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Islamic view of miracles

A number of terms are used in Islam to refer to the claims of events happening that are not explicable bynaturalorscientific laws,subjects where people sometimes invoke thesupernatural.[1]In theQuranthe termāyah(/ˈɑːjə/;Arabic:آية;plural:آياتāyāt,literally "sign" ) refers to signs in the context ofmiraclesofGod's creation and of theprophetsand messengers (such asIbrahim/AbrahamandIsa/Jesus).[2]In later Islamic sources miracles of the prophets were referred to byMuʿjiza(مُعْجِزَة),[2]literally meaning "that by means of which [the Prophet] confounds, overwhelms, his opponents" ), while miracles ofsaintsare referred to askaramat(charismata).[3]

Anonymous painting, taken from a 16th-centuryfalnama,a book of prophecy.Muhammadpoints out thesplitting of the Moon,depicted with his face hidden. Historians, such as A. J. Wensinck and Denis Gril, reject the historicity of it, arguing that the Quran itself deniesmiracles,in the traditional sense.[4][1]

I'jazal-Quran– literally the inimitability of the Quran – refers to the Quranic claim that no one can hope to imitate its (the Quran's) perfection,[2]this quality being considered the primary miracle of the Quran and proof ofMuhammad'sprophethood.In recent decades, the termI'jazhas also come to refer to the belief that the Quran contains "scientific miracles", i.e. prophecies of scientific discoveries.[5]Kharq al'adad– "a break in God's customary order of things" – was a term used in "theological or philosophical discussions" to refer to miraculous events.[2]Karamat– "gifts or graces" – was usually used for miraculous performances ofSufisaints often used to convert unbelievers to Islam (considered a work of "divine generosity" rather than "divine power" employed in the miracles of prophets).[2]

Definition

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A systematic definition of miracles performed by apostles can be found in the work of theMuslim scholaral-Īd̲j̲ī Mawāḳif, historian A.J. Wensinck states.[6]The main purpose of miracle is to prove the sincerity of the apostle and has to satisfy the following conditions:[6]

  1. It must be performed by God
  2. "It must be contrary to the usual course of things"
  3. It should be impossible to contradict it
  4. "It must happen at the hands of him who claims to be an apostle
  5. "It must be in conformity with his announcement of it, and the miracle itself must not be a disavowal of his claim"
  6. "It must follow on his claim"[6]

Theology

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Belief in that which is transmitted bymutawatiris obligatory to believe in forSunniMuslims. Rejection of that which ismutawatiris cause forleaving Islamaccording toconsensusof Sunni scholars. The Qur'an is transmitted bymutawatirand therefore every verse must be believed in, including every reference to a miracle of any prophet. Additionally, there are severalhadithreports which convey miracles of theIslamic prophetMuhammadwhich are also transmitted bymutawatir.Such hadiths and miracles must also be fully believed in for one to be a Muslim. However, rejecting anahad,or solitary, narration is only sinful (fisq) and not disbelief.[7][8][9][10]

Miracles are split up intoKaramatandMu'jizat;the former are given by God to saints and the latter are given by God exclusively to prophets. InAl-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah,upon which there isconsensus,there are two points on this: "We do not prefer any of the saints of this nation over any of the prophets, upon them be peace. We say that a single prophet is better than all the saints put together. We have faith in what has come of their miracles (karamat) and what has been authenticated in their narrations from trustworthy narrators. "[11]

Taftāzānilists in hisSharh al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyyathe following lists the following miracles as performed by saints and prophets:[12]

  • Contradicting the customary way of things, such as covering a great distance in a short time.
  • Appearance of food and drink and clothing at the time of need, as performed byZacharias
  • Walking on water, related to many saints
  • Walking in the air, related toJa'far ibn Abi Talib
  • Inanimate solid objects and animals speaking
  • Warding off of approaching calamity and protection from enemies

Islam and natural law

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In order to defend the possibility of miracles andGod'somnipotenceagainst the encroachment of the independent secondary causes, medievalMuslim theologiansrejected the idea ofcause and effectin essence, but accepted it as something that facilitates humankind's investigation and comprehension of natural processes. They argued that the nature was composed of uniform atoms that were "re-created" at every instant by God. Thus if the soil was to fall, God would have to create and re-create theaccidentof heaviness for as long as the soil was to fall. ForMuslimtheologians, the laws of nature were only the customary sequence of apparent causes: customs of God.[13]

