METAPHYSICS - PRT 1
METAPHYSICS & THE BIBLE - PRT 2
METAPHYSICS - THE POWER OF MANIFESTATIONS - PRT 3
Islam defines a miracle as an extraordinary act or event that is contrary to the laws of nature and can only come about through the direct intervention of God Almighty Himself. The Arabic word for miracle is mu’jizah. It stems from the word ajz, meaning something that incapacitates, cannot be resisted, unique. According to Islam, miracles are performed by the permission of God, by the Prophets of God. Miracles are not magic, which is by definition a trick or illusion, nor is a miracle an event brought about by a learned righteous people who are not Prophets of God. These events are called karamahs. Thus we find three distinct categories, miracles, karamahs and magic.
God sent the Prophets and Messengers primarily to guide humankind. They were humans, of outstanding character, pious and trustworthy, that the people could emulate and look to for direction. They were not gods, demi-gods or saints with divine qualities, rather they were mere mortals charged with a difficult task. They possessed exceptional characteristics because they were obligated to face extraordinary trials and tribulations in order to spread the message to worship God Alone.
“And I (God) created not the jinn[1] and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)”. (Quran 51:56)
In order to make each Prophet credible in his particular time and place, God granted them miracles, pertinent, relevant and understandable to the people to whom they were sent. In the time of Moses magic and sorcery were prevalent therefore Moses’ miracles appealed to the people he was sent to guide. In the time of Muhammad, the Arabs, although predominantly unlettered, were masters of the spoken word. Their poetry and prose were considered outstanding and a model of literary excellence and the miracle of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was of this nature and much more..The miracle that defined Prophet Solomon was his unique kingdom. At the time of Jesus, the Israelites were very knowledgeable in the field of medicine. Consequently, the miracles Jesus performed were of this nature and included returning sight to the blind, healing lepers and raising the dead.
“And you heal those born blind and the lepers by My leave. And behold! You bring forth the dead by My leave.” (Quran 5:10)
A karamah is an extraordinary matter or event that is brought about at the hands of a believer who obeys God, refrains from sin and whose piety at a very high level in the sight of God. Unlike a miracle which is meant to be done publically so that people would recognize the truthfulness of the Prophet, a karamah usually only benefits the one to whom it is given. A karamah could include such things as knowledge, power or something astonishing such as the karamah that was given to Usayd ibn al-Hudayr, one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions. A group of angels in a cloud of light shaded Usayd when he recited Quran[2]. A karamah also occurred for Maryam, the mother of Prophet Jesus.
So her Lord accepted her with goodly acceptance. He made her grow in a good manner and put her under the care of Zakariya . Every time he entered her praying place, he found her supplied with sustenance. He said: “O Maryam (Mary)! From where have you got this?” She said, “This is from God. Verily, God provides sustenance to whom He wills, without limit.” (Quran 3:37)
A miracle results in nothing but good and is given by the Almighty to the Prophets as a sign of their veracity. This is coupled with a life of exemplary morals and character, and a message of goodness.
Magic can also bring about something extraordinary; however no good can come from magic. It is performed by evil people and is done by seeking the help of the devils and drawing close to them[3]. Miracles cannot be learnt or undone, whereas magic can be learnt, cancelled out or undone.
Prophet Moses’ encounter with the magicians at Pharaoh’s court explains the difference between magic and miracles.
They said: “O Musa (Moses)! Either you throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw?” He (Moses) said: “Throw you (first).” When they threw they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic. And We revealed to Moses, “Throw your stick,” and behold! It swallowed up straight away all the falsehoods which they showed. Thus truth was confirmed, and all that they did was made of no effect. So they were defeated there and returned disgraced. And the magicians fell down prostrate. (Quran 7:115-120)
The magicians understood that Moses was not preforming a trick or illusion as they had done. They understood deception well and knew that Moses’ actions were a miracle. Thus they accepted the truth and fell down in prostration to God, knowing full well that it would bring about their death for disobeying Pharaoh.
