Prophet Muhammad and His Miracles

Prophet Mohammad and His Miracles

HumanityÔÇÖs Encounter with the Divine

By Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

Description:

Prominent scholars of Islam say that the evidences of Muhammad's prophethood and his miracles amount to about 1000. Countless people have affirmed it in their own particular ways, and the Qur'an itself provides thousands of such proofs. This book by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi talks about some of the extraordinary incidents that happened at the time of prophet Muhammad in support of his divine mission, that is, calling people to Islam.

Prophet Muhammad and His Miracles

From the Risale-i Nur Collection Humanity’s Encounter with the Divine Series

Bediüzzaman SAID NURSI

New Jersey 2006

Copyright © 2006 by The Light, Inc. Revised Edition 2006

First Published 2002

09 08 07 06   3 4 5 6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includ- ing photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Published by The Light, Inc. 26 Worlds Fair Dr. Suite C Somerset, New Jersey, 08873, USA

www.thelightpublishing.com

Translated from Turkish by Ali Ünal

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for the previous edition

Nursi, Said, 1877-1960.

Prophet Muhammad's miracles / Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. p. cm. --  (Humanity's encounter with the divine ; 3)

"From the Risale-i Nur collection." Includes index.

ISBN 0-9720654-1-5 (pbk.)

1.  Muhammad, Prophet, d. 632--Miracles. 2.  Nurculuk.  I. Title. II. Series.

BP75.8.N868 2002

297.6'3--dc21

ISBN (paperback): 1-59784-044-0

ISBN (hardcover): 1-59784-049-1

Printed by Çaglayan A.S., Izmir – Turkey April 2006

2002006832

Table of Contents

Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur

THE NINETEENTH WORD

Muhammad’s Messengership

THE NINETEENTH LETTER

Prophet Muhammad’s Miracles His miracles

[Why Muhammad was honored with miracles • Types of miracles (news of the past and the future) • Actual miracles transmit ted through indisputable chains of transmission • Miracles occurring before (but related to) his birth • His coming predicted in earlier Scriptures • His character and person • The Qur’an: His greatest and eternal miracle • His existence is the greatest manifestation of God’s Existence and Unity and of eternal happiness]

NINETEENTH LETTER / APPENDIX 2

The miracle of splitting the moon

[Five points explaining the wisdom behind this miracle]

THE THIRTYFIRST WORD

The Ascension of Prophet Muhammad

NINETEENTH LETTER / APPENDIX 4

About knowing the Prophet

[Nine decisive proofs in the Prophet’s character and mission that prove the Creator’s Existence and Oneness]

Index

Bediüzzaman and the Risale-i Nur

In the many dimensions of his lifetime of achievement, as well as in his personality and character, Bediüzzaman (1877-1960) was and, through his continuing influence, still is an important thinker and writer in the Muslim world. He represented in a most effective and profound way the intellectual, moral and spiritual strengths of Islam, evident in different degrees throughout its fourteen- century history. He lived for eighty-five years. He spent almost all of those years, overflowing with love and ardor for the cause of Islam, in a wise and measured activism based on sound reasoning and in the shade of the Qur'an and the Prophetic example.

Bediüzzaman lived in an age when materialism was at its peak and many crazed after communism, and the world was in great crisis. In that critical period, Bediüzzaman pointed people to the source of belief and inculcated in them a strong hope for a collective restoration. At a time when science and philosophy were used to mislead young generations into atheism, and nihilistic attitudes had a wide appeal, at a time when all this was done in the name of civilization, modernization and contemporary thinking and those who tried to resist them were subjected to the cruelest of persecutions, Bediüzzaman strove for the overall revival of a whole people, breathing into their minds what- ever and spirits whatever is taught in the institutions of both modern and traditional education and of spiritual training.

Bediüzzaman had seen that modern unbelief originated from science and philosophy, not from ignorance as previously. He wrote that nature is the collection of Divine signs and therefore science and religion cannot be conflicting disciplines. Rather, they are two (apparently) different expressions of the same truth. Minds should be enlightened with sciences, while hearts need to be illumined by religion.

Bediüzzaman was not a writer in the usual sense of the word. He wrote his splendid work the Risale-i Nur, a collection exceeding 5,000 pages, because he had a mission: he struggled against the materialistic and atheistic trends of thought fed by science and philosophy and tried to present the truths of Islam to modern minds and hearts of every level of understanding. The Risale-i Nur, a modern commentary of the Qur'an, mainly concentrates on the existence and unity of God, the Resurrection, Prophethood, the Divine Scriptures primarily including the Qur’an, the invisible realms of existence, Divine Destiny and humanity’s free will, worship, justice in human life, and humanity’s place and duty among the creation.

In order to remove from people’s minds and hearts the accumulated ‘sediment’ of false beliefs and conceptions and to purify them both intellectually and spiritually, Bediüzzaman writes forcefully and makes reiterations. He writes in neither an academic nor a didactic way; rather he appeals to feelings and aims to pour out his thoughts and ideas into people’s hearts and minds in order to awaken them to belief and conviction.

This book includes selected sections from the Risale-i Nur collection.

The Nineteenth Word

Muhammad’s Messengership and his matchless character

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

I have not praised Muhammad with my words;

Rather, my words are praiseworthy because of him.

Hasan Thabit

This Word consists of 14 droplets. It is the attributes of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, which have made this Word beautiful.

Fourteen droplets

FIRST DROPLET: Three great and universal things make our Lord known to us: the Book of the Universe (explained elsewhere); Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, the Seal of the Prophets, who is the supreme sign in the Book

of the Universe; and the glorious Qur’an. Now we must recognize and listen to the Seal of the Prophets, the second and articulate proof and announcer of God with all His Names and Attributes, His Existence and Unity.

Look at the universal personality of that proof: the earth’s face is his mosque, Mecca his mihrab (niche where he leads his community in the Prayer), and Medina his pulpit. Our Prophet, this illustrious proof, leads all believers and preaches to all people. He is the chief of Prophets, lord of saints, and leader in the remembrance of God of a circle comprising all Prophets and saints. With all Prophets as its roots and saints as its ever fresh fruits, he is a radiant tree. All Prophets, with the support of their miracles, and all saints, depending on their wonders, confirm and corroborate his claims. For he declares: “There is no deity but God”; and all those illustrious ones forming the universal circle of God’s remembrance and lined up in the past and the future repeat the same words in unison, as if to say: “You speak the truth.” What illusion can dispute such an argument confirmed by such countless endorsements?

SECOND DROPLET: Just as this radiant proof of Divine Unity is affirmed by the unanimous consensus of all Prophets and saints, he is confirmed by hundreds of predictions in the revealed Scriptures (e.g., the Torah and the Gospels), thousands of indications of his Prophethood that appeared before his mission, famous reports of voices from the Unseen, the unanimous testimony of soothsayers, his hundreds of miracles (e.g., splitting the moon), and the truth of his Shari‘a (the Law). Similarly, his laudable virtues that reached the utmost degree of perfection; his total confidence in his mission and most excellent qualities in relation to its fulfillment; and his extraordinary awe and consciousness of God, and his matchless worship, serenity, and firmness, all of which show his belief’s strength and his total certainty and complete steadfastness. All of these show as clearly as daylight the truth of his claim and his utmost truthfulness in his cause.

THIRD DROPLET: Let’s imagine that we visit him in the Arabian peninsula while he is performing his mission during the Age of Bliss. We see a person distinguished by the excellence of his character and beauty of his form. In his hand is a miraculous book, and on his tongue a truthful discourse. He is delivering an eternal sermon to humanity, jinn, and angels— indeed, to all beings. He solves and expounds the mystery of the world’s creation; discovers and solves the intricate talisman that is the mystery of the universe; and provides convincing and satisfying answers to life’s great and important questions: Who are you? What is your purpose? Where have you come from? Where are you going? What is your final destination?

FOURTH DROPLET: See! He spreads such a light of truth that, if you look at the universe without the light of his guidance, you see it as a place of general mourning, and beings as alien or even hostile to each other, and inanimate beings as ghastly corpses, and living creatures as orphans weeping under the blows of death and separation. Now see how through the light he spreads, this place of universal mourning has been transformed into a place of invocation where God’s Names and praises are recited in joy and ecstasy. Alien and hostile beings have become friends, as well as brothers and sisters, and dumb, inanimate creatures familiar, obedient officials and docile servants. Weeping, complaining orphans are seen reciting God’s Names and praises or offering thanks for being discharged from their duties.

FIFTH DROPLET: Through this light, all motions, variations, changes and transformations in the universe are no longer regarded as meaningless and futile playthings of chance; rather, they appear in their true form and function. Each is a missive of the universe’s Master, a page inscribed with creation’s signs, a mirror reflecting God’s Names. The world itself is a book of the Eternally Besought One’s Wisdom.

Without this light, humanity’s boundless weakness and helplessness, poverty and neediness cause everyone to fall lower than the animals. Their intellects, by conveying grief, sorrow, and anxiety, make them more wretched. But when they are illumined with this light, they rise above all animals and creatures. Once their intellects are illumined, their poverty and helplessness become means of infinite wealth and power through dependence on God. Through entreaty, they become beloved “kings and queens” and, through complaints and petitions, God’s favored servants entrusted with the honorable duty of improving the earth and ruling it in His name. If this light did not exist, the universe, humanity, and all things would be reduced to nothingness. Indeed, if such a person did not exist in such a wonderful universe, the universe’s existence would not be necessary.

SIXTH DROPLET: That illustrious person announces and brings tidings of eternal happiness, unveils and proclaims God’s infinite Mercy, observes and heralds the beauties of the Realm of the Lord’s Sovereignty, and discloses and shows the Divine Names’ treasuries. If you observe him as a devoted worship per of God, you will see him to be a model of love, an embodiment of mercy, the pride of humanity, and the most illustrious fruit of the Tree of Creation. If you observe him as a Messenger, you will see him to be a proof of God, a lamp of truth, a sun of guidance, and the means of happiness. See how his light has lit up from east to west like dazzling lightning, and half of the globe and one-fifth of humanity have accepted the gift of his guidance and preserved it like their lives. So, why do our evil-commanding souls and devils not accept, with all its degrees, the essence of his mission: There is no deity but God?

SEVENTH DROPLET: Consider how he quickly eradicated his people’s fanatic attachment to their evil and savage customs and immoral qualities, and how he equipped and adorned those disparate, wild, and unyielding peoples of the peninsula with all praiseworthy virtues, making them teachers and masters of the world, especially to the civilized nations. See, it was not an outward domination; rather, he conquered and subjugated minds, spirits, hearts, and souls. He became the beloved of hearts, the teacher of minds, the trainer of souls, and the ruler of spirits.

EIGHTH DROPLET: You know that a small habit like smoking in a small community can be removed permanently only by a powerful government and with great effort. But look! This person quickly removed numerous ingrained habits from large obsessed communities with little outward power and effort. In their place, he implanted and inculcated exalted qualities that became inherent in their being. Many more such miraculous accomplishments can be credited to him. To those who refuse to see the testimony of this blessed age, let them go to the present “civilized” Arabian peninsula with hundreds of philosophers, sociologists, psychologists and pedagogues, and strive for a hundred years. Would they be able to achieve in that period even one hundredth of what he achieved in a year?

NINTH DROPLET: An insignificant person in a small group cannot tell a small but shameful lie in an insignificant disputed matter without showing anxiety and disquiet enough for his or her enemies to remain unaware of it. Now consider this person. Under a supreme mission and a tremendous task, he was addressing the whole humanity and history. Threatened from all sides, he was in dire need of security. Then, can any contradiction be found in what he speaks fearlessly, with great ease and freedom, without hesitation or anxiety, with pure sincerity, great seriousness, and in an intense, elevated manner that irritates his enemies? Can there be any deception here? What he speaks is nothing but Revelation revealed to him (53:4). The truth cannot be deceptive, and one who sees it cannot be deceived. His path, which is pure truth, is free of deception. How could a fancy appear to one who sees the truth to be the truth, and deceive him?

TENTH DROPLET: See what curiosity-arousing, attractive, necessary, and awesome truths he shows and what matters he proves. You know that what incites people most is curiosity. Suppose someone told you: “If you give half of your life and property, someone will come from Mars or Jupiter to tell you about them, your future, and what will happen to you.” If you have any curiosity at all, you would give them. But this person talks of a Monarch in Whose realm the moon flies round a moth like a fly, the moth (the earth) flutters round a lamp, and the lamp (the sun) is merely one of thousands of lamps in one of thousands of guest-houses belonging to that Monarch. He also speaks truly of so wonderful a world and predicts such a revolution that if the earth was a bomb and exploded, it would not be all that strange.

Listen to the suras he recites, which begin with: When the sun is folded up (81:1), When the heaven is cleft open (82:1), and The sudden, mighty strike (101:1). Furthermore, he speaks truly of such a future that the future in this world is, in relation to it, like a trifling mirage. He informs us most solemnly of such happiness that all worldly happiness is like a flash of lightning in comparison to an eternal sun.

ELEVENTH DROPLET: Extraordinary wonders await us under the apparent veil of this wondrous and perplexing universe. So we need a wonderful and miracle-working being to communicate and explain these wonders to us. It is apparent from this person’s conduct that he has seen and sees them, and tells us what he sees, and teaches us accurately what the One God of those heavens and the earth, Who nourishes us with His bounties, wants of us and what pleases Him. While we should therefore put everything else aside and run to this person who instructs us in such matters, what ails most people that they are so deaf, blind, and mad that they do not see, hear, or understand this truth?

TWELFTH DROPLET: As well as being an articulate proof, so true evidence of the Oneness of the Creator of all beings as the truth of His Oneness, this person is a decisive and clear proof of the resurrection of the dead and eternal happiness. Just as through his guidance he is the reason for eternal happiness coming about and the means of gaining it, so through his prayers and supplications he is the cause of its existence and the means of its creation.

See! He is making his petition during such a supreme, comprehensive Prayer (Salah) that it is as if the whole Arabian peninsula, even the whole the earth, joins in the service and, via his sublime prayer, makes its petitions. He is entreating amid so vast a congregation that it is as if all illustrious people of perfection, regardless of time, are following him and saying “Amin” to his supplications. He is imploring on behalf of so universal a need that not only the earth’s inhabitants, but also those of the heavens and all beings, join his prayer and declare: “Yes, O Master, grant this, for we also desire it.” He supplicates so needily and so touchingly, in such a loving, longing, and entreating fashion, that he brings the whole universe to tears and causes it to join in his prayer.

He also prays for such a goal and purpose that it elevates humanity and the world, even all of creation, from the lowest depth, humiliation, worthlessness, and uselessness to the highest rank of having value, permanence, and sublime duties. In a manner so elevated and help-seeking, so sweet and mercy-imploring, does he make his supplication and petition that it is as if all beings, the heavens, and the Divine Supreme Throne hear, and entering a state of ecstasy, are made to exclaim: “Amin, O God, Amin!”

See! He begs his needs from so Powerful a Being, All-Hearing and All Generous, from so All-Knowing a Being, All-Seeing and All-Merciful, that He sees the most hidden living being’s most secret need, and hears and accepts its pleas, and has mercy on that being. He provides its need, even though this being asks for it via the tongue of its particular disposition, and He gives it in so wise, seeing, and compassionate a form that it leaves no doubt that this provision and arrangement pertain only to an All-Hearing and All-Seeing One, One Most Generous and Most Merciful.

THIRTEENTH DROPLET: What does he want, this pride of humanity, this unique being and glory of all beings, who, standing on the earth with all eminent people behind him and with hands upraised, prays so intently? Listen. He is seeking eternal happiness and eternal life, to meet with God and enter Paradise. He wants all these through all the Sacred Divine Names, Which display their beauty and operations in the mirrors of all beings.

Even, were it not for the innumerable causes such as Mercy, Grace, Wisdom, and Justice for the fulfillment of that request, one of his prayers would have sufficed for building Paradise, which is as easy for Divine Power as creating spring. Just as his Messengership was the cause for opening this place of trial, so too his worship and servanthood to God is the cause for opening the next world.

Would the universe’s perfect order, which causes the wise and reflective to say [to express the perfection and beauty of the universe]: “It is not possible for the universe to be more original and wonderful than it is,” as well as the flawless beauty of art contained in His Mercy and the matchless beauty of His Lordship, —would these allow the ugliness, mercilessness, and disorder that the Owner of this order, beauty and mercy, Who hears and responds to the least significant, the least important desires and voices, refuses the most important and most necessary desires? God forbid! Such a beauty and mercy would not allow such an ugliness and themselves become ugly.

So, my friend, that is enough for now. Even if we stayed there for a hundred years, we would not comprehend fully even one-hundredth of this per son’s marvelous and remarkable acts, and never tire of watching him. So, let’s look at each century during our return. See how each has bloomed fully via the flow of light it received from that Sun of Guidance. Each one has yielded thousands of such illustrious fruits as Abu Hanifa, ash-Shafi‘i, Bayazid al Bistami, ‘Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, Shah Naqshband, Imam Ghazzali, and Imam Rabbani. Postponing the details of our observations, we should invoke blessings on that worker of miracles and bringer of guidance, which refer to some of his certain miracles:

Upon him who was sent the Wise Criterion of Truth (the Qur’an) by the All-Merciful and All-Compassionate One, from the Supreme Throne—our master Muhammad—upon him be peace and blessings thousands and thousands of times, to the number of the good deeds of his Community.

Upon him whose Messengership was foretold by the Torah, the Gospels, and the Psalms; whose Prophethood was predicted by wonderful signs that appeared prior to his Prophethood, by the voices of jinn, saints, and soothsayers; and at whose gesture the moon split— our master Muhammad—peace and blessings thousands and thousands of times, to the number of the breaths of his Community.

Upon him at whose beckoning came the trees; by whose prayer rain fell swiftly; whom the cloud shaded from the heat; with a dish of whose food hundreds of people were satisfied; from whose fingers water three times flowed out like the Spring of Kawthar; and to whom God made speak the lizard, gazelle, wolf, camel, mountain, rock, pole, and clod of soil; the one who made the Ascension (Mi‘raj) and “whose eye did not waver”—our master and intercessor Muhammad—upon him be peace and blessings thousands and thousands of times, to the number of the letters (of the Qur’an) formed in the words represented with the All-Merciful’s permission in the mirrors of the airwaves at the reciting of all the Qur’an’s words by all reciters from the beginning of Revelation until the end of time. Forgive us and have mercy upon us, O God, for the sake of each of those blessings. Amin.

FOURTEENTH DROPLET: The wise Qur’an, the treasury of miracles and itself a supreme miracle, proves his Prophethood and God’s Oneness so decisively that there is no need for further proof. Now we will give its definition and refer to one or two lights of its miraculousness that have been criticized.

The wise Qur’an, which makes our Master known to us, is the eternal translator of the great Book of the Universe; the discloser of the treasuries of the Divine Names hidden in the pages of the earth and the heavens; the key to the truths lying behind events; the treasury of the All-Merciful’s favors and the eternal addresses coming from the Unseen beyond the veil of this visible world; the sun of Islam’s spiritual and intellectual world, as well as its foundation and plan, and the map of the worlds of the Hereafter; the distinct expounder, lucid interpreter, articulate proof, and clear translator of Divine Essence, Attributes and essential Qualities; the educator, true wisdom, guide, and leader of the world of humanity; it is both a book of wisdom and law, and a book of prayer and worship, and a book of command and call to God, and a book of invocation and knowledge of God. It contains books for all of humanity’s spiritual needs, and is like a sacred library offering booklets from which all saints, eminently truthful people, and all purified and discerning scholars have derived their own specific ways.

Consider the light of miraculousness in its reiterations, which are imagined to be a fault. Since the Qur’an is a book of invocation and prayer, a book of calls or invitations [to accept its eternal truths and gain eternal happiness], reiteration is a desirable and most necessary and beautiful instance of eloquence. The invocation of God requires reiteration to impress and enlighten hearts. Through repetition, prayer acquires and gives strength to hearts, and becomes ingrained therein. Commands and calls need restatement to be confirmed and enforced.

Not everyone can read the whole Qur’an whenever they want; usually they can read only one sura (chapter). This is why its most important purposes are reiterated in most of the longer chapters, each of which there by can serve as a small Qur’an. Certain purposes and themes like Divine Unity, Resurrection, and the story of Moses are repeated so that no one is deprived of their benefits. Also, spiritual tastes and needs vary like bodily ones. We need some of them at every breath. Just as the body needs air, the spirit needs Hu–Huwa (He–God). We need some others every hour, like Bismillah (In the Name of God). And so on. The reiteration of verses therefore arises from the recurrence of needs. The Qur’an reiterates to point out those needs, to make them deeply felt, and to stir our desire to satisfy them.

Furthermore, in its role as a founder, the Qur’an is the basis of a manifest religion and the foundation of the Islamic world. It came to change human social life and answer the recurring questions and needs of various classes of human society. A founder uses repetition to affirm, and reiteration to emphasize. A new establishment requires confirmation and strengthening, and therefore repetition.

The Qur’an speaks of such important matters and subtle truths that reiteration in different contexts is necessary to impress their different aspects on people’s minds and hearts. However, such repetitions are merely apparent, for in reality each verse has manifold meanings, numerous benefits, and many aspects and levels. In each place, the words or verses occur in a different way and context, for a different meaning, purpose, and benefit.

Also, the Qur’an mentions certain cosmological matters in a concise, allusive way. This method cannot be criticized, for it is another light of its miraculousness in its role as the guide of humanity.

Question: Why does the Qur’an not speak of beings in the same way as science and materialistic or naturalistic philosophy? It mentions some matters briefly, and others in an apparently simple and superficial way that everyone can understand them easily.

Answer: Scientism and materialistic philosophy have strayed from the path of truth. As the Qur’an is not a science book, why should it elaborate on cosmological matters? It mentions certain facts of creation to make known the Divine Essence, Attributes, and Names. It explains the meaning of the Book of the Universe to make known its Creator. Therefore it considers creation not for its own sake but for the sake of knowledge of its Creator. Science, which considers creation only for its own sake, usually addresses scientists. The Qur’an, however, addresses all humanity. Since it uses creation as evidence and proof to guide humanity, most of whom are common people, its evidence should be easily understandable. Guidance requires that unimportant things only be touched upon, and that subtle points be made understandable via parables. So as not to mislead people, it should not change what they consider obvious so that such information becomes useless or harmful.

For example, the Qur’an calls the sun “a moving lamp.” It does not mention the sun for its own sake but because it is the “mainstay” of the order and the center of the universe’s system, and order and system are two ways of learning about the Creator. By saying: And the sun runs its course (36:38), it suggests the well-ordered disposition of Divine Power in the revolutions of the seasons, day and night, and so implies the Maker’s majesty. Whatever the reality of this running is does not harm the intended meaning, which is the observed order woven into the universe’s structure.

The Qur’an also says: And He has made the sun as a lamp (71:16). By depicting the sun as a lamp, the Qur’an reminds people that the world is like a palace the contents of which are decorations, provisions, and other necessities prepared for humanity and other living creatures, with the sun being a lamp to illuminate it. Thus, it implies the Creator’s Mercy and Bounty.

Now consider how science and materialistic philosophy deal with the sun: “The sun is an enormous mass of burning gases. It causes the planets, which have been flung off from it, to revolve around it. It is of such and such size and is of such and such qualities...” Such a description gives no perfection of knowledge to the spirit, but only a terrible dread and bewilderment. It also approaches the matter in a way different from that of the Qur’an.

From this comparison, you can judge the value of the merely scientific and philosophical way of thinking, which is outwardly splendid but inwardly hollow. So do not be taken in by the outward worth of scientific descriptions and disrespect the most miraculous style of the Qur’an.

O God! Make of the Qur’an for us and for all who copy it a cure for all our sickness, a companion to us and to them in life and after death, a friend in the world, an intimate one in the grave, an intercessor on the Day of Judgment, a light on the (Bridge of) Sirat, a veil and a screen from Hellfire, a friend in Paradise, and a guide and a leader to all good deeds, by Your Grace, Generosity, Munificence, and Mercy, O Most Munificent of the Munificent and Most Merciful of the Merciful. Amin.

O God! Bestow blessings and peace on him to whom You sent the wise Qur’an, the Criterion of Truth and Falsehood, and on all his Family and Companions. Amin.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

The Nineteenth Letter

The miracles of Prophet Muhammad

(NOTE: All Traditions related in this treatise are from memory, for I have no reference books to consult. If there are mistakes in the wording, please correct them or consider them as paraphrases. According to the prevailing opinion among Tradition scholars, such paraphrasing is permissible.)

THIS TREATISE ILLUSTRATES MUHAMMAD’S MIRACULOUS MESSENGERSHIP through more than 300 miracles that he worked, and is a marvel because of the following:

FIRST: Although this treatise covers more than 100 pages and is based on Traditions and narrations, I wrote it while in the countryside, working 2 or 3 hours each day. I finished it in 2 or 3 days, working completely from memory.

SECOND: Despite its length, this treatise does not bore the scribes and it is pleasant in its readers’ eyes. In fact, it has aroused such enthusiasm, even in some lazy scribes, that in these hard and distressing times as many as 70 copies have been hand-written in this neighborhood within a year.37 Those aware of this treatise’s distinction conclude that it must be a marvel coming from his Messengership’s miraculousness.

In the copies hand-written by nine scribes, including one inexperienced and unaware of tawafuq,38 the words referring to the Prophet were found to be arranged unintentionally beneath one another throughout the treatise. This is the same in the Fifth Part for the words referring to the Qur’an. The fair-minded will not see this tawafuq as mere coincidence, but rather as a mysterious sign and a wonder derived from his miraculous Messengership. The essentials explained at the treatise’s beginning are very important. The Prophetic Traditions related in it are all authentic, according to the Traditionists, and report the most established phenomena concerning his Messengership. To enumerate this treatise’s usefulness, another one of the same length would be needed. Therefore we invite those who desire to discover its usefulness to read it.

His miracles

In His name, glory be to Him.

There is nothing that does not glorify Him with His praise.

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

He has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He might uplift it above every religion. God suffices as a witness. Muhammad is the Messenger of God. (48:28-29)

Since Muhammad’s Prophethood is proved in the Nineteenth and Thirty-first Words, here we point out only some of the gleams of that great truth in 19 signs as an addendum.

Said Nursi

37 The Nur (Light) treatises were hand-copied secretly until 1950, because the government of that time was hostile to Islam and persecuted Muslims. (Tr.)

38 Tawafuq: God’s arranging things and events so that His servants obtain a good effect, such as the unintentional arrangement of key words one beneath the other on a page or in the same place on different pages. (Tr.)

Their certainty • Their classification and purpose • Specific predictions and their fulfillment • How the accounts were transmitted

FIRST SIGN: The universe’s Owner and Master does everything with knowledge, controls every affair with wisdom, directs everything perfectly, regulates everything all-knowingly, and arranges everything in a way to display the purposes and uses He wills for them. As the One who creates knows, the One who knows will speak. Since He will speak, He will speak to those having consciousness, thought, and speech. Since He will speak to such beings, He will speak to humanity, whose nature and awareness are the most comprehensive of all conscious beings. Since He will speak to humanity, He will speak to those most perfect and worthy of address.

Since He will speak to the one most perfect and worthy of address, of the highest morality and who will guide humanity, He will speak to Muhammad, who has the highest disposition and morality and is followed (most sincerely) by one-fifth of humanity. Half of the globe has submitted to his spiritual rule, and his light’s radiance has illumined humanity for more than 13 centuries. Believers, the illumined section of humanity, renew their oath of allegiance five times a day, pray for his happiness, invoke God’s blessings upon him, and admire and love him. Given this, He will speak to Muhammad and make him His Messenger and humanity’s guide. Indeed, He has done so.

SECOND SIGN: The Prophet declared his Prophethood and proved it by presenting the Qur’an and nearly 1,000 miracles. Their occurrence is as certain as his declaration of Prophethood. Another proof is that the Qur’an states that the most obstinate unbelievers charged him with sorcery. Unable to deny the miracles, they called them sorcery to satisfy themselves or to mislead their followers.

Muhammad’s miracles are so certain that the Traditionists confirmed and reported them unanimously. A miracle is the Creator of the universe’s confirmation of his Prophethood and has the effect of: “You have spoken the truth.” For example, if one claims in the ruler’s presence that the ruler has appointed him to a particular position, the ruler’s “Yes” is enough to prove the person’s claim. Furthermore, if the ruler changes his usual practice and attitude at that person’s request, this makes his claim firmer.

The Messenger claimed to be the Creator of the universe’s envoy, and God, in turn, changed His unbroken order at his prayer and request so that the resulting miracles would prove his claim. Some of his hundreds of miracles are water running from his fingers, splitting the moon with a gesture of his finger, having a tree draw close to him to confirm and bear witness to him, and feeding 200 or 300 people with only enough food for 2 or 3 people.

However, the evidence of his truthfulness and his Prophethood’s proofs are not restricted to his miracles. In fact, all of his deeds and acts, words and behavior, moral conduct and manners, as well as character and appearance, prove his truthfulness and seriousness. Indeed, such people as ‘Abdullah ibn al-Salam, a famous Jewish scholar of that time, believed in him at first sight, saying: “No lie can hide in this face, nor can any guile be found in it.”

Profound scholars say that the evidences of his Prophethood and his miracles amount to about 1,000; in reality, however, this is only the beginning. Countless people have affirmed it in their own particular ways, and the Qur’an itself provides thousands of such proofs in addition to its own 40 aspects of miraculousness. Since Prophethood is a fact, and more than 100,000 persons have claimed it and worked miracles, Muhammad’s Prophethood is established more securely than any other Prophet’s Prophethood. All evidence, qualities, and attributes related to the other Messengers’ Prophethood are found in a more perfect and comprehensive manner in the person of Prophet Muhammad. Given this, he must be far more worthy to be chosen as a Prophet.

THIRD SIGN: The Prophet’s miracles are very diverse. Since his Messengership is universal, he is distinguished by miracles connected with nearly all species of creation. When a glorified ruler’s aide-de-camp enters a city bearing diverse gifts, a representative from each section of the population welcomes him cheerfully and in its own language.

Likewise, when the Eternal Sovereign’s supreme Messenger honored the universe as an envoy to humanity and came bearing the Creator’s light of truth and spiritual gifts related to the truths of the universe, he was welcomed as the Prophet by each species—from mineral elements to plants, animals and human beings, and from the moon and sun to stars—each in its own language and bearing one of his miracles. It would require many volumes to mention all of his miracles. Pure-souled meticulous scholars have compiled many volumes concerning his Prophethood’s proofs, so here we point out only briefly the main categories of those miracles unanimously accepted as authentic.

These proofs fall into two main categories. The first (irhasat) includes miraculous events before his birth, at his birth, and before he declared his Prophethood. The second category pertains to all other proofs and has two sub-categories: the wonderful events after his death and those manifested during his Prophethood. This latter group is subdivided into proofs manifested in his own person, moral conduct, and perfect character, and those miracles concerned with the outer world. This second subgroup consists of miracles related to spirituality and the Qur’an, and those related to material reality and creation. The latter category is subdivided further into miraculous events during his mission that either broke the unbelievers’ recalcitrance or reinforced the believers’ belief. This branch has 20 different kinds, each having many instances and having been, at least in meaning, confirmed unanimously (e.g., splitting the moon, water flowing from his fingers, satisfying many people with little food, and being addressed by animals, trees, and rocks). The second branch includes some future events that happened just as he foretold.39

FOURTH SIGN: The future events he foretold, through the All-Knowing of the Unseen’s instruction, are beyond counting. Since his true reports about preceding ages, Prophets, and their nations are mostly found in the Qur’an, here we point out only a few of his correct predictions concerning his Companions, Family, and community. To ensure a complete understanding of the subject, we explain six essentials as a prelude.

FIRST ESSENTIAL: The Prophet’s every act and state bears witness to his Prophethood and faithfulness. But not all of them need to be miraculous, for he was sent by the All-Mighty as a human being to guide and lead human beings in their collective affairs and individual deeds to happiness in both this world and the next, and to disclose the wonders of God’s art and the works of His Power, each of which is a miracle although it appears to us as ordinary and familiar. If he were extraordinary in all of his acts, he could not guide human beings and instruct them through his acts, states, and attitudes.

Being supplied with some extraordinary phenomena to prove his Prophethood to obstinate unbelievers, he worked miracles when necessary. But his miracles were never such that people were forced to believe against their will, as that would annul human free will in this arena of test and trial. If this were not so, there would have been no choice, meaning that Abu Jahl would have believed as did Abu Bakr and that no one could have been held responsible, in this life and the next, for their deeds.

It is surprising that while so many people believed in him through a single sign such as a miracle, a few words, or a glimpse of his face, some people today go astray as if thousands of proofs of his Prophethood were not enough, although they have reached us through authentic lines of transmission and caused countless discerning people to accept Islam.

SECOND ESSENTIAL: The Messenger is a human being and so acts as a human being. He is also a Messenger of God and thus an interpreter and envoy of the All-Mighty.

His message is based on the two kinds of Divine Revelation: explicit and implicit. In the case of explicit Revelation, the Messenger merely interprets and announces—he has no share in its content. The Qur’an and those Sacred Traditions (hadith qudsi) whose meaning and content belong to God exclusively but whose wording belongs to the Prophet, are included here. In the case of implicit Revelation, the essence and origin of which is based on Divine Revelation and inspiration, the Prophet is allowed to explain and describe them. When he does so, he relies either on direct Revelation and inspiration or on his own insight. When giving his own interpretation, he either relies on the perceptive power bestowed upon him due to his Prophetic mission or speaks as a person conforming to his time’s common usages, customs, and kinds of comprehension.

Thus not all details of every Prophetic Tradition are necessarily derived from pure Revelation, nor are the sublime signs of his Messengership to be sought in his human thoughts and transactions. Since some truths are revealed to him in a brief and abstract form, and he describes them through his insight and in accord with normal understanding, the metaphors, allegories, or allusions he uses may need explanation or interpretation. Remember that the human mind can grasp some truths only through analogy. For example, once a loud noise was heard in the Prophet’s presence. He said: “This is the noise of a rock that has been rolling downwards for 70 years and now has reached Hell’s lowest depths.” An hour later, news came that a notorious hypocrite who recently had reached the age of 70 had died and gone to Hell. This report showed the interpretation of the Prophet’s eloquent parable.

THIRD ESSENTIAL: A Tradition related by numerous reliable authorities is indisputable. This form of relation (tawatur) has two kinds: obvious tawatur (a Tradition with numerous chains of transmission by reliable authorities) and tawatur with respect to meaning. This second one also has two kinds: those agreed upon by silence and those unanimously related by different people but with different words. In the first case, a Tradition related in the presence of others without engendering any dispute or is met with silence enjoys an implied acceptance. If those remaining silent are interested in the narration and are known to be very sensitive to errors and lies, their silence implies acceptance with far more certainty. The second kind, tawatur with respect to meaning, occurs when an incident is related unanimously by different people but with different words, as this also implies its actual occurrence. In addition, a report with only one chain of transmission sometimes amounts to the degree of tawatur in certain conditions or through some external signs.

Most of the Prophet’s miracles and his Prophethood’s proofs fall into either category. Although a few are related through only one chain of transmitters, they can be regarded as certain as if related through tawatur, since they have been accepted by confirmed authorities. Among such authorities were those who memorized more than 100,000 Traditions, who were so God conscious that for 50 years they performed the morning prayer with the night prayer’s wudu’ (ablution) (spending night awake in long vigils), and who compiled the six authentic books of Tradition.40

Any Tradition accepted by those authorities after much scrutiny has the certainty of tawatur, even if it had only one chain of transmitters, for such people were so familiar with the Prophet’s Traditions and exalted style that they could instantly spot and reject one false Tradition among 100 reports. Like an expert jeweler recognizes a pure diamond, they could not confuse other words with those of the Prophet. However, such meticulous authorities as Ibn al-Jawziya were so excessive in their criticism that they considered several authentic Traditions to be false. This does not mean that the meaning of every false wording is wrong; rather, it means that the wording does not belong to the Prophet.

QUESTION: What is the benefit of relating every Tradition through a chain of transmitters, so that they say, even for a well-known incident: “It is related from so-and-so and from so-and-so, etc.”?

ANSWER: This has many benefits, such as showing the consensus of the truthful and reliable narrators, meticulous Traditionists, as well as the unanimity of the discerning authorities mentioned. Also, it shows that each scholar in the chain puts his seal on its authenticity.

QUESTION: Why were miracles not transmitted with as great an emphasis as the Sharia’s basic rules?

ANSWER: The Sharia’s rules are used by most people to guide their lives and are applicable to everyone. Miracles, on the other hand, do not need to be known to everyone and only need to be heard once. For example, some religious obligations (such as the funeral prayer) only need to be observed by a few people and not the entire community. In the same way, only some people need to know about the miracles. This is why a miracle, no matter how much firmer its establishment is than a Sharia rule, is transmitted by only one or two narrators, while a Sharia rule is transmitted by ten or twenty people.

FOURTH ESSENTIAL: The Messenger predicted some future events that are recurring, as opposed to isolated events having a particular significance in human history. They also have numerous aspects, each of which is explained through a different Tradition. A reporter combines these aspects as if a single narration, thereby making the Tradition appear to be at variance with reality.

For example, many narrations about the Mahdi have different details and descriptions. But the truth of the matter is that God’s Messenger, relying on Revelation, told of a Mahdi who would appear in every century to preserve believers’ morale, prevent them from falling into despair over social upheavals, and secure their heart-felt devotion to members of the Prophet’s Family (a most-illustrious lineage). He foresaw a Mahdi in every century similar to the Great Mahdi promised for the end of time. The ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi, for example, regarded as belonging to the Prophet’s Family, had many of the Great Mahdi’s characteristics. So, narrations about the Mahdi differ due to confusing the Great Mahdi’s qualities with those great caliphs or saints who came before him.