Quran

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According to Denis Gril, Islam teaches that miracles – i.e. a supernatural interventions in the life of human beings – are present in the Quran "in a threefold sense: insacred history,in connection with Muhammad himself and in relation to revelation. "[1]By contrast,Ali Dashti(d.1982) writes that "there has been much debate[...] on the question whether the Qur'an is miraculous in respect of its eloquence or of its subject-matter, or of both. In general the Muslim scholars consider it to be miraculous in both respects. "[14]

In theQur'an,the termayahis used to refer to miracles—cosmic phenomena for example areayat takwiniyyah—particularly miracles of creation.[15]But it is also used to mean "evidence," "sign", "Quranic verse", (religious obligations areayat taklifiyyah). In Islam in general ayah is often used to a mean Quranic verse, but there is overlap in meaning:ayat/verses are believed to be the divine speech inhuman languagepresented by Muhammad as his chief miracle,[1]and miracles are a "sign" (ayah) of God and of Muhammad's prophethood. [6]

Verses of the Qur'an stating that the Qu'ran itself is a miracle – i.e. so amazing it could not have been a natural occurrence – include:

  • Q11:13[16]"Will they say, he hath forged the Quran? Answer, bring therefore ten chapters like unto it, forged by yourselves; and call on whomsoever ye may to assist you, except God, if ye speak truth",[17]was revealed in response to polytheists accusation that Muhammad's revelation was invented by Muhammad or came from other men.[14]
  • Q17:88[18]"Say: 'If the mankind and thejinnswere together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.' "was issued in reply to an accusation found in8:31:[19]"We have already heard (such things). If we wished, we could say (things) like this. These are only fables of the ancients"[14]

Sacred history

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The Qur'an does not mention any miracle forAdam(Adem) who though an Islamic prophet was not supposed to convince anybody of God's message.[1]Sura(verse) 11 (Hūd) and 23 (Al-Mu’minoon)[20]mention miracles ofNoah(Nuh), "The oven (tannur) out of which the water burst and announced the flood".[1]Hud,prophet for the ancient tribe ofʿĀdand the first of fiveArabianprophets of the Qur'an, does not have any particular miracle (thus according to historian Denis Gril prefiguring Muhammad).[1](See Q.7:69for his response when he was rebuked for not producing a miracle.)[1]

Code 19

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Main article:Quran code

The termQuran code(also known as Code 19) refers to the claim that the Quranic text contains a hidden mathematically complex code. Advocates think that the code represents amathematicalproof of thedivineauthorship of the Quran and they also think that it can be used to identifyorthographicerrors within the Quranic text. Proponents of the Quran code claim that the Quran code is based onstatisticalprocedures.

In the United States, at the end of the 20th century, the EgyptianQuranistMuslim biochemistRashad Khalifadeveloped a theological doctrine that influenced Quranists in many other countries. With the help of computers, he carried out a numerical analysis of the Quran, which according to him clearly proved that it is of divine origin.[21]The number 19, which is mentioned in chapter 74 of the Quran as being "one of the greatest miracles" played the fundamental role,[22]which according to Khalifa can be found everywhere in the structure of the Quran, and the fact that a Quranist discovered such a big miracle proved the Quranist approach.[23]Khalifa also cited Quran's chapter 74, verse 30: "Over it is nineteen".[24][25]The movement popularized the phrase: "The Quran, the whole Quran, and nothing but the Quran."[26]Some objected to these beliefs and, in 1990, Khalifa was assassinated by someone associated with theSunnigroupJamaat ul-Fuqra.[27]

Ijaz movement

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Starting the 1970s and 1980s, a genre of popular literature known asijaz,and often called "scientific miracles in the Quran", argued that the Quran abounds with "scientific facts" centuries before their discovery by science and thus demonstrating that the Quran must be of divine origin.[28]

Some hold that certain verses of the Qur'an contain scientific theories that have been discovered only in modern times, confirming Qur'an's miraculousness.[29][30][31]

Among these miracles found in the Quran are "everything, from relativity, quantum mechanics, Big Bang theory, black holes and pulsars, genetics, embryology, modern geology, thermodynamics, even the laser and hydrogen fuel cells".[5]"Widespread and well-funded"[32]with "millions" from Saudi Arabia,[5]the literature can be found in Muslim bookstores and on websites and television programs of Islamic preachers.[5]According to authorZiauddin Sardar,the movement has created a "global craze in Muslim societies".[5]

However, theijazmovement has been criticized by scholars.[5][33][34][35]Ziauddin Sardar argues that it requires "considerable mental gymnastics and distortions to find scientific facts or theories in these verses."[5] According to Zafar Ishaq Ansari, the Quran is the source of guidance in right faith (iman) and righteous action (alladhina amanu wa amilu l-salihat), but the idea that it contained "all knowledge, including scientific" knowledge has not been a mainstream view among Muslim scholarship.[33]

