A Discussion of the Narrations

1. The Context of Revelation and the Story of Mubāhala

The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) wrote to the people of Najrān before “Ṭā Sīn” of Solomon was revealed to him: “In the name of God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. From Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to the Bishop of Najrān and the people of Najrān. If you accept Islam, I praise God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to you. To proceed; I invite you to the worship of God instead of the worship of servants, and I invite you to the guardianship of God instead of the guardianship of servants. If you refuse, then pay the tax; and if you refuse that, then I have declared war upon you. Peace.” When the Bishop read the letter, he was terrified and greatly alarmed. He sent for a man from Najrān called Shuraḥbīl ibn Wadāʿa and gave him the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) letter to read. The Bishop asked him: “What is your opinion…?” Shuraḥbīl said: “I know what God promised Abraham regarding prophethood in the progeny of Ishmael, so what prevents this man from being that prophet! I have no opinion regarding prophethood. If it were a worldly matter, I would advise you and strive to help you.”

The Bishop then sent for one person after another from the people of Najrān, and they all said the same as Shuraḥbīl. They agreed to send Shuraḥbīl ibn Wadāʿa, ʿAbdallāh ibn Shuraḥbīl, and Jabbār ibn Fayḍ to bring them news about the Messenger of God (s.a.w.). The delegation proceeded until they came to the Messenger of God (s.a.w.). They asked him questions and he asked them questions, and the questioning continued until they said to him: “What do you say about Jesus son of Mary?” The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) said: “I have nothing to say about him today, so stay until I inform you tomorrow about what is said to me concerning Jesus.” Then God revealed this verse: “Indeed the case of Jesus with God is like the case of Adam: He created him from dust” up to His words: “then let us pray earnestly and call down God’s curse upon the liars” But they refused to acknowledge this.

When the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) came the next morning after informing them of the news, he arrived wrapped in a cloak with al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, and Fāṭima walking behind him for the mutual cursing, while he had several wives at that time. Shuraḥbīl said to his two companions: “I see a matter approaching. If this man is a sent prophet and we engage in mutual cursing with him, not a single hair or nail will remain on the face of the earth from among us except that it will perish.” They asked him: “What is your opinion?” He said: “My opinion is that I should let him judge, for I see a man who will never judge unjustly.” They said to him: “That is up to you.” So Shuraḥbīl met the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) and said: “I have seen something better than mutual cursing with you.” He said: “What is it?” He replied: “Your judgment from now until night, and your night until morning; whatever you judge concerning us will be acceptable.” So the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) returned without engaging in mutual cursing with them and reconciled with them upon the payment of tax.(768)

As for His words: “Should anyone argue with you concerning him, after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ’Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls, then let us pray earnestly and call down God’s curse upon the liars’” (3:61), the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) said: “Engage in mutual cursing (mubāhala) with me. If I am truthful, the curse will descend upon you, and if I am lying, it will descend upon me.” They said: “You are being fair.” They arranged for the mutual cursing, but when they returned to their dwellings, their leaders al-Sayyid, al-ʿĀqib, and al-Ahtam said: “If he engages in mutual cursing with his people, we will do so with him for he is not a prophet; but if he engages in mutual cursing with his family members specifically, we will not do so with him, for he would not put forward his family members unless he were truthful.” When morning came, they came to the Messenger of God (s.a.w.), who was accompanied by the Commander of the Faithful, Fāṭima, al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn (a.s.). The Christians asked: “Who are these?” They were told: “This is his cousin, successor, and son-in-law ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, this is his daughter Fāṭima, and these are his two sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn (a.s.).” They recognized this and said to the Messenger of God (s.a.w.): “We will give you what satisfies you, so excuse us from the mutual cursing.” So the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) reconciled with them upon the payment of tax and they departed.(769)

It is reported that the Bishop said to them: “Indeed, I see faces that if they were to ask God to remove a mountain from its place, He would remove it. Do not engage in mutual cursing with them, for you will perish and no Christian will remain on the face of the earth until the Day of Resurrection.” The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, if they had engaged in mutual cursing with me, they would have been transformed into apes and pigs, and the valley would have blazed with fire upon them, and the year would not have passed before all the Christians would have perished!” They said: When the delegation of Najrān returned, the Sayyid and the ʿĀqib stayed only briefly before returning to the Prophet, and the ʿĀqib presented him with a garment, a staff, a cup, and sandals, and they both embraced Islam. Note: The narrations regarding the occasion of revelation of this story mostly indicate that the verses “Indeed the case of Jesus with God is like the case of Adam… then let us call down God’s curse upon the liars” were revealed together.(770)

Many Sunni narrations explicitly state that ʿAlī (a.s.) was present at the mutual cursing: “The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) came out with ʿAlī, al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn, and Fāṭima, and the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) said: ‘When I pray, you say amen.’ The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) went forth taking the hands of ʿAlī, Fāṭima, al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn….”(771) Therefore, the omission of ʿAlī’s (a.s.) name in the first narration, if not an oversight, indicates enmity towards him and distortion of historical events, which only occurs at the hands of ignorant dogmatists.