FIFTH ESSENTIAL: Since only God knows the Unseen, The Prophet did not know it by himself. He told his Companions whatever God, the All-Mighty, related to him about the Unseen.

The All-Mighty is also All-Wise and All-Compassionate. Thus His Wisdom and Compassion require the veiling of most future events, for as people consider many of them unpleasant, any prior knowledge of them would be painful. This is why we do not know when we will die and why the misfortunes we will experience remain behind the veil of the Unseen.

Divine Wisdom and Compassion also require that the Prophet not know the details of what will happen to his household and Companions after his death because of his deep compassion and tender-heartedness.41 Nevertheless the All-Mighty had a Divine purpose for telling him about some of them, albeit not in all their tragic aspects. He communicated pleasant events to the Prophet, either in outline or in detail, which he then related to his Companions.

Finally, his tidings were transmitted accurately to our own era by the great Traditionists who were at the height of piety, justice, and truthfulness, and who trembled with fear at such specific warnings as: “Whoever intentionally lies about me should prepare for a dwelling in the Fire”42 and But who does greater wrong than one who lies against God? (39:32).

SIXTH ESSENTIAL: Many history books and biographies describe the Prophet’s behavior and characteristics. But most discuss his human nature, and thus ignore his spiritual persona and his being’s sacred nature, both of which are very sublime and illustrious. For, according to the rule of “the cause is like the doer,” the rewards of all Muslims’ prayers are added to the accounts of his perfections from the day he declared his Prophethood (until the end of time). Every day he receives countless invocations by Muslims as well as God’s infinite mercy, which he draws in like measure.

Further, since he is creation’s result and most perfect fruit, as well as the beloved and interpreter of the Creator of the universe, his true nature and true perfections cannot be contained in accounts of his recorded human qualities. Certainly the stature of one served by archangels Gabriel and Michael as aides-de-camp during the Battle of Badr cannot be sought in accounts of, for example, his bargaining over the price of a horse.

To avoid falling into error, we must focus on his true nature and illustrious spiritual persona in his rank of Messengership. Otherwise we may risk showing him disrespect or entertain uncertainties about his persona.

Consider the following analogies: Suppose a planted date-stone sprouts and becomes a tall, fruitful tree growing upward and outward; or that a chick from an incubated peacock egg hatches, grows into a beautiful peacock, and, adorned with the Pen of Divine Power, grows bigger and prettier still. The date-stone and egg possess qualities, properties, and precisely balanced elements, but they are not as striking and significant as those of the tree and the peacock that grew from them. Given this, while describing the date-stone’s and the egg’s qualities along with those of the tree and the peacock, each item’s qualities must be distinguished so that anyone following the description may find it reasonable. If this is not done (e.g., claiming that one date-stone [and not the tree] produces thousands of dates, or that the egg is [already] the prince of birds), people will be led to contradiction and denial.

The human nature of God’s Messenger may be likened to that date stone or egg, but his true nature, illumined with the Prophetic mission, is like the Touba tree or the Royal Bird of Paradise. Moreover, His true nature continues to grow more and more perfect. Given this, when one thinks of that exalted person bargaining with a Bedouin in the marketplace, he should gaze upon his illustrious essential nature, the one who rode the Rafraf during the Ascension, left Gabriel behind, and reached the Divine Presence. Otherwise, one risks showing insufficient respect to or failing to convince one’s earth-bound soul of his true nature.

FIFTH SIGN: We will mention several Prophetic Traditions that predict future events, as follows:

•The Prophet announced from the pulpit in the presence of his Companions: “My grandson Hasan is a noble one. Through him, God will reconcile two large hosts.”43 Forty years later, when the two largest Muslim armies faced each other, Hasan made peace with Mu‘awiya and fulfilled this prediction.

•The Prophet told ‘Ali: “You will fight the oath-breakers, the unjust, and the deviators.”44 In this way he predicted the battles of the Camel and Siffin, as well as those fought against the Kharijites.45 Once when conversing with Zubayr in good, affectionate terms, the Prophet told

‘Ali: “Zubayr will fight you, but he will be in the wrong.”46

•He also told his wives: “One of you will lead a serious rebellion. Many around her will be killed, and the dogs of Haw‘ab will bark at her.”47

All these predictions were proved by ‘Ali’s battles against ‘A’isha, Talha, and Zubayr during the Battle of the Camel; against Mu‘awiya at Siffin; and against the Kharijites at Haroura and Nahrawan.

•The Prophet told ‘Ali that ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam al-Khariji, whom he knew, would stain Ali’s beard with the blood of his own head.48

In addition, he also mentioned a bodily mark possessed by the Kharijite Dhul-Thadya. When that man’s corpse was found among the dead Kharijites, ‘Ali showed it to others as a proof of the rightness of his cause, thus making the miracle public.49

•Umm Salama and others related that the Messenger prophesied Husayn’s death at Taff (Karbala’),50 a tragic event that occurred 50 years later. He also repeatedly predicted, with some details, that his Family would be subjected to killing and exile after his death.51 All that he predicted came true.

QUESTION: ‘Ali’s extraordinary courage and profound knowledge, in addition to his kinship with the Messenger, qualified him to be caliph. So why did Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman reign before him? And why did the Muslim community experience so much disorder during his caliphate?

ANSWER: A great saint descended from the Prophet’s Family is reported to have said: “God’s Messenger desired ‘Ali’s caliphate, but was informed through inspiration that God willed otherwise. Upon this, he abandoned his desire and submitted to God’s Will.”

One reason why God’s Will differed must have been this: If ‘Ali had become caliph right after the Prophet’s death, a time when the Companions were more in need of agreement and unity than ever, there probably would have arisen, as happened during his caliphate, a tendency in many persons and tribes to compete because of his pure, uncompromisingly fearless, heroic, and independent behavior and attitude, as well as his widely known courage. Such competition might have divided the believers.

Another reason is that the young Muslim community, which spread rapidly through tribal and ethnic intermingling, gradually caused 73 sects to emerge, just as the Prophet predicted. Thus, in circumstances that foster internal conflict and turbulence, a person of ‘Ali’s courage and sagacity was needed, someone who enjoyed the force and esteem of the Hashimites and the Prophet’s Family. ‘Ali, by fighting every hardship, fulfilled the Prophet’s prediction: “I fought for the Qur’an’s revelation. You will fight for its correct explanation against its forced, false interpretation.”52

In ‘Ali’s absence, the pomp of worldly kingdom probably would have led the Umayyads completely astray. But his presence and that of the Prophet’s Family made the Umayyad leaders restrict themselves, preserve their standing before the Muslim community, and do their best (if not willingly) or at least encourage their subjects and followers to protect and propagate Islam’s truths and principles and the Qur’an’s commandments. As a result, countless meticulous Muslim jurists, distinguished Traditionists, saints and pure people of piety emerged during their reign. If they had not faced the perfect piety, sainthood, and virtue of the Prophet’s Family, they probably would have gone completely astray from the very beginning, as happened toward the end of both their and the ‘Abbasids’ rule.

QUESTION: Why did the caliphate not remain in the Prophet’s Family, although its members were the most deserving?

ANSWER: Worldly kingdom is deceptive, and the Prophet’s Family was appointed to preserve Islam’s truths and the Qur’an’s injunctions. In order not to be deceived by caliphate or kingdom, one should be either infallible like a Prophet or as extraordinarily pure-hearted as the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs, the Umayyad caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, or the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi. The Fatimids in Egypt, the al-Mohads in North Africa, and the Safawids in Persia all show that worldly kingdom is not suitable for the Prophet’s Family, for it causes them to neglect their essential duty of protecting and serving Islam. When they refrained from worldly kingdom, they served Islam and the Qur’an brilliantly and successfully.

Consider the leading saints descended from Hasan, particularly the four most eminent (Hasan al-Kharaqani, Hayat ibn Qays al-Harrani, Shaykh Hasan al-Shadhezili, and especially ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani) and the Imams descending from Husayn, especially Zayn al-‘Abidin and Ja‘far al-Sadiq. Each became a spiritual guide of the highest rank and, dispelling the dark clouds of wrongdoing, spread the Qur’an’s light and Islam’s truth. They showed themselves to be true heirs of the Prophet.

QUESTION: What was the Divine Wisdom behind the terrible and bloody upheavals, and why did Divine Compassion allow such things to happen to those Muslims who cannot have deserved them?

ANSWER: A strong spring rain activates and develops predispositions inherent in vegetables, seeds, and trees so that each will bloom and flourish in its own fashion and realize its natural function. In the same way, upheavals during the time of the Companions and their successors activated various talents. Many people rose to preserve Islam, fearing that it was in danger. Women and men shouldered a duty to be performed in the Muslim community and strove to fulfill it to the best of their ability. Each group performed a different function, such as striving to preserve the Prophetic Traditions, to protect the Sharia, to maintain the Qur’an and the truths of belief, and so on. This caused many branches of the religious and natural sciences to flourish, as well as many people of learning to appear. The seeds of a brilliant civilization were scattered throughout the vast Muslim world, and half of the ancient world changed into “rose gardens.” Nevertheless, “thorns” (deviant sects) also appeared in these rose gardens.

It was as if Divine Power shook that age through glory, turned it over vigorously, and thus electrified all people of zeal. Activated by that movement’s centrifugal force, large numbers of illustrious jurists, enlightened Traditionists, blessed memorizers of the Qur’an and Traditions, people of purity and chiefs of saints dispersed throughout the Muslim world. Thus Divine Power inspired Muslims with enthusiasm and awakened them to the Qur’an’s treasures.

Now we return to our subject. The Messenger predicted thousands of events, all of which came true. Here we mention only a few. Most are agreed upon by the six most authentic books of Traditions, including the two most famous: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim. Many have the certainty of tawatur with respect to their meaning, while others, on account of verification by meticulous researchers, may be considered as certain as if narrated through tawatur. All are authentic.

•“You (the Companions) will defeat all your enemies and conquer Mecca, Khyber, Damascus, Jerusalem, Iraq, and Persia. You will share the treasures of the Persian and Byzantine rulers among yourselves.”53 These empires were the superpowers of their time. The Prophet did not say “I think” or “I guess”; rather, he said it as if he had seen it. He predicted this while he was in severest circumstances with a handful of followers due to pervasive hostility in and around Mecca.

•“After my death, you should follow the way of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.”54

In other words, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar would succeed him as caliphs and act so perfectly as to please God and His Messenger. He also declared that Abu Bakr’s reign would be short, but that ‘Umar would reign for a longer time and make many conquests.

•“Earth was laid out before me, and I was shown its remotest corners in the east and west. My nation will extend over whatever was laid out before me.”55

•Before the Battle of Badr, he indicated the exact places where the polytheistic Qurayshi leaders would be killed, and said: “Abu Jahl will be killed here, ‘Utba here, Umayya here,” etc., and added: “I will kill Umayya ibn al-Khalaf.”56

•He informed his Companions of what was happening during the Battle of Muta (near Damascus), as if watching it, even though it would take someone one month to reach it on foot. He said: “Zayd has taken the flag and been hit; now Ibn Rawaha has taken it and been hit; now Ja‘far has taken it and been hit; now one of God’s swords (i.e., Khalid) has taken it.”57 Two or three weeks later, Ya‘la ibn Munabbih returned from the battlefront. In his presence, the Prophet described the fighting in detail and Ya‘la swore by God that everything had happened exactly as described.

•“The Caliphate after me will last for 30 years and then be replaced by a biting monarchy.58 This affair certainly began with Prophethood and as a mercy. Then it will be mercy and caliphate, after which it will change into a biting monarchy, and finally into iniquity and tyranny.”59 In other words: the caliphates of four Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the 6month caliphate of Hasan, after which the caliphate became a monarchy, which later was transformed into tyranny and the corruption of his nation.

•“‘Uthman will be killed while reading the Qur’an. God probably will dress him in a shirt, but they will want to remove it from him.”60 By this he meant that ‘Uthman would become caliph, his deposition would be sought, and that he would be martyred while reading the Qur’an.

•According to an authentic narration, when the Prophet was cupped, he ordered ‘Abdullah ibn Zubayr to bury the blood. Upon learning that Ibn Zubayr had drunk it as a blessing, he said: “Woe unto the people for what will befall them because of you, and woe unto you for what will befall you because of the people.”61 Thus he prophesied that the courageous Ibn Zubayr would lead the Muslims and that they would face awful attacks so that people would suffer great disasters. Ibn Zubayr declared his caliphate in Mecca during the Umayyads’ rule and fought heroic battles against them, until finally Hajjaj the tyrant martyred him after a fierce battle.

•The Messenger foretold the founding of the Umayyad state and that most of its rulers, including Yazid and Walid, would be unjust.62 He also foretold that Mu‘awiya would rule the Muslims and advised him to be just and mild: “When you rule, act gently.”63 The Prophet also predicted the Abbasids’ long rule after the Umayyads, saying: “The descendants of

‘Abbas will appear with black flags and rule for many times longer than them (the Umayyads).”64

•He prophesied the dreadful destruction of Genghis Khan and Hulagu, which caused the ‘Abbasid state to collapse: “Woe to the Arabs for the evil that has approached.”65

•The Prophet said to Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, when the latter was gravely ill: “Hopefully you will be spared so that some may benefit through you and others be harmed through you,”66 suggesting that Sa‘d would be a great commander and make many conquests. While many would benefit from him by converting to Islam, many others would be harmed through him because he would destroy their states. Later on, Sa‘d commanded the Muslim armies that destroyed Persia’s Sassanid Empire and brought many people within the guidance of Islam.

•When Negus, the Abyssinian ruler who embraced Islam, died 7 years after the Prophet’s emigration to Medina, he told his Companions what had happened and prayed the funeral prayers for him. A week later, news arrived announcing the Negus’ death on the very day it was announced by the Messenger.67

•When the Messenger was on top of either Mount Uhud or Nur with his four closest friends, the mountain trembled. He said: “Steady, for on you are a Prophet, a truthful one (Abu Bakr) and martyrs (‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali).”68

Now O miserable, unfeeling, and wretched one who says that Muhammad was a wise man and then closes your eyes to that sun of the truth! Of his 15 kinds of major miracles, so far you have heard only a tiny part of one kind—that which is related to his predictions having the certainty of tawatur. One who predicts even only one-hundredth of such future events with his own insight would have to be of the highest genius. Even if we merely regarded him as a genius, as you do, could such a person with the insight of a hundred geniuses have perceived anything false or so far abase himself as to give false information? Not to heed the words of such a person concerning happiness in both worlds is pure stupidity.

SIXTH SIGN:

•The Messenger told his daughter Fatima: “You will be the first Family member to join me (after my death).”69 When she died 6 months later, his words proved true. He also said to Abu Dharr: “You will be expelled from here (Medina), will live alone and die alone.”70 What he said happened 20 years later.

•Once he woke up in Umm Haram’s house (Anas ibn Malik’s aunt) and said with a smile: “I dreamed that my community was fighting in the sea like kings sitting on thrones.” Umm Haram asked: “Pray that I may be with them.” He replied firmly: “You shall be.”71 Forty years later she accompanied her husband ‘Ubada ibn Samit during the conquest of Cyprus. She died there, and her tomb remains a visited place.

•“The Thaqif tribe will produce a liar who claims Prophethood, as well as a bloodthirsty tyrant.”72 In other words, the notorious Mukhtar (who claimed Prophethood) and the criminal Hajjaj (who killed 100,000 people).

• “Constantinople (Istanbul) will be conquered (by my community).

How blessed is the commander who conquers it, and how blessed his army.”73 Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who thereby attained a high spiritual rank, in 1453.

•“If religion were hung on the Pleiades, descendants of the Persians would reach it and get a hold of it,”74  indicating Persia’s matchless scholars and saints such as Abu Hanifa.

•“A scholar from the Quraysh will fill the parts of Earth with knowledge.”75 This refers to Imam Shafi‘i, who founded one of Islam’s four legal schools.

•“My community will be divided into 73 sects, and only one of them will be saved.” When asked who they were, he replied: “Those who follow me and my Companions,” by which he meant the people of the Sunna and Community (Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a).76

•“The Qadariya are the Magians of this community,”77 thereby predicting the Qadariya sect,78 which would split into several branches and reject Destiny.

•He predicted several groups that would split into many factions, when he told ‘Ali: “On account of you, as with Jesus, two groups will perish: One because of excessive love (for you), and the other because of excessive enmity (for you).”79 Christians, due to their excessive love for Jesus, transgressed the limits and regarded him as God’s “son,” while Jews went so far in their enmity as to deny his Prophethood and perfections. This refers to the Rafidites,80 and the Kharijites, and the Nasiba, extremist partisans of the Umayyads, respectively.

QUESTION: The Qur’an demands that we love the Prophet’s Family, and the Prophet greatly encouraged this. The Shi‘as’ love for them may serve as an excuse, for people of love may be likened to people of intoxication. So why cannot the Shi‘a, especially the Rafidites, benefit from their love? Why did the Prophet condemn them for their excessive love?

ANSWER: There are two kinds of love. The first is loving somebody as a means to attain true love, which is love for the Prophet’s Family in the name of God and his Messenger. Such love increases one’s love of the Prophet and becomes a means to love God Almighty. Therefore it is lawful, its excess is harmless and not considered a transgression, and it does not call for reproach and enmity toward others.

The second takes the means as its real object. Such people “forget” the Prophet and devote their love to ‘Ali (the Rafidites) due to his heroic acts and perfections, and to Hasan and Husayn on account of their extraordinary virtues, regardless of whether they recognize God and His Prophet. This love is not a means to love God and His Messenger. Moreover, its excess leads to reproach and enmity toward others. The Rafidites’ excessive love for ‘Ali caused them to reject the caliphates of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, deny their perfections, and eventually to deviate from the Straight Path. Such excessive and negative love causes spiritual ruin.

•“When Persian and Roman girls serve you, you will be exposed to internal conflicts and civil war, and the wicked will come to power, preying on the good.”81 This came true after 30 years.

•“‘Ali will conquer Khaybar.”82 As a miracle of the Prophet and beyond all expectation, the following day ‘Ali reached the gate of Khyber’s fortress, used it as a shield, and finally conquered Khyber. When he threw the gate aside after the conquest, eight (another version says 40) strong men could not lift it.83

•“The Hour will not come before two parties (of Muslims) fight (each other), although they make the same claims,”84 predicting the Battle of Siffin between ‘Ali and Mu‘awiya.

•“‘Ammar will be killed by a rebellious group.”85 When ‘Ammar was killed at Siffin, ‘Ali mentioned this as evidence that Mu‘awiya and his followers were rebels. However, Mu‘awiya and ‘Amr ibn al-‘As interpreted it as: “The rebels are his murderers, not all of us.”

•“Disorder will not appear (among my community) as long as ‘Umar is alive.”86

•When Sahl ibn ‘Amr was taken prisoner before his conversion to Islam, ‘Umar told the Messenger: “Let me pull out his teeth, for his eloquent speech incites the Qurayshi unbelievers to fight us.” The Messenger replied: “‘Umar, maybe he will assume a position pleasing to you.”87 When the Prophet died, Sahl delivered an eloquent sermon in Mecca to steady and console the grief-stricken Companions. Remarkably, this sermon was almost the same in meaning and wording as that delivered, at the same time and for the same purpose, by Abu Bakr in Medina.

•“I wonder (Suraqa), how it will be with you when you wear the two bracelets of Chosroes (the Persian king).”88 Chosroes was defeated during the reign of ‘Umar, who put the bracelets on Suraqa and said: “Praise be to God, Who took these off Chosroes and put them on Suraqa.”89

The Prophet also declared: “Once (the rule of) Chosroes (meaning the Sassanid dynasty) is gone, there will be no other Chosroes,”90 (thus predicting the end of the Sassanid rule in Iran).

•When the envoy of Chosroes (the Sassanid king during the Prophet’s time) reached Medina, the Prophet told him: “Chosroes has been killed by his son Shirviya Parwiz.”91 After confirming this, the envoy (reported to be Firouz) accepted Islam.

•When God’s Messenger was about to set out for the conquest of Mecca, a secret letter sent by Khatib ibn Abi Balta‘a was already on its way to the Quraysh. He sent ‘Ali and Miqdad, telling them: “The letter-carrier is in such-and-such a place. Go and bring it.” They did as he asked. When the Messenger asked Khatib why he had sent the letter, Khatib gave an excuse and was pardoned.92

•God’s Messenger prayed: “May he (‘Utba ibn Abi Lahab) be devoured by one of the dogs of God.”93 Later on, this man was devoured by a lion while traveling to Yemen.

•After the conquest of Mecca, Bilal al-Habashi stood on the Ka‘ba’s roof and called the people to prayer (adhan). Several Qurayshi leaders, namely, Abu Sufyan, ‘Attab ibn Asid, and Harith ibn Hisham, were sitting together near the Ka‘ba. ‘Attab said: “My father is fortunate not to witness this moment.” Harith asked contemptuously: “Could not Muhammad find someone other than this black crow to be the mu’azzin?”

Abu Sufyan did not comment, saying: “I am afraid that he will come to know whatever I say, and so will say nothing. Even if no one informs him, the rocks of this Batha (i.e., Mecca) will do so.” Shortly thereafter, God’s Messenger came to them and repeated their conversation word for word. At that very moment ‘Attab and Harith embraced Islam.94

Now, those of you who do not recognize the Prophet! Consider that two stubborn Qurayshi leaders believed after witnessing only one miracle. Consider how far you have been ruined so that you are not convinced even after hearing hundreds of his miracles, like this one, that came through tawatur. But let’s return to our subject.

•The Muslims captured ‘Abbas during the Battle of Badr. When asked for ransom, ‘Abbas said he had no money. God’s Messenger said: “You left that amount of money with your wife Umm Fadl in such-and-such a place (he gave the exact amount of money and named the place).”95 ‘Abbas confirmed this: “Only the two of us (i.e., ‘Abbas and his wife) knew this,” and then attained perfect belief.

•Labid, a dangerous Jewish sorcerer, invented a strong and effective spell to harm the Prophet. Winding some hair around a comb, he bewitched it and threw it into a well. God’s Messenger told some of his Companions, including ‘Ali: “Go to such-and-such a well and remove the spell from it.” They did so, and the Messenger’s discomfort lessened as they unwound the hair.96

•In the company of some important Companions, including Abu Hurayra and Hudayfa, the Prophet mentioned the fate one of them would meet because of his later apostasy: “One of you will be in the Fire with a tooth bigger than Mount Uhud.” Abu Hurayra would later relate: “I was so afraid, as only two members of that group remained. One of them was me. Finally, the other man was killed in the Battle of Yamama as an apostate in the company of Musaylima.”97

•Before converting to Islam, ‘Umayr and Safwan decided to kill the Prophet and collect a large reward. When ‘Umayr came to Medina with this intention, God’s Messenger summoned him, related the plot, and placed his hand on ‘Umayr’s chest. ‘Umayr confessed and became a Muslim.98

Many more of his predictions are recorded with chains of transmission in authentic books of Tradition. Most of the ones related here have the certainty of tawatur in meaning, being related in al-Jami‘ al-Sahih by Imam al-Bukhari and al-Jami‘ al-Sahih by Imam al-Muslim (commonly known as Bukhari and Muslim or Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim, respectively), which are accepted by meticulous researchers as the most authentic sources after the Qur’an, and in the Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Nasa’i, Sunan Abu Dawud, Musnad al-Hakim, Musnad al-Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Dala’il al-Bayhaqi.

Now then, you bewildered person, do not try to explain this away by calling Muhammad a wise man. His predictions, all of which have come (or will come) true, can be explained in only two ways. The first one is that he had such a keen sight and broad genius that he penetrated into all times and places and thereby learned of the past and the future. If someone had this quality, it would be no more than a wonder, a miraculous gift from the Creator of the universe, and one of the greatest miracles.

The second one is that he is an official instructed by a Being Who controls and observes everything, commands all times and places, and records everything in a great ledger. He then relates to His Messenger whatever and whenever He wills. Thus Muhammad instructs others as he is instructed by his Eternal Instructor.

•While appointing Khalid ibn al-Walid to fight against Ukaydir, the chief of Dawmat al-Jandal, the Prophet told him: “You will find him (Ukaydir) on a wild ox hunt,” and that he would be captured without resistance.99

Khalid found and captured Ukaydir in those exact circumstances.

•Sometime after the Quraysh hung the leaf containing the articles of boycott against the Bani Hashim (the Prophet’s clan) on the Ka‘ba’s wall, the Messenger told them: “Worms have eaten the leaf, except the parts bearing the names of God.” They went and found it to be so.100

•“A pestilence will break out during Jerusalem’s conquest.” This city was conquered during ‘Umar’s caliphate, and a widespread pestilence broke out and killed about 70,000 people in 3 days.101

•God’s Messenger predicted the establishment of Basra and Baghdad,102 that treasures would pour into Baghdad from all over the world, and that the Arabs would fight the Turks and the people living around the Caspian Sea,103 most of whom would later convert and rule the Arabs in their own lands. He said: “Non-Arabs will predominate among you, consuming your booty and striking off your heads.”104

•“Young, evil Qurayshis will ruin my community.”105 This foretold such wicked Umayyad leaders as Yazid and Walid. He also predicted that people in certain areas, such as Yamama, would apostasize,106 and declared during the Battle of the Trench: “After this, neither the Quraysh nor the Confederates will fight me, but I will fight them.”107

•The Prophet foretold his death a few months before it happened, saying: “One of God’s servants has been given a choice and has chosen that which is with God.”108

•“One of his (Zayd ibn Sawhan) limbs will precede him to Paradise.”109 This came true when Zayd lost a hand during a battle.

These predictions related to the Unseen constitute only one of his 10 kinds of miracles. We did not mention one of these kinds here, and summarized this and the other 4 kinds related to predictions in the Twenty-fifth Word. Anyone with an uncorrupted mind and heart can consider just this one kind together with the other 4 in order to believe that Muhammad is God’s Messenger and was instructed by the All-Majestic One, the Creator of everything and the All-Knowing of the Unseen.

Said Nursi

39 Unfortunately, I could not write as I had intended, and so wrote as my heart dictated. I could not follow the order of this classification.

40 These are the books of Traditions compiled by Bukhari (d. 870), Muslim (d. 875), Abu Dawud (d. 888), Tirmidhi (d. 892), Ibn Maja (d. 886), and al-Nasa’i (d. 915). (Ed.)

41 For example, God’s Messenger once said to his wives: “I wish I knew which of you will take part in that event,” which shows that he did not know that ‘A’isha would participate in the Battle of Camel. If he had known, his love and affection for her would have been hurt. However, later on he was informed of this somehow and told ‘Ali: “There probably will be a matter between you and ‘A’isha. Treat her gently and return her to her abode safely.”

42 Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Jami‘ al-Saghir; related from 70 Companions.

43 Bukhari, Kitab al-Sulh, 3:244; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 5:37.

44 Hakim, Mustadrak, 3:139; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 6:414.

45 The Kharijites held that those who commit a grave error or sin and do not repent sincerely are no longer Muslims. Mere profession is not enough, for belief must be accompanied by righteous deeds. They also considered jihad as one of Islam’s pillars, due to their belief that “enjoining good and forbidding evil” meant vindicating truth through the sword. Although wiped out during the first two Islamic centuries for their almost constant rebellion against established authority, they still are found today in small pockets in Oman as well as in northern and eastern Africa. (Ed.)

46 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 6:213; Hakim, ibid., 3:366.

47 Bayhaqi, ibid., 6:405-410; Hakim, ibid., 3:120.

48 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 1:102; Haythami, Majma‘, 9:138; Hakim, ibid., 3:113.

49 Bukhari, 9:22; Muslim, 7:745; Bayhaqi, Dala’il, 6:426.

50 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 6:294; Haythami, Majma‘, 9:188; Bayhaqi, ibid., 6:468.

51 Hakim, 4:482; al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, no. 2558.

52 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:83; Haythami, Majma‘, 9:133; Tirmidhi, 5:635.

53 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:83; ‘Ali al-Qari’, Sharh al-Shifa’ (from Bukhari, Muslim and others), 1:678-79.

54 Hakim, 3:75; also related by Tirmidhi, Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Maja, and Bayhaqi.

55 Muslim, 4:2215; Hakim, 4:445; also related by Tirmidhi, Ibn Hanbal, and Ibn Maja.

56 Muslim, no. 1779; Ibn Hanbal, 1:390; Qadi ‘Iyad, Shifa’, 1:343; Hakim, 2:327.

57 Bukhari, 5:182; Hakim, 3:298; Abu Nu‘aym, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 2:529.

58 Al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, no. 3336; Ibn Hanbal, 4:273; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, 8:227; Abu Dawud, Sunna, 8; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 48.

59 Ibid.

60 Hakim, 3:100; Ibn Hanbal, 6:114; Tirmidhi, no. 2706; Majma‘, 5:188.

61 Hakim, 3:554; al-Matalib al-‘Aliya, 4:21; Qadi ‘Iyad, Shifa’ al-Sharif, 1:339.

62 Al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, no. 412, 2579; Shifa’, 1:338; related by Tirmidhi and Hakim.

63 Ibn Hajar, Matalib al-‘Aliya, 4085, related by Ibn Hanbal and Abu Ya‘la.

64 Ibn Hanbal, 3:216; Hakim, al-Mustadrak, 3:326; Bayhaqi, Dala’il, 6:513.

65 Bukhari, Kitab al-Fitan, 9:60; Muslim, no. 2880; Hakim, 1:108.

66 Abu Nu‘aym, Hilyat al-Awliya’, 1:94, also related by Bukhari and Muslim.

67 Bukhari, 2:109; also related by Muslim, Ibn Malik, Abu Dawud, and Nasa’i.

68 Muslim, 4:1880; also related by Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Hakim, and Abu Dawud.

69 Bukhari, 4:248; Muslim, 4:1904; Ibn Hanbal, 6:77, Bayhaqi, 7:164.

70 Shifa’ al-Sharif, 1:343, related by Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Hibban, and Ibn Kathir.

71 Al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, 6:24, related by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, among others.

72 Hakim, 3:453, also related by Muslim, Ibn Hanbal, and Tirmidhi.

73 Bukhari, Tarikh al-Saghir, 139; Hakim, 4: 422, also Ibn Hanbal and Haythami.

74 Al-Lu’lu’ wa al-Marjan, 3:183, related by Bukhari, Muslim, and Tirmidhi.

75 Kashf al-Khafa’, 2:53, related by Ibn Hanbal, Tayalisi, Ibn Hajar, and Bayhaqi.

76 Ibn Hanbal, 2:332; also related by Abu Dawud, Ibn Maja, and Tirmidhi.

77 Al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, 4:l50, related by Abu Dawud, Hakim, and Ibn Maja.

78 This sect, appearing during the second Islamic century, advocated free will, argued that people can create their own conduct (both good and evil), and accepted causality as a necessary part of human conduct, thus rejecting Divine Destiny.

79 Hakim, 3:123; also related by Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Hibban, and Bazzar.

80 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 10:22; Fath al-Rabbani, 24:20; Nasa’i, al-Khasa’is, 3:19.

81 Haythami, 10:237; al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, 813; Shifa’, 1:237; Ibn Hibban, 8:253.

82 Bukhari, 5:171; Muslim, no. 2406; Ibn Hanbal, 5:333; Hakim, 3:109.

83 Suyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa’, 164; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 4:189, also related by Hakim, Ibn Ishaq, and Bayhaqi.

84 Al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, 6:174; related by Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud.

85 Muslim, 4:2236; Bukhari, 1:122; related from about 30 Companions.

86 Bayhaqi, 6:386; Muslim, 4:2218; also related by Bukhari.

87 Hakim, 4:282; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba, 2:93; Shifa’, 1:344.

88 Ibn Hajar, ibid., no. 3115; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:703.

89 Shifa’, 1:344; also al-Isaba, no. 3115.

90 Muslim, 4:2236; also related by Bukhari, Tirmidhi, and Tabarani.

91 ‘Ali al-Qari, ibid, 1:700; al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, 875; Abu Nu‘aym, 2:348.

92 Bukhari, 5:184; Muslim, No. 2494; Ibn Hanbal, 1:80.

93 Shifa’, 1:343; related by Hakim, Bayhaqi, and Ibn Ishaq.

94 Ibn Hajar, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya, 4366; Ibn Hisham, Sira, 2:413.

95 Haythami, Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 6:85; related by Ibn Hanbal, Hakim, and Bayhaqi.

96 Bukhari, 4:148; Muslim, 4:1719; Ibn Maja, 3545; Ibn Hanbal, 4:367.

97 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:289; related by Tabarani and, with a slight difference, by Muslim; Shifa’, 1:342.

98 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:286; Shifa’, 1:342; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 3:313.

99 Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 2:119; Hakim, 4:519; Shifa’, 1:344; Bayhaqi, 2:66.

100 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 3:96; Bayhaqi, 2:311; Shifa’, 1:345; Ibn Hisham, 1:371.

101 Bukhari, 7:168; Muslim, no. 2219; Ibn Hanbal, 4:195.

102 Basra: al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, 6:268, related by Abu Dawud; Baghdad: al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 10:102; also related by Abu Nu‘aym and Khatib.

103 Al-Shifa’, 1:337, related by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, and Tirmidhi.

104 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 7:310, related by Hakim, Tayalisi, and Ibn Hanbal.

105 Bukhari, 9:60; Ibn Hanbal, 2:288; Hakim, Mustadrak, 4:479.

106 Bukhari, 4:247; Muslim, 4:1781.

107 Ibn Hanbal, 4:262, also related by Bukhari, Ibn Hibban, and Tabarani.

108 Muslim, no. 2382; also related by Bukhari and Tirmidhi.

109 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 9:398, related by Bayhaqi, Ibn Adiyy, and Abu Ya‘la.

Miracles related to increasing the amount of available food

SEVENTH SIGN: We mention a few examples of the Prophet’s miracles related to increasing food that have the certainty of tawatur in meaning. But before continuing, some introductory comments are appropriate.

Each miracle related below was transmitted through various—sometimes as many as 16—channels. Most took place before large groups and were narrated by many persons of truth and good repute. For example, one of the 70 people fed with four handfuls of food relates the incident while the rest remain silent (i.e., they do not contradict him). Their silence indicates agreement. This is especially true for the truthful, straightforward, and honest Companions who reject and oppose all falsehood. The incidents given below are narrated by many people and confirmed by the witnesses’ silence, thus making each incident definite to the degree of tawatur in meaning.

Moreover, history books and biographies of the Prophet record that the Companions, next to preserving the Qur’an and its verses, did their best to record and preserve the Messenger’s deeds and words, especially those concerning miracles and Divine Commands, and to confirm their authenticity. They never neglected even an apparently insignificant act or state of the Prophet, as confirmed by the books of Tradition.

While the Prophet was alive, the miracles and Traditions forming the basis of religious injunctions were written down by many Companions, especially the “Seven ‘Abdullahs,” notably ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (the “Interpreter of the Qur’an”) and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As. Some 30 or 40 years later, thousands of Tabi‘un researchers recorded these, and later on the four imams of Islamic jurisprudence and thousands of discerning Traditionists also would write them down and transmit them.

Two centuries after the Prophet’s emigration, the compilers of the six esteemed and most authentic books of Traditions, at the head of whom are Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim, shouldered the task of preserving the Traditions. In the meantime, meticulous critics identified false reports produced by unbelievers or careless and ignorant people. In later centuries, Traditions continued to be distinguished from fabrications and distortions by people of profound learning and such meticulous researchers as Ibn al-Jawzi and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, who was honored many times while awake with the presence and conversation of God’s Messenger, as confirmed by those of spiritual realization.

Thus the miracles cited below come down to us through numerous safe and trustworthy hands, for which we thank God, since this is by His grace. No one has the right to doubt their authenticity. Examples of authentically narrated miracles concerning the Prophet’s increasing of food through his blessing are as follows:

FIRST EXAMPLE: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim, and the others of the six most authentic books of Tradition, relate that during the feast celebrating the Prophet’s marriage to Zaynab, Umm Sulaym (Anas’ mother) fried a few handfuls of dates and asked Anas to take them to the Prophet. He did so, and was told: “Go and invite so-and-so (naming some people) and whoever else you meet.” Anas did as he was told, and gradually about 300 Companions filled the Prophet’s room and the large hall where the poor, learned Companions lived. The Prophet told them: “Make circles of ten.” Putting his hand on the dates, he supplicated and told the people to help themselves. Each person ate until satisfied. Then he asked Anas to clear the table. Anas later related: “I could not tell if there was more food when I set out the dish or when I removed it.”110

SECOND EXAMPLE: Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who hosted the Prophet for some months after his emigration, relates: “I made a meal sufficient for two people: God’s Messenger and Abu Bakr. The Prophet, however, told me to invite 30 distinguished Ansaris (Helpers). Thirty men came and ate. He then asked me to invite another 60, which I did. They also came and ate. God’s Messenger then told me to invite 70 more, which I did. They came and ate. There was still food left in the bowl when they finished eating. After witnessing that miracle, all who had eaten took the oath of allegiance. One hundred and eighty men ate food prepared for two.”111

THIRD EXAMPLE: ‘Umar, Abu Hurayra, Salama al-Aqwa, and Abu ‘Amrat al-Ansari report that during a military campaign, the army had no food. The Messenger, upon being informed, told them to gather all of their food. Everyone brought a few dates—the largest amount was a few handfuls— and put them on a mat. Salama relates: “I estimated the amount to be the equivalent of a reclining goat.” God’s Messenger prayed for its increase and called everyone to bring his bowl. They rushed forward, and each soldier’s bowl was filled. Even then, some was food left over. One Companion who was there later said: “I realized from the way the dates became abundant that even if all people on Earth came, there would be enough.”112

FOURTH EXAMPLE: Authentic books of Tradition, including Bukhari and Muslim, report that ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr related: “We, 130 Companions, accompanied God’s Messenger on an expedition. Dough from four handfuls of wheat was prepared to make bread, a goat was slaughtered and cooked, and its liver and kidneys were roasted. I swear by God that God’s Messenger gave each of us a piece from the roasted parts and put the cooked meat in the bowls. We ate until we were full, and still there was some left over. I loaded it onto a camel.”113

FIFTH EXAMPLE: As recorded in authentic books, Jabir al-Ansari relates under oath: “During the Battle of the Trench or Ahzab, our food seemed to be undiminished even after about 1,000 men had eaten bread made from four handfuls of barley and (meat from) a young cooked goat. The food was cooked in my house. And after everyone ate and left, the pot was still boiling with meat and bread was still being made from the dough. God’s Messenger had put water from his mouth into the dough and into the pot, and then prayed for abundance.”114 Since this event was witnessed by 1,000 people, was related by Jabir with an oath, and no one is reported to have contradicted it, it can be considered as definite as if it were related by 1,000 people.

