The disbelievers of miracles are adamant on intellectual logic and manifest proofs and we have mentioned some of their examples earlier and have answered their objections. Some also deny the Qura’nic verses about the miracles of the apostles of God especially those of the Last Messenger. This is above the denial of the miracles mentioned in the Qura’n. Those important verses about miracles that are doubted are mentioned below:

Verses 90 to 93 of Surah Isra that say:

“They say, “ We will not believe you until you make a spring gush forth for us from the ground or until you have a garden of date palms and vines and you make streams gush through it Or until you cause the sky to fall in fragments upon us, just as you would aver Or until you bring God and the angles in front of us Or until you have a house of gold or you ascend the sky and we will not believe your ascension until you bring down a book for us that we may read.” Say, “Glorified is my Lord above all the evil that they associate with him. Ami I anything but a man sent as Messenger?”

AS we have seen the Messenger did not agree to show any such miracle that the people of Bani Quraysh had demanded and he gave a very short reply: “Glorified is my Lord above all the evil that they associate with him. Ami I anything but a man sent as Messenger?”

In the same way we read in verse 59 of Surah Isra:

“And nothing stops us from sending the signs but the people of old denied them. And We sent the She-Camel to Thamud as a clear sign but they harmed her. We did not send the signs but to warn and make them afraid (of destruction).”

This verse too tells us that that God did not give the Messenger any miracle and this contradicts the first verse.

Verse 12 of Surah Huod says:

“Lest you should disregard something of what has been revealed to you and be upset because they say, “Why has not a treasure been sent down to him or not an angel accompany him?” You are only a warner and God watches over all things.”

This verse too clearly states regarding the desire of the polytheists about miracles to the Messenger, “You are but a warner.”

Verse 7 of Surah Ra’ad says:

“The faithless say, “Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?” You are only a warner and there is a guide for every people.”

Is it not clear from these verses that he Messenger did not show any miracle on their demand?

Verse 37 of Surah Anam says:

“They say,” Why has not a sign been sent down to him from his Lord?” Say, “God is indeed able to send down a sign” but most of them do not know.”

The great commentator late Aminol Islam Tabrisi has said the following about this verse:

“All the disbelievers cite this verse to argue that no verse was ever revealed to the Messenger and had it been revealed then it would have mentioned what the polytheists demanded (and then he has refuted this statement which we will discuss later.)

From these words it is clear that such doubts about miracles had existed from very early in the times and have not lessened till our times.

Various hadiths have been mentioned about this issue but their argument is weak and can be easily defended against.

The Answer:

A few major points have to be studied to simplify the explanation of these verses:

It is evident that none of these verses reject the miracles outright. Even if we do suppose then all that we can construe is that there is a denial about any miracles from the Messenger and the miracle of the Qura’n is not rejected. Most of the verses describe the Qura’n as a miracle. All those who oppose it have been challenged to bring something which is a greater miracle but they have been unable to do so. (1)

Even if we consider them to be truthful then too the miracle of the Messenger depends totally on the Qura’n. It is an issue (which if taken to be correct) will give no chance to the opposition to be able to refute the prophethood of the Messenger. Qura’n is full of verses that define the extra-ordinary feats and miracles of the previous apostles and they cannot be denied. The miracles of the Messenger are all connected with the Qura’n and they cannot be denied with the rest of the miracles.

Even if we take it to be true that the other miracles can be denied then even it does not affect the belief and the tenets and historical evidences. These verses do not deny the miracles but refute those with unwarranted desires.

It is imperative for all apostles to establish the truth of their prophethood through miracles or other means.

So the miracles that he brought were sufficient and there was no need to show the other miracles and showing exceptional deeds was not important for him and even catering to the demands of individual desires was not necessary . He was cleansed of all desires and was appointed to establish the rules for governing the society and those who do not accept his enjoinment or disbelieve in it are those who deny the miracles.

In other words the prophet shows the miracles for those who are truthful just enough to prove his contention and he is not responsible to respond to the desires of people who want what they want for their lust or greed and not for searching the truth.

The unwarranted desire mentioned in the first verse is a clear proof and he had prayed for 7 miracles though only one was enough to discern the truth.

In another time they asked for the miracles which had death hidden in them as he had said, “Or until you cause the sky to fall in fragments upon us, just as you would aver.” It is clear that the one who asked for the miracle did not ask for one without death whiles the purpose of showing miracles in to instill faith and not death and destruction.

In the third time they had asked for something impossible like the descent of God and His angels. “Or until you bring God and the angles in front of us” When they knew that God cannot be stationed at any one place so it was true that they would not believe. “Or until you have houses of gold or you ascend the sky and we will not believe your ascension until you bring down a book for us that we may read.” If we reflect on what has passed we realize that the prophets did not aim to produce miracles on people’s desires and there has been no prophet would accept such a demand.

This is always discerned when we read about the life and history of any prophet especially our Messenger and so we find the polytheists describing his miracles as sorcery even after seeing them and this was to avoid being answerable and be responsible. This happened in the time of the Pharaoh and Moses also.

After Moses had defeated their sorcery which definitely was the sign of his miracle and also the trust that God had in him the Pharaoh did not believe in his words but said as recorded in verse 70 of Surah Ta-Ha:

“He is you chief who have taught you magic”

Verse 111 of Surah Anam says:

“Even if We did send them angels and the dead spoke with them and even if We gathered all things before their eyes, they would not be the ones to believe until God so desires. But most of them ignore.”

Verse 25 of Surah Anam says:

“(Even) if they saw every one of the signs they would not believe in them; when they come to you they only dispute. The disbelievers say, “These are nothing but the tales of the ancient.”

 We find further such denial of miracles in verse 51 of Surah Ankabut that says:

“Is it not enough for them that We have sent down the Book to you that is recited to them? Verily in this there is mercy and a reminder for the people who believe.”

What this verse says is that t the purpose of the miracle is to establish the truth about the prophet and indeed the divine book Qura’n is the best proof and miracle. So is there any scope for the claimant to prophethood to show more miracles?

There is no doubt that the miracles come from God and all the powers or expertise that the apostles have are from God and by His permission but sometime people do feel that he prophets can do whatever they desire but this leads to crossing the limit of praise and this may lead to them being considered as gods. This is also the reason why the prophets did not consent to show the miracles that the people desired and said, “these are not our doings but take place on God’s command and our duty is to know what he wants done.”

The proof of this statement is verse 38 of Surah Raad that says:

“And it was never the duty of the Messenger to bring a sign except as God permitted.”

The same meaning has been depicted clearly in verse 109 of Surah Anam that says:

“One day when God will gather the Messengers and ask, “What response did you get (from your congregation)? The will say, “We have no knowledge: Verily you are the knower of the unseen.”

This verse exposes their desire for a miracle and also tells us that the miracles depend on the will of God. In the end we can say that he Qura’n has spoken at length about the extra-ordinary deeds of the apostles of God. It is also evident that the prophet has also spoken about the miracles in divine books such as Qura’n and has unraveled some of their miracles through the revelations though he is the leader of all prophets and the last of the Messengers from God.

How can we accept that all other apostles had miracles but the last Messenger did not have any when he is so prominent among them?

The verses of Qura’n are witness about it and we will discuss them at the proper place Inshallah.

The refutation of the other miracles (other than) is incorrect to the ignorant in any way.

1. Study verse 38 of Surah Yunus, 13 of Huod and 88 of Surah Isra.