book, and He made this judgment in His revelation.'

Al-Ma'mun said: 'When the answer comes, the question falls.'" (1)

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(1) Al-Iqbal bi Salih al-A'mal: 514.

(1) Al-Fusul al-Mukhtarah min al-Uyun wa al-Mahasin: 38.

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Sheikh al-Mufid's Proof... 

 * Sheikh al-Mufid – after mentioning the story – said: "In the story of the people of Najran is a clear statement of the virtue of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), along with the miracle it contains for the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) , and the wonder indicating his prophethood.

Do you not see the Christians' admission of his prophethood, and his decisive assertion of their refusal to engage in Mubahala, and their knowledge that if they did, punishment would befall them, and his certainty of victory over them and triumph with argument against them, and that God Almighty ruled in the verse of Mubahala that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) is the very self of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), thereby revealing his attainment of the utmost virtue, and his equality with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) in perfection and infallibility from sins, and that God made him, his wife, and his two children ( peace be upon them) – despite their close ages – a proof for His Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) and an argument for His religion, and explicitly ruled that Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) are his sons, and that Fatimah (peace be upon her) is his women to whom the mention and address are directed in the call to Mubahala and argument?!

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This virtue was not shared by any other in the Ummah, nor did anyone approach them or resemble them in its meaning. It is connected to the preceding virtues of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), which are specific to him, as we have mentioned." (1)

 * Similarly, Al-Sharif al-Murtada argued, saying: "There is no doubt in the indication of the verse of Mubahala on the virtue of whoever was called to it and whose presence was made an argument against the opponents, and its requiring his precedence over others; because it is not permissible for the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) to call to that station to be an argument in it except one who is at the peak of virtue and high status.

And the narration of the Mubahala hadith has been transmitted widely, and that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) called to it the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them), and the people of transmission and interpretation have agreed upon that...

And we know that His saying 'and ourselves and yourselves' cannot mean the Prophet ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family) himself in the call, because he is the caller, and it is not permissible for a person to call himself, but it is correct for him to call others, just as it is not permissible for him to command or forbid himself. And if His saying 'and ourselves and yourselves' must refer to someone other than the Messenger (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), then it must refer to the Commander of the Faithful ( peace be upon him), because no one claims the inclusion of anyone other than the Commander of the Faithful and his wife and his two children (peace be upon them) in the Mubahala." (1)

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(1) Al-Irshad fi Ma'rifat Hujaj Allah ala al-Ibad 1/169.

(1) Al-Shafi fi al-Imamah 2/254.

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Sheikh al-Tusi's Proof... 

 * Sheikh al-Tusi said: "One of the proofs for his (peace be upon him) virtue is God's saying: 'Say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves; then let us earnestly pray...'" to the end of the verse.

The aspect of its proof is that it is established that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) invited the Commander of the Faithful, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them) to Mubahala. The scholars of transmission and interpretation have agreed upon this. And it is not permissible to call to that station for it to be a proof except one who is at the peak of virtue and high status. And we know that His saying: 'and ourselves and yourselves' cannot mean the Prophet (peace be upon him and his  Purified Family) in the call; because he is the caller, and it is not permissible for a person to call himself, but it is correct for him to call others, just as it is not permissible for him to command or forbid himself.

And if His saying: 'and ourselves and yourselves' must refer to someone other than the Messenger (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), then it must refer to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him); because no one claims the inclusion of anyone other than the Commander of the Faithful and his wife and his two children (peace be upon them) in the Mubahala..." (1)

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(1) Talkhis al-Shafi 3/6-7.

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He said in interpretation of the verse: "And our companions used this verse to argue that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was the most virtuous of the companions, from two aspects:

First: The purpose of Mubahala is to distinguish the righteous from the false, and that cannot be done except by one whose inner self is trustworthy, whose correctness of belief is certain, and who is the best person in the sight of God.

Second: The Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) made him like himself by saying: 'and ourselves and yourselves...'" (2)

Sheikh Al-Irbili's Proof... 

 * Al-Irbili said: "In this matter is a clear statement of Ali's (peace be upon him) virtue, and the manifestation of the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) miracle. For the Christians knew that if they invoked a curse on him, punishment would befall them, so they accepted the peace treaty and entered into the truce. And God Almighty made clear that Ali (peace be upon him) is the very soul of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), thereby revealing his attainment of the utmost virtue, and his equality with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) in perfection and infallibility from sins. And that God made him, his wife, and his two children (peace be upon them) – despite their close ages – a proof for His Prophet ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family)

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(2) Al-Tibyan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an 2/485.

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and a clear proof for his religion. And He explicitly ruled that Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) are his sons, and that Fatimah (peace be upon her) is his women to whom the mention and address are directed in the call to Mubahala and argument; and this is a virtue no one else in the Ummah shared or even approached." (1)

Sheikh al-Bayadi's Proof... 

 * Al-Bayadi said: "And because he is equal to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), who is the best, in His saying 'and ourselves and yourselves,' and the meaning is resemblance, due to the impossibility of unity." (2)

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's Proof... 

 * The Investigator Nasir al-Din al-Tusi – regarding Ali's (peace be upon him) superiority over the Companions – said: "And because of His saying 'and ourselves.'"

 * So Allamah al-Hilli in his commentary said: "This is the third aspect indicating his (peace be upon him) superiority over others, which is His saying 'Say, "Come..."' And the exegetes unanimously agreed that 'our sons' refers to Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them), and 'our women' refers to Fatimah (peace be upon her), and 'ourselves' refers to Ali (peace be upon him).

And it cannot be said that their souls are one; so there remains no meaning intended except equality. And there is no doubt that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his  Purified Family) is the best of people, so his equal is also best and most worthy of management." (1)

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(1) Kashf al-Ghummah fi Ma'rifat al-A'immah 1/233.

(2) Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim ila Mustahiqqi al-Taqdim 1/210.

(1) Kashf al-Murad fi Sharh Tajrid al-I'tiqad: 304.

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Know the Truth, Know its People, The Verse of Mubahala

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Al-Allamah al-Hilli's Proof... 

 * Al-Allamah al-Hilli said: "The exegetes unanimously agreed that 'our sons' refers to Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them, and 'ourselves' refers to Ali (peace be upon him).

So God made him the very soul of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and the meaning is equality. And the equal of the most perfect and most worthy of authority is also most perfect and most worthy of authority. This verse is the clearest proof of the high rank of our Master, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him); because God ruled that he is equal to the very soul of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and that He specifically designated him in the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) seeking help in supplication and recourse through him! And what virtue is greater than God ordering His Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) to seek help through him in supplication to Him and recourse through him?! And to whom did this rank fall?!" (2)

And along these lines are the words of other great scholars throughout the ages. They used two types of evidence to prove the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). The first is the texts, and the second is that which indicates superiority, and superiority entails Imamate, which is the desired outcome.

The summary of the argument from the verse is:

 * The blessed verse is a text explicitly stating the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), because it indicates equality between the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) and him, and the equal of the most perfect is most worthy of authority, and the most worthy of authority is most perfect.

 * The event of Mubahala and what the Prophet ( peace be  upon him and his Purified Family) said and did indicate the superiority of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), for reasons including:

First: This event indicates that Ali, Fatimah, and the two Hasans (peace be upon them) were the dearest people to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and being dearest entails superiority.

Al-Baydawi said: "Meaning, let each of us and you call his soul and his dearest family members and those closest to his heart to Mubahala..." (1)

Al-Shihab al-Khafaji said in his commentary: "Closest to his heart, meaning: dearest and nearest to him."