Unlettered prophet

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The Quran describes Muhammad asummi(Q7:157),[36]which is traditionally interpreted as "unlettered,"[37][38]and the ability of such a person to produce the Quran is taken as miraculous[38]and as a sign of the genuineness of his prophethood. For example, according toFakhr al-Din al-Razi,if Muhammad had mastered writing and reading he possibly would have been suspected of having studied the books of the ancestors. Some scholars such asWattprefer the second meaning.[39][40]

However, some scholars[who?]argue that the word did not mean "illiterate" but non-Jewish and non-Christian Arabs, pagan Arabs.[clarification needed][38]

Scientific miracles

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The theory of the scientific miracle of the Qur'an claims that the Qur'an has a miracle in expressing some scientific material (some modern scientific discoveries that were unknown at the time of writing the Qur'an). The history of writing in connection with the science and religion of Islam dates back to the works ofIbn Sina,Fakhr al-Razi, andAbu Hamid al-Ghazali,but has increased significantly in recent times. Authors in this field include Naeem Al-Mohassi, Maurice Bukay, Rafiei Mohammadi, Mostarhameh, Makarem Shirazi, and Rezaei Isfahani. These interpretations claim that some verses of the Qur'an reflect prophetic statements about the nature and structure of theuniverse,physics,fetal biological growth, geology, mountain structure, and other phenomena that have been later confirmed by scientific research. This group of Quran commentators presents this as proof of the divinity of the Qur'an.[41][42][43]

Muhammad

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Main article:Miracles of Muhammad

The Qur'an does not overtly describe Muhammad performing miracles, according to historian Denis Gril, and the supreme miracle of Muhammad is finallyidentified with the Qur'an itself.[1]At least one scholar (Sunni scholar Muhammad Asad) states that Muhammad performed no miracles other than to bring the Quran to humanity,[44]and other scholars, such as Cyril Glasse andMarcia Hermansen,downplay the miracles of Muhammad, stating "they play no role in Islamic theology",[45]or "play less of an evidentiary role than in some other religions".[2]

