KOZHIKODE: Mubahala, the Islamic practice of ‘mutual cursing’, conducted at Kodiyathoor in Kozhikode between Ahmadiyyas and other Muslim organisations in 1989 has evoked international attention after a researcher from Kerala presented a paper on the topic at the universities in USA.
Mubahala is a last resort in Islamic jurisprudence for resolving disputes, where each of the two fundamentally opposed parties pray in public that God’s curse may fall upon them if they are telling lies. Normally, the prayer starts, “May I be cursed if...”
Mubahala in Kodiyathoor was the only structured event in the known history of Islam where both parties were present on the stage face-to-face, though there were many challenges and discussions as prelude to Mubahala elsewhere. “It is mentioned in the Holy Quran that Prophet Muhammad had challenged the Christians for a Mubahala. Though the Muslim side was prepared, the ritual didn’t materialise as Christians withdrew,” said Soofiya Mahmood, the researcher at MES College, Kalladi, who presented the paper at the conference on ‘Islam in South Asia and South East Asia’ in March 2024. According to Soofiya, Kodiyathoor was one of the places where Ahmadiyyas or Qadianis had considerable influence.
“Sympathisers of various Muslim organisations formed an outfit called Anjuman Isha’at-e-Islam to counter Ahmadiyya influence in the 1980s. In the meantime, General Ziaul Haq passed an ordinance in Pakistan against the Ahmadiyyas in 1988, and Ahmadiyya khalifa Mirza Tahir Ahmed called for a Muhabala against the enemies,” she said.
‘A method to resolve debates without bloodshed’
“It included all those who were spreading propaganda against Ahmadiyyas besides Ziaul Haq and Pakistan authorities,” Soofiya said.
The challenge for Mubahala reached the Isha’at office and the organisation was ready for the ritual. Two sides appeared on the stage at Kodiyathoor on May 28, 1989, along with their families, including women and children.
“All were anxiously waiting for the result within six months but nothing obvious like unnatural deaths happened. After the event, the Qadianis claimed that they won the challenge because their influence grew in that year.
At the same time, they complained that the prayers offered by the rivals were not proper. Meanwhile, Isha’at said the Ahmadiyyas had declared that some disaster would happen to the rivals if they win, but nothing of the sort had happened. Isha’at also said none from Kodiyathoor joined the Ahmadiyya fold after the Mubahala and hence it is a victory for them,” Soofiya said.
The researcher believes that Ahmadiyyas, who were considered non-Muslims by other mainstream Muslim organisations, used Mubahala as a tool to prove their ‘Muslimness’. “For the Isha’at, it was a matter of their izzat (pride) that no intrusion was allowed into the Islamic belief system. A third section of Muslims branded the whole event as a farce and wanted an apology for the unnecessary furore,” she said.
“There were many questions when I presented the paper at University of Chicago and University of Ohio. I am preparing a detailed paper on the subject to be published in some international magazines considering the interest evoked at the conferences. I see the practice as a method of resolving serious and fundamental theological debates without any bloodshed,” Soofiya said.