SIXTH EXAMPLE: As related in an authentic way, Abu Talha (Anas’ uncle) said: “God’s Messenger fed 70 to 80 people with a small amount of rye bread that Anas brought under his arm. The Messenger ordered the bread broken into small pieces and then prayed for abundance. Since there was not enough space for everyone, the people ate in shifts of ten. Everyone left satisfied.”115

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: Authentic books of Tradition, including Shifa’ al-Sharif and Sahih al-Muslim, report that Jabir al-Ansari said: “A man asked God’s Messenger for food to feed his family. The Messenger gave him half a load of barley. He and his household ate from it for a long time. When they noticed it was not decreasing, they measured it to see how much it had been reduced. This ended the blessing of abundance, and the barley began to dwindle. When the man told God’s Messenger what had happened, he replied: ‘If you had not measured it, it would have sufficed you for a lifetime.’”116

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: Such authentic books as Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Nasa’i, Dala’il al-Bayhaqi, Shifa’ al-Sharif, and others quote Samura ibn Jundub as relating that a bowl of meat brought to God’s Messenger fed groups of people from morning until evening.117 As explained in this section’s introduction on these Traditions’ authenticity, it is as if everyone present related this event and that Samura related it on their behalf and with their approval.

NINTH EXAMPLE: As related by such reliable and trusted researchers as Qadi ‘Iyad (author of Shifa’ al-Sharif ), Ibn Abi Shayba, and Tabarani, Abu Hurayra says: “God’s Messenger told me to invite poor people of the Suffa118 who used the Mosque’s hall as their home. There were more than 100 of them, and I searched for and summoned them all. One plate of food was put before us. We all ate from it as much as we wished. When we rose, the plate was as full as it had been when placed before us. However, our finger marks on the food showed that we had eaten from it.”119 Although only Abu Hurayra narrates this event, it is as definite as if each member of the Suffa had narrated it, since Abu Hurayra narrates in their name and relies on their confirmation. Would such perfect, truthful people remain silent if the narration were not true?

TENTH EXAMPLE: Imam ‘Ali narrates that God’s Messenger gathered ‘Abd al-Muttalib’s descendants, about 40 people, some of whom could eat a young camel and drink more than a gallon of milk at one meal. But God’s Messenger had prepared only a handful of food. They ate until satisfied, and the amount of food did not decrease. Then the Messenger brought them a wooden bowl of milk that might be enough for only three or four people. They drank until satisfied, and the amount of milk did not decrease.120 This miracle is as definite as ‘Ali’s bravery and loyalty.

ELEVENTH EXAMPLE: At the wedding feast of ‘Ali and Fatima, God’s Messenger told Bilal: “Have some bread made from a few handfuls of flour, and have a young camel be slaughtered.” Bilal narrates: “I brought the food, and he put his hand over it for a blessing. Later, the Companions came in groups, ate, and left. The Messenger prayed for the abundance of the remaining food and sent a full bowl to each of his wives, saying that they should eat and feed whoever came to them.”121 Such blessed abundance was necessary for such a blessed marriage.

TWELFTH EXAMPLE: Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq related that Fatima cooked enough food only for herself and ‘Ali. She sent ‘Ali to invite God’s Messenger to eat with them. He came and told them to send a dish of food to each of his wives and then put the remaining food aside for him, ‘Ali, Fatima, and their children. Fatima says: “When we removed the pot, it was still full to the brim. By God’s Will, we ate from it for quite a long time.”122 I wonder why you do not believe this miracle as if you yourself had seen it, for it reaches us through such an illustrious and respected line of narrators. Even Satan could not dispute it!

THIRTEENTH EXAMPLE: Such truthful Tradition authorities as Abu Dawud, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Bayhaqi narrate from Dukayn al-Ahmad ibn Sa‘d al-Muzayn, from Nu‘man ibn Muqarrin al-Ahmad al-Muzayn, who along with his six brothers was a Companion, and from Jarir the following incident originally reported by ‘Umar and transmitted through various channels: “God’s Messenger once commanded ‘Umar: ‘Provide food for 400 horsemen of the Ahmasi tribe for their journey.’ ‘Umar responded: ‘O Messenger of God, all the provisions put together are about the size of a young camel sitting down.’ The Prophet told him to give it to them. From half a load of dates, ‘Umar gave them an amount that satisfied 400 horsemen. He would later say when reporting this event: ‘The food did not decrease.’”123 This miracle is confirmed by the witnesses’ silence. Do not ignore such narrations just because they are related by only two or three individuals, for confirmation by silence gives their meaning the authority and certainty of tawatur by meaning.

FOURTEENTH EXAMPLE: As narrated by authentic books of Tradition, including Bukhari and Muslim, Jabir’s father died while deep in debt to Jews. Jabir gave all of his father’s possessions to the creditors, but they were not satisfied. The fruits in his orchard would not pay off the remaining debts for years. God’s Messenger said: “Pick the fruits and heap them up.” He did so. The Messenger then walked around them and prayed. After Jabir had paid his father’s debt, fruit equal to the orchard’s annual yield still remained. According to another narration, what remained was equal to what he had given the creditors. This greatly astounded the Jewish creditors.124 Since this miracle is related on behalf of its witnesses, its meaning has the assurance of tawatur.

FIFTEENTH  EXAMPLE: Such meticulous researchers  as Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi quote Abu Hurayra as saying: “During a battle (“During the Battle of Tabuk” according to another narration) the army ran out of food. God’s Messenger asked: ‘Isn’t there anything at all?’ I answered: ‘I have a few (“15” in another version) dates left in my saddle bag.’ He told me to bring them, which I did. Putting his hand in the bag, he took out a handful of dates and prayed for abundance while putting them on a plate. Then he called the army in groups of ten. After everyone had eaten, God’s Messenger, said to me:

‘Take that (bag) which you brought, hold on to it, and do not turn it upside down.’ I took the bag, put my hand into it, and found therein as many dates as I had brought. Later, during the time of the Prophet and then of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman, I ate from those dates.” (In another version, Abu Hurayra said: “I gave many loads of them in the way of God. When ‘Uthman was martyred, the dates and the bag were plundered.”125)

Abu Hurayra was a constant and important student and disciple at the Suffa, the sacred school of God’s Messenger, the teacher of the universe and the pride of creation. Moreover, the Prophet had prayed for Abu Hurayra to have a strong memory. This miracle, which took place before many people, therefore must be regarded  as definitive as if it had been related by the whole army.

SIXTEENTH EXAMPLE: Accurate books of Tradition, Bukhari included, relate that Abu Hurayra was once hungry and followed God’s Messenger into his home. Seeing a bowl of milk that had been brought as a gift, God’s Messenger told him to invite the people of the Suffa. Abu Hurayra relates: “I said to myself: ‘I could drink all of this milk, as I am most in need of it.’ But since it was the Prophet’s order, I fetched them all—more than 100 people. The Messenger told me to offer the milk to them. I gave the bowl to each, one by one, and each of them drank until satisfied. Finally the Prophet told me: ‘We two have been left. You drink first!’ As I was drinking, he repeatedly said to me: ‘Drink more,’ until I said: ‘I swear by the Majestic One Who sent you with the truth that I am too full to drink anymore.’ Then the Prophet drank the rest, saying: ‘In the Name of God’ and praising Him.’”126

This miracle, as pure and sweet as milk itself, is related in all six authentic books of Tradition, above all by Imam Bukhari, who memorized 500,000 Traditions. In addition, it is narrated by Abu Hurayra, a loyal, celebrated student of the Prophet’s sacred school of the Suffa and a Companion with a keen memory. He represented all other students of that school, and so his report has the certainty of tawatur. How could such a truthful person, who devoted his life to Islam and the Prophetic Traditions, who heard and related the Tradition that: “Whoever tells a lie concerning me on purpose should prepare for his seat in the Fire,” relate an unfounded incident or saying? Doing so would harm the value and authenticity of all the Traditions he had memorized and make him a target of contradiction by the people of the Suffa!

O Lord, for the sake of the blessing You have bestowed on Your

Messenger, bestow abundance on the favors You have provided for us!

AN IMPORTANT POINT: Weak things become strong when joined together. Fine twisted threads become a strong rope and, when wound, strong ropes cannot be broken. Now, from 15 kinds of miracles we have shown only one kind, which deals with the blessing of abundance. The 16 examples cited so far constitute only one part of this kind. Each example is strong enough to prove Prophethood. If, however—supposing the impossible—some were regarded as weak, still we could not properly call them such, for whatever is united with the strong also becomes strong.

When considered together, the 16 examples mentioned above indicate a great and strong miracle with the definitive strength of tawatur in meaning. And this miracle, when joined with the 14 other parts of the miracles of abundance not yet cited, manifests a supreme miracle as strong as the most unbreakable cable. Finally, add this supreme miracle to the other 14 kinds of miracles and see what a definite, decisive, and irrefutable proof they provide for Muhammad’s Prophethood.

Thus the pillar of his Prophethood, formed by such a collection of proofs, is as strong as a mountain. You may understand the doubts of those who do not believe in his Prophethood as the doubts of those who regard the sublime and established heavens as feeble or fragile because they do not have visible pillars. These miracles of abundance illustrate that Prophet Muhammad was such a beloved envoy and honored servant of the All-Compassionate and All-Munificent One that He, Who supplies the provisions of creation, changed His usual way of acting whenever necessary and sent him banquets from the Unseen—as He creates from nothingness.

Arabia suffers scarcities of water and agriculture. And so its people, especially the Companions in the earliest period of Islam, were exposed to frequent food and water shortages. As a result, some of his greatest miracles were connected with food and water. Rather than proving Prophethood, these wonders were responses to need, a Divine gift, a favor of the Lord, and a banquet provided by the Most Merciful One for those who confirmed his Prophethood before witnessing any miracles. When the miracles occurred, their belief and conviction became even stronger, brighter, and more vivid.

Said Nursi

110 Bukhari, 4:234; Bayhaqi, Dala’il, 3:465; also related by Muslim.

111 Al-Shifa’, 1:292; related by Tabarani, Ibn Kathir, and Bayhaqi.

112 Muslim, no. 1729, also related by Bukhari.

113 Muslim, no. 2057; Hakim, 2:618; also related by Bukhari and Ibn Hanbal.

114 Muslim, no. 3029; Bukhari, 5:138; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:218.

115 Bukhari, 4:234; Muslim, no. 2040; Bayhaqi, 6:88; Ibn Hanbal, 3:218.

116 Shifa’, 1:91; Muslim, no. 2281; Bayhaqi, 6:114.

117 Tirmidhi, no. 2629; also related by Darimi, Hakim, and Ibn Hanbal.

118 The people of the Suffa were the poor Muhajirin (emigrants to Medina) who lived in the mosque’s hall and devoted themselves to Islam, particularly to preserving Prophetic Traditions. The Messenger provided their livelihood. (Tr.)

119 Shifa’, 1:293; Bayhaqi, 6:101; also related by Tabarani and Ibn Hanbal.

120 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:302, related by Ibn Hanbal, Bazzar, and Tabarani.

121 Shifa’: 1:297; Bayhaqi, Dala’il, 3:160.

122 Shifa’, 1:294; Ibn Hajar, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya, 4:73. The chain of transmission is as follows: from his father Muhammad al-Baqir, from his father Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin, from ‘Ali.

123 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:304; Bayhaqi, 5:365; Ibn Hanbal, 5:445.

124 Bukhari, 3: 210; Abu Dawud, 1:17; also related by Ibn Hanbal and Nasa’i.

125 Shifa’, 1:295, related by Ibn Hanbal, Bayhaqi, and Tirmidhi.

126 Tirmidhi, no. 2479; Bukhari, 8:120; Hakim, 3:15; Bayhaqi, 4:101.

Miracles related to increasing the amount of available water

EIGHTH SIGN: This section concerns miracles connected with water.

INTRODUCTION: If the report of an incident involving many people is not contradicted, the incident definitely occurred, even if reported by only one or two individuals, for people, by their very nature, are inclined to call a lie a lie. If the people in question were Companions, who were more intolerant of lies than ordinary people, if the incidents narrated concerned God’s Messenger, and if the individual narrator was a well-known Companion, then that narrator narrates on behalf of all witnesses.

In any case, each miracle cited below came down through various lines of transmission and was entrusted by many Companions to thousands of exacting Tabi‘un scholars. These scholars, in turn, transmitted them to the authorities of the next age. Each age’s meticulous researchers passed them on to their successors with the utmost care and respect. Thus they reached us after passing through thousands of reliable hands.

Besides, the texts of the Traditions complied while the Prophet and his Rightly-Guided Caliphs were still alive safely reached the hands of the most brilliant Tradition scholars, such as Bukhari and Muslim, who, through the most careful examination and classification, collected, presented, and taught them. May God reward them abundantly!

The flowing of water from the fingers of God’s Messenger, as well as many people’s drinking from it, has the certainty of tawatur, for it is related by those who are incapable of agreeing upon a lie. In addition, this occurred three times before large groups of people. Many discerning researchers (especially Bukhari, Muslim, Imam Malik, Imam Shu‘ayb, and Imam Qatada) transmit this miracle from a group of renowned Companions (among them Anas, Jabir, and Ibn Mas‘ud). Out of numerous examples of such miracles, we mention only nine here.

FIRST EXAMPLE: Bukhari, Muslim, and other authentic books of Tradition relate from Anas that: “There were 300 of us with God’s Messenger at Zawra. He told us to perform wudu’ (ablution) for the afternoon prayer, but we could not find enough water. He ordered us to bring a little water, which we did, and he dipped his hands into it. I saw water run from his fingers like a fountain. All 300 people performed wudu’ with that water and drank from it.”127

Anas relates this incident on behalf of 300 persons. Would they have remained silent if he were lying?

SECOND EXAMPLE: Reliable books of Tradition, particularly Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim, report Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari as saying: “We (1,500 people) got thirsty during the expedition of Hudaybiya. God’s Messenger performed wudu’ from a leather water-bag (qirba) and then dipped his hand into it. I saw water flow from his fingers like a fountain. All 1,500 people drank from it and filled their water-bags.” Salim ibn Abi al-Ja‘d later asked Jabir how many people had been there, and the latter replied: “The water would have been enough for even 100,000 people, but there were only 1,500 of us.”128

Since this miracle was witnessed by 1,500 people, the number of its reporters should be regarded as 1,500, because people tend to resist and refuse lies. As for the Companions, who sacrificed their souls and possessions, fathers and mothers, tribes and homeland for the sake of truth and veracity, could they have remained silent if confronted with a lie, especially after

hearing the Prophet’s warning: “Whoever tells a lie concerning me on purpose should prepare for his seat in the Fire.”? Their silence indicates acceptance.

THIRD EXAMPLE: According to the authentic books of Tradition, above all al-Bukhari and al-Muslim, Jabir relates: “During the campaign of Buwat, God’s Messenger ordered ablution. We replied that there was no water. The Messenger told us to try and find just a little. We fetched a small amount of water. He placed his hand over it and recited a prayer, which I could not hear, and then asked for the largest water trough in the caravan. They brought it to me, and I placed it before God’s Messenger. He placed his hands in it, with his fingers apart, while I poured that little water onto his hands. I saw water run abundantly from his fingers and fill the trough. I called those who needed water. After they drank and took water for wudu’, I told the Prophet that everybody had come. He lifted his hands, leaving the trough still full to the brim.”129

This miracle has the certainty of tawatur in meaning, because Jabir, at that time the Prophet’s servant and thus having first place in the incident, relates it in the name of all witnesses. Ibn Mas‘ud, who also reported it, says: “I saw the water flow like a fountain from the Prophet’s fingers.”130

Consider these three examples together and see what an irrefutable and definite miracle this is. Joined together, they prove that water flowing from the Prophet’s fingers is explicit tawatur. This miracle is so great that even Moses’ miracle of causing water to run from 12 different points of a rock cannot be considered its equivalent. Water gushing from a rock is possible, and examples can be found among ordinary events, but there is no parallel for water flowing abundantly from flesh and bone.

FOURTH EXAMPLE: Imam Malik narrates in his Muwatta’ from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal that: “During the expedition of Tabuk, we came across a fountain that was hardly flowing—the jet was about as thick as a thin string. God’s Messenger told us to collect a small amount of its water. Some brought a little in their palms, with which God’s Messenger washed his face and hands. Then we put it back in the fountain. Suddenly the stream supplying the fountain’s water cleared, and water began to flow so profusely that there was enough for the whole army.”

Imam Ibn Ishaq, one of the narrators, reports: “The fountain’s well rushed underground with a noise like thunder. God’s Messenger told Mu‘adh that he might live long enough to see this place change into gardens.” And so it happened.131

FIFTH EXAMPLE: Bukhari (from Bara’) and (from Salama ibn al-Akwa’), as well as other accurate books (from other narrators), relate: “Four hundred of us came across a well during the expedition of Hudaybiya. There was hardly enough water for 50 people. We drew all the water out of the well. God’s Messenger came and sat beside the well and asked for a bucketful of water, which we fetched. He put some of his saliva into the bucket, prayed, and then poured this water back into the well. Suddenly the water began to gush and rose to the well’s brim. The whole army and their animals drank from it until they were satisfied, and then filled their water bags.”132

SIXTH EXAMPLE: Authentic Tradition books, such those of Muslim and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari particularly, relate through Abu Qatada: “We were going for help, as the commanders had been martyred in the Battle of Mu‘ta. I had a water bag with me. God’s Messenger had told me: ‘Keep your water bag carefully, for it will be of great use to us.’ Soon after that, thirst seized us. We were 72 (300 according to al-Tabari). God’s Messenger told me: ‘Bring your water bag.’ I did so. He took it and brought its brim to his lips. I do not know whether he breathed into it or not. Then all 72 of us drank from it and filled our water bags. When I took it back, it was still as full as it had been before.”133

Reflect on this miracle and say: “O God, bestow upon him and his household peace and blessings as many as there are drops of water.”

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: Authentic books of Tradition, in particular Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim, report that ‘Imran ibn Husayn said: “We ran out of water during a military campaign. The Messenger told me and ‘Ali: ‘There is a woman in such-and-such a place making her way with her beast, which is laden with water bags. Go and bring her.’ ‘Ali and I found the woman with her load exactly as and where described, and brought her (to the Prophet). The Prophet ordered: ‘Pour some water into a vessel.’ We did so. After he prayed for abundance, we put the water back into its bag. Then the Messenger announced: ‘Let everyone come and fill his bag.’ All the people came and drank and filled their bags. Afterwards, he said that something should be collected for the woman, and they filled her skirt with what they collected.”

‘Imran adds: “I imagined that the two water bags were filling unceasingly. God’s Messenger told the woman: ‘You can go now. We took none of your water; rather, God gave us water (from His treasure).’”134

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: Some Traditionists, primarily Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih, report that ‘Umar said: “We ran out of water during the campaign of Tabuk. Some of us had to slaughter our camels and drink what was inside. Abu Bakr appealed to God’s Messenger to pray for rain. He raised his hands to pray, and had hardly lowered them when clouds gathered and a heavy rain began to fall. After we filled our vessels, the clouds withdrew. This rain was restricted to our area, for it did not go beyond where we were located.”135

Thus chance had nothing to do with this incident; it was wholly a miracle of Prophet Muhammad.

NINTH EXAMPLE: ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, the grandson of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As and whose narrations the four Imams trusted, relates that before his Prophethood, God’s Messenger traveled on a camel to Dhu al-Hijaz (near ‘Arafat) with his uncle Abu Talib. When Abu Talib said he was thirsty, God’s Messenger dismounted and stamped the ground. Water welled out, and Abu Talib drank from it.136 One discerning scholar states that although this is considered as irhasat, because it happened before his Prophethood was proclaimed,137 it also can be regarded as a wonder of his Prophethood, because this water flowed in the same location for 1,000 years thereafter.

Similarly, 90 different narrations (but not 90 separate incidents) report miracles connected with water. The first seven examples are as definitely established in meaning as tawatur. Although the last two are not narrated through as many strong chains of transmission, authentic sources, primarily Imam Bayhaqi and Hakim, report another miracle to support and confirm the one mentioned in the eighth example: ‘Umar narrated that he appealed to God’s Messenger to pray for rain, as the army needed water. God’s Messenger raised his hands, clouds gathered at once, and enough rain fell to meet the army’s need. After this, the clouds went away.138 It was as if the clouds were sent to deliver water, for they came, dispensed enough water, and then disappeared.

Just as this narration supports the eighth example, Ibn al-Jawziya, too meticulous a researcher to reject many authentic Traditions as false, says: “This event took place during the Battle of Badr and is mentioned in: And He sent down on you water from heaven to purify you thereby... (8:11).” Since this verse refers to the event, its truth cannot be doubted. Besides, it is a frequently repeated and unanimously reported miracle that rain fell immediately after the Prophet raised his hands to pray. There were times, it is reported through tawatur, that when he raised his hands in the pulpit, rain would begin to fall before he lowered them.

Said Nursi

127 Nasa’i, 1:60; Bukhari, 4:233; Muslim, No. 2279; Tirmidhi, No. 3635.

128 Muslim, no. 1856; Bukhari, 4:234; Bayhaqi, 4:110.

129 Muslim, no. 3006-14.

130 Bukhari, 4:235, also related by Tirmidhi and Nasa’i.

131 Muwatta’, Safar, 2; Ibn Hanbal, 5:228; also related by Bukhari and Muslim.

132 Bukhari, 4:234; Bayhaqi, 4:110; also related by Muslim.

133 Muslim, no. 681; Abu Dawud, no. 437-41; Abu Nu‘aym, 4:282.

134 Muslim, 682; Bukhari, 4:233.

135 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 6:194, related by Bazzar, Bayhaqi, and Tabarani.

136 Shifa’, 1:290, Bayhaqi, 2:15; also related by Ibn Sa‘d and Tabarani.

137 Irhasat: The series of extraordinary incidents that happened before Prophet Muhammad’s birth, at his birth, and before he declared his Prophethood. (Tr.)

138 Abu Nu‘aym, 2:523; also related by Hakim and Bayhaqi.

Miracles related to trees

NINTH SIGN: One kind of miracle of God’s Messenger is that trees obeyed his orders and approached him. This miracle, like those connected with water flowing from his fingers, has the certainty of tawatur in meaning. Many examples have been reported through various channels.

Trees uprooting themselves upon the Messenger’s command and drawing near him can be considered explicit tawatur, because the best-known, trustworthy Companions (e.g., ‘Ali, Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn ‘Umar, Ya‘la ibn Murra, Jabir, Anas ibn Malik, Burayda, Usama ibn Zayd, and Ghaylan ibn Salama) reported the same miracle with certainty. Hundreds of Tabi‘un scholars received their reports directly, which have come down to us and thus have the authority of multiple tawatur. This miracle therefore has the certainty of tawatur in meaning. We mention only a few examples.

FIRST EXAMPLE: Ibn Maja, Darimi, and Bayhaqi (through ‘Ali and Anas ibn Malik), and Bazzar and Imam Bayhaqi (from ‘Umar) report: “Three Companions narrated that God’s Messenger was disturbed by the unbelievers’ denial. He prayed: ‘O Lord, show me a sign so that I will no longer heed anyone who contradicts me.’ Anas relates that Gabriel also was present, and that upon his instruction God’s Messenger called to a tree located at one side of the valley in which they were located. It left its place and drew near to him. He told it to go back, and so it returned and settled down in its place.”139

SECOND EXAMPLE: Qadi ‘Iyad, scholar of the Muslim West (North Africa and al-Andalusia), relates in his al-Shifa’ al-Sharif from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar through a sound chain of the most eminent narrators: “A Bedouin approached God’s Messenger during an expedition. The Messenger asked: ‘Where are you going?’ He replied: ‘To my Family.’ The Messenger asked: ‘Don’t you desire something better?’ When the Bedouin asked what that might be, God’s Messenger replied: ‘To bear witness that there is no god but God, alone with no partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.’ The Bedouin asked: ‘Can you prove this?’ God’s Messenger replied: ‘That tree at the side of the valley will bear witness.’”

Ibn ‘Umar relates the rest of the event: “That tree swayed, uprooted itself, left the soil, and drew near to God’s Messenger. He asked it three times to testify, and each time it testified to his truthfulness. Then he ordered the tree to go back and settle down in its place, and it did so.”140

Ibn Sahib al-Aslami relates that Burayda said: “Once a Bedouin asked for a miracle while we were with God’s Messenger on an expedition. The Messenger pointed to a tree and told him: ‘Tell that tree that God’s Messenger summons it.’ The tree swayed, freed itself, and drew near to the Messenger, saying: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God!’ The Bedouin said: ‘Now tell it to return to its place.’ When God’s Messenger ordered it to do so, the tree went back. When the Bedouin said: ‘Let me prostrate myself before you,’ the Messenger answered: ‘No one is allowed to do that.’ The Bedouin said: ‘Then I will kiss your hand,’ and he allowed him to do so.”141

THIRD EXAMPLE: Authentic books of Tradition, including Muslim’s Sahih, quote Jabir as relating: “We accompanied God’s Messenger on an expedition. He searched for a place to relieve himself. When he saw that there was no screened place, he went to two trees and pulled one of them by a branch next to the other one. The tree was like an obedient camel being pulled by its reins. He addressed them: ‘Join together over me, by God’s leave.’ The trees did so and formed a screen. After relieving himself, he ordered them to go back to their places.”142 In another version, Jabir relates it with a very slight, insignificant difference.143

FOURTH EXAMPLE: Usama ibn Zayd, a brave commander and servant of God’s Messenger, reports: “We accompanied God’s Messenger on an expedition. Unable to find a screened place to relieve himself, he asked me: ‘Do you see any trees or rocks?’ When I said that I did, he told me: ‘Go and say to the trees that God’s Messenger orders them to join together so that he may relieve himself, and then tell the rocks to do the same.’ I went and told them to do this, and I swear by God the trees joined together and the rocks formed a wall. After relieving himself, God’s Messenger told me: ‘Tell them to separate.’ I swear by the Majestic One, in Whose hand is my soul, that the trees and rocks separated and went back to their places.”144 These two incidents also were reported by Ya‘la ibn Murra, Ghaylan ibn Salama al-Thaqafi, and Ibn Mas‘ud in connection with the Battle of Hunayn.

FIFTH EXAMPLE: Imam Ibn Fawrak, known as the second Shafi‘i on account of his excellence in jurisprudence and perfect character, reports: “God’s Messenger sometimes felt sleepy while traveling on horseback. One night during the Battle of Ta’if, a lotus tree appeared in front of him. To make way for him and avoid harming his horse, the tree split in half and God’s Messenger passed through it while riding his horse. That tree has remained so up to our time.”145

SIXTH EXAMPLE: Ya‘la reports: “During an expedition a talha or samura tree came and walked around God’s Messenger, as if circumambulating, and then went back to its place. God’s Messenger said: ‘It asked for God’s permission to salute me.’”146

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: Traditionists quote Ibn Mas‘ud as saying: “When the jinn of Nusaybin came to Batn al-Nakhl to be converted to Islam by God’s Messenger, a tree informed him of their coming.” Imam Mujahid relates from Ibn Mas‘ud that when the jinn asked for a proof of his Prophethood, a tree came to the Messenger and then returned to its place on his order. This miracle was enough for them to embrace Islam.147

Those who have heard of 1,000 similar miracles and still do not believe are even further astray than devils. Jinn describe such people as the foolish ones among us [who used to] utter extravagant lies against God (72:4).

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: Tirmidhi reports from Ibn ‘Abbas: “God’s Messenger asked a Bedouin: ‘If that tree branch comes to me when I call it, will you bear witness that I am the Messenger?’ He replied that he would, and so the Messenger called to it. The branch broke off and jumped over near to him. It then jumped back to its place when the Messenger commanded it to do so.”148

Many similar examples are reported through various narrations. Seven or eight ropes form a strong cable when they come together. In the same way, when these tree-related miracles reported by the most renowned Companions are taken together, they must have the certainty of tawatur in meaning or even in actual wording. In fact, they gain the degree of explicit tawatur through the Companions passing them down to the following generation. In particular, such authentic books of Tradition as Bukhari’s Sahih, Muslim’s Sahih, Ibn Hibban’s Sahih, and Tirmidhi’s Sunan note and record the chain of transmitters (leading back to the Prophet’s time) so soundly and convincingly that reading an account in Bukhari’s Sahih, for instance, is equivalent to hearing it from the Companions.

When trees recognize God Almighty’s Messenger, confirm his Messengership, call upon and salute him, and obey his orders, how can those unbelievers who call themselves human beings be considered anything but worthless pieces of wood and worthy of Hellfire?

TENTH SIGN: This concerns the grieving pole, which is reported in the form of tawatur and reinforces the tree-related miracles. This event, which happened in the Prophet’s Mosque before a vast congregation, consolidates and confirms such miracles, for the pole came from a tree. But this miracle itself is mutawatir (has the certainty of explicit tawatur), while miracles concerning trees are mutawatir when considered as a whole.

The Prophet used to lean on a date-palm pole while delivering a sermon in his mosque. However, when he began to deliver his sermons on the newly constructed pulpit, the congregation heard the pole moan like a camel. Its moaning ended only after the Messenger consoled it by putting his hand on it.

This miracle is widely known and has the certainty of explicit tawatur. It was reported through 15 different channels by an illustrious group of Companions, among them are such eminent scholars and leading Tradition narrators as Anas ibn Malik and Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari (both of whom served the Prophet), ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, Sahl ibn Sa‘d, Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, Ubay ibn Ka‘b, Burayda, and Umm Salama (mother of the believers). Hundreds of Tabi‘un authorities received it from the Companions, and authentic books of Tradition, above all Bukhari and Muslim, transmitted it to the following centuries.

Jabir reports that God’s Messenger used to lean against the pole, called the “date-palm trunk,” when delivering a sermon in his mosque. After a pulpit was built, the Prophet would deliver his sermon from it. Due to this separation, the pole moaned like a pregnant camel. Anas relates that it moaned like a water buffalo and caused the mosque to tremble. Sahl ibn Sa‘d says: “When it moaned, many people burst into tears.”

According to Ubay ibn Ka‘b, the pole sobbed so much that it split. Another report relates that God’s Messenger said: “It moaned because it was separated from the recitation of God’s Names (during the sermon).” According to another version, he said: “If I had not embraced and consoled it, it would have wept until the Day of Judgment because of its separation from the Messenger.”

According to Burayda, the Messenger put his hand on the pole when it began to weep and said: “If you wish, I will restore you in the wood from whence you came so that you may be rooted again, perfectly flourishing, and yield fruit again. Or, if you wish, I will plant you in Paradise and God’s friends will eat from your fruits.” Then he listened to it, and the people in the mosque heard the pole say: “Plant me in Paradise, and God’s friends will eat from my fruits in the place where there is no decay.” God’s Messenger replied that he would and added: “It has preferred the World of Eternity to the transitory one.”

The well-known scholar Hasan al-Basri would weep whenever he recounted this miraculous event to his disciples, and would say: “A piece of wood demonstrates such love and ardor for God’s noble, most beloved

Messenger. You need to feel this love much more than a piece of wood does.”149 And we say: “That is true, and love and ardor for him are possible by adhering to his illustrious Sunna and Sharia.”

QUESTION: Why were miracles of abundance concerning food and water not reported through as many channels as the grieving pole, even though more people saw them?

ANSWER: There are two kinds of miracles. Some affirmed his Prophethood. The grieving pole is of this kind, for it is a proof that strengthens the believers’ belief, urges hypocrites to belief and sincerity, and causes unbelievers to believe. This is why everyone witnessed it and so much effort was exerted to spread it. The other kind of miracles involving food and water are wonders or Divine gifts, even banquets provided by the All-Merciful One because of need, rather than manifest miracles.

Although they are miraculous proofs of his Prophethood, their real significance is that God, Who creates hundreds of tons of dates from a single date-stone, provides a banquet for 1,000 people out of a little food and satiates a thirsty army of holy warriors with water flowing abundantly from the Prophet’s fingers. This is why each miracle related to food and water does not reach the degree of the miracle of the grieving pole.

However, examples of these two kinds of miracles are considered, in their entirety, to have been as widely reported as the grieving pole. Besides, while each person present could see only the effects (and not the incidents) of the abundant food and water, with some only witnessing their happening, the pole’s moaning was heard by everyone. This is another reason why the latter was spread so widely.

QUESTION: The Companions preserved the record of the Prophet’s every act and condition with the utmost care. So why are such important miracles not related through more than 10 or 12 lines of transmission? And why are the main reporters only Companions like Jabir, Anas, and Abu Hurayra, and not, for example, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar?

ANSWER: The answer to the first part is given at the beginning of this letter, in the Fourth Sign’s Third Essential. Concerning the second part, just as a patient goes to a doctor, engineers are consulted about engineering matters, and muftis are asked about religious issues, some scholarly Companions were entrusted with and devoted themselves to instructing the following generations in the Prophetic Traditions. For example, Abu Hurayra devoted his life to preserving Traditions, while ‘Umar shouldered administrative matters and the caliphate’s problems. Thus ‘Umar narrated only a few Traditions, for he had confidence in such people as Abu Hurayra, Anas, and Jabir, to instruct the Muslims in the Traditions. In fact, a Tradition can be considered as established if it is reported by a well-known person belonging to the truthful, sincere, and trusted Companions. Given this, there is no need for it to be related by others. This is why some significant incidents have only one, two, or three channels.

Said Nursi

139 Shifa’, 1:302; related by Bayhaqi, Ibn Maja, Darimi, Bazzar, and Ibn Hanbal.

140 Shifa’, 1:298; related by Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban, Bayhaqi, and Hakim.

141 Shifa’, 1:299; Bazzar, Musnad, 3:49.

142 Muslim, no. 3006-12; Bayhaqi, 6:8.

143 Shifa’, 1:299.

144 Ibid., 1:300, related by Bayhaqi, Ibn Hanbal, and Abu Ya‘la.

145 Ibid., 1:301.

146 Shifa’, 1:301; Hakim, 2:617; Ibn Hanbal, 4:170; Bayhaqi, 6:23.

147 Bukhari, 5:58; also related by Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Hanbal.

148 Tirmidhi, no. 3632; Hakim, 2:620; Bayhaqi, 6:15.

149 Bukhari, Sahih, 4:237; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, nos. 2236, 2237, 2400, 2401, 2430-32; Muslim, Sahih, no. 2374; Qadi ‘Iyad, al-Shifa’ al-Sharif, 1:304-5; Nasa’i, Sunan, 3:102; Tirmidhi, Sunan, No. 3631; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 6:66; Abu Nu‘aym, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 2:399; Darimi, Sunan, No. 39; Kanz al-‘Ummal, 12:411-18.

Miracles related to inanimate objects as rocks and mountains

ELEVENTH SIGN: Here, we will cite only eight of countless examples of miracles concerning such inanimate objects as rocks and mountains.

FIRST EXAMPLE: Qadi ‘Iyad reports, in his Shifa’ al-Sharif and through an exalted chain of narrators from such great Tradition authorities as Bukhari, that Ibn Mas‘ud, the Prophet’s servant, says: “We could hear food glorifying God while eating with God’s Messenger.”150

SECOND EXAMPLE: Accurate books of Tradition report from Abu Dharr and Anas that Anas said: “We were with God’s Messenger. He put some pebbles in his hand, and they began to glorify God. Then he placed them in Abu Bakr’s hand, and they continued their glorification.”151 Abu Dharr reports that God’s Messenger then put the pebbles in the hands of ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, successively, and they continued their glorification. Both Anas and Abu Dharr add that God’s Messenger finally put the pebbles in their hands, after which the pebbles stopped their glorification.152

THIRD EXAMPLE: ‘Ali, Jabir, and ‘A’isha narrate that rocks and mountains would say: “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God,” to God’s Messenger. ‘Ali says: “Whenever we walked in Mecca’s suburbs during the early part of his Prophethood, the trees and rocks we passed would say: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God.’”153

Jabir relates: “When God’s Messenger came across a rock or a tree, they would say in submission to him: “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God.”154 According to Jabir ibn Samura, God’s Messenger once said: “I recognize a rock that used to greet me.”155 According to some, he was referring to the Ka‘ba’s Black Stone. ‘A’isha narrated: “God’s Messenger said: ‘After Gabriel brought me the Message, every time I passed a rock or a tree it would say: “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God.”’156

FOURTH EXAMPLE: ‘Abbas relates that God’s Messenger covered ‘Abbas and his four sons (‘Abdullah, ‘Ubaydullah, Fadl, and Qusam) with a piece of cloth and prayed: “O my Lord, this is my father’s brother and these are his sons. Veil them from the Fire as I have veiled them with my robe.” The house’s roof, door, and walls joined this prayer at once, saying: “Amen, Amen.”157

FIFTH EXAMPLE: Imam Bukhari primarily, and such other Traditionists as Ibn Hibban, Abu Dawud, and Tirmidhi, report from Anas, Abu Hurayra, ‘Uthman, and Sa‘id ibn Zayd (two of those to whom Paradise was promised): “God’s Messenger, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman climbed Mount Uhud. The mountain, either in awe or because of joy, trembled. God’s Messenger ordered it: ‘Be still, O Uhud, for on you there is a Prophet, a truthful one, and two martyrs.”158 In this way, God’s Messenger predicted the martyrdom of ‘Umar and ‘Uthman.

