A Key to Wisdom - Investigation of Miracles
Investigation of Miracles
The word "mu`jizah", which is translated into English as "Miracle", is a present participle in Arabic, derived from "a`jaza" from the radical letters `ayn, jīm, zā', which literally means to weaken, debilitate, incapacitate, and hence it means an action which deprives someone of strength or power or ability to imitate it, an action which disables or incapacitates someone from imitating it. In religious terms however, a mu`jizah or miracle is an action performed by a Perfect Man, which others are unable to imitate. The purpose of such a performance by a Perfect Man, i.e. a Prophet, is to convince people of his Prophethood, that he has come by the command of God and that it is necessary to act upon his guidance and exhortation.
By the grace of God and with the help of His light, in this article we want to discuss miracles in detail, their types, occasions and aspects, so that the readers, in addition to attaining the necessary knowledge of miracles, should prepare themselves for the observation of the manifestation of a miracle in which countless religious and worldly benefits are hidden. Thus the people of knowledge know that miracles are of several kinds. If divided according to time, they can be called temporary and permanent miracles, if divided with respect to space, they will be called sensory and intellectual miracles, if divided with respect to both time and space, they fall into categories of temporary sensory miracles, temporary intellectual miracles, permanent sensory miracles and permanent intellectual miracles. This is the original and great division of miracles. That is, these four kinds of miracles are the fundamental miracles which have many branches. If we want to know the names of these miracles with respect to the religious hierarchy, the extraordinary work of the Prophet is called mu`jizah or miracle and that of a Walī (friend of God), karāmat. It would also not be out of place to mention that if we have to divide these wonders with respect to possibility, all kinds of miracles are called true (haqq) and all branches of magic and sorcery, false (bātil). However, despite all this, the mass of people have often committed a great error in considering miracles as magic and were therefore misled.
Temporary Sensory Miracle:
This miracle is given by Omnipotent God to one of His Prophets when the disbelievers demand a miracle as a condition to believe him. But since many disbelievers and the masses do not have an upbringing with true knowledge, they are unaware of rational arguments and their understanding depends entirely on their senses, therefore there is no other way than to perform such miracles in order to convince them. However, despite such miracles, the vast majority often do not abandon their absurd and blind conformity and, except for a few fortunate ones, the rest reject them considering them to be magic and sorcery. Not only that, but they also ridicule and torture the Prophets and consequently they invite Divine wrath, and destruction engulfs them.
There are many reasons for the perdition by Divine command of those who rejected the invitation of the Prophets and their miracles and in fact oppressed them. First of all, they did not follow the right path, so God in His mercy sent a guide to lead them to the right path, even then they did not believe him and they demanded a miracle from him. When the miracle was shown, even then they did not believe him and they rejected it. In addition, they started to persecute the Prophets and their followers. Thus when no more means were left to bring them to the right path, Divine wrath befell them and they were wiped off the face of history due to their disbelief and rejection.
It was for this reason that the Holy Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, did not use such miracles for the propagation of the religion of Islam, since they were temporary, sensory and decisive, due to which if someone believed out of fear, he was saved, otherwise he was destroyed. The Holy Prophet, by the command of God, did not choose this path of inviting people to His religion, because he was "A Mercy for all worlds". Otherwise, he too, like the previous Prophets was asked for decisive miracles by his adversaries, as mentioned in the Qur'ān: "And they say: We will never believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us; or there be for you a garden of date-palms and grapes, and then in its midst you cause the rivers to gush forth explosively; or cause the heavens to fall upon us in pieces as you assert or bring Allah and the angels (before us) face to face; or there be for you a house of gold, or you ascend to heaven; and we shall never believe in your ascending until you cause a book to be sent down to us which we may read. Say (O Muhammad): Glory be to my Lord! Am I anything but a man, a messenger." (17:90-93).
