Miracles of the Prophet (SAWS)
GF Haddad
>As-salam-u-alaikum.
>
> I've been brought up to think that the Prophet -- Allah
>bless him and give him peace -- didn't perform any miracles -- except
>bringing the Quran. Is this true ? Does the Quran state that he wasn't
>going to perform any other miracles ?
Wa alaykum as-salam,
Allah Almighty said in the Glorious Qur'an:
{Iqtarabat al-Sa`atu wa Inshaqqa al-Qamar} (54:1)
in reference to the Prophet's miracle of splitting the moon.
Many currents came together to crystallize the ignorant view in this
century, that the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- did not perform
any miracles other than bringing the Quran, the most obvious factor, no
doubt, being inveterate ignorance of the Sunna.
The Qur'an nowhere precludes miracles for the Prophet -- Allah bless and
greet him and his Family -- but highlights the greatest of them, since it
endures until the end of time unlike the miracles of all the other
Prophets put together, Allah bless and greet them all.
Beware of those who try to adduce the verses that state "I am but a human
being..." to support the claim that the Qur'an precludes other miracles of
his, as they are in the same category as those who said to their Prophets
"You are nothing but human beings like us" in Sura YaSin.
As I alluded, the miracles of our Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him --
are recorded through the books of Sahih and the Sunan, but they have been
compiled in specific collections as well. Among the translated sources in
this genre is Qadi `Iyad's masterpiece al-Shifa, translated as "Muhammad
the Messenger of Allah." Sources in Arabic among others are:
- Ibn al-Jawzi's al-Wafa
- Al-Suyuti's al-Khasa'is al-Kubra
- Al-Qastallani's al-Mawahib al-Laduniyya and its commentary by
al-Zurqani.
- Al-Nabahani's Shawahid al-Haqq
and the books of Sira:
- Sira Ibn Hisham (translated by Alfred Guillaume as "The Life of
Muhammad" saws.)
- Sira Ibn Kathir, his Mawlid, and his Bidaya wa al-Nihaya
- Sira Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab
- Sira Dahlan
- Sira al-Halabi
- Sira al-Salihi - the most exhaustive, in 10 vols. published to date,
entitled Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad.
The most exhaustive compendium of the Prophet's miracles is al-Qadi
al-Imam Yusuf al-Nabahani al-Bayruti's (d. 1350/1932) massive _Jami`
Mu`jizat al-Rasul Sallallahu `Alayhi wa Sallam_, a copy of which I saw in
New York, at Butler Library in Columbia University.
GF Haddad
Qas...@cyberia.net.lb
Jeremiah McAuliffe
On 11 Jul 1999 18:31:58 -0700, "GF Haddad" <Qas...@cyberia.net.lb>
wrote:
>Allah Almighty said in the Glorious Qur'an:
>
> {Iqtarabat al-Sa`atu wa Inshaqqa al-Qamar} (54:1)
>
>in reference to the Prophet's miracle of splitting the moon.
>
>Many currents came together to crystallize the ignorant view in this
>century, that the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- did not perform
>any miracles other than bringing the Quran, the most obvious factor, no
>doubt, being inveterate ignorance of the Sunna.
Asad writes, regarding this ayat..... "....whatever the nature of that
phenomenon, it is practically certain that the above Qur'an-verse does
not refer to it but, rather, to a *future* event: namely, to what will
happen when the Last Hour approaches. .....Thus Raghib regards it as
fully justifiable to interpret the phrase inshaqqa 'l-qamar ("the moon
is split asunder") as bearing on the cosmic cataclysm-- the end of the
world as we know it...... As mentioned by Zamakhshari, this
interpretation has the support of some of the earlier commentators;
and it is, to my mind, particularly convincing in view of the
juxtaposition, in the above Qur'an-verse, of the moon's "splitting
asunder" and the approach of the Last Hour."
That this "miracle" did not really happen does not seem to be a
product only of this century.
Frankly, GF, God love you, but it seems to me that you only parrot
back what you have been told, but I detect no real engagement with the
material. All you do is repeat things, I get no sense of the person.
