Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 61 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:61

فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا۟ نَدْعُ أَبْنَآءَنَا وَأَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وَأَنفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ

“Then whoever argues with you about it after [this] knowledge has come to you - say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then supplicate earnestly [together] and invoke the curse of Allāh upon the liars [among us]."”

Saheeh International

Essence

When argument is exhausted, the Prophet stakes his dearest people on a joint plea for Allah's curse on whoever is lying.

A reflection

He brought the people he loved most

A lift engineer finishes overhauling an old lift in a block of flats. Before he signs it off, he rides it to the top floor with his own two daughters beside him. Nobody in the lobby needs a certificate after that.

The ayah asks for something like it, on a far graver scale. 'Come, let us call our sons and your sons', it begins, then 'our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves'. A dispute about the truth of Jesus was to be settled before Allah, and each side was to bring its own.

A classical commentator asks the obvious question. If the test was only about who was lying, why bring children and women at all? His answer: to show the depth of the Prophet's certainty. He was willing to expose the people dearest to him, the pieces of his own heart, and not only himself. Nobody stakes his children on a claim he half believes.

Sahih Muslim records what happened when this ayah came down. The Prophet ﷺ called ʿAlī, Fāṭima, Ḥasan and Ḥusayn, and said: 'O Allah, these are my family'. The commentaries add that he came out the next morning carrying one grandson and holding the other's hand, with Fāṭima walking behind him.

There is a test here for anyone who calls others to anything. Would you put your own family where you are asking other people to stand? A parent who preaches honesty but excuses his own children's lies has answered that question already. Conviction is measured by what you are willing to place on it.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.