Can you give examples of the prophet
Muhammad's miracles?
The miracles the Prophet Muhammad worked fall in several
categories:
The information prophet Muhammad gave about the past
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, gave lots of
information about past peoples and events
- History is an important branch of knowledge. It is not a
science like physics or biology. It mostly depends on documents
that have remained of the past. Although we can have knowledge of
the past and past events by means of documents, it is quite often
very difficult to penetrate into the facts behind those events. We
can hardly know the intentions of historical ‘actors’ or
‘actresses’ and the real motives behind events. In order to be
able to judge rightly about persons and events, the documents we
have should be reliable. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that
personal inclinations and interests, prejudices, and different
other motives may have a part of their own in documents, and,
worse, documents may have been distorted. For example, if the
Qur’an had not been sent down to our Prophet Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, we could not have had true knowledge about
the Israelite Prophets and especially the Prophet Jesus, and the
original identity of Christianity and Judaism. The Old and New
Testaments have been so frequently and badly distorted and
corrupted that it is impossible to open a way through them to
historical truths.
- The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, gave
lots of information about past peoples and events. Much of this
information is in the Qur’an. As well as the main points in the
histories of many past peoples and places like the ‘Ad, Thamud,
Iram, Sodom and Gomorra, and ancient Egypt, and the peoples of
Noah, Abraham and Shu‘ayb, we can also find in the Qur’an at least
the general outlines of the history of the Israelite people from
the beginning to the time of Jesus, particularly including the
time of the Prophets Moses, David and Solomon, upon them be peace.
It is highly interesting that much of this information is in the
Qur’anic chapters which were revealed in the Makkan period of
Muhammad’s Prophethood, during which he had contact with neither
Christians nor Jews. When the Prophet emigrated to Madina, Jewish
and Christian scholars asked him many questions about certain
topics in the Torah and Gospels and since they received from him
convincing answers, they could not object to any of them.
Neither the Qur’an nor the books of Tradition have
been changed the least over time and none of the information the
Prophet gave about the past has ever been contradicted
- Some of the information which the Prophet Muhammad, upon him
be peace and blessings, gave about the past is found in the books
of Tradition like Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Muslim, Sunan
al-Tirmidhi, and others. Neither the Qur’an nor the books of
Tradition have been changed the least over time and none of the
information the Prophet gave about the past has ever been
contradicted. Rather, much of it has been affirmed the rest will
also be affirmed through future investigations and excavations.
This is an absolute, undeniable proof of Muhammad’s Prophethood.
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, did
not only give information about past events and peoples, but he also
analyzed them with their causes and results
- The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, did not
only give information about past events and peoples, but he also
analyzed them with their causes and results. Thus, the historical
accounts of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, are of
the kind that they presented laws of history and the broad
psychological, social and economic principles concerning human
individual and collective life. In addition, these accounts are
masterpieces of literary style and eloquence, such that it is
impossible to produce a like of them.
Normally, no one can know exactly what will take place in future,
even a few minutes later. Scientists are not certain about even
natural events which take place according to ‘deterministic’ laws;
they state that they cannot say with certainty that the world will
be in the same state as it is in now. Sociologists and historians
have spoken about historical laws that they have claimed to be based
on historical events or the flow of history but history has
contradicted almost all of them including historians and those who
favor some notion of continual progress in history like Marx, Weber,
Fichte, Hegel, Herder and others.
The knowledge of the future is only with God Almighty. However,
He may favor whomever He pleases with some part of this knowledge.
If a man is convinced about the news he gives concerning the future,
he can only be a Messenger of God.
The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, made
numerous predictions about the future, and history has not
contradicted them. Like the information he gave about the past, his
predictions are also to be found in the Qur’an and in books of
Tradition.
Some of the predictions the Prophet Muhammad made are found in
the Qur’an. To cite a few examples?
The triumph of the Byzantines over the Persians
- The Byzantine and Persian Empires were the super-powers of the
time. It was during the years when the few believers were severely
persecuted in Makka that the Persians utterly defeated the
Byzantines. They had sweeping victories, and conquered Aleppo,
Antioch, and the chief Syrian provinces, including Damascus.
Jerusalem fell to their arms in 614-615. The Christians were
massacred and their churches burnt. The Persian flood of conquest
went on to Egypt, and reached as far as Tripoli in North Africa.
Another Persian army ravaged Asia Minor and reached right up to
the gates of Constantinople. The Makkan pagans rejoiced greatly,
and redoubled their taunts and persecution against the Prophet,
upon him be peace and blessings, whose Message was a renewal of
the Message of Jesus preached in Palestine. The following Qur’anic
verses, which were revealed just at that time, gave certain
tidings of a very near victory of the Romans over the
Perisans:
Alif Lam Mim. The
Romans have been defeated in a land close by, but they, after
their defeat, will be victorious, within nine years. God’s is the
command in the former case and in the latter, and on that day
believers will rejoice, with the help of God. He helps to victory
whom He wills. He is the All-Mighty, the All-Compassionate.