He said: "His saying: 'And he only preferred them...,' means: they are dearer than himself, and for this reason, he sacrifices himself for them. So he mentioned them first out of concern for them. As for the virtue of the family of God and the Messenger ( peace be upon them), the day needs no proof." (1)

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(2) Nahj al-Haqq wa Kashf al-Sidq: 177.

(1) Tafsir al-Baydawi bi Hashiyat al-Shihab 3/32.

(1) Hashiyat al-Shihab ala Tafsir al-Baydawi 3/32.

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And so said Al-Khatib al-Shirbini (2), and Sheikh Sulayman al-Jamal (3), and others.

Al-Qari said: "So he (Ali, peace be upon him) was placed in the position of his (Prophet's, peace be upon him and his Purified Family) very self due to the kinship and brotherhood between them." (4)

Second: The indication of the Prophet's action (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), as he challenged his opponents only with Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn ( peace be upon theem). He did not invite any of his wives, nor any of the Banu Hashim, nor any woman from his relatives... let alone his companions and his people... This indicates the greatness of the situation, and the high status of these individuals in the sight of God, unlike others. For if there was anyone among the Muslims who was generally their equal, there would be no reason for singling them out.

Third: The indication of his saying (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) to the Household, when he brought them out for Mubahala: "When I supplicate, say Amen."

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(2) Al-Siraj al-Munir fi Tafsir al-Qur'an 1/222.

(3) Al-Jamal ala al-Jalalayn 1/282.

(4) Mirqat fi Sharh al-Mishkat 5/589.

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Their Bishop said: "I see faces that, if they asked God to remove a mountain from its mountains, He would remove it. So do not invoke a curse, lest you perish and no Christian remains on the face of the earth until the Day of Judgment." (1)

This shows their role in proving his prophethood and the truth of his words, and in humiliating opponents and causing their destruction if they had cursed. So they had a great impact and a significant share in supporting the religion and the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds (peace be upon him and his Purified Family). There is no doubt that one who has such a standing in challenging prophets is superior to one who does not.

Al-Qasimi said: "The invocation of curses by prophets has a great effect, the cause of which is the connection of their souls to the Holy Spirit and God's support for them with it. It is what affects, by God's permission, the elemental world, so the elemental world's response to it is like our body's response to our soul in the states that come upon it, such as anger, sadness, thoughts about the beloved, and other movements of limbs when intentions and resolutions arise. And the response of human souls to it is like the response of our senses and other faculties to the states of our souls. So when a holy soul connects to it, its effect in the world, when attention is focused on the connection, is the effect of what it connects to. So the elemental bodies and deficient human souls respond to it as it wills.

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(1) Al-Kashshaf 1/369, Tafsir al-Khazin 1/242, Al-Siraj al-Munir fi Tafsir al-Qur'an 1/222, Al-Maraghi 3/175, and others who came before or after.

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Did you not see how the souls of the Christians were affected by his soul (peace be upon him) with fear, and they refrained from Mubahala and sought peace by accepting the jizya?" (1)

Thus, the Household were partners with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) in this tremendous influence. This is a rank that no one else, whether relatives or companions, reached even a tenth of it.

In short, Mubahala indicates the superiority of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) after the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family). And the most superior is the designated one for the Imamate by the agreement of the Muslims, as even Ibn Taymiyyah (2) admitted.

The result of the argument from the blessed verse and what the Prophet did and said is that God Almighty ordered His Messenger (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) to call Ali (peace be upon him) his very self to clarify to people that Ali (peace be upon him) is the one who follows him and takes his place in the Great Imamate and general guardianship; because one who does not possess these positions would not be ordered by God to be called his very self by His Messenger (peace be upon him and his Purified Family).

Moreover, the verse indicates that the "two Hasans" (peace be upon them) are the sons of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), and this is what more than one of the great scholars of the people explicitly stated.

It has been mentioned in books that Ali (peace be upon him) was the scribe of the peace treaty (1) and that he later went to Najran by the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) command to collect charities from those who embraced Islam and to take jizya from those who remained on their religion. (2)

Furthermore, our companions support the indication of the noble verse regarding equality with several narrations:

Like his saying (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) to Buraydah ibn al-Husayb when he complained about Ali (peace be upon him): 

"O Buraydah! Do not hate Ali, for he is from me and I am from him." And to the general Muslims in that story: "Ali is from me and I am from Ali, and he is your guardian after me." (3)

And his saying, when asked about some of his companions, and it was said: "What about Ali?!" He said: "You only asked me about people, and you did not ask me about myself." (4)

And his saying: "Ali and I were created from one light."

And his saying: "Ali and I were created from one tree." (5)

And his saying – in response to Gabriel's saying during the Battle of Uhud: "O Muhammad! Indeed, this is

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(1) Tafsir al-Qasimi 2/857.

(2) He stated it in several places in his Minhaj, see for example: 6/475 and 8/228.

(1) Sunan al-Bayhaqi 10/120, and others.

(2) Sharh al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyyah 4/43.

(3) This is the Hadith of Guardianship, and we have discussed it in detail regarding its chain and meaning in the fifteenth volume of the book "Nafahat al-Azhar fi Khulasat Abaqat al-Anwar."

(4) Kifayat al-Talib fi Manaqib Ali ibn Abi Talib: 155.

(5) The Hadith of Light and the Hadith of the Tree. We studied them in detail, chain and meaning, in Volume Five of the book, "Nafahat al-Azhar fi Khulasat Abaqat al-Anwar."

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Chain: Know the Truth, Know Its People, Ayat al-Mubahala

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The Consolation: "O Gabriel, he is from me and I am from him." Gabriel said, "And I am from both of you." (1)

Other traditions will come later, God willing.

Also used as proof: His saying, peace be upon him and his family: "Fatima (peace be upon her) is a piece of me..." 

Many imams of the people used this to prove Fatima's (peace be upon her) superiority over Abu Bakr and Umar, because she was a piece of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family. He was better than them by consensus (2).

 

Ali, peace be upon him, was also better than her(peace be upon her) by consensus.

Many Sunni scholars admitted the story proved the overwhelming virtue of the Household, peace be upon them.

Al-Zamakhshari said: "In it is proof. Nothing stronger exists for the virtue of the People of the Cloak, peace be upon them." (3)

Ibn Ruzbihan said: "For the Commander of the Faithful Ali, peace be upon him, in this verse, there is great virtue. It is accepted. But it does not prove his Imamate by text (to him but proved to others)." (4)

(1) Musnad Ahmad 4/437, Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn 3/11, Tarikh al-Tabari 3/17, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh 2/63 and other sources in history and hadith.

(2) Fath al-Bari 7/132, Fayd al-Qadir 4/421, Al-Mirqat fi Sharh al-Mishkat 5/348.

(3) Al-Kashshaf 1/370.

(4) Ibtal al-Batil - with Ihqaq al-Haqq - 3/63.

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At least it proves superiority. This virtue was not for others. So he (peace be upon him) was the best of the Companions. Superiority means Imamate.

Thus, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi did not question the verse's proof of Ali's (peace be upon him) superiority over other Companions. He only argued with Shaykh al-Himsi regarding its proof of Ali's (peace be upon him) superiority over other prophets. His words will follow.

Al-Nisaburi followed him. His words: "That is: each of us will call our sons and women, and he will come himself, and with him those who are like himself, to the Mubahala. His coming himself is known from the context of mentioning the self and from bringing those dearer than the self. And the coming of one who is like the self is known from the context that a person does not call himself. 'Then we pray together': then we engage in Mubahala..."

