Showing posts with label miracles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miracles. Show all posts
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Muhammads Miracles 4
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."
Friday, December 30, 2011
Muhammads Miracles 3
There are many other miracles which the Prophet performed related in the Sunnah, or conglomeration of the sayings, deeds, approvals, and descriptions of the Prophet.
The Tree Trunk
In Medina Muhammad used to deliver sermons leaning on a tree stump. When the number of worshippers increased, someone suggested a pulpit be built so he can use it to deliver the sermon. When the pulpit was built, he abandoned the tree trunk. Abdullah ibn Umar, one of the companions, gave an eye-witness testimony of what happened. The trunk was heard weeping, the Prophet of Mercy went towards it and comforted it with his hand.
The event is also confirmed through eye-witness testimony transmitted through the ages with an unbroken chain of reliable scholars.
The Flowing of Water
On more than one occasion when people were in dire need of water, the blessing of the Muhammad saved them. In the sixth year after the he migrated from Mecca to Medina, Muhammad went to Mecca for pilgrimage. In the long journey through the desert, people ran out of all water, only the Prophet was left with a vessel with which he performed ablution for prayers. He put his hand in vessel, water began flowing from between his fingers. Jabir bin Abdullah, who witnessed the miracle, says of the fifteen hundred men, ‘We drank it and made ablution.
The event is also confirmed through eye-witness testimony transmitted through the ages with an unbroken chain of reliable scholars.
The sprouting of water from human fingers is similar to the Moses’ miracle of producing water from a rock.
Blessing of Food
On more than one occasion, the Prophet blessed food by either praying or touching it so all present could get their fill. This happened at times when food and water shortage afflicted Muslims. These miracles took place in the presence of a large number of people and is, thus, not possible to deny.
Healing the Sick
Abdullah ibn Ateek broke his leg and Muhammad healed it by wiping his hand over it. Abdullah said it was as if nothing had happened to it! The person who witnessed the miracle was another companion, Bara’ ibn Azib (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
During the expedition of Khyber, Muhammad healed the painful eyes of Ali ibn Abi Talib in front of a whole army. Ali, many years later, became the fourth caliph(Ruler) of Muslims.
Exorcising Devils
Muhammad exorcised the devil out of a boy brought by his mother for healing to him by saying, ‘Come out! I am Muhammad, the Messenger of God!’ The woman said, ‘By the One who sent you with the truth, we have never seen anything wrong with him since.’
Prayers Answered
(1) The mother of Abu Hurayra, a close companion of Muhammad, used to speak ill of Islam and its prophet. One day, Abu Hurayra came weeping to Muhammad and asked him to pray for his mother to be saved. Muhammad prayed and when Abu Hurayra returned home he found his mother ready to accept Islam. She bore the testimony of faith in front of her son and entered Islam.
(2) Jarir ibn Abdullah was commissioned by the Prophet to rid the land of an idol worshipped besides God, but he complained he was could not ride a horse well! The Prophet prayed for him, ‘O God, make him a strong horseman and make him one is guides and is guided.’ Jarir testifies he never fell off his horse after the Prophet prayed for him.
(3) The people were struck with famine during the time of Muhammad. A man stood up when Muhammad was delivering the weekly sermon on Friday, and said, ‘O Messenger of God, our wealth has been destroyed and our children are starving. Pray to God for us.’ Muhammad raised his hands in prayer.
Those in attendance testify that that the moment he lowered his hands after praying, clouds began to build like mountains!
By the time he stepped down of his pulpit, rain was dripping from his beard!
It rained the whole week till next Friday!
The same man stood up again, complained this time, ‘O Messenger of God, our buildings are destroyed, and our property is drowned, pray to God for us!’
Muhammad raised his hands and prayed, ‘O God, (let it rain) around us, but not on us.’
Those in attendance testify that the clouds withdrew in the direction he pointed, the city of Medina was surrounded by clouds, but there were no clouds over it!
(4) Here is the beautiful story of Jabir. He testifies that on one time, the camel he was riding was exhausted because it was used for carrying water. The camel could hardly walk. Muhammad asked him, ‘What’s the matter with your camel?’ On finding out how tired the poor camel was, Muhammad prayed for the poor animal and from that time, Jabir tells us, the camel was always ahead of others! Muhammad asked Jabir, ‘How do you find your camel?’ Jabir responded, ‘It is well, your blessing has reached it!’ Muhammad bought the camel from Jabir on the spot for a piece of gold, with the condition that Jabir ride it back to the city! On reaching Medina, Jabir says he brought the camel to Muhammad the next morning. Muhammad gave him the piece of gold and told him to keep his camel!
It is no wonder why those around him who witnessed these great miracles performed in front of crowds were certain of his truthfulness.
