Miracles of the Prophet (s)
Miracles of the Prophet (s) refer to extraordinary things done by the Prophet Muhammad (s) at the permission of God to prove his prophethood. The miracles are of two types: spiritual and sensory. His most important miracle was the Qur'an which lasts forever, unlike the miracles of other prophets. The Qur'an counts as a miracle in different aspects. Radd al-Shams (returning of the sun) and Shaqq al-Qamar (split of the moon) are other extraordinary things done by the Prophet (s).
Miracle
A miracle is an extraordinary thing—contrary to the current laws of nature—done by prophets (a) at the permission of God in order to prove their claim of prophethood,[1] where ordinary people cannot do those things. In order to prove prophethood, a miracle should involve tahaddi (challenge), lack of opponent, and not being defeated.[2]
Number of Miracles
Many miracles have been attributed to the Prophet (s). Ibn al-Jawzi points to sources in which over 1000 miracles are attributed to the Prophet (s).[3] In his Mu'jizat al-nabi, Ibn Kathir cited many of these miracles. He distinguished spiritual and sensory miracles, referring to the Qur'an and the Prophet's (s) moral character and practice as his spiritual miracles. His sensory miracles are divided into what pertains to events in the sky and what pertains to earthly events, and the latter is divided into ones belonging to solid things and animals.
The Qur'an
The Qur'an is the Prophet's (s) everlasting miracle. The Qur'an is a miracle that involves superhuman features in different aspects (the word, the meaning, the structure, and the like) and ordinary men are not able to bring something like it. Thus, the Qur'an is not the word of a human being; rather it is the word of God. To prove that the Qur'an is a miracle, a number of Quranic verses have challenged the opponents. "Tahaddi" consists in God asking opponents to bring something like the Qur'an if they believe that it is not the word of God, and since nobody could bring anything like the Qur'an, the truth of the divine word will be proved.[4]
Sensory Miracles
Another type of the Prophet's (s) miracles consists in actions that can be known to be extraordinary just via one's sensory organs. Some of the most important sensory miracles include the following.
Shaqq al-Qamar
Shaqq al-Qamar (split of the moon) is a miracle believed by Muslims to have been done by the Prophet (s) at the request of polytheists. In this extraordinary event, the Prophet (s) pointed to the moon with his finger and then the moon was split into two halves. This miracle occurred in the early years after Bi'that. There are many hadiths regarding this miracle.[5] Many exegetes of the Qur'an believe that the opening verses of Sura al-Qamar refer to this event:[6]
| “ | اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ وَإِن يَرَوْا آيَةً يُعْرِضُوا وَيَقُولُوا سِحْرٌ مُّسْتَمِرٌّ وَكَذَّبُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا أَهْوَاءَهُمْ ۚ وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ | ” |
| “ | The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split. If they see a sign, they turn away, and say, 'An incessant magic!' They denied and followed their own desires, and every matter has a setting [appropriate to it]. | ” |
Radd al-Shmas
A miracle cited in hadiths and biographies is "Radd al-Shams" (returning of the sun). In this event, the sun was allegedly returned to some moments earlier so that Imam 'Ali (a) could say his afternoon prayer on time. It is said that the same event occurred for the prophet Joshua (a) (or Yusha' b. Nun), the successor of the prophet Moses (a),[7] and two times for Imam Ali (a); once during the lifetime of the Prophet (s) and once again after his demise.[8]
Other Miracles
- The flow of water from the middle of the Prophet's (s) fingers: al-Bukhari quoted Anas b. Malik as saying that one day at the time of the afternoon prayer, the Sahaba intended to say prayers with the Prophet (s), but they could not find water to perform wudu. At this time, the Prophet (s) put his hand in a container. Water flew from his fingers, and everyone performed wudu from that water.[9]
