Verse of Mubahala and the Virtue of ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه): Refutation of Shia Argument
Taken from: Fatawa Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Some extremist Shia use the following verse and Hadith to argue that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) are equal, therefore ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) is the wali, superior to all other Companions, and even like the Prophet (ﷺ) himself. Is this correct?
✿ Allah Almighty says:
فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ
(Surah Aal ‘Imran: 61)
✿ Narrated by Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas (رضي الله عنه):
لما نزلت هذه الآية… دعا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عليا وفاطمة وحسنا وحسينا فقال: اللهم هؤلاء أهلي
“When this verse was revealed, the Prophet (ﷺ) called for ‘Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (رضي الله عنهم) and said: ‘O Allah, these are my household.’”
(Sahih Muslim: 2404)
❖ Answer:
To argue from this verse and Hadith that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) is equal to the Prophet (ﷺ), or superior to the rest of the Companions, is a clear distortion of the verse. No Imam of Tafsir has ever stated such a meaning.
❖ Refutations of the Shia Argument
✿ Imam Fakhr al-Razi (رحمه الله, 606H) explained:
He mentioned that a Shia teacher, Mahmood ibn Hasan al-Himsi, used to claim that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) was superior to all Prophets except the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), based on the wording أنفسنا (“ourselves”) in the verse. He argued that the Prophet (ﷺ) would not call himself, so “ourselves” must refer to someone else, namely ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه). He then falsely claimed this proves equality between them in all matters except Prophethood.
However, Imam al-Razi clarified this is a false understanding. The consensus of Muslims is that the Prophet (ﷺ) is superior to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه), and that Prophets are superior to non-Prophets. Thus, it is impossible for ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) to be equal to the Prophet (ﷺ), let alone superior to the rest of the Prophets.
(Tafsir al-Razi, 8/72)
✿ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله, 728H) said:
Taking أنفسنا to mean only ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) is against Arabic usage. Just as نساءنا (our women) was plural but only Fatimah (رضي الله عنها) was present, and أبناءنا (our sons) was plural though only Hasan and Husayn (رضي الله عنهما) were present, أنفسنا is plural and cannot refer exclusively to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه). This proves the Shia claim is false and baseless.
(Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah, 4/25)
✿ Abu Hafs ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali al-Numani (رحمه الله, 775H) said:
Just as there is consensus among Muslims that Muhammad (ﷺ) is superior to ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه), there was also consensus long before this Shia claim arose that Prophets are superior to non-Prophets. And it is agreed that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) was not a Prophet.
(Al-Lubab fi ‘Uloom al-Kitab, 5/290)
❖ Conclusion:
The attribution of equality between the Prophet (ﷺ) and ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) from this verse is false, against consensus, and a distortion of the Qur’an. The Ummah is united that the Prophet (ﷺ) is superior to all the Companions, including ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه).
