Saturday, December 15, 2012

Miracles: To be or not to be?



Why should miracles be important to prove, or to serve as an evidence for the truthfulness of a Prophet?

Miracles did take place in the time of Last Prophet, as per sound narrations and consensus of ulema. Miracles did take place in the times of Prophet Moses and Isa. It's very curious to know how the magicians/illusionists of Firoun's responded to Prophet Moses' miracle that was granted to him by Allah: they accepted Prophet Moses as Messenger of Allah and recongized his miracle to out of this world! That was nothing short of an experimental testimony.

However, i was puzzled by this thought of Imam Ghazzali in his autobiography: if a person was come to me and say 2+1 = 10 and he tries to prove the truth of his statement by turning a stick into a snake - i should never lose certitude in my knowledge that 2 + 1 = 3 and not 10; and, should not believe his "magic," "miracle" to have any relation with something that i already know of with certitude (whether its true or not).

Hence, can a rational person [not rationalist per se] demand miracle(s)? If he demands so, and if the miracle is performed, he should believe in the performer or his assertions.

The miracle we (also) need to believe in today is that of "... Islamic view of a universe created by God, where the trees and the stars worship their Creator, and the sun and the moon follow exquisitely designed laws." And the only time when veils were removed from the people, as public, was the time of Prophets, when trees and stone would talk to Prophet. It was a sensory, observable experience and experiment against the mechanistic, godless/godforsaken universe.

What is interesting is the psychology of the person who demands miracles, but upon witnessing those refuses to be a believer. We should also know that the nations which self-abdicated themselves, like that of Saleh, requested miracles of their choice. When those miracles were performed, they didn't accept Islam. This is true for the modern scientists as well. Dr Asad Zaman in his brief essay Big Bang writes:

"Sometimes, the evidence is so strong that it breaks through the barriers of unbelief. For example, one of the discoverers of the genetic basis of human life, Crick was quoted as saying, ‘An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.” Very unwillingly, against his atheistic beliefs, Crick gave testimony to what the Quran (Surah Al-Waqi’ah 57-58) asserts as challenge: In the creation of man and the seed from which man is created are signs which cannot be denied by those who reflect. Just like many nations mentioned in the Quran, Crick continued to deny God even after witnessing the miracles of creation."
Apart from the so-called supernatural miracles, the evidences regarding the coming of the last Prophet is of utmost importance. Please read the chapter on Bahira the Monk in Martin Lings Muhammad. 

For me, miracles are an important testimony and evidence. It happens today with the righteous ones. Moreover, it is hard evidence for a very strong alternative view of physical world. It is anti-dote to a mechanistic view of things, which 'cuts the hand of God his creation'. However, with the very miracle of life, my own being and the tree that grows out of the earth naturally, is enough a proof for me. One should also know that Dajjal will use real life CG effects to show miracles to people and claim to be Divine.

Disclaimer: Allah knows best. These thoughts are still very pre-mature and at least some parts are doubtful to me too.

5 comments:

  1. Imam Ghazali quote on certainty and the deception of dajjal ( May Allah save us from him/it) has hit home. Thought provoking post.

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  3. Ma shaAllah, Mr. Toor –
    You appear to be very energetic. Allah knows the best about what actually has driven you to be so devoted/ motivated blogger. If you are goal-oriented, may Allah bless you with success-Aamin!

    MIRACLES:
    Truth is miracles happened during the lifetime of prophets of Allah SWT.
    Among other examples, miracles do include:
    1) - Prophet Muhammad’s “Return Tour” of the entire Heaven by riding the horse "BURAAK.”
    2) - Cutting the Moon in half
    2) - Gift of the noble Qur'an was a miraculous revelation to the Humankind through Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

    BENEFICIARY:
    The Qur’an was sent for guidance of the entire Humankind; however, it’s true that those Muslims (minus hypocrites), who happen to use this manual along with the Prophet’s ahadith are the most fortunate ones-indeed.

    WHAT IS CERTAIN?
    “As you sow, so shall you reap” is almost certain, nevertheless death is certain beyond doubt.
    Allah ho Aalim ul ghaib; thus, there are things which Allah swt kept for Himself.

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  4. These 3 points are very comprehensive. JazakAllah al-khayr...

    I'd like some personal help here. There's right now a lot of confusion about the goal because couldn't be what was Janoni about: fighter pilot. So am lost! :D You can answer here if you really like to: http://toorumer.blogspot.com/2012/12/academic-wish-list-path-i-want-to-tread.html

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