From the above verses, it is clear that the adversaries of the Holy Prophet used to demand miracles from him time and again. But God and the Prophet did not accept their demand, since it is obvious they were not going to accept the results of these miracles, as is clearly evident from the above verses in which the thoughts of the adversaries are expressed. That is, according to their thoughts, even after showing them six great miracles, they would not believe until a book was brought down for each of them individually, which would be the seventh miracle, so that they may read this book carefully and then decide according to their intellect that Muhammad (s.a.s), who had brought down the book and given it to them, was indeed the Prophet of God or not? Note the extent of their rejection! How far from reality it is! The same rejection, based on ignorance, had reached its ultimate end in the behaviour of their predecessors as well. It is because of this that after showing a pattern of temporary sensory miracles, God stopped them in the cycle of the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) till the Resurrection, as it is said: "Nothing hinders Us from sending signs save that the ancient people belied them. We gave to Thamud the she-camel as a clear sign, but they were unjust to her. We do not send signs except to warn". (17:59).
After this elaboration of miracles, we want to explain those points which are necessary in connection with the (understanding of) temporary sensory miracles. All kinds of sensory miracles occur to the five senses, i.e. they are experienced by man with his eye, ear, nose, mouth and skin. Thus with respect to these senses, we can call these miracles visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactual miracles. Further, three types of miracles happen to each of these senses which may be called revelatory (tanzīlī), allegorical (tamthīlī) and subjugative (taskhīrī) miracles. Thus, altogether there are fifteen kinds of sensory miracles. God willing, we will explain those realities and recognitions about all these kinds of miracles, from which every fortunate seeker of knowledge, through the right senses, will be intellectually satisfied and if he were to try to test them on an experimental standard, their value and status would be enhanced for him and he will be able to ascertain that such precious and rare gems of knowledge and wisdom cannot be found except in the spiritual treasure of the living and present Imam.
We will now present an example of all kinds of sensory miracles in the form of an abstract, so that the meaning of the subject may be easily understood by the readers.
| Serial no. | Example | Kinds of Sensory Miracles | Brief argument | Qur'anic reference |
| 1 | Angels came to the house of Hazrat Ibrahim in a human body. | Revelatory (Tanzili) Visual | Since they were angels, therefore they declined to eat. | 51:23-27 |
| 2 | Hazrat Maryam heard the voice of the embodied Holy Spirit. | Auditory | Externally, not in imagination. | 19:17-26 |
| 3 | The people of `Ad smelt the smell of chastisement. | Olfactory | There was a violent wind in which there was a smell as well. | 54:18-20 |
| 4 | Disciples of Jesus ate heavenly food. | Gustatory | To say in the verse: "A table from the heaven" is sufficient proof of the things being heavenly. | 5:111-115 |
| 5 | Some wicked people hamstrung the she-camel of Hazrat Salih. | Tactual | Had it not been a solid heavenly thing then the question of hamstringing the she-camel would not have arisen. | 91:13-14 |
| 6 | Disobedient fisherman were seen becoming apes. | Allegorical (Tamthili) Visual | It is not difficult for He Who gives to clay the form of Adam, to give to human beings the form of apes. | 2:62-64 |
| 7 | Hazrat `Isa spoke to people at his birth. | Audotiry | If the Holy Spirit can speak without a body, it is not strange to speak from the tongue of a baby. | 19:28-30 |
| 8 | Hazrat Ya`qub felt the fragrance of Hazrat Yusuf from an extraordinary distance. | Olfactory | Due to the control of everything by the spiritual power, it brings not only fragrance but also everything. | 12:95 |
| 9 | For Pharaoh and his people the drinking water turned into blood. | Gustatory | If water turns into blood through (the bodies of) animals, it is not difficult for God to turn it into blood without any means. | 7:133 |
| 10 | Qarun was swallowed up by the earth. | Tactual | The effect of which started from the skin. | 28:81 |
| 11 | Hazrat Sulayman's kingdom was seen by the people. | Subjugatory (Taskhiri) Visual | It is a universally accepted tradition that wind, birds and jinns were obedient to him. | |
| 12 | Hazrat Da`ud's melodiousness was heard by the people. | Auditory | In addition to human beings, even the mountains and birds used to delight in his voice. | 21:79 |
| 13 | The Holy Prophet used to smell heavenly fragrance from the right side. | Olfactory | Yaman also means the right side. The Holy Prophet has said: I feel breath of the Compassionate from the direction of Yaman. | |
| 14 | Manna and quails used to reveal for the children of Israel for a certain time. | Gustatory | When it is universally accepted that everything comes from Paradise, it is not amazing if some kind of food is provided by the prayer of a Prophet. | 2:57 |
| 15 | The shadow of clouds used to be on the children of Israel. | Tactual | The effect of the clouds is first felt by the skin. | 2:57 |
Notes to examples of sensory miracles:
- In some of these examples more than one characteristic may be found. For instance, in the items of the Table of Hazrat `Isa there were the characteristics of visual, olfactory and tactual miracles, in addition to the gustatory characteristics. But since they were edible things they are therefore included in the gustatory miracle.