"The verse proves that Hassan and Hussein—daughters' sons—can be called sons of the Messenger of God (peace be upon them, peace be upon him and his Purified Family). For he, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, promised to call his sons, then he came with them."

"The Shia, old and new, held to this: Ali (peace be upon him) was better than other Companions. The verse showed Ali's ( peace be upon him) self was like Muhammad's self (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), except where proof excluded it."

"In Rayy, there was a man, Mahmud ibn al-Hasan al-Himsi. He was a Twelver theologian. He claimed Ali (peace be upon him) was better than all prophets save"

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"Muhammad ( peace be upon him and his Purified Family). He said: This is shown by His saying: 'OURSELVES.' The meaning of 'OURSELVES' is not Muhammad (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) himself, for a man does not call himself. The meaning is another. And they agreed that the other was Ali ibn Abi Talib ( peace be upon him)..."

"The reply was: Just as Muslims agreed Muhammad (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) was better than other prophets, so too did they agree—before this man appeared—that a prophet was better than a non-prophet. They agreed Ali (peace be upon him) was not a prophet..."

"As for the virtue of the People of the Cloak (peace be upon them), there is no doubt the verse proves it. That is why he joined them to himself. Indeed, he mentioned them first..." (1)

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(1) Tafsir al-Nisaburi - marginal note to al-Tabari 3/214-215.

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Know the Truth, Know Its People, Ayat al-Mubahala

Chapter Four: Repelling Opponents' Doubts

The previous chapter summarized that the blessed verse proved the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him. If not by explicit text, then by proof of infallibility and superiority in love, closeness, and other aspects. 

There was no room to question the chain of transmission or tamper with the text.

Let us look at the words of the opponents regarding the meaning.

The Imam of the Mu'tazila said:

"Another argument for them: They sometimes referred to the verse of Mubahala. When it came down, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, gathered Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein, peace be upon them. This proves he (peace be upon him) was the most excellent. This means he had the most right to the Imamate. He (peace be upon him) must be the one intended by His saying: 'AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES' the verse. Because he, peace be upon him, is not included in His saying: 'WE CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS AND OUR WOMEN.''

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"AND YOUR WOMEN.' He must be included under 'AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES.' It is not permissible to make him from himself unless he follows him in virtue."

"This is like the first, a matter of preference. We will show that the Imamate can be for one who is not the most excellent."

"Among our elders, some mentioned from the transmitters of traditions that Ali was not in the Mubahala."

"Our elder, Abu Hashim, said: He, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, singled out those close in lineage. He did not aim to clarify virtue. This is shown by his including Hasan and Hussein, peace be upon them, despite their youth, due to their close kinship. 

And His saying: 'AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES' indicates this meaning. For he meant close kinship, just as one says of a man close in lineage to a people: 'He is from their very selves.'"

"It is not denied that this indicates his high standing with the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, and his intense love for him, and his virtue. We only denied that it proves he was the most excellent or that it proves the Imamate..." (1)

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(1) Al-Mughni fi al-Imama: 20 Part 1/142.

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This talk boils down to a few things:

First: Imamate can be for one not the best.

This is, in fact, an admission of the Imamiyya's argument for the Commander of the Faithful's ( peace be upon him) superiority. Even Ibn Taymiyyah disliked the idea of Imamate for one who was not the best!

Second: Ali was not in the Mubahala.

This also proves the Imamiyya's argument. Otherwise, they would not have resorted to this claim, just as some, like Fakhr al-Razi, claimed in response to the Hadith of Ghadir that Ali was not present at the Farewell Pilgrimage!

Third: The intention was not to show virtue, but close kinship.

This is false. If that were the only intention, he would have excluded others of his relatives, like Abbas. Ibn Taymiyyah noticed this and responded by saying Abbas was not among the early converts. He admitted the truth, whether he knew it or not.

It is clear that the Ash'aris rely on this last point for their objections. This shows how dependent they are on the Mu'tazila, and how many similar instances there are!

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Ibn Taymiyyah (1) said:

"As for his taking Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein in the Mubahala, it is a sound hadith. Muslim narrated it from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. He said in a long hadith: 'When this verse was revealed: "SAY: COME, LET US CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS, AND OUR WOMEN AND YOUR WOMEN, AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES," the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, called Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein, and said: O God, these are my family.'"

"But this has no bearing on Imamate or superiority."

"His statement: (God made the self of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, and union is impossible, so equality remains for him, and he has general authority, so too for his equal)."

"We say: We do not concede that only equality remains, nor is there proof for that. Rather, interpreting it as such is impossible. For no one is equal to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, neither Ali nor anyone else."

"This phrase in Arabic does not imply equality. God said in the story of the slander: 'WHY DID NOT THE BELIEVING MEN AND BELIEVING WOMEN, WHEN YOU HEARD IT, THINK GOOD OF THEIR OWN SELVES?' And He said in the story of the Children of Israel: 'SO TURN TO YOUR CREATOR AND KILL YOURSELVES; THAT IS BETTER FOR YOU IN THE SIGHT OF YOUR CREATOR,' meaning, let some of you kill others. This did not necessitate their"

(1) We cited his words in full so it becomes clear that others followed him and so no one assumes we omitted anything that might affect the discussion!

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"being equal, nor that those who worshipped the calf were equal to those who did not."

"Likewise, it was said regarding His saying: 'AND DO NOT KILL YOURSELVES,' meaning: let some of you not kill others, even though they are not equal."

"And He said: 'NOR DEFAME ONE ANOTHER,' meaning: do not defame one another, criticizing and faulting. This is a prohibition for all believers from such mutual criticism, even though they are not equal in rulings or virtue, nor is the oppressor like the oppressed, nor the Imam like the one led."

"From this category is His saying: 'THEN YOU ARE THESE WHO KILL YOURSELVES,' meaning: some of you kill others."

"If the wording in 'AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES' is like the wording in 'NOR DEFAME ONE ANOTHER'... 'WHY DID NOT THE BELIEVING MEN AND BELIEVING WOMEN, WHEN YOU HEARD IT, THINK GOOD OF THEIR OWN SELVES,' and similar expressions, where equality is not necessary, but impossible, then it is likewise there, and even more so."

"Rather, this wording indicates homogeneity and similarity. And homogeneity and similarity occur through shared aspects, like sharing in faith. Believers are brothers in faith, which is the meaning of: 'WHY DID NOT THE BELIEVING MEN AND BELIEVING WOMEN, WHEN YOU HEARD IT, THINK GOOD OF THEIR OWN SELVES' and 'NOR DEFAME ONE ANOTHER.'"

"It can also be through sharing in"

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"religion, even if hypocrites are among them, like the shared apparent Islam of Muslims. And if there is also shared lineage, it is stronger. And the people of Moses were 'OURSELVES' in this regard."

"His saying: 'COME, LET US CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS, AND OUR WOMEN AND YOUR WOMEN, AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES,'

 means: our men and your men. That is, the men who are of our kind in religion and lineage, and the men who are of your kind. And the meaning is kinship only. For he said: 'OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS, AND OUR WOMEN AND YOUR WOMEN,' so he mentioned children, women, and men. So it is known that he meant those closest to us, male and female, from children and relatives. That is why he called Hasan and Hussein from his sons, and Fatima from his women, and Ali from his men. He had no one closer to him in lineage than these. And they are the ones over whom he spread the cloak."

"Mubahala only happens with those closest. Otherwise, if he had performed Mubahala with distant relatives, even if they were better in God's sight, the purpose would not have been achieved. For the intent is that they call those closest to them, just as he calls those closest to him."