- The movement of a tree towards the Prophet (s): Imam 'Ali (a) quoted in his al-Khutba al-Qasi'a that one day some prominent figures of the Quraysh went to the Prophet (s) and asked him to tell the tree to come to them in order to prove his prophethood. The Prophet (s) told the tree to go to them at the permission of God. Suddenly, the tree's roots came out of the ground and it moved towards the Prophet (s). Despite this obvious miracle, they did not believe in the Prophet (s), calling him a magician.[10]
- Heavy rainfall after the pray of the Prophet (s): according to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), in the wake of a severe drought in Medina, people asked the Prophet (s) to pray for a rainfall. The Prophet (s) prayed and just before the end of his pray, clouds covered the sky of Medina and it rained so heavily that there was nearly a flood there.[11]
- Pebbles in the hands of the Prophet (s) exalting God: Abu Dhar quoted 'Uthman b. 'Affan as saying that he, Abu Bakr, and 'Umar were at the presence of the Prophet (s). He picked a number of pebbles from the ground and put them on his palms. At this time, the pebbles began to exalt God.[12]
Other miracles have also been attributed to the Prophet (s), including: him talking to wild animals and birds, disclosing things that people had hidden in their houses, and so on.[13]
Spiritual Miracles
In some sources, the Prophet's (s) good temper and moral character are considered as his miracles.[14] Although they do not terminologically count as miracles, they might show something extraordinary about him since conflicting attributes, such as courage and tolerance, contentment and headship, worship and political leadership, cannot ordinarily be possessed by one person at a time in a way that he becomes a role-model.
Notes
- ↑ See: Mufīd, ‘’al-Nukat al-iʿtiqādīyya’’, p. 35.
- ↑ Mufīd, ‘’al-Nukat al-iʿtiqādīyya’’, p. 126-129.
- ↑ Ibn al-Jawzī, ‘’al-Muntaẓam fī tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk’’, vol. 15, p. 129.
- ↑ Ibn Kathīr, ‘’Muʿjizāt al-nabīyy’’, p. 7.
- ↑ Majlisī, ‘’Biḥār al-anwār’’, vol. 17, p. 355.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, ‘’Majmaʿ al-bayān’’, vol. 9, p. 282; Fakhr al-Rāzī, ‘’Mafātīḥ al-ghayb’’, vol. 29, p. 327.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, ‘’Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh’’, vol. 1, p. 203; Mufīd, ‘’al-Irshād’’, vol. 2, p. 385.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, ‘’Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh’’, vol. 1, p. 203; Mufīd, ‘’al-Irshād’’, vol. 1, p. 346.
- ↑ Bukhārī, ‘’Ṣaḥīḥ al-bukhārī’’, vol. 3, p. 310.
- ↑ ‘’Nahj al-balāgha’’, Sermon 192.
- ↑ Kulaynī, ‘’al-Kāfī’’, vol. 2, p. 274.
- ↑ Ibn Kathīr, ‘’Muʿjizāt al-nabīyy’’, p. 133.
- ↑ Masʿūdī, ‘’Ithbāt al-waṣīyya’’, p. 214.
- ↑ Ibn Kathīr, ‘’Muʿjizāt al-nabīyy’’, p. 17.
References
- Bukhārī, Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-. ‘’Ṣaḥīḥ al-bukhārī’’. Third edition. Beirut: Dār Ibn Kathīr, 1407 AH.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. ‘’Mafātīḥ al-ghayb’’. Third edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Ibn al-Jawzī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAlī. ‘’Al-Muntaẓam fī tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk’’. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1412 AH.
- Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. ‘’Muʿjizāt al-nabīyy’’. Edited by Ibrāhīm Amīn Muḥammad. Cairo: al-Maktaba al-Tawqīfīyya, [n.d].
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. ‘’Al-Kāfī’’. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Fourth edition. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. ‘’Biḥār al-anwār’’. Second edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Masʿūdī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn al-. ‘’Ithbāt al-waṣīyya li-l-Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib’’. Qom: Anṣārīyān, 1423 AH.
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. ‘’Al-Irshād fī maʿrifat ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā al-ʿibād’’. Qom: [n.p], 1413 AH.
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. ‘’Al-Nukat al-iʿtiqādīyya’’. Qom: al-Muʾtamar al-ʿĀlamī, 1413 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ‘’Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh’’. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1409 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. ‘’Majmaʿ al-bayān’’. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1415 AH.