- In the Holy Qur'an countless miraculous events are mentioned, but for the sake of brevity we have mentioned only one event as an example for every kind.
- By revelatory (tanzili) are meant those things which appeared from behind the veil of the unseen. By allegorical (tamthili) are meant those things which miraculously adopted an unusual state, and by subjugatory (taskhiri) are meant those things which have unusually become subservient to someone.
Temporary Intellectual Miracle:
It is that given knowledge or profound wisdom of the Prophet or the Walī which God, the Wise, grants them. With respect to the cosmic cycle it is called a temporary miracle. The purpose of this profound miracle is to assure people of the fact that the Prophet or Walī has come from God to guide them, so that they may benefit from his guidance. Although the word wisdom is not a term of miracle, nor have the masses discovered the reality that some of the miracles of the Perfect Man are such that they are related to knowledge and intellect, yet for a sound intellect it is an irrefutable fact that just as his extraordinary sensory miracles influence our external senses, so do his intellectual miracles influence our internal senses. Therefore, it is realistic to accept that the Prophet or the Walī by his God-given spiritual power can show, not only sensory miracles, but also intellectual miracles to the human intellects, irrespective of whether somebody attains guidance from such miracles or ignores them. Sensory miracles, as a whole, do not compel the adversaries to follow the right path, rather, in addition to creating certainty, their effect is also to create more doubts in their hearts. In this case the balance of their choice remains intact and this sensory miracle with respect to guidance becomes only an ordinary awareness. Similarly intellectual miracles do not compel the masses to come to the right path by force or compulsion. Rather in comparison to sensory miracles, more doubts are created in them by the intellectual miracles, an obvious reason for which is that there is no external fear in the intellectual miracles, as they are not among the overpowering sensory miracles of the Prophets.
Now we are also going to show the miraculous occurrence of the profound wisdom in the light of the Qur'ān, as God says: "The hour (resurrection) has come near and the moon is rent asunder (spiritually). If they see a sign (miracle) they turn away, and say: (This is the same) magic continuing, and belie (it) and follow their own vain desires; while every affair has an appointed time. Verily there have come to them tidings deterring them (from evil), (containing) consummate wisdom; yet warnings were of no avail. So (O Muhammad) withdraw from them." (54:1-6).
