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Islamic view of miracles

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A number of terms are used in Islam to refer to the claims of events happening that are not explicable by natural or scientific laws, subjects where people sometimes invoke the supernatural.[1]

In the Quran the term āyah (/ˈɑːjə/; Arabic: آية; plural: آيات āyāt, literally "sign") refers to signs in the context of miracles of God's creation and of the prophets and messengers (such as Ibrahim/Abraham and Isa/Jesus).[2] In later Islamic sources miracles of the prophets were referred to by Muʿjiza (مُعْجِزَة),[2] literally meaning "that by means of which [the Prophet] confounds, overwhelms, his opponents", while miracles of saints are referred to as karamat (charismata)[3] included in the books of Manaqib. Karamat was usually used for miraculous performances of Sufi saints often used to convert unbelievers to Islam (considered a work of divine generosity rather than "divine power" employed in the miracles of prophets).[2] Kharq al'adad – "a break in God's customary order of things" – was a term used in "theological or philosophical discussions" to refer to miraculous events.[2]

The Sīrah had almost no miracles (dalāʾil al-nubuwwa) in the first records, although there were hundreds of additions made in later periods.[4] Believing in the existence and miracles of Awliya is presented as a "condition" for orthodox Islam by many prominent Sunni creed writers such as Al-Tahawi and Nasafi[5][6] and is accepted in traditional Sunnis and Shi'ism. The possibility of miracles was explained by appeal to Occasionalism and God's omnipotence as laid out in Medieval Islamic philosophy. Accordingly, natural laws do not exist in itself, but God subsequently creating each moment anew creates the illusion of predictable natural laws which can be ignored by God at any time.[7]

However, this understanding, along with expressions of respect and visits to the graves of saints, are seen as unacceptable heresy by puritanical and revivalist Islamic movements such as Salafism, Wahhabism and Islamic Modernism.[8]

I'jaz al-Quran – literally the inimitability of the Quran – refers to the Quranic claim that no one can hope to imitate its (the Quran's) perfection,[2] this quality being considered the primary miracle of the Quran and proof of Muhammad's prophethood. In recent decades, the term I'jaz has also come to refer to the belief that the Quran contains "scientific miracles", i.e. prophecies of scientific discoveries.[9]

Definition

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Anonymous painting, taken from a 16th-century falnama, a book of prophecy. Muhammad points out the splitting of the Moon, depicted with his face hidden. Historians, such as A. J. Wensinck and Denis Gril, reject the historicity of it, arguing that the Quran itself denies miracles, in the traditional sense.[10][1]

A systematic definition of miracles performed by apostles can be found in the work of the Muslim scholar al-Īd̲j̲ī Mawāḳif, historian A.J. Wensinck states the main purpose of miracle is to prove the sincerity of the apostle and has to satisfy the following conditions:[11]

  1. It must be performed by God contrary to the usual course of things"
  2. "It must happen at the hands of him who claims to be an apostle
  3. "It must be in conformity with his announcement of it, and the miracle itself must not be a disavowal of his claim" and "must follow on his claim"[11]

Taftāzāni lists in his Sharh al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya the following lists the following miracles as performed by saints and prophets:[12]

  • Contradicting the customary way of things, such as covering a great distance in a short time.
  • Appearance of food and drink and clothing at the time of need, as performed by Zacharias
  • Walking on water, related to many saints
  • Walking in the air, related to Ja'far ibn Abi Talib
  • Inanimate solid objects and animals speaking
  • Warding off of approaching calamity and protection from enemies

Muhammad

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Main article: Miracles of Muhammad

The Qur'an does not overtly describe Muhammad performing miracles, according to historian Denis Gril, and the supreme miracle of Muhammad is finally identified with the Qur'an itself.[1] At least one scholar (Sunni Modernist scholar Muhammad Asad) states that Muhammad performed no miracles other than to bring the Quran to humanity,[13] and other scholars, such as Cyril Glasse and Marcia Hermansen, downplay the miracles of Muhammad, stating "they play no role in Islamic theology",[14] or "play less of an evidentiary role than in some other religions".[2]

However, Muslim tradition (hadith) credits Muhammad with several supernatural events.[11] For example, many Muslim commentators and some western scholars have interpreted the sura 54 (Al-Qamar)[15] to refer to Muhammad splitting the Moon in view of the Quraysh when they had begun to persecute his followers.[1][16] This tradition has inspired many Muslim poets.[17]

