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MIRACLES
CANNOT BE DENIED
The One Who
created the universe and made its operation dependent on certain laws that He
established, is certainly able to change those laws for His special, beloved
servant and envoy
The One Who created the
universe and made its operation dependent on certain laws that He established,
is certainly able to change those laws for His special, beloved servant and
envoy. Especially in our day, when scientists have already abandoned the
mechanistic notion of the universe and defend relativity in its operation, it is
not a rational or scientific attitude to, on the basis of absolute determinism
or causality, deny miracles. Furthermore, miracles do not occur as completely
free from material causes, however slight and insignificant they are. Given that
we see how God Almighty causes the smallest things to produce very great
entities-He creates man from a microscopic sperm and enables man’s memory to
contain as much knowledge as can fill a library-how can we dare to deny
miracles? Is not the creation of man who, though essentially so weak as to be
defeated by a microbe, is endowed with such faculties as to make computers which
keep in their memories as much knowledge as can fill libraries, a lesser miracle
than enabling a servant of His to give some food or drink a blessed increase.
Indeed, is not every occurrence in the universe, every act of God, really a
miracle, the like of which we are unable to make?
The
miracles of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, are so
certain that they have been unanimously confirmed and reported by the
authorities of Hadith. A miracle is the confirmation by the Creator of his
Prophethood.
The noble Prophet, upon
him be peace and blessings, declared that he was a Prophet and, in proof of his
Prophethood, he presented the glorious Qur’an and nearly a thousand miracles.
Those miracles are as certain to have occurred as the fact that he declared his
Prophethood. It undeniably proves the occurrence of those miracles that even the
most obstinate of the unbelievers, as related in some places in the Qur’an,
charged him with sorcery. Unable to deny the miracles, they took them to be-God
forbid!-sorcery, in order to excuse their persistence in unbelief or to mislead
their followers. The miracles of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings, are so certain that they have been unanimously confirmed and reported
by the authorities of Hadith. A miracle is the confirmation by the Creator of
his Prophethood. It has the effects of the words, You have spoken the truth.
If, for instance, one claims in the presence of the ruler himself that the ruler
has appointed him to such and such a position, the word ‘Yes’ uttered by the
ruler will be sufficient to prove his claim. Further, if the ruler changes his
usual practice and attitude at his request, then this will mean a firmer
confirmation of his claim. It is in the same way that the noble Messenger, upon
him be peace and blessings, claimed that he was the envoy of the Creator of the
universe, and God, the Creator, in turn, changed His unbroken order at his
prayer and request so that he could work miracles in order to prove his claim.
Denial of
the miracles amounts to the denial of God’s existence and the Prophethood of
Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, as well as the Divine authorship of
the Qur’an.
Denial of the miracles
amounts to the denial of God’s existence and the Prophethood of Muhammad, upon
him be peace and blessings, as well as the Divine authorship of the Qur’an. In
fact, such a denial is completely absurd and meaningless, for while a single
evidence is enough to prove a claim, its denial requires an overall
investigation through all times and places. For example, if one claims that
swans may also be black, in order to prove this claim, it is enough for one to
find and show a single black swan. But if you claim that there cannot be any
black swans, you will have to show all the swans from the beginning to the end
of time. So, denial is something almost impossible to prove. The like of one who
dares to deny the miracles, which billions of believers, including hundreds of
thousands of saints, scholars and scientists, have confirmed since the Prophet’s
claim of Prophethood, is the like of him who sees closed only one of the
thousand doors of a magnificent palace and concludes that it is impossible to
enter the palace.
Almost
all of the Prophets worked miracles
Almost all of the
Prophets worked miracles. For centuries, millions of Jews and billions of
Christians have confirmed the miracles of Moses and Jesus respectively. When
compared to the other Prophets, what shortcoming has the Prophet Muhammad that
those who confirm Moses’s speaking to God and Jesus’ raising the dead by God’s
leave and ascension to heavens, dare to deny Muhammad’s miracles?
Denial of
the miracles is unscientific insofar as such a denial is a judgment or
conclusion which must be based on concrete proof.
The creation of Adam and
Eve, as well as that of Jesus, is a miracle. God excluded their creation from
the law of birth. Although currently entangled in materialistic notions, science
will one day have to attribute the origin of life to a Divine miracle. Besides,
it is highly questionable whether it is scientific to label as myth the beliefs
or concepts or events which the sciences are unable to explain
Sciences ‘walk’ on
the feet of theories and develop through ‘trial and error’ to investigate
those theories. There are numerous established facts which sciences once
regarded as false, just as what were once believed to be established facts are
now known as fallacies. Also, there are many other things whose existence we
accept unquestionably but cannot establish scientifically. Denial of the
miracles is unscientific insofar as such a denial is a judgment or conclusion
which must be based on concrete proof. No one can deny, whether basing on
sciences or not, the miracles of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings.
In order
to decide something as reasonable or not, whose intellect will serve as a judge?
Some may regard miracles
as unreasonable. However, the reason or intellect has no capacity to grasp
everything in existence. Second, there are not two persons in the world who have
the same intellectual capacity. That is, there is no one who has the same
intellectual capacity with another. So, in order to decide something as
reasonable or not, whose intellect will serve as a judge? The Qur’an declares:
Whomsoever We will, we raise in degrees. Over every man of knowledge is one
who knows better (12:76).
God the
Almighty is not bound by the laws He has established for the operation of the
universe. Therefore, whenever He wishes, He can change those laws or can act and
create without the means of any laws.
Thirdly, the magnificent
order, harmony and purposefulness in existence decisively point to the One Who
has an absolute knowledge, will and power. That One, God the Creator, disposes
existence however He wishes. He is not bound by the laws He has established for
the operation of the universe. Therefore, whenever He wishes, He can change
those laws or can act and create without the means of any laws. So, what
behooves man’s intellect is to discover those laws. God has not given man the
intellect so that he should judge His acts. The capacity of the intellect is
limited, therefore something limited cannot judge the infinite.
The finer
or more refined matter is, the more speedy time and movement is.
Time varies or changes
according to the dimensions of existence and places. For example, the extend of
time is not the same in the world and other planets. Also, the finer or more
refined matter is, the more speedy time and movement is. For example, his spirit
moves much faster than man himself. Also, the imagining faculty can travel
through all spheres within a few seconds.
All the
physical and intellectual powers and capacities are included in a single,
absolute Power. If that Power is able to whatever It wishes, then why should we
not believe in miracles?
Again, as people vary
from each other according to the power of each, there is also a great difference
between the capacities of species. Man is much more powerful than an ant or bee
but there are some things which an ant or bee does easily while a man cannot.
Also, invisible things or beings like angels and jinn, an even storms and gales,
may be much more powerful than human beings. So, all the physical and
intellectual powers and capacities are included in a single, absolute Power. If
that Power is able to whatever It wishes, then why should we not believe in
miracles?
What is
unreasonable or unscientific is to deny miracles, not to affirm them.
We witness, even
experience, certain events that we regard as miraculous. Many things occur that
we cannot explain with the law of causality. Furthermore, physics asserts today
that whatever exists is a wave in continuous motion and therefore it is not
possible to say that a second later its existence will be in the same state as
it is in now. So, the law of causality is only a veil before the Divine
operations so that people do not directly attribute to God certain disagreeable
things and events. Therefore, what is unreasonable or unscientific is to deny
miracles, not to affirm them.
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