In the early days of
Islam, Najran was a big center of learning whose inhabitants were
idol-worshipers. Subsequently, they accepted Christianity as their religion.
Najran is in the modern Saudi Arabia, south of Jeddah. The Noble
Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) had sent letters to the heads of different countries
inviting them to Islam. One such letter was also sent to the bishop of Najran.
It read as follows:
In the name of the God
of Ibrahim, Is’haaq and Yaqoob. This letter is from Muhammad, the Prophet and
Messenger of Allah to the Bishop of Najran.
Praise be to the God
of Ibrahim, Is’haaq, and Yaqoob. I invite you to worship Allah instead of His
servants. I invite you to come out of the rule of servants of Allah and into
the rule of Allah Himself.
It is also stated that
the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) included the following Ayah of the Glorious
Qur’an:
“Say, (O’Muhammad) O
People of the Book (Bible), come to an agreement between us and you; that we
shall worship none but Allah and that we shall claim no partner to Him, and
that none of us shall take others for Lords besides Allah” And if they turn
away, then say, “Bear witness that we are Muslims ( who have surrendered to
Allah).” (3:64)
This was the event of
10 A.H. Sixty learned priests headed by their chief monk priest, Abdul Masih,
came to Madinah and went straight to meet the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.)
wearing golden ornaments and dressed in silken clothes. He (s.a.w.a.s.) did not
like their attire and turned his face away from them. They inquired from a few
influential Companions for the reason, but they did not know the state of his
(s.a.w.a.s.)’s mind. The Commander of the faithful, Maula Mushkil-Kusha, Imam
Ali (a.s.) came to their rescue and advised them to dress in simple clothes.
When they returned wearing simple clothes, the Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) warmly
welcomed them. It may be inferred that appearances and attires show the
thinking of the person. They wanted to show pride and high status.
Following
conversation followed:
The Prophet: I invite you to the belief of Unity of Allah (Tauheed) and the
worship of one God and submission to His will. (Then he recited the
above-mentioned Ayah)
Abdul Masih: If Islam means faith in one God of the universe, we already
believe in Him and follow His commands.
The Prophet: Islam has a few other signs and some of your actions show that
you have not accepted true Islam. How do you claim worship of one God when you
worship the cross and do not abstain from eating pork and believe that God has
a son?
Abdul Masih: Certainly he (I’sa (a.s.)) was the son of God because his mother
Mary [Mariyam (s.a.)] had given birth to him without marrying anyone in the
world. Therefore, obviously his father is the God of this universe. And,
because he used to bring the dead back to life, cure the sick and create birds
from clay and make them fly. It shows that he is God.
The Prophet: No, he was the servant and creature of God, and placed in the
womb of his mother Mariyam (s.a.). All his power and strength were granted to
him by God.
At this time,
Archangel Jibra’eel brought the following Ayah 59 of Surah Ale Imran:
“Surely, the example
of I’sa to Allah is like that of Adam; He created him from dust and then said
to him, “Be” and he was”
It means that if Isa
(a.s.) could be called the son of God because he was born without father, then
Adam (a.s.) deserves this title more because he was born without a father and a
mother. The priests could not reply to this argument and continued to argue out
of obstinacy.
Then the following
Ayah 61 of Surah Ale Imran was revealed:
“And
whoever argue with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge
then say, come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your
women, ourselves and yourselves, then let us humbly pray (to our Lord) and
invoke the curse of Allah upon the liars”
The Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.) produced this verse before the priests and challenged for “Mubahelah”.
The priests consulted each other and accepted the challenge. It was agreed that
the contest would take place the next day in the open desert outside Madinah.
On 24th Zilhajj, the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a.s.) came out for
Mubahelah. He was holding Imam Husayn (a.s.) in his arms and held Imam Hasan
(a.s.) by his hand; Lady of Paradise Sayyida Fatima Zahra (s.a.) was behind
him, while the Lion of Allah, Imam Ali (a.s.) was behind her. The Noble
Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) said to them, “When I pray for curse of Allah, you
should say Ameen”.
In compliance of the
Ayah of Mubahela, the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) brought Imam Hasan and Imam
Husayn (a.s.) as his “SONS”, Sayyida Fatima Zahra (s.a.) in place of
“WOMEN” while he could have brought three or more women, and Imam Ali (a.s.) as
his “SELF “while the Ayah had the accommodation for three.
The priests, by seeing
these shining faces emitting light, were spellbound. Their hearts trembled, and
they began to shake on seeing the light radiating from the faces of The Sacred
Panjetan (a.s.).
Their leader asked:
“who are these persons who have come with Muhammad “A man told their names and
their relationship with the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.). He could no longer
hold his patience and cried out:
“By God, I am seeing
such faces that if they were to pray to God to move the mountain, God Almighty
would move the mountain for them. O You People of Najran, if you contest with
Muhammad in this prayer of invoking curses on the liars, then I warn you that
all of you will be destroyed and not a single soul will remain on this earth. I
feel that it would be better to surrender to them and obey them”
After the Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.) heard these words, he later remarked: “By God, had the Christians
of Najran contested with us, they would have been transformed into monkeys and
swine. Fire would have rained over them”
It is a historic event
of a unique triumph of Islam. This event unquestionably established the truth
about Islam and the spiritual purity of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). It
proved beyond doubt as to who were the members of The House of the Noble
Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) and their “unquestionable Truthfulness!”
There is a point to be
remembered here that in Arabic language the plural tense is used for more than
three persons. Allah had provided the
place for three or more than three persons in the categories of “SONS”,
“WOMEN”, and “SELVES”. But the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) had to
decide as to who were the persons who were “TRUTHFUL” and
never lied in their life time, because Mubahelah would bring up
Allah’s wrath on the “LIARS”. It was a crucial test for Islam. Hence,
he picked-up Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Imam Husayn (a.s.); only two persons for the
place in “SONS”. While in the place of “WOMEN”, he picked-up only his daughter,
The Lady of Paradise, Sayyida Fatima Zahra (s.a.). Similarly, in the place
of “SELVES”, he picked up only The Conqueror of Khyber, Imam Ali (a.s.).
After the sad demise
of the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.), when Sayyida Fatima Zahra (s.a.) claimed
her gifted property of Fadak, which was given to her by her father, the Noble Prophet
(s.a.w.a.s.), the Caliph did not accept her testimony, that of Imam Ali (a.s.)
nor Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Imam Husayn (a.s.). These were the same Panjetan,
whose Truthfulness was accepted by Allah on the eve of Mubahelah!
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