"And souls are more affectionate towards their relatives than others. They knew he was the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family. They knew that if they performed Mubahala against him, the curse would fall upon them and their relatives. So their fear for themselves and their relatives combined, making their refusal more potent. Otherwise, a man might choose to perish for his son to live, and an old man might choose death if his relatives remain in comfort"

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"and wealth. This is common. So he asked them for Mubahala with sons, women, and men, and the closest from both sides. That is why he called these."

"The verse of Mubahala came down in year ten, when the delegation from Najran arrived. The Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, had no uncles left except Abbas. And Abbas was not among the early converts, nor did he have a special connection like Ali. As for his cousins, there was none like Ali. And Ja'far had been killed before that. For the Mubahala was when the delegation from Najran arrived in year nine or ten, and Ja'far was killed at Mu'tah in year eight. So Ali, may God be pleased with him, was designated."

"His designation for Mubahala, since there was no one among his relatives to take his place, does not mean he was equal to the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, in anything. Nor does it mean he was absolutely superior to all other Companions. Rather, he had a kind of virtue through the Mubahala, shared between him and Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein. It is not among the characteristics of Imamate. For the characteristics of Imamate are not established for women. Nor does it require that one who was involved in Mubahala be better than all Companions, just as it did not require Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein to be better than all Companions."

"As for the Rafidi's statement: If anyone else was equal to them or better than them in answering prayers, God would have ordered him to take them with him, because it was a moment of need."

"The answer is: The purpose was not answering prayers. For the Prophet's prayer"

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"peace be upon him and his  Purified Family, alone was enough. If the purpose of calling others with him was to have their prayers answered, he would have called all believers and prayed with them, just as he sought rain with them and sought victory through the poor among the emigrants. He used to say: 'Are you not aided or provided for except by your weak ones?! Through their prayers, worship, and sincerity!'"

"It is known that even if these were answered, many prayers are more effective in answering. But the purpose was not to invite those invited for their prayers to be answered, but for the sake of confrontation between families!"

"We know with certainty that if the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, had invited Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Talha, Zubayr, Ibn Mas'ud, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, and others to Mubahala, they would have been the greatest people in answering his command. And the prayers of these and others would have been more effective in answering prayers. But God did not order him to take them with him, because that would not achieve the purpose."

"For the purpose was that those people would bring those they naturally cared for, like their sons, women, and men, who were their closest relatives. If the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, had invited strangers, those people would have brought strangers. And the curse falling on those strangers would not have been as severe for them as its falling on their closest relatives. For human nature fears for its closest relatives more than for strangers. So the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, was ordered to call his relatives and for those others to call their relatives."

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"And people in confrontation say to each other, 'Pledge your sons and women with us.' If one party pledged strangers, the others would not accept. Just as if the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, had called strangers, those confronting him would not have accepted. And it does not follow that a man's family is better in God's sight if he confronts with them against one who confronts with his own family."

"So it has been made clear that the verse does not prove the Rafidi's claim at all."

"But he—and those like him with deviation in their hearts—are like the Christians who cling to ambiguous words and abandon clear texts. Then his slander against the best of the Ummah with his false claim, when he claimed that 'selves' meant equals, which is contrary to common usage in Arabic."

"What clarifies this is that his saying: 'OUR WOMEN' does not apply only to Fatima. Rather, any of his daughters he called would have been in her place regarding that. But at that time, he had no one but Fatima. For Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Zaynab had died before that."

"Likewise, 'OURSELVES' is not specific to Ali. Rather, this is a plural form, just as 'OUR WOMEN' is a plural form, and 'OUR SONS' is a plural form. He only called Hasan and Hussein because he had no other sons attributed to him. For if Ibrahim was"

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"present then, he was a child not to be called. For Ibrahim was the son of Maria the Copt, whom al-Muqawqis, ruler of Egypt, gifted to him. He also gifted him a mule, Maria, and Sirin. So he gave Sirin to Hassan ibn Thabit, and took Maria as a concubine, and she bore him Ibrahim. He lived for a little over ten months and died. The Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, said: He has a wet nurse in Paradise to complete his suckling. And al-Muqawqis's gift was after Hudaybiyyah, indeed after Hunayn." (1)

This was the full text of Ibn Taymiyyah's discourse on the Mubahala. It contained:

 * An admission of the hadith's authenticity.

   This refutes those who doubt its authenticity and its establishment from the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family.

 * An admission that the event was exclusive to the four pure ones.

   This refutes those who deviate from the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, and those who distort the hadith by omitting "Ali" or adding others to them!

 * An admission that they were the ones over whom the cloak was spread.

   This refutes those who claim others entered the verse of purification. Indeed, it shows Ibn Taymiyyah's contradiction, for he claimed—in a place in his Minhaj—that the wives were included based on context.

 * An admission that there was a kind of virtue for Ali in the Mubahala.

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(1) Minhaj al-Sunnah 7/122-130.

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This refutes those who try to deny it.

Then Ibn Taymiyyah denies the hadith's proof of Imamate entirely. His words, confused, full of contradictions, and a response—which al-Dihlawi called—the words of the Nasibis!

First thing he said: No one is equal to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family.

We also say: No one is equal to him, were it not for the verse and the definitive hadiths from him, like his saying, peace be upon him and his Purified Family: "Ali is from me, and I am from Ali, and he is your guardian after me." (1) 

And his saying—in the story of Surah al-Bara'ah—: "None can deliver on my behalf except me or a man from me." (2)

And his saying, peace be upon him and his family—to the delegation of Thaqif—: "You will submit, or I will send to you a man from me—or he said: like my self—who will strike your necks, and take your women and children captive, and seize your wealth." Umar said: By God, I never desired leadership except that day. I kept puffing out my chest hoping he would say: It is this one. Then he turned to Ali, took his hand, and said: "It is this one, it is this one." (1)

(1) This is the hadith of guardianship. It is among the most authentic and established hadiths. It has been discussed its chain and meaning in Volume Fifteen of the book, "Nafahat al-Azhar fi Khulasat Abaqat al-Anwar."

(2) This is also among the most authentic and established hadiths. Refer to: Musnad Ahmad 1/3, 151, and Sahih al-Tirmidhi, and al-Khasa'is by al-Nasa'i, and al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn, and refer to the commentaries on Surah al-Bara'ah.

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And his saying, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, placing him in the position of his self: "Indeed, among you is one who will fight for the interpretation of the Quran as I fought for its revelation."

 

Abu Bakr, Umar, and others looked expectantly, each saying: Is it I? He said: No. Then he said: "But the cobbler of the sandal." And he had given Ali his sandal to mend. (2)

And other such hadiths.

If this is God's word and the Messenger's speech, what are we to do?

Then he denied the word "selves" meant "equality" in Arabic. He said its meaning in the verse referred to close relatives. He cited Quranic verses as proof.

But what does Ibn Taymiyyah say about the verses where "self" and "relatives" were contrasted, as in His saying: "O YOU WHO BELIEVE, PROTECT YOURSELVES AND YOUR FAMILIES FROM A FIRE" (3)

And His saying: "THOSE WHO LOST THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES" (4)

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(1) Refer: Al-Isti'ab 3/1109, biography of Amir al-Mu'minin.

(2) Narrated by Ahmad 3/33, and Al-Hakim 3/122, and Al-Nasa'i in Al-Khasa'is, and Ibn Abd al-Barr, and Ibn Hajar, and Ibn al-Athir in his biography. And others.

(3) Surah al-Tahrim 66:6.

(4) Surah al-Zumar 39:15, and Surah al-Shura 42:45.

