Page 4
The Islamic Bulletin
Issue 5
Page 5
The Islamic Bulletin
Issue 5
A miracle is a divine act which defies and transcends universal
norms and laws, which God grants to His messengers and apostles
in order to convince people of the truth of their message. Knowing
that His messengers would inevitably be challenged to perform
such miracles, God bestowed upon them this power.
Thus was Abraham (AS) able to withstand burning by the fire; Jesus
(AS) restored sight to the blind and raised the dead; and Moses (AS)
parted the Red Sea. The Holy Quran is the living miracle bestowed
by God upon the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and it was revealed to him
through the Holy Spirit (Gabriel).
Today, approximately 1412 years have passed, and nobody has
been able to change a single letter or produce its imitation as it
is said in the Quran (See Sura Higr, 15:9), and the statement of
the Prophet (pbuh):
“Before me, every prophet was given a miracle and they prac-
ticed it during their lifetime: i.e., Jesus used to cure the sick
and make the dead alive, etc., Moses was given the stick, etc.,
and I have been given the permanent miracle of the Quran till
The Hour is established, so I hope that my followers will be
more in number than all the other apostles’ as my miracle will
last till the Day of Resurrection, and it is a Glorious Book; when
anyone reads it, even if he is a pagan, etc., he is convinced that
it was not written by any human being or any created thing
(angels, etc.,) but it is from the Creator of the Heavens and
the Earth.” (Bukhari)
Actually the scholars who allege that Muhammad (pbuh) was the
author of the Quran claim something which is humanly impossible.
Could any person of the sixth century C.E. utter such scientific
truths as the Quran contains? Could he describe the evolution
of the embryo inside the uterus so accurately as we find it in
modern science?
Secondly, is it logical to believe that Muhammad (pbuh), who up
to the age of forty was marked only for his honesty and integrity,
began all of a sudden the authorship of a book matchless in literary
merit and the equivalent of which the whole legion of the Arab
poets and orators of highest caliber could not produce?
And lastly, is it justified to say that Muhammad (pbuh) who was
known as Al-Ameen (The trustworthy) in his society and who is
still admired by the non-Muslim scholars for his honesty and in-
tegrity, came forth with a false claim and on that falsehood could
train thousands of men of character, integrity, and honesty, who
were able to establish the best human society on the surface of
the earth? Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth will
come to believe that the Quran is the revealed Book of God.
The exact object of each Messenger’s miracle was a challenge
to the particular traits of each of the groups of people to whom
they were sent. A miracle would be futile if it did not achieve its
desired effect on its witnesses. For it to have full impact, it should
relate to an area of knowledge in which its intended audience is
well versed.
For example, if the people for whom a Messenger has been sent
excel in medicine, the miracle should also concern these fields.
Only in this way can a miracle fulfill its purpose. This rule has been
observed in all the divine miracles performed by the Messengers
and Prophets of God.
Divine miracles are also designed to provide people with the
capacity to perceive them as signs of His power over all things
in the Universe. This was shown by the miracles in which God
protected Abraham from the burning fire, and caused Moses the
infant to be rescued from drowning in the Nile.
In both these miracles, the laws of nature were suspended, through
the will of God. Abraham’s miracle was designed to challenge the
idolaters who by burning him alive sought revenge against him
after he had insulted their idols.
But one might ask, why would God leave His servant Abraham to
go through this horrifying experience? Had God helped Abraham
to escape this, the idolaters would have had reason to continue
believing in the superiority of their idols, over the power of God.
Also, they would have persisted in believing that Abraham was in-
capable of escaping their idols wrath. Abraham’s ordeal by fire was
necessary to demonstrate to the idolaters the falsity of their idols.
Any heavenly assistance to Abraham before actually being forced
into the fire would have deprived the miracle of its full impact.
The idolaters would have then been able to attribute their idols’
inability to destroy Abraham, to such an intervention. Thus, when
Abraham was hurled into the fire, God caused its nature to burn
to be suspended, enabling Abraham to stand within the flames
unharmed as a challenge to the idolaters.
The purpose behind this miracle was not to save Abraham from
his fate, because if this had been God’s wish, He would not have
enabled the idolaters to capture him. He actually wanted them
to watch Abraham standing in the burning fire unharmed, in
defiance of their idols.
This proved that the idols were incapable of inflicting harm on
the apostle who had insulted them. Only in this way could the
idolaters be convinced of the falsehood of their idols and of the
truth of Abraham’s God. Of this miracle God says in the Quran:
“We said: O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham.” (Surah
Al-Anbiya’ 21:69)
There is a great similarity between Abraham’s miracle and that of
the rescue of Moses from the Nile. In this miracle, Moses’ mother
was inspired by God to abandon him on the river so that he would
be spared certain death by the Pharaoh.
To abandon a helpless infant to a turbulent river prey to all its
hazards was the last thing a mother could possibly ever do. She
could have chosen to hide the child or flee with him out of Egypt.
Instead Moses’ mother was inspired to choose this option despite
the obvious hazards.
To be continued in our next issue
The Muslim World celebrated its New Year on the first of
Moharram 1412, which happened to fall on July 12, 1991.
More importantly, however, it is a time to give thanks to
God for blessing us with our health and our families. It is
also extremely important at this time to realize that since
a year from our lives has just passed, we are a step closer
to our graves. We must prepare ourselves for the hereafter.
In 622 A.D. the Prophet was ordered by God to migrate
to Yathrib, a city north of Makkah. He followed the Di-
vine Command and left his followers for that city which is
henceforth was known as ‘The City of the Prophet’ (Madinat
al-nabi) or simply Madinah. This event was so momentous
that the Islamic calendar begins with this migration (hijrah).
The literal meaning of Moharram is sacred, prohibited, and
unlawful. The month is considered among the four sacred
months in the Holy Quran. The Quran states in Surah Al-Taw-
bah (Repentance) about the 4 sacred months, the following:
“The number of months in the sight of God is twelve
(in a year) - So ordained by Him the day He created the
heavens and the earth; of them four are sacred: that is
the straight usage. So wrong not yourselves therein...”
(Quran 9:36)
The four months referred in this Ayah were explained by
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to be: Zul-Qi’dah, Zul-Hijjah,
Moharram, and Rajab. During these sacred months Muslims
are to observe their sacredness. The Quran demanded that
Muslims are not to start the fight, not to kill animals, not to
hunt birds, and not to get involved in trivial things.
The Editors, along with the Directors of the Islamic Center
of San Francisco, wish you a happy and prosperous year.
Q: 1. Does eating or drinking nullify one’s Wudhu
(Ablution)?
Q: 2. Is it OK to turn one’s face around during
Salah (Prayer)?
Q: 3. If you were performing prayer (Salah) and
saw that your younger brother is about to touch a
hot steaming iron, what should you do?
Q: 4. Mention the names of some of the Sahabah
(Prophet’s companions) who traveled with him on
his first migration.
a) Uthman ibn Affan b) Az-Zubair ibn Al-Aw-
wan c) Mus’ab ibn Umair
Q: 5. Mention some of the names of the Holy
Prophet’s children.
A: No, eating or drinking does not nullify one’s Wudhu.
A: No, it is not OK to turn one’s face around during Salah.
A: Leave Salah, move the younger brother away from
danger, and then complete the Salah (Prayer).
A: These are a few of the Sahabahs (The Prophet’s com-
panions) who traveled with the Holy Prophet on the first
migration:
A: These are the names of few of the Holy Prophet’s chil-
dren:
a) Al-Qassem d) Rukayah g) Fatimah
b) At-Tayyeb e) Zainab
c) At-Taher
f) Um Kolthoum
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