A supplement to this Tradition reports that God’s Messenger, pursued by unbelievers during his emigration to Medina, climbed Sabir mountain. The mountain said: “Please leave me, O Messenger of God, for I fear God will punish me if they strike you while you are on me.” Upon this, Mount Thawr called to him: “Come to me, O Messenger of God!” This is why people of intuition feel fear on Sabir and safety on Thawr.159 This example indicates that these great mountains are God’s servants who glorify Him and perform their duties. In addition, they know and love the Prophet.

SIXTH EXAMPLE: ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said: “While delivering a sermon on the pulpit, God’s Messenger recited: They measure not God with His true measure. Earth altogether shall be His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens shall be rolled up in His Right Hand (39:67), and added: ‘God, the All-Compelling, glorifies Himself and says: “I am the All-Compelling, I am the All-Compelling, I am the All-Great and Transcendent.”’ As he said this, the pulpit trembled so much that we feared God’s Messenger would fall down.”160

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: Ibn ‘Abbas (“the scholar of the Ummah” and “the interpreter of the Qur’an”) and Ibn Mas‘ud (the Prophet’s servant and a great Companion scholar) report that the Ka‘ba contained 360 idols fixed to the stone with lead. On the day of Mecca’s conquest, God’s Messenger pointed at them one by one with a curved stick, reciting: Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Surely falsehood is ever bound to vanish (17:81). Whichever idol he pointed at fell down. If he pointed to the idol’s face, it fell backwards; if he pointed to the idol’s back, it fell on its face. Thus they all fell down.161

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: This is the famous story of the monk Bahira. Before his Prophethood was proclaimed, God’s Messenger traveled to Damascus with trading caravans belonging to his uncle Abu Talib and some other Qurayshi traders. They halted near the monastery where Bahira, a well-known recluse, was staying. He came out unexpectedly. When he saw Muhammad the Trustworthy among the caravan, he said: “He is the lord of the worlds and will be a Prophet.” The Qurayshis asked: “How do you know this?” The holy monk answered: “I saw a piece of cloud over the caravan as you were coming. When you sat down, it moved toward his side and shadowed him. I also noticed that rocks and trees seemed to prostrate before him. They do this only for Prophets.”162

There are about 80 similar instances. Joined together, these eight examples form so strong an unbreakable chain. Considered as a whole, such miracles concerning inanimate objects bearing witness to Muhammad’s Prophethood have the certainty of tawatur in meaning. Each instance derives additional strength from the others, just as a thin pillar is fortified by being joined to thick columns. Likewise, people on their own are weak. But when they join an army, each one has enough power to challenge 1,000 people.

TWELFTH SIGN: The following three examples, related to the eleventh sign, are very significant.

FIRST EXAMPLE: As established through all interpreters’ meticulous verification and all Traditionists’ reports, the verse: When you threw, it was not you that threw, but God threw (8:17), refers to the following incident: During the Battle of Badr, God’s Messenger took a handful of soil and pebbles and threw them at the unbelievers’ army, saying: “May your faces be deformed.” That handful of soil entered each unbeliever’s eyes, and “May your faces be deformed!” was heard by each one. They consequently became preoccupied with their eyes and had to retreat, although they had launched the attack.163

The Traditionists, most notably Imam Muslim, report that the same incident happened during the Battle of Hunayn. As a result, and by God’s Power and permission, each one was hit in the face by a handful of soil and had to flee the battlefield, being preoccupied with their eyes.164

As these extraordinary events are beyond human capacity and material causes, the Qur’an declares: When you threw, it was not you that threw, but God threw (8:17).

SECOND EXAMPLE: Reliable Traditionists, above all Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, report that after the Battle of Khyber a Jewess roasted a goat, poisoned it, and sent it to the Messenger. His Companions had just begun to eat it when God’s Messenger suddenly said: “Withdraw your hands! It tells me that it is poisoned.” Everyone stopped eating except Bishr ibn al-Bara’, who had taken a morsel of it and later died because of the poison. God’s Messenger sent for the Jewess (Zaynab). When asked why she had done it, she said: “I thought that if you were a Prophet it would not harm you, and that if you were a king it would save the people from you.”165

Consider the following point, which adds to the miraculousness of this extraordinary event: According to one report, some Companions also heard the goat speaking. The Jews had attempted to harm God’s Messenger and his close Companions at the same time. However, the Prophet’s warning proved true and their plot was unveiled and foiled. When the Prophet, whose Companions never heard an untrue statement from him, said: “This goat tells me that...,” everyone believed him with the same certainty as if they had heard the goat themselves.

THIRD EXAMPLE: The following relates three instances of another miracle resembling those of Moses’ shining, white hand and staff.

FIRST: Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal relates on Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri’s authority and verifies that God’s Messenger gave Qatada ibn Nu‘man a stick on a dark rainy night, saying: “This stick will light your surroundings as far as 7 meters. When you get home, you will see a black shadow that is Satan. Drive him away from your home.” Qatada left with the stick, which was emitting light like the Moses’ shining, white hand. When he arrived home, he found the person described and drove him away.166

SECOND: During the Battle of Badr, which was a source of wonders, Ukkasha ibn Mihsan al-Asad broke his sword while fighting the polytheists. God’s Messenger replaced his broken sword with a stick and told him to continue fighting. Suddenly, by God’s power and permission, the stick changed into a long white sword. He fought with it and kept it with him until he was martyred during the Battle of Yamama.167 This incident is indisputable, for Ukkasha was so proud of that sword that throughout his life it was widely known as “the aid.”

THIRD: Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, one of the most brilliant scholars of his time, relates and verifies that ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh, a cousin of God’s Messenger, broke his sword during the Battle of Uhud. The Messenger gave him a stick, which then became a sword in his hand. Ibn Jahsh fought with it, and that miracle remained a sword after the battle.168 Years later, as reported by Ibn Sayyid al-Nas in his biography of the Prophet, it was sold to Bughai Turki for 200 dirhams.169 These two swords are miracles like Moses’ staff, except that they remained swords thereafter, while Moses’ staff lost its miraculous aspect after his death.

Said Nursi

150 Bukhari, 4:235, Tirmidhi, no. 3712.

151 Shifa’, 1:306; Bayhaqi, Dala’il, 6:66.

152 Shifa’, 1:306; Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 5:179; related by Tabarani and Bazzar.

153 Tirmidhi, no. 3630; Hakim, 2:607; Abu Nu‘aym, 2:389.

154 Shifa’, 1:307, related by Bayhaqi.

155 Muslim, no. 2277; Tirmidhi, no. 3703; Ibn Hanbal, 5:89.

156 Shifa’, 1:37; Bayhaqi, 2:135.

157 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 9:269; Bayhaqi, 6:71; Ibn Maja, 2:209.

158 Abu Dawud, no. 4651; Tirmidhi, no. 3781; also related by Bukhari, Muslim, Hakim, and Ibn Maja.

159 Shifa’, 1:308; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:630.

160 Muslim, 4:2147; Hakim, 2:252; also related by Nasa’i and Ibn Hanbal.

161 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 6:176, related by Bukhari, Muslim, and Tirmidhi.

162 Tirmidhi, no. 3699; Hakim, 2:615; Ibn Hisham, 1:115; Shifa’, 1:83.

163 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 6:84; related by Abu Dawud, Ibn Hanbal, and Bayhaqi.

164 Muslim, no. 1775.

165 Abu Dawud, Muqaddima, 11; Bukhari, 2:121; Hakim, 3:219; Darimi, 1:35; Ibn Hanbal, 1:305; Bayhaqi, 6:256.

166 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 2:166, related by Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Khuzayma, and Hakim.

167 Sira ibn Hisham, 1:637; Bayhaqi, 4:97; Ibn al-Jawzi, Zad al-Ma‘ad, 3:186.

168 Isti‘ab, 3:879; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, no. 4583; also related by Bayhaqi.

169 ‘Uyun al-Athar, 2:20; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, no. 4583.

Miracles on healing the sick and wounded

THIRTEENTH SIGN: Another type of miracle, a mutawatir one with various examples, is the Prophet’s healing of the sick and wounded with his breath. In their entirety, such miracles are mutawatir in meaning. Certain incidents also have the certainty of tawatur in meaning. The rest should be regarded as authentic according to the scientific principles of Tradition, although their narration depends on only one chain of transmission, because they are related and verified by discerning leaders of this science. Out of many relevant examples, we cite only a few:

FIRST EXAMPLE: Qadi ‘Iyad reports in his Shifa’, through numerous channels and a chain of exalted narrators from Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, a servant and military commander of God’s Messenger, commander-in-chief of the army that conquered Persia during ‘Umar’s caliphate, and one of the ten Companions promised Paradise during their life. He said: “I was beside God’s Messenger during the Battle of Uhud. He shot arrows at the unbelievers until his bow was broken, after which he began to give his arrows to me. Each time he gave me a featherless arrow, he ordered me to shoot it, which I did. And it flew like one with feathers, piercing an unbeliever’s body. In the meantime, Qatada ibn Nu‘man was hit and one of his eyeballs protruded. God’s Messenger used his hand to replace the eyeball in its socket. The eye healed at once, as if nothing had happened, and became even better than the other one.”170

This incident became so well-known that when one of Qatada’s grandsons met Caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, he presented himself with the following poetical statement:

I am the son of the person

whose eye protruded over his cheek,

But was wonderfully restored by the hand of Mustafa;

Then it became as it had been before; it was

The most beautiful of eyes,

and most wonderful was its restoration.

During the Battle of Yawm Dhiqarad, an arrow hit Abu Qatada’s face. God’s Messenger wiped the injured man’s face, and Abu Qatada said: “I never felt the pain, nor did the wound fester.”171

SECOND EXAMPLE: Authentic books of Tradition, primarily Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, report: ‘Ali, who was suffering greatly from sore eyes, was appointed standard-bearer during the Battle of Khyber. The pain ceased when God’s Messenger applied his healing saliva to ‘Ali’s eyes, and his eyes became much better. The next morning, ‘Ali joined the battle and, pulling up the citadel’s heavy iron gate and using it as a shield, conquered the stronghold of Khaybar.172 In the same battle, Salama ibn Akwa’s leg wound was healed when God’s Messenger breathed upon it.173

THIRD EXAMPLE: The Prophet’s biographers, including al-Nasa’i, relate that ‘Uthman ibn Hunayf said: “Pray for my eyes to open.” God’s Messenger told him to perform ablution, pray two rak‘ats, and then say: “O God, my appeal is to You, and I turn toward You through Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy. O Muhammad, I turn toward God through you, that He uncover my sight. O God, make him my intercessor.” He went to do as he was told. When he returned, we saw that his eyes had been opened already.174

FOURTH EXAMPLE: Ibn Wahb, a great Tradition authority, reports: When Mu‘awwidh ibn ‘Afra, one of the 14 martyrs of the Battle of Badr, fought with Abu Jahl, the accursed Abu Jahl cut off one of his hands. Mu‘awwidh took his severed hand to God’s Messenger. The Messenger stuck the amputated hand onto Mu‘awwidh’s wrist and applied his saliva to it. It healed at once, and Mu‘awwidh returned to the battle and fought until he was martyred.175 Ibn Wahb reports that during the same battle, Hubayb ibn Yasaf received such a sword blow on the shoulder that it seemed that his shoulder had been split in two. God’s Messenger held the parts together, breathed on them, and the wounded shoulder healed.176

Although these two Traditions are reported by only one Companion, their occurrence can be regarded as certain, since they happened during a battle that was itself a source of miracles, were verified by such a great authority as Ibn Wahb, and similar incidents also are reported. In fact, nearly 1,000 examples established through authentic narrations indicate that the Messenger healed wounds.

QUESTION: You qualify many of these Traditions as mutawatir, whereas we are hearing most of them for the first time. How could a mutawatir Tradition remain unknown for so long?

ANSWER: Many mutawatir facts are obvious to religious scholars and unknown to others. Many Traditions that are mutawatir to Traditionists may not be regarded by others as even individually reported ones. Axioms or theories in any branch of science are evident only to the authorities of that branch, and others must rely on the authorities or enter that branch to make their own observations. All incidents we have cited so far are regarded as mutawatir by Traditionists, scholars of the Sharia, methodologists, and scholars of many other branches of knowledge, as having the certainty of tawatur either in actual wording or in meaning. If the uneducated are unaware of them and if those who blind themselves to the truth do not know them, it is their own fault.

FIFTH EXAMPLE: Imam Baghawi reports and verifies that during the Battle of the Trench, an unbeliever broke ‘Ali ibn al-Hakam’s leg. When God’s Messenger stroked it, the leg was healed instantly. The soldier continued to fight without even dismounting from his horse.177

SIXTH EXAMPLE: Traditionists, primarily Imam Bayhaqi, relate that once Imam ‘Ali was very sick. As he was alone and groaning out a prayer for his cure, God’s Messenger came in and asked God to heal him. He then told ‘Ali to get up, touching him with his foot. ‘Ali was healed at once and later said: “Since then I have never caught the same illness.”178

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: This is the famous story of Shurahbil al-Jufi. A tumor in his palm made it impossible for him to hold his sword and his horse’s reins. God’s Messenger wiped the tumor and massaged it until no sign of it remained.179

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: Six children were honored with the Prophet’s miracles. They are as follows:

•Ibn Abi Shayba, a man of perfect character and profound research and a well-known Traditionist, reports: “A woman came to God’s Messenger with a retarded boy who could not speak. God’s Messenger rinsed his mouth with water, washed his hands, gave the water to the woman, and told her to have the boy drink it. After the boy had done so, he was cured completely and became so wise and intelligent that he was superior to even the most prudent person.”180

•Ibn ‘Abbas reports that an insane child was brought to God’s Messenger.

The Messenger put his hand on the child’s chest, which caused the child suddenly to vomit a black object resembling a small cucumber. The child was cured instantly.181

•Imam Bayhaqi and Nasa’i relate that a boiling saucepan fell on Muhammad ibn Khatib’s arm and entirely scalded it. God’s Messenger healed the boy by stroking the injured hand and applying his saliva.182

•A mute boy came to God’s Messenger. When God’s Messenger asked him who he was, the boy said: “You are The Messenger,” and began to speak.183

•Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, the leading scholar of his age and who was honored with conversation with God’s Messenger many times while awake, related and verified that a newly born baby from Yamama was brought to God’s Messenger. When the Messenger turned his face to him, the baby began to speak and said: “I bear witness that you are the Messenger.” God’s Messenger replied: “May God bless you.” After that, the baby never spoke during his infancy. He had been honored with this miracle and the prayer of “May God bless you,”184 and became famous with the title Mubarak al-Yamama (The Blessed One from Yamama).

•An ill-natured boy interrupted God’s Messenger by passing before him while he was praying. God’s Messenger said: “O God, let him not leave any traces.” After this, the boy was punished for his bad behavior by becoming unable to walk.185

•A shameless woman with the mind of a child once asked for a morsel of food which God’s Messenger was eating. He gave her one, but she responded: “I want the one in your mouth.” God’s Messenger gave it to her. After eating it, she became the shyest woman in Medina.186

Like these eight, there are perhaps 800 more examples of similar miracles, most of which are recorded in the books of Tradition and his biography. Since his hand was like a drugstore of Luqman, his saliva the life-giving water (elixir) of Khadr, and his breath the health-giving breath of Jesus, and since humanity is subject to disease, many people resorted to him. Sick, young, and insane people flocked to him and were cured.

Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Yamani (also known as Tawus), one of the greatest Tabi‘un scholars and one who made pilgrimage 40 times and performed the morning prayer with ablution of the night prayer for 40 years continuously, stated with certainty: “Whenever an insane person came to God’s Messenger, he or she was cured as soon as the Messenger put his hand on his or her chest. There were no exceptions.” As such a great authority, one who lived during the last phase of the Age of Happiness (the time of the Prophet and his four Rightly-Guided Caliphs) had such a definite conviction, it is unquestionable that the Prophet cured everyone who came to him. As this fact became known, we can assume that thousands of people appealed to him.

Said Nursi

170 Shifa’, 1:322, related by Ibn Ishaq, Tabarani, and Bayhaqi.

171 Shifa’, 1:322, related by Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi.

172 Bukhari, 4:58; Ibn Hanbal, 1:85; also related by Muslim and Tabarani.

173 Bukhari, 5:170; Shifa’, 1:323.

174 Al-Jami‘ al-Saghir, no. 1290, related by Nasa’i, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, Ibn Khuzayma, and Hakim.

175 Shifa’, 1:324; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:656.

176 Shifa’, 1:324, related by Bayhaqi, Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Kathir, and Ibn Hajar.

177 Ibid., 1:323; Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 6:143; Bayhaqi, 6:185.

178 Ibn Hanbal, 1:107; Shifa’, 1:323; Ibn Hibban, 9:47; Bayhaqi, 6:179.

179 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:298, related by Tabarani and Bayhaqi.

180 Ibn Maja, no. 3532; Hakim, 2:618; Bayhaqi, 6:82.

181 Ibn Hanbal, 4:172; Darimi, 1:11-12; also related by Bayhaqi and Tabarani.

182 Hakim, al-Mustadrak, 4:62-63; also related by Tabarani and Bayhaqi.

183 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 6:158, also related by Bayhaqi.

184 Shifa’, 1:319; Kanz al-‘Ummal, 4:379; Bayhaqi, 6:59.

185 Shifa’, 1:328; Bayhaqi, 5:243; also related by Ibn Hibban. [This incident should not be misunderstood. The Messenger must have discerned that the boy would cause great harm for both himself and the society and, in order to prevent this for the good of both the boy, especially with respect to his eternal life in the Hereafter, and the society, prayed against him. A similar significant incident is related in the Qur’an (18:74, 8 0-81) (Tr.)]

186 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:312; Shifa’, 1:325; related by Tabarani.

His prayers were answered

FOURTEENTH SIGN: Miracles related to the Messenger’s prayers also are important. Such miracles are definite and genuinely mutawatir, having happened numerous times. Most of them reach the degree of tawatur or are as well-known as the mutawatir ones; the rest bear the same certitude as the well-known mutawatir Traditions, since they are narrated by the greatest authorities. Of many such instances, we relate only a few that are as famous as, or have the same certainty of, mutawatir.

FIRST EXAMPLE: Traditionists, including Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, report that God accepted all of the Messenger’s prayers for rain immediately. Sometimes it would begin to fall before he lowered his hands while on the pulpit. As mentioned earlier, clouds would appear to meet his army’s need for water. Even in his childhood, his grandfather ‘Abd al-Muttalib would go with him to pray for rain, and it would come out of respect for him. One of ‘Abd al-Muttalib’s poems made this famous.

After the Prophet’s death, ‘Umar once took ‘Abbas with him to pray for rain, saying: “O God, this is Your beloved Prophet’s uncle. Give us rain for his sake.” Thereafter it rained.187 As reported by Imam Bukhari and Muslim, God’s Messenger was asked to pray for rain and did so. It rained so heavily that they asked him to pray for it to cease. He did so, and the rain stopped instantly.188

SECOND EXAMPLE: It is as well-known as tawatur that even when there were only 40 Companions and they were praying in secret, God’s Messenger prayed: “O God, strengthen Islam by ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab or ‘Amr ibn al-Hisham.” A few days later, ‘Umar embraced Islam and became a means of openly propagating and exalting Islam.189 He acquired the sublime title of Faruq (discerning between truth and falsehood).

THIRD  EXAMPLE: God’s Messenger prayed for various distinguished Companions. His prayers were so readily accepted that they can be considered miracles. The following are some examples out of many:

As reported primarily by Bukhari and Muslim, God’s Messenger prayed for Ibn ‘Abbas: “O God, make him profoundly knowledgeable in religion and teach him the Qur’an’s innermost meaning.”190 As a result, Ibn ‘Abbas acquired the sublime title of “Interpreter of the Qur’an” and the exalted position of being the “Scholar of the Umma.” When Ibn ‘Abbas was still young, ‘Umar included him in his consultative assembly, which consisted of the Companions’ scholars and elders.

Compilers of authentic books of Traditions, including Imam Bukhari, report that Anas’ mother asked God’s Messenger to pray that Anas would have many descendants and much wealth. He prayed: “O God, give abundance to his wealth and offspring, and bless that which You have bestowed on him.” In his old age, Anas swore by God: “I have buried 100 of my children. Concerning my wealth, nobody has lived as happily as I have. You see my abundant wealth, which is due to the Prophet’s prayer.”191

Traditionists, including Imam Bayhaqi, report that God’s Messenger prayed for ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, one of the ten Companions promised Paradise while still living, to have abundant wealth. As a result, he gained such wealth that once he gave 700 loaded camels as alms in God’s cause.192 Now reflect on the blessings of the Prophet’s prayer and say: “How great are God’s blessings.”

Tradition narrators, including Imam Bukhari, report that God’s Messenger prayed for ‘Urwa ibn Abi Ja‘da to profit in business. ‘Urwa says: “Sometimes I would go to Kufa’s market and return home in the evening having earned 40,000 (dirhams).” Imam Bukhari remarks: ‘If he had taken a little soil in his hand, he would have gained a profit from it.”193 ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far, for whom God’s Messenger prayed for abundance, became famous because of his great wealth. He was as well-known for his generosity as he was for his riches.194

The above-mentioned miracles are enough to illustrate this point.

Imam Tirmidhi and other Traditionists report that God’s Messenger prayed for Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas: “O God, answer his prayer.”195 After that, Sa‘d became famous for having his prayers accepted. In addition, everyone feared his malediction. God’s Messenger also prayed that Abu Qatada might remain young, saying: “May God prosper your face. O God, bless his hair and skin.” When Abu Qatada died at the age of 70, he seemed to be as young as a 15-year-old boy.196

Once the poet Nabigha recited a poem of his in the presence of God’s Messenger. When he recited the couplet:

Our honor and praise have reached the skies;

We want to ascend even higher!

the Messenger asked him, jokingly: “To where, O Abu Layla?” He replied: “To Paradise, O Messenger of God.” Afterwards, he recited another meaningful poem and the Messenger of God prayed: “May God not deform your mouth.” As a result, Nabigha had all of his teeth when he reached the great age of 120 years. Whenever he lost a tooth, a new one would appear in its place.197

God’s Messenger prayed for Imam ‘Ali: “O God, suffice him against heat and cold.” As a result, Imam ‘Ali felt neither cold nor heat even if he habitually wore winter clothing in summer or summer clothing in winter. He said: “I do not suffer from cold or heat, thanks to the Prophet’s prayer.”198

God’s Messenger also prayed for Fatima: “O God, do not let her suffer from hunger.” Fatima said: “I never suffered from hunger after his prayer.”199

Tufayl ibn ‘Amr once asked the Messenger to perform a miracle for his tribe. The Messenger prayed: “O God, provide light for him.” A light appeared between Tufayl’s eyes, which was later transferred to the end of a stick. This caused him to be known as Dhu al-Nur (possessor of light).200

These are some well-known events that have acquired certitude.

Abu Hurayra once complained to the Messenger about forgetfulness. The Messenger told him to spread a piece of cloth on the ground. He then made some movements as if filling his hands with invisible things and emptying them on the cloth. After doing this three or four times, he told Abu Hurayra to pick it up. Thereafter Abu Hurayra, as he later swore by God, never forgot anything.201

FOURTH EXAMPLE: Under severe persecutions, God’s Messenger sometimes had to refer the state of the persecutors to God:

FIRST: The Persian Chosroes, Parwiz, tore up the letter sent to him by the Prophet. When he heard this, the Prophet prayed: “O God, rend him and his rule as he rent my letter.” As a result, Parwiz was killed by his own son (Shirwiya) with a dagger, and Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas tore his kingdom into pieces, causing the Sassanid Empire to collapse completely.202 The Emperor of Byzantium and the rulers of other states did not perish, for they respected the Prophet’s letters.

SECOND: A famous mutawatir Tradition states, and Qur’anic verses point out, that in the early days of Islam when God’s Messenger prayed at the Ka‘ba, the Qurayshi leaders would gather around him and treat him very badly. He had to refer their state to God. Ibn Mas‘ud remarks: “I swear by God that I saw all of their corpses after the Battle of Badr.”203

THIRD: God’s Messenger prayed that the large Mudar tribe would endure famine, since they had contradicted him. Rain stopped, and drought and famine struck the Mudar. When the Quraysh, a sub-clan of the Mudar, asked God’s Messenger to pray for rain, he did so and thereby ended the drought and famine.204 This event is considered mutawatir.

FIFTH EXAMPLE: The Prophet’s resentment of particular people resulted in their terrible destruction. We cite three examples:

FIRST: He cursed ‘Utba ibn Abi Lahab: “O God, send one of your dogs upon him.”205 Sometime later when ‘Utba was traveling, a lion picked him out in the caravan and tore him up. This very famous event was related and verified by leading Tradition scholars.

SECOND: God’s Messenger dispatched Amir ibn Azbat to command a squadron. Muhallam ibn Jassama killed him out of spite. When God’s Messenger learned of this, he became angry and prayed: “O God, do not forgive Muhallam.”206 Muhallam died after 7 days. They put his corpse in the grave, but the grave rejected it. They tried to bury him several times, but each time the grave threw the body out. In the end, a covering finally had to be built.

THIRD: The Messenger saw a man eating with his left hand. He warned him to eat with his right hand. The man, who felt his pride injured, retorted: “I cannot do so.” God’s Messenger said: “May you never use it again.” After that, the man could never raise his right hand again.207

SIXTH EXAMPLE: Out of the many wonders manifested through the Prophet’s prayer and touch, we mention a few that have acquired certainty. They are as follows:

FIRST: The Messenger gave Khalid ibn Walid (the Sword of God) a few of his hairs and prayed for his triumph. Khalid kept the hairs in his turban. Due to their worth and that of the prayer, Khalid became victorious in every battle.208

SECOND: Salman al-Farisi was formerly a slave of the Jews. His masters demanded a very high ransom [for his emancipation], saying: “We will emancipate you if you plant 300 date palms and, after they yield fruit, you give us an additional 50 kilos of gold.”

Salman explained his situation to the Messenger. God’s Messenger planted the date palms somewhere around Medina, and one more was planted by another person. Within the same year, all 300 trees yielded fruit, except for the one planted by the other person. The Messenger pulled it up and replanted it, and it too yielded fruit. He then put some water from his mouth on an egg-sized piece of gold and, after praying, gave it to Salman and told him to give out of it what his masters asked. After Salman did so, it was still the same size.209 This miraculous incident, the most significant event in Salman’s life, is reported by reliable Traditionists.

THIRD: A female Companion named Umm Malik used to offer butter to the Messenger out of a leather bag (an ukka). He once returned it after praying over it, and told her not to empty or squeeze it. After that, her children would find butter in the bag whenever they wanted some. This continued for a long time, until they squeezed it and ended the blessing.210

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: There are many examples of water becoming sweet and emitting a pleasant fragrance. We cite a few of them, as follows:

FIRST: Traditionists, including Bayhaqi, narrate that Bi’r al-Quba (a well) dried up rather frequently. After God’s Messenger poured some of his ablution water into it, it always held a great amount of water.211

SECOND: Traditionists, above all Abu Nu‘aym in his Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, report that when God’s Messenger put some of his saliva into the well in Anas’ house and prayed, its water became the sweetest in Medina.212

THIRD: Ibn Maja narrated that once someone brought a bucket of Zamzam well water to the Messenger. After he put some in his mouth and emptied it into the bucket, the bucket gave off a musk-like smell.213

FOURTH: Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrates that a bucket of water was taken from a well. After God’s Messenger put some of his saliva in the bucket and poured the water into the well, the well began to smell of musk.214

FIFTH: Hammad ibn Salama, a pious narrator highly esteemed and relied upon by Imam Muslim and the scholars of Muslim West (North Africa and al-Andalusia), reports that God’s Messenger filled a leather bag with water, breathed a prayer into it, and then tied it up and gave it to some Companions, saying: “Don’t open it except when you will get ablution.” When they did so, they saw that there was milk inside, with cream on it.215

These five incidents are narrated by famous, significant authorities. Together with those cited here, they show such types of miracles as definitely as mutawatir in meaning.

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: Sterile goats gave plenty of milk after the Messenger touched them and prayed. There are various examples of this type of miracle. We mention only a few that are the best known and most authentic, as follows:

FIRST: All reliable biographies of the Prophet relate that during his migration to Medina, he and Abu Bakr stopped at ‘Atiqa bint al-Huda’iyya’s house (also known as Umm Ma‘bad). She had a very thin, barren goat. When the Messenger asked if the goat produced any milk, she replied: “It does not even have blood in its veins. How can it produce milk?” God’s Messenger rubbed its back and loins, stroked its udder, prayed, and then told her to get a vessel and milk her goat. She did so, and God’s Messenger, Abu Bakr, and the whole household drank until fully satisfied. Following this incident, the goat grew fat and strong and produced lots of milk.216

SECOND: This is the famous story of Ibn Mas‘ud’s goat. Prior to his conversion, Ibn Mas‘ud was a shepherd who cared for the flocks of some Meccan chiefs. One day, God’s Messenger and Abu Bakr stopped where he was pasturing the flock. When they asked him for some milk, Ibn Mas‘ud replied: “The goats do not belong to me.” God’s Messenger said: “Bring me a barren goat.” Ibn Mas‘ud fetched one that had not mated for the past 2 years. The Messenger stroked the goat’s udder and prayed. After they milked it and drank its pure, delicious milk,217 Ibn Mas‘ud became a Muslim.

THIRD: Halima of the Sa‘d tribe was the Messenger’s wet nurse. Once when her tribe was struck by famine and drought, the animals produced no milk. But when the future Messenger was sent as an infant to be nursed by Halima, her goats alone, and through his blessing, returned home in the evening fully satisfied and with their udders full of milk.218

Although there are similar examples of such miracles in biographies of the Prophet, these few are sufficient for the purpose.

NINTH EXAMPLE: Out of many wonders that happened when the Messenger touched people’s heads and faces and then prayed, we relate only a few well-known ones, as follows:

FIRST: He rubbed ‘Umar ibn Sa‘d’s head and prayed. As a result, this man had no white hairs on his head when he died at the age of eighty.219

SECOND: The Messenger stroked part of Qays ibn Zayd’s head and prayed. As a result, all of Qays’ hair turned gray, except for that area, when he became 100 years old.220

THIRD: ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn al-Khattab was a small, ugly man. The Messenger stroked his head and prayed, after which he became almost the tallest and most handsome man.221

FOURTH: When ‘A’iz ibn ‘Amr’s face was wounded at the Battle of Hunayn, the Messenger wiped the blood away. The part of his face touched by the Messenger became so radiant that Traditionists describe it as “like the whiteness on bay horse’s forehead.”222

FIFTH: After he stroked Qatada ibn Salman’s face and prayed, it began to shine as brightly as a mirror.223

SIXTH: Zaynab, daughter of Umm Salama (the mother of believers) and step-daughter of God’s Messenger, was a child when he sprinkled some of his ablution water on her face. As a result, her face acquired an extraordinary beauty.224

There are many similar examples, most of which are narrated by Traditionists. Taken together, they represent a miracle having the certainty of mutawatir in meaning, even if we were to regard each one as individual in nature and, accordingly, questionably reported.

Any incident reported in various ways is concluded to have happened, even though the separate reports are individually questionable. Suppose a loud noise is heard. One person says: “Such-and-such a house has collapsed.” Another says: “No, a different house has collapsed.” A third reports the collapse of a third house, and so on. Each report may be questionable and even untrue, but one thing is certain—a house did collapse. All six examples mentioned above are authentic, and some are famous. Even if we regard each one as questionable, when taken together they prove the occurrence of a miracle, just as the collapse of a house is certain in the above analogy.

Thus each category of miracle cited so far is established firmly, and the individual incidents related illustrate or represent the whole. As the Messenger’s hands, fingers, saliva, breath, and prayer are the means of his miracles, other parts of his body (material or immaterial) are the means of numerous wonders. History books and those relating his biography recount these wonders and display diverse proofs of his Prophethood by expressing his spiritual, moral, and physical qualities.

Said Nursi

187 Bukhari, 2:35; Bayhaqi, 6:147.

188 Shifa’, 1:327, related by Bukhari and Muslim.

189 Tirmidhi, no. 3684; Ibn Hanbal, 2:95; Hakim, 2:465; Bayhaqi, 2:215.

190 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 1:264; also related by Bukhari, Muslim, and Hakim.

191 Bukhari, 8:93, 100; Muslim, no. 2480; Ibn Hanbal, 6:430.

192 Shifa’, 1:326; Bayhaqi, 6:218; Abu Dawud, no. 2109.

193 Bukhari, 4:252; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, 2:476; Bayhaqi, 6:220.

194 Ibn Hajar, Matalib al-‘Aliya, 4077; related by Abu Ya‘la and Tabarani.

195 Tirmidhi, 3752; Hakim, 3:499; also related by Ibn Hibban and Abu Nu‘aym.

196 Shifa’, 1:327, related by Bayhaqi.

197 Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, No. 8639; Bayhaqi, 6:232; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 6:168.

198 Ibn Hanbal, 1:99; Ibn Maja, 1:43; also related by Bayhaqi and Tabarani.

199 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 9:203, related by Bayhaqi and Tabarani.

200 Shifa’, 1:328, related by Bayhaqi, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn Ishaq.

201 Bukhari, 4:253; also related by Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Hanbal.

202 Bukhari, 6:10; Abu Nu‘aym, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 2:348.

203 Muslim, 3, no. 1794; Bukhari, 5:94; Ibn Hanbal, 1:417.

204 Bukhari, 2:37; Bayhaqi, 2:324.

205 Bayhaqi, 2:335; Kanz al-‘Ummal, 438-439; Abu Nu‘aym, 2:454.

206 Shifa’, 1:329; Ibn Hisham, Sira, 4:247.

207 Muslim, no. 2021; also related by Ibn Hibban, Bayhaqi, and Tabarani.

208 Hakim, 3:289; Shifa’, 1:331; Bayhaqi, 6:249.

209 Ibn Hanbal, 5:441-42; Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 4:53-57; Hakim, 2:16.

210 Muslim, no. 2280; Ibn Hanbal, 3:242; Bayhaqi, Dala’il, 6:113.

211 Shifa’, 1:331, related by Bayhaqi.

212 Ibid., 1:331.

213 Ibn Maja, no. 659; Shifa’, 1:332.

214 Ibn Hanbal, 22, 67; also related by Ibn Maja.

215 Shifa’, 1:334, related by Ibn Sa‘d.

216 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, related by Hakim, Bazzar, and Ibn Sa‘d.

217 Ibn Hanbal, 5:210; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 6:102; Ibn Hibban, 8:149.

218 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:220-221, related by Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Hibban, and Ibn Sa‘d.

219 Shifa’, 1:334.

220 Ibid., 1:334.

221 Ibid., 1:335.

222 Ibid., 1:334; Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 9:412, related by Tabarani.

223 Shifa’, 1:334; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, 3:225.

224 Shifa’, 1:334; related by Tabarani and Ibn ‘Abd al-Birr.

Miracles related to animals, the dead, jinn, and angels

FIFTEENTH SIGN: Rocks, trees, the moon, and the sun recognize him and testify to his Prophethood, each demonstrating one of his miracles. In the same way, animals, the dead, jinn, and angels recognize him and testify to his Prophethood by becoming the object of his miracles. This sign is explained in three parts, as follows:

FIRST PART: The animal kingdom recognized God’s Messenger and became the means for him to work miracles. Although there are many examples, we mention only a few of the well-known ones having the certainty of mutawatir in meaning, agreed on by exacting authorities, or accepted by the Umma.

FIRST INCIDENT: This has the reputation of mutawatir in meaning. During the Prophet’s migration to Medina, he and Abu Bakr concealed themselves from their pursuers in Thawr cave. Two pigeons guarded its entrance like sentries; a spider, functioning as a doorkeeper, covered the entrance with a thick web.225 As Ubayy ibn al-Khalaf, a leading Qurayshi who would be killed by the Messenger during the Battle of Badr, was examining the cave, his friends wanted to enter. But he told them: “There’s no point. This web seems to have been spun before Muhammad was born.” The others added: “Would those pigeons, standing there, still be there if someone were inside?”226 Ibn Wahb also reports that a group of pigeons shaded the Messenger during Mecca’s conquest.227

‘A’isha reports: “We had a pigeon named Dajin in our house. When God’s Messenger was at home it would stay quiet, but as soon as he left it would begin to pace to and fro.”228 This signifies that the bird obeyed God’s Messenger by remaining quiet in his presence.

