A number of miracles were bestowed upon
and performed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to
establish the proof of his prophethood. The greatest miracle bestowed
upon him was the revelation of the Qur'an. The Qur'an is miraculous in a
number of aspects: Its linguistic perfection and inimitability, its
validation by recent historical, archaeological, and scientific
discoveries, its prophecies and so on. Unlike the miracles of other
prophets before him, the miracle of the Qur'an is eternal. Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) also provided us with a
number of true prophecies.
Below are accounts of the some of the
other miracles of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) .
Before reading these, it helps to know something about the Science of
Traditions (Arabic: Ahadith), an exacting and comprehensive
system developed by early Muslim scholars to verify the chain of
transmission of these accounts, as well as investigating the
trustworthiness and capability of every narrator at every level of the
chain. This thorough authentication process ensures that these accounts
are real, validated narrations of the sayings, actions, and tacit
approvals of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Traditions mentioned below are all from Sahih al-Bukhari, the most authentic collection of ahadith.
"The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder" [Qur'an 54:1]
Volume 6, Book 60, Number 388:
Narrated Abdullah:
The moon was cleft asunder while we were
in the company of the Prophet, and it became two parts. The Prophet
said, Witness, witness (this miracle)."
Food Multiplication
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 780:
Narrated Jabir:
My father had died in debt. So I came to
the Prophet and said, "My father (died) leaving unpaid debts, and I have
nothing except the yield of his date palms; and their yield for many
years will not cover his debts. So please come with me, so that the
creditors may not misbehave with me." The Prophet went round one of the
heaps of dates and invoked (Allah), and then did the same with another
heap and sat on it and said, "Measure (for them)." He paid them their
rights and what remained was as much as had been paid to them.
Water Multiplication
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 779:
Narrated 'Abdullah:
We used to consider miracles as Allah's
Blessings, but you people consider them to be a warning. Once we were
with Allah's Apostle on a journey, and we ran short of water. He said,
"Bring the water remaining with you." The people brought a utensil
containing a little water. He placed his hand in it and said, "Come to
the blessed water, and the Blessing is from Allah." I saw the water
flowing from among the fingers of Allah's Apostle , and no doubt, we
heard the meal glorifying Allah, when it was being eaten (by him).
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 777:
Narrated Al-Bara:
We were one-thousand-and-four-hundred
persons on the day of Al-Hudaibiya (Treaty), and (at) Al-Hudaibiya
(there) was a well. We drew out its water not leaving even a single
drop. The Prophet sat at the edge of the well and asked for some water
with which he rinsed his mouth and then he threw it out into the well.
We stayed for a short while and then drew water from the well and
quenched our thirst, and even our riding animals drank water to their
satisfaction.
Volume 1, Book 7, Number 340:
Narrated 'Imran:
Once we were traveling with the Prophet
and we carried on traveling till the last part of the night and then we
(halted at a place) and slept (deeply). There is nothing sweeter than
sleep for a traveler in the last part of the night. So it was only the
heat of the sun that made us to wake up and the first to wake up was so
and so, then so and so and then so and so (the narrator 'Auf said that
Abu Raja' had told him their names but he had forgotten them) and the
fourth person to wake up was 'Umar bin Al-Khattab. And whenever the
Prophet used to sleep, nobody would wake him up till he himself used to
get up as we did not know what was happening (being revealed) to him in
his sleep. So, 'Umar got up and saw the condition of the people, and he
was a strict man, so he said, "Allahu Akbar" and raised his voice with Takbir,
and kept on saying it loudly till the Prophet got up because of it.
When he got up, the people informed him about what had happened to them.
He said, "There is no harm (or it will not be harmful). Depart!" So
they departed from that place, and after covering some distance the
Prophet stopped and asked for some water to perform the ablution. So he
performed the ablution and the call for the prayer was pronounced and he
led the people in prayer. After he finished from the prayer, he saw a
man sitting aloof who had not prayed with the people. He asked, "O so
and so! What has prevented you from praying with us?" He replied, "I am junub and there is no water. " The Prophet said, "Perform tayammum with (clean) earth and that is sufficient for you."
Then the Prophet proceeded on and the
people complained to him of thirst. Thereupon he got down and called a
person (the narrator 'Auf added that Abu Raja' had named him but he had
forgotten) and 'Ali, and ordered them to go and bring water. So they
went in search of water and met a woman who was sitting on her camel
between two bags of water. They asked, "Where can we find water?" She
replied, "I was there (at the place of water) this hour yesterday and my
people are behind me." They requested her to accompany them. She asked,
"Where?" They said, "To Allah's Apostle ." She said, "Do you mean the
man who is called the Sabi', (with a new religion)?" They
replied, "Yes, the same person. So come along." They brought her to the
Prophet and narrated the whole story. He said, "Help her to dismount."