The Quran describes Muhammad as ummi (Q7:157),[18] which is traditionally interpreted as "unlettered,"[19][20] and the ability of such a person to produce the Quran is taken as miraculous[20] and as a sign of the genuineness of his prophethood. For example, according to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, if Muhammad had mastered writing and reading he possibly would have been suspected of having studied the books of the ancestors. Some scholars such as Watt prefer the second meaning.[21][22]

Quranic exegesis

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Quran
History
Manuscripts
Divisions
Content
Reading
Translations
Exegesis
Characteristics
Related

According to Denis Gril, Islam teaches that miracles – i.e. a supernatural interventions in the life of human beings – are present in the Qur'an "in a threefold sense: in sacred history, in connection with Muhammad himself and in relation to revelation."[1] By contrast, Ali Dashti (d. 1982) writes that "there has been much debate [...] on the question whether the Qur'an is miraculous in respect of its eloquence or of its subject-matter, or of both. In general the Muslim scholars consider it to be miraculous in both respects."[23]

According to Al-Ghazali the term ayah is used to refer to miracles—cosmic phenomena for example are ayat takwiniyyah—particularly miracles of creation.[24] But it is also used to mean "evidence," "sign", "Quranic verse", (religious obligations are ayat taklifiyyah). As such, the Qur'an itself is also a miracle.[24] The verses are believed to be the divine speech in human language presented by Muhammad as his chief miracle,[1] and a "sign" (ayah) of God and of Muhammad's prophethood.[11]

Code 19

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Main article: Quran code

The term Quran code (also known as Code 19) refers to the claim that the Quranic text contains a hidden mathematically complex code. Advocates think that the code represents a mathematical proof of the divine authorship of the Quran and they also think that it can be used to identify orthographic errors within the Quranic text. Proponents of the Quran code claim that the Quran code is based on statistical procedures.

In the United States, at the end of the 20th century, the Egyptian Quranist Muslim biochemist Rashad Khalifa developed a theological doctrine that influenced Quranists in many other countries. With the help of computers, he carried out a numerical analysis of the Quran, which according to him clearly proved that it is of divine origin.[25] The number 19, which is mentioned in chapter 74 of the Quran as being "one of the greatest miracles" played the fundamental role,[26] which according to Khalifa can be found everywhere in the structure of the Quran, and the fact that a Quranist discovered such a big miracle proved the Quranist approach.[27] Khalifa also cited Quran's chapter 74, verse 30: "Over it is nineteen".[28][29] The movement popularized the phrase: "The Quran, the whole Quran, and nothing but the Quran."[30] Some objected to these beliefs and, in 1990, Khalifa was assassinated by someone associated with the Salafi jihadi group Jamaat ul-Fuqra.[31]

Tafsir'ilmi (scientific interpretation) and ijaz movement

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Ziyauddin Sardar; "According to some Muslim scholars, everything from genetics to robotics and space travel is described in the Quran. What nonsense".[32]

While connections between scientific ideas and the Qu'ran can be found in the works of Ibn Sina, Fakhr al-Razi, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, modern "scientific exegesis" of the Qur'an[33] began in the 1970s and 80s as a genre of popular literature known as ijaz (miracle). Often called "scientific miracles in the Qur'an", the widespread and well-funded[34] ijaz movement argues that the Qur'an contains numerous "scientific facts" written down centuries before their discovery by science and thus demonstrating the divinity of the Qur'an.[35][36][37]

As explained by cultural critic Ziauddin Sardar, while the claims of the ijaz movement require "considerable mental gymnastics and distortions to find scientific facts or theories in these verses", funding to the tune of "millions" from Saudi Arabia has succeeded in creating a "global craze in Muslim societies"; its claims can be found in many Muslim bookstores, websites, and on television programs of Islamic preachers.[38] Proponents including Naeem Al-Mohassi, Maurice Bucaille, Rafiei Mohammadi, Mostarhameh, Makarem Shirazi, and Rezaei Isfahani[citation needed] claim that the Qur'an contains prophetic descriptions of, as Sardar states, "everything, from relativity, quantum mechanics, Big Bang theory, black holes and pulsars, genetics, embryology, modern geology, thermodynamics, even the laser and hydrogen fuel cells".[38]

