Reality of Miracles

In addition to Bukhārī, this narration has been related in many other books of Ḥadīth and history as well. This incident is proven to be absolutely true in terms of principles of testimony and narration, all of its narrators are reliable and the first narrator has related his own eye-witness account. Therefore, despite the fact that an incident has been related in this narration which is against the general and known law of nature, I was not reluctant in including it in the context of this historical account. In actuality, with regards to incidents of this nature, there are four points, which are to be investigated in terms of rationality and Sharī‘at:

Firstly: The incident should be established by reliable eye witnesses. In other words, there should be no reasonable doubt in the occurrence having taken place in terms of principles of testimony.1

Secondly: The incident should not possess any such aspect, which contradicts a clearly mentioned custom of God the Almighty, an unconditional promise or well-known attribute of God.2 For it is absolutely impossible for such miracles and wonders to be manifested by God, which result in an allegation being levelled upon the very Being of God himself in one way or another.

Thirdly: The incident should be of such nature that from one aspect or another, it is found to be above and beyond human intellect and human intervention, so that this may serve as an indication that its source is not the human heart and mind, but a more Supreme Being.3

Fourthly: To some extent, the incident should possess an aspect of concealment. In other words, the state should not be such whereby a person is brought to a level where he, as if, beholds the Being and attributes of God the Exalted and the truth of His Messengers, etc., in plain sight; and the truth becomes so plainly obvious that no possibility of any kind of doubt remains. For example, no one can entertain a doubt as to the existence of the sun. For if such miracles were to be manifested, the very purpose of faith would be lost and to believe would no longer be worthy of spiritual reward.4

With regards to the last point, it should be remembered that there are different levels of the veil of concealment, which is maintained in miracles. In other words, there is more secrecy in certain miracles, and relatively less secrecy in others. In this respect, miracles can be categorized into two types:

Firstly, the custom of God the Exalted demonstrates and logic also dictates the same, that those miracles which are manifested for the guidance of non-believers and as the completion of proof against them, are covered with more obscurity. In miracles of this nature, only enough light is shown as may faintly show the way to a person. Research scholars have written that the example of a miracle in general can be likened to the glow of a moonlit night, with some clouds. Upon the manifestation of this light, those people who still possess the faculty of sight are able to find their way, while those who are blind or suffer from nyctalopia, or have covered their eyes with the veil of prejudice, are unable to receive guidance towards the right path.5 Therefore, despite the manifestation of these kinds of miracles, the distinction between a good-natured and evil person is maintained and the spiritual reward of faith is not done away with. The second category is of such miracles as are manifested upon those believers, who have already derived light from the first category of miracles and taken the right path. For such people, the level of concealment is naturally decreased. Often, they are shown such miracles, which are not as clear as plain sight, but the veil of concealment is relatively less than in the first category. The purpose of this is so that these people can progress towards a lofty status in their faith and divine understanding. As such, Allāh the Exalted states in the Holy Qur’ān that faith begins with belief in the unseen and then according to his capacity, a person gradually progresses through the ranks of being among the righteous, the martyrs, the truthful and prophethood.6 Obviously, as the level of one’s faith continues to progress, the manner in which miracles are manifested also changes accordingly, and the veils of secrecy continue to decrease. Hence, the word ‘Shahīd’7 refers to such a person whose veils of secrecy have been lessened.

Now if the above-mentioned occurrence is analysed in light of this fundamental principle, no real objection remains. The reason being that in light of principles of testimony and narration, it is firmly established that this incident actually took place and no room for reasonable doubt remains. Moreover, the incident in question does not contradict any explicit custom of God, unconditional promise or well-known attribute of God. Furthermore, this incident exhibits a spectacle of divine might as is beyond the power of man. Moreover, since this incident was only witnessed by the believers and its fundamental purpose was to increase them in faith, the veil of concealment in this miracle was relatively less. Yet, despite this, the account was not like a vision as conspicuous as plain sight, where no possibility of interpretation remains from any angle and its hidden reality becomes evident like the noon sun. For example, the possibility exists that in certain circumstances, due to hidden factors, the human stomach may undergo such extraordinary changes that it begins to feel satiated with an amount of food which is far less than its average intake, and so on and so forth.

Now remains the issue that in this Ḥadīth an incident has been related, which apparently seems to contradict our general experience and known law of nature. In response to this, firstly, it is a very difficult task to define the limits of the law of nature. In fact, such a task is actually impossible. To categorically and conclusively specify that such and such things are within the law of nature while others are not is a very big claim, which no sensible individual can dare to make. The truth is that when a certain occurrence has practically taken place and a community of wise and truthful people have witnessed it, then such a thing should become a part of the law of nature; and we should accept that although the law of nature generally manifests itself in such and such way, but on certain occasions, due to hidden factors which we have not yet fully understood, the law of nature manifests itself in other exceptional ways as well. In addition to this, we should also remember that a significant purpose behind miracles is to exhibit such signs related to the truthfulness of the Being and attributes of God the Exalted and His Messengers, by which good-natured people may find a definite route towards the truth and then be facilitated in progressing on that path, and so that they may receive the radiance of light in a world of darkness. For this reason, it is necessary that in one way or another, miracles should possess an aspect, which may be classified as being beyond the power and knowledge of man. Hence, on the one hand where the fundamental purpose of faith demands that at least in the beginning, a state of clear observation should not exist, and the veil of secrecy should remain, on the other hand, in order to bring about living faith, on certain occasions, it is also necessary to remove the veils of concealment to some extent and display a glimpse of hidden verities. The manifestation of the central point of these two independent states is another name for a ‘miracle,’ which due to its reality, has been referred to by the word ‘Āyat,’ i.e., sign or symbol, in the Qur’ānic idiom.

