Lesson No 33

MIRACLES AND WONDERS

(The MU'JIZAH and the KARAMAH)

17. What is a Mu'jizah (miracle)?

Ans. Allah, sometimes, makes His prophets show something against the usual course which is beyond the capacity of others so that, on seeing it, people may realize that they have been sent by Allah. Such acts are called Mu'jizahs (miracles).

17. What miracles were performed by the prophets?

Ans. The prophets have performed a number of miracles by the will of Allah. Some well-known miracles are: The Staff ('asa) of Hadrat Musa (peace be on him) turned into a serpent and swallowed up all the magic snakes of the charmers. Allah gave such a shine to the hand of Hadrat Musa that its light outshone the light of the sun. A dry passage appeared in the river Nile for Hadrat Musa (peace be on him) and he, along with his men, crossed the river through this passage. When Fir'aun's (Pharaoh's) army marched up to the midway of the passage thus carved out for crossing the river, the water currents again joined each other and drowned Pharaoh and his troops.

Hadrat 'Isa (jesus, peace be upon him) revived the dead by the order of Allah. He gave sight to the born blind and healed the lepers. He also made clay birds, breathed soul into them and made them fly.

The greatest miracle of our Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is the holy Quran, itself. About fourteen and a half centuries have elapsed since but despite their best efforts the greatest among scholars and men of letters in Arabic have failed to produce even a single verse comparable to its smallest surah (chapter). Nor will they succeed in doing so till the Final Day. The second among the Prophet's miracles is the Ascent (mi'raj). The third is the splitting in two of the moon (shaq-qul-qamar). The fourth is that he predicted many things at Allah's bidding which eventually came to pass as predicted by him. The fifth miracle is that the food sufficient barely for one or two persons served to feed hundreds of people, as a result of the Prophet's blessing. There are hundreds of the Prophet's miracles mentioned in advanced books.

17. What is Mi'raj (Ascent)?

Ans. The Prophet (peace be on him), by Allah's will and command, started fully awake from the holy city at Mecca on the Pegasus (the Burraq) in the night and traveled to Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and onwards to the seven heavens and beyond to a point appointed by Allah. He also went round the Paradise (Jannah) and the Hell (Jahan-nam), and returned to his place. This is known as Mi'raj.

17. What is Shaq-qul-Qamar (splitting up of the moon)?

Ans. Shaq-qul-Qamar refers to the incident when, one night, on the unbeliver's request for a miracle, the Prophet (peace be upon him) caused the moon to split in two halves in full view of all those present. The two parts then joined again making the moon as it was before the split.

17. What is Karamah (act of wonder)?

Ans. Sometimes Allah, to enhance the honor of his devout servants, makes them do things unusual which are beyond the power of others. Such things are known as Karamahs (acts of wonder). For such acts to flow from the righteous servants of Allah and His Friends is beyond doubt.

17. What is the difference between a miracle and an act of wonder?

Ans. Miracle is a difficult and unusual act performed by a claimant of prophet hood. If, on the other hand, a person who has not claimed prophet hood for himself and is yet pious and God fearing, doing all things according to the letter and spirit of religions, performs some un-usual act, it is known as Karamah (act of wonder). If, however, such acts emanate from transgressors and irreligious people, it is known as Istidraj (trick).

17. Must every Friend of Allah perform a Karamah?

Ans. No, it is not essential that a Friend of Allah (Wali) must perform the Karamah. It is quite possible that a person is Allah's favourite and friend and yet no Karamah is ever performed by him.

17. Some self-styled saints (faqirs) leading lives contrary to the codes of religion perform things beyond the power of others. What should we think about them?

Ans. Such things, if performed by people practising acts against the tenets of religion, will be the acts of magic or tricks (Istidraj). They can never be the Karamah. It is a Satanic delusion to consider them Walis (Friends of Allah) and mistake their unusual performances for Karamah.