Analysis of the Citation of the Verse of Mubāhilah in Razavi Debates

Debate with different scholars and scientists is one of the characteristics of the era of Imam Riḍā (as) that he answered their questions in different ways and citing sources accepted by both parties and proved the legitimacy of Islam or Shiite beliefs. One of the debates of that Imam is related to explaining the supreme virtue of Imam Ali (AS) in the verses of the Quran, in which the Imam, based on the verse of Mubāhilah (Āl-ʿImrān, 61), answered Maʾmūn's questions and forced him to submit to the correct argument. This study has analyzed it with the help of library sources and after reviewing various texts quoted from the debate between Maʾmūn and Imam Riḍā (as) about the verse of Mubahila, and it wants to answer these questions: in what sources is this debate mentioned and what is the most correct narration of it? What are the principles of the Imam in the debate and what theoretical and practical points can be obtained from the analysis of the text of the debate? The findings of the research show that Imam Ali ibn Mūsá al-Riḍā (as) in this debate, considering the continuous verbal evidence (words and words of the verse), continuous non-verbal evidence (historical story of Mubahila) and the use of prophetic narrations on the subject, expressed the greatest Qurʾanic virtue of Imam Ali (as) to be the soul of that Imam as the soul of the Prophet (pbuh) in the verse of Mubahila, and then he answered the doubts.