Bismillah.
فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْاْ نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءنَا وَأَبْنَاءكُمْ وَنِسَاءنَا وَنِسَاءكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وأَنفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَةُ اللّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ
And whoever disputes with you concerning him, after what has come to you of knowledge, say: ‘Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, then let us invoke in earnest the damnation of Allah upon the liars.
(Sūrat Āli Imrān, No.3, Āyat 61)
The passage is a recollection of the event of Mubāhalah, a pivotal moment near the end of the Prophet Muhammad’s mission. In this event, the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-ālihi wasallam was ordered to bring forward those closest to him to invoke God’s judgment against liars.
He chose Imām Ali, Bībī Fātimah, and his grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn ‘alayhimus-salām. The selection of these individuals, particularly Imam Ali (a), referred to as the Prophet’s soul (nafs) in the verse, signifies his spiritual and moral superiority. Imām Ali’s designation as the Prophet’s soul suggests that he shares all the Prophet’s qualities, except prophecy. As in the famous hadith where the Prophet (s) compares his relationship with Ali (a) to the relationship between Mūsā (a) and Hārūn (a), emphasizing however “except there is no Prophet after me” (Sahīh Bukhārī, H 4416)
Zamakhsharī in his al-Kashshāf says: This verse is the strongest evidence for the virtue of the People of the Cloak, and in it is proof of the truth of the Prophet’s mission, for no one would bring dear ones to such a confrontation unless they were truthful.
Al-Ma’mūn asked Imam Ali al-Ridā ‘alayhis-salām about the greatest merit of Imām Ali (a) in the Quran. Imam said: His merit in the event of Mubāhalah; the Prophet called al-Hasan and al-Husayn who were his sons, he called Fātimah who was the instance for women in this verse and called Ali who is, according to divine decree, the soul of the Prophet. There is no creature superior to the Prophet; therefore, based on divine decree, there must be no creature superior to the soul of the Prophet. (Al-Mufīd, al-Fusūl al-mukhtāra, p 38).
This verse was revealed after extensive arguments and clear presentation of truth to the Christian delegation from Najran, especially concerning the nature of Prophet ‘Isā ‘alayhis-salām. Despite the Quranic evidence, the delegation persisted in their denial. Allah commanded the Prophet (s) to engage in Mubāhalah after truth had been fully conveyed, highlighting a spiritual climax where words had failed, and now divine witness would intervene.
This aligns directly with the Hadīth al-Thaqalayn, where the Prophet (s) said: I leave behind two weighty things: the Quran and my Ahlul Bayt. If you hold onto both, you will never go astray. (Sahīh Muslim, H 2408a). The Mubāhalah episode becomes a living demonstration of this hadith: the Quran presented the truth, and when it was rejected, the Ahlul Bayt (a) stood beside the Prophet (s), signifying that both the Quran and his purified family are inseparable guides of truth.
The event also powerfully illustrates the divine aura and moral authority of the Holy Five. When the people of Najran saw who the Prophet (s) brought; not soldiers, scholars, or tribal leaders, but his closest family members, they were struck with awe. They recognized that if these people were calling for a Mubāhalah, they must be truthful so much so that the Christians backed away from the challenge and chose to pay the jizya instead. (Tabarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, Ibn Sā‘d, Tabaqāt)
Their withdrawal is a silent admission that the Prophet and his family were on the side of divine truth, and engaging in Mubāhalah with them would result in divine wrath. This highlights not just truthfulness, but the moral and spiritual superiority of Ahlul Bayt (a) over all others, since their presence alone prevented a confrontation and sealed the argument.
We pray that Allah ‘azza wajall may count us amongst the true followers of Thaqalayn, and that He may assist the oppressed, especially the resilient people of Palestine and Iran.
Reference: Abul Qasim al-Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf; Ahmad Ibn Abi Tālib al Tabarsī, Majma‘ al-Bayān; Muhammad ibn Ismaī’l al-Bukhārī, Sahīh; Muhammad Ibn Muslim Nashaypūrī, Sahīh; Muhammad Ibn Sā‘d, Tabaqāt al Kubrā; Shaykh al-Mufīd, al-Fusūl al-mukhtāra.