SECOND  INCIDENT: This concerns a wolf. Such well-known Companions as Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, Salama ibn al-Aqwa’, Ibn Abi Wahb, Abu Hurayra, and Uhban (the shepherd directly involved) report this event, which gives it the certainty of tawatur in meaning. A wolf once snatched a goat from a herd, but the shepherd rescued the goat. The wolf said: “You deprive me of my food without fearing God.” The shepherd muttered: “How strange! Does a wolf speak?” The wolf responded: “What is [really] strange is that a Prophet behind that hill invites you to Paradise, but you do not recognize him!” All reports agree on the talking wolf. According to Abu Hurayra’s report, transmitted through a more reliable channel, the shepherd said to the wolf: “I will go, but who will watch over my goats?” “I will,” replied the wolf. The shepherd went to see God’s Messenger, leaving the goats under the wolf’s care, and soon became a believer.229 When he returned, he found the wolf watching the goats; not one had been lost. He then slaughtered a goat for the wolf, since it had become his teacher.

Abu Sufyan and Safwan, two leading Qurayshis, once saw a wolf chasing a gazelle. When the gazelle went into the Ka‘ba’s enclosure, the wolf returned and testified verbally to Muhammad’s Prophethood. Surprised, Abu Sufyan warned Safwan: “If we report this miracle to others, I fear all of Mecca will join the Muslims.”230 In short, this miracle is certain and tawatur in meaning.

THIRD INCIDENT: This is the story of the camel. It is reported through five or six channels by such Companions as Abu Hurayra, Tha‘laba ibn Malik, Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah, ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far, and ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa’. A camel prostrated before God’s Messenger, as if greeting him, and spoke to him. Other reports say that this camel had gone wild in a vineyard, attacking anybody who came near it. When God’s Messenger appeared, it came to him, prostrated as a sign of respect, and knelt before him so that the Messenger could put a bridle on it. Then the camel complained to God’s Messenger: “They used me in the heaviest work, and now they want to slaughter me, so I went wild.” God’s Messenger asked its owner if this was true, and he replied that it was.231

The Prophet owned a camel named Abda’. After the Prophet died, this camel did not eat or drink anything out of grief, and finally died.232 Such significant authorities as Abu Ishaq al-Isfarani relate that this camel talked with God’s Messenger about an important event. Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah reports that once his camel became exhausted during a military campaign. When the Messenger prodded it slightly, the resulting joy and agility made the camel move so fast that nobody could catch up with or stop it.233

FOURTH INCIDENT: Traditionists, including Imam Bukhari, relate that one night it was rumored that the enemy was about to attack Medina. Some valiant horsemen set out to investigate. On their way, they saw a man who turned out to be God’s Messenger coming toward them. He told them: “There is nothing.”234 He had mounted Abu Talha’s horse and investigated the matter before anybody else. He said to Abu Talha: “Your horse is very fast and comfortable,” although before then it had been very slow. After that night, no other horse could beat it in a race. On another occasion, the Messenger told his horse to stop so he could pray. The horse remained still until he finished praying.235

FIFTH INCIDENT: Safina, the Messenger’s servant, set out to meet Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, the governor of Yemen, upon the order of God’s Messenger. Encountering a lion on the way, he said to it: “I am the Messenger’s servant.” The lion made a sound and left without harming him. According to another narration, Safina encountered the lion while returning to Medina. However, he got lost and the lion not only did not harm him but actually showed him the way.236

‘Umar relates that a Bedouin carrying a lizard said to God’s Messenger: “If this animal bears witness to your Prophethood, I will believe in you. Otherwise, I will not.” When God’s Messenger asked the lizard, it testified verbally to his Prophethood.237 Umm Salama (a mother of the believers) reports that an antelope once spoke to God’s Messenger and bore witness to His Messengership.238

We have cited only a few well-known examples out of many similar ones. We therefore say to those who do not recognize and obey God’s Messenger: “Do not try to fall behind the animals after you learn that even wolves and lions recognize and obey God’s Messenger.”

SECOND PART: Corpses, jinn, and angels recognize God’s Messenger. The miracles concerning jinn and angels are mutawatir and number in the thousands. Out of many instances illustrating that corpses recognize God’s Messenger, we cite only a few related by reliable authorities, as follows:

FIRST: Hasan al-Basri, a devoted student of Imam ‘Ali and the greatest Tabi‘un religious scholar in both the outer and inner dimension of Islam, reported that a bitterly weeping man came to God’s Messenger and said: “My little daughter died in that stream nearby, and I left her corpse there.” God’s Messenger had pity on him, and said: “Come, we will go there.” They reached the place where she was buried. When God’s Messenger called to her, she replied at once: “Here I am, ready to carry out your orders.” God’s Messenger asked if she wanted to return to her parents. “No,” she said, “for I have found a better place here.”239

SECOND: Such significant Traditionists as Imam Bayhaqi and Ibn ‘Adiyy report that Anas ibn Malik said: “A pious old woman’s only son died unexpectedly. She grieved very much and prayed: “O God, I emigrated here only to obtain Your good pleasure and serve Your Messenger, to whom I took the oath of allegiance. For Your Messenger’s sake, give me back my son, who was the only one to look after me.” Anas says: “That dead son was raised and ate with us.”240

In his Qasida al-Bur’a, written in praise of the Prophet, Imam Busiri refers to this miraculous event:

If the miracles he worked had been enough

to demonstrate his unequaled rank,

Mere mention of his name would suffice to quicken

decayed bones (let alone the newly dead).

THIRD: Bayhaqi and others quote ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Ubayullah al-Ansari: “I was present when Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas was buried after being martyred during the Battle of Yamama. As he was being buried, people heard him say: ‘Muhammad is God’s Messenger, Abu Bakr is truthful, ‘Umar is a martyr, and ‘Uthman is pious and merciful.’ We opened the grave only to find him dead.”241 Thabit thus predicted ‘Umar’s martyrdom even before ‘Umar became caliph.

FOURTH: Imam Tabarani and Abu Nu‘aym in Dala’il al-Nubuwwa (Proofs of Prophethood) report from Nu‘man ibn Bashir: “Zayd ibn Kharija died unexpectedly at the market. We took his body home. Women cried around him for some time between the evening and the late evening prayers, when he was heard to say: ‘Silence, silence!’ and continued fluently: ‘Muhammad is God’s Messenger. Peace be upon you, O Messenger.’ We examined him, and found that he was dead.”242

If living people still do not confirm him even when the dead bear witness to his Messengership, they are more lifeless than corpses and more dead than the dead.

Accounts of angels appearing to and serving God’s Messenger, and those of jinn believing in and obeying him, have the status of mutawatir, for many Qur’anic verses have affirmed this explicitly. For example, the Qur’an states that during the Battle of Badr, 5,000 angels served him as Companions—like soldiers on the front line. This was done to strengthen the believers’ conviction that they would win, not to participate in the battle directly. These angels are distinguished among all others by that honor, just as the people of Badr were distinguished among all other Companions.

There are two aspects to be considered here: The existence of angels and jinn and their relationship with us (decisively proved in The Twenty-ninth Word), and the ability of certain Muslims to see and converse with them through the Messenger’s blessing and miracles. Many Tradition authorities, above all Bukhari and Muslim, report that Archangel Gabriel came to God’s Messenger, when he was sitting with some Companions, as a man dressed in white. He asked about belief, Islam, and excellence and virtue (ihsan). While God’s Messenger was defining them, the Companions learned a lesson and saw the questioner plainly. When the questioner, who appeared to be a visitor although, to their astonishment, he bore no signs of travel, suddenly disappeared, God’s Messenger said: “That was Gabriel, who came to teach you your religion.”243

Traditionists also report, through authentic narrations having the certainty of mutawatir in meaning, that Companions often saw Gabriel with God’s Messenger as Dihya, a very good-looking Companion. For instance, ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas, Usama ibn Zayd, Harith, ‘A’isha, and Umm Salama report: “We frequently saw Gabriel with God’s Messenger in the form of Dihya.”244 Would they have said this if they could not see Gabriel?

Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, conqueror of Persia and one of the ten Companions promised Paradise while alive, reported: “During the Battle of Uhud we saw two men dressed in white at each side of God’s Messenger, as if guarding him. We concluded that they were the Archangels Gabriel and Michael.”245 When such a hero of Islam says he saw them, could he not have seen them?

Abu Sufyan ibn Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s cousin, reports: “We saw horsemen dressed in white between the sky and Earth during the Battle of Badr.”246 One day, Hamza told God’s Messenger that he wanted to see Gabriel. The Messenger complied at the Ka‘ba, but Hamza could not bear the sight and fell unconscious.247

Several similar instances demonstrate this type of miracle, and indicate that even angels are like moths around his Prophethood’s light.

Both Companions and ordinary Muslims can meet and converse with jinn. The most definite example concerns Ibn Mas‘ud, whom the Traditionists report through one of the most authentic narrations, as saying: “I saw the jinn in Batn al-Nakhla on the night they were converted to Islam. They resembled the tall men of the Sudanese Zut tribe.”248

Another well-known incident accepted and narrated by Traditionists concerns Khalid ibn Walid. When ‘Uzza (a pre-Islamic idol) was demolished, a female jinn emerged in the form of a dark woman. Khalid cut her into two pieces with his sword. Then God’s Messenger said: “They have been worshipping her in the idol ‘Uzza. From now on, she will be worshipped no longer.”249

‘Umar said: “When we were with God’s Messenger, a jinn named Haama appeared as an old man with a stick. He converted to Islam. God’s Messenger instructed him in some short Qur’anic chapters and, after learning his lesson, the jinn departed.”250 Although some Traditionists question this event’s accuracy, the outstanding authorities agree that it happened.

There is no need for long explanations, since we have cited many examples in this respect. However, we add this: Through the light and teaching of God’s Messenger, and by following him, thousands of such eminent, godly people of purity as ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani have met and conversed with angels and jinn. Thus this event has reached the degree of tawatur a hundred times.

THIRD PART: The protection of God’s Messenger is an evident miracle, as expressed in: God will defend you from people (5:67) and illustrated by many incidents. When God’s Messenger proclaimed the Divine Message, he did not challenge just one tribe or race, a few politicians, or a particular religion, but all rulers and all religions. Despite his uncle’s and tribe’s status as among his greatest enemies, as well as the numerous conspiracies directed against him, he drew his last breath in his own bed in perfect contentment and reached the highest incorporeal realm after 23 years without a guard or any form of protection. This clearly shows the truth of the above quoted verse and provides a firm point of support for God’s Messenger. In this regard, we mention only a few of the many indisputably certain exemplary events, as follows:

FIRST EVENT: All Traditionists and biographers of the Prophet report that the Quraysh tried to kill him. Advised by a diabolical man or by Satan himself in the form of a man from Najd, they chose at least one man from each clan to avoid any intertribal dispute. Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab led the approximately 200 men who besieged the Messenger’s house. ‘Ali, who was with God’s Messenger that night, was told to sleep in the Messenger’s bed. When the Quraysh surrounded the house, the Messenger left and, throwing some dust on them, passed by without being seen.251

SECOND EVENT: God’s Messenger and Abu Bakr left Thawr cave, where God had sent a spider and two pigeons to guard them, and set out for Medina. Meanwhile, the Qurayshi chiefs sent Suraqa, a very brave man, to assassinate them in return for a large reward. Abu Bakr became anxious when they saw Suraqa coming. God’s Messenger repeated to him what he had said in the cave: “Don’t worry, for God is with us.” He then glanced at Suraqa, and the hooves of Suraqa’s horse got stuck in the ground. Suraqa pulled the horse free and began to follow them, but his horse’s hooves got stuck again and he saw smoke arising from that place. Only then did he realize that neither he nor anybody else could lay hands on God’s Messenger, and he had to ask for quarter. God’s Messenger freed him, saying: “Go back, and make sure nobody else comes.”252

In addition, a shepherd saw God’s Messenger and Abu Bakr and hurried to Mecca to inform the Quraysh. However, when he arrived he could not remember what he wanted to tell them. Unable to recall anything, he left and only later realized later that he had been made to forget.253

THIRD EVENT: During the military campaign of Ghatfan and Anmar, a courageous chieftain named Ghawras unexpectedly appeared at the Messenger’s side. Holding his sword over the Messenger’s head, he demanded: “Who will save you from me?” God’s Messenger replied: “God.” He then prayed: “O God, protect me from him as You will.” In the same breath, a blow between his shoulders felled Ghawras, and his sword slipped from his hand. God’s Messenger took the sword and asked: “Now who will save you from me?” God’s Messenger then forgave Ghawras and allowed him to return to his tribe. Surprised at such a brave man having failed to do anything, his fellows asked: “What happened? Why could you not do anything?” He explained what had happened, and added: “I have come from the presence of the best of humanity.”254

In a similar event, a hypocrite secretly approached God’s Messenger from behind during the Battle of Badr. Lifting his sword to strike God’s Messenger, at that instant the Messenger turned and glanced at him. This caused him to tremble and drop his sword.255

FOURTH EVENT: Most interpreters consider this event, almost as well-known as it is mutawatir, to be the occasion for revealing: We have put on their necks fetters up to the chin so their heads are raised. We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier, and We have covered them so they do not see (36:9). Abu Jahl picked up a large rock and swore that if he would hit the Prophet with it if he saw him prostrating. Finding the Prophet prostrating, he raised the rock to smash it on the Prophet’s head. But his hands froze in the air. God’s Messenger finished his prayer and stood up. Only then did Abu Jahl’s hands become unbound, either by permission of God’s Messenger or because there was no reason for them to remain bound.256

In a similar incident, a man from Abu Jahl’s clan (Walid ibn Mughira, according to one report) went to the Ka‘ba with a large rock to injure God’s Messenger while he was prostrating. However, his eyes became sealed and he could not see God’s Messenger. Still unable to see (although he could hear), he returned to those who had sent him.257 When God’s Messenger finished his prayer, the would-be assassin’s eyes were opened, since there was no need for them to remain closed.

Abu Bakr relates that after Surat al-Masad (Tabbat), which begins with Perish the hands of Abu Lahab (111:1), was revealed, Abu Lahab’s wife, described therein as the carrier of the firewood (111:4), picked up a rock and went to the Ka‘ba. God’s Messenger and Abu Bakr were sitting near it. She could not see God’s Messenger and asked Abu Bakr: “Where is your friend? I hear that he satirized me. If I see him, I will hit him on the mouth with this rock!”258 She could not see the one under God’s protection, who was the object of the hadith qudsi: “But for you, I would not have created the worlds.” And so she could not enter his presence. How could she carry out her plan?

FIFTH EVENT: Amir ibn Tufayl and Arbad ibn Qays conspired to assassinate the Messenger. Amir said to Arbad: “I will keep him busy; you hit him.” They went to him, but Arbad did not do anything. When Amir later asked him why he had not hit God’s Messenger, Arbad replied: “How could I? Every time I intended to hit him, I saw you between us. Did you expect me to hit you?”259

SIXTH EVENT: Either during the Battle of Uhud or Hunayn, Shayba ibn ‘Uthman al-Hajabiya approached God’s Messenger stealthily from behind. He intended to avenge his father and uncle, who had been killed by Hamza. He lifted his sword, but it suddenly slipped out of his hand. God’s Messenger turned to him and put his hand on his chest. When relating this event, Shayba said: “At that moment, no one else was more beloved to me.” He embraced Islam instantly, and God’s Messenger told him to go and fight. Shayba said: “I fought in front of God’s Messenger. If I had I met my own father, I would have killed him.”260

On the day of Mecca’s conquest, Fadhala approached God’s Messenger with the intent of killing him. God’s Messenger smiled at him, asked what he had in mind, and prayed that Fadhala might be forgiven. Entering Islam at that moment, Fadhala acknowledged later: “No one in the world was more beloved to me than him at that moment.”261

SEVENTH EVENT: Some Jews conspired to drop a large rock on the Prophet’s head while he was sitting under a particular roof. They were just about to do so when God’s Messenger stood up to go. As a result of God’s protection, their plot was foiled.262

There are many similar instances. Traditionists, above all Imam Bukhari and Muslim, relate from ‘A’isha that when God will protect you from people was revealed, God’s Messenger said to those who had guarded him from time to time: “Leave me, for my Lord, the Mighty and Glorious, protects me.”263

As this treatise demonstrates, everything in the universe recognizes and is related to God’s Messenger, and each displays a specific kind of his miracles. This shows that Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger and envoy of God, the Creator of the universe and the Lord of creation. An important inspector appointed by the ruler is recognized by every department of the administration and is related to each because he must perform a duty in each department on the ruler’s behalf. For example, a judicial inspector is connected with the judicial department and is unknown in other departments. Similarly, a military inspector is not recognized by the civil administration, and so on. As proven above, every department of the Divine Kingdom, from angels to insects and spiders, knows, recognizes, or has heard of the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds and the seal of the Prophets. And, moreover, the field of his Messengership is far more comprehensive than that of all previous Prophets.

Said Nursi

225 Ibn Hanbal, 1:248; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 3:179-81.

226 Shifa’, 1: 313, related by Tabarani, Bazzar, and Bayhaqi.

227 Ibid., 1:313.

228 Ibid., 1:309, related by Ibn Hanbal, Bazzar, Abu Ya‘la, and Bayhaqi.

229 Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 8:291, related by Ibn Hanbal.

230 Shifa’, 1:311.

231 Hakim, 2:99; Ibn Hanbal, 3:158; Muslim, 1:268; Ibn Maja, 1:121.

232 Shifa’, 1:313.

233 Bukhari, 7:6; Muslim, 3:1222.

234 Muslim, no. 2307; Abu Dawud, 4988; Tirmidhi, 1685.

235 Shifa’, 1:315.

236 Hakim, 3:606; also related by Bazzar, Tabarani, and Abu Nu‘aym.

237 Kanz al-‘Ummal, 12:358, related by Bayhaqi, Hakim, and Abu Nu‘aym.

238 Shifa’, 1:314, related by Tabarani, Bayhaqi, Abu Nu‘aym, and Ibn Kathir.

239 Shifa’, 1:320.

240 Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 6:292; Shifa’, 1:320; Bayhaqi, 6:50.

241 Shifa’, 1:320.

242 Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 6:293; related by Hakim and Bayhaqi.

243 Bukhari, 1:19-20; Shifa’, 1:341, also related by Muslim and many others.

244 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 1:212; Bukhari, 4:250; Bayhaqi, 7:52, 87.

245 Muslim, no. 2036; Bukhari, 7:192; Hakim, 2:264.

246 Shifa’, 1:362; Ibn Hanbal, 1:347; also related by Bukhari and Bayhaqi.

247 Shifa’, 1:362; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra’, 1:311.

248 Ibn Hanbal, 6:165; Suyuti, ibid., 1:343; Shifa’, 1:362.

249 Abu Nu‘aym, 2:535; Shifa’, 1:362; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 4:316.

250 Bayhaqi, 5:416; Suyuti, 2:350.

251 Shifa’, 1:349; Ibn Hanbal, 4:269; Bayhaqi, 2:465; Abu Nu‘aym, 1:202-4.

252 Bukhari, 4:245-46; Muslim, no. 2009; Bayhaqi, 2:483.

253 Shifa’, 1:351; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:715.

254 Hakim, 3:29-30; Shifa’, 1:348; Bayhaqi, 3:373-79; also related by Muslim.

255 Shifa’, 1:347.

256 Ibid., 1:351; Muslim, no. 2797; Ibn Hanbal, 2:37.

257 Shifa’, 1:351; Bayhaqi, 3:197.

258 Hakim, 2:351; Bayhaqi, 2:195.

259 Bayhaqi, 5:318; Shifa’, 1:353; Abu Nu‘aym, 1:207.

260 Shifa’, 1:353; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, 2:157; Abu Nu‘aym, 1:195.

261 Shifa’, 1:354; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:718.

262 Shifa’, 1:352; also related by Ibn Ishaq and Nasa’i in al-Khasa’is al-Kubra’, 1:525.

263 Hakim, 2:213; Bayhaqi, 2:184; also related by Tirmidhi.

Being protected by God and predicted by earlier scriptures and soothsayers; miracles that happened before—but are related to—his birth

SIXTEENTH SIGN: The wonders that took place before but in connection with his Prophethood are called irhasat. They are of three kinds, as follows:

FIRST KIND: Tidings of Muhammad’s Prophethood given by the Torah, Bible, Psalms, and Pages sent to other prophets, as mentioned in the Qur’an. Since they are originally Scriptures revealed by God to His Prophets, it is fitting that they mention the Prophet who would supersede their religions, change the shape of human civilization, and illumine half of the world with the light of Islam. How could these books, which predict even petty events, not mention Muhammad’s Prophethood, the most significant phenomenon in human history?

Given that they must do so, the people to whom these Scriptures were sent either would denounce it as falsehood to protect their religions from destruction and their books from annulment, or affirm it so that, by means of this truthful person, their religions would remain free of superstition and corruption. Both friend and foe agree that their books contain nothing that contradicts or rejects his Prophethood; on the contrary, they affirm it unanimously. Using this fact, as well as the existence of a definite reason and a fundamental cause for such an affirmation, we will prove this affirmation through three definite evidences.

FIRST EVIDENCE: God’s Messenger declares to the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) by the tongue of the Qur’an: “Your Scriptures describe and confirm me in whatever I declare.” Furthermore, he challenges them with verses such as:

Say: “Bring the Torah now and recite it, if you are truthful.” (3:93)

Say: “Come now, let’s call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and your selves, and then humbly pray and so lay God’s curse upon the ones who lie.” (3:61)

Despite such strong challenges, no Jewish scholar or Christian priest ever found an error with which to challenge him. If they had, the numerous obstinate and jealous unbelievers of that time, as well as hypocritical Jews and all unbelievers, would have publicized it throughout the land.

Like the polytheists of that time, the Jews and Christians also had to wage war on him when they were not able to contradict him. They chose to fight only to be scattered and forced to emigrate, as they could find no error. If they had, they would have thought themselves saved.

SECOND EVIDENCE: The words of the Torah, Gospels, and Psalms do not have the Qur’an’s miraculous perfection. Moreover, many alien terms and ideas have entered them because the translations became far removed from the original texts. Furthermore, the sayings and mistakes, whether intentional or not, of their many interpreters have been confused with the original verses, and the distortions of ignorant people and various enemies have been incorporated. And so these Scriptures suffer from great alteration and corruption.

The famous scholar Sheikh Rahmatullah al-Hindi once silenced priests and Christian and Jewish scholars by proving the thousands of alterations made in those books. However even now, after so many alterations, the celebrated scholar Hussain al-Jisri still could extract from them 110 pieces of evidence concerning Muhammad’s Prophethood, which he included in his Risala al-Hamidiya

Many Jewish and Christian scholars acknowledge that Muhammad’s characteristics are recorded in their Scriptures. The famous Roman emperor Heraclius, a non-Muslim, said: “I agree that Jesus predicted Muhammad’s advent.”264 Another Roman ruler named Muqawqis, the governor of Egypt, and such well-known Jewish scholars as Ibn Suriya, Ibn Akhtab and his brother Ka‘b ibn Asad, and Zubayr ibn Batiya, although remaining non-Muslims, admitted: “Our books mention him and his qualities.”265

On the other hand, many famous Jewish scholars and Christian monks broke their obstinacy and converted after seeing that Muhammad had the attributes mentioned in their Scriptures concerning the Last Prophet. They silenced some of their former co-religionist scholars by showing them the references in the Torah and the Gospels. Among them were the famous

‘Abdullah ibn Salam, Wahb ibn Munabbih, Abu Yasir, Shamul, and Asid and Tha‘laba (the two sons of Sa‘ya).266 Shamul lived during the reign of Tubba, ruler of Yemen, and both believed in Muhammad’s Prophethood even though his birth was still some time in the future.

Ibn Hayaban once visited the Bani Nadir tribe in Medina before the proclamation of Muhammad’s Prophethood. He told them: “The emergence of a Prophet is close, and he will emigrate here.” Ibn Hayaban died there. Later, when that tribe fought God’s Messenger, Asid and Tha‘laba publicly called out to their tribe: “By God, he is the one whose coming was promised by Ibn Hayaban.”267 But they ignored the call, and so earned what they earned.

After seeing the Prophet described in the Torah, many Jewish scholars such as Ibn Bunyamin, Mukhayriq, and Ka‘b al-Akhbar converted and thereby silenced those who insisted on unbelief.268

And then there is the famous Christian monk Bahira, as mentioned earlier. When he was 12, the Messenger accompanied his uncle on a trading mission to Damascus. From his cell, Bahira noticed that a cloud was shading a certain person in the caravan. He invited all of them to a meal for Muhammad’s sake. When he saw that the shade-providing cloud remained where the caravan camped, he thought: “The one I seek must still be there,” and so sent a man to fetch whoever was left. When Muhammad was brought, Bahira told Abu Talib: “Return to Mecca immediately. The Jews are very jealous and might plot against him, for his description is recorded in the Torah.”269

Some Nestorians in Abyssinia as well as the Negus (the Abyssinian ruler) embraced Islam together after they found the Prophet described in their Scripture.270 The famous Christian scholar Daghatr also found the Prophet described in the Christians’ books and accepted Islam. When he openly declared his conversion to the Byzantines, he was martyred.271

A few other examples of such conversions are Harith ibn Abi Shumar al-Ghassani (a Christian leader), Ibn Natur and al-Jarud (prominent religious leaders of Damascus), the ruler of Ilia (in present-day Greece) and Heraclius (Emperor of Byzantium). Heraclius concealed his conversion for the sake of worldly kingdom.272 Salman al-Farisi, born a Christian, set out to search for the Prophet after hearing his description.273 Tamim (a celebrated scholar), as well as the Negus, the Christians of Abyssinia, and the priests of Najran all declared that they found the Prophet described in their books and so believed in him.274

THIRD EVIDENCE: We now point out a few verses from the Gospels, Torah, and Psalms that describe Prophet Muhammad.

First example: In the Psalms we read: O God, send to us after the interregnum (the latest of the successive prophets) one who will establish (Your) way.275 “One who will establish (Your) way” refers to Prophet Muhammad.

In the Gospels we read: The Messiah said: I am going to my and your Father so that He may send you the Paraclete (John 16:7), (that is, Ahmad or Muhammad) and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete to be with you forever (John 14:16). Paraclete, meaning “the praised one who distinguishes truth from falsehood,” refers to Prophet Muhammad, as mentioned in those books.276

The Torah says:

God said to Abraham: “Hagar will bear children. There will appear from her sons one whose hand will be above all, and the hands of all others will be opened to him in reverence.”277

Another Torah verse reads:

And He said: “O Moses, I will raise up for them a Prophet like you, from among their brothers (the children of Ishmael). I will put my Word in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name, I Myself will call him (or her) to account.” (Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

A third Torah verse reads:

Moses said: “O my Lord, I have found in the Torah a community, as the best of the communities, that will be raised for (the benefit) of humanity. They enjoin good and forbid evil, and believe in God. Let it be my community!” (God) said: “That is the community of Muhammad.”278

A reminder: In those books, the name Muhammad is given in its Syriac counterparts, such as Mushaffah, Munhamanna, Himyata. The name of Muhammad is mentioned explicitly only in a few places, and envious Jews altered those references.

The Psalms relate:

O David, a Prophet will come after you, named Ahmad (Muhammad), the Truthful and the Lord, and his community will be forgiven.279

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, who made extensive studies of earlier Divine books; ‘Abdullah ibn Salam, the first famous Jewish scholar to embrace Islam; and Ka‘b ibn al-Akhbar, one of the foremost Jewish scholars, all pointed out the following verse in the Torah, which had not yet been corrupted to its present extent. After addressing Moses, the verse addresses the Prophet to come in the following strain:

O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, a warner and a protection for the unlettered. You are My slave; I have named you “the Reliant on God,” who is not harsh and stern, and not clamorous in the marketplaces; who does not repel evil with evil, but instead pardons and forgives. God will not take away his life until He straightens a crooked nation by means of him (by causing them) to proclaim: “There is no deity but God.”280

Another Torah verse states:

Muhammad is the Messenger of God. His birthplace is Mecca. He will emigrate to Tayba. The center of his rule is Damascus, and his community is unceasingly occupied with praising God.281

In this verse, a Syriac word meaning Muhammad is actually mentioned for the word Muhammad.

Another Torah verse, You are My slave and Messenger; I have named you “the Reliant on God,”282 is addressed to a Prophet who will emerge, after Moses, from Ishmael’s progeny: the cousins of Isaac’s children. Also: My slave is a “chosen one,” who is neither harsh nor stern.283 “Mukhtar” (chosen one) is a synonym of “Mustafa,” one of his names.

The Gospels mention the Prophet coming after Jesus with several names. Another verse that describes him: With him is an iron staff with which he will fight, as will his community,284 indicates that a Prophet will come with a sword to wage jihad. Qur’an 48:29 agrees with this verse, refers to other Gospel verses, and states that his community, like him, will be obliged to wage jihad.

And their similitude in the Gospel is:

[L]ike a seed that sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick and stands in its own stem, filling the sowers with wonder and delight, so that it fills the unbelievers with rage at them. (48:29)

In the Torah, a verse says: The Lord came from Sinai, dawned over them from Seir, and shone forth from Mount Paran (Deuteronomy 33:2). The Lord came from Sinai refers to Moses’ Prophethood, dawned over them from Seir (the Seir mountains are near Damascus) refers to Jesus’ Prophethood, and He shone forth from Mount Paran (the Paran mountains of Hijaz) refers to Muhammad’s Messengership.285 The verse continues, in conformity with the Qur’anic expression: This is their similitude in the Torah, says this about the Prophet’s Companions who would emerge from Paran’s mountains: The flags of the holy ones are with him, on his right.286 This verse describes the Companions as “the holy ones,” meaning that they are blessed, righteous, and saintly friends of God.

Isaiah 42 contains the following verses describing Prophet Muhammad, who would come during the last phase of human history:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I will put My Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not snuff out a smoldering wick. In faithfulness will he bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on Earth. The islands will put their hope in his law. (Isaiah 42:1-4)

Micah 4 describes Mount ‘Arafat and the nation of Muhammad, together with the prayers and praises offered by the pilgrims flocking there from all climes:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and people will stream to it. Many nations will come and say: “Come, let’s go up the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” (Micah 4:1-2)

The following verses from Psalms 72 clearly describe Prophet Muhammad:

He will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of Earth. The desert tribes will bow before him, and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Yemen and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow to him, and all nations will serve him, for he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy, and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live! May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long.... May his name endure forever. May it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. (Psalms 72:8-17)

Since Prophet David, has there been another Prophet other than Prophet Muhammad who spread his religion from east to west, to whose name many rulers pay tribute, whose way so many people obey out of deep adoration for him, and on whom one fifth of humanity daily calls God’s peace and blessings?

John 16:7 reads: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Comforter will not come to you. Who other than Prophet Muhammad could be humanity’s true comforter? Certainly he is humanity’s pride and comforter by saving all people who follow him from eternal annihilation.

John 16:8 reads: When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. Who, other than Prophet Muhammad, came and transformed the disorder prevailing at his time into goodness and harmony to save the world from sin and polytheism and to revolutionize its politics and rule?

Prophet Muhammad. who was mentioned several times with several names in the Bible, is the master of humanity. Indeed, he is such a master that many millions of people have followed him in each of the 14 centuries since he lived. They obey his commands with willingly and daily renew their allegiance to him by calling God’s blessings upon him.

John 16:12-13 reads:

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come.

These verses are quite clear. Who, other than Prophet Muhammad, invited everyone to the truth, always spoke what he heard from God (through Gabriel) so that each of his words is based on Divine revelation, and informed people in detail about the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter?

In the books of other Prophets, God’s Messenger is mentioned with various Syriac and Hebrew names corresponding to Ahmad, Muhammad, and Mukhtar. In the Pages of the Prophet Shu‘ayb, his name is Mushaffah (Muhammad). In the Torah, he is mentioned as Munhamanna (Muhammad) and Himyata (“the Prophet of al-Haram”). In the Psalms, he is called al-Mukhtar (“the Chosen One”), and in the Torah as al-Hatam al-Khatam. The Torah and the Psalms refer to him as Muqim al-Sunna (“the one who establishes and enforces the Divine way for humanity”). In the Pages of Abraham, as well as in the Torah, he is mentioned as Mazmaz, and in the Torah as Ahyad.

God’s Messenger said: “In the Qur’an my name is Muhammad, in the Bible Ahmad, and in the Torah Ahyad.” In the Bible, he is referred to as “the Possessor of the Sword and the Staff.” Of all those Prophets who carried the sword, Prophet Muhammad, whom God told to perform jihad with his community, is the greatest. The Gospel also refers to him as “the one who wears a crown.” This refers to a turban,287 and the Arabs have worn head covers with a wrapper around them since ancient times. Hence the reference is undoubtedly to Prophet Muhammad.

Biblical interpreters define Paraclete (or Faraclete) as “the one who distinguishes truth from falsehood.” In other words, it is the name of the person who will guide future generations of humanity to the right path. Jesus is quoted as saying in the Gospel that he must leave so that the one who will guide humanity to truth will come. After Jesus, who other than Prophet Muhammad came as the leader of humanity, distinguished truth from falsehood, and guided humanity? Jesus always told his people that: “One will come, and [after that] there will be no need for me. I am his forerunner and bring good tidings of his coming.” This is confirmed by the following Qur’anic verse:

And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: “O Children of Israel, I am a Messenger of God unto you, confirming what was revealed before me in the Torah and bringing the glad news of a Messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad.” (61:6)

In Shamun al-Safa’s tomb, the famous traveler Evliya Celebi saw the following Gospel verses written on a gazelle hide:

‘I’tun Azribun peruftun. Law ghislin. Bent afzulat; ki kalushir; tunuminin mavamid. Isfedus takardis, bist bith. (A youth from Abraham’s progeny will be a Prophet. He will not be a liar. His birthplace is Mecca; he will come with righteousness; his blessed name is Ahmad Muhammad. His followers will prosper in this world and also in the next.)288

The Gospels record Jesus’ frequent glad tidings of the coming of humanity’s most significant leader and mention him with some Syriac and Hebrew names meaning, as observed by meticulous experts, Ahmad, Muhammad, and Faruq (one who distinguishes truth from falsehood).

QUESTION: Why did Jesus give good tidings of the Last Prophet’s coming more emphatically than the other Prophets who predicted him?

ANSWER: Prophet Muhammad declared Jesus’ purity against the Jews’ slanders, defended him against their denial, and purified Jesus’ way of its great alteration and corruption. In addition, instead of the Jews’ burdensome religious law, he presented a feasible and all-encompassing religion with an exalted law that completed the law of Jesus’ religion. This is why Jesus often announced the glad tidings of his coming.

As explained earlier, the Torah, Gospels, Psalms, and Pages of other Prophets contain numerous emphatic mentions of a promised Prophet who is to come and mention him with various names. Since this Prophet is mentioned in all Prophetic books, who else could he be other than Muhammad, the Prophet who came in the last phase of human history?

SECOND KIND: The second kind of irhasat includes the predictions of Prophet Muhammad’s coming by soothsayers and Gnostics living in the period between Jesus and Muhammad’s Prophethood. To a certain degree, they were considered the saints of their times. They predicted his coming in verse and entrusted them to later generations. There are numerous instances of this kind, but we mention only a few well-known ones that have been accepted and transmitted by historians and the Prophet’s biographers.

FIRST EXAMPLE: Tubba, a Yemeni ruler, saw the Messenger’s qualities in the previous Scriptures, believed in him, wished to occupy the same place as ‘Ali, and proclaimed his belief in the following couplet:

I bear witness to Ahmad that he is a Messenger

from God, the Creator of humanity;

Were I to live long enough to see him, I would be a

minister and like a cousin to him.289

SECOND EXAMPLE: Quss ibn Sa‘ida was the most famous and significant Arab orator as well as an enlightened monotheist. Before Muhammad was raised as a Prophet, he announced Muhammad’s Messengership with these verses:

Among us (God) sent forth Ahmad as the

best Prophet ever raised,

Upon him be God’s blessings.290

He wished to be in the position of ‘Ali to him.

THIRD EXAMPLE: Ka‘b ibn Lu‘ayy, one of the Messenger’s ancestors, announced Muhammad’s Prophethood through inspiration:

In the time of heedlessness

Muhammad will appear suddenly;

He will give tidings that are all true.291

FOURTH EXAMPLE: The Yemeni ruler Sayf ibn Dhiyazan saw the Messenger’s description in the previous Scriptures, believed in him, and loved him very much. When ‘Abd al-Muttalib (the Messenger’s grandfather) arrived in Yemen with a Qurayshi trade caravan, Sayf summoned them and said: “A child will be born in the Hijaz with a mark between his shoulders that looks like a seal. He will be the leader of humanity.” In private, he told ‘Abd al-Muttalib: “You are his grandfather,”292 thus predicting Muhammad’s Prophethood in a miraculous way.

FIFTH EXAMPLE: God’s Messenger was anxious when the first Revelation came to him. His wife Khadija told Waraqa ibn Nawfal (her paternal cousin) what had happened, and he told her to send Muhammad to him. God’s Messenger went to Waraqa. When he told him about the Revelation, Waraqa commented: “Good tidings to you, O Muhammad. I bear witness that you are the expected Prophet, and that Jesus has given glad tidings about you.”293

SIXTH EXAMPLE: The gnostic Askalan al-Himyeri always asked any Qurayshis he met: “Does someone among you claim Prophethood?” The people always replied in the negative. After the Messenger declared his Prophethood, he asked them the same question. When they said that someone was making such a claim, he responded: “This is the one for whom the world has been waiting for so long.”294

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: The renowned Christian scholar Ibn al-A‘la predicted the Prophet before his declaration of Prophethood and without seeing him. When he finally met the Prophet, he said: “By the One Who sent you with the truth, I found your description in the Gospel, and the Virgin Mary’s son gave glad tidings about you.”295

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: Abyssinia’s Negus, cited earlier, said: “I wished I had been in his service rather than in possession of this kingdom.”296

In addition to those gnostics who gave tidings of the future by basing their knowledge on Divine inspiration, those soothsayers who were allowed (until the Prophet’s time) to obtain some tidings of the Unseen and the future through spirits and jinn also predicted his coming and Prophethood. Out of many such instances, we cite only a few. These enjoy the certainty of tawatur in meaning and are recorded in many history books and biographies of the Prophet.