Your "of courses" and "no doubts" are consistent and rhetorical, and
diminish trust in your statements. When someone looks cross-eyed at
you (as I'm doing here) you get snotty, and that is saying something
because I myself can get snotty, so I know whereof I speak.
Its one thing with Qur'an Only, but you also attack, rather than
respond, even to just regular Muslims.
It could be many of us today simply do not swallow, hook, line and
sinker, what ulema say. After all, is it not they who have led us into
a degenerate state? Sorry, but you are, at least for me, reinforcing
my suspicion, rather than my trust.
This same dynamic is one I've seen here in our local communities, and
is precisely one of the major problems in the ummah. Is it due to how
our formal religious education is conducted? It seems that way to me
at this point.
Allahu 'alim.
Jeremiah McAuliffe ali...@city-net.com
Visit Dr. Jihad! Page O' Heavy Issues Y2K
http://speed.city-net.com/~alimhaq/miaha.html
Mansoor Azam
ali...@city-net.com (Jeremiah McAuliffe) wrote:
> Salaams,
>
> On 11 Jul 1999 18:31:58 -0700, "GF Haddad" <Qas...@cyberia.net.lb>
> wrote:
>
> >Allah Almighty said in the Glorious Qur'an:
> >
> > {Iqtarabat al-Sa`atu wa Inshaqqa al-Qamar} (54:1)
> >
> >in reference to the Prophet's miracle of splitting the moon.
> >
> >Many currents came together to crystallize the ignorant view in this
> >century, that the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- did not
perform
> >any miracles other than bringing the Quran, the most obvious factor,
no
> >doubt, being inveterate ignorance of the Sunna.
Asalam-o-alaikum,
It seems that both of you (Br. Haddad and Br. Jeremiah)
are incorrect here. The splitting of the moon was not a mirracle of the
holy prophet and it was an event (incident) that happened which was
wittnessed by many and reported by many and also the Quran is pointing
to it as something that happened but it was not a mirracle of the
prophet (pbuh). The Quran presents it as a sign of closeness of
doomsday and not as a mirracle. The mushrikeen claimed that this was
just majic. Obviously nobody says this for a future event that hasnt
happened. As far as the hadith are concerned, almost all of them dont
even mention that the holy prophet performed this miracle to prove his
truthfulness. Thus the lesson to the polytheists was to show that if
such a great sphere as the moon which has been moving for centuries can
split into two than this universe can also oneday destroy and end. so
there it is not wise to deny doomsday and life after death.
Mansoor
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Omar Farouq
GF Haddad wrote:
> Allah Almighty said in the Glorious Qur'an:
>
> {Iqtarabat al-Sa`atu wa Inshaqqa al-Qamar} (54:1)
>
> in reference to the Prophet's miracle of splitting the moon.
Could you please show me even a remote inference that the prophet, salla
Allahu &alayhi, actually slit the moon, from the verse above? Please
don't give me any of exegesis. I have most of it at my disposal. Use the
Qur'an to explain the Qur'an.
The fact of the matter is that God refuted you once more, 1400 years ago
when He revealed 17:59 "What has stopped Us from sending signs
(miracles) is but that the formers disbelieved in them. We have sent the
she-camel as a visible sign, but they transgressed concerning it. We
only used to send the signs to frighten."
There were no more physical miracles after Jesus, that we know of in the
Qur'an. If your awliyaa' have another reference besides God then, by all
means, reveal it so that I may expose it as false.
> Beware of those who try to adduce the verses that state "I am but a
> human being..." to support the claim that the Qur'an precludes other
> miracles of his, as they are in the same category as those who said
> to their Prophets "You are nothing but human beings like us" in Sura
> YaSin.
Beware of those, who despite God's continuous reference to prophets and
messengers as "no more than human beings" insist on raising the status
of prophets and messengers to super humans, capable of much more than
ordinary people. The signs given to previous messengers were signs from
God Almighty. Prophets had neither a choice nor an individual
contribution in them. The fact that Jesus revived the dead and healed
the sick helped strengthen the faith of the believers. But those with
sickness in their hearts have turned Jesus into a god to worship based
on miracles that he himself could not perform had it not been for God's
blessing.