Miracles can be of two types; those that occur at the request of the people, who want a sign of the veracity of the Prophet who was sent to them and the second type, occur without being requested. An example of the first type is when Prophet Saleh’s people requested he bring out from behind the mountain a she camel and her offspring. As well, when the unbelievers in Mecca asked the Prophet Muhammad to show them a miracle, he showed them the splitting of the moon. One of Prophet Muhammad’s companions mentioned this event saying, “We were with God’s Messenger at Mina, when the moon was split in two parts. One part was behind the mountain and the other one was on this side of the mountain. God’s Messenger said to us, “Bear witness to this”[4].
An example of the second type is what happened when the tree trunk cried and longed for Prophet Muhammad. He, the Prophet used to give his Friday speech while leaning on a palm tree. One of his followers suggested they make a pulpit for him and they did. So the next Friday when the Prophet stood on the pulpit, the tree trunk began whimpering for him like a child.
Muslims believe that the Quran itself is a miracle. Prophet Muhammad said, “Every Prophet was given miracles on account of which their people believed; but, I have been given divine revelation which Allah has revealed to me, so I hope that my followers will outnumber the followers of other Prophets on Resurrection Day.”[5] Prophet Muhammad was implying that the Quran itself is the greatest miracle of all time; it is a miraculous book filled with miracles of all kinds. Its revelation, literary excellence, and its content, including scientific, prophetic and historical information, all contribute to Quran’s status as a miracle.
FOOTNOTES:[1] To learn more about the Jinn, please see: http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/669/viewall/ [2]Saheeh Al-Bukhari[3] For details, please see: http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/5246/[4]Saheeh Muslim[5]Saheeh Al-Bukhari
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The mu‘jizah (miracle) is the extraordinary sign with which Allah supports His Prophets and Messengers, and challenges people. The karaamah is something extraordinary that Allah causes to happen at the hand of one of His close friends. There are many differences between the mu‘jizah and the karaamah, including the following:
1. The mu‘jizah is meant to be done openly and be seen and known by many people, and the one for whom it is done (the Prophet) is enjoined to show it openly, whereas the karaamah is based on concealment and the one for whom it is done (the wali or close friend of Allah) is enjoined to conceal it.
2. The mu‘jizah may be accompanied by a challenge and claim of Prophethood, whereas the karaamah is not accompanied by any challenge or any claim of virtue or high status before Allah.
3. The fruits of the mu‘jizah bring benefits to others, whereas the karaamah usually only benefits the one to whom it is given.
4. The mu‘jizah may be any extraordinary event; the karaamah can only be of a few types.
5. The mu‘jizah is only for the Prophets, whereas the karaamah is for the close friends of Allah.
6. The Prophets use their miracles (mu‘jizah) to establish proof against the mushrikeen, because their hearts are hard; the close friends of Allah (awliya’) use the karaamah to establish proof for themselves so that they will have peace of mind and certainty of faith, and will not be worried or anxious.
Quoted from a Master’s thesis entitled al-Wilaayah wa’l-Karaamah fi’l-‘Aqeedah al-Islamiyyah by Muhammad Khayr al-‘Umari.
There are also a number of other differences between the mu‘jizah and witchcraft, including the following:
1. The mu‘jizah is something extraordinary, i.e., it occurs contrary to the laws of nature and comes from Allah, may He be exalted. As for witchcraft, it occurs according to laws that the practitioner of witchcraft may learn.
2. The mu‘jizah results in nothing but good, whereas no good can come from witchcraft.
3. The mu‘jizah cannot be cancelled out, whereas witchcraft can be cancelled out or undone. It is well known that witchcraft can only be done by seeking the help of the devils and drawing close to them.
End quote from Dr. Ahmad al-‘Awaayishah, Muhaadaraat bi’th-Thaqaafah al-Islamiyyah, p. 174
4. The mu‘jizah occurs at the hand of the Prophet, who is the best of people in knowledge, deeds and attitude, whereas witchcraft occurs at the hands of the practitioner of witchcraft, who is the worst of people in knowledge, deeds and attitude – people are put off by him and those who keep company with him.