FIRST  EXAMPLE: Shiqq, a famous soothsayer who looked like half a man with one eye, one hand, and one leg, repeatedly predicted Muhammad’s Messengership. His reports are recorded in history books with the certainty of tawatur in meaning.297

SECOND EXAMPLE: Satih, the famous soothsayer of Damascus, was a monstrosity who almost lacked bones, even limbs, and with a face that looked like a part of his breast. He lived a long life and was highly reputed for his true predictions. Chosroes of Persia sent the learned envoy Mubazan to him to interpret a strange dream that showed 14 pinnacles of his palace collapsing (on the night of Muhammad’s birth). Satih said: “From now on, your country will have 14 rulers and then be destroyed utterly. A man will appear to preach a religion. He will abolish both your rule and religion.”298 Satih thus clearly foretold the Last Prophet’s coming.

Such famous soothsayers as Sawad ibn Qarib al-Dawsi, Khunafar, Af‘a Najran, Jizl ibn Jizl al-Kindi, Ibn Khalasat al-Dawsi, and Fatima bint Nu‘man al-Najjariya also had their predictions recorded in history books and biographies of the Prophet. They predicted his coming and that he would be Muhammad.299 Sa‘d ibn bint al-Kurayz, ‘Uthman’s relative, learned of Muhammad’s Prophethood through divination and, in the early days of Islam, told

‘Uthman to go and believe. ‘Uthman did so, and Sa‘d expressed this in the following couplet:

Through my words, God guided ‘Uthman to that thing,

By means of which is his perfection.

Truly God guides to the truth!300

The jinn call their soothsayers hatif. They cannot be seen, but they can be heard. These beings also repeatedly foretold the coming of God’s Messenger. A few of the hatifs’ well-known and numerous tidings and messages are as follows:

•A hatif brought Dhayab ibn al-Harith and others to Islam by calling to him loudly:

O Dhayab, O Dhayab, listen to the oddest thing:

Muhammad was sent with the Book. He is calling in Mecca,

yet they do not accept him.301

•Another hatif called out to Sami‘a ibn Qarrat al-Qatafani:

The truth has come and become bright;

Falsehood has been destroyed and become uprooted,302

and caused the conversion of some people.

In addition, idols and even animals offered to idols proclaimed Muhammad’s Messengership by God’s power and permission. For example, the Mazan tribe’s idol informed them of Muhammad’s declaration of Messengership by crying out: “He is the Prophet who has been sent. He has come with the revealed truth.”303 ‘Abbas ibn Mirdas was converted by an idol named Dimar. One day, that idol was heard to say: “Dimar was worshipped before the true message of Prophet Muhammad. Now Dimar’s time is over.”304 Before his conversion, ‘Umar heard a sacrifice offered to idols say: “O sacrificer, the means of prosperity are at hand. An eloquent man is declaring: ‘There is no deity but God.’”305

There are many more such instances, all of which are narrated in authentic reports in reliable books.

In addition, various rocks, grave sites, and gravestones were found to bear, inscribed in earlier scripts, such passages as “Muhammadun Muslihun Amin” (Muhammad, a reformer, a trustworthy one). Some people were converted through such events.306 Such passages can refer only to God’s Messenger, for during the time just before his birth there were only seven Muhammads, none of whom deserved to be or was ever designated “the reformer” or “the trustworthy one.”

THIRD KIND: This includes the wonderful events at the time of and in connection with the Messenger’s birth. Many other incidents occurred before he was commissioned with Messengership, and each is one of his miracles. Out of many examples, we mention a few that became very well-known and accepted by Tradition authorities as having verified authenticity.

FIRST EXAMPLE: On the night of his birth, the Prophet’s mother and the mothers of ‘Uthman ibn al-‘As and ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-‘Awf saw a magnificent light. Each woman said: “During his birth, we saw a light that illuminated the east and the west.”307

SECOND EXAMPLE: On that night, idols within the Ka‘ba toppled over.308

THIRD EXAMPLE: During that night, Chosroes’ palace shook and cracked, and its 14 pinnacles collapsed.309

FOURTH EXAMPLE: On that night, the small lake of Sawa in Persia (sanctified by the Persians) sank into Earth. The fire worshipped by the Magians at Istakhrabad, which had burned continually for 1,000 years, went out.310

These incidents indicated that person born on that night would abolish fire-worship, destroy the palace of the Persian rulers, and prohibit the sanctification of things that God does not allow to be sanctified.

FIFTH EXAMPLE: Incidents taking place before the night of his birth also are considered irhasat. Of these, the Event of the Elephant (105:1-5) is the best known. Abraha, governor of Yemen for the Abyssinian kingdom, marched upon Mecca to destroy the Ka‘ba. He placed his huge elephant Mahmud at the front of his army. When they approached Mecca, the elephant stopped. Since they could not make it move forward, they retreated. On their way, a host of ababil birds attacked and routed them. This curious event is recorded in history books. It is also a sign of Muhammad’s Prophethood, for this miraculous event saved the Ka‘ba and Mecca, his birthplace and beloved home and toward which he would pray. This happened at a time close to his birth.

SIXTH EXAMPLE: When God’s Messenger was residing with Halima’s Family during his childhood, both Halima and her husband often observed a small cloud shading his head.311 They narrated this event, and it became well-known. Similarly, when the Prophet traveled to Damascus at the age of 12 with his uncle, the Christian monk Bahira saw and pointed out to others a small shade-providing cloud located above Muhammad.312 Before his Prophethood, Khadija noticed that two angels, in the form of a cloud, shaded God’s Messenger when he returned from a trading journey with her servant Maysara. When she mentioned this to Maysara, the latter responded: “I saw the same throughout the journey.”313

SEVENTH EXAMPLE: An authentic narration reports that before his Prophethood, God’s Messenger once sat under a tree. That previously arid spot suddenly became green, and the tree’s branches bent down and twisted above his head to shade him.314

EIGHTH EXAMPLE: God’s Messenger stayed with Abu Talib during his boyhood. Whenever Abu Talib and his household ate with him they were satisfied; when he did not eat with them they were not satisfied.315 This is a well-known and authenticated incident. Umm Ayman, who served God’s Messenger when he was a child, reports: “He never complained about hunger and thirst, neither when he was little nor when he grew up.”316

NINTH EXAMPLE: The milk of his wet nurse’s (Halima) goats and goods were seen (unlike others in the tribe) to increase through his blessing.317 Also, flies did not bother him.318 One of his descendants, Sayyid ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, inherited this quality.

TENTH EXAMPLE: After the Messenger’s birth, and especially during the night of his birth, shooting stars became more frequent. This was a sign that satans and jinn could no longer obtain knowledge of the Unseen.319

Since God’s Messenger would be endowed with Revelation, any information about the Unseen given by soothsayers and jinn, which is usually inaccurate and mixed with falsehood, would have to cease. This was necessary so that people would not mistake such words for Revelation or doubt the Revelation itself. The Qur’an ended soothsaying, which was widespread before Muhammad was raised as the Prophet. Many soothsayers embraced Islam, for they could find no jinn informers to provide them with information of the Unseen.320

To conclude, many incidents and people confirmed, or caused others to confirm, Muhammad’s Prophethood. All creation, both as an individual and as a species, longingly waited for and announced, with God’s permission, the advent of the world’s spiritual leader.321 This leader would change the world’s spiritual and moral structure, make it the sowing ground for the Hereafter, proclaim the real value of the world’s beings, save transient humanity and jinn from eternal annihilation, disclose the Divine purpose for the universe’s creation, and make the Creator known to everybody. As proved in the previous signs and examples, each species of creation welcomed him by becoming the means for him to work one variety of his miracles, thereby affirming his Prophethood.

Said Nursi

264 Tirmidhi, 2:167; Shifa’, 1:364.

265 Shifa’, 1:366, 384; Bayhaqi, 3:361-62; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 4:80-81.

266 Shifa’, 1:364; Bayhaqi, 6:240-49; Tirmidhi, 2:206.

267 Abu Na‘im, 1:82; Bayhaqi, 2:80-81.

268 Shifa’, 1:364; Bayhaqi, 3:161-63.

269 Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 1:76; Ibn Hisham, Sira, 115; Shifa’, 1:308; Hakim, 2:615.

270 Shifa’, 1:364.

271 Shifa’, 1:364; Bayhaqi, 6:240-49; Tirmidhi, 2:206.

272 Bukhari, 1:7; Abu Na‘im, 1:101-2.

273 Hakim, 3:604; Ibn Hanbal, 5:437; Ibn Hisham, 1:233.

274 Shifa’, 1:364.

275 Although it does not exist word for word in present editions of the Bible, it is recorded in Hujjat Allah ‘ala al-‘Alamin fi Mu’jizat al-Sayyid al-Mursalin by Yusuf Nahbani, p. 104. (Tr.)

276 According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, Paraclete derives from the Greek word parakletos, meaning “intercessor, advocate, pleader.” However Abidin Pasha, a nineteenth century scholar from Yanya, Greece, who knew Greek very well and whose works on Greek literature were praised highly by Greek authorities, writes that its real origin is piriklitos, meaning Ahmad, the one who is much praised. (Hussain Jisri, Risala al-Hamidiya, 59). The Qur’an also states that Jesus predicted Prophet Muhammad with the name Ahmad, a synonym of Muhammad (61:6). Christians assert that Jesus used Paraclete for the Holy Spirit. However, what is the Holy Spirit’s exact connection with interceding, pleading or advocating, which happen to refer to Prophet Muhammad’s main attributes, even though we accept that the word drives from parakletos. In addition, Gospel translators prefer to translate Paraclete instead of using that word, but all use different terms. In addition, Jesus gives good tidings of the one to come not only as Paraclete but also as “the Spirit of truth,” along with many other functions, which must belong to a Prophet and not to a “spirit” or an angel. (Tr.)

277 Although it does not exist word for word in present versions of the Bible, ‘Ali al-Qari records it in his Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:743. The Torah says: I will make the son of the maidservant (Hagar) into a nation (Genesis, 21:13); Hagar ... lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation (21:18). (Tr.)

278 ‘Ali al-Qari, ibid., 1:746.

279 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 2:326; Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:739.

280 Bukhari, Buyu‘, 50; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 2:174; Darimi, 1:14-15.

281 Darimi, 1:14-15; Abu Na‘im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 1:72.

282 Kastalani, al-Mawahib al-Ladunniya, 6:192.

283 ‘Ali al-Qari, ibid., 1:739.

284 Yusuf Nahbani, ibid., 105.

285 The Torah calls the place where Hagar stayed with her son (Ishmael) Paran (Genesis, 21:21). The Qur’an calls that place Mecca, which was then uninhabited (14: 37). (Tr.)

286 This is almost the same in many versions of the Bible, such as that published by The Bible Company (Istanbul). However, we come across a different translation, if not an alteration, in the Gideon International version: He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes (Deuteronomy 33:2). (Tr.)

287 The turban worn by Muslim men signifies loftiness or exaltation. (Tr.)

288 The language referred to must be Syriac, as many Syriac people still live in south-eastern Turkey, where many Christian saints—true, monotheist followers of Jesus—are buried. Interestingly enough, due to the studies and endeavors of such monotheist Christian scholars as Arius, Eastern Christians were usually monotheists and so easily accepted Islam. Western Christianity, on the other hand, insisted upon retaining the doctrine of the Trinity and other borrowed creeds. (Tr.)

289 Hakim, 2:388; al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 2:166.

290 Shifa’, 1:363; al-Bidaya, 2:230; Bayhaqi, 2:101.

291 Al-Bidaya, 2:244; Shifa’, 1:364.

292 Hakim, 2:388; al-Bidaya, 2:328; Shifa’, 1:143.

293 Ibn Hanbal, 4:304; Bukhari, 1:3.

294 Shifa’, 1:363.

295 ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:744.

296 Shifa’, 1:364; Bayhaqi, 2:285.

297 Abu Na‘im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 1:123; Shifa’, 1:365.

298 Bayhaqi, 2:126-129; Shifa’, 1:365.

299 Bayhaqi, 2:248; al-Bidaya, 2:335; Shifa’, 1:365.

300 Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra’, 1:258.

301 Ibid., 1:358.

302 Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:748.

303 Ibn ‘Abd al-Birr, al-Isti‘ab, 3:446; al-Bidaya, 2:337.

304 Al-Bidaya, 2:341-42; Bayhaqi, 1:118.

305 Bukhari, 5:61; al-Bidaya, 2:332.

306 Ibn Hanbal, 4:215; Shifa’, 1:467; Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 4:215.

307 Shifa’, 1:366; Ibn Sa‘d, ibid., 1:63; Bayhaqi, 1:80-92; Hakim, 2:600.

308 Bayhaqi, 1:19.

309 Abu Nu‘aym, 1:139; Bayhaqi, 1:126.

310 Suyuti, al-Khasa’is, 1:128; Shifa’, 1:366.

311 Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat, 1:97; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 2:273; Shifa’, 1:368.

312 Abu Nu‘aym, Dala’il, 1:168-172; Tirmidhi (version verified by Tuhfat al-Ahwazi, No. 3699); Ibn Hisham, 1:180-81.

313 Shifa’, 1:368; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 2:65.

314 Shifa’, 368; Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:753.

315 Abu Nu‘aym, 1:166; Shifa’, 1: 367.

316 Shifa’, 1:368; Bayhaqi, 6:125; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is, 1:111.

317 Al-Bidaya, 2:273; Ibn Hisham, 1:173; Shifa’, 1:366.

318 Shifa’, 1:368.

319 Shifa’, 1:347-48.

320 Today, soothsaying has reappeared in the form of mediumship. However, that topic is beyond the scope of this book.

321 This being, who was addressed by God with the words “But for you, I would not have created the worlds,” is so great a leader that his rule continues even after 14 centuries. In each century since he lived, millions of people and half the globe have placed themselves under his banner. His subjects, who today number more than 1.5 billion, try to follow him in deep respect and daily ask God to bestow peace and blessings upon him. Thus they daily renew their oath of allegiance to him.

His character and person, the Sharia, splitting the moon and Mi‘raj (Ascension)

SEVENTEENTH SIGN: After the Qur’an, the Messenger’s greatest miracle is his character and person, his moral example. Friend and foe alike agree that he possessed the highest level of all moral virtues. ‘Ali, a man of the greatest bravery, repeatedly said: “In the fiercest phases of fighting we would withdraw into the stronghold of God’s Messenger and take refuge behind him.” Likewise, he possessed all laudable characteristics to the highest degree. For this greatest miracle, we refer readers to Qadi ‘Iyad’s Shifa’ al-Sharif, which beautifully explains and proves the Prophet’s miraculous moral character.

Another great miracle, also affirmed by friend and foe, is his supreme Sacred Law (the Sharia), the like of which never came before and will never come again. For a partial explanation of this supreme miracle, consult our writings, especially the 33 Words, 33 Letters, 31 Gleams, and 13 Rays.

One of the Messenger’s certain and mutawatir miracles is splitting the moon by a gesture of his index finger. This miracle, reported by some of the foremost Companions (e.g., Ibn al-Mas‘ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn ‘Umar, Imam ‘Ali, Anas, and Khudayfa), was proclaimed to the world by: The Hour is near, and the moon split (54:1). The stubborn Qurayshi polytheists did not contradict the news, but claimed that it was magic. Thus even unbelievers testify to its occurrence. His Mi‘raj (Ascension) is a still greater miracle shown to the heavens’ inhabitants. Readers can refer to the Treatise of the Mi‘raj, a short part of which appears at the end of this treatise as an appendix. We will mention another miracle that the Prophet worked in connection with the Mi‘raj.

When God’s Messenger informed the Quraysh of this event, they refused to believe him, saying: “If you actually traveled to the Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, as you claim, describe its doors and walls.” God’s Messenger would later say: “I was annoyed by their question and denial in a way that had never happened to me before. Suddenly, God lifted the veil between me and Bayt al-Maqdis (Masjid al-Aqsa) and showed it to me. I looked at it and described it as it stood before my eyes.”322 Thus the Quraysh realized that God’s Messenger was giving the correct and complete description.

In addition, God’s Messenger told them: “During my journey I saw one of your caravans. It will arrive here tomorrow at such and such a time.” The Quraysh waited for its arrival at the promised time. It seems the caravan was about to be delayed by about an hour. In order for the Prophet’s word to be proved true, Earth did not rotate for one hour.323 This is confirmed by meticulous researchers.

Considering that Earth stopped rotating to confirm Prophet Muhammad’s words, and that the sun witnessed this by its apparent rest in the sky, just imagine how vast is the misfortune of those who do not confirm and follow such a person, and how vast is the good fortune of those who respond: “We have heard and obeyed” and proclaim: “Thanks be to God for belief and Islam.”

Said Nursi

322 Muslim, 1:156-57; Tirmidhi, No. 3133; Bukhari, 5:66; Ibn Hanbal, 3:378.

323 ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, 1:704; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, 2:404.

The Miraculous Qur’an

EIGHTEENTH SIGN: The Messenger’s greatest and eternal miracle is the Qur’an, which encompasses hundreds of proofs of his Prophethood and whose 40 miraculousness aspects have been proved.324 Here we mention only a few significant points in this respect, as follows:

FIRST POINT: QUESTION: The Qur’an’s miraculousness mainly lies in its eloquence, which can be comprehended only by one out of a thousand discerning scholars. Should not everyone be able to glimpse this miraculousness according to their own understanding?

ANSWER: The Qur’an has a different kind of miraculousness for everyone and indicates this in the most perfect way. To people of eloquence and rhetoric, it shows its miraculous eloquence; to poets and orators, it displays its miraculous and uniquely exalted style, one that cannot be imitated although it is liked by everyone. The passage of time does not effect its freshness, so it is always new. Its metrical and rhythmical prose and its verse have the greatest nobility and charm.

To soothsayers and foretellers, the Qur’an’s miraculousness consists of the reports it gives about the Unseen. To historians and chroniclers, its miraculousness is the information it relates about past nations, future conditions and events, and the Intermediate World and the Hereafter. To social and political scientists, it presents the miraculousness of its sacred principles, which comprise the Sharia. To those engaged in the knowledge of God and the Divine laws of nature, the Qur’an shows its miraculousness in its sacred Divine truths. To those following a spiritual way to sainthood, it manifests the profound, manifold meanings in its verses that rise in successive motions like waves of the sea.

In short, the Qur’an shows its 40 aspects of miraculousness to everyone by opening a different window. Even those who just listen to it and can derive a very limited meaning from it agree that the Qur’an sounds like no other book. Any ordinary person who listens to it says: “This Qur’an is either below other books in degree—which is utterly impossible, and which even its enemies [and Satan] do not claim—or above them all and therefore a miracle.” Now, we explain the aspect of miraculousness perceived by an ordinary person who simply listens to it.

The miraculous Qur’an challenges the world and stirs up two kinds of feelings: First, its friends desire to imitate its style and to speak and write like their beloved Qur’an. Second, its enemies acquire a passion to criticize and dispute, as well as to nullify its claim of miraculousness by competing with its style. Under these two influences, millions of books have been written in Arabic—and we still have them. Whoever listens to even the most eloquent and rhetorical of them will say that the Qur’an sounds like none of them.

Another miraculous aspect that it shows to illiterate people is that its recitation does not bore anyone. An illiterate person, even one who does not comprehend the Qur’an’s meaning, undoubtedly would say upon hearing it recited: “If I hear a most beautiful and famous couplet two or three times, it starts to bore me. But this is not true with the Qur’an, for the more I listen, the more pleasant it becomes. It cannot be a human composition.” The Qur’an shows its miraculousness even to children learning it by heart. Although the Qur’an has many similar verses and passages that might cause confusion, children memorize it easily even though they cannot retain a single passage about something else for long. For those who are sick and close to death, who are disturbed by the slightest noise, the Qur’an’s recitation and sound becomes as sweet and comforting as the water of Zamzam, thereby displaying another aspect of its miraculousness. For those who can see but cannot hear or learn, one of the almost 40 classes of people to whom the Qur’an shows its miraculous qualities without depriving any of them, there are other signs.325

SECOND POINT: As magic was widespread during Moses’ time, his miracles were of that nature. As medicine was in demand during Jesus’ time, his miracles were of that kind. When Muhammad was raised as a Prophet, four arts were popular in Arabia: eloquence and fluency in writing and speaking, poetry and oratory, soothsaying and divination, and knowledge about the past and cosmology.

When the miraculous Qur’an came, it challenged all experts in these four fields. First, it brought people of eloquence to their knees as they listened to it in total admiration. Second, it shocked poets and orators so much that they bit their fingers in amazement and removed their most celebrated Seven Poems, which until then were written in gold and hung on the Ka‘ba’s walls. Third, it forever silenced soothsayers and magicians by making them forget their knowledge of the Unseen and causing their jinn to be expelled from the heavens. Fourth, it saved those who knew some history and cosmology from myths and fabrications, and instructed them in the reality of past events and the illuminating facts of creation. Thus these four groups, kneeling before the Qur’an in absolute astonishment and awe, became its students and never tried to challenge it.

A POSSIBLE QUESTION: How do we know that nobody has disputed with the Qur’an or that such a challenge is impossible?

ANSWER: If this were possible, someone would have tried it. Actually, the Qur’an’s opponents needed such a challenge, for they felt that it endangered their religion, life, and property. Thus they would have challenged the Qur’an if they could have done so. Many unbelievers and hypocrites were ready to advertise such a contest, just as they spread malicious propaganda against Islam. If any challenge had been successful, it would have been recorded (with exaggeration). But all history books have come down to us, and none of them contains anything other than a few nonsensical lines of Musaylima al-Kazzab (the Liar), a self-proclaimed (and false) Prophet. They never dared to challenge it, although the Qur’an challenged them for 23 years in a way that provoked and annoyed them, as follows:

Come on and produce a like of this Qur’an. Let an unlettered man, like Muhammad the Trustworthy, do so. If he cannot, let the most knowledgeable and well-versed in writing try. If he cannot, gather all of your learned and eloquent people and let them work together. Call upon your gods and goddesses. If you still cannot produce anything, use of all books of the highest eloquence, and let all unbelievers to come until Doomsday use your experiences in their attempt. If even then you cannot do so, try to produce the like of only 10 suras. If you cannot do this, make a composition from baseless stories and imaginative tales to match only the Qur’an’s metrical verse and eloquence. If you cannot, produce only one chapter. If you cannot do even this, produce a short chapter, or else your religion, lives, properties, and families will be at stake in this world and the Hereafter!

With these eight alternatives, the Qur’an has challenged and silenced all people and jinn for the last 14 centuries. Instead of preferring the easiest way (open challenge), the unbelievers living during the early days of Islam chose the hardest way (warfare) and so jeopardized their lives, properties, and families. If someone could have met even the easiest condition of this challenge, no people of wisdom, especially those living at the Prophet’s time and the Qurayshi intellectual elite, would have been forced to choose warfare. In summary, as Jahiz put it, they had to resort to struggle by the sword since challenge by words was impossible.

QUESTION: Some discerning scholars maintain that no Qur’anic sura, verse, sentence, or word can be disputed and that no one has ever done so successfully. This sounds exaggerated and hard to accept, as many human produced words bear some resemblance to the Qur’an.

ANSWER: There are two opinions on the Qur’an’s miraculousness. The prevailing opinion is that its eloquence and meaning’s virtues are beyond human capacity. The other one says that one can challenge and compete with a sura, but that God Almighty prevents it as a miracle of Muhammad. For example, if a Prophet told someone who could stand: “You will be unable to stand” and this came true, it would be considered a miracle of the Prophet. This school is known as Sarfa, which teaches that the All-Mighty prevents people and jinn from producing even a sura. If this were not true, they might challenge one sura. Thus scholars who maintain that not even a word of the Qur’an can be challenged are correct, for the All-Mighty prevents this on account of the Qur’an’s miraculousness.

As for the prevailing, more preferable view, it has a subtle point: All Qur’anic words and verses are interrelated. Sometimes a word is related to 10 other occurrences, thus bearing 10 relationships and providing 10 instances of eloquence. In my Isharat al-I‘jaz (Signs of Miraculousness), a key to the Qur’an’s interpretation, I show some examples drawn from the initial verses of Surat al-Fatiha and Surat al-Baqara.

For example, one can place a most important gem in the most proper place in the decorative pattern of a well-ornamented palace’s wall only after knowing the whole design. Likewise, placing the eye’s pupil in its correct location entails knowing all of the body’s functions and complex organization as well as its relationship with the eye’s function. In just the same way, the foremost people of science and profound truth demonstrate numerous relationships between the Qur’an’s words and each word’s manifold relationships with other verses and expressions. Scholars of the mysteries of letters go even further, proving that each letter of the Qur’an has many inner meanings that, if explained fully, might cover pages.

Since the Qur’an is the Word of the Creator of everything, each word may function as the core or heart of an ideal body made of hidden meanings placed around it or as the seed of an ideal tree. Therefore, although some human-made words may be similar to those of the Qur’an, placing them properly by means of considering all relationships between [and among] the Qur’anic words calls for an all-comprehending knowledge.

THIRD POINT: God Almighty once inspired in my heart a brief reflection on the Qur’an’s miraculous nature. I give its translation (from the original Arabic) below:

Glory be to God, Who Himself witnesses to His Oneness; Who has disclosed the qualities of His Grace, Majesty, and Perfection through the Qur’an; and Whose six sides are luminous and contain neither misgiving nor doubt. Supported by God’s Throne of Sovereignty, from which it holds the light of Revelation, it leads to the happiness of the two worlds and aims at the light of Paradise and eternal bliss. Above it shines the seal of miraculousness, beneath it lie the pillars of proof and evidence, and inside it is pure guidance. It urges minds to seek its confirmation through such warnings as: Will they not comprehend and reflect? The spiritual pleasures it bestows upon the heart makes the conscience testify to its miraculousness. From which side or corner, then, could the arrows of doubt invade such a miraculous Qur’an?

The miraculous Qur’an includes the content of all books given to all Prophets as well as of all saints and monotheists regardless of path, temperament, and time. In other words, all people of heart and intellect mention the Qur’an’s laws and fundamentals in their books in a way that shows their affirmation, and so are like roots of the “celestial tree of the Qur’an.”

The Qur’an is truly a Revelation. The Majestic One Who revealed it proves this via the miracles He created at Muhammad’s hands. Even the Qur’an’s own miraculousness shows that it comes from God’s Exalted Throne. Lastly, Prophet Muhammad’s alarm when the Revelation began, his state of absorption and concentration when receiving it, and his unmatched sincere respect and devotion to the Qur’an all prove that it is Revelation, derived from past eternity,326 and entrusted to the Prophet.

The Qur’an is pure guidance, since its opposite (unbelief) is obviously misguidance. Of necessity, the Qur’an is the source of the light of belief, for the opposite of this light is darkness. The Qur’an is the spring of truths into which neither imagination nor superstition can find a way. The truthful world of Islam shaped by its Revelation, the well-founded law it presents, and the highest virtues that it manifests all testify to its complete truthfulness vis-à-vis the Unseen and the visible worlds.

The Qur’an shows the way and guides people to happiness in both worlds. Whoever doubts this should read it once and heed its words. Its perfect and life-giving fruits demonstrate that it is deeply rooted in truth and true vigor, for a fruit’s vigor indicates a tree’s life. Just look at how many perfect, vigorous, and luminous fruits—people of sainthood, purity, and profound learning—it yields in each century. Through the conviction and intuition coming from countless indications, the Qur’an is so esteemed and sought after by people, jinn, and angels that its recitation causes them to gather around it like moths.

In addition, all people of the profoundest knowledge agree that the Qur’an is confirmed and fortified by rational proofs. Such geniuses of philosophy as Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and especially the most learned theologians, prove the truth of the Qur’an’s fundamentals with their own methods of reasoning. Humanity’s very nature, so long as it remains unspoiled, affirms the Qur’an’s truth, for only its light can satisfy a person’s conscience and place his or her heart placed at rest.

The Qur’an is an everlasting miracle that continually unfolds its miraculousness. It never fades or perishes like other miracles, nor does it age over time. The Qur’an’s guidance is so inclusive and comprehensive that Archangel Gabriel and young children listen to it side by side, both deriving their lessons. Such a brilliant philosopher as Ibn Sina sits before it knee to knee with ordinary reciters to receive its teaching. Sometimes ordinary reciters, by virtue of their purity and strength of belief, derive more benefit than Ibn Sina.

The Qur’an’s guidance provides such penetrating insight that the universe can be seen and comprehended like a book’s pages. Like a watch-maker who opens and describes a watch down to its smallest part, the Qur’an expounds the universe with all of its spheres and particles. Above all, it states that “There is no deity but God” and declares His Oneness.

O God, make the Qur’an our companion in the world and our confidant in the grave, our intercessor in the Hereafter and our light on the Sirat Bridge, a veil and protection against Hellfire, a friend in Paradise, and a guide and a leader to all goodness. O God, illumine our hearts and graves with the light of belief and the Qur’an, and brighten the evidence of the Qur’an for the sake of him to whom You sent it. Upon him and his Family be peace and blessings from the Compassionate and Solicitous One. Amen.

Said Nursi

324 See Said Nursi, The Words.

325 For example, Hafiz ‘Uthman’s copy features many related words that correspond to each other on different pages. If the sheets beneath their dog being the eighth (Surat al-Kahf) are pierced, with a slight deviation it will go through Qitmir (Surat al-Fatir), thus giving the dog’s name. Mukhdarun and mukhdarin (they will be brought before us) in Surat al-Saffat correspond to each other and to the one found in Sura Ya Sin twice, one below the other. Mathna (in pairs) occurs three times in the Qur’an; that the two of them correspond to each other, one at the beginning of Surat al-Fatir and the other toward the end of Sura Saba’, cannot be by chance.

Many similar examples exist. Sometimes the same word occurs almost in the same place on five or six pages. I once saw a Qur’an in which similar passages, written in red ink, faced each other on facing pages. This pointed to a different kind of miracle. Later, I noticed many more passages on various pages significantly facing each other. Since the Qur’an’s verses and chapters were arranged at the Prophet’s direction and later on copied through Divine inspiration, its design and calligraphy are miraculous. Any slight deviation is the result of human acts.

Furthermore, each long or medium Medinan sura repeats Allah in a very significant manner: five, six, seven, eight, nine, or eleven times on both sides of a sheet or on two facing pages—a beautiful and significant numerical proportionate.

Although the Qur’an has all the features of persuasive eloquence (e.g., rhythm, rhyme, and artistic style) that capture our attention, it always provides sublime seriousness, serenity of mind, and the peace of being in His presence to those who remember and supplicate God. Other kinds of persuasive eloquence often disturb, for their elegance intrudes upon one’s peace of mind and undermines seriousness and inward concentration.

For the last 8 or 9 years I have read Imam Shafi‘i’s famous supplication daily. Although it is the most graceful, meaningful, and eloquent one of its kind, and even ended a season of drought and famine in Egypt, I came to see that its rhymed and metrical wording interrupts the supplication’s solemnity. I therefore deduced that the Qur’an’s miraculously genuine, natural, matchless, and unique rhythm and rhyme preserves peace and solemnity. Those who remember and supplicate God feel this miraculousness in their hearts, even if their minds do not realize it.

Another miraculous aspect is that the Qur’an shows the belief of the highest and brightest degree possessed by God’s Messenger, the object of the Greatest Divine Name’s manifestation. Like a sacred map, it details the sublime truths of the Hereafter and the Lord’s kingdom and shows us, in a natural way, how exalted is the true and comprehensive religion of Islam.

It also conveys the address of the universe’s Creator as the Lord of creation, with all His glory and majesty. Therefore, as the Qur’an states: Say: If all humanity and jinn were to come together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like of it (17:88). All such attempts are worth almost nothing in comparison, as the Qur’an cannot be imitated, due mainly to the three essential aspects mentioned above.

At the end of each page, its verses become complete with a beautiful rhyme. Another sign of its miraculousness, this fine aspect is due to the fact that its longest verse (Mudayana [loan business]) provides the norm or standard length for pages, while Surat al-Ikhlas (Sincerity) and Surat al-Kawthar (Abundance) do the same for its lines.

326 Past eternity (azal) is not, as people imagine, just the starting-point of time and therefore essential for a thing’s existence. In fact, past eternity is like a mirror that reflects the past, present, and future. Excluding themselves from time’s passage, people tend to imagine a limit for past time that extends through a certain chain of things. They call this past eternity. Such a method of reasoning is neither right nor acceptable. The following subtle point may clarify matters. Imagine that you are holding a mirror. Everything reflected on the right represents the past, while everything reflected on the left represents the future. The mirror can reflect only one direction, since it cannot show both sides simultaneously while you are holding it. To do that, you have to rise so high above your original position that left and right become one, and there is no longer any difference between first and last, beginning or end. (Tr.)

The Prophet Himself

NINETEENTH SIGN: The previous signs proved that Muhammad is the Messenger of God Almighty. With his Messengership evident from thousands of decisive proofs, Prophet Muhammad is the brightest sign and the most definite evidence of God’s Oneness and [the existence of] eternal happiness. Here we give a very brief description of this radiant sign, this truth-speaking evidence. Since he is the evidence through which the knowledge of God is acquired, we must recognize both the evidence and the way it acts as evidence.

God’s Messenger, like every other being, is personally a proof of God’s Existence and Unity. Moreover, he is the one who announced this truth in his own words and those of all other creatures. We now point out in 15 essentials how evident, upright, and truthful this proof is.

FIRST ESSENTIAL: The one who gives evidence of the universe’s Maker in word, act, and conduct is truthful and confirmed by creation’s truths, for all creatures, by being proofs of God’s Unity, affirm the one who declares this Unity. Therefore all creation supports his cause. His cause also is truthful because his declaration, mainly comprising Divine Unity, signifies the pure blessing of absolute perfection and eternal happiness, and is in complete harmony with all universal truths’ beauty and perfection. Given this, God’s Messenger is an articulate and truthful proof of Divine Unity and eternal happiness, and all creation confirms his truthfulness.

SECOND ESSENTIAL: Since this truthful and certified proof has thousands of miracles excelling those of all other Prophets, as well as an eternal Sacred Law and a message embracing humanity and jinn, he is the head of all Prophets. Given this, he has the core of all their miracles as well as their unanimous confirmation. In other words, all other Prophets agree on the same belief, and their miracles support his honesty and truthfulness.

Simultaneously, he is the master and leader of all saints as well as of all people of purity and profound knowledge who have attained perfection through his teaching, guidance, and Sacred Law (the Sharia). Thus he has the core of their wonders and unanimous affirmation, as well as the strength of their verified conclusions. Since he opened—and keeps open—the way they followed to reach the truth, all of their wonders, conclusions, and consensus on the same belief support his truthfulness. This proof of God’s Unity, as shown in all previous signs, contains such certain, evident, and definite miracles and wonderful irhasat that, together with other evidences of his Prophethood, their affirmation cannot be disputed.

THIRD ESSENTIAL: This herald of God’s Unity, who has so many evident miracles, and this bearer of the good tidings of eternal happiness has such sublime virtues in his blessed being, such exalted qualities in his Messengership, and such precious merits in the religion and Sacred Law that he preached that even his bitterest enemies admitted them. Since he combines the most praiseworthy virtues in his personality, function, and religion, he is the embodiment, master, and representative of all perfections and high, laudable virtues found in creation. This perfect state that he reached in his being, task, and religion is such a strong proof and support for his honesty and truthfulness that it cannot be shaken.

FOURTH ESSENTIAL: This herald of God’s Oneness and eternal happiness, the source of all perfections and teacher of the highest morality, speaks only what is revealed and what he is taught to speak by his Eternal Master. This is because, as partly explained in previous signs, the universe’s Creator provided him with thousands of proofs for his Prophethood and to show that he speaks on His behalf and communicates His Message. Second, the Qur’an’s 40 miraculous aspects show that the Prophet is the All-Mighty’s interpreter.

Third, his perfect sincerity, righteousness, earnestness, trustworthiness, and all other acts and states demonstrate that he speaks only on his Creator’s behalf. Fourth, all people of truth who have listened to him affirm, through profound study and inspired discovery, and believe with the certainty of true knowledge that he does not speak on his own authority; rather, the universe’s Creator teaches him and makes him speak what He has taught him. The evidence explained so far in these essentials, when joined together, is a very strong support for his honesty and truthfulness.

FIFTH ESSENTIAL: This interpreter of God’s eternal Word sees spirits, converses with angels, and guides humanity and jinn alike. He teaches humanity and jinn, inhabitants of the incorporeal abode, and angels, showing that he has access to and relationships with realms beyond these abodes. The above-mentioned miracles and his very life prove this. His reports of the Unseen, therefore, do not resemble those of soothsayers. No person, jinn, spirit, or angel (except for Gabriel) has any say in his reports. And there are many occasions when even Gabriel falls behind him.

