The fourth argument—The fourth argument consists of those miracles and marvels which Christ demonstrated.
Rebuttal—First miracle—Raising of the dead
Evidence of Divinity from those miracles and marvels is similarly invalid since the celebrated, supreme, and greatest miracle was his raising the dead to life, but in this too there was no distinction for Christ from which his Divinity could be proven:
Elijah also raised the dead—(1 Kings 17:22)
Elisha similarly raised the dead—(2 Kings 4:35)
The dead body of Elisha also raised the dead—(2 Kings 13:21)
Ezekiel raised thousands of the ancient dead—(Ezekiel 37:10)
Moses and Aaron made a snake out of wood—(Exodus 7:10)
Moses and Aaron transformed the dust and dirt into living lice—(Exodus 8:17)
And for the reason that all these people are Israelites, all should, therefore, be affirmed in accord with the idiom and as attested to by: Exodus 4:22 and Deuteronomy 14:1, 32:19; to being the sons of God, nay even His firstborn. They also raised the dead to life. Thus, the situation demands that these people should also be deemed the embodiment of God without any discrimination. So given that they were not considered to be the embodiment ofGod—in spite of being called son of Allah and raising the dead to life—then how could the Messiah, peace be upon him, be accepted as the embodiment of God?
Rebuttal—Second miracle—Healing the sick
However, Elisha cured Naaman, the Commander, from leprosy—2 Kings 5:14. Joseph restored sight to his father; that is, Jacob—Genesis 46:4, 30.
Rebuttal—Third miracle—Transforming paltry victuals and wine into plentitude
Elijah transformed a handful of flour and a little oil into much more, so much so that it did not go short for an entire year—1 Kings 17:12–16. Elisha also made a little oil much more through blessing—2 Kings 4:2–6.
Rebuttal—Fourth miracle—Walking on the sea [of Galilee] without a boat
It should, however, be remembered that Moses so struck the sea that it became divided and the fast-flowing water remained standing apart in such a way that it allowed thousands of the Children of Israel to cross over the dry seabed, but it overwhelmed Pharaoh the moment he entered—Exodus 14:21–22. Joshua did not just cross the Jordan [River] on foot, but also made the riverbed dry—Joshua 3:17. Elijah and Elisha also parted the river into two—2 Kings 2:8–15. In fact, Christ says: ‘Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.’
Furthermore, he said that performing miracles shall be the sign of those who come to believe. Indeed, [he said] that if the Christians have faith as a grain of mustard seed, they shall be able to do greater miracles than Christ. Thus, if a believer can achieve far greater works than even Christ—the mediator of faith—then how can Christ be considered to be the embodiment of God on account of those very miracles? Miracles can be attained simply by faith—even if it be faith the size of a mustard seed—there being no need to becoming God, nor transforming a miracle maker into God.
Respected priests of Christianity! Christ said that even false prophets and false messiahs will manifest marvels. Thus, given that even false prophets and false messiahs can show marvels, wonders, and miracles, how can Christ indisputably be deemed God on the basis of miracles and all these spectacles?
Listen carefully—respected priests of Christianity! In the idiom of the Gospels, there is no miracle of Christ that stands proven from the Gospels since of all miracles, Christ’s foremost miracle is the raising of the dead to life.
If we examine the raising of the dead to life in the idiom of the Gospels with due care and consideration, it does not appear to be anything extraordinary in the least. This is so because in Luke 10:27–28 it is stated: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself and then thou shalt live. In Luke 15:23–24 is mentioned the account of a man whose son had separated from him and had gone far away. When the son returned repentant, the father made merry and said that he [the son] had died and had now been restored to life—meaning that he had gotten lost and had now been found.
In the Epistle to the Romans 6:10, it is stated: For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. In 1 Corinthians 15:31, Paul says I die every day. In John 8:52 and 6:47, it is written that if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. In Luke 4:4 it is written: That man shall not live by bread but by the word of God. It is very clear from this list of highlighted verses that being dead in the idiom of the Gospels connotes being sinful or separated, so isn’t it possible for us to conclude that those to whom Christ gave life, he had made virtuous through his holy teaching and those who had become separated were united? And such metaphor-filled and fictive language exists in all revealed books.
The second miracle of restoring a blind man and a leper to health: John 9:39—‘[I am come into this world] that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.’ Here as well, being blind and seeing—how it has been spoken of in literal terms, yet by it is meant spiritual sight and blindness.
Third—making food abundant: Food is also seen to be something else in the idiom of the Gospel. In John 4:34: ‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’
Then in John 6:48–51 Christ says: ‘I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’
The phrase involving water is also worth pondering over. In John 4:10–11, Christ tells a woman that If you had asked me for water I would have given you living water. In John 7:37–38, he says: ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’
The phrase involving stream and river—In Jeremiah 2:13, it is written: ‘They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters.’
In Jeremiah 17:13, it is written: ‘They have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.’