Invoking the curse of Allaah
29-8-2004 | IslamWeb
Question:
I want to known detail about Mubaahala if two friends working together as partner in business. Later among them some problem occurs now they can to Mubaahala among them. One of my friend said that we can only do for Islaam activities not any other world things. Is it right? Send me detailed answer with Qur'aan and Hadeeth base.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
Al-Mubaahala is invoking sincerely the curse of Allaah on the liar. When people differ about something they gather and say: 'May the curse of Allaah be on the wrongdoer among us.' Al-Mubaahala is permissible if the dissenter persists after the evidence had become clear to him/her. The Prophet 
invoked sincerely the curse of Allaah on the Christians of Najraan after establishing the evidence against them that 'Easaa (Jesus) 
is a slave and Messenger of Allaah. When they insisted on their disbelief and lies the Prophet called them for Mubaahala, then the following verse of Allaah was revealed to him: Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): {Then whoever argues with you concerning him ('Easaa --being a slave of Allaah and having no share in Divinity) 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 Allaah upon the liars [among us].}[3:61].
Some of the companions 
called to Al-Mubaahala as well, like Ibn Mas'ood and Ibn 'Abbaas, Al-Awzaa'e, and a group of scholars
called to it as well.
Ibn Hajar 
said: 'It is known by experience that he who calls to Al-Mubaahala while being a liar, one year would not pass after the day of Al-Mubaahala except that he is perished. This indeed happened to me with a person who used to be inclined toward atheists and he did not live after this more than two months.'
As regards whether Al-Mubaahala can be on worldly matters, then the verse and the acts of the companions and the scholars after them illustrate that this is done on Islamic matters.
The Prophet called to it about the reality of 'Easaa Ibn Mas'ood 
called to it regarding the waiting period of a widowed woman before she could remarry, and Ibn 'Abbaas called to it about a matter of inheritance. Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim also called to it regarding the attributes of Allaah, and Ibn Hajar called a man to it in order to deter him from being inclined to atheists and so on. So we do not know of any one of our righteous predecessors who invoked the curse of Allaah in a worldly matter, and we have never come across one.
Finally, our advice to these partners is to endeavour to solve the problems between themselves in good words and in good manner and to fear Allaah. It is not appropriate for a Muslim to invoke the curse of Allaah upon his Muslim brother in worldly matters, as this world is worthless. But they can take their case to an Islamic judge or whoever can serve as a judge to solve their problems.
Allaah knows best.