5. There is no cause for the mu‘jizah, hence no one other than the Prophet can do anything like it. As for witchcraft, it has causes that are well-known, which are incantations that are spoken or written, and he makes use of the jinn in doing it. Anyone who learns that and does it will get what he wants from witchcraft. In the case of the mu‘jizah, it cannot be obtained by learning and experience.
See: al-Furooq by al-Quraafi, 8/116
There follow some of the comments of the scholars on the differences between mu‘jizah, karaamah and witchcraft.
Al-‘Allaamah as-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The difference between the mu‘jizah and karaamah, and devilish extraordinary things that happen at the hands of magicians and charlatans is as follows:
The mu‘jizah is that which Allah causes to happen at the hands of the Messengers and Prophets of extraordinary events with which they challenge the people, so that they will believe in the message with which Allah sent them and by means of which He supported them, such as the splitting of the moon and the sending down of the Qur’aan, which is the greatest mu‘jizah ever bestowed upon a Messenger, as well as the grieving of the palm tree stump (which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used as a minbar until a minbar was built for him), the springing up of water from between his fingers, and many other miracles.
The karaamah is an extraordinary event that Allah causes to occur at the hands of His believing close friends (awliya’), such as knowledge, power, and so on, and such as the shade that used to come upon Usayd ibn al-Hudayr when he recited Qur’aan, and the shining of light for ‘Abbaas ibn Bishr and Usayd ibn Hudayr when they left the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and when they separated there was light for each of them at the end of his whip.
In order for it to be regarded as a karaamah, it is stipulated that the one at whose hand this miracle occurs should be adhering strictly to Islam and following sharee‘ah. If that is not the case, then these extraordinary things happen are the result of devilish work. Moreover, it should be noted that the fact that karaamah does not happen for some Muslims does not mean that they are lacking in faith, because karaamah only happens for certain reasons, such as the following:
- To strengthen the person’s faith and make him steadfast. Hence many of the Sahaabah did not see any karaamah, because of the strength and absolute certainty of their faith.
- To establish proof against the enemy, as happened to Khaalid when he ate poison. He was besieging a fortress and they refused to yield until he ate the poison, so he ate it and then he conquered the fortress. A similar thing happened to Abu Idrees al-Khawlaani when he was met by al-Aswad al-‘Ansi in the fire and Allah saved him from that, because he needed that karaamah. We see something similar in the story of Umm Ayman when she set out to migrate to Madinah (Hijrah) and became extremely thirsty. She heard a sound above her and lifted her head, and she saw a bucket of water; she drank from it then it was taken away again.
The karaamah may be a test or trial; some people may be blessed by it and others may be doomed as a result. The one at whose hands it happens may be blessed if he gives thanks for it, or he may be doomed if he is filled with self-admiration and does not adhere to righteousness.
End quote from at-Tanbeehaat al-Lateefah fima Ahtawiyat ‘alayhi al-Waasitiyyah min al-Mabaahith al-Muneefah, p. 107
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
How can we differentiate between mu‘jizah, karaamah and kahaanah (sorcery)?
He replied:
The mu‘jizah is for the Prophets, the karaamah is for the close friends of Allah, the awliya’ of ar-Rahmaan, and kahaanah is for the close friends of the Shaytaan (awliya’ ash-shaytaan).
Nowadays it is impossible for a mu‘jizah to occur, because the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was the last of the Prophets. Karaamah happened at the time of the Messenger and may occur after his time, until the Day of Resurrection; it may occur at the hands of a righteous close friend of Allah (wali). If we know that the man at whose hand a karaamah occurred is a righteous man who fulfils his duties towards Allah and towards His slaves, then we know that it is indeed a karaamah.
We should look at the man -- if this “miracle” comes from a kaahin (soothsayer) -- i.e., a man who is not righteous -- then we know that it comes from the devils; the devils sometimes help the sons of Adam to achieve what they want.
End quote from Liqaa’aat al-Baab al-Maftooh (no. 84; question no. 8)
And Allah knows best.
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