In the name of God,


An exciting event in the history of Islam that took place between the Prophet and the Christian scholars is known as the Mubahala between the Prophet of Islam and the Christians of the Najran region. But what does Mubahala mean? 


Mubahala means that two parties who claim to be right gather in one place and invoke curses, asking God to send punishment upon the false one. This event occurred between the Prophet of Islam and the Christian scholars.


To hear about this story, stay with me. The beautiful region of Najran, with seventy villages under its jurisdiction, is located at the border of Hijaz and Yemen. At the dawn of Islam, this area was the only Christian settlement in Hijaz, which had abandoned idol worship for various reasons and embraced the Christian faith. The Prophet (PBUH), alongside corresponding with the leaders of world powers and religious centers, wrote a letter to the bishop of Najran, Abu Harithah, inviting the inhabitants of Najran to the Islamic faith.


The content of the letter is as follows:


In the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; from Muhammad, the Prophet and Messenger of God, to the Bishop of Najran. I praise and glorify the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I invite you to worship God instead of His servants. I invite you to leave the servitude of the servants of God and enter into the servitude of God. If you do not accept my invitation, you will have to pay taxes and tribute to the Islamic government; otherwise, a warning will be issued to you.

The representatives of the Prophet entered Najran and delivered the letter of the Prophet (PBUH) to the bishop of Najran. He read the letter carefully and formed a council composed of prominent religious and non-religious figures to make a decision regarding it. One of the individuals consulted was "Sharjil," who was known for his wisdom, insight, and competence. He said, "We have repeatedly heard from our religious leaders that one day the position of prophethood will be transferred from the descendants of Isaac to the children of Ishmael, and it is not unlikely that Muhammad, who is a descendant of Ishmael, is the promised prophet."


After Sharjil's remarks, the council decided that a group should go as a delegation from Najran to Medina to meet with Muhammad (PBUH) in person and examine the evidence of his prophethood. Thus, sixty of the most knowledgeable people from Najran were selected, among whom three religious leaders were at the forefront:


1. Abu Harithah bin Alqamah, the archbishop of Najran, who was the official representative of the churches of Rome and Hijaz.


2. Abd al-Masih, the head of the delegation, who was known for his intelligence and competence.


3. Ayham, who was an elderly individual and a respected figure among the people of Najran.

Medina was seeing such unfamiliar guests for the first time. A caravan consisting of sixty unfamiliar guests, dressed in long black garments, wearing crosses around their necks, adorned with jeweled hats, and with gold chains around their waists, had various types of gold and jewelry attached to their clothing.


When these sixty individuals entered the mosque to meet the Prophet, everyone looked at them with astonishment and surprise. However, the Prophet passed by them indifferently and exited the mosque. Both the delegation of guests and the Muslims were filled with wonder and amazement at this behavior of the Prophet. The Muslims had never seen their kind Prophet disregard guests in such a manner. Therefore, when the head of the Christian delegation asked the reason for the Prophet's indifference, none of the Muslims could find an answer.


The only way that seemed plausible was to ask Imam Ali about the reason for this behavior, as he was the closest person to the Prophet and the most knowledgeable about his religion, conduct, and traditions. As always, the problem was resolved by Ali. His response was:


"The Prophet has no affinity for luxury and ostentation; if you wish to be received and welcomed by the Prophet, you must set aside these gold and jewels and come to him in a simple manner."


This behavior of the Prophet reminded the delegation of their own prophet, Jesus Christ, who lived in utmost simplicity and advised his followers to maintain simplicity as well.

They felt ashamed to see how far they had strayed from the behavior and conduct of their Prophet. The Christian guests, when they set aside their jewelry and luxuries and entered the mosque in a simple manner, found the Prophet rising from his place to warmly welcome them. The sixty Christian scholars sat around the Prophet, and he greeted each of them. Among these sixty individuals, who were all elders and prominent figures of Najran's Christians, were Abu Harithah, the archbishop of Najran, and Sharjil. It was evident that the leadership of the delegation was in the hands of Abu Harithah. He glanced at Sharjil and his companions and began to speak with the Prophet: "Not long ago, we received a letter from you, and we have come to hear your words in person."


The Prophet said:


"What I have asked of you is the acceptance of Islam and the worship of the One God."


To introduce Islam, he recited verses from the Quran for them.


The archbishop responded: "If by accepting Islam you mean faith in God, we have already believed in God and follow His commandments."


The Prophet replied:


"Acceptance of Islam has signs that are not compatible with what you believe and practice. You attribute a son to God and consider Christ to be God, while this belief is different from the worship of the One God."


The archbishop fell silent for a moment, searching for an appropriate response in his mind. Another prominent Christian, seeing the archbishop at a loss for words, came to his aid and replied:


"Christ is the Son of God because his mother, Mary, gave birth to him without marrying anyone. This shows that he must be the God of the universe."

The Prophet fell silent for a moment.


Suddenly, the angel of revelation descended and brought the response to this statement from God for the Prophet. The Prophet immediately conveyed God's message to them: "The status of Jesus before God is like that of Adam, whom He created from dust by His power..." 


He explained that "if lacking a father indicates divinity, then Adam, who had neither a father nor a mother, is more deserving of the status of God. However, this is not the case, and both are servants and creations of God."


Moments passed slowly, and everyone lowered their heads, deep in thought. None of the sixty Christian scholars could find a response to this statement. As time dragged on, the scholars gradually lifted their heads, looking at one another in anticipation of a response, glancing at the archbishop and at Sharjil; but... there was complete silence.


Finally, the archbishop spoke up:


"We are not convinced. The only way left to prove the truth is for us to engage in Mubahala. That is, we and you should raise our hands in prayer and ask God to punish whoever is lying."


The Prophet paused for a moment, surprised that they did not accept this clear argument and were resisting. The Christians fixed their eyes on the Prophet, eager to hear his response.


At that moment, the angel of revelation descended again and conveyed God's message to the Prophet. The message was:


"Whoever, after the truth has been made clear, disputes with you, [invite him to Mubahala]. Say, 'Come, let us bring our children and you bring your children, and let us bring our women and you bring your women, and let us bring our souls and you bring your souls, then let us humbly pray to God and seek His curse upon the liars.'"


After conveying God's message to them, the Prophet announced that he was ready for Mubahala. The Christian scholars looked at one another, and it was evident that some of them were not satisfied with the archbishop's proposal, but it seemed there was no alternative.

The archbishop climbed onto a stone, gestured for everyone to be quiet, and, with his chin and the white hairs of his beard trembling from agitation, said:


"I believe that Mubahala is not advisable. These five radiant faces that I see, if they raise their hands in prayer, could uproot mountains. If Mubahala occurs, our destruction is certain, and perhaps the punishment will encompass all Christians in the world."


The archbishop descended from the stone and, with trembling hands and legs, approached the Prophet. The others followed him.


Before the Prophet, the archbishop bowed his head in humility and said, "Please exempt us from Mubahala. We will accept any conditions you have."


The Prophet graciously and kindly accepted their withdrawal from Mubahala and agreed to protect their lives and property, as well as those of the people of Najran, in exchange for paying taxes.


News of this event quickly spread among the Christians of Najran and other regions, leading truth-seeking Christians to Medina to meet the Prophet.


Thus, many Christians embraced Islam.