Miscellaneous Miracles

1.     The glorification of food:

‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud—while talking about the miracles at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him)—said: “We used to hear food glorifying (Allah) while it was being eaten.”[143]

2.     His discovery that a slaughtered sheep was taken without the permission of its owner:

Narrated Jabir that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Companions passed by a woman. She slaughtered a sheep for them and prepared a meal for them. When he returned she said: “O Allah’s Messenger! We have prepared food for you, so come in and eat!” Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Companions came in. They used not to start before the Prophet (peace be upon him) started (eating). The Prophet (peace be upon him) took a mouthful but he found it unpalatable. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: “This is a sheep that has been slaughtered without the permission of its owner.” The woman then said: “O Allah’s Messenger! We and the family of Sa’d Ibn Mu’ath feel at home with each other; we take from them and they take from us.”[144]

3.     Increasing wealth through the blessing of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) owed somebody some money. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave him a piece of gold that Salman thought insufficient and said: “How can this redeem what I owe, O Allah’s Messenger?” He said: “Take it and Allah will pay your debt with it.” Salman said: “I took it and weighed for them (my creditors) from it—by Him in Whose Hand is Salman’s soul—forty uqiyyah (about 680 grams).”[145]

4.      The emission of light from the staff (stick) of some of his Companions:

Anas Ibn Malik said: “Ibn ‘Abad Ibn Bishr and Usaid Ibn Hudair left the Prophet (peace be upon him) on a very dark night. Each of them had a staff. The staff of one of them lit very brightly, and when they separated, the staff of each of them lit independently till they arrived home.”[146]

5.      The strong memory of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him):   

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to complain of forgetting many of the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him). One day the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever spreads his upper garment till I finish my speech and then gathers it will not forget anything he has heard from me!” Abu Hurairah said: “I spread a garment I had on my body. By Him Who sent him with the Truth, I have never forgotten anything I have heard from him.”[147]

This hadith is one of the Signs of Prophethood, for Abu Hurairah was the best at memorizing the Prophetic hadiths at his time. The scholars of hadith agreed unanimously that among the Companions he narrated the largest number of hadiths.

Al-Shafi’i said: “Abu Hurairah was the best at memorizing hadith at his time.” Abu al-Zi’aizi’ah, the scribe of Marwan said: “Marwan sent for Abu Hurairah and the latter began narrating hadith. Marwan let me sit behind the couch to write what he was narrating. After one year he sent for him (again) and ordered me to check (what he said) and (I found that) he did not change even a letter (of what he had narrated before).”[148]

6.     Allah (SWT) enabled the Companions to hear the voice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) while they were in their homes.

‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Mu’ath al-Taymi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) delivered a speech to us in Mina, and our ears became sharp enough to hear what he was saying while we were in our homes. He went on teaching them their religious rituals…”[149]

      7. The fate of the mocking Christian:          

Anas said: “There was a Christian who embraced Islam and read Surat-al-Baqara and Al-Imran, and he used to write (the revelations) for the Prophet (peace be upon him). Later on he returned to Christianity and followed the people of the Scripture, who admired him and elevated his status. He used to say: “Muhammad knows nothing but what I have written for him.” Then Allah caused him to die, and the people buried him, but in the morning they saw that the earth had thrown his body out. They said: ‘This is the act of Muhammad and his Companions. They dug the grave of our companion and took his body out of it because he had run away from them.’ They again dug the grave deeply for him, but in the morning they again saw that the earth had thrown his body out. They said: ‘This is an act of Muhammad and his companions. They dug the grave of our companion and threw his body outside it, for he had run away from them.’ They dug the grave for him as deep as they could, but in the morning they again saw that the earth had thrown his body out. So they believed that what had befallen him was not done by human beings and had to leave him thrown (on the ground).”[150]

