The Grave Danger of Mubahalah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Shaikh Al-Islam Ibn Tamiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

As for the Christians, then indeed the people of Najran – from Yemen – came to debate with him [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] in his Masjid, so Allah revealed Surah Al Imran regarding them. And when his proofs became manifest and it became clear to them that he is a Messenger of Allah sent to them, Allah commanded him that if they do not respond to his call, then he should call them for MUBAAHALAH [i.e. invoke the curse of Allah on the liars]. Allah, The Mist High, said:

فَمَنۡ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡعِلۡمِ فَقُلۡ تَعَالَوۡاْ نَدۡعُ أَبۡنَآءَنَا وَأَبۡنَآءَكُمۡ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمۡ وَأَنفُسَنَا وَأَنفُسَكُمۡ ثُمَّ نَبۡتَہِلۡ فَنَجۡعَل لَّعۡنَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلۡڪَـٰذِبِينَ

Then whoever disputes with you concerning him [‘Iesa (Jesus)] after (all this) knowledge that has come to you, [i.e. ‘Iesa (Jesus)] being a slave of Allah, and having no share in Divinity) say: (O Muhammad) “Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves – then we pray and invoke (sincerely) the Curse of Allah upon those who lie.” [Aal Imran. 61]

When he called them for MUBAAHALAH, they asked him to give them some time until after consulting  one another. Then they said to one another, “Do not do this, because by Allah, if he is a Prophet and we do this invocation, neither we nor our offspring after us will be successful”. So they excused themselves from Mubaahalah and agreed to pay Jizyah, because they were scared of his supplication as they knew that he is Prophet. [An Excerpt from ‘Al-Jawaabus Saheeh. 1/50-51]

MUBAAHALAH: Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr, may Allah have mercy upon him, said, “There is a benefit in the story of the people of Najran, and in it is that Mubahalah is legislated against the opposer when he persists upon [falsehood] after the proofs have been manifested. Indeed, Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, did call to it, then Al-Awzaa’ee, may Allah have mercy upon him, and some of the scholars. And that which is well known from experience is that the affair of one who performs Mubahalah – while he is one upon falsehood – does not extend beyond the year of the Mubahalah. This occurred between me and a person who was fanatically supporting some of the heretics and after two months he could not stand up”. [An Excerpt from ‘Fat-hul Baari’ 12/195. Slightly paraphrased]

Imam Al Albaanee, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked about the ruling on MUBAAHALAH in relation to worldly matters:

Question: The hadith regarding the Najran delegation is well known when they came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and then Allah revealed:

فَمَنۡ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡعِلۡمِ فَقُلۡ تَعَالَوۡاْ نَدۡعُ أَبۡنَآءَنَا وَأَبۡنَآءَكُمۡ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمۡ وَأَنفُسَنَا وَأَنفُسَكُمۡ ثُمَّ نَبۡتَہِلۡ فَنَجۡعَل لَّعۡنَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلۡڪَـٰذِبِينَ

Then whoever disputes with you concerning him [‘Iesa (Jesus)] after (all this) knowledge that has come to you, [i.e. ‘Iesa (Jesus)] being a slave of Allah, and having no share in Divinity) say: (O Muhammad) “Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves – then we pray and invoke (sincerely) the Curse of Allah upon those who lie.” [Aal Imraan. 61]

So he called them to MUBAAHALAH, but they refused. It is well known to us that MUBAAHALAH is not to be done except in issues related to Aqeedah, but some people amongst the Muslims suggest this ruling in worldly matters between him and his Muslim brother; meaning, if my Muslim brother owes me money but denies it, then would it be permissible to suggest this ruling between me and my Muslim brother?

Answer: May Allah bless you. The answer to this question is that it is not permissible to suggest this in such a situation or suggest this Shariah ruling in relation to material issues due to two reasons:

Firstly, because this story is related to issues of Aqeedah as you have stated today.

Secondly, as for the material issues, then Islam has legislated a system and principle for it. He [i.e. the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)] said, “The burden of proof is on the claimant and an oath is a duty upon the one who denies the claim”. So, there is no room for Mubaahalah in this affair, which Allah, The Mighty and Majestic, legislated in that affair between His Messenger, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, and those Christians of the Najran, who denied true Islamic Monotheism and persisted on the Trinity. So, this is not suggested in another issue because neither is there a narration of the pious predecessors nor a hadeeth regarding it. However, if it must be done, it can be suggested when two groups of Muslims differ in some ideas or Aqeedah- for example between the Mutazilah and Ahlus Sunnah. It is possible that if some Mu’tazilee is haughty after discussion and after evidences have been presented, the Sunnee seeks Mubahalah from him – that may the curse of Allah be upon the liars. Therefore, it is possible to suggest this in such a matter. But as for the question with regards to suggesting this in issues related to material dispute, then this is not permissible. [An Excerpt from ‘Silsilah Al-Hudaa Wan-Noor 703]