The Incident of Mubahala
According to the Sunni hadith collections, it is narrated that during the 9th - 10th year after hijra an Arab Christian envoy from Najran (currently in northern Yemen and partly in Saudi Arabia) came to the Muhammad to argue which of the two parties erred in its doctrine concerning Jesus (Quran 3:61). Muhammad offered to do the Arabic tradition known as Mubahala, where each conflicting party should cover themselves, and together all parties ask God sincerely to destroy and inflict with curses on the lying party and their families. Muhammad, to prove to them that he is a prophet, brought his daughter Fatimah and his surviving grandchildren, Hasan and Hussain, and Ali ibn Abi Talib and came back to the Christians and said this is my family (ahl) and covered himself and his family with a cloak.
The Shi’i claim that this authentic hadith proves whom the Qur'an is referring to when it mentions the Ahl al-Bayt which includes only Ali, Fatimah, and their descendants. Sunni dispute that this verse was about Muhammad's wives and their children and even their servants.
Read more about this topic: Ahl Al-Kisa
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