However, Muslim tradition (hadith) credits Muhammad with several supernatural events.[6]For example, many Muslim commentators and some western scholars have interpreted the sura 54 (Al-Qamar)[46]to refer to Muhammadsplitting the Moonin view of the Quraysh when they had begun to persecute his followers.[1][47]This tradition has inspired manyMuslim poets.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdefghijDenis Gril,Miracles,Encyclopedia of the Qur'anCite error: The named reference "EoQ" was defined multiple times with different content (see thehelp page).
  2. ^abcdefMarcia Hermansen(2004). Martin, Richard C. (ed.).Encyclopedia or Islam and the Muslim World.MacMillan Reference USA. p. 454.
  3. ^"Annemarie Schimmel"And Muhammad is his Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic PietyOnline Archive Publication date 2017-12-13 Uploaded by Ejaz Archives p. 78
  4. ^abWensinck, A.J. "Muʿd̲j̲iza".Encyclopaedia of Islam.Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007.Cite error: The named reference "EoI-Muhammad" was defined multiple times with different content (see thehelp page).
  5. ^abcdefgSardar, Ziauddin (21 August 2008)."Weird science".New Statesman.Retrieved11 April2019.
  6. ^abcdeA.J. Wensinck,Muʿd̲j̲iza,Encyclopedia of Islam
  7. ^"Establishing Matters of Aqidah With Hadith Ahad".SeekersGuidance.27 May 2009.Retrieved6 September2020.
  8. ^Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Yusuf.Al-Tamhîd limâ fîl-Muwatta' min al-Ma'ânî wal-Asânîd.pp. Volume 1, page 142, and Volume 4, page 266.ISBN978-977-771-047-3.
  9. ^al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid (1961).Faysal al-tafriqah bayna al-Islam wa-al-zandaqah(in Arabic). 'Īsá al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī. p. 144.OCLC977737394.
  10. ^"Denying the Mutawaatir Hadeeth - Islamweb - Fatwas".islamweb.net.Retrieved6 September2020.
  11. ^"Al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah in English and Arabic | Faith in Allah".18 December 2010.Retrieved6 September2020.
  12. ^Austin P. Evans A commentary on the Creed of Islam Translated by Earl Edgar Elder Columbia University Press, New YorkISBN0-8369-9259-8p. 138-139
  13. ^Robert G. Mourison, The Portrayal of Nature in a Medieval Qur'an Commentary, Studia Islamica, 2002
  14. ^abcDashti, 23 Years,1994: p.40
  15. ^Mohammed, Khaleel."Muhammad Al-Ghazali's View on Abrogation in the Qur'an".forpeoplewhothink.org.Retrieved27 August2018.
  16. ^Q11:13,50+ translations, islamawakened
  17. ^Sale translation
  18. ^Q17:88,islamawakened
  19. ^Q8:31,islamawakened
  20. ^11:40,23:27
  21. ^Musa:The Qur’anists.2010, S. 13.
  22. ^Q 74:30: „Über ihr sind neunzehn. “Übersetzung von Hartmut Bobzin:Der Koran.2017.
  23. ^Khan:Nineteen.2010, S. 112.
  24. ^Bangert, Kurt (2016-04-25).Muhammad: Eine historisch-kritische Studie zur Entstehung des Islams und seines Propheten(in German). Springer-Verlag. pp. 114–116.ISBN978-3-658-12956-9.
  25. ^Momen, Moojan (1999).The Phenomenon of Religion: A Thematic Approach.Oneworld. p. 561.ISBN978-1-85168-161-7.
  26. ^Musa, Aisha Y. (2010). "The Qur'anists".Religion Compass.4(1). John Wiley & Sons: 12–21.doi:10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00189.x.
  27. ^Historic House: The story behind that building with the words 'Happiness Is Submission to God'Archived2020-07-09 at theWayback Machine,Tucsonweekly, Accessed July 7, 2020
  28. ^La'li, Mahdi (2007).A Comprehensive Exploration of the Scientific Miracles in Holy Quran.Trafford Publishing. p. 17.ISBN978-1-4120-1443-4.Retrieved18 April2019.
  29. ^Bucaille, Maurice (2003).The Bible, the Qu'ran and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge.Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an.
  30. ^Talebpour, Alireza; Rohani Mashhadi, Farzaneh; Moradi, Mostafa (2022)."Introducing an Original Method in Evaluating the Scientific Miracle of the Qur'an".Journal of Interdisciplinary Qur'anic Studies.1(1).doi:10.37264/jiqs.v1i1.1.
  31. ^Hassab-Elnaby, Mansour. "A New Astronomical Qur’anic Method for the Determination of the Greatest Speed C.".
  32. ^Cook,The Koran,2000:p.29
  33. ^abAnsari, Zafar Ishaq (2001). "Scientific Exegesis of the Qur'an / ‮التفسير العلمي للقرآن‬".Journal of Qur'anic Studies.3(1): 92.doi:10.3366/jqs.2001.3.1.91.JSTOR25728019.
  34. ^Talib, Ali (9 April 2018)."Deconstructing the" Scientific Miracles in the Quran "Argument".Transversing Tradition.Retrieved16 April2019.
  35. ^Guessoum, Nidhal (June 2008)."ThE QUR'AN, SCIENCE, AND THE (RELATED)CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM DISCOURSE".Zygon.43(2): 411+.doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00925.x.ISSN0591-2385.Retrieved15 April2019.
  36. ^Q7:157,islamawakened
  37. ^Reason and Inspiration in Islam: Essays in Honour of Hermann Landolt.I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. 2005-09-23. p. 202.ISBN978-0-85771-622-4.
  38. ^abcDashti, 23 Years,1994: p. 44
  39. ^Richard Bell (Revised and Enlarged by W. Montgomery Watt) (1970).Bell's introduction to the Qur'an.Univ. Press. pp. 31–51.ISBN978-0-85224-171-4.
  40. ^Günther, Sebastian (2002). "Muhammad, the Illiterate Prophet: An Islamic Creed in the Quran and Quranic Exegesis".Journal of Quranic Studies.4(1): 1–26.doi:10.3366/jqs.2002.4.1.1.
  41. ^Ahmad Dallal,Quran and science, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
  42. ^رضایی اصفهانی، محمد علی. «حركات خورشید و اعجاز علمی قرآن». دریافتشده در ۱۸ ژوئن ۲۰۲۰.
  43. ^http://jima.imana.org/article/view/8693A Scientist's Interpretation of References to Embryology in the Qur'an
  44. ^Muhammad Asad,Message of the Qur'an[Dar Al-Andalus Limited 3 Library Ramp, Gibraltar rpt. 1993] p. 427, fn. 71
  45. ^Glasse, Cyril (2001)."Miracles".The New Encyclopedia of Islam.Altamira. p.310.ISBN978-0-7591-0189-0.
  46. ^Quran54:1–2
  47. ^Encyclopedia of the Qur'an,Moon

Further reading

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