One of the purports of the above-mentioned verses is that the miracles which were demanded of the Prophet of the Last Time will happen in different forms of the Resurrection, because one prominent distinction between the previous Prophets and the Holy Prophet is that he, as the Seal of the Prophets, is the Prophet of the cycle of Resurrection. Therefore, the intellectual miracles of the Awliyā' of the entire cycle and the last miracles of the great cosmic Resurrection, are all his miracles. Another clear purport of these verses is that the sensory miracles which needed to be shown externally, have already been shown in appropriate times of the cosmic cycle. The news of these miracles have been conveyed to those who came later and their ta'wīl as a whole can be found in the consummate wisdom. Another name of this consummate wisdom is abundant good, as the Qur'an says: "He gives wisdom to whom He wills. And he who is given wisdom is indeed given abundant good. But none remembers except men of intellect." (2:269). By reflecting upon these two verses in the light of intellect and wisdom, we come to know the comprehensive point that, just as the place of miracle is at the apex of the sensory wonders, the place of wisdom is at the apex of intellectual wonders. Then at the conjunction of the sensory and intellectual height they (miracle and wisdom) are as connected to one another as the human body and soul. That is, the external act of wisdom is called miracle and the internal (esoteric) knowledge of miracle is called wisdom and the name in which their complete and real implications are found together, is called āyat, the plural of which is āyāt, as mentioned in the Qur'ān: "Verily We gave to Mūsā nine clear miracles (āyāt), so ask the children of Israel when he came to them, and Pharaoh said to him: Verily, I think that you, O Mūsā, are bewitched." (17:101). From the Qur'ānic verse it is clear that what is called miracles (mu`jizāt) in general terms, are called āyāt in special terms. The wonders or miracles which Mūsā had shown to the Pharaoh and his people to frighten them were: rod, drought, deluge, locusts, white hand, lice, blood, frogs and dearth of fruits. These sensory trials were called āyāt, i.e. miracles, not only because they had appeared extraordinarily, but also because ta'wīl i.e. wisdom was hidden in their appearance, and which is still there. Thus, it is true to say that a collection of Qur'ānic words is also called an āyat, but not only because it is a collection of letters and words, but also for the reason that it is the speech of God in which lies wisdom. These arguments are sufficient in order to prove that there are temporary intellectual miracles, i.e. wisdom.
Permanent Sensory Miracle:
It is that wondrous feat of a Prophet which remains present with the same glory and majesty before the human senses, even after his demise and there is not the slightest decrease in its characteristics.
Thus, except for the two great, permanent sensory and intellectual miracles of the Holy Prophet, the miracles of the rest of the Prophets have ceased with the end of their pure physical lives. Nothing is now traceable about them except the traditions related to them. Thus it is logically correct to call them temporary miracles. Although every religious person, forcing himself by the power of dogma, may superficially say with regard to the occurrence of such miracles: "The Omnipotent God can do whatever He likes and the ibdā`ī command (i.e. to create something contrary to the existing way of creation) is not difficult for Him.", yet in the recesses of his heart he may continue to have many intricate questions about these traditions and his yearning for investigation will always urge him to know how the she-camel of Hazrat Sālih was born from a rock. How did Hazrat Dā'ūd make armour from the iron without melting it? Is it true that the rod of Hazrat Mūsā used to turn into a dragon? What kind of dead people used to be revived by Hazrat `Īsā, while there are two types of dead people, those who are dead but appear to be alive and those who are alive, but appear to be dead? Are these and other such traditions real events or are they allegories which have ta'wīl? In connection with this subject we have now reached the point where we have to answer the imminent question: What were the two permanent sensory miracles of the Holy Prophet? The answer is that his two permanent sensory miracles were the Holy Qur'ān and the living and present Imam. They are found in every cycle as the Book of God and His light and in reality they cannot be separated from one another and their mutual link also is of a miraculous kind, both externally and internally. That is, when we try to establish a proof by a verse, a Hadīth or a rational argument that the Qur'ān in itself is a miracle, then together with this, the proof of the permanent manifestation of the Imam of the time and his inseparable link with the Qur'ān is also automatically in front of the eye of insight. And conversely if we start by establishing the ever-presence of the Imam, the presence of a Book, i.e. the Qur'ān will automatically be established for us externally and internally.