In actuality, the Being of God is so hidden (and rightly so on account of His status), that in order to believe in Him, recognize Him and attain nearness to Him, mere logical and rational conclusions cannot create such certainty in the heart of a human being as is necessary in becoming the foundation for living faith. That is to say, such faith, whereby the Being of God no longer remains to be a mere philosophical notion and is clearly felt and witnessed in the likeness of material things, though very different in nature; and a person becomes able to develop a personal relationship with God, which is the greatest purpose of man’s life. Therefore, it was necessary for such means to be made available by God, which could give birth to such faith in the heart of man and one aspect of these very means are signs, miracles and extraordinary happenings, which are manifested in every era through the Prophets and saints of God, and the examples of which are found among every community and nation.

At this instance, someone may entertain the doubt in his heart that how is it possible for something to manifest itself in contradiction to the general and known law of nature? In response, when the fact of the matter is that such incidents tend to occur and the testimony of a large number of sensible and reliable people have proven its authenticity, and such testimony exists in every era and within every nation, no sensible individual can doubt the truth behind occurrences of this nature. In addition to this, at least for those people who on the whole believe that this world has a Creator and perceive that this world has not come about on its own; rather, has come into existence by the creative design of a Supreme Being, and that this very Supreme Being still governs the universe; and the properties of all things and the laws of nature are working as per the command of this very Hidden Entity; can have no difficulty in understanding that this very Supreme and Powerful Being can make an alteration or exception to His general law at a specific time and under special wisdom. Hence, in the Holy Qur’ān, Allāh the Exalted states Himself:

“Allāh has full power and command over His decree, but most men know it not.”8

In other words, one should not think that as We have created the law of nature, now, Our hands are tied, rather, We have full power and command over Our law as well, and whenever We deem it necessary, can make an alteration or exception in it. This is why research scholars have written that God has instituted two kinds of decree in the world. One is the very same general and known law of nature, which is known as ‘Ordinary Decree,’ according to which this universe continues to function in normal circumstances. Secondly, that distinct decree, which is instituted in special circumstances under special wisdoms, and is known as ‘Special Decree,’ which is manifested in the form of signs and miracles; through which the Being of God shines forth to man with far greater radiance as compared to by His Ordinary Decree.9

However, one should not think that signs and miracles are only manifested through Special Decree and not through Ordinary Decree. Many a time, signs are manifested in such a manner that certain Ordinary Decrees are gathered at one place, or a few Ordinary Decrees are manifested in a most extraordinary sequence, and this remarkable union or extraordinary sequence becomes a kind of sign or miracle. However, this is a vast and sensitive subject and there is no room for an elaborate exposition at this instance.

In summary, the manifestation of signs and miracles is a proven verity, and they have always existed since time immemorial. As such, the account which relates to the feast of Jābir bin ‘Abdullāh(ra) is also a link in this very holy chain. Moreover, since this miracle was only manifested upon the believers, according to divine practice, the veil of concealment in this incident was relatively less. A study of the life of the Holy Prophet(sa) demonstrates that this occurrence was not a sole incident. As a matter of fact, many such occurrences are found to have taken place in the life of the Holy Prophet(sa), which are established by authentic narrations, and God-willing, some of them shall be mentioned ahead at their appropriate place. However, as is apparent from the fundamental purpose of miracles and the Holy Qur’ān also establishes the same, it should be remembered that in miracles, the individual person of the Messenger is only a means or intermediary and the actual moving force is the Being of God. In other words, a Messenger does not have the ability to manifest a miracle when and how he pleases, whenever he so desires. In fact, the phenomenon of miracles is based solely on the Will and Wisdom of God, and He manifests miracles when and how He choses through a Messenger. Although the concentration and prayer of a Messenger absorbs and brings about the occurrence of miracles, but the actual command to manifest a miracle remains with God and His hidden power works its wonders through the Messenger. If a divine commandment is not issued, the personal power of a Messenger cannot manifest miracles and it is obvious that divine command is only issued when a real need or genuine wisdom requires it.

At this instance, it is also necessary to mention that generally, since false and fabricated narrations or exaggerated tales are often publicised in the context of miracles, one must exercise extreme caution in accepting narrations of this kind. Only those narrations should be accepted which are proven to be true in terms of Riwāyat and Dirāyat, and are established as being true according to those fundamental conditions which we have mentioned above. That is to say, they are reliable according to principles of testimony, they do not contradict a divine custom, promise or divine attribute, they possess a characteristic which is beyond human knowledge and power, and the occurrence is not so plainly clear that it contradicts the principle of faith in the unseen. Otherwise, the result shall be that false and fabricated tales will become a part of authentic history and completely conceal the truth and an erroneous understanding of miracles and extraordinary happenings shall become prevalent in the world, which instead of becoming a means of leading one to guidance, shall become the cause of error and misguidance. After this brief and secondary note, we return to our actual subject matter.