the Prophet’s) cousins...

the Prophet’s) cousins, none of them was like ‘Ali, and Ja’far had been killed before then.[^5] Here, our Shaykh contradicts his other position. Was the choice of the Prophet for the participants in the mubahala from his side based solely upon their blood relationship to him or upon their individual merits? A question also arises as to why ‘Aishah and all other wives of the Prophet were excluded. After all, the word used in the Verse of al-Mubahala is nisa , which literally means “women”.

As such, it covered both wives and daughters. In fact, everywhere else in the Qur’an, the phrase “women ( nisa ) of the Prophet” always referred to his wives[^6]! In addition, in over 90% of cases, the word “women ( nisa )” in the Book of Allah means “wives”[^7]. So, it is safe to conclude that the phrase “our women”