Now, seeking the power of explanation from the court of mercy of God, Who has not left the scarcity of anything or any obstacle in knowledge nor any untiable knot in Islam, as the Holy Qur'ān says: "He has chosen you (from among other communities) and has not laid upon you any hardship in (injunctions of) religion." (22:78), we try to answer the question about the two permanent sensory miracles of the Prophet. The elaborate answer is that the Holy Qur'ān is unprecedented, not only in esoteric sciences, but also in the comprehensiveness of the beauties and wonders of the exoteric sciences as well. Thus, in verse (17:88) the Holy Qur'ān is accepted not only as the unprecedented Book of knowledge and wisdom, but also as the "miracle of Muhammad (s.a.s.)", which is: "Say: (Even) if men and jinn get together to produce the like of the Qur'ān, they will not (be able to) produce the like of it, though some of them become helpers of others." Here arises a very important question that, though we definitely believe in the command of God and that whatever He deems to be impossible is impossible, can we know the reason for not being able to produce a book like the Qur'ān, despite the cooperation of men and jinn and why their united power of knowledge becomes an abortive attempt?
The only answer to this question is that the Wise Qur'ān is entirely wisdom. That is, the way the reality of the Qur'ān is embodied in words on the basis of the comprehensive principles of the meanings and its style, according to which, far-reaching examples are used in it, is a way not known to any of the men or jinn. The reason for this is that, although the Holy Qur'ān is in front of their external senses, none of them can analyze its meanings. For had it been possible for the particular intellect of man (or jinn) to analyze the meanings of its letters, words and verses and look into them as a workman does into a machine, then they would have come to know the principles upon which the Qur'ān is based and its knowledge would have been accessible to all and they would have been able to write such a book. For when a workman knows about the exterior and interior of something, he is able to produce a thing like it. From the above explanation it is established that men and jinn are unable, not only to produce a book like the Qur'ān, but also to understand its wisdom. Then if the men and jinn together are unable to understand and produce the like of the Qur'ān, despite it being present in front of their senses, why should it not be accepted as a great sensory miracle?
We have to establish and show what are the proofs on the basis of which the Imam of the time can be accepted as the "Miracle of Muhammad (s.a.s.)" and what the mutual link of the Holy Qur'ān and the present Imam is from the same above-mentioned verse. The answer is that the revelation of the Holy Qur'ān for the exoteric and esoteric guidance of man, and the incomprehensibility of the Qu'rānic realities by the human intellect, is a firm proof of the necessity of the ever-presence of a teacher in this world. A teacher whom God has sent down spiritually as His light and physically the Holy Prophet has appointed as his successor, so that there should not be any argument of people against God regarding the difficulties of the Qur'ān and the guidance concerning the present conditions.
Thus, it is a fact that the light of the Qur'ān in the attire of the human body is always present and living and is the guardian in this world and he is called the Imam of the time or the Perfect Man. Then if someone does not recognize him as the Divine light since, due to the expediency of wisdom, he has an external relation to a human body and its necessities, this will be analogous to someone who does not accept the Qur'ān to be the speech of God because it is made of material things, such as paper, ink, letters and words, and it never occurs to him that since it is a heavenly Book, it is hence possible for it to be a rare treasure of Divine knowledge clothed in the veil of these material things. Thus in view of these arguments, the proclamation of God in the above-mentioned verse contains, not only the uniqueness of the Holy Qur'ān but also of the Imam of the time, because the Qur'ān and the Imam in reality are one light. Therefore in this Divine declaration it is also stated to all human beings and jinn that, if they are not sure of the True Imam's being from God and therefore consider the office of Imamat a general result of individual or collective effort, they should also unitedly choose a Perfect Man who, in his external and internal attributes is like the True Imam and the chain of the office of his Imamat continues in his progeny till the Resurrection, just as the attributes of the True Imam are found in front of the human senses. It is obvious that for all human beings and jinns it is and will remain impossible to establish such an example. Thus it is true to say that the physical permanent presence of the Imam of the time is another permanent sensory miracle of the Holy Prophet.