(30:1-5)
No one at that time could make such a
prediction. But the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings,
conveyed these Divine Revelations to his followers. They confirmed
him without hesitation and Abu Bakr bet the Makkan polytheists
that the Romans would be victorious in nine years. Heraclius, the
Roman Emperor attacked the Persians initially by sea in 622 (the
year of the Hijra), and after decisive battles and three
successive campaigns, put them to rout in a few years. His
victories happened at the same time as the believers won the
victory of Badr over the Makkan polytheists. Thus the verses above
contained two predictions, both of which came true in nine years.
The Qur’an gave the news of the conquest of Makka two years
before
- It was only six years after the Prophet, upon him be peace and
blessings, had emigrated to Madina that he left for Makka for a
minor pilgrimage. However, the Makkans stopped him at Hudaybiya
and a peaceful treaty was concluded after negotiations. Some
articles of the Treaty were objected to by the believers but the
Qur’anic verses which were revealed following the conclusion of
the Treaty described it as a manifest victory and gave the
believers the decisive glad tiding, which is as
follows:
In truth, God fulfilled
the vision of His Messenger: You will surely enter the Sacred
Mosque, if God wills, in full security; you will have your heads
shaved, your hair shortened, and you will have nothing to fear. He
knew what you knew not, and He granted, besides this, a near
victory. He it is Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the
religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all
religion. God is enough for a witness. (al-Fath, 48.27–8)
One year later the Muslims performed the minor
pilgrimage and the year after they conquered Makka. Also, Islam
has been prevalent over all other religions for centuries and, if
God wills, it will have a world-wide superiority in a near future.
The Qur’an gave the news that the dead body of Pharaoh would one
day be discovered
- In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh used to torture the Children of
Israel. God sent Moses to him with the mission of inviting him to
believe in One God and allow the Israelites to leave Egypt with
Moses. Pharaoh refused and the struggle between them continued for
a long time. However, one night Moses succeeded in marching
towards the frontier with his people but Pharaoh, becoming aware
of his attempt, set out to follow him. When Moses reached the Red
Sea, he touched it with his staff, and a furrow opened across the
sea. Pharaoh attempted to follow him, but was engulfed with his
legions. While narrating this event, The Qur’an makes a very
interesting prediction:
Today We
shall preserve your body that you may be a sign to those after
you: although most men give no heed to Our signs. (Yunus,
10.92)
The dead body of Pharaoh was later found
floating on the Western shores of the Sinai peninsula. The native
residents can still show you to this land, which is now known as
Jabal Firawn (Hill of Pharaoh). A few miles from this hill
is a hot spring called Hammam Firawn (the Bath of Pharaoh).
Tidings of the Last Day
- A considerable part of the Qur’an is about the events of the
Last Day. The Qur’an describes how the world will be destroyed and
rebuilt again and how the dead will be raised, assembled in the
Place of Mustering, and, after being judged, will go to either
Paradise or Hell. The Qur’an also gives a vivid description of
Paradise and Hell and the life in them.
Does Muhammad have predictions to be found in books of Tradition?
- ‘Umar reports in a narration recorded in Sahih
al-Muslim:
‘Before the Battle of Badr started, God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, walked around the
battlefield and pointed to some locations, saying, Abu Jahl will be killed here, ‘Utba here,
Shayba here, Walid here, and so on. By God, we found, after
the battle, the dead bodies of all those men in the exact places
that God’s Messenger had pointed out.’1
While in Makka under great tortures, the Prophet predicted the
future victories of Islam
- Bukhari and Abu Dawud quote Habbab ibn Arat, who
said:
Once, during the days of trouble and torture in
Makka, I went to God’s Messenger, who was sitting in the shade of
the Ka‘ba. I was still a slave in the hands of the Makkans then.
They inflicted on me severe tortures. Unable to endure those
tortures any more, I requested God’s Messenger to pray to God for
help and salvation. But he turned towards me and said: “By God,
previous communities had to endure more pitiless tortures. Some of
them were made to lie in ditches and cut in two with saws but this
did not make them forsake their faith. They were skinned alive but
they never became weak against the enemy. Surely God will perfect
this religion, but you display undue haste. A day will come when a
woman will travel alone by herself from San’a to Hadramawt fearing
nothing but wild beasts. However, you show
impatience.”
Habbab concluded:
By God, what God’s
Messenger predicted that day, have all come true. I have
personally witnessed it all.2
The Messenger predicted ‘Ammar’s martyrdom in a civil war
- Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad ibn Hanbal record:
During the
construction of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina, God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings, told ‘Ammar: “What a pity O ‘Ammar, a rebellious group will
kill you.”3
‘Ammar was killed in the Battle of
Siffin by the supporters of Mu‘awiya, who rebelled against Caliph
‘Ali.