2. ʿAlī (a.s.) is the Soul of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

Al-Ḥasan (a.s.) said: God said to Muhammad (s.a.w.) when the disbelievers among the People of the Book denied him and argued with him: “Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our selves and your selves…” So the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) brought forth from among the souls my father with him, and from among the sons myself and my brother, and from among the women my mother Fāṭima from all people. Thus we are his family, his flesh, his blood, and his soul, and we are from him and he is from us.(772)

Abū al-Ḥasan Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar (a.s.) said: The entire community, both its righteous and its wicked, agreed that in the story of the man from Najrān, when the Prophet (s.a.w.) called him to mutual cursing, there was no one under the cloak except the Prophet (s.a.w.), ʿAlī, Fāṭima, al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn (a.s.). God said: “Should anyone argue with you concerning him… Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our selves and your selves.” The interpretation of “our sons” was al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, “our women” was Fāṭima, and “our souls” was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a.s.).(773)

Al-Shaykh al-Mufīd said in the book al-Fuṣūl: One day al-Maʾmūn said to al-Riḍā (a.s.): “Tell me about the greatest virtue of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) that is indicated by the Qur’an.” Al-Riḍā (a.s.) replied to him: “A virtue in the mutual cursing, where God said:”Should anyone argue with you… our selves and your selves…” The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) called al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn (a.s.), and they were his sons; and he called Fāṭima (a.s.), and she was in this context his women; and he called the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), and he was his soul by God’s decree. It is established that no one among God’s creation is more exalted than the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) and more virtuous [therefore it is necessary], so it necessarily follows that no one can be more virtuous than the soul of the Messenger of God by God’s decree.

Al-Maʾmūn said to him: “Has not God mentioned sons in the plural form while the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) only called his two sons specifically, and mentioned women in the plural form while the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) only called his one daughter? So why could it not be possible that he called someone who is his self, meaning himself in reality rather than another, and thus the Commander of the Faithful would not have the virtue you mentioned?”

Al-Riḍā (a.s.) replied to him: “What you have mentioned is not correct, O Commander of the Faithful, because one who calls can only call others, just as one who commands can only command others. It is not correct for someone to call himself in reality, just as it is not correct for someone to command himself in reality. Since the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) did not call any man to the mutual cursing except the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), it is established that he is his self whom God referred to in His Book and made this ruling in His revelation.”

Al-Maʾmūn said: “When the answer comes, the question falls away.”(774)

From Abū al-Ḥasan al-Riḍā (a.s.) in his discussion with al-Maʾmūn and the scholars about the difference between the family (ʿitra) and the community (umma) and the superiority of the family over the community and the choosing of the family… The scholars said: “Has God explained the choosing in the Book?” Al-Riḍā (a.s.) said: “He has explained the choosing in the apparent sense apart from the hidden sense in twelve places… As for the third instance, when God distinguished the pure ones from His creation and commanded His Prophet (s.a.w.) to engage in mutual cursing with them in the verse of invocation, saying:”Say, O Muhammad, come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls, then let us pray earnestly and call down God’s curse upon the liars.”

The scholars said: “He meant himself.”

Abū al-Ḥasan (a.s.) said: “You are mistaken. He meant ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a.s.). Among the proofs for this is the saying of the Prophet (s.a.w.) when he said: ‘The Banū Walīʿa must desist or I will send to them a man who is like my self,’ meaning ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. This is a special distinction in which no one precedes him, a virtue in which no human equals him, and an honor to which no creature surpasses him, as he made ʿAlī’s self like his own self…”(775)

From Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar (a.s.) in a discussion with al-Rashīd, al-Rashīd said to him: “How can you claim that we are the offspring of the Prophet when the Prophet (s.a.w.) had no male descendants, and descendants only come through males not females, and you are children of the daughter, who cannot have descendants?” … I said: “The word of God: ‘Then whoever argues with you about him… say, ’Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls…’’ And no one has claimed that the Prophet brought anyone under the cloak at the time of mutual cursing (mubāhala) with the Christians except ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Fāṭima, al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn. Thus the interpretation of His words ‘our sons’ refers to al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, ‘our women’ refers to Fāṭima, and ‘our souls’ refers to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.”(776)

Note:

a. The difference between the general community (ʿāmma) and the special community (khāṣṣa) in applying “our souls” in the verse is that some scholars of the general community apply “our souls” only to the person of the Messenger of God (s.a.w.), while scholars of the special community, based on numerous narrations, understand “our souls” to refer to the Commander of the Faithful.

