According to Rahyafte(the missionaries and converts website)Mubahala is a situation in which two individuals or groups seek divine curse against the opposite side to prove their rightfulness.
The Event of Mubahala began when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) sent a letter to the Christians of Najran to invite them to Islam and ended after they withdrew their claim and some of them accepted Islam.
A delegation from the Christians of Najran comprising more than ten of their senior members traveled to Medina and after the two sides insisted on their rightfulness, it was decided that the issue be resolved via Mubahala.
The verse of Mubahala (verse 61 of Surah Al-Imran) refers to this event: “Those who dispute with you concerning him after the knowledge has come to you, say: ‘Come, let us gather our sons and your sons, our womenfolk and your womenfolk, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us humbly pray, so lay the curse of Allah upon the ones who lie.’”
On the morning of the Day of Mubahala, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) along with his daughter Hazrat Zahra (SA), his son-in-law Hazrat Ali (AS) and his grandsons Imam Hassan (AS) and Imam Hussein (AS) left Medina. When Abu Haritha, one of the senior members of the Christian delegation, saw the ones who were accompanying the Holy Prophet (PBUH), he said, “I swear to God that he has sat like prophets used to sit for Mubahala”, and returned. He added, “If Muhammad (PBUH) was not right, he would not dare to come for Mubahala like this, and if he (PBUH) engages in Mubahala with us, even one Christian will not remain alive before this year finishes.”
According to Iranian university scholar Rasoul Raoulipour, a review of the verses of the Quran, especially verses that come in Surah Al-Imran after the verse of Mubahala, shows that the Quran’s main approach is not that of Mubahala but interaction between the two sides and guidance to the path of truth.
He says:
After Mubahala, when the Christians of Najran refused to do Mubahala, this verse was revealed: “Say: ‘People of the Book, let us come to a common word between us and you that we will worship none except Allah, that we will associate none with Him, and that none of us take others for lords besides Allah.’” (Surah Al-Imran, verse 64)
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) then told them that now that you do not want to do Mubahala, let’s come to an agreement about our commonalities.
Mubahala did not take place and the Quran did not say let’s do Mubahala whenever you get prepared for it. Rather, the Quran says now let’s talk about common grounds.
I think in sacred text, both in the Old Testament and New Testament, there is ground for dialogue. Human beings take their complaints to messengers of God and ask their questions from them.
Another point is that in the Quran and in sacred texts we see that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and other messengers of God are insulted and accused but they continue the dialogue and interaction. Basically, sacred texts have come to create communication and interaction. Their main purpose is reconciliation. They have come to tell human beings who do not know the path that there is a right path, there is a God, and there is a protector, so you should not be worried.
iqna