Salaam,
---
Omar Farouq
Http://q-zone.com
Dedicated to Qur'anic Studies, with no Sectarian Affiliation.
Jeremiah McAuliffe
> Asalam-o-alaikum,
> It seems that both of you (Br. Haddad and Br. Jeremiah)
Salaams,
Well, I'm not making *any* judgements or conclusions.
>are incorrect here. The splitting of the moon was not a mirracle of the
>holy prophet and it was an event (incident) that happened which was
>wittnessed by many and reported by many
Can you expand on this? Do you mean there were non-Muslim reports of
something?
Asad understands it as an optical illusion.
My understanding has been that "miracle" stories, such as this, and
such as water flowing from Muhammad's hands, are pious stories, but
not biographical-historical stories. Or, at least they may not be
biographical-historical stories.
GF Haddad
interpretation. Al-Zamakhshari is a Mu`tazili, their school automatically
denies miracles on the part of the Prophet Allah bless and greet him, as
for Asad - may Allah have mercy on him, and there is little time to
discuss with those who have no real familiarity with the background of
these divergences. But thank you for the Dashti book review.
--
GF Haddad
Qas...@cyberia.net.lb
Jeremiah McAuliffe
On 13 Jul 1999 23:24:37 -0700, "GF Haddad" <Qas...@cyberia.net.lb>
wrote:
> there is little time to
>discuss with those who have no real familiarity with the background of
>these divergences.
Well then, why bring it up? If you are writing and posting only for
those who ARE already familiar with the background, well, then I guess
the posts are not meant for people such as myself. I would suggest
then the writing and posting is a bit of a waste of time, as I would
guess that most people here are like me-- relatively unfamiliar with
the fullness of the literature. There is a saying: "preaching to the
choir". This newsgroup is not the choir.
Or, referrals to available books would be appreciated.
I guess one of my problems comes in when various theological groups
within the ummah do not acknowledge the variety in the ummah, but
rather, its all "my way is right, your way is wrong"-- on all sides of
the issues. And, it seems the common practice is to easily blow off
questions and issues, and disparage the questioners. Is this the case?
The fact is, some of us DO know some things, and perhaps things those
with formal Islamic religious education do not know, and do not study,
but they are things that might be relevant to the issues. But I don't
get a sense that those who receive formal Islamic education actually
*listen* to people....... its just pontificate, and if you don't like
it, tough. I encountered this my first month in the ummah, and it
seems a bit of a regularly encountered trait. I would suggest this is
a MAJOR problem.
I don't know but I *am* puzzled......... I think there might be
something very wrong with our educational system......
Saqib Virk
Omar Farouq <in...@q-zone.com> wrote:
GF Haddad wrote:
>> Allah Almighty said in the Glorious Qur'an:
>>
>> {Iqtarabat al-Sa`atu wa Inshaqqa al-Qamar} (54:1)
>>
>> in reference to the Prophet's miracle of splitting
>> the moon.
OMAR
> Could you please show me even a remote inference that
> the prophet, salla Allahu &alayhi, actually slit the
> moon, from the verse above? Please don't give me any
> of exegesis. I have most of it at my disposal. Use the
> Qur'an to explain the Qur'an.
SV
"The Hour has drawn near and the moon is rent asunder."
[Quran 54:1]
Whether or not "splitting the moon" into two parts, observable
by the naked eye, contravened any physical laws of nature, it
cannot be denied that the event lacks historical evidence which
could be described as unimpeachable. It is unlikely that such
an event would have gone unnoticed around the world.
But the incident is mentioned in reliable hadith collections
such as Bukhari and Muslim narrated and reported by companions
of Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Abbas, so some
unusual phenomenon must have taken place. According to some
such as Radi, there was no actual split of the moon, and
he declares it must have been a lunar eclipse. Imam Ghazali
and Shah Wali Allah are also of the opinion the moon did not
actually split.