Muhammads Miracles 2
Night Journey and Ascent to Heaven
A few months before the migration from Mecca to Medina, God took Muhammad in one night from the Grand Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a month’s journey of 1230 Km for a caravan. From Jerusalem, he ascended to the heavens, passing the boundaries of the physical universe to be in divine presence, meet God, and witness the Great Signs (al-Ayat ul-Kubra). His truth became apparent in two ways. First, ‘the Prophet described the caravans he had overtaken on the way home and said where they were and about when they might be expected to arrive in Mecca; and each arrived as predicted, and the details were as he had described. Second, he was never known to have been to Jerusalem, yet he described al-Aqsa Mosque to skeptics like an eye-witness.
The mystical journey is mentioned in the Quran:
“Exalted is He who took His Servant [Prophet Muhammad] by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” (Quran 17:1)
“So will you dispute with him over what he saw? And he certainly saw him in another descent at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary – near it is the Garden of Refuge (Paradise) – when there covered the Lote Tree that which covered (it). The sight (of the Prophet) did not swerve, nor did it transgress (its limit). He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.” (Quran 53:12-18)
The event is also confirmed through eye-witness testimony transmitted through the ages with an unbroken chain of reliable scholars.
Muhammads Miracles 1
Splitting of the Moon
One of the times when God performed miracles at the hand of the Prophet was when the Meccans demanded to see a miracle from Muhammad to show his truthfulness. God split the moon in two separate halves and then re-joined them. The Quran recorded the event:
“The Last Hour draws near, and the moon is split asunder!” (Quran 54:1)
Prophet Muhammad would recite these verses of the Quran in large congregations of the weekly Friday prayer and the bi-annual Eed (Religious feast) prayers. Had the event never occurred, Muslims themselves would have doubted their religion and many would have left it! The Meccans would have said, ‘Hey, your prophet is a liar, the moon never split, and we never saw it split!’ Instead, the believers grew stronger in their faith and the only explanation the Meccans could come up with was, ‘passing magic!’
“The Last Hour draws near, and the moon is split asunder! And if they see a sign (miracle), they turn away and say, ‘Passing magic!’- for they are bent on giving it the lie, being always wont to follow their own desires” (Quran 54:1-3)
The splitting of the moon is confirmed through eye-witness testimony transmitted through an unbroken chain of reliable scholars so many that is it impossible that it could be false!.
A skeptic might ask, do we have any independent historical evidence to suggest the moon was ever split? After all, people around the world should have seen this marvelous event and recorded it.
The answer to this question is twofold.
First, people around the world could not have seen it as it would have been daytime, late night, or early morning many parts of the world. The following table will give the reader some idea of corresponding world times to 9:00 pm Mecca time:
Country
|
Time
|
Mecca
|
9:00 pm
|
India
|
11:30 pm
|
Perth
|
2:00 am
|
Reykjavik
|
6:00 pm
|
Washington D.C.
|
2:00 pm
|
Rio de Janeiro
|
3:00 pm
|
Tokyo
|
3:00 am
|
Beijing
|
2:00 am
|
Also, it is not likely that a large number of people in lands close by would be observing the moon at the exact same time. They had no reason to. Even if some one did, it does not necessarily mean people believed him and kept a written record of it, especially when many civilizations at that time did not preserve their own history in writing.
Second, we actually have an independent, and quite amazing, historical corroboration of the event from an Indian king of that time.
Kerala is a state of India. The state stretches for 360 miles (580 kilometers) along the Malabar Coast on the southwestern side of the Indian peninsula. King Chakrawati Farmas of Malabar was a Chera king, Cheraman perumal of Kodungallure. He is recorded to have seen the moon split. The incident is documented in a manuscript kept at the India Office Library, London, reference number: Arabic, 2807, 152-173. A group of Muslim merchant’s passing by Malabar on their way to China spoke to the king about how God had supported the Arabian prophet with the miracle of splitting of the moon. The shocked king said he had seen it with his own eyes as well, deputized his son, and left for Arabia to meet the Prophet in person. The Malabari king met the Prophet, bore the two testimonies of faith, learned the basics of faith, but passed away on his way back and was buried in the port city of Zafar, Yemen.
It is said that the contingent was led by a Muslim, Malik bin Dinar, and continued to Kodungallure, the Chera capital, and built the first, and India’s oldest, mosque in the area in 629 CE which exists today.
A pre-renovation picture of the Cheraman Juma Masjid, India’s oldest mosque dating back to 629 CE. Image courtesy of www.islamicvoice.com.
The news of his accepting Islam reached Kerala where people accepted Islam. The people of Lakshadweep and the Moplas (Mapillais) from the Calicut province of Kerala are converts from those days.
Cheraman Juma Masjid, named after India’s first Muslim convert, Cheraman perumal Chakrawati Farmas, after renovation. Image courtesy of www.indianholiday.com
The Indian sighting and the meeting of the Indian king with Prophet Muhammad is also reported by Muslim sources. The famous Muslim historian, Ibn Kahtir, mentions the splitting of the moon was reported in parts of India. Also, the books of hadith have documented the arrival of the Indian king and his meeting the Prophet. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, a companion of Prophet Muhammad, states:
“The Indian king gifted the Prophet with a jar of ginger. The companions ate it piece by piece. I took a bite as well”
The king was thus considered a ‘companion’ – a term used for a person who met the Prophet and died as a Muslim – his name registered in the mega-compendiums chronicling the Prophet’s companions.
