Two: the Aim of the Presence of the Prophet’s Family in...

Two: the Aim of the Presence of the Prophet’s Family in Mubahalah Why was the Prophet ordered to invite his family members to mubahalah when the dispute was seemingly between two sides the very Prophet of Islam (saws) and the representatives of Najran Christians? Some maintain that the presence of the dearest of the Prophet’s close relatives in mubahalah , merely expresses his certainty of and confidence in the truth of his words and his claim.

Such a decision will not be wise unless one is completely certain of the truth of one’s words and claim. If he had not had such confidence, he would have exposed his relatives to the danger of annihilation and destruction, an act, which no sensible person will do.

Such a justification cannot explain why the holy Prophet (saws) invited from among all his relatives only the members of his family to attend mubahalah , because if we suppose that the above view is true, the event would seem an ordinary one and their accompanying the Prophet to mubahalah would be of no value. A deliberation on the Qur’anic verse and the hadith s on the verse of mubahalah will reveal the overwhelming superiority of those who accompanied the Prophet in this event.

a) Al–Zamakhshari, a great Sunni scholar says, that the verse of “ mubahalah contains a strongest evidence about the superiority of Ashab al– Kisa ”[^2] b) In his Rooh al–M’ani , al–Alusi says, “That the above Qur’anic verse indicates the superiority of Al–al–Allah i.e.

the Household of the Prophet (saws),– is something which no believer can doubt; because showing enmity towards them invalidates faith”.[^3] Following this observation, al–Alusi, however, tries to say something else about the superiority of the Prophet’s Household.[^4] Now, let’s see why God, the Exalted, ordered that the Prophet’s family should accompany the Prophet for mubahalah . In order to answer this question, we to need refer to the Qur’anic verse that says, “ Come!

We will call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our souls and your souls, then will pray humbly ( to our Lord ) , and ( solemnly ) invoke for the curse of Allah upon those who lie **”** . (3:61) First comes the idea of inviting “ the sons ” , “the women ” and “ the souls ” , then their “humble praying” followed by “invoking for the curse of Allah upon those who lie ” .

The Highest Status of Prophet’s Family in the Verse of Mubahalah Commentators of the Qur’an take ibtihal to mean “praying humbly” or “uttering a curse”.