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So too the verse of Mubahala.

However, "self" in the two mentioned verses is used for a person's actual self. But in the Mubahala verse, it is used metaphorically—since the literal meaning is impossible—for one placed in the position of the self, which is Ali, peace be upon him, due to the definitive hadith about the matter.

Then he emphasized that taking the four pure ones, peace be upon them, was merely for kinship. He denied seeking their aid in prayer. He said: "The purpose was not answering prayer, for the Prophet's prayer alone is sufficient!"

But this is an interpretation against explicit text. The people narrated that he, peace be upon him and his family, said to them: "When I pray, say 'Amen.'" (1) 

And the Bishop of Najran knew this, saying: "Indeed, I see faces which, if God willed, they would remove a mountain from its place with them."

 

Or: "If they asked God to remove a mountain from its place, He would do so with them." (2)

Then Ibn Taymiyyah said: "The purpose was not to invite those he invited for their prayers to be answered, but for the sake of confrontation between families... For the purpose was that those people would bring those they naturally cared for, like their sons, women, and men..."

This is the talk of the Nasibis... as al-Dihlawi stated in his upcoming passage.

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(1) Some of its sources were mentioned previously.

(2) Al-Kashshaf, Al-Razi, Al-Baydawi, and others, in interpreting the verse.

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His argument: He only invited them because they were his relatives, as was customary in Mubahala. So there was no distinction for those he invited. The verse, then, offered no proof for the Shia's claim. They were like the Christians!

But he knew many of his male and female relatives, chief among them his uncle Abbas. If the expression "self" was merely for kinship, he would have called Abbas and his sons and other Banu Hashim!

He contradicts himself. He admits a distinction for those he called. The situation was not merely about kinship. See his words:

"The Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, had no uncles left but Abbas. And Abbas was not among the early converts, nor did he have a special connection like Ali. As for his cousins, there was none like Ali... So Ali, peace be upon him, was designated."

"And his designation for Mubahala, since there was no one among his relatives to take his place, does not mean... Rather, he has a kind of virtue through the Mubahala..."

So! For Mubahala, the one invoked must hold a position distinguishing him from others, placing him above them. This was established for Ali, peace be upon him, fitting for God to order His Messenger to express it as his "self." This is the point of the argument from the blessed verse. And with it, the claim is proven.

See how the man's words faltered and contradicted themselves!

But after admitting the virtue, his self refused to be silent (it is difficult to swallow a merit of Ali, peace be upon him for some. And since"

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He could not claim Zayd, Umar, Bakr, and others shared in it, as he claimed elsewhere in his book. He said:

"It is shared between him and Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein..."

He said the same about the verse of purification in another part of his book when he had no choice but to admit its exclusivity to the Ahl al-Bayt...

But Allah did make him forgot or ignored that this sharing does not harm the Shia's argument; it benefits it. For the verse becomes one of the definitive proofs for the superiority of the Prophet's piece, Fatima and Ali (peace be upon them), and his two sons, the Hasans, peace be upon them, over all other Companions except the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him—as the hadith: "Fatima is a piece of me..." showed, as we explained before. So Ali is the Imam after the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, by the blessed verse and the definitive hadith about its revelation.

Abu Hayyan said:

"'WE CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS, AND OUR WOMEN AND YOUR WOMEN, AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES.'"

"That is: each of us and you calls our sons, women, and self to the Mubahala. The apparent meaning is that the call and Mubahala are between the one addressed by 'Say' and the one who argued with him. And 'sons' was interpreted as Hasan and Hussein, 'women' as Fatima, and 'selves' as Ali. Al-Sha'bi said this. And what is established in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas indicates that this is specific to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) with whom he argued. He said: When this verse was revealed: 'COME, LET US CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS,' the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family,"

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", called Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein, and said: O God, these are my family."

"Some said: The Mubahala was upon him and the Muslims, based on the apparent plural form of 'WE CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS.' And when he called them, he called his family who were under his protection. If the Christians of Najran had decided on Mubahala and came for it, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, would have ordered the Muslims to come out with their families for Mubahala."

"It was said: The meaning of 'OURSELVES' is brothers. Ibn Qutaybah said this. God said: 'NOR DEFAME ONE ANOTHER,' meaning: your brothers."

"It was said: people of his religion. Abu Sulayman al-Dimashqi said this."

"It was said: wives."

"It was said: he meant close relatives. Ali ibn Ahmad al-Nisaburi mentioned both."

"...Abu Bakr al-Razi said: And in the verse is proof that Hasan and Hussein are the sons of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family."

"Abu Ahmad ibn 'Allan said: They were then obligated, for Mubahala, in his view, is only valid from one who is obligated."

"The commentators have extensively elaborated on the story of Mubahala, its summary being: that he invited them to Mubahala and went out with Hasan, Hussein, Fatima, and Ali to the appointed place, and that they refrained from it and agreed to remain in their religion and pay the jizya. And their rabbis informed them that if they performed Mubahala, they would be punished. And he, peace be upon him and his  Purified Family, informed them that if they performed Mubahala, they would be punished. And the Christians' abandonment of the cursing is"

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"for their knowledge of his prophethood, a great witness to the soundness of his prophethood."

"Al-Zamakhshari said: If you say..." (1)

Perhaps his preference for the hadith from Muslim, through Sa'd, that "OURSELVES" means Ali, peace be upon him, shows his approval of this meaning. But the hadith in the book was corrupted by omitting "Ali"!

Would that he had not mentioned the other sayings, for they are mere personal whims and satanic suggestions. They should not be included in the interpretation of Quranic verses.

But it appears he relied on these sayings! When he denies consensus that "OURSELVES" means Ali, peace be upon him, to refute Shaykh al-Himsi's argument from the verse for the Imam's superiority over other prophets.

Al-Qadi al-Iji and his commentator al-Jurjani said:

For them—meaning the Shia and those who agreed with them—there are two approaches concerning the proof of Ali's superiority.

First: What generally proves it—that he is superior—in various ways:

First: The verse of Mubahala, which is His saying: "COME, LET US CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS, AND OUR WOMEN AND YOUR WOMEN, AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES." 

The point of argument: His saying "OURSELVES" did not mean the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) himself, because a person does not call himself. Rather, it means Ali, peace be upon him. This is indicated by sound reports and established narrations among the transmitters that he, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, called Ali, peace be upon him to that position. And Ali's self is not truly Muhammad's self. So the meaning is equality in virtue and perfection. So the general application was abandoned regarding the virtue of prophethood, and it remained as proof for the rest. So he is equal to the Prophet in every virtue except prophethood. Thus, he is better than the Ummah.

"It may be prevented: that 'OURSELVES' means Ali, peace be upon him alone, but rather all his relatives and servants, who are conventionally considered as his self, are included in it. The plural form indicates this." (1)

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(1) Al-Bahr al-Muhit 2/479-480.

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Their admission of the verse proving superiority is clear, as is Ali's (peace be upon him) presence in the Mubahala, "indicated by sound reports and established narrations among the transmitters," and the indication of "OURSELVES" meaning "equality."

However, they claimed others were included with him. But they said: "It may be prevented," as if they realized the invalidity of their claim, especially regarding the inclusion of his "servants" in addition to "all his relatives." For the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, did not even bring his uncle with him. So how could the meaning be "all his relatives and servants"?!

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(1) Sharh al-Mawaqif 8/367.