Allah (God) does exist
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I
don't believe that God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.
"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.
The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."
"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for him.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Scientific Miracles in the Holy Qur’an (4)
G) The Qur’an on Clouds:
Scientists have studied cloud types and have realized that rain
clouds are formed and shaped according to definite systems and
certain steps connected with certain types of wind and clouds.
One kind of rain cloud is the cumulonimbus cloud. Meteorologists
have studied how cumulonimbus clouds are formed and
how they produce rain, hail, and lightning.
They have found that cumulonimbus clouds go through the
following steps to produce rain:
1) The clouds are pushed by the wind: Cumulonimbus clouds
begin to form when wind pushes some small pieces of clouds
(cumulus clouds) to an area where these clouds converge (see
figures 17 and 18).
Figure 17: Satellite
photo
showing the
clouds moving
towards the
convergence
areas B, C, and
D. The arrows
indicate the directions
of the wind. (The Use
of Satellite Pictures
in Weather Analysis
and Forecasting,
Anderson
and
others, p. 188.)
zone near the horizon, where we can see a large cumulonimbus cloud. (Clouds and
Storms, Ludlam, plate 7.4.)
2) Joining: Then the small clouds join together forming a larger
cloud (see figures 18 and 19).
Figure 19: (A) Isolated small pieces of clouds (cumulus clouds). (B) When the small
clouds join together, updrafts within the larger cloud increase, so the cloud is stacked
up. Water drops are indicated by. (The Atmosphere, Anthes and others, p. 269.)
3) Stacking: When the small clouds join together, updrafts
within the larger cloud increase. The updrafts near the center
of the cloud are stronger than those near the edges. These
updrafts cause the cloud body to grow vertically, so the cloud
is stacked up (see figures 19 (B), 20, and 21). This vertical
growth causes the cloud body to stretch into cooler regions of
the atmosphere, where drops of water and hail formulate and
begin to grow larger and larger. When these drops of water
and hail become too heavy for the updrafts to support them,
they begin to fall from the cloud as rain, hail, etc
Figure 20: A cumulonimbus
cloud.
After the
cloud is stacked up,
rain comes out of it.
(Weather and Climate,
Bodin, p.123.)
God has said in the Qur’an:
{ Have you not seen how God makes the
clouds move gently, then joins them together,
then makes them into a stack, and then you
see the rain come out of it....} (Qur’an, 24:43)
Meteorologists have only recently come to know these details
of cloud formation, structure, and function by using advanced
equipment like planes, satellites, computers, balloons, and other equipment, to study wind and its direction, to measure humidity
and its variations, and to determine the levels and variations of
atmospheric pressure.
The preceding verse, after mentioning clouds and rain, speaks
about hail and lightning:
{....And He sends down hail from mountains
(clouds) in the sky, and He strikes with it
whomever He wills, and turns it from whomever
He wills. The vivid flash of its lightning
nearly blinds the sight. } (Qur’an, 24:43)
Meteorologists have found that these cumulonimbus clouds,
that shower hail, reach a height of 25,000 to 30,000 ft (4.7 to 5.7
miles), like mountains, as the Qur’an said: {And He sends
down hail from mountains (clouds) in the sky} (see figure 21).
lightning” in a reference to the hail? Does this mean that hail is
the major factor in producing lightning? Let us see what the book
entitled Meteorology Today says about this. It says that a cloud
becomes electrified as hail falls through a region in the cloud of
supercooled droplets and ice crystals. As liquid droplets collide
with a hailstone, they freeze on contact and release latent heat.
This keeps the surface of the hailstone warmer than that of the
surrounding ice crystals. When the hailstone comes in contact
with an ice crystal, an important phenomenon occurs: electrons
flow from the colder object toward
the warmer object. Hence, the
hailstone becomes negatively
charged. The same effect
occurs when supercooled
droplets come in contact
with a hailstone and tiny
splinters of positively
charged ice break off.
These lighter positively
charged particles are then
carried to the upper part of
the cloud by updrafts. The
hail, left with a negative
charge, falls towards the
bottom of the cloud, thus the
lower part of the cloud becomes
negatively charged. These negative
charges are then discharged as lightning. We conclude from this
that hail is the major factor in producing lightning.
This information on lightning was discovered recently. Until
1600 AD, Aristotle’s ideas on meteorology were dominant. For
example, he said that the atmosphere contains two kinds of exhalation,
moist and dry. He also said that thunder is the sound of the
collision of the dry exhalation with the neighboring clouds, and
lightning is the inflaming and burning of the dry exhalation with a thin and faint fire. These are some of the ideas on meteorology
that were dominant at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation, fourteen
centuries ago.
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