SIXTH ESSENTIAL: This master of angels, humanity, and jinn is the Tree of Creation’s most perfect and most radiant fruit, the embodiment of God’s compassion, the reflection of the Lord’s love, the most brilliant proof of the All-Mighty, the brightest light of truth, the key to the universe’s hidden truths, the discloser of creation’s mystery, the expounder of creation’s Divine purpose, the announcer of God’s sovereignty, the describer of His beautiful art, and, by virtue of his comprehensive faculties, the most excellent pattern of all of creation’s perfections.

Such character qualities, together with his spiritual personality, clearly demonstrate that he is the ultimate cause for the universe’s creation or, in other words, that the Creator created the universe on his pattern. It even can be argued that if God had not created him, He would not have created the universe. Certainly, the Qur’anic truths and the light of belief that he brought to humanity and jinn, along with the most exalted virtues and illustrious perfections observed in his being, are the evident proofs of this argument.

SEVENTH ESSENTIAL: This “proof of the Truth” (al-Haqq) and “light of the truth” offers such a religion and Sacred Law that it contains all principles for securing happiness in both worlds. They perfectly expound the universe’s truths and functions, as well the Creator of the universe’s Names and Attributes. Islam and its Sacred Law are so perfect and comprehensive, and describe the universe and its Creator in such a way, that whoever reflects on Islam realizes that it is the declaration of the One Who made this beautiful universe and that it describes the universe and its Maker.

Like a spectacular palace revealing its architect’s skill, and the booklet written by the architect so that others may know it better, the religion and Sacred Law preached by Prophet Muhammad demonstrate, through their comprehensiveness, sublimity, and truth, that they are designed by the same Being Who created and continues to manage the universe. Indeed, the universe’s perfect order calls for that most beautiful system of Islam as its expression in the realm of conscious beings.

EIGHTH ESSENTIAL: Distinguished with these qualities and supported by the most unshakable proofs, Prophet Muhammad proclaims his message to humanity and jinn, in the name of the Unseen, to all people regardless of time and place. And, his voice is so strong that all of them will and do hear him, just as we do.

NINTH ESSENTIAL: His speech is so effective and penetrating that people in all times listen to him, and his voice is echoed in every century.

TENTH ESSENTIAL: His manner reveals that he sees and communicates what he sees, for even at the most perilous times he speaks with utmost conviction and assurance and challenges the world.

ELEVENTH ESSENTIAL: He calls with such vigor and from the depths of his heart that half of the old world and one-fifth of all people have given ear to the Qur’an’s call and submitted to it obediently.

TWELFTH ESSENTIAL: He invites so earnestly, and guides and trains so radically, that he leaves his principles as permanent, un-erasable marks throughout all times and places.

THIRTEENTH ESSENTIAL: His trust and confidence in the soundness of the commands that he preaches are so great that he would never retract or regret one of them, even if the whole world united against him. Every instance of his life is a witness to this.

FOURTEENTH ESSENTIAL: He calls with such conviction and certainty that he is indebted to no one and shows no anxiety, regardless of circumstances. With utmost sincerity and honesty, and without hesitation, he is the first to accept and practice what he communicates to others. His piety and contentment, as well as his disdain for the world’s transient allurements, prove this fact that is known to friend and foe alike.

FIFTEENTH ESSENTIAL: He is the first and foremost in obeying Islam, worshipping his Creator, and observing the religious prohibitions. This proves that he is the Sovereign of eternity’s envoy, announcer, and most sincere servant, as well as the interpreter of His eternal Word.

From these 15 essentials, we conclude that this person, distinguished with the qualities mentioned, devoted his life to one principle and declared it continuously: “There is no deity but God,” and thus proclaimed God’s absolute Oneness.

O God, bestow on him and his Family peace and blessings to the number of his community’s good deeds. Glory be to You, we have no knowledge save what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. the Prophet himself

Said Nursi

The Nineteenth Letter: Appendix 2

The miracle of splitting the moon

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

The Hour has approached, and the moon split. But whenever they see a sign, they turn away, saying: “This is evidently part of (his) magic.” (54:1-2)

QUESTION: MATERIALIST PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR IMITATORS, WHO want to deny this bright miracle of Prophet Muhammad, say: “If the event had really happened, it would have been known all over the world and related in all historical documents.”

ANSWER: This miracle occurred before a group of people to convince them of his Prophethood. It happened momentarily at a time of night when people were sleeping; such obstacles as mist, clouds, and time differences prevented others from seeing it; and, moreover, at that time science and civilization were not yet advanced or widespread. Thus the practice of observing the sky was quite limited. Last but not least, there is no reason why it should have been seen worldwide. To remove such clouds of delusion, consider the following five points:

FIRST POINT: The stubbornness of Muhammad’s unbelieving contemporaries is well-known and recorded. When the Qur’an announced this incident in the moon split, not one unbeliever dared contradict it. If they had not seen this event, they would have used this verse as a pretext to attack the Prophet more formidably. However, neither biographies of the Prophet nor history books report anything that even suggests their denial of this event. Their reaction was recorded as: This is evidently part of his magic. They declared the event to be magic, and added further that if caravans in other places had seen it, it had truly happened; otherwise, the Prophet had bewitched them. When the Meccan caravans arriving the following morning from Yemen and other places announced that they had seen this miracle, the unbelievers replied: “The magic of Abu Talib’s orphan has affected even the heavens!”

SECOND POINT: The majority of the foremost scholars of meticulous research, such as Sa‘d al-Din al-Taftazani, concluded that, like the earlier mentioned miracles of water flowing from the Prophet’s fingers and the audible grieving of the wooden pole against which the Prophet used to lean while delivering sermons, when it was separated from him following the construction of a pulpit, the splitting of the moon is mutawatir. This means that it has been transmitted down the generations by one truthful group after another, and that the transmitters form such a vast community that they are unable to agree on a lie. It is as certain as Haley’s comet, which appeared 1,000 years ago, or the existence of the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) we have not seen. Therefore it is unreasonable to foster baseless doubts about such certain, witnessed matters. In fact, it is enough for their acceptability that they are not impossible. Splitting the moon is just as possible as splitting a mountain by a volcanic eruption.

THIRD POINT: Prophets work miracles to prove their claim of Prophethood and to convince deniers, not to compel belief. Thus every miracle is shown to convince those who heard the claim of Prophethood. If they somehow forced everyone to see or believe in them, the All-Wise’s wisdom, the Divine purpose for creating us with free will and sending religion, which entails that the ground be prepared for the conviction of mind and the free acceptance of human soul, would be violated.

Thus if the All-Wise Creator had left the moon split for several hours so that everyone could see it and record it in their historical records, it would have been only another astronomical event instead of an event unique to Muhammad’s Messengership or an evidence of his Prophethood. If everyone had been compelled to believe, free will would be annulled and Abu Jahl’s coal-like spirit would be equal to Abu Bakr’s diamond-like spirit. Thus the purpose of creating humanity with a special function and responsibility, as well as the purpose for sending Revelation, would be negated. That is why this miracle was not shown worldwide so that it could be recorded.

FOURTH POINT: Some argue that if this event really occurred, it would have been mentioned in Chinese, Japanese, and Native American historical accounts.327 But how could they have seen it for, in addition to other obstacles, it was barely sunset in such European countries as Spain, France, and England (all enveloped in mists of ignorance), daytime in America, and morning in China and Japan.

FIFTH POINT: This miracle is not an ordinary incident that happened due to particular causes or randomly so that it should be criticized based on the law of cause and effect. Rather, the All-Wise Creator of the sun and the moon made it an extraordinary event to confirm His Messenger’s Prophethood and support his claim. Therefore it was shown as a convincing proof to certain people and specified by Divine Wisdom, for the nature of Divine guidance and human responsibility as well as the reason for raising a Messenger required this. If it had been seen by those who were not intended to see it and who had not yet heard of Muhammad’s Prophethood, and if it had occurred according to the law of cause and effect, it would have been an ordinary astronomical event instead of a miracle specific to and connected with his Messengership.

In conclusion, these arguments are enough for any mind to be convinced of the possibility that this miracle occurred. Out of many evidences of its occurrence, we shall mention only six, as these six have the strength of a six fold consensus:

•The Companions, all people of justice and truthfulness, agree that it took place.

•All exacting Qur’anic interpreters agree that the moon split indicates that a gesture of Muhammad’s fingers caused this event.

•All truthful Traditionists narrated this incident through various authentic channels of transmission.

•All people of truth and sainthood, as well as of inspiration and spiritual discovery, testify that this event took place.

•All foremost theologians and learned scholars confirm this event, despite their other differences of opinions.

•Muhammad’s community, which an authentic Prophetic Tradition states can never agree on an error, accepts its occurrence.

These six evidences clearly prove the splitting of the moon.

Thus we have established this miracle’s reality by refuting objections to its possibility. In a few concluding sentences, we will speak in the name of the truth and for the sake of belief.

The Seal of the Prophets, the luminous moon of the heaven of Messengership, proved his sainthood to the inhabitants of the heavens through his Ascension. His sainthood’s greatest miracle, achieved through the quality of his worship, elevated him to the status of God’s beloved. In other words, by making Muhammad travel through the heavens, God showed its dwellers and those of the highest realms that he is their superior and His beloved.

By allowing a man’s gesture to split the moon, which is set in the sky and bound to Earth, people saw another great evidence of his Messengership. Thus Prophet Muhammad flew to the summit of perfections on the two brilliant wings of Messengership and sainthood (like the moon’s two bright halves), ascended to two bows’ length (the highest rank and nearest station to God), and became the cause of pride for all inhabitants of the heavens and Earth.

Upon him and his Family be blessings and peace such as to fill Earth and the heavens. Glory be unto You. We have no knowledge save what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, All-Wise.

O God, for the sake of him by a gesture of whom the moon split, make my heart and the hearts of the Risale-i Nur’s students as devoted and loyal to the “sun” of the Qur’an as the moon is to the sun. Amen.

The Everlasting: He is the Everlasting.

Said Nursi

327 Some books also state that the moon fell to Earth after it split into two parts. Truthful scholars have rejected this, for it was added by a hypocrite who intended to reduce this evident miracle’s value to nothing.

The Thirty-first Word

The Ascension of Prophet Muhammad

(NOTE: Belief in the Prophet’s Ascension is the result of, and draws its light and strength from, belief in the pillars of belief.172 The Ascension may not be proved independently to those who do not accept these pillars, without first proving them. Therefore we address believers who doubt it. From time to time, however, we will address unbelievers. Some aspects of the Ascension’s truth have been mentioned elsewhere in the Risale-i Nur. At the insistence of my brothers, we seek God’s grace and help to unite them with the essence of that truth and make them into a mirror to reflect the total beauty of the perfections of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.)

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

All-Glorified is He Who took His servant for a journey by night from al-Masjidu’l-Haram to al-Masjidu’l-Aqsa’, the environs of which We had blessed, so that We might show him of Our signs. Surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing. (17:1)

It is but a Revelation revealed. One with mighty power has taught it, one firm, with the ability to penetrate and perfect in spirit, rose with all splendor, when he was in the highest horizon. Then he drew near and came close, so he was at a distance between the strings of two bows or even nearer. And He revealed to His servant what He revealed. The heart did not contradict what he saw. Will you then dispute with him concerning what he saw? Surely he saw him during a second descent, by the Lote-tree of the farthest limit, near it is the Garden of Refuge and Dwelling. It was when what enveloped the 172 These are belief in God’s Existence and Unity, angels, Scriptures, Prophethood and Divine Messengership (including belief in all of God’s Prophets and Messengers), and the Resurrection, and Divine Decree and Destiny, without excluding human free will. (Tr.)

Lote-tree enveloped it. The sight did not swerve, nor did it stray. Truly did he see one among the greatest signs of his Lord. (53:4-18)

OUT OF THE FIRST VERSE’S VAST TREASURY, WE WILL DESCRIBE ONLY TWO points which the pronoun He in Surely He is refers to as a principle of eloquence, as they are included in our present concern.

After mentioning the Prophet’s journey from the Masjidu’l Haram in Mecca to the Masjidu’l-Aqsa’ in Jerusalem (the beginning of his Ascension), the Qur’an concludes: Surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing. The pronoun He in Surely He is, which alludes to the furthest point of the Ascension which is indicated in 53:4-18 above, refers either to Almighty God or the Prophet.

If it refers to the Prophet, according to the rules of the language and the preceding part of the verse, it means: This apparently particular journey is, in reality, comprehensive. It signifies such a universal ascent that, during it, the Prophet heard and saw all of the Lord’s signs and the Divine art’s wonders that caught his sight and encountered his ears due to the Divine Names’ manifestations in universal degrees as far as the Lote-tree of the farthest limit and the nearness of the distance between the strings of two bows. Thus, through its conclusive phrase, the verse describes that particular journey as the key to a journey that is universal and full of extraordinary events.

If this pronoun refers to God Almighty, it means: In order to invite one of His servants on a journey to His Presence and entrust him with a duty, God Almighty took him from the Masjidu’l-Haram to the Masjidu’l Aqsa’, where the Prophets came together. There, He caused him to meet with them and showed that he is the absolute, indisputable heir of all the Prophets’ principles of religion. Then He took him through both the external and inner dimensions of His dominion as far as the Lote-tree of the farthest limit and the nearness of the distance between the strings of two bows.

We know that he was a servant and that his Ascension was a particular event. However, since he was given a trust connected to the whole universe, was accorded a light that would change the universe’s color, and also had a key that opens the door to eternal happiness, Almighty God describes Himself as the One Who hears and sees all things so that His world embracing, comprehensive and all-encompassing wisdom in the trust, the light, and the key might be observed and understood.

This mighty truth contained in the Ascension may be dealt with four principles: Why was the Ascension necessary, what is its reality, what is its wisdom, and what are its fruits and benefits?

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

First principle: Why was the Ascension necessary?

QUESTION: Almighty God is nearer to one than one’s jugular vein, closer to everything than itself, and absolutely free of corporeality and space. Therefore, while all saints can converse with Him in their hearts, why did the sainthood of Muhammad have to make a long journey (the Ascension) to talk to God?

ANSWER: We will discuss this profound matter via two comparisons from The Twelfth Word, which concern the mystery of the Qur’an’s miraculousness and of the Ascension.

First comparison: A king has two forms of speech and address. He either speaks on his private phone to a common subject regarding a minor matter or private need, or, in his capacity or position as the supreme sovereign, supreme head of the religious office, and supreme ruler, conveys his orders in the form of an exalted decree manifesting his majesty by means of an envoy or high official.

As in the comparison, the Creator of this universe, the Master of existence in its external and inner dimensions, and the Lord of eternity has two kinds of conversing and speaking and two manners of favoring. One is particular and private; the other is universal and general. The Ascension is the manifestation of Muhammad’s sainthood in a universal and most exalted form and much superior to all other sainthoods. It is the Prophet’s being honored with the conversation and direct address of Almighty God through His Name the Lord of the entire universe and His title the Creator of all existence.

Second comparison: A person holds a mirror up to the sun. According to its capacity, the mirror receives what it can from the sun’s seven-colored light. That person has a relation with the sun through the mirror and according to its ability to reflect the sun. If he or she directs the mirror’s shining side toward his or her dark house or small, private, and roof-covered garden, he or she can benefit only according to the mirror’s capacity, not in proportion to the sun’s value.

Another person puts down the mirror and, facing the sun directly, sees its splendor and comprehends its grandeur. He or she then climbs a very high mountain and faces the sun without veil, witnessing the majesty of its broad dominion. Coming back, this person tries to have a direct connection with the sun’s constant light by making large windows in his or her house or garden’s roof, and obtains other means of benefiting from the sun directly. Facing it, that person may say in indebtedness: “O amiable sun, beauty of the world and darling of the skies, who gilds the earth’s face with light and makes it and all flowers smile in joy and happiness! You have illuminated and heated my house and garden, as you illuminate the world and heat the earth’s face.” The first person cannot say this, for the sun’s reflection in his or her mirror is restricted to the mirror’s capacity.

Likewise, the Single, Eternally Besought One, Who is the Sun without beginning and the Lord of eternity, manifests Himself in the nature of humanity in two forms that comprise innumerable degrees. The first manifestation occurs in the heart’s mirror through one’s relationship with the Lord. Everyone may receive a manifestation of the Eternal Sun’s light and conversation in certain degrees in accordance with their capacity, the character of their spiritual journey toward sainthood, and their ability to receive manifestations of Divine Names and Attributes. As a result, the kind of sainthood which is attained through journeying within the shade of some particular Name(s) or Attribute(s) contains innumerable degrees.

The second is that since we have a comprehensive nature and are the most enlightened fruit of the tree of creation, we can reflect all Divine Names in the mirror of our spirits. Thus Almighty God manifests Himself and all His Beautiful Names most comprehensively in humanity’s best and greatest representative. This form of manifestation occurred during the Ascension of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, in which his sainthood found its meaning and became the first stage of his Messengership.

Sainthood contains veils between one’s heart and the Divine Names’ manifestations, as in the case of the first person in the second comparison above. Messengership contains no veils, as in the case of the second person in the second comparison, for it is connected directly with the All-Majestic Being’s manifestation with all His Names, in a single being. Since the Prophet’s Ascension was the greatest wonder of his sainthood and marked its final and greatest station, it was transformed into Messengership.

In its inner aspect, the Ascension signifies sainthood and is a journey from the created to the Creator. In its outer aspect, it is Messengership and signifies a return from the Creator to the created (to guide them). Sainthood is the journey through the degrees of nearness to God. As such, it requires the attainment of many ranks and so takes a long time. Messengership, whose light is greatest, proceeds from the realization of Divine nearness—God’s choosing one and making him near to Himself personally—in all its comprehensiveness. This may occur in an instant, which accounts for the Tradition: “The Ascension took place in an instant. The Prophet went and returned in the same instant.”

Here we must say to the unbeliever: Since this universe resembles a most orderly country, magnificent city, or adorned palace, it must have a ruler, owner, and builder. There is such a magnificent, All-Majestic Owner, All-Perfect Ruler, All-Gracious Maker. There is also a man with a universal view, who has a relationship with that entire country, city, or palace and is connected to each by means of his senses, feelings, and faculties. Given this, the All-Magnificent Maker will have a sublime relationship to the fullest degree with that man, who has a universal view and comprehensive consciousness, and will favor him with a sacred address.

Among those honored with this relationship, Prophet Muhammad displayed this relationship to its fullest degree. His achievements speak for themselves: One-half of the world and one-fifth of humanity are under his control and influence, and he enlightened the universe by giving it a new spiritual form and furnishing it with a sublime meaning. The Ascension, the fullest degree of that relationship, is most deserved by and suitable for him.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

Second principle: What is the Ascension’s reality?

ANSWER: It is Prophet Muhammad’s journey through the degrees of perfection. Almighty God has various Names and Titles manifested in the arrangement and disposition of creatures, and displays diverse works of His Lordship—His upbringing, training, sustaining, and providing—as the results of executing His absolute authority in inventing and administering creatures in the levels of the “heavens” where He executes His Lordship in different ways and according to each level’s conditions.

Thus, to show His Lordship’s works to His special servant and thereby enable him to encompass all human perfections, receive all Divine manifestations, view all levels of the universe, announce His Lordship’s sovereignty, proclaim what He approves of, and unveil creation’s enigmatic meaning, God Almighty mounted him on Buraq (heavenly mount). God raised him through the heavens like lightning, promoted him to higher and higher ranks, and displayed Divine Lordship to him from mansion to mansion and from sphere to sphere. He also showed him the Prophets, his brothers, whose abodes are in the heavens of those spheres, one after the other. Finally He raised him to the station of the nearness of the distance between the strings of two bows and honored him with the special manifestation of all His Names to the fullest degree, with His Speech, and with the vision of Himself.

We may examine this sublime truth through two comparisons.

First comparison: As explained in The Twenty-fourth Word, a king has different titles by which he is known and mentioned in his government’s various departments, different designations and attributes among his subjects’ classes, and different names and signs for his rule’s levels. For example, he is the supreme judge in the justice department, chief administrator in the civil service, commander-in-chief in the military, and supreme teacher in the education department. He has a seat or a chair in each sphere and department, which has the meaning of a throne. That one king may have a thousand names and titles in his sovereignty’s spheres and his government’s departments, as well as a thousand thrones of sovereignty one within the other. It is as if, due to his public person and system of communication, he is present in every department. Through his laws, regulations, and representatives, he superintends all officials, watches all subjects, and is seen by them. Behind the veil at every level, he administers, executes his orders, and is watchful through his decree, knowledge, and power. He has a different center and headquarters in each sphere. Each sphere and department has different rules. The king designates one of his subjects, shows him to all those spheres and departments, and makes him witness his imperial dominion and commands unique to each. He then brings him to his presence, entrusts him with certain general and universal commands concerning all spheres and departments, and sends him back.

Similarly, the Lord of the worlds, the King of eternity, has at the levels of His Lordship’s manifestations Qualities and Designations which are all different but correspond to each other. In the spheres of His Divinity, He has Names and marks which are all different but whose manifestations are concentric with each other. In His majestic execution of His rule, He has representations and appellations which are all different but resemble each other. In the operations of His Power, He has titles which are all different but imply each other. In the manifestations of His Attributes, He has sacred ways of revealing Himself that differ but point to each other. In His modes of acting, He has wise operations which are of numerous sorts but perfect each other. In His colorful artistry and varied works of Art, He has magnificent aspects of Lordship which differ but correspond to each other.

He organized the universe in an amazing and wonderful fashion because of this mysterious reality. The universe has different formations one over the other, from particles to the heavens, from the heavens’ first level to God’s Supreme Throne. Each heaven is the roof of a different world, a chair for exercising Divine Lordship, a center for Divine operations. Due to His absolute Oneness demonstrating Itself through the concentrated manifestation of all His Names on single entities, all Divine Names may be found in all spheres and levels, and He may show Himself with all of His Titles in them.

However, just as the title of just ruler belonging to the king in the comparison dominates in the department of justice and the others are subordinate, in each level of creatures and in each heaven, a Divine Title dominates and the others are subordinate to It. For example, in whichever heaven Prophet Muhammad met Prophet Jesus, who was distinguished with the manifestation of the Divine Name the All-Powerful, Almighty God is in constant manifestation in that heaven, primarily with that very Name. Again, in the sphere of the heaven which is the abode of Prophet Moses, God’s title as the All-Speaking, with Which He distinguished Moses, is predominant.

Finally, since Prophet Muhammad was honored with the manifestation of God’s Greatest Name and of all His other Names as well as being given a universal Prophethood, he must be connected with all of His Lordship’s spheres. Therefore, the Ascension’s reality required Prophet Muhammad to meet with the Prophets whose seats are in those spheres and pass through all of those levels.

Second comparison: The title of commander-in-chief, a title of a king, is seen throughout an army’s ranks. A private sees his corporal as a sample of that imposing title, and so listens to and obeys him. A corporal sees his sergeant in the same way, and so obeys him. A sergeant sees his lieutenant in the same way, and so on. He will see the title in each sphere (e.g., captain, major, colonel, general, and field-marshal) in proportion to the sphere’s size.

If the commander-in-chief entrusts a soldier with a duty connected to all military ranks, or gives him a rank that allows him to appear in every office and control it like an inspector, the soldier must be given the necessary knowledge and be recognized by the personnel. Thus the commander-in chief arranges for him to make a study and inspection tour of all the ranks. After that, the soldier will be admitted into the commander-in-chief’s presence to have a private conversation, receive a decoration and decree, and be sent back from whence he came.

The following point must be noted: If, in addition to his political power, the king has spiritual, saintly power, he will not deputize others to act in his name in different offices. Rather, he will be present everywhere in person and give orders directly, appearing in the form of persons of certain rank. In fact, there are narrations of sultans who reached sainthood’s highest level and so executed their rule in many spheres in the form of certain individuals. Since the commander-in-chief in our parable is such a saintly, powerful king, the decrees and commands come directly from him in every office and are executed through his command, will, and power.

Similarly, the Ruler of the heavens and the earth, the Absolute Sovereign and Lord of eternity having the command of “Be!” and it is, has a sphere of Lordship, a level of rulership in the levels of creatures and classes of beings, ranging from particles to planets, from flies to the heavens, all of which differ but are related to each other. In each sphere, His regulations, statutes, and commands are carried out in perfect order and obedience. Thus in order to comprehend this universe’s elevated aims and tremendous results, witness the duties of worship particular to each level and class, observe the sovereignty of the One of Grandeur’s Lordship and His rule’s majesty, understand what is pleasing to Him, and be a herald of His sovereignty, one must travel through all levels and spheres of His rulership until reaching the Supreme Throne (the title of the greatest, all-encompassing sphere) and attaining to the ultimate rank that a servant can reach (called the nearness of the distance between the strings of two bows), and meet with the One of Majesty and Grace. This journey is the reality of the Ascension.

Like ordinary people travelling in their minds with the speed of imagination, saints journeying in their hearts with the speed of lightning, angels, whose bodies are of light, circulating between God’s Supreme Throne and the earth with the speed of spirit, the people of Paradise rising from the Place of Supreme Gathering to Paradise covering a distance of five hundred years with the speed of Buraq, Prophet Muhammad’s body will certainly accompany his elevated spirit in his journey as far as God’s Supreme Throne. For the body of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is the storehouse of all of his faculties and serves his spirit, which is pure light and has the capacity and characteristics of light, and is more refined than saints’ hearts, lighter than the deceased’s spirits and the angels’ forms, and finer than the beings’ ethereal bodies, in performing its duties.

Now we say to the unbeliever who does not recognize God or know of the Prophet, and so does not believe in the Ascension: The universe and all of those creatures exist, and diverse acts and a continual creation are observed in the universe. An orderly act must have an author; a meaningful book must have a writer; and a skillful design must have a designer. Therefore, the wise and purposeful acts filling the universe must have an author, and the meaningful letters and amazing inscriptions or designs covering the earth and renewed seasonally must have a writer and a designer.

In addition, the result of two rulers interfering in the same affair is disorder. But we can see that there is perfect order in everything, from a fly’s wings to the sky’s lamp (the sun). So the ruler is One, for if this were not true, and given that the art and wisdom seen in everything are so wonderful and amazing that they require an All-Powerful and All-Knowing Maker, there would have to be as many deities as there are creatures. Since such deities would be both opposite and similar to each other simultaneously [because the acts and creatures in the universe have infinite diversity and yet resemble each other in many ways], it is inconceivable that this amazing order would not be upset.

Also, since those creatures clearly move by a command and in a far more organized form than an army, and since each group of creatures, from heavenly objects to almond flowers, displays in a perfect and organized manner and in far more orderly fashion than an army, the uniforms, decorations, and other beautiful garments given to it by the Eternal All-Powerful One and carries out the duties and drills He has assigned to them, this universe has an Absolute Ruler behind the veil of the Unseen, Whose commands are heeded and carried out by all creatures.

As His wise acts and majestic works testify, that Ruler is a Majestic Sovereign. As shown by His favors, He is an extremely Compassionate Lord. As His most beautiful works of art bear witness, He is a Maker Who is a Lover of art and Who loves His own art. As is apparent from the decorations and curiosity-exciting arts He exhibits, He is a Wise Creator Who wills to attract the appreciative gaze of conscious beings to His works of art. As is understood from His Lordship’s wisdom, He wills to inform conscious beings of what the amazing and wonderful decorations displayed in the universe’s creation mean, and where creatures come from and where they go. Therefore this All Wise Ruler and All-Knowing Maker wills to demonstrate His Lordship.

He also wills to make Himself known to and loved by conscious beings through all these traces of grace and mercy, as well as the wonders of the art He displays. Given this, He will use an envoy to inform conscious beings of what He wants them to do and what pleases Him. He will choose a conscious being and declare His Lordship through him. To show His favorite arts, He will honor a herald with the nearness of His presence, and use him to exhibit them. To display His perfections by informing conscious beings of His lofty purposes for creating the universe, He will appoint one of them as a teacher and a guide so that the mystery of creation and the enigma of existence do not remain meaningless.

So that the beauties of the art He displays will not remain useless, He will choose a guide to teach the purposes contained in them. To inform them of the things that please Him, He will select a conscious being, raise him above all others, and use that person to inform others of those things. Reality and wisdom require this. As the one most worthy to perform these duties was Prophet Muhammad, who performed them perfectly, a fact attested to by the truthful and just witnesses of the world of Islam that he founded and the light of Islam that he showed, he would have to rise above all creatures and attain the rank of holding a universal and elevated conversation with the Creator of the universe. In this lies the Ascension’s reality.

In short, Since Almighty God formed, organized, and decorated this universe for mighty purposes and great aims, such as those mentioned above; and since among beings there is humankind to see the universal Divine Lordship with all Its subtleties, and this mighty Divine sovereignty with all its truths, most certainly that Absolute Ruler will speak to and inform us of His purposes. But not everyone can rise to the highest, universal position to receive the Ruler’s universal address directly. Given this, certain special people will be entrusted with that duty. Being human beings themselves, they can teach other human beings. They also should be extremely exalted spiritually, for only such people can receive God’s direct address.

The one who taught the purposes of the universe’s Maker most perfectly, unveiled the universe’s and creation’s mysterious meaning, and best heralded the beauties of His Lordship’s dominion was Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. He would therefore make a spiritual journey and rise above all others and to the most exalted and comprehensive rank; he would make an Ascension by journeying through the corporeal world and then reaching beyond the “seventy thousand veils” of the manifestations of Divine Names, Attributes and acts, and all levels of creation. This is the Ascension.

QUESTION: How can I believe this? What does it mean to journey thousands of years to a Lord Who is nearer to all things than themselves and to meet with Him after passing through seventy thousand veils?

ANSWER: Almighty God is nearer to everything than itself, but everything is infinitely far from Him. If the sun were conscious and could speak, it would talk to you via a mirror in your hand. It could do with you as it wished. Although it is nearer to you than your eye’s pupil, which is like a mirror, you are millions of miles away from it and cannot draw closer to it. If you rose to a position corresponding to the moon and came face to face with it, you would only be a kind of mirror to it.

Likewise, the All-Majestic One, the Sun of Eternity, is nearer to everything than itself, yet everything is infinitely far from Him. To be honored with a sort of nearness to Him, one should pass through all levels of existence. Freed from the restrictions of being a single particular, one should rise above the thousands of veils in the degrees of universality, draw near to a Divine Name encompassing all creation, and then traverse many other degrees beyond it.

A private is far below the commander-in-chief. He views him through an insignificant sample of command that he sees in a corporal, at a great distance and beyond many veils. To be nearer to his position, the private should be promoted to the higher and comprehensive ranks of lieutenant, captain, major, and so on. The commander-in-chief, however, is always present with the private through his rules, decrees, knowledge, and commands. If he is a saint having certain spiritual rank, he can be present with him personally, without the private seeing him. This truth has been argued convincingly in The Sixteenth Word.

QUESTION: I believe neither in the levels of heavens nor in angels. How can I believe that one can travel through the heavens and meet with angels?

ANSWER: It is really hard to convince those whose minds depend on their eyes. But since the truth is so brilliant that even the blind can see, we say the following: (Scientists generally agree that) space is full of “ether.” Such subtle and refined matters as light, electricity, and heat point to the existence of a more subtle and refined matter that fills space.

Just as fruits demonstrate the existence of the trees that bear them, flowers their flower-bed, shoots their field, and fish the sea, so too stars present the existence of their origin to the mind’s eye. Since there are different formations in the celestial realm and different rules are in force under different conditions, the heavens requiring the existence of those rules must be different. Just a person has, in addition to their bodily existence, immaterial forms of existence such as mind, heart, spirit, imagination, and memory, certainly the universe, the macro-human and the tree of which humanity is the fruit, contains other worlds beside the physical one. Also each world, from the earth to Paradise, has a heaven.

As for angels, we say: the earth is a medium-sized one among planets and highly small and dense among stars. And yet life and consciousness, which are luminous and of the greatest value among creation, are found on it in great abundance. So the stars, adorned castles and perfectly built palaces compared to the dark house of the earth, and the heavens, which are like the stars’ seas, are inhabited by conscious, animate, numerous, and different kinds of angels and spirit beings. The Twenty-ninth Word discusses angels in more detail.

In conclusion, the heavens are formed of “ether” and are the source of such subtle and refined matters, energies, or forces as light, heat, electricity, and gravity. As pointed to in the Tradition “Heaven is a wave stretched and restrained,” they were created in such a way that certain stars and planets can move easily within them. Wisdom and reason require that from the Milky Way to the nearest planet, there should be heavenly levels of different formations and a heaven as the roof of a world from the world of the earth to the Intermediate World (of the grave) and the World of Ideal Forms or Representations, and to the World of the Hereafter.

QUESTION: We can ascend only to a certain height by aircraft. How can someone bodily travel within a few minutes a distance that would normally take thousands of years to cover?

ANSWER: According to science, whose findings you accept without question, a heavy body like the earth travels about four hundred miles in a minute, and about two hundred million miles in a year. Should an All Powerful One of Majesty, Who causes the earth to make that regular motion and revolves it like a stone in a sling, be unable to convey a human being to His Supreme Throne? Should a Wisdom that causes the heavy earth to revolve around the sun like a dervish through a law of Divine Lordship (gravity) be unable to raise a person, like lightning, to the All Merciful One’s Throne through the “gravity” of the All-Merciful One’s Mercy and the attraction of the Eternal Sun’s love?

QUESTION: Even if he could ascend, why did and why should he? Would it not have been enough for him to ascend in heart and spirit like saints?

ANSWER: The All-Majestic Maker wanted to show His amazing signs in His domain’s inner and outer dimensions, make this world’s workshops and sources observed, and display the results of our actions pertaining to the Hereafter. Given this, and as required by reason and wisdom, He would take Muhammad to His Supreme Throne not only with his eyes (the key to the world of visible objects) and ears, (which perceived His signs in the world of sound and voices,) but also with his entire blessed body, which, as his spirit’s machine composed of different members and faculties, is the means for the fulfillment of his uncountable duties. Just as Divine Wisdom makes the body accompany the spirit in Paradise, because the body enables numerous duties of worship to be performed and innumerable pleasures and pains to be experienced, it also is pure wisdom that He would make Muhammad’s blessed body accompany his spirit in ascending to the Lote tree of the furthest limit, the “trunk” of the Garden of Refuge and Dwelling.

QUESTION: How, in the name of reason, can the distance that normally takes thousands of years to cover be covered in a few minutes?

ANSWER: In the All-Majestic Maker’s art, motions have infinitely different degrees. For example, the speeds of electricity, spirit, imagination, and sound are quite different from each other. Also, science has established that the speeds of planetary movements are astonishingly different. So why should it be unreasonable that Muhammad’s body acquired a sort of refinement, accompanied his spirit in the Ascension, and moved at its speed? Sometimes you sleep for ten minutes but have a year’s worth of experiences. If the words spoken and heard in a dream lasting for only a minute were collected, it would take a day and even longer to speak or hear them while awake. Thus a single period of time means a day for one and a year for another.

Consider this analogy: A clock measures the speed of a person, a cannonball, sound, light, electricity, spirit, and imagination. It has ten hands to show the hours, minutes, and seconds down to fractions of an hour to the tenth power. It also has ten circles, one round the other and sixty times larger than it, respectively. If the circle with the hour hand is the size of a normal clock, the circle with the fraction-of-an-hour hand to the tenth power would have to be the size of the earth’s annual orbit or much greater.

Suppose there are two people. One is mounted on the hour-hand and observes according to its motion, while the other is on the hand showing fractions of an hour to the tenth power. There would be a huge difference, as great as the proportion between a normal clock and the earth’s annual orbit, with respect to what they could see during the same time period.

Since time is like an aspect or a “ribbon” of motion, a rule that is in force in motion is also in force in time. While we would see the same amount of things during an hour as the one mounted on the hour-hand, which moves in the smallest circle at the slowest speed, God’s Messenger, like the one mounted on the hand showing fractions of the hour to the tenth power, gets on the mount of Divine assistance and, in the same space of time, traverses the entire sphere of contingency like lightning. Seeing the wonders in the inner and outer dimensions of contingent existence and rising as far as the boundary of the immaterial realm of the necessary existence (Divine realm’s limits), he is honored with Divine conversation and vision of His Beauty, receives the decree, and returns to his duty of Messengership on the earth. It was possible for him to do that, and he did it.

QUESTION: Even if this were possible, not everything possible occurs. Is there something similar that we can accept? How can we accept the occurrence of something unique, only because it is possible?

ANSWER: There are countless similar cases. For example, people with sound sight can ascend with their eyes to Neptune in a second. Astronomers can mount the laws of astronomy in their minds and travel beyond the stars in a minute. Believers can mount in thought on the acts and pillars of the prescribed Prayers and, leaving the universe behind through a sort of Ascension, go as far as the Divine Presence. Perfected saints can make a spiritual journey and travel the spiritual ranks beyond the realms of God’s Supreme Throne and His Names and Attributes in forty days. Such people as ’Abdu’l-Qadir al-Jilani and Imam ar-Rabbani truthfully reported that they used to ascend spiritually as far as the Divine Throne in a minute.

Angels, whose bodies are of light, come and go between the ground and the Divine Throne in a very short time. The people of Paradise will ascend to the gardens of Paradise from the Supreme Plain of Gathering in a short period of time. Many such examples demonstrate that it is pure wisdom, completely rational, and that it undoubtedly occurred that Prophet Muhammad, the lord of all saints, leader of all believers, head of all people of Paradise, and accepted by all angels, realized an Ascension, which marks his journey through and beyond all ranks of sainthood, in a form appropriate to his position.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

Third principle: What is the Ascension’s wisdom?

