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The Najran Pact, Mobaahelah (Mubahilah) Part 1

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The Najran Pact,

Mobaahelah (Mubahilah)

Part 1

 

Previously, we presented writings such as the article titled: “Mobaahelah, Ali as Mohammad’s self” in this site in which the event of Mobaahelah has been briefly reviewed. The event, as narrated by the Shi’ah and the sunni, is about the christians of Najran facing the Prophet Mohammad (SBUH&HA). In this writing in addition to presenting some more undeniable detailed sunni documents for the event, we are also going to look at some christian documents in this regard and explore their claims. Unless otherwise indicated, the christian documents presented within quotation marks are quoted from the English Wikipedia as cited from christian sources such as: Hitti, Philip Khuri (1970). History of the Arabs: from the earliest time to the present. St. Martin's Press, and New York: Macmillan, 1951; Frankfurter, David (1998). Pilgrimage and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt. BRILL publishing house; Goddard, Hugh (2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. New Amsterdam Books; Schaff's History of the Christian Church, Volume III, Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity; and … .

 

Firstly let us see where Najran is. Currently “Najran is a province of Saudi Arabia, located in the south of the country along the border with Yemen. Its capital is Najran.”

 

Since the Prophet Mohammad (SBUH&HA) at time of Mobaahelah was in Medina, Najran was and still is toward south and south west of Medina.

 

It is important to keep in mind that back then the countries of Saudi Arabia and Yemen did not exist as such, rather in the area there were different states at different times:

 

“Ptolemy, who described Yemen as Eudaimon      UR   Arabia (better known in its Latin translation, Arabia Felix) meaning Fortunate Arabia or Happy Arabia. Between the 8th century BCE and the 6th century, it was dominated by six main states … .”

 

“The Himyarite Kingdom was the dominant polity in Arabia until 525 AD …”

 

Christian sources confirm the existence of a christian community in Najran at the time of the Prophet Mohammad (SBUH&HA):

 

 “The existence of a Christian community of Najran is attested by several historical sources of the Arabic peninsula, where it recorded as having been created in the 5th century CE or perhaps a century earlier.”

 

Since the advent of Islam was about 610 CE, therefore the Najran christians were indeed already there at the time.

 

This is how the christian sources explain the origin of christianity in Najran:

 

“Prior to the rise of Christianity, the people of Najran were polytheists and worshipped a tall date-palm tree, for which also they had an annual festival when they hung upon it the finest garments they could find, and female ornaments. Then they would come and dance around it the whole day. During this period, they had a Chief named Abdullah ibn ath-Thamir who became the first Najranite to embrace Christianity. A pious Christian builder and brick-layer named Phemion settled among them and led them to his religion.”

 

According to christian documents Najran became the seat of a Bishop appointed by the Byzantine Church and Empire; let us keep in mind that Bishops were actually political-religious representatives of the Roman Empire. At the time emperor of Byzantium (Constantinople) was Justin I who therefore was the political protector of christianity in areas which were considered pro-Byzantine:

 

“Najran was an oasis, with a large Christian population and the seat of a Bishopric.”

 

“Najran had been an important centre of Christianity in South Arabia … in which economics, politics, and religion were all entangled.”

 

“The Najranite Christians, had close connections with the ecclesiastical authorities in Byzantium and Abyssinia. They were identified by virtue of their religion as "pro-Axumite" and "pro-Byzantine".”

 

As Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary states, the Byzantine Empire was: The Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the Western Empire in A.D. 476. Cap.: Constantinople; and Constantinople was the former name of Istanbul in today’s Turkey.

 

 

I.e. Najran was under the supervision of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire Politically and religiously. In other words from the one hand the Byzantine Empire had ruling and political dominance over Najran through its appointed Bishop; and from the other hand the religious beliefs of Najran was in accordance to that of the Roman Empire.

 

It is noteworthy to mention that the blasphemous belief of the Roman Empire regarding the divinity of jesus -the same belief still upheld by christians today- was actually approved and settled at the “Nicene Creed”:

 

“First Council of Nicaea, Date 325 AD [currently is] Accepted by Anglicans, Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Protestants, Roman Catholics.”

 

“The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church.”

 

“Its main accomplishments were settlement of the issue of the nature of The Son and his relationship to God the Father.”

 

 “One of the projects undertaken by the Council was the creation of a Creed, a declaration and summary of the Christian faith.”

 

Some of the items of the Nicene Creed are as follows:

 

“1. Jesus Christ is described as "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God," proclaiming his divinity.

2. Jesus Christ is said to be "begotten, not made", asserting that he was not a mere creature, brought in to being out of nothing, but the true Son of God, brought in to being 'from the substance of the Father'.

3. He is said to be "one in being with The Father".

 

“The Emperor carried out his earlier statement: everybody who refused to endorse the Creed would be exiled. Arius, Theonas, and Secundus refused to adhere to the creed, and were thus exiled to Illyria, in addition to being excommunicated. The works of Arius [who believed that God was One and that Jesus was created by God] were ordered to be confiscated and consigned to the flames while all persons found possessing them were to be executed.” ("§ 120. The Council of Nicea, 325")

 

“Thus, instead of a baptismal creed acceptable to both the Arians and their opponents the council promulgated one which was clearly opposed to Arianism and incompatible with the distinctive core of their beliefs.”

 

Thus the beliefs of the christians of Najran as followers of the Roman Empire, was absolutely not in accordance to the teachings of the Prophet ‘Eesa -Jesus- (SBUH), rather they believed in the distorted issue of divinity of jesus.

 

As the Majestic Qur’an verifies, when the representatives of the Najranites went to the Prophet Mohammad (SBUH&HA) and put forward the reason of birth of a man without a father to claim jesus to be the son of god or god, the following verse was revealed to reject their claim:

 

Qur’an 3:59 Indeed the parable of ‘Eesa (Jesus) with Allah is like the parable of Adam; He (Allah) created him (Adam) from dust, then said to him: "Be", And he was.

 

The birth of ‘Eesa -Eisa, Isa- (SBUH) to his virgin mother, Hadrat Maryam (SBUH), without a male partner, was an immediate effect of Allah’s Will, manifested to the world as a miracle, just as the birth of Adam (SBUH) took place without the agency of a father and a mother. When Allah  Wills a thing to "Be", it becomes.

 

To be continued …