بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده
Ālimah Siddiqa al-Fārsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fil Hadith
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com
In this article, Shaykh ‘Abdullah Siraj ad-Din elaborates more on the greatest miracle of the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam): the Qur’an. He gives many pieces of evidence from the Qur’an presented in support of the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).
The Illiterate Prophet
Firstly, it is known that the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was illiterate, he could not read or write. Therefore, when Jibril (‘alayhissalam) came to him in the cave of Hira and asked him to recite, the Prophet’s reply was, “I cannot read.” This is great evidence against those who claim that the Qur’an is from the speech of man, or from the speech of Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) himself. However, as Allah Ta’ala mentions in the Qur’an: {Say, “If Allah had willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you, for I had remained among you a lifetime before it.1 Then will you not reason?”} [Yunus 10:16] — Shaykh ‘Abdullah elaborates: “Meaning, the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is saying that I have lived among you for forty years, not having read even a single verse to you, so ponder, from where would I have this Qur’an all of a sudden that I recite before you?”
The Types of Qur’anic Miracles
The miracle of the Qur’an is multifold: there are rhetorical miracles, scientific miracles, legislative miracles, metaphysical miracles, so on and so forth. The rhetorical miracle [al-i’jaz al-balaghi] is the ability of the holy Qur’an to convey its meanings and different messages clearly and with an eloquence that no human can bring. Regarding this, Allah Ta’ala says: {Or do they say, “He has made it up”? Rather, they do not believe. Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful.} [at-Tur 52:33-34]
Scientific miracles are in regard to cosmic phenomena, such as the functioning of the space, seas, mountains and others, that cannot possibly be known or discovered in the time that the Qur’an was revealed. The legislative miracles concerns the accuracy of the laws, regulations and principles of the shari‘ah and their superiority over man-made laws. Finally, the metaphysical miracles refer to the verses in the Qur’an concerning events related to the past, matters related to the present and events to take upload in the future, that are impossible for humans to ever predict.
Allah Will Protect You From the People
Another miracle concerning the prophethood of Muhammad (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is Allah’s promise of protecting the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) from the plot of his enemies. Allah Ta’ala says: {And [remember, O Muḥammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.} [Anfal 8:30] This is also evident in the following incident, where Allah Ta’ala protected the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) through various ways and people:
- The incident of the spider that webbed a spiderweb, and the pigeons that laid eggs when the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and Sayyiduna Abubakr (radhi Allahu ‘anh) were hiding in the cave from the mushrikun.
- Prior to accepting Islam, when Suraqa ibn Nawfal was riding his horse towards the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) which the intention of harming him, the hooves of his horse slipped three times until Suraqa promised that he will stay away from the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and will no longer try to harm him, after which he accepted Islam.
- The incident when the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) sought a guard and Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas came to guard the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) while he slept.
- When the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was given poisoned food by the Jews, he stretched his hand to eat it, or he even put a morsel in his mouth, but Allah Ta’ala made the food warn the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) from eating it, so he spat it out. Another companion that was eating with the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) passed away due to the effects of the poison. Later, when the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) asked the Jews why they poisoned his food, their reply was: “If you were a liar in your claim of prophethood, we would free ourselves from you, and if you are truly a prophet, the poison would not harm you.” — Despite this, they did not believe out of arrogance.
- Another incident is the one reported by Jabir (radhi Alladu ‘anh): “We went along with Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) on an expedition towards Najd and Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) found us in a valley abounding in thorny trees. Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) stayed for rest under a tree and he suspended his sword by one of its branches under which he was taking rest. The persons scattered in the valley and they also began to take rest under the shade of trees, and Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: A person came to me while I was asleep and he took hold of the sword. I woke up and found him standing upon my head and I had hardly become alert (and saw) that the sword was in his hand. And he said: Who can protect you from me? I said: Allah. He again said: Who can protect you from me? I said: Allah. He put his sword in the sheath (and you can see) this man sitting here. Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) did not in any way touch him.” [Sahih Muslim 843]
Article can be accessed here.