Permanent Intellectual Miracles:
Prior to discussing these miracles, it is necessary to know that they too, include the characteristics of temporary intellectual miracles mentioned already. It should be known that the Holy Prophet's two permanent intellectual miracles also, are the Qur'ān and the Imam. Prior to this they have been established as two permanent sensory miracles. Now, here we have to explain how they can also be two permanent intellectual miracles. The proof of this is that the consummate wisdom which God had given to the Holy Prophet by the name of abundant good, still exists in the position of the wisdom of the Qur'ān and the Teacher of the Qur'ān. These two intellectual miracles are weighty and so full of the extensive guidance and wisdom of the infinite material and spiritual progress of all creatures, that men and jinns with their collective intellectual strength are unable to bear them simultaneously. It is because of this that the Holy Prophet called them "thaqalayn (two heavy things)", and addressing his community he said: "I am leaving two heavy things among you."
It has already been explained that the main purpose of showing miracles is that people may accept the performer of the miracle as the Prophet or Walī of God and believe in him. This means that the miracle in reality is like a practical witness for the proof of Prophethood or wilāyat. Thus, even from this aspect of miracle we can establish and show that these two permanent intellectual miracles of the Holy Prophet are two such witnesses of his Prophethood and they are always in this world both in a sensory and an intellectual existence, which in fulfilling the conditions of witness are greater than the entire existents. They can neither be refuted, nor effaced, as God says: "Those who disbelieve say: You are not a messenger (of Allah): Say (O Muhammad): Allah is sufficient as a witness between me (my Prophethood) and you, and he who has knowledge of the book." (13:43). That is, internally (spiritually) God and the light of Imamat and externally (physically), the Qur'ān and the person of Imamat are such sufficient witnesses that there is the complete knowledge of the secrets of the Holy Prophet's Prophethood in their essence and no matter what kind of witness the people may ask about his Prophethood, they will always provide it without the slightest deficiency.
Now, if someone asks: On what ground can it be said and accepted that the light of Imamat is the unique teacher of the science of the Qur'ān, the perfect confidante of the secrets of Prophethood and the absolute witness of the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.s.)? In answer, the first proof is that in His speech there is truth and justice to the utmost degree, as He says: "And perfect is the word of your Lord in truth and justice." (6:116). Therefore, it is impossible that God may choose a person from among the people to be the witness of the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (s.a.s.) and give the title of sufficient witness to the one who cannot witness his Prophethood equally in the past, present and future, and cannot simultaneously be witness both in sensory and intellectual forms, who knows some of the secrets of Prophethood and not others, and who knows the ta'wīl of a part of the Qur'ān and remains unaware of the rest. This is not possible. Thus the fact is that, the one whom God has called sufficient witness and the bearer of the heavenly knowledge, knows and does everything regarding the witnessing of his Prophethood. Thus, such a witness is the light of Imamat and nobody else.
Second Proof: The wisdom which is in the word "sufficient" is also in the word "shahīd" which in Arabic means "witness, present". The reason for this is that someone can be a witness of a matter only if he has been present and seen it. Thus such a person is the light of Imamat, who has seen everything in the position of the Divine light.
Third Proof: As we have shown in the first proof, Qur'ānic words are full of truth and justice, therefore reflect upon the following Qur'ānic example with truth and justice: The example is "He who is knowing of the Qur'ān" and "He with whom is the knowledge of the Book". There is a world of difference between the two phrases. The purport of the former is a person who sees the Qur'ān and has its knowledge, whereas the meaning of the latter is a person with whom is the very knowledge of the Book itself.
In addition, this phrase also means that here the usage of the word "al-kitāb (the Book)" instead of the Qur'ān is proof of the fact that this means the Universal Book, namely, ummu'l-kitāb or the Mother of the Book. Because all books have a collective book, called ummu'l-kitāb, which according to the Qur'ān, Hadīth and logical demonstration is Mawlānā `Alī (a.s.), whose light is the Imam of the time, and in whose light is contained the knowledge of the first and last ones.
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