Fourthly, the true reasons for granting miracles to the prophets, peace be upon them, are to culminate the argument against their people and to serve as final warnings prior to the punishment in response to their demands. Hence, generally, these miracles are provided towards the end of their mission of completing the argument, but in some cases, they are equipped with these from the very beginning of their call. On such occasions, the purpose is to awe the addressees so that they refrain from any oppressive actions and show readiness to listen. Prominent examples of this are the miracles of the staff and the white hand given to Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. The grand miracle given to the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the form of the Glorious Quran also shares this aspect. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi, mentioning the miracles given to Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, highlights this very aspect in the following words:
“…The known divine practice in the case of miracles has been that they were given to prophets at a time when their nations forcefully demanded them, and the only purpose of giving these miracles was to complete the argument against those who were not using reason and intellect, and stubbornly insisted on a miracle, so that they are left with no excuse to turn away from the truth. Then why was this special treatment done with Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, that he was given two miracles right at the start of his prophethood? In our view, the reason is that Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, was sent as a messenger to a tyrannical and stubborn ruler, who was a personal and national enemy of Moses, peace be upon him. To even consider listening and understanding his message was one thing; there was a fear that upon finding out that it was Moses, peace be upon him, the ruler would immediately order his execution. Indeed, the ruler had already ordered his execution after the incident involving the killing of the Coptic, but Moses, peace be upon him, escaped to Midian secretly and thus the ruler’s plans were thwarted. If Moses, peace be upon him, had gone to such a vengeful and tyrannical person simply to warn him, then how could he ever be willing to listen! He could only be prepared to listen to something if Moses, peace be upon him, presented something that could awe him. Hence Allah endowed him right at the start with two such miracles, with the help of which he could stay protected from any aggression by his enemy, and as will be clear from the following verses, Moses, peace be upon him, demonstrated his miracles to be wary of taking any wrong step, for he was not empty-handed, but in his hands was the staff which could shatter all pride and arrogance.” (Tadabbur-i-Quran 5/36)
Fifthly, God takes into consideration the conditions and inclinations of the addressees while determining the nature of the clear signs or the prophets’ miracles. That is, Allah causes such supernormal events to occur through the prophets that correlate with their understanding and reasoning, way of life, culture and civilization. Consequently, the miracles appeal to them, invoking attention, amazement, and astonishment, and serve as a means of completing the argument. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes:
“The divine practice in the issue of miracles seems to be that they are granted in consideration of the tastes and inclinations of nations so that they may become a reason for completing the argument against them. In Egypt, history shows that during that era there was a great emphasis on sorcery and magicians held a high status in society, so Allah gave Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, such miracles that could nullify the spells of magicians. In contrast, in Arab society, the greatest respect and esteem were given to eloquence and oratory, and society was impressed by speakers and poets. Hence, our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was granted the miracle of the Quran, whose eloquence and rhetoric left all the great orators and poets awestruck and helpless.” (Tadabbur-i-Quran 3/343)
Sixthly, it is also an established fact concerning these signs that although they are produced by the hands of the prophet, they are not essentially related to the official responsibilities of the prophet. They are purely from Allah. Thus, prophets do not decide whether these signs should occur or not and when they should appear. Nor are they revealed in response to the demands of the addressees. The Glorious Quran has clarified this with utmost clarity in Surah Ar-Ra’d, It is stated:
وَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦٓ ۗ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُنذِرٌۭ ۖ وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ ٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَىٰ وَمَا تَغِيضُ ٱلْأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ ۖ وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ عِندَهُۥ بِمِقْدَارٍ
These disbelievers say: “Why was not a sign [of punishment] revealed to this person by his Lord?” [Tell them: “This is not your responsibility because] you are only a warner and for each nation there was a guide who came to it in this manner.”
[When will a sign of punishment be revealed to them? Only God knows this the way] God knows about the foetus in the womb of every female and also knows whatever increases or decreases in the wombs. Everything is in a measure with Him.
Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes in the explanation of these verses:
“The word ‘آیت’ (āyat) here refers to a sign of punishment. It refers the hastening of the punishment described in the previous verse for which the people had asked. They questioned why the Prophet did not show them any sign of the punishment he constantly warned them about. In response, the Almighty says: your job is merely to alert people about this punishment; it is not your job to show them a sign or bring about that punishment. That is Our task. You do your job and leave Our task to Us. Do not worry about their nonsensical talk… It is unreasonable to establish doubt about a matter that is definitely going to occur—based on the fact that you cannot specify its timing or show it upon their demand. For instance, a pregnant woman—only Allah knows whether there is a boy or a girl in her womb, He knows the details of what’s happening within, and only He knows the exact timing of the birth. The ignorance of these matters doesn’t deny pregnancy itself, nor does any rational person deny the pregnancy of a woman on these basis. The same is the case for the divine punishment for those oppressors. They have borne this ‘pregnancy’ of punishment due to the corruption of their beliefs and actions, and this pregnancy will inevitably manifest at the right time. However, when it will come and in what form will be is known only to Allah; no one else has this knowledge. In Allah’s domain, every matter follows set rules, predefined measures, and appointed times. Human impatience does not change the Divine practice He has established for everything.” (Tadabbur-i-Qur’an 4/274)
Seventhly, the Quran clarifies that although miracles are out of the ordinary and against normal habits and laws, they occur within the realm of causes and through them. This is why Allah Almighty rejects such demands that are beyond the scope of causes. In Surah Al-Ma’idah, where Allah mentions His signs regarding Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him), there is also the question of the disciples asking if Allah can send down a feast from heaven. Prophet Jesus warned them, and Allah did not approve of this request. The relevant passage is as follows:
At the time, when the disciples said: “O Jesus, son of Mary! Can your Lord send down to us from the heavens a table-spread [of food]? ”Jesus said: “Fear God if you are true believers.”
They replied: “We only want to eat from this table-spread and, as its result, our hearts receive satisfaction, and we are able to know that what you said to us is true and we become witnesses to it.”
At this, Jesus, son of Mary, prayed: “O God, our Lord! Send down to us from the heavens a table- spread which becomes a memorable thing for our successors and for our predecessors and a sign from You. [Lord!] Provide us! And You are the best of Providers.
God replied: “I shall definitely send it down to you; but after this those who disbelieve from among you, I shall give them such a stern punishment that I would not have given to anyone in the world.” (5: 112-115)
Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes about the clarification of the phrase ‘َر ُّبک َُی ْس َت ِط ْی َْھ’ (Does your Lord have the ability):
“Regarding the question ‘َر ُّبک َُی ْس َت ِط ْی َْھ’, it should be noted that the disciples’ question was not about the power of God but rather about His wisdom. They wanted to know whether showing such an overt sign would accord with His wisdom or not. The disciples were believers and could not have been unaware that their request resembled the demand of the Children of Israel who wanted to see God, which resulted in them being struck by a thunderbolt. Even though miracles are extraordinary, they occur within the guise of causes and not by lifting all the veils. That is why Allah Almighty has never encouraged such demands that exceed the limits set for the appearance of miracles in the Divine practice. Thus, Jesus (peace be upon him) also discouraged it, and when the disciples persisted in their request, Allah was not pleased but said that He would send down the feast yet warned them to remember that those who disbelieve after seeing such clear signs will receive a punishment like none other. It seems that after this, the disciples retracted their request. A group among the exegetes also believes that the feast was not sent down. Even in the Gospels, there is no mention of it.” (Tadabbur-i-Qur’an 2/608)
[Continued]