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Ibn Ruzbihan said:

"It was the custom of those engaged in Mubahala to gather their household and relatives so that the curse would cover all their associates. So the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, gathered his children and women. And by 'selves' here is meant: men. As if he was ordered to gather his women, children, and men of his household. So the women were Fatima (peace be upon her), the children were Hasan and Hussein (peace be upon them), and the men were the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, and Ali (peace be upon them)."

"As for the claim of equality he mentioned, it is absolutely false. Its falsehood is among the necessities of religion, for no one from the Ummah other than the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, is equal to the Prophet at all. And whoever claims this is outside the religion. How can there be equality when the Prophet is a Messenger, the Seal of Prophets, the best of the resolute, and all these qualities are absent in Ali, peace be upon him? Yes, for the Commander of the Faithful Ali, peace be upon him, in this verse, there is great virtue, and it is accepted, but it does not serve as proof of his Imamate by explicit text." (1)

His words contain three points:

First: What the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, did was merely following the custom of those who engaged in Mubahala...

This is the talk of the Nasibis in response to this verse, as stated by the author of "Al-Tuhfa al-Ithna Ashariyya." It is refuted by what preceded: if that were the case, why did he not bring Abbas and his sons and other relatives? But the Prophet's action, peace be upon him and his family, proves

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(1) Ibtal al-Batil. Refer: Ihqaq al-Haqq 3/62.

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that the situation held a special significance, and those he called possessed ranks with God Almighty. It was not merely following the Arab custom of Mubahala between individuals.

Second: No one from the Ummah other than the Prophet is equal to the Prophet at all.

The answer to this has already been given when discussing Ibn Taymiyyah.

Third: For the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), in this verse, there is great virtue, and it is accepted.

It is for all four of them (peace be on them). But Ali (peace be upon him) is the best of them. So he is the Imam (peace be upon him) after the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family.

His saying: "But it does not serve as proof of his Imamate by explicit text."

We say: The verse proves equality between him and the Prophet in inherent perfections. At the very least, it indicates a great virtue—by his admission—not possessed by his opponents. So he is the best, and thus the Imam (peace be upon him) after the Messenger of God ( peace be uponhim and his Purified Family), not anyone else.

Abdul Aziz al-Dihlawi said, roughly translated:

"Among them is the verse of Mubahala. The Shia's way of clinging to this verse is that when 'SAY: COME, LET US CALL OUR SONS AND YOUR SONS, AND OUR WOMEN AND YOUR WOMEN, AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES...' was revealed, the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, left his house with"

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"Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Hussein (peace be upon them).  So the meaning of 'OUR SONS' is Hasan and Hussein ( peace be upon them), and of 'OURSELVES' is the Commander of the Faithful Ali ( peace be upon him). And if he became the Prophet's very self—and it is clear that the literal meaning of being his self is impossible—then the meaning is 'equal.' And whoever is equal to the prophet of his time is necessarily superior and has more right to command than others. For the equal of the superior one who has more right to command is superior and has more right to command. So he is an Imam (peace be upon him), for there is no meaning to an Imam (peace be upon him) other than the superior one who has more right to command."

"This is an explanation of the argument's premise. It is clear that this precise formulation is not found in the words of most Shia scholars. So this treatise has a right over them for clarifying and refining most of their arguments. And whoever doubts this, let him look at their books and he will find their words scattered and failing to convey their purpose."

"This verse is, in essence, one of the Ahl e Sunnat brethren proofs against the Nasibis. This is because the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, taking the Commander of the Faithful ( peace be upon him) and those noble ones with him, and singling them out over others, requires a reason. And this reason is not without two things:"

"Either because they were dear to him. In this case, bringing them out for Mubahala—which apparently involved the danger of destruction—would strengthen the opponents' certainty in the truth of his prophethood and the correctness of what he reported about Jesus and his creation. For a rational person, unless certain of the truth of his claim, would not expose his dearest ones to destruction and annihilation."

"This view is preferred by most Sunnis and Shias, and it is what Abdullah al-Mashhadi approved in Izhar al-Haqq. So the verse indicates that these individuals were dear to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his Purified Family). And prophets are free from personal love and hatred. So this must be due to their religion, piety, and righteousness. Thus, the doctrine of the Nasibis, who claim the opposite, is false."

"Or, it was so they could join him in praying against the disbelievers of Najran, and aid him by saying 'Amen' to his prayer against them, so it would be answered quickly. As most Shias say, and Abdullah al-Mashhadi also mentioned. So the verse—based on this as well—indicates their high status in religion and the certainty that their prayers are answered by God."

"This also refutes the Nasibis."

"The Nasibis attacked both points. They said: bringing them out was not for either reason. Rather, it was to obligate the opponent with what was accepted as true by him. For it was accepted by the opponents—the disbelievers—that Mubahala was only considered valid with the presence of children, son-in-law, and swearing to their destruction. That is why the Prophet brought his children and son-in-law with him to obligate them with that."

"It is clear that relatives and children—no matter who they are—are dear to a person in people's belief, even if they are not so to the person himself. This is indicated by the fact that if this type of Mubahala were truly sanctioned by him, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, it would be permissible in Islamic law, whereas it is forbidden. So it becomes clear that what he did was merely to silence the opponent."

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"And by this analogy, the second point also falls. For the destruction of the Najran delegation was not among the most important matters. He had faced incidents more severe and difficult than this issue, and he did not seek help from these individuals in prayer in any of them. Moreover, it is agreed upon that the Prophet's prayer against the disbelievers is answered. Otherwise, it would necessitate denying him and defeating the purpose of his mission."

"This is the talk of the Nasibis, and the Ahl e Sunnat brethren have refuted it—by God's grace—with no further need, as established in its place. We will not elaborate further to avoid prolonging the discussion."

"In short, the Mubahala verse is originally a refutation of the Nasibis. But the Shia use it against all arguments. And their clinging to it presents several difficulties:"

"First: We do not concede that 'OURSELVES' means the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). Rather, it means his noble self. And the saying of their scholars, to refute this possibility, that a person does not call himself, is not heard. For it has become common, old and new, to say 'his self called him to such and such' and 'I called myself to such and such.' 'SO HIS SELF MADE THE KILLING OF HIS BROTHER SEEM EASY FOR HIM.' And 'I commanded myself' and 'I consulted myself,' and other correct usages found in the speech of eloquent people. So the meaning of 'WE CALL OURSELVES' is: we bring ourselves."

"Also: If we consider the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) from the Prophet's side as the referent of 'OURSELVES,' then who do we consider from the disbelievers' side, given that they share in the phrase 'WE CALL'? For there is no meaning to the Prophet's calling them and their sons after saying: 'COME.'"

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Then, in that case "it is clear that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) is included in 'OUR SONS' – just as Hasan and Hussein are not literally included in sons, but their inclusion is by ruling – because custom considers the son-in-law a son, without any doubt in that."

"Also: the word 'self' has come to mean close relative and partner in religion and creed. From this is His saying: 'They expel themselves from their homes,' meaning: people of their religion... 'NOR DEFAME ONE ANOTHER'... 'WHY DID NOT THE BELIEVING MEN AND BELIEVING WOMEN, WHEN YOU HEARD IT, THINK GOOD OF THEIR OWN SELVES.' Since the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) had a connection with the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, in lineage, kinship, and marriage, and a unity in religion and creed, and their companionship and familiarity became frequent, even to the point of his saying: 

'Ali is from me, and I am from Ali,'

 expressing him as 'self' is not far-fetched. So equality is not necessary, just as it is not necessary in the mentioned verses."

"As for secondly: If the meaning was equality in all attributes, it would entail sharing in prophethood, the seal of prophethood, being sent to all creation, and the exclusivity of marrying more than four, and the high rank on the Day of Judgment, and the great intercession, and the praised station, and the descent of revelation, and other rulings specific to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family). And this is false by consensus."