The moon was the national emblem of the Arabs. I believe in
a similar sense the Sun was the national emblem of the
Persians. It has been reported that when Safiyya, the daughter
of Huyay bin Akhtab, the leader of the Jews in Khaibur, told
her father she had a dream that the moon had fallen into her
lap, he slapped her face saying that she wanted to marry the
leader of the Arabs. According to this sense of the word, the
verse would signify that the hour of destruction of the
political power, which the disbelieving Arabs had been warned
of in Quran 53:57, was at hand:
"The threatened Hour is nigh."
This surah closes with a warning to those who do not believe
that they will meet with the same fate as the people during
the time of previous prophets. ie. the tribe of Ad, the
tribe of Thamud, the people Noah and the people of Lot.
(53:50-53) Then Muhammad(pbuh) is called a Warner in the
class of the Warners of old.
The word Hour in this case would refer to the first battle
the Muslims fought, the Battle of Badr in which the chiefs
and leaders of the main Arab tribe(Quraysh) aligned against
Islam were killed.
In Surah 54(The moon) we have a description of several
peoples and the punishment and destruction they faced because
of their refusal to accept guidance ending with the Pharaoh.
(54:9-42) After mentioning the end of those folk the Quran
asks:
"Are your disbelievers better than those? Or, have you an
immunity in the Scriptures? Do they say, 'We are a
victorious host?' The hosts shall soon be routed and shall
turn their backs (in flight). Aye, the Hour is their
promised time; and the Hour will be most calamitous for them
and most bitter." [Quran 54:41-46]
The words "The hosts shall soon be routed and shall turn
their backs." were spoken by Muhammad(pbuh) before the Battle
of Badr after he had prayed to God that He should grant them
victory or there would be no one left to worship Him. The
Hour mentioned here would refer to the defeat of those who
were opposed to the Muslims. The defeat at the Hour, the
fall of the pagan Arabs, is the breaking of the moon.
"The Hour has drawn near and the moon is rent asunder."
[Quran 54:1]
Another possibility is the verse in question(54:1) refers to
future events, the Hour referring to the Day of Judgment.
So we have three possibilities, all of which I think are
true.
1. There was some sort of phenomenon that caused the moon to
appear split. ie. A lunar eclipse or perhaps some object
passing between the earth and moon or perhaps even a vision.
2. The verse refers to the breaking or Arab power during the
Battle of Badr and subsequent battles which lead to the
defeat of Mecca. (Or perhaps it could refer to the break
in the Arabs when Muhammad(pbuh) fled Mecca to Medina.
3. A reference to future events, namely the Day of Judgment.
OMAR
> Beware of those, who despite God's continuous reference
> to prophets and messengers as "no more than human beings"
> insist on raising the status of prophets and messengers
> to super humans, capable of much more than ordinary people.
SV
Beware of those who attempt to lower the status of prophets
to just ordinary human beings. They are no more than human
beings but they are certainly much more than ordinary people.
I have noted lately that a few people go to an extreme in
lowering the status of the Prophet. Might not it be in
reaction to a much larger group who go to the opposite
extreme; those who make the mistake that the followers of
other religions have made by attempting to turn their founder
into a Divine or almost Divine being?
Many natural laws are known today but many laws are not
understood or as yet unheard of. For example, what are the
powers of the human mind? Is it possible to effect the
physical world or other people with our thoughts? How might
someone, such as a prophet whose mind or will is closely
tied to the will of God, effect the things around him? If
someone is truly "at one" or has a closeness to God, might
not that persons desires manifest in some way? Would the
prayers of a prophet or holy man not have far greater effect
than those of an ordinary man? Would you expect that such
a man who has contact with God on a level the rest of us
only dream of would be ordinary?
For example, let us take the case of Einstien or some great
athelete such as Carl Lewis. Both these men were capable
of much more than ordinary people; Einstein in terms of his
mental capabilities and Lewis in terms of his physical
capabilites. These capabilites came through either natural
tendincies or through exercise of the muscles in the case
of Lewis and exercise of the brain in case of Einstein.