The Prophet foretold that Fatima would join him first of all
after his death
- Before his death, the Messenger called his daughter Fatima to
his bedside and informed her that she would be the first among his
family to join him after his death.6 Fatima joined her father, the
pride of mankind, six months later.4
- The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, predicted the
Mongol invasion, saying:
The Hour will not come before you
fight against a people with red faces, small, slant eyes and flat
noses. They wear hairy leather boots.5
The Messenger predicted the caliphate of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar
- As related by Hakim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Hanbal and Ibn Maja, by
repeatedly declaring, You should, after
my death, follow the way of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar,8 the
Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, meant that Abu Bakr and
‘Umar would succeed him as caliphs. He also predicted that Abu
Bakr’s reign would be short, whereas ‘Umar would remain longer to
be able to make many conquests.6
- The Prophet predicted the conquest of many important
cities
According to authentic narrations, the Prophet, upon
him be peace and blessings, gave his community the glad tidings
that they would conquer Damascus, Jerusalem, Iraq, Persia,
Istanbul (Constantinople) and Cyprus, and that the religion of
Islam would reach as far as the remotest corners of the world in
the east and west.7
The Prophet predicted the caliphate and martyrdom of ‘Uthman
- According to an authentic narration, the Prophet, upon him be
peace and blessings, declared:
‘Uthman will be killed while reading the
Qur’an. God will dress him in a shirt but they will desire to
remove it from him.9
By this saying, he meant that
‘Uthman would become Caliph but his deposition would be sought,
and finally he would be martyred while reading the Qur’an. This
happened exactly as he predicted.
The Prophet foretold the future victories of Sa‘d
- As narrated in a authentic Tradition, the noble Prophet of
God, upon him be peace and blessings, said to Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas
when the latter was gravely ill:
It is hoped that you will be spared so that
some people may benefit through you and some others be harmed
through you.10
By this, he suggested that Sa‘d would
be a great commander and make many conquests, and while many
peoples would benefit from him by converting to Islam, many others
would be harmed through him as a result of the collapse of their
states.
Sa‘d, just as predicted by the holy Prophet, upon
him be peace and blessings, took the command of the Muslim armies
and destroyed the Persian Sassanid Empire, bringing many peoples
within the guidance of Islam.
The Prophet predicted the conquest of Cyprus
- Once, when the Prophet woke up in the house of Umm Haram, the
aunt of Anas ibn Malik, who served the Messenger for ten years in
Madina, he smilingly said:
“I
dreamt that my community would be waging war in the sea sitting on
thrones like kings.” Umm Haram asked: ‘Pray that I too may be with
them’. He said firmly: “You shall be.”11
All this
came true forty years later when Umm Haram accompanied her husband
‘Ubada ibn Samit, on the conquest of Cyprus. She died there, and
her tomb has since been a visited place.
The Prophet predicted the appearance of Mukhtar and Hajjaj
- According to an authentic narration, the Prophet, upon him be
peace and blessings, declared:
From the tribe of Thaqif will appear a liar
who claims Prophethood and a blood-thirsty
tyrant.12
By this, he gave tidings of the notorious
Mukhtar, who claimed Prophethood, and the criminal Hajjaj, who
killed tens of thousands of people.
The Prophet predicted the conquest of Istanbul
- Again, according to an authentic narration, the Prophet, upon
him be peace and blessings, declared:
Surely, Constantinople (Istanbul) will be
conquered (by my community); how blessed the commander who will
conquer it, and how blessed his army.13
He thus
foretold the conquest of Istanbul by Muslims, and indicated the
high spiritual rank of Sultan Mehmed, the Conqueror, and the
virtuousness of his army. What he foretold took place centuries
later.
1. Muslim, Janna, 76, 77.
2. Bukhari, Manaqib, 22; Abu Dawud, Jihad,
97.
3. Bukhari, Salat, 63; Muslim, Fitan, 70, 72;
I Hanbal, Musnad, 12.161, 164.
4. Ibn Maja, Jana’iz, 65; Muslim, Fada’il
al-Sahaba, 15; I. Hanbal, 3.197.
5. Bukhari, Jihad, 95, 96; Abu Dawud, Malahim,
10; I. Maja, Fitan, 36.
6. Hakim, Mustadrak, 3.75. Also related by
Tirmidhi, I. Hanbal and I. Maja.
7. Hakim, 4.445; I. Hanbal, 4.303; also
related by Muslim, Tirmidhi and I. Maja.
8. Abu Dawud, Sunna, 8; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 48;
I. Hanbal, 4.273.
9. Hakim, 3.100; I. Hanbal, 6.114; I. Maja,
5.188; also related by Tirmidhi.
10. Abu Nu‘aym, Hilyat al-Awliya’, 1.94; also
related by Bukhari and Muslim.
11. Suyuti, Jami‘ al-Saghir, 6.24; related by
Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmidhi.
12. Hakim, 3.453; also related by Muslim, I.
Hanbal and Tirmidhi.
13. Hakim, 4.422; Bukhari, Tarikh al-Saghir,
139; I. Hanbal, 4.335
- God’s Messenger predicted that, through the reformations in
agriculture and developments in science and technology, a pomegranate will suffice for as many as
twenty people, with its rind providing shade for them. He
also prophesied that the wheat produced
in so small an area as a house balcony will be enough for the
annual consumption of a family.1
The Prophet made many other predictions concerning developments
in science. We will cite them while giving answers to the questions
concerning his truthfulness.
1. Muslim, Fitan, 110; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 59; I.
Hanbal,
4.182) |