"And if the meaning was equality in some attributes, it would not serve the claim, because equality in some attributes of the best and most rightful to dispose does not make its possessor"

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"superior and more entitled to dispose. This is very clear."

"Also: If the verse proved the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), it would necessitate him being an Imam ( peace be upon him) during the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) time, which is false by agreement. For if it were restricted to a specific time—even though there is no proof for this in the wording—it would not benefit the claimant, because the Ahl e Sunnat brethren also establish his Imamate at some point." (1)

His words contain points:

 * His claim that the explanation he gave for arguing with the verse is not found in most Shia books. He said: "And likewise, most other proofs..."

   You can see the falsity of this claim by reviewing the argument in our discussion. You will find the expression mentioned in our companions' books, either verbatim or conveying its meaning; so we will not prolong this.

 * Attributing the criticism of the blessed verse's meaning to the Nasibis, and that the Sunnis defend the Ahl al-Bayt against them...

   We found what he attributed to the Nasibis in the words of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Ruzbihan, in their refutation of Allamah al-Hilli. Praise be to God who revealed their true state by what He made their tongues utter...

 * Not accepting that "OURSELVES" means "Ali," but rather "we bring ourselves." He cited—in refuting the Imamiyya's statement that a person does not call himself—common Arabic phrases, old and new, as he said.

   We do not argue with him about the metaphorical meanings of those phrases. We suffice by saying—in addition to the admission of several imams of the people that the caller calls someone other than himself (1)—that the definitive hadiths from both factions prove that "AND OURSELVES" means Ali, peace be upon him. So what he mentioned effectively amounts to not accepting those hadiths and accusing their narrators and transmitters of lying, which he cannot commit to.

 * Including Ali, peace be upon him, in "OUR SONS"..!

   This contradicts the texts.

   It is clear that this is an attempt to deny the verse's proof that Ali is the Prophet's self, knowing that this would imply equality. Otherwise, including him in "OUR SONS" is also an admission of his superiority!

   His citation of verses is refuted by what you know from the discussion with Ibn Taymiyyah.

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(1) Al-Tuhfa al-Ithna Ashariyya: 206-207. We have mentioned his words in full so that no one assumes we omitted anything relevant to the discussion with the Shia about the blessed verse.

(1) See: Shaykh Zada on Al-Baydawi 1/634.

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Moreover, he admitted the hadith "Ali is from me, and I am from Ali," which Ibn Taymiyyah and other Nasibis do not admit.

 * His refutation of equality: If equality in all attributes is intended, it necessitates equality between Ali(peace be upon him) and the Prophet  (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) in prophethood, messengership, being the seal of prophets, being sent to all creation, and the descent of revelation... And if equality in some attributes is intended, it does not benefit the claimant...

   We said: The first is intended, except for prophethood, and the matters he mentioned such as being the seal, being sent... all are aspects of prophethood...

   So the verse proves that all perfections found in the Prophet are found in Ali, except for prophethood. And it is reported in the hadith from him, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, that he said to Ali ( peace be upon him): 

"O Ali! I have not asked God for anything except that I asked for its like for you. And I have not asked God for anything except that He gave it to me, except that it was said to me: There is no prophet after you." (1)

 * And thus it becomes clear that he, peace be upon him, possessed the reality of the Imamate—which is the necessity of absolute obedience, and complete precedence over the Ummah—from during the Prophet's lifetime, peace be upon him and his Purified Family. However, he was subordinate to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his Purified Family), obedient to him with an obedience and submission that history has not recorded for anyone else whatsoever.

   So his final statement falls: "For if the verse proved the Imamate of the Commander..."

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(1) Narrated by a group, among them al-Nasa'i in al-Khasa'is: hadith 146 and hadith 147.

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Al-Alusi:

He adopted the words of al-Dihlawi, without addition or omission, like some other instances. His answer is his answer, so we will not repeat.

Shaykh Muhammad Abduh said:

"Indeed, the narrations agree that the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, chose Ali, Fatima, and their two sons ( peace be on them) for Mubahala. They interpret the word 'OUR WOMEN' as Fatima (peace be on her), and the word 'OURSELVES' as Ali (peace be upon him) alone."

"The sources of these narrations are the Shia, and their purpose is well-known. They strove to promote them as much as they could until they became widespread among many Sunnis. But their originators did not skillfully apply them to the verse, for an Arab would not say 'OUR WOMEN' and mean his daughter, especially if he had wives. Nor is this understood from their language. And even more far-fetched is that 'OURSELVES' would mean Ali— peace be upon him."

"Furthermore, the Najran delegation, for whom the verse was said to be revealed, did not have their women and children with them." (1)

This statement contains an admission, a claim, and a stubborn argument.

As for the admission, it is his saying: "Indeed, the narrations agree..." Praise be to God that the narrations regarding the matter have reached such numbers and strength that such a man has no choice but to admit the reality and truth.

But when he saw that this admission required him to accept the conclusion of the blessed verse and the narrations concerning it, and this was more than he could bear! He returned to claiming something no rational person, let alone a scholar, would accept!

As for the claim, he said: "The sources of these narrations are the Shia... And they strove to promote them..."

But he knows—like others—the falsity of this claim, for the sources of these definitive narrations—some of which you have seen—are not Shia. Since their meaning was clear "and the purpose well-known," he resorted to arguing based on language, claiming that Arabs do not speak this way.

What he said is pure improbability, with no basis but stubbornness! For we cannot imagine that this man is ignorant that the word "women" can refer to others besides wives, as in the Holy Quran and elsewhere, or that he is ignorant that no one claimed the said word was used specifically for "Fatima ( peace be upon her) ," or that anyone claimed "OURSELVES" was used for "Ali," peace be upon him.

This man knows that the narrations are sound and come through the channels of the people themselves. The argument is based on them. For the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, made Ali (peace be upon him) alone the embodiment of "OURSELVES," and Fatima (peace be upon her) alone the embodiment of"

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"OUR WOMEN.' He had many relatives and countless companions... just as he had several wives, and many women in his clan and people."

"So it must mean Ali, peace be upon him, was favored above other members of the Ummah. This is the intention."

Completion:

As for his preferring him—by the verse—over other prophets, peace be upon them—as attributed to Shaykh Mahmud ibn al-Hasan al-Himsi—this is what Fakhr al-Razi criticized, followed by al-Nisaburi, and Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi:

Al-Razi said—after briefly mentioning the story and the verse's proof that the two Hasans (peace be upon them) are the Messenger of God's (peace be upon him and his Purified Family) sons—:

"There was a man in Rayy called Mahmud ibn al-Hasan al-Himsi, and he was a teacher of the Twelvers. (1)

 

He claimed that Ali, peace be upon him, was superior to all prophets except Muhammad, peace be upon him and his Purified Family. He said: What proves this is His saying: 'AND OURSELVES AND YOURSELVES.' And the meaning of 'OURSELVES' is not Muhammad himself, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, because a person does not call himself. Rather, the meaning - Ali, peace be upon him"

(1) 

He is the author of the book "Al-Munqidh min al-Taqlid." In some sources, Fakhr al-Razi studied under him. He died in the early seventh century, as in his biography in the introduction to his mentioned book, published by the Islamic Publishing Institute affiliated with the Association of Teachers in the Hawza Ilmiyya - Qom.

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"is someone else. And they agreed that this other was Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him. 

So the verse proves that Ali's self is Muhammad's self. 