ANSWER: The wisdom here is so elevated that human minds cannot reach it, so profound that human minds cannot comprehend it, and so subtle and fine that the intellect cannot grasp it. However, even if we cannot know its wisdom or the exact Divine purposes for it, some indications allow us to show the existence of several purposes. They are as follows.

To show the light of His Unity and the manifestation of His absolute Oneness in the levels of publicity, the Creator of this universe distinguished an eminent individual with an Ascension in the form of a link between the realm of multiplicity and corporeality’s furthest limit and the Dominion of Pure Unity and spirituality’s starting point. Addressing him on behalf of all creatures, He explained all Divine purposes to him in the name of conscious beings, and made them known through him. He also willed to observe through his sight His Art’s beauty and His Lordship’s perfection in the mirrors of His creatures and to cause them to be observed by others.

Furthermore, His works testify that the Maker of the world has infinite beauty and perfection, both of which are loved because of themselves. Thus the One with infinite beauty and perfection has a boundless love for His Beauty and Perfection, a love that manifests itself in the works of His Art, which He loves because He sees His Beauty and Perfection in them. The most lovable and elevated of His works of Art are animate beings. The most lovable and elevated animate beings are conscious beings. By virtue of their comprehensiveness, the most lovable conscious beings are found among humanity. The most loveable person is the one who has developed his or her potentiality most fully and manifested the samples of the perfections observed in all creatures.

To see at one point and in one mirror all manifestations of His Love pervading all creatures, and to display all varieties of His Beauty focused on one individual, the Maker of beings chose one person, an illustrious, enlightened fruit of the tree of creation, one whose heart is like a seed containing all the essential truths contained in that trees. To demonstrate how He loves that individual in the name of the universe, He drew him to His Presence through an Ascension, which is like a thread linking the seed (the origin) with the fruit (the end), and honored him with the vision of His Essential Beauty. So that others could imitate his holiness and excellence, He favored him with His speech and entrusted Him with His decree.

To understand this exalted wisdom, consider the comparisons below.

First comparison: As explained in The Eleventh Word, imagine a glorious king with vast treasuries containing many varieties of jewels. He is well-versed in all industries, and had a vast knowledge of all artistic and scientific disciplines, and countless fine arts. As anyone with perfect beauty and perfection tend to see and show themselves, that glorious king wants to open up an exhibition and display his kingdom’s magnificence, his wealth’s splendor and extent, and the wonderful products of his artistry and skill. He so desires in order to behold his beauty and perfection with his own discerning eye and through the eyes of others.

And so he begins to build a very large, magnificent palace. Dividing it into many apartments and rooms, he decorates it with his finest and most beautiful works of art, and embellishes it with his precious stones. Designing it according to his artistic and scientific principles and disciplines, he furnishes it with the miraculous products of his knowledge. Finally, he sets up therein tables containing most delicious specific foods and drinks, and specifies an appropriate table for each tribe of his subjects. He prepares a general banquet.

Then, to show his perfection, the king invites his subjects to eat and see the palace. He appoints a representative or supreme commander and gives him the highest rank with himself. He invites him to rise above the bottom floor in order to tour all mansions and floors one after or above the other. Showing him the successive machinery, all workshops of his wonderful art and storehouses for the produce coming from below, he brings him to his private apartment. There he honors him with his presence and the vision of his blessed person, who is the origin of all those perfections, and informs him of the palace’s true nature and of his own perfections.

Appointing him to guide the rest of his subjects, he sends him back to describe the palace’s maker through its contents, inscriptions, and wonders. The guide also will explain the inscriptions’ meanings, what the works of art and well-proportioned and well-arranged furniture and decorations signify, and how they point to the perfections and skills of the palace’s owner. He will teach them the correct behavior and formalities when visiting the palace and beholding the exhibition, and describe the protocol and ceremonies that meet with the pleasure and desires of the learned and skillful king, who does not appear to them.

Similarly, the All-Majestic Maker, the Lord of Eternity, willed to see and display His infinite Beauty and Perfections. So He made the palace of this world in such a fashion that each creature voices His Perfections in numerous tongues and points to His Beauty with many signs. Through all its inhabitants, this universe shows how numerous immaterial treasuries are hidden in each of His All-Beautiful Names and how many subtleties are concealed in each sacred Title. It shows this in such a way that although scientists, together with all of science’s laws and principles, have studied this book of the universe since the time of Adam, they still have not discovered one-hundredth of that book’s meanings and signs concerning the Divine Names and Perfections.

Thus the Wisdom of the All-Majestic One of Beauty, the Beautiful One of Majesty, the Maker having infinite Perfection, Who has made that palace of the universe like an exhibition to see and display His Perfections and transcendent Beauty, requires that He inform someone of the meanings of His signs contained therein so that they do not remain useless and without benefit for conscious beings on the earth; that He have someone travel through the exalted worlds, which are the sources of the palace’s wonders and the store houses where the results of their lives accumulate; that He raise him above all others, honor him with nearness to Him in His Presence, have him tour the Hereafter’s worlds, and entrust him with such duties as teaching His servants, heralding His Lordship’s sovereignty, informing His servants of things pleasing to Himself, and expanding His signs in the universe’s creation and operation; that He should show his pre-eminence through the decorations of miracles; and that He should proclaim through a decree like the Qur’an that that person is a truthful personal interpreter of the All-Majestic One.

So far, we have demonstrated through this comparison a few instances of wisdom in the Ascension. You may infer others by analogy.

Second comparison: Suppose a knowledgeable, skillful person writes a miraculous book, each page of which contains as many truths as would fill a hundred books, each line of which contains as many subtle meanings as would fill a hundred pages, and each word of which would contain as many truths as would fill a hundred lines. If all the meanings and truths of such a book point to its miracle-displaying writer’s transcendent perfections, he surely would not leave it closed and therefore worthless. Rather, he would teach it to others so that others could benefit, so that his hidden perfections would be unveiled and his beauty (intellectual and spiritual excellence) would be seen, and so that he would be pleased and make himself loved. To this end, he would have someone go through that entire wonderful book, all the while instructing him in its meanings and truths so that the person would then instruct others in them.

Similarly, in order to show His Perfections, Beauty, and the truths of His Names, the Eternal Inscriber has “written” the universe in such way that all creatures proclaim and express His infinite Perfections, Names, and Attributes in innumerable ways. If a book’s meaning is not known, it has no value. But a book (such as the universe), each letter of which contains thousands of meanings, cannot be reduced to nothing. Given this, the One Who wrote it will make it known and cause it to be explained in parts according to the capacity of each group of creatures.

He will teach the whole of it to one with the most comprehensive view, most universal consciousness, and greatest capacity. But to teach such a book in its entirety and with all its universal truths requires that, starting from the furthest limits of the levels of multiplicity (the corporeal world, the book’s first page) as far as the Realm of Unity (its final page), the individual should make a most elevated and universal journey. Through this comparison, one can gain some understanding of the exalted instances of wisdom in the Ascension.

QUESTION: Those deniers who are beginning to believe still might face some confusion over such things as:

• Why is this Ascension special to Prophet Muhammad?
• What do you mean by saying that Muhammad is the seed of the universe, that the universe was created from his light, and that he is its farthest and most enlightened fruit?
• You say that he made his Ascension to rise to the elevated realm, to see the machinery and workshops whose produce or works are exhibited on the earth, as well as the storehouses where the results of those works are kept. What does this mean?

ANSWER: The first question was answered in previous Words, and so we give only a brief list of signs showing Muhammad’s Prophethood and perfections, and why he is the most worthy to make the Ascension.

Firstly: Despite the great corruption in the Torah, the Gospels, and the Psalms, Husain al-Jisri found in them one hundred and ten signs indicating Muhammad’s Prophethood. These are presented in his Risala al-Hamidiya.

Secondly: History also records the words of many pre-Islamic soothsayers, such Shiq and Satih, who accurately foretold the Prophethood of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and that he was the Last Prophet.

Thirdly: Many extraordinary events before his Prophethood (irhasat) foretold his imminent advent. For example, on the night he was born, the Ka‘ba’s idols toppled over and the pinnacles of the famous palace of the Persian ruler Chosroes broke.

Fourthly: Prophet Muhammad was distinguished with approximately a thousand miracles, which have been related by historians and biographers. To cite only a few examples, he satisfied an army’s thirst with the water flowing from his fingers and split the moon (54:1). The dry wooden pole against which he leaned while preaching in the Mosque moaned like a camel in front of many people when it was separated from him.

Fifthly: Friend and foe who are fair agree that all good qualities were found in him to the highest degree, and that, as demonstrated by his con duct, all attributes and character of the highest excellence were apparent in the way he performed his mission. As testified to by Islam’s moral principles, praiseworthy virtues of the highest order are found in the Law he brought.

Sixthly: Wisdom requires that Divinity manifest Itself and be responded with worship. Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, manifested God’s Divinity at the highest level and in the most brilliant fashion through the most perfect and comprehensive way of worship contained in the religion that he brought. Due to the wisdom in the universe’s creation, the Creator of the world wants to display His most perfect Beauty and Grace through the most appropriate means. Clearly, Prophet Muhammad showed and described His Beauty and Grace in the most perfect fashion.

The Maker of the world wills to exhibit and draw attentive gazes toward His perfect Art of infinite beauty; Prophet Muhammad proclaimed that Art with the clearest voice. Muhammad, in response to the desire of the Lord of the worlds to proclaim His Oneness in the realms of multiplicity, most perfectly announced Unity with all Its aspects.

As a consequence of His Wisdom, the Owner of the world wills to see and show His infinite essential Beauty and Grace, with all their manifestations, in the mirrors of all beings; Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, reflected them in the most brilliant fashion and made others love them. Also, Muhammad, in response to the will of the Builder of the palace of the world to describe His Perfections by exhibiting His unseen treasuries of invaluable gems, most perfectly displayed and described them.

The Maker of the universe has decorated the universe with the most beautiful and exquisite embellishments, and has included therein His conscious creatures so that they may travel to receive enjoyment and reflect. As required by wisdom, He also wills to communicate the meaning and value expressed by the works of His Art to people who observe and reflect. Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, guided humanity, jinn, and angels in the most comprehensive way, in this respect, through the Qur’an.

The All-Wise Ruler of the universe wills to use an envoy to provide for all conscious beings the answers to three perplexing questions: Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are we?, and therefore to reveal the purpose of the changes and transformations in existence. By means of the Qur’an’s truths, Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, revealed this purpose and provided the answers in the clearest and most perfect way.

The Maker of this world wills to make Himself known to conscious beings through His exquisite works and to be loved by them through the precious bounties He bestows on them. Thus He wants to communicate to them, by means of an envoy, what He wants them to do and how they may obtain His approval and good pleasure in return for those bounties. By means of the Qur’an, Prophet Muhammad communicated the things that please God in the most exalted and perfect way.

The Lord of the worlds has endowed humanity, the fruit of the tree of creation, with a comprehensive disposition that can encompass the universe, and with a corresponding ability—and even need—to perform a universal worship. But humanity inclines to the world and its attractions. So God wills, by means of a guide, to turn humanity’s attention from worldly multiplicity to Divine Unity, from transience to eternity. In response to this will and by means of the Qur’an, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, guided humanity to this goal in the most desirable fashion and performed the duty of Messengership in the most perfect way.

Thus the most superior members of creation are living beings, the most superior living beings are conscious beings, the most superior conscious beings are true human beings, and the true human being who carried out all of the duties mentioned in the most perfect and comprehensive way naturally would rise through an all-embracing Ascension to the nearness of the distance between the strings of two bows, the station nearest to God, to knock at the door of eternal happiness, open Mercy’s treasury, and witness directly belief’s unseen truths.

Seventhly: Everything displays the most pleasing instances of beauty and utmost degree of adornment, thereby demonstrating that their Maker wills to make things beautiful and adorn them. In turn, this shows that the Maker has a strong inclination and sacred love toward His Art. Therefore the person with the most comprehensive disposition to display this Art’s wonders in himself; one who knows them, makes them known, and thus makes himself lovable; and who deeply appreciates the beauties manifested in other beings in full appreciation of their coming from the Maker, will be the most beloved in the sight of the Maker, Who nurtures art and loves His Art greatly.

This same being, in full awareness of the exquisite beauties and qualities adorning all beings and of the perfections illuminating them, makes the heavens echo: “All-Glorified is God! What wonders God has willed!” and “All these are from God! God is the All-Great!” This same being causes the universe to reverberate with the sounds of the Qur’an, and enraptures land and sea with his appreciative reflections and glorification as well as with his proclamation and demonstration of Divine Unity.

Such a being, according to the principle of “The cause is like the doer,” receives a reward equivalent to his community’s good deeds. His spiritual perfections draw strength from the blessings invoked upon him by his community, and the duties he performed during his Messengership cause him to receive an immaterial recompense and infinite emanations of Divine Mercy and Love. Given this, the result of pure truth and absolute wisdom is that this being should advance by means of Ascension as far as Paradise, Sidratu’l Muntaha—the Lote-tree, contingency’s farthest limit—the Divine Throne, and to the nearness of the distance between the strings of two bows.

Answer to the second question: The truth behind the second question is so elevated and profound that the human mind cannot comprehend it. It can be discerned only through the light of belief. However, we will try to indicate it through comparisons.

This universe, when considered with regard to the wisdom in its purposes, appears to have the meaning of a mighty tree. Just like a tree, this world, which is a branch of the tree of creation, has branches (elements), leaves (plants), flowers (animals), and fruits (humanity). His Name the All-Wise requires that any law of the All-Majestic Maker that is prevalent in trees be prevalent in this supreme tree. Therefore, like any other tree, this tree of creation must also have been formed from a seed. It must have been such a seed that, besides those of this material world, it would encapsulate the models and foundations of all other worlds. For the origin and essential seed of the universe, which comprises thousands of different worlds, cannot be a dried, inanimate piece of matter.

Since there was not another tree prior to this tree of creation, the Divine Name the All-Wise requires that the meaning or light constituting its seed or origin be clothed within a fruit. A seed cannot remain naked forever. As it was not clothed within a fruit at the beginning of creation, it would certainly be clothed in it in the end. Since this seed is humanity, and since Prophet Muhammad, as pointed out earlier, is the best-known and illustrious among humanity—one who has attracted humanity’s attention to himself and has fixed the attention of half of the globe and one-fifth of humanity on himself, and one who, through his exceptional virtues and excellencies, has made the world consider him with love and amazement— for sure, the light constituting the universe’s seed would be clothed in Muhammad’s person and appear in the form of the final fruit.

Why should it be considered unlikely that this amazing, mighty universe was created out of a man’s nature? Why should the All-Powerful One of Majesty, Who creates a huge, world-resembling pine tree from a grain-sized seed, not create—or be unable to create—the universe from the light of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings? The tree of the universe being (like the Touba tree of Paradise) upside down, with its roots and trunk spreading upward and branches downward, contains a link of light and a link in meaning between the position of the fruit below and that of the essential seed above. The Ascension is that link’s form: Prophet Ahmad (Muhammad) opened the way of traveling along it; he ascended through sainthood, returned with Messengership, and left the door open to a sort of ascension. Saints travel in heart and spirit on that highway of light under the Prophetic Ascension’s shadow, and rise to the elevated stations according to their capacity.

While answering the first question, we saw that the Maker of the universe made it in the form of a palace for the purposes mentioned. Since the Prophet is the means for accomplishing those purposes, he would have to be under the eyes of the favor of the universe’s Maker and receive His Manifestation before the universe was created, for something’s result or fruit is considered first. Thus the latest in existence is the first in meaning and consideration. Since Prophet Muhammad is the most perfect fruit, the means for valuing all other fruits and the cause for realizing all purposes (for the universe’s creation), his light must receive the first manifestation of Divine creation.

As for the third question, it is so extensive that people like us cannot comprehend it. We can only glimpse it from afar. The “immaterial factories” producing the material world are in the celestial worlds and its governing laws are determined or issue from there. The results of the acts per formed by the earth’s innumerable inhabitants, and the consequences of what is done by humanity and jinn, also assume form in those worlds. Together with the testimony of many indications and Prophetic Traditions, the Qur’an suggests, and the wisdom in the universe and the Divine Name the All-Wise require, that the good deeds done by humanity and jinn assume the forms of Paradise’s fruits, while their evil deeds assume the forms of the bitter, poisonous fruits of the tree (Zaqqum) of Hell.

Creatures exist on the earth in such abundance, and creation has been divided into so many branches, that the groups and species of beings and divisions of creatures are found here in far greater numbers than anywhere else in the universe. These beings and creatures are replaced constantly by newer ones, for the world is filled and emptied of them continuously. All of these multiple beings and creatures have their sources and origins in the universal laws and manifestations of Divine Names, which are first reflected in and received by the heavens.

To some degree simple and pure, each heaven is like a different world’s roof, and represents a center for the administration of that world and regulation of its affairs. One of those worlds is the Garden of Refuge and Dwelling, an apartment of Paradise beside the Lote-tree of the farthest limit. The Truthful Reporter (the holy Prophet) says the praises and glorifications of God performed on the earth assume the forms of that Garden’s fruits. In other words, the storehouses containing the results or fruits of the works done here are located in those heavenly worlds; the harvest obtained here is sent there (to “reap” on a predetermined day.)

So do not say how an utterance, such as “All praise and gratitude are for God,” which is lost in the air, become embodied in a fruit of Paradise? Sometimes you say an agreeable word while awake and eat it in the form of a delicious apple in your dream at night. A disagreeable word said during the day returns at night as a bitter thing to swallow. If you backbite someone, they will make you eat it as decaying flesh. So whatever good or bad words you utter in this worldly sleep, you will eat them in the forms of fruits in the Hereafter, the world of being awake.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

 Fourth principle: What are the Ascension’s fruits and benefits?

ANSWER: Out of the numerous fruits of the Ascension, which is like an elaborate tree of Paradise in meaning, we will mention only five as examples.

First fruit: The vision of the original forms of the pillars of belief or the truths from which they originate, as well as seeing angels, Paradise, and the Hereafter, and even the vision of the All-Majestic Being (beyond all features of quality and quantity), resulted in a vast treasury, an eternal light, and a gift for the universe and humanity. Through it, the universe could no longer be seen as a disordered heap of things doomed to destruction, for its reality was revealed: It is the harmonious collection of the Eternally Besought’s sacred writings and the lovely mirrors where the Single One’s Grace and Beauty are reflected. It has pleased and caused the universe and all conscious beings to rejoice.

It also freed us from our confused state of misguidance, in which we considered ourselves wretched, helpless, and destitute beings entangled in infinite need and hostility and doomed to eternal annihilation. It showed us our reality as beings of the fairest composition and creation’s best pattern, miracles of the Eternally Besought’s Power, a comprehensive copy of His writing, and beings addressed by the Sovereign of Eternity. It also revealed that we are His private servants appreciating His Perfections, His friends beholding His Beauty in amazement, and His beloved and honorable guests designated for Paradise. It implanted infinite joy and enthusiasm in those who are truly human.

Second fruit: The Ascension brought to jinn and humankind as a gift the essentials of Islam, including primarily the prescribed five daily Prayers, which comprise whatever is approved by and pleasing to the Ruler of Eternity, the Maker of creatures, the Owner of the universe, and the Lord of the worlds. To perceive the things that are pleasing to Him are so curiosity-exciting and brings such happiness that it cannot be described. For everyone wants to know the wishes of a renowned benefactor or a benevolent king, and so wishes that they could talk with him directly to know what he asks of them and what pleases him.

All creatures are in the grasp of His Power, and their grace, beauty, and perfections are but dim shadows when compared to His Beauty, Grace, and Perfection. See to what degree humanity, who needs Him in infinite respects and receives His boundless bounties every moment, should be curious about and want to know His will and what pleases Him. One of the Ascension’s fruits was that after passing through “seventy thousand” veils, Prophet Muhammad heard what pleases the King of Eternity directly from Him with absolute certainty, and then relayed this information to us as a gift.

Humanity is very curious about the moon and other planets. We hope that someone will go there and tell us what they see, and are ready to make great sacrifices for this end. But the moon travels in the domain of the Master Who makes it fly around the earth like a fly. The earth flies around the sun like a moth, and the sun is only one of thousands of lamps and functions as a candle in a guest-house of the All-Majestic Master’s Kingdom. During the Ascension, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, observed the essential Characteristics of such an All-Majestic Being, as well as the originals of His Acts, His Art’s wonders, and His Mercy’s treasuries in the eternal world. The observed these and returned to tell us about them. How contrary to reason and wisdom it would be if humanity did not listen to him with utmost curiosity and in perfect amazement and love.

Third fruit: The Prophet saw the hidden treasury of eternal happiness during the Ascension and brought its keys to humanity and jinn as a gift. He saw Paradise, observed the everlasting manifestations of the Majestic All Merciful One’s Mercy, and perceived eternal happiness with absolute certainty. He then gave humanity and jinn the glad tiding that the eternal happiness exists (in an everlasting world).

The great happiness that surged in the mortal, wretched human beings and jinn, all of whom before this event had considered themselves condemned to eternal annihilation, cannot be described. They learned of this at a time when all creatures were pouring out heart-rending cries at the thought of being in a flux amid the convulsions of death and decay in an unstable world, entering the ocean of non-existence and eternal separation through time’s flow and atoms’ motion. Consider how happy such people become when they learn, just before they are to be hanged, that the king has given each of them a palace near his own palace. Add together the joy and happiness of all human beings and jinn, and then you will understand the value of this good tiding.

Fourth fruit: Prophet Muhammad received the fruit of the vision of God’s Beautiful “Countenance,” and brought it to humanity and jinn as a gift so that every believer may be honored with the same vision. You can understand how delicious, fine, and beautiful that fruit is by the following comparison: Anyone with a heart loves a beautiful, perfect, and benevolent one. This love increases in proportion to the extent of beauty, perfection, and benevolence; expands to adoration and self-sacrifice; and increases to the point that one may sacrifice possessions and life for a single vision of the beloved one.

When compared to His, all beauty, perfection, and benevolence in creation do not even resemble a few flashes of the sun in comparison to the sun itself. Understand from this what a pleasant, beautiful, rejoicing, and blissful fruit it is to receive in eternal happiness the vision of an All Majestic One of Perfection, Who is worthy of infinite love, the sight of Whom deserves to inspire an infinite eagerness.

Fifth fruit: Another fruit is that this event made it understood that humanity is a valuable fruit of the universe and a darling beloved of the Maker of the universe. Though outwardly an insignificant creature, a weak animal, and an impotent conscious being, humanity has risen through this fruit to a position so far above all other creatures that it is the cause of pride for us. The joy and happiness it gives is indescribable. If you tell an ordinary private that he has been promoted to the rank of field-marshal, he will feel infinite joy. While being a mortal, helpless, reasoning, and articulating animal knowing only the blows of decay and separation, we were told unexpectedly through the Ascension: As you may realize all your heart’s desires in an everlasting Paradise, enveloped by the Mercy of an All-Merciful, All-Compassionate, and All-Magnificent One, and in recreation, in traveling with the speed of imagination and in the broad sphere of the spirit and the mind, you also may see His All-Beautiful “Countenance” in eternal happiness.

Imagine the great joy and happiness one who is truly human will feel in his or her heart upon hearing this. O unbelievers, tear the shirt of denial and irreligion and put on the ears of a believer and the eyes of a Muslim. Consider the following two comparisons.

First comparison: Suppose we are in an unfriendly land in which everything and everyone is hostile and strange to us and to each other. Dreadful corpses are everywhere. All we hear are cries of orphans and laments of the oppressed. While there in that situation, if one goes and brings the good news from the king, which somehow changes hostility into friendship; enemies into friends; dreadful corpses into worshippers occupied with praising and glorification, in veneration and humility; cries and wailings into shouts of approval or acclamation; and death, killing, and robbery into discharges from life’s duties— and if we somehow share the joy and happiness of others, while experiencing our own joy and happiness, you can understand how joyful that tiding is.

Prior to the light of belief, a fruit of Prophet Muhammad’s Ascension, all creatures seemed to be strange, harmful, troublesome, and frightening objects. Mountain-like bodies seemed like dreadful corpses, death cut off everyone’s head and threw it into the well of eternal non-existence, and all voices were cries of lament coming from death and separation. At a time when misguidance presented everything in such a way, the truths contained in the pillars of belief, a fruit of the Ascension, showed every creature as a friend or sibling, something that mentions and glorifies its All-Majestic Maker, death as a discharge from life’s duties, and voices as praises and glorifications of God. If you want to comprehend this truth perfectly, refer to the Second and Eighth Words.

Second comparison: Suppose we are trapped at night in a desert sand storm. We cannot see even our hands and are hungry, thirsty, hopeless, and exposed. Just then, someone appears unexpectedly with a car and takes us to a Paradise-like place, where an extremely merciful lord welcomes us and extends his protection to us. Our future has been secured, and a banquet has been prepared for us. You can well imagine our great happiness.

The desert is the world, and the sandstorm is the violent disturbances of time and events. All of us are anxious about our future. Since we look at it through the view of misguidance, we see it in a thick darkness. No one we know can hear our cries. Moreover, we are very hungry and thirsty. But thanks to the pillars of belief, ways of worship and principles of good conduct that Prophet Muhammad brought as a fruit of the Ascension, the world is the guest-house of an extremely Munificent One and we are His guests and officers. In such a guest-house, the future appears as beautiful as Paradise, as lovely as mercy, and as brilliant as eternal happiness. Given this, understand how lovely, pleasant, and beautiful that fruit is.

The unbeliever remarks: “Boundless praise and gratitude be to Almighty God! I am convinced and reject my unbelief. I am a believer.” We congratulate you, and may God Almighty include us in His Messenger’s intercession.

O God, bestow blessings from the beginning of the world until the end of the Day of Judgment, on him by whose sign the moon split, and from whose fingers water gushed forth like the spring of Paradise; who made the Ascension and whose eyes did not swerve— our master Muhammad, and on his Family and Companions.

All-Glorified are You! We have no knowledge save what You have taught us. Surely You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

O Lord, accept from us (all our good deeds); surely You are the All Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord, take us not to task if we forget or make mistakes. O Lord, do not let our hearts swerve after You have guided us. O Lord, complete our light for us and forgive us. Surely You have full power over all things. The conclusion of their call will be: “All praise and gratitude are for God, the Lord of the Worlds.”

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

The Nineteenth Letter: Appendix 4

About knowing the Prophet

A TRAVELER SETS OUT ON AN INTELLECTUAL JOURNEY TO FIND AND know the universe’s Creator. After traveling in the realms of creatures, he327 says to himself: “As I am seeking this universe’s Creator and Owner amidst these creatures, first I should visit

Muhammad and seek from him the answer to my quest.” Using his imagination, he enters the Prophet’s blessed age and sees that it really was an era of happiness, for even his enemies confirmed him as the most blessed of creation, the greatest and most accomplished commander, the most celebrated ruler, the most exalted in speech, and the most brilliant in intellect. He has enlightened 14 centuries with his virtues and the Qur’an.

After investigating, the traveler realizes how the Prophet quickly transformed his primitive and illiterate people into the world’s masters and teachers via the light that he brought. He finds numerous decisive proofs, in his character and mission, of the Creator’s Existence and Oneness. Here we briefly point out nine of the most general ones, as follows:

FIRST: The Prophet possessed all laudable virtues and excellent characteristics, as affirmed even by his enemies. In addition, hundreds of miracles were done through his hands, such as quenching an army’s thirst with water flowing from his fingers, splitting the moon with a gesture (and the moon split [54:1]), and causing many soldiers to flee by tossing a handful of soil at them (It was not you who threw when you threw, but God threw [8:17]). Learning of, or even witnessing them, the traveler says to himself: “One who performs such clear miracles and possesses such moral qualities and perfections must be the most truthful in speech. How could he ever lower himself to lies and trickery, which are vices of the vile?”

SECOND: He holds the decree of the universe’s Owner (the Qur’an), which has been accepted and affirmed in every century by hundreds of millions of people and is miraculous in seven ways and 40 aspects. The traveler thinks: “The translator, expounder, and proclaimer of such a Decree of pure truth could not lie, for that would violate the Decree and betray the Owner.”

THIRD: The like of the Sacred Law, religion, code of worship, way of prayer, message, and belief that he brought has never existed before. Nor could it exist (without him). The unequaled law brought by the unlettered Prophet has administered one-fifth of humanity for 14 centuries in a just and precise manner. Islam, which originated in and is represented by the Prophet’s sayings, precepts, and example, is also peerless. It has served hundreds of millions of people, regardless of time and place, as a guide and competent authority or source to decide every issue perfectly. It has trained their minds, illumined and purified their hearts, trained and refined their souls, and perfected their spirits.

Prophet Muhammad is the foremost practitioner of the worship prescribed by Islam and the most God-conscious person. He worshipped with the utmost care and attention to even the minutest details, even during times of great peril and throughout a life of constant struggle and activity. He imitated no one in his worship, and perfectly combined the beginning and end of spiritual evolution.

His prayers and knowledge of God are unparalleled, for with just the Jawshan al-Kabir, one of his thousands of supplicatory prayers, he describes his Lord with such a degree of knowledge that all saints and others foremost in knowledge of God since his time have never achieved a similar degree, despite their building upon their predecessors’ accomplishments. Those who glance at just one of this supplication’s 99 sections concludes that there can never be another one even remotely like it.

While preaching and calling his people to the truth, the Prophet displayed such steadfastness, firmness, and courage that he never faltered or hesitated. And this was despite the surrounding powers’ and religions’ hostility, as well as that of his own people, tribe, and even his uncle. He successfully challenged the world, thereby making Islam superior to all other religions and systems. This proves that no other person can equal him in his preaching of and calling humanity to the message of Truth.

His belief was so extraordinarily strong and certain, so miraculously evolved (developed, expanded, and ingrained in his heart),328 and so elevated and world-enlightening that no prevailing ideas and beliefs, philosophies or spiritual teachings engendered any doubt within him. Despite their opposition and hostility, they could not make him hesitate or become anxious about his cause. Moreover all saints (primarily his Companions) have benefited—and continue to do so—from his faith, which they admit to be of the highest degree. This proves that his belief is matchless. The traveler seeking God thus concludes that lying and deception have no place in the person who brought such a unique law and matchless religion; who displayed such wonderful worship, extraordinary excellence in prayer, and world-admired preaching; and who possessed a belief of such miraculous perfection.

FOURTH: The Prophets’ consensus is a very strong proof of God’s Existence and Oneness and a firm testimony to that exalted person’s truthfulness and Messengership. Even history confirms that he possessed to the utmost degree all of the sacred attributes, miracles, and functions that indicate a Prophet’s truthfulness and Messengership. The Prophets verbally predicted his coming by giving good tidings of him in the Torah, Gospels, Psalms, and Pages or Scrolls. Their missions and miracles affirmed and “put their signature” on the mission of this foremost and most perfect person’s Prophethood. The traveler perceives that all of the previous Prophets bear witness to this person’s truthfulness through the unanimity of their actions, just as they testify to God’s Oneness through verbal consensus.

FIFTH: Having attained truth, perfection, the rank of working wonders, insight into the reality of things, and spiritual discovery by following that person’s deeds and principles, thousands of saints bear witness to God’s Oneness and that person’s truthfulness and Messengership. The traveler realizes that they testify to that person’s truthfulness, which is as bright as the sun; that they witness, through the light of sainthood, some of the truths he proclaimed about the Unseen world; and that they believe in and affirm all of those truths through the light of belief to the degree of certainty by knowledge, certainty by sight, or certainty by experience.

SIXTH: Thousands of exacting pure scholars, meticulous truthful scholars, and believing sages, all of whom reached the highest station of learning through the teaching contained in the sacred truths brought by that unlettered person; the sublime sciences to which he gave birth; and the knowledge of God he discovered—all prove and affirm God’s Oneness, his mission's foundation, and bear witness to that greatest teacher’s and supreme master’s truthfulness and to the truth of his words.

SEVENTH: After the Prophets, his Family and Companions are the most renowned, respected, celebrated, pious, and keen-sighted members of humanity. Such a distinction is due to their insight, wisdom, and spiritual accomplishments. Having thoroughly examined and scrutinized all of the Prophet’s thoughts, they concluded unanimously that he was the most truthful, elevated, and honest person in the world. The traveler understands that such an unshakable affirmation of and firm belief in him from such extraordinary people proves the truth of his cause, just as daylight proves the sun’s existence.

EIGHTH: This universe indicates the Maker, Inscriber, and Designer Who has made it a palace, an exhibition, and a spectacle. Thus there should be a truthful unveiler who discovers the Divine purpose for the universe’s creation, an exalted herald who announces this great book’s meaning, and a discerning master and truthful teacher who teaches Divine Wisdom. He also should teach the meaning and outcome of the universe’s transformations and purposeful motions. The traveler gradually realizes that the one carrying out such duties most perfectly is the most truthful in his cause: serving as the Creator of the universe’s most exalted and trusted officer.

NINTH: Behind the veil of creation is One Who wills, through these purposeful and skilled works, to display His perfect skills and art; to make Himself known and loved through those countless adorned creatures; to evoke praise and thanksgiving in return for His boundless invaluable bounties; and to encourage worship with gratitude and appreciation for His Lordship by means of His affectionate and protective sustenance of life, as well as His satisfying all things’ varied tastes and appetites. He wills to demonstrate His Divinity through the creativity and purposeful activity displayed during the changing of seasons and the alternation of day and night, for example, so that humanity might believe in, submit to, and obey His Divinity. He also wills to manifest His justice and truthfulness by protecting virtue and the virtuous and destroying evil and the evil, and by annihilating oppressors and liars with heavenly blows.

Certainly the most beloved who, serving the Divine purpose to the highest degree, discloses creation’s mystery, always acts in the name of that Being (his Creator), and asks Him alone for help and success (and receives both), will be with Him. This is Prophet Muhammad.

The traveler tells his reason: “Since these nine truths testify to that person’s truthfulness, he must be the source of humanity’s honor and the world’s pride. Therefore he is worthy of being called ‘the pride of the world’ and ‘the glory of humanity.’” Moreover the Qur’an, the All-Compassionate’s miraculous exposition and Decree that he holds in his hand, has gathered half of the old world into its magnificent spiritual domain. Together with the Messenger’s personal perfections and elevated virtues, it shows that he is the most important being in the world, and accordingly, that his words about our Creator are the most important.

Come now and see! His sole cause was to prove and bear witness to the Necessarily Existent Being’s Existence and Oneness, to proclaim Him with all His Attributes and Names. Based on the strength of his hundreds of miracles and the thousands of sublime, established truths contained in his religion, He is the “spiritual sun” enlightening the world, our Creator’s most brilliant proof, the “Beloved of God.” Each of the following three forms of great, truthful, and unshakable consensus affirms and corroborates the witness that he bears:

FIRST: The unanimous confirmation of that illustrious community known and celebrated as Muhammad’s Family and descendants, among whom are thousands of spiritual poles and supreme saints of such keen sight as to penetrate into the Unseen, like Imam ‘Ali, who said: “Were the veil lifted from the Unseen, my certainty would not increase,” and ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, who “saw” God’s Mighty Throne and Archangel Israfil’s awesome form while still alive.

SECOND: The unanimous confirmation of the Companions, made with so strong a belief that they sacrificed their lives and properties, their parents and tribes for its sake. Although brought up among a primitive people and in a climate of ignorance devoid of any positive notions of social life and administration, without any Scripture and immersed in the darkness of the uncivilized era after the Prophets, these people began to follow the Prophet’s footsteps and soon became the masters, guides, and just rulers of the most civilized and socially and politically advanced peoples and states.

THIRD: The unanimous confirmation, made with the certainty of knowledge, by innumerable exacting and profound scholars. Each century has seen thousands of such people who became extraordinarily advanced in each branch of science and art.

Thus that person’s testimony to God’s Existence and Unity is so universal and unshakable that even if all beings hostile to it united, they still could not challenge it. Such is the conclusion reached by the traveler. In reference to the lesson learned in the School of Light while mentally visiting the Age of Happiness, we conclude:

There is no deity but God, the Necessarily Existent Being, the One and Unique, the necessity of Whose Existence in Unity is clearly demonstrated by the pride of the world and the glory of humanity, through the majesty of the Qur’an’s sovereignty, the splendor of Islam’s inclusiveness, his perfections’ multiplicity, and his moral qualities’ sublimity as confirmed even by his enemies.

Again, he bears witness and brings proof through the strength of his hundreds of miracles that prove his truthfulness and are established firmly; and through the strength of thousands of evident and decisive truths contained in Islam, as affirmed by the consensus of his illustrious, enlightened Family and descendants disseminating lights, and the agreement of his Companions with penetrating sight and prudence, and the concord all of his community’s scholars with enlightening proofs and insight.

327God declares in the Qur’an: I shall not allow to go to waste the deed of any one of you, whether male or female. You are one from the other (3:195). It is clear that Islam does not discriminate between men and women in religious responsibility. Each gender shares most of the responsibilities, but each one has certain responsibilities that are particular to it. The Qur’an usually uses the masculine form of address, for this is one of Arabic’s characteristics. In almost every language, the masculine form is used for a group comprising both men and women, like the English word mankind, which includes both men and women. So, brotherhood also includes sisterhood, and, since the believers comprise both male and female believers, the believers are brothers and sisters. However, in order to maintain the original text and avoid repetition, usually we do not mention the feminine forms in translation. (Tr.)

328 We first believe in something’s truth via simple acceptance or study and confirmation. As we learn the content of that in which we profess belief and experience belief’s taste, our belief becomes stronger and more ingrained in our hearts. We can consider this an expansion, development, or deepening in confirmation. The Prophet went through this same procedure for, like every other believer, he evolved spiritually in his own realm: Prophethood. (Tr.)