       8.  The seal of Prophethood:

Among the Miracles was the sign that appeared on his noble back indicating his Prophethood. The people of the Scripture knew this sign and one of their scholars mentioned this to Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) to recognize Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) by it. When Salman went to al-Medina al-Munawwarah he checked that and saw the seal. A group of Companions saw the seal also. Al-Sa’ib Ibn Yazid said: “My aunt took me to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: ‘O Allah's Messenger! My nephew is ill.’ The Prophet touched my head with his hand and supplicated Allah for blessing me. He then performed ablution and I drank of the remaining water of his ablution and then stood behind his back and saw The Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders like a button of a canopy.”[151]

Among the Companions who saw the seal of Prophethood also were Jabir Ibn Samrah,[152] Abu Zaid al-Ansari,[153] ‘Abdullah Ibn Sirjis[154] and others[155] (may Allah be pleased with all of them). The presence of this congenital sign, which corresponds to what has occurred in the books of the people of the Scripture, is something that cannot be effected except by the Creator, He be Glorified.

The response of Allah (SWT) to the supplication of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

Among the signs that indicate that Allah confirms the truthfulness of His Prophet is that He responded to his invocations concerning great issues and lesser ones. This was evident in the relationship of the Messenger (peace be upon him) with his Lord, for He never disappointed him. Allah would not have responded to someone who falsely claimed to be a prophet. Besides, Allah honored the followers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with responding to their supplications, although the supplications of other than him may or may not be responded to.

The miracles with which his followers were honored represent a witness from Allah to the truthfulness of his Message, although the Grace and Generosity of Allah are available to all those who are in distress, as Allah (SWT) says: “Or, who (besides Allah) responds to a distressed person when he calls on him?” (XXVII: 62) for a distressed person knows that he has no power to resort to but Allah, who will respond to him with His great Generosity. But this does not happen to the infidels repeatedly, or to the faithful continuously. 

a.     The response to his invocation for rain

Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “A man entered the Mosque on a Friday through the gate facing the pulpit and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was standing delivering the Khutba (sermon). The man stood in front of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and said: ‘O Allah's Messenger, livestock are dying and the roads are cut off; please pray to Allah for rain.' So Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) raised both his hands and said: ‘O Allah! Bless us with rain. O Allah! Bless us with rain. O Allah! Bless us with rain!’” Anas added: "By Allah, there were no clouds in the sky and there was no house or building between us and Sila’.[156] Then a big cloud like a shield appeared from behind it (i.e. Sila’ ) and when it came in the middle of the sky, it spread and then it rained. By Allah! We could not see the sun for a week. The next Friday, a person entered through the same gate and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was delivering the Friday Khutba and the man stood in front of him and said: ‘O Allah's Messenger! The livestock are dying and the roads are cut off. Please, pray to Allah to withhold rain.’” Anas added: “Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) raised both his hands and said: ‘O Allah! Round about us and not on us. O Allah! On the plateaus, on the mountains, on the hills, in the valleys and on the places where trees grow.’” Anas added: “The rain stopped and we came out, walking in the sun.”[157]

Whoever is able to form rain in the dry weather and send it down and withhold it other than Allah (SWT) at the invocation of His Messenger. Such Divine Response cannot take place for the sake of one who falsely claims to be a prophet and attributes untrue things to Allah.

In another narration on the authority of Anas Ibn Malik also it is said that no sooner had the Prophet (peace be upon him) come down from his pulpit than drops of rain came down his beard, and that when he supplicated Allah for withholding rain, Medina remained surrounded by clouds forming something like a garland, and nobody came from anywhere but talked about the heavy rain. The valley of Qanat continued flowing with water for a month.[158]

‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We set out to Tabuk in severe hot weather and settled at a place where we got so thirsty that we felt as if our necks would be cut. A man among us would go looking for water to come back with the feeling that his neck would be cut. Another man would slaughter his camel to squeeze the contents of its stomach and drink the juice and pour the remaining part on his abdomen. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said: ‘O Allah’s Messenger! Your invocation is responded to favorably. Will you invoke (Allah) for our sake?’ He said: ‘Do you like that?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He then raised his hands and did not put them down till clouds spread across the sky and it became dark and it rained heavily, and the people filled their containers. Then we went looking around to see that the clouds had not extended beyond the army.[159]

b.     The response to what the Prophet (peace be upon him) invoked for:

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was usually responded to by Allah when he supplicated Him for help in achieving goals, removing distress, curing illness, realizing wishes, and bestowing blessings. This fact was reported by a large number of trustworthy people, which represented a token from his everyday life that Allah confirmed his truthfulness through responding to his invocation. The occasions on which the invocations of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were responded to were numerous. Following are some examples:

When he came to Medina it was the most contaminated or plague-ridden land on earth, as ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, and so he supplicated Allah for transferring the fever of Medina to al-Juhfah [a village between Mecca and Medina] and to make Medina healthy, and it did become so.[160]

He invoked Allah for the conversion of the mother of Abu Hurairah. When Abu Hurairah returned home, she declared her conversion to Islam.[161]

He supplicated Allah to make ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas knowledgeable in religion.[162] Thus he became one of the scholars of the Ummah and was even given the title of the scholar of the Ummah and the interpreter of the Qur’an.

He supplicated Allah to provide Anas Ibn Malik with wealth and children and bless all that. Thus he was the richest among the Ansar and had the largest number of children.[163]

He supplicated Allah to bless al-Sai’b Ibn Yazid, and so he lived for ninety-four years, yet he was robust, straight in stature and healthy in hearing and vision.[164]

He supplicated Allah to guide the tribe of Daus,[165] and thus Allah guided them after they rejected Islam.[166]

He supplicated Allah to lengthen the age of Umm Khalid Bint Khalid Ibn Sa’id when she was a young girl, and thus she was well known for her longevity.[167]

He invoked Allah for the sake of Abu Zaid Ibn Akhtab and passed his hand on his face. As a result he lived for 120 years and no more than a few white hairs appeared in his head.[168]

He supplicated Allah to bless ‘Urwah al-Bariqi in a Yemeni transaction and he gained a lot of profit.[169] He did the same in favor of ‘Abdullah Ibn Ja’far.[170]

Jarir Ibn ‘Abdullah complained that he could not keep fast on his horse, and the Prophet invoked Allah for his sake and he never thereafter fell down from a horse.[171]

‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib complained to him of his weak expertise in judiciary, and he supplicated Allah to endow him with insight in judging. Ali said: “Thereafter I never suspected the validity of a judgment (I passed).”[172] The Prophet also supplicated Allah to cure him from an ailment he suffered from. Ali said: “I never had a similar ailment after that.”[173]

A youth asked his permission to commit adultery and he dismissed him wisely[174] and supplicated Allah to help him to abstain from unlawful sex. The youth would not look at anything (unlawful), as a result.[175]

He supplicated Allah to guide a little child when it was given the option to choose either its Muslim father or its disbelieving mother, and it chose its Muslim father.[176]

He supplicated Allah (SWT) to strengthen Islam with ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab or ‘Amr Ibn Hisham, and Allah responded to his invocation and caused ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab to embrace Islam on the following day.[177]

He supplicated Allah to guide the tribe of Thaqif to enter Islam,[178] and they were converted to Islam after they had combated Muslims.[179]

On the Day of Badr He supplicated Allah to make his companions prosperous, and Allah made then well off thereafter.[180]

He supplicated Allah to bless the mare of Ju’ail al-Ashja’i, which was lean, and it became so fast that it would surpass people, and he earned a lot of money by selling its offspring.[181]

He supplicated Allah to rid the mother of the faithful, Umm Salamah, of her jealousy,[182] and Allah (SWT) responded to him.[183]

He supplicated Allah to help his Companions who set out to kill Ka’b Ibn al-Ashraf, who had harmed the Muslims, and consequently they accomplished their work in spite of his fortification and the difficulty of having access to him to harm him.[184] Add to that other types of supplication he made for those he invoked good on.[185]

c.     The response to his invocation against some people:

This took place on several occasions. He invoked against the infidels when they rejected the Truth, saying: “O Allah! Afflict them with seven years (of famine) like those of Yusuf.” They were then afflicted with a year of famine that destroyed everything and they had to eat even skins, dead animals and copses. They would look at the sky to see it smoky because of hunger.[186]

He invoked Allah’s wrath on seven persons from Quraish who used to ridicule Islam. ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud said that he saw them killed in the empty well at Badr.[187]

He invoked Allah’s wrath on ‘Amir Ibn al-Tufail[188] when the latter threatened that he would invade Medina. He developed a tumor and died on his horseback.[189]

He invoked Allah’s wrath on an arrogant person who refused to eat with his right hand, claiming that he could not do so. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Would that you cannot!” Then he could not raise it (his hand) to his mouth.[190]

The son of Abu Lahab used to abuse the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) invoked Allah’s wrath on him, saying: “O Allah! Set one of your dogs on him.” Once he set out to Sham (Syria) as a merchant and took accommodation somewhere. He said: “I am afraid of Muhammad’s supplication (against me).” His fellowmen pacified him and slept around him keeping him in the middle. A lion came forward, rushed targeting him, and devoured him.[191] 

This is among many other invocations of the Prophet (peace be upon him) against those on whom he invoked Allah’s wrath.[192]

Responding to his supplication against those who disbelieved him is a testimony from Allah to the truthfulness of his Message, and a sign that disbelieving him is a punishable crime.

Both the believers and unbelievers witnessed the response of Allah to the supplications of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in matters that violated the normal natural laws and in honoring those for whom he supplicated and in taking vengeance on those he invoked evil on. That led to strengthening the faith of the faithful and to convincing the doubtful and unbelieving of his Message. The generation of the Companions preserved those events with the names of those involved in them and their sites and circumstances and transmitted that to the tabi’in, who, in their turn, carries it to those following them with precise documentation as we have mentioned.

It is impossible that all this support from Allah could have been granted to somebody who forged lies and falsely claimed to be a Messenger.

Conclusion

Thus these Miracles that did not conform to habitual practices and universal and cosmic laws that have been mentioned in Allah’s book confirm that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger, whose truthfulness is confirmed by Allah through miracles in support of him, such as the splitting of the moon, the event of Isra’, granting him victory during the emigration, and the Expedition of Badr by sending down rain and making his followers sleep for a while, sending down angles to fight on their side, sending a strong storm against his enemies and sending invisible forces (angels) as in the Expedition of the Confederates (al-Ahzab), etc.

The news at the time of the Companions were replete with the events of Allah’s supporting of His Messenger with miracles that proved his truthfulness and the truthfulness of his Message. Muslims preserved such events in the books of Hadith according the most precise criteria of preservation and documentation unprecedented in the history of mankind. Some of these miracles are described in detail in the Qur’an and some others are mentioned in the Sunnah only, such as the numerous events that happened to the Messenger and his Companions, such as increasing the little food to become enough for a large group of his Companions numbering hundreds or even thousands while at home or during their travels and expeditions or at times of scarcity of food; the events when water flowed in a small bowl from among his fingers on putting his hand into it so that a whole army would drink of it, or blessing water in its vessels or springs; the events when Allah protected him from those who conspired to kill or poison him; Allah’s response to his supplication to heal the sick or injured. Other miraculous phenomena included the response of trees to his orders, the moaning of the trunk of the date palm for deserting it, the testimony of animals to his Prophetship, and their addressing him, the glorification of Allah by the food before him, the lightening of the stick for some of his Companions, Allah’s response to his supplications and never disappointing him, and changing many of the natural laws in response to his supplications for or against those meant by the supplication.

These signs and similar ones were behind the increase of the belief and strong faith of the Muslims and the conversion of the previously inimical and spiteful unbelievers to Islam and to loving the Messenger (peace be upon him) more than they did their fathers and children. They stimulated them to sacrifice their souls to protect him and disseminate the religion he was sent with.

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