And it cannot mean that this self is exactly that physical self. 

So the meaning is that this self is like that self. And that necessitates equality in all aspects. The application of this generality was abandoned regarding prophethood and virtue, due to the existence of proofs that Muhammad, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, was a prophet and Ali was not, and due to the consensus that Muhammad, peace be upon him, was superior to Ali. So it remains applicable to what is beyond that."

"Then consensus proved that Muhammad, peace be upon him, was better than all other prophets, peace be upon them. Thus, Ali must be better than all other prophets."

"This is the way of arguing from the apparent meaning of this verse."

"Then he said: And what supports the argument with this verse: The hadith accepted by both proponent and opponent, which is his saying, peace be upon him and his Purified Family:

'Whoever wishes to see Adam in his knowledge, Noah in his obedience, Abraham in his close friendship, Moses in his awe, and Jesus in his purity, let him look at Ali ibn Abi Talib.'"

"The hadith proved that what was scattered among them was gathered in him. This indicates that Ali, may God be pleased with him, was better than all prophets except Muhammad, peace be upon him and his Purified Family."

"As for other Shias, they have—old and new—argued with this verse"

Know the Truth, Know Its People, Ayat al-Mubahala

.....

"that Ali, peace be upon him, was like Muhammad himself, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, except where the evidence specified otherwise. And Muhammad (PBUH&HF) himself was better than the Companions, so Ali, peace be upon him, himself must be better than all other Companions."

"This is a summary of the Shia's argument."

"The answer: Just as there was consensus among Muslims that Muhammad, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, was superior to Ali ( peace be upon him), so too was there consensus among them—before the appearance of this person—that a prophet is superior to one who is not a prophet or an Infallible Imam ( peace be upon him). And they agreed that Ali, peace be upon him was not a prophet. So it became certain that the apparent meaning of the verse, just as it is specific regarding Muhammad, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, is likewise specific regarding all other prophets, peace be upon them." End. (1)

Al-Nisaburi said the same. It is a summary of Al-Razi's words, as was his custom. His words have already been presented.

Abu Hayyan, after mentioning Al-Zamakhshari's words on the blessed verse, said:

"Among the strangest arguments is what Muhammad (2) ibn Ali al-Himsi argued with..." He then mentioned the argument, then said: "Al-Razi replied: by saying that consensus dictates that the Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family, is superior to one who is not a prophet, and Ali was not a prophet."

.....

(1) Tafsir al-Razi 8/81.

(2) Thus, and the correct is: Mahmud.

Know the Truth, Know Its People, Ayat al-Mubahala

"So it became certain that it is specific in relation to all prophets."

"He said: Al-Razi said: Al-Himsi's argument is flawed in several ways:"

"One of them is his saying: (Indeed, a person does not call himself.) Rather, it is permissible for a person to call himself. Arabs say: I called myself to such and such, and it did not respond to me. Abu Ali calls this 'tajrid' (abstraction)."

"Another is his saying: (And they agreed that the one who is other than him is Ali.) This is not correct, due to the opinions given about the meaning of 'OURSELVES.'"

"Another is his saying: (So his self is like his self.) And similarity does not necessitate being in all things. Rather, similarity in one thing is sufficient. This is what the linguists hold, not what the theologians say, that similarity is in all attributes of the self. This is their technical term, not language. So based on this, similarity in one attribute is sufficient, which is being from Banu Hashim. And Arabs say: This one is from our very selves, meaning: from our tribe."

"As for the hadith he cited, it is fabricated and baseless." (1)

It seems that Al-Razi here, and Al-Nisaburi, are more just to the truth than Abu Hayyan. For they did not dispute the meaning of the blessed verse and the definitive hadith proving Ali's superiority, peace be upon him, over other Companions.

As for arguing for his superiority over other prophets, they did not dispute any of its premises. However, they replied by claiming consensus among all Muslims—before Shaykh al-Himsi's appearance—that prophets are superior to others.

At that point, refuting them only requires denying this consensus. For the Imamiyya—before and after Shaykh al-Himsi—maintain the superiority of Ali and the Imams from his progeny over all prophets except our Prophet, peace be upon him and his Purified Family. They argue for this using various evidences from the Quran and Sunnah. From the Quran, it is the blessed verse, and from the Sunnah, it is the hadith mentioned by al-Himsi...

You have seen that Al-Razi and Al-Nisaburi did not dispute them.

Among the early Imamiyya who affirmed the superiority of the Commander of the Faithful(peace be upon him) over other prophets is Shaykh al-Mufid, who died in 413 AH. He has a treatise on this, in which he used the Mubahala verse as proof. He began by saying: "So it was used as proof by those who ruled for the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) , blessings and peace be upon him, that he is superior to past prophets, peace be upon them, and all people except the Prophet of Guidance, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his Purified Family, by saying..."

This clearly indicates that this was the view of those before him. (1)

.....

(1) Al-Bahr al-Muhit 2/480.

.....

(1) Tafdhil Amir al-Mu'minin, peace be upon him, over other Companions. A treatise printed in Volume Seven of the Encyclopedia of Shaykh al-Mufid's Works.

.....

Know the Truth, Know Its People, Ayat al-Mubahala

So Al-Razi's reply, and those who followed him, collapses.

But Abu Hayyan attributed to Al-Razi the statement that Al-Himsi's argument was flawed in several ways—perhaps he quoted this from some of Al-Razi's works other than the Tafsir—and mentioned three flaws:

As for the first: its falsehood is evident from our discussion. Moreover, Al-Razi confirmed it and did not object to it. If what Abu Hayyan mentioned from Al-Razi is true, then he contradicted himself.

As for the second: likewise, for they are opinions not worth considering. Indeed, what is found in Sahih Muslim, Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Khasa'is al-Nasa'i, Musnad Ahmad, Mustadrak al-Hakim... and others... is that the one who is other than him is Ali (peace be upon him) and no one else... This is the agreed-upon statement between the common folk and the elite. And they claimed consensus—from the predecessors and successors—that Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim are the soundest books after the Quran, and some of them went so far as to say that Sahih Muslim is the soundest of the two.

As for the third: it is sufficient to refute it with what Al-Razi mentioned in explaining the Shia's argument from the blessed verse, where he said: "And that necessitates equality in all aspects..." If what Abu Hayyan mentioned from Al-Razi is true, then he contradicted himself.

Moreover, if "similarity in one attribute is sufficient, which is being from Banu"

.....

Know the Truth, Know Its People, Ayat al-Mubahala

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"Hashim," then why the exclusion of others from Banu Hashim, and the specification of Ali?

His judgment remains:

that the hadith al-Himsi used was fabricated. This judgment comes only from one ignorant of hadiths and traditions, or from a stubborn, biased opponent. For it is a hadith agreed upon by Muslims. Among its narrators from Ahl e Sunnat brethren are:

Abd al-Razzaq ibn Hammam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Hatim al-Razi, al-Hakim al-Nisaburi, Ibn Mardawayh, al-Bayhaqi, Abu Nu'aym, al-Muhibb al-Tabari, Ibn al-Sabbagh al-Maliki, Ibn al-Maghazili al-Shafi'i... (1)

This completes the discussion on the verse of Mubahala. And with God is success.

(1) Its chains of transmission and clarified its various meanings in Volume Nineteen of the book, "Nafahat al-Azhar fi Khulasat Abaqat al-Anwar."

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

" Strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of God. That is better for you, if you but knew." (At-Tawbah: 41)

Did you know not all wealth is fit to be spent for the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them?

And not everyone achieves this success?

Congratulations to you for Eid Mubahila.