The Prophet asked for a pot, then he opened the mouths of the bags and
poured some water into the pot. Then he closed the big openings of the
bags and opened the small ones and the people were called upon to drink
and water their animals. So they all watered their animals and they
(too) all quenched their thirst and also gave water to others and last
of all the Prophet gave a pot full of water to the person who was junuband
told him to pour it over his body. The woman was standing and watching
all that which they were doing with her water. By Allah, when her water
bags were returned the looked like as if they were more full (of water)
than they had been before (Miracle of Allah's Apostle) Then the Prophet
ordered us to collect something for her; so dates, flour and sawiq were
collected which amounted to a good meal that was put in a piece of
cloth. She was helped to ride on her camel and that cloth full of
food-stuff was also placed in front of her and then the Prophet said to
her, "We have not taken your water but Allah has given water to us." She
returned home late. Her relatives asked her: "O so and so what has
delayed you?" She said, "A strange thing! Two men met me and took me to
the man who is called the Sabi' and he did such and such a
thing. By Allah, he is either the greatest magician between this and
this (gesturing with her index and middle fingers raising them towards
the sky indicating the heaven and the earth) or he is Allah's true
Apostle."
Afterwards the Muslims used to attack the
pagans around her abode but never touched her village. One day she said
to her people, "I think that these people leave you purposely. Have you
got any inclination to Islam?" They obeyed her and all of them embraced
Islam.
Abu 'Abdultah said: The word saba'a means "The one who has deserted his old religion and embraced a new religion." Abul 'Ailya said, "The Sabis are a sect of people of the Scripture who recite the Book of Psalms."
Supplication for Rain
Volume 8, Book 73, Number 115:
Narrated Anas:
A man came to the Prophet on a Friday
while he (the Prophet) was delivering a sermon at Medina, and said,
"There is lack of rain, so please invoke your Lord to bless us with the
rain." The Prophet looked at the sky when no cloud could be detected.
Then he invoked Allah for rain. Clouds started gathering together and it
rained till the Medina valleys started flowing with water. It continued
raining till the next Friday. Then that man (or some other man) stood
up while the Prophet was delivering the Friday sermon, and said, "We are
drowned; Please invoke your Lord to withhold it (rain) from us" The
Prophet smiled and said twice or thrice, "O Allah! Please let it rain
round about us and not upon us." The clouds started dispersing over
Medina to the right and to the left, and it rained round about Medina
and not upon Medina. Allah showed them (the people) the miracle of His
Prophet and His response to his invocation.
Lights to guide Companions
Volume 1, Book 8, Number 454:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Two of the companions of the Prophet
departed from him on a dark night and were led by two lights like lamps
(going in front of them from Allah as a miracle) lighting the way in
front of them, and when they parted, each of them was accompanied by one
of these lights till he reached their (respective) houses.
Crying of the stem of the Date-palm Tree
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 783:
Narrated Ibn Umar:
The Prophet used to deliver his sermons
while standing beside a trunk of a datepalm. When he had the pulpit
made, he used it instead. The trunk started crying and the Prophet went
to it, rubbing his hand over it (to stop its crying).
Glorification of Allah by the Prophet's meals
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 779:
Narrated 'Abdullah:
We used to consider miracles as Allah's
Blessings, but you people consider them to be a warning. Once we were
with Allah's Apostle on a journey, and we ran short of water. He said,
"Bring the water remaining with you." The people brought a utensil
containing a little water. He placed his hand in it and said, "Come to
the blessed water, and the Blessing is from Allah." I saw the water
flowing from among the fingers of Allah's Apostle, and no doubt, we
heard the meal glorifying Allah, when it was being eaten (by him).
The expulsion of a liar's corpse by the Earth
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 814:
Narrated Anas:
There was a Christian who embraced Islam and read Surat-al-Baqara and Al-Imran, and
he used to write (the revelations) for the Prophet. Later on he
returned to Christianity again and he used to say: "Muhammad knows
nothing but what I have written for him." Then Allah caused him to die,
and the people buried him, but in the morning they saw that the earth
had thrown his body out. They said, "This is the act of Muhammad and his
companions. They dug the grave of our companion and took his body out
of it because he had run away from them." They again dug the grave
deeply for him, but in the morning they again saw that the earth had
thrown his body out. They said, "This is an act of Muhammad and his
companions. They dug the grave of our companion and threw his body
outside it, for he had run away from them." They dug the grave for him
as deep as they could, but in the morning they again saw that the earth
had thrown his body out. So they believed that what had befallen him was
not done by human beings and had to leave him thrown (on the ground).