1. The important point in the dialogue between Imam al-Kāẓim (a.s.) and al-Rashīd is that the Imam states: The righteous and the sinful from the Islamic community agree that the Prophet (s.a.w.) did not bring anyone under the cloak during the mutual cursing with the Christians except ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Fāṭima, al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusayn (a.s.).
2. According to the narration of Shaykh Mufīd, Imam al-Riḍā (a.s.) considers the greatest virtue of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) to be that by God’s decree in the verse of mutual cursing (mubāhala), he is the self of the Prophet (s.a.w.).

Al-Maʾmūn asked Imam al-Riḍā (a.s.) why “our souls” (anfusanā) could not refer to the Prophet (s.a.w.) himself. The Imam (a.s.) replied that this possibility is completely incorrect, because no one ever invites themselves to something, just as one does not command oneself. Therefore, “our souls” does not refer to the Prophet (s.a.w.) because it is not reasonable that the Prophet (s.a.w.) would have invited himself to the mutual cursing, nor does it refer to any of his companions, because the Prophet (s.a.w.) did not invite anyone except the Commander of the Faithful to the mutual cursing. Therefore, “our souls” refers only to the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.).

Remember: From the previous discussions and narrated traditions, the nature of al-Maʾmūn’s dialogue with Imam al-Riḍā, similar to Hārūn’s confrontational dialogue with Imam al-Kāẓim (a.s.), becomes quite clear, as the Banū ʿAbbās were always sensitive about the special virtues of the Banū Hāshim. One of the most central Qur’anic events that the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) would cite, and which the Banū ʿAbbās would criticize, was this very story of mutual cursing (bihāl). They held the false belief that the meaning of “our souls” (anfusanā) meant “our men” (rijālunā), and they derived this baseless notion from an imagined contrast between “our souls” and “our women” (nisāʾunā). They would fabricate the idea that the contrast between souls and women indicates that souls refers to men. The Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) would guide them and others by explaining that if there were only these two expressions, someone might imagine that souls in contrast to women means men; however, there is a third expression, which is “our sons” (abnāʾanā), which can include men, so if the ʿAbbāsids say “if not for our women,” the ʿAlawids respond: “if not for our sons,” and this is the well-known story.

3. The Permissibility of Calling Others to Mutual Cursing (Mubāhala)

On the authority of Abū Masrūq, from Abū ʿAbdallāh (a.s.) who said: I said: We speak to people and argue with them using God’s words: “Obey the Messenger and those vested with authority among you”,(777) but they say it was revealed regarding military commanders. So we argue with them using His words: “Your guardian is only God and His Messenger…”,(778) but they say it was revealed regarding the believers. And we argue with them using God’s words: “Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except love of [my] relatives’”,(779) but they say it was revealed regarding the relatives of all Muslims. He said: I did not leave anything that came to my mind from these and similar verses without mentioning it. He then said to me: When that happens, call them to mutual cursing (mubāhala)… I asked: How should I do it? He said: Purify yourself for three days - and I think he said: fast and perform ritual ablution - and go out with him to the desert. Interlock your fingers of your right hand with his fingers, then be fair and start with yourself saying: “O God! Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the seven earths, Knower of the unseen, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, if Abū Masrūq has denied truth and claimed falsehood, then send down upon him a punishment from heaven or a painful torment.” Then turn the supplication against him saying: “And if so-and-so has denied truth and claimed falsehood, then send down upon him a punishment from heaven or a painful torment.” Then turn the supplication against him saying: “And if so-and-so has denied truth and claimed falsehood, then send down upon him a punishment from heaven or a painful torment.” Then he said to me: You will not have to wait long before you see its effect on him. By God, I have not found anyone who would accept my challenge to this.(780)

Note: Based on this noble narration, one can always, after establishing proof for a true matter, invite the opponent to mutual cursing (mubāhala), just as mutual imprecation (liʿān) in jurisprudence is a type of mutual cursing between husband and wife.(781)

In this narration, some of the etiquettes of mutual cursing are mentioned, such as purifying oneself for three days, going to the desert, interlocking the fingers of the right hand with the opponent’s fingers, and reciting the special supplication for mutual cursing. In some narrations, it is mentioned that this supplication should be repeated seventy times.(782) It is narrated from Imam al-Bāqir (a.s.) that the time for mutual cursing is between the two dawns.(783)

Note:

1. The detailed discussion about mutual cursing (mubāhala) belongs to thematic exegesis, not sequential exegesis.
2. A separate treatise was written regarding mutual cursing which appears in the collection “Springs of Thought” under the title “Wajīza Ḥawl al-Mubāhala” (“A Brief Treatise on Mutual Cursing”).(784)