Symposium 30
Demonstration of Miracles
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:‘Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:I hope you enjoyed your break.
Hasan:Yes, thanks God. As far as we are still talking about general prophecy, we have got to speak about issues related to general prophecy like miracles and attributions of prophets. We’ll first talk about miracles, but before doing so, I have to point out that there are three ways or approaches to verify that a claimer for prophethood is truthful:
· The miraculous nature
· Attestation of a preceding prophet for the following prophet
· Evidence and proofs to the status of the claimer, his disciples and his ideology
Anwar:Will you explain them one by one?
Hasan:Of course. Let’s begin with miracle. According to religious experts, miracle is of supernatural nature associated with challenge and no opposition.
Anwar:A bit of clarification, please!
Hasan:You do know there are things that are in contrast with the force of reason like coexistence of opposites or an affect without a cause and so on and so forth. These laws will not be violated, but normal laws that do not go against the force of reason will.
Anwar:Can you give an example about supernatural miracles?
Hasan:Yes, the throne of Balqis([5]), for instance, was moved from a long distance in the twinkling of an eye without making use of any form of natural means in a point in time that there was no from any industrial
civilization. This is a miracle.
The Queen of Sheba. ([5])
Anwar:But did that happen with no reason?
Hasan:I did not say without any reasons. I said it took place without any normal means or reasons, that is, there are other reasons that are not normal and that science has not discovered them yet. This explains the first part of the definition (of supernatural nature).
The second part (associated with challenge) proves the prophecy and distinguishes the claimer. This is because without any form of challenge, it will only be a special gift, but not a miracle. As for the third part of the definition (no opposition), it means there should be no one who is able to do the same miracle in an effort to disprove that claim.
Anwar:What if someone was capable of doing so and was also in disagreement with the claimer for prophethood?
Hasan:In this case, we say if the person objecting was also a claimer for prophethood, then one of them should be truthful and the other should be a liar. This is because we cannot have two different claims or allegations and both are right. I also remind you here that a miracle is something that cannot be performed by
everyone; otherwise it would not be called a miracle in the first place.
Anwar:All right. What if a person does perform a supernatural act but it is not corresponding to the claim?
Hasan:Very good question. In fact, Mosailama([6]) did that when he claimed to be a prophet. People asked him to do what the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) did when he spit in a well little with water and the water increased and was sweetened. When Mosailama did the same thing, it had a reversed effect; all the water boiled and nothing was left. He was proved a liar by the Almighty Allah. So, we understand here that a miracle has to fall in with the claim.
Anwar:May I add this to the definition?
Hasan:Yes, you may!
Anwar:I have more questions concerning miracles?
Hasan:And I have an appointment and I have got to go. We will continue tomorrow, Inshallah.
[6]Mosailama bin Habib: was one of a servies of men who claimeat to be a prophet around the as Mohammad (PBUT). He is viewed as a false prophet by traditional accounts, and frequently reffed to by the epithet "the liur" (Arabic: al-kaddab)
Symposium 31
What is the Difference Between
Miracle and Magic?
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:‘Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh! You had questions.
Anwar:I wanted to know if performing miracles in conflict with the rule of cause and effect.
Hasan:No, and you might ask how a stick can possibly turn into a snake.
Anwar:This and other ones!
Hasan:We should not to mistake absolute absence of cause for absence of material cause. It is against the rule to say that something happened without being based on a certain cause. So, we have to say that there is cause
behind it but we have not seen or experienced it or science has not discovered it yet.
Anwar:So, what causes miracles?
Hasan:Everything said in this regard is related in a way or another to the Glorious Allah after all. The cause could be Allah Himself; a creature might perform a miracle being empowered by Allah.
Anwar:We know now the difference between a miracle and a special gift. But, what is the difference between miracle and magic?
Hasan:Here are the differences between miracles and magic:
· Magic can be learned but miracles cannot.
· Magic can be opposed but miracles cannot.
· Magic is not associated with challenge but miracles are.
· Magic is variably limited but miracles are not.
· Magic differs in purpose but miracles do not.
Anwar:Thank you very much. I have one more question!
Hasan:Ask whatever you like.
Anwar:How do miracles prove the truthfulness or the validity of Prophecy?
Hasan:The Glorious Allah is Just and far above injustice; He guides people and does not accept them going astray. Now, here comes the miracle as a form of Divine support for the claimer and as a proof for his connection to the Almighty Allah. A lot of people might deviate from what is right in case they follow a false claimer for prophethood. Consequently, it is far above the Most Gracious Allah to support a false claimer with miracles because this will lead to people going astray.
Anwar:Thus, we can conclude that every claimer for prophecy with a miracle is truthful prophet.
Hasan:Yes, exactly. I would like to add something here. Someone might ask us why miracles do not happen these days despite contemporary human craving for miracles in a time dazzling scientific advance. The answer would be the Noble Quran is, in fact, the last of all miracles because it is the miracle of the last of the Prophets (PBUH), and it is an eternal and timeless miracle.
Anwar:How is it an eternal miracle?
Hasan:The Almighty Allah, in the Noble Quran, challenges all mankind and over all times to come with such a miracle as His Holy Book, Quran:
(And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave, then produce a Sura or the like thereof, and call your witnesses beside Allah if ye are truthful.)2;23.
(Say: Verily, though mankind and the Jinn should assemble to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another.)17;88.
These two Verses are clear cut evidence to this Divine challenge that no man or Jinn can ever make anything like the Noble Quran or any part of it.
Anwar:This is an excellent approach to proving a claim for prophethood. But, there are two more approaches to tackle.
Hasan:We will go through these approaches after a short break.