The Speech of the Wolf
Volume 3, Book 39, Number 517:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "While a man was riding
a cow, it turned towards him and said, 'I have not been created for
this purpose (i.e. carrying), I have been created for sloughing.l" The
Prophet added, "I, Abu Bakr and 'Umar believe in the story." The Prophet
went on, "A wolf caught a sheep, and when the shepherd chased it, the
wolf said, 'Who will be its guard on the day of wild beasts, when there
will be no shepherd for it except me?' "After narrating it, the Prophet
said, "I, Abu Bakr and 'Umar too believe it." Abu Salama (a
sub-narrator) said, "Abu Bakr and 'Umar were not present then."
It has been written that a wolf also spoke to one of the companions of the Prophet near Medina as narrated in Fath-al-Bari:Narrated
Unais bin 'Amr: Ahban bin Aus said, "I was amongst my sheep. Suddenly a
wolf caught a sheep and I shouted at it. The wolf sat on its tail and
addressed me, saying, 'Who will look after it (i.e. the sheep) when you
will be busy and not able to look after it? Do you forbid me the
provision which Allah has provided me?' " Ahban added, "I clapped my
hands and said, 'By Allah, I have never seen anything more curious and
wonderful than this!' On that the wolf said, 'There is something (more
curious) and wonderful than this; that is, Allah's Apostle in those palm
trees, inviting people to Allah (i.e. Islam).' "Unais bin 'Amr further
said, "Then Ahban went to Allah's Apostle and informed him what happened
and embraced Islam.)" palm trees or other trees and share the fruits
with me."
The Prophet's Night Journey to Jerusalem (Arabic: Israa) and Ascent to the Heavens (Arabic: Miraj)
Volume 5, Book 58, Number 228:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
Regarding the Statement of Allah"
"And We granted the vision (Ascension
to the heavens) which We made you see (as an actual eye witness) was
only made as a trial for the people." (17.60)
Ibn Abbas added: The sights which Allah's
Apostle was shown on the Night Journey when he was taken to Bait-ul
Maqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) were actual sights, (not dreams). And the Cursed
Tree (mentioned) in the Quran is the tree of Zaqqum (itself) .
Volume 4, Book 54, Number 462:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet said, "On the night of my
Ascent to the Heaven, I saw Moses who was a tall brown curly-haired man
as if he was one of the men of Shan'awa tribe, and I saw Jesus, a man of
medium height and moderate complexion inclined to the red and white
colors and of lank hair. I also saw Malik, the gate-keeper of the (Hell)
Fire and Ad-Dajjal amongst the signs which Allah showed me." (The
Prophet then recited the Holy Verse): "So be not you in doubt of meeting
him' when you met Moses during the night of Mi'raj over the heavens"
(32.23)
Narrated Anas and Abu Bakra: "The Prophet
said, "The angels will guard Medina from Ad-Dajjal (who will not be
able to enter the city of Medina)."
Volume 5, Book 58, Number 227:
Narrated Abbas bin Malik:
Malik bin Sasaa said that Allah's Apostle
described to them his Night Journey saying, "While I was lying in
Al-Hatim or Al-Hijr, suddenly someone came to me and cut my body open
from here to here." I asked Al-Jarud who was by my side, "What does he
mean?" He said, "It means from his throat to his pubic area," or said,
"From the top of the chest." The Prophet further said, "He then took out
my heart. Then a gold tray of Belief was brought to me and my heart was
washed and was filled (with Belief) and then returned to its original
place. Then a white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger than
a donkey was brought to me." (On this Al-Jarud asked, "Was it the
Buraq, O Abu Hamza?" I (i.e. Anas) replied in the affirmative). The
Prophet said, "The animal's step (was so wide that it) reached the
farthest point within the reach of the animal's sight. I was carried on
it, and Gabriel set out with me till we reached the nearest heaven.
When he asked for the gate to be opened,
it was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered, 'Gabriel.' It was asked,
'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked,
'Has Muhammad been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it
was said, 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' The gate was
opened, and when I went over the first heaven, I saw Adam there.
Gabriel said (to me). 'This is your father, Adam; pay him your
greetings.' So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and
said, 'You are welcomed, O pious son and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel
ascended with me till we reached the second heaven. Gabriel asked for
the gate to be opened. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered,
'Gabriel.' It was asked, 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied,
'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel answered in the
affirmative. Then it was said, 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit
his is!' The gate was opened.