I understand that Einstein's brain was preserved after his
death and studies show that it was much more developed in
certain areas than is ordinary. Did it develop as he used
it or was he born that way? Irrelevant, I believe, to the
present discussion. The point is that he was capable of much
more than an ordinary human being. What would we see if were
to examine the brain of a holy man in touch with God? Would
we not expect that a prophet or holy man who is either born
with or has developed powerful "spiritual" senses is capable
of things ordinary humans are not capable of? Things which
are beyond the understanding of most people and things which
ordinary human beings might even term "miracles"?
Let me use the example of magnetism which I used earlier in
a seperate discussion: Thousands of years ago man did not
understand the laws of magnetism and many people witnessing
these laws in action would be convinced they had seen a
miracle. In the present we have uncovered, studied and
understood these laws and the 'miraculousness' is gone. But
how many people have reached the level of prophet in terms of
our relationship with and understanding of God? How many
people have even come close? Too few for us to really know and
understand the "laws" that come into effect or are recognised
at these higher stages of spiritual advancement.
Am I making any sense?
--
Wasalaam,
Saqib Virk
"A big mountain of sugar is too much for one man. I can
see now why God portions it out in those little packets."
-- H. Simpson
yuk...@azstarnet.com
> But the incident is mentioned in reliable hadith collections
> such as Bukhari and Muslim narrated and reported by companions
> of Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Abbas, so some
> unusual phenomenon must have taken place. According to some
> such as Radi, there was no actual split of the moon, and
> he declares it must have been a lunar eclipse. Imam Ghazali
> and Shah Wali Allah are also of the opinion the moon did not
> actually split.
I know those so-called "reliable" books which contain the most stupid
and contradictory narration.
According to one of your reliable hadith book, when Muhammad split the
moon half of the moon fell in Ali's backyard.
Obviously, like most Muslims you do not believe the Quran. Here is a
verse that you disregard:
29:50-51. (Will you read it?)
Isn't the Quran sufficent as miracle?
The political, social, scientific and economic backwardness of Muslim
population, in my opinion, is strongly related to their century-old
allergy against rational thinking, scientific inquiry and mathematics.
You can hardly see the name of Muslim country among the 1,500 or so
issued patents every week. According to the World Intellectual Property
Organization the top ten countries that registered the most patents in
1992 were: US (97,443), Japan (92,100), Germany (46,520), France
(38,215), UK (37,827), Italy (27,228), Netherlands (20,346), Sweden
(18,672), Switzerland (18,642), Canada (18,332).
To illustrate the mathematics-phobia prevalent in Muslim countries, I
will give one example: The verse 55:5 of the Quran states that both the
Sun and Moon are moving in a calculated orbit. However, Muslim clerics,
rejects calculations as a base for Muslim calendar. Disagreements about
the new month, especially Ramazan, are an annual ritual in Muslim
countries. Contradictory eyewitness testimonies are preferred to the
precise calculation designed by God.
It is not a coinsidence that Muslim clerics and their blind followers
have been escaping from the number 19 like zebras. They are trying very
hard to blind themselves to profuse examples of mathematical structure
embedded in the letters, words, verses and chapters of the Quran. Those
who uphold the medieval Arab culture and mindset under hadith, sunnah
and sectarian teachings as God=92s religion will suffer from disasters an=
d
darkness, unless they study and respect God=92s divine law (ayaat) in the
nature and scriptures (ayaat).
"On it is Nineteen. . . . it is a reminder for the people. Absolutely by
the moon. And the night as it passes. And the morning as it shines. This
is one of the great miracles. A warning to the human race. For those
among you who wish to advance, or regress." (74:30-37).
Jochen Katz
yuk...@azstarnet.com writes:
> I know those so-called "reliable" books which contain the most stupid
> and contradictory narration.
>
> According to one of your reliable hadith book, when Muhammad split the
> moon half of the moon fell in Ali's backyard.
I know that the hadith report the splitting of the moon, but
I have never seen one claiming that "half of the moon fell in
Ali's backyard". And believe me I have looked.
Where did you find that? In Bukhari or Muslim?
I somewhat doubt that.
Best regards,
Jochen Katz