Mubahala (mutual invocation of God's curse)

Mubahala is a supplication in which two opposing parties gather and ask God to send His curse on whichever of them lies. Sha'rawi presents the Prophet's call to the Najran delegation to it, following Al Imran 61, and holds that the delegation's refusal showed doubt about their own position ¹².

Sha'rawi holds that mubahala is, at root, supplication to a dominant power to settle a dispute. The term then came to mean any supplication, so people say "we invoke God" to mean "we call on Him" ¹².

Sha'rawi says the call included sons, women and the self, since these are the nearest and dearest people to a person, so the supplication with them is the most sincere ¹.

Sha'rawi relates that the delegation sent someone to check what the Prophet would do, and found that he had come with al-Husayn, al-Hasan, Fatima and Ali. They then said they could not face mubahala and asked for a settlement. He holds that one without certainty does not take such a step, while the Prophet was certain of what God had revealed to him. He notes that Arab men took their women to war so that they would not flee ².

This is Sha'rawi's view alone, given under his name. The historical account of the delegation is in The delegation of Najran. No academic reading from a named source has yet been added. See also al-Sha'rawi and Tawaffi.