When I went over the second heaven, there
I saw Yahya (i.e. John) and 'Isa (i.e. Jesus) who were cousins of each
other. Gabriel said (to me), 'These are John and Jesus; pay them your
greetings.' So I greeted them and both of them returned my greetings to
me and said, 'You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then
Gabriel ascended with me to the third heaven and asked for its gate to
be opened. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied, 'Gabriel.' It was
asked, 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was
asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it
was said, 'He is welcomed, what an excellent visit his is!' The gate
was opened, and when I went over the third heaven there I saw Joseph.
Gabriel said (to me), 'This is Joseph; pay him your greetings.' So I
greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, 'You are
welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with
me to the fourth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was
asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied, 'Gabriel' It was asked, 'Who is
accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he
been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, 'He
is welcomed, what an excel lent visit his is!'
The gate was opened, and when I went over
the fourth heaven, there I saw Idris. Gabriel said (to me), 'This is
Idris; pay him your greetings.' So I greeted him and he returned the
greeting to me and said, 'You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious
Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the fifth heaven and asked
for its gate to be opened. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied,
'Gabriel.' It was asked. 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied,
'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the
affirmative. Then it was said He is welcomed, what an excellent visit
his is! So when I went over the fifth heaven, there I saw Harun (i.e.
Aaron), Gabriel said, (to me). This is Aaron; pay him your greetings.' I
greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, 'You are
welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with
me to the sixth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was
asked. 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied, 'Gabriel.' It was asked, 'Who is
accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he
been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. It was said, 'He is
welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!'
When I went (over the sixth heaven),
there I saw Moses. Gabriel said (to me),' This is Moses; pay him your
greeting. So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said,
'You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.' When I left him
(i.e. Moses) he wept. Someone asked him, 'What makes you weep?' Moses
said, 'I weep because after me there has been sent (as Prophet) a young
man whose followers will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my
followers.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the seventh heaven and
asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel
replied, 'Gabriel.' It was asked,' Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel
replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied
in the affirmative. Then it was said, 'He is welcomed. What an
excellent visit his is!'
So when I went (over the seventh heaven),
there I saw Abraham. Gabriel said (to me), 'This is your father; pay
your greetings to him.' So I greeted him and he returned the greetings
to me and said, 'You are welcomed, O pious son and pious Prophet.' Then I
was made to ascend to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha (i.e. the Lote Tree of
the utmost boundary) Behold! Its fruits were like the jars of Hajr
(i.e. a place near Medina) and its leaves were as big as the ears of
elephants. Gabriel said, 'This is the Lote Tree of the utmost boundary) .
Behold ! There ran four rivers, two were hidden and two were visible, I
asked, 'What are these two kinds of rivers, O Gabriel?' He replied,' As
for the hidden rivers, they are two rivers in Paradise and the visible
rivers are the Nile and the Euphrates.'
Then Al-Bait-ul-Ma'mur (i.e. the
Sacred House) was shown to me and a container full of wine and another
full of milk and a third full of honey were brought to me. I took the
milk. Gabriel remarked, 'This is the Islamic religion which you and your
followers are following.' Then the prayers were enjoined on me: They
were fifty prayers a day. When I returned, I passed by Moses who asked
(me), 'What have you been ordered to do?' I replied, 'I have been
ordered to offer fifty prayers a day.' Moses said, 'Your followers
cannot bear fifty prayers a day, and by Allah, I have tested people
before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel (in vain).
Go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your followers'
burden.' So I went back, and Allah reduced ten prayers for me. Then
again I came to Moses, but he repeated the same as he had said before.
Then again I went back to Allah and He reduced ten more prayers. When I
came back to Moses he said the same, I went back to Allah and He ordered
me to observe ten prayers a day. When I came back to Moses, he repeated
the same advice, so I went back to Allah and was ordered to observe
five prayers a day.
When I came back to Moses, he said, 'What
have you been ordered?' I replied, 'I have been ordered to observe five
prayers a day.' He said, 'Your followers cannot bear five prayers a
day, and no doubt, I have got an experience of the people before you,
and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel, so go back to your Lord
and ask for reduction to lessen your follower's burden.' I said, 'I
have requested so much of my Lord that I feel ashamed, but I am
satisfied now and surrender to Allah's Order.' When I left, I heard a
voice saying, 'I have passed My Order and have lessened the burden of My
Worshippers."
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