Aside from critics from outside the religion, mainstream Islamic scholars have also objected to certain interpretations of the ijaz movement.[39][40][41][42] For example, Zafar Ishaq Ansari argues from the perspective of Islam that while the Quran is the source of guidance in right faith (iman) and righteous action (alladhina amanu wa amilu l-salihat), the idea that it contained "all knowledge, including scientific" knowledge is not a mainstream view among Muslim scholarship.[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Denis Gril, Miracles, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, Brill, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Marcia Hermansen (2004). Martin, Richard C. (ed.). Encyclopedia or Islam and the Muslim World. MacMillan Reference USA. p. 454.
  3. ^ "Annemarie Schimmel" And Muhammad is his Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety Online Archive Publication date 2017-12-13 Uploaded by Ejaz Archives p. 78
  4. ^ Özdemir, Mehmet, (2007). Siyer Yazıcılığı Üzerine, Milel ve Nihal, 4 (3), 129-162
  5. ^ Jonathan A. C. Brown, "Faithful Dissenters: Sunni Skepticism about the Miracles of Saints", Journal of Sufi Studies 1 (2012), p. 123
  6. ^ Christopher Taylor, In the Vicinity of the Righteous (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 5–6
  7. ^ Robert G. Mourison, The Portrayal of Nature in a Medieval Qur'an Commentary, Studia Islamica, 2002
  8. ^ Heinrichs, Wolfhart; Bosworth, Clifford Edmund; van Donzel, Emeri Johannes; Bianquis, Thierry, eds. (2012). "Encyclopedia of Islam". Encyclopaedia of Islam. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
  9. ^ Sardar, Ziauddin (21 August 2008). "Weird science". New Statesman. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. ^ Wensinck, A.J. "Muʿd̲j̲iza". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C. E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d A.J. Wensinck, Muʿd̲j̲iza, Encyclopedia of Islam
  12. ^ Austin P. Evans A commentary on the Creed of Islam Translated by Earl Edgar Elder Columbia University Press, New York ISBN 0-8369-9259-8 p. 138-139
  13. ^ Muhammad Asad, Message of the Qur'an [Dar Al-Andalus Limited 3 Library Ramp, Gibraltar rpt. 1993] p. 427, fn. 71
  14. ^ Glasse, Cyril (2001). "Miracles". The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Altamira. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-7591-0189-0.
  15. ^ Quran 54:1–2
  16. ^ Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, Moon
  17. ^ "Muhammad", Encyclopedia of Islam Online
  18. ^ Q7:157, islamawakened.com
  19. ^ Reason and Inspiration in Islam: Essays in Honour of Hermann Landolt. I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. 2005-09-23. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-85771-622-4.
  20. ^ a b Dashti, 23 Years, 1994: p. 44
  21. ^ Richard Bell (Revised and Enlarged by W. Montgomery Watt) (1970). Bell's introduction to the Qur'an. Univ. Press. pp. 31–51. ISBN 978-0-85224-171-4.
  22. ^ Günther, Sebastian (2002). "Muhammad, the Illiterate Prophet: An Islamic Creed in the Quran and Quranic Exegesis". Journal of Quranic Studies. 4 (1): 1–26. doi:10.3366/jqs.2002.4.1.1.
  23. ^ Dashti, 23 Years, 1994: p.40
  24. ^ a b Mohammed, Khaleel. "Muhammad Al-Ghazali's View on Abrogation in the Qur'an". forpeoplewhothink.org. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  25. ^ Musa: The Qur’anists. 2010, S. 13.
  26. ^ Q 74:30: „Über ihr sind neunzehn.“ Übersetzung von Hartmut Bobzin: Der Koran. 2017.
  27. ^ Khan: Nineteen. 2010, S. 112.
  28. ^ Bangert, Kurt (2016-04-25). Muhammad: Eine historisch-kritische Studie zur Entstehung des Islams und seines Propheten (in German). Springer-Verlag. pp. 114–116. ISBN 978-3-658-12956-9.
  29. ^ Momen, Moojan (1999). The Phenomenon of Religion: A Thematic Approach. Oneworld. p. 561. ISBN 978-1-85168-161-7.
  30. ^ Musa, Aisha Y. (2010). "The Qur'anists". Religion Compass. 4 (1). John Wiley & Sons: 12–21. doi:10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00189.x.
  31. ^ Historic House: The story behind that building with the words 'Happiness Is Submission to God' Archived 2020-07-09 at the Wayback Machine, Tucsonweekly.com, Accessed July 7, 2020
  32. ^ SARDAR, ZIAUDDIN (21 August 2008). "Weird science". New Statesman. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  33. ^ a b Ansari, Zafar Ishaq (2001). "Scientific Exegesis of the Qur'an / ‮التفسير العلمي للقرآن‬". Journal of Qur'anic Studies. 3 (1): 92. doi:10.3366/jqs.2001.3.1.91. JSTOR 25728019.
  34. ^ Cook, The Koran, 2000: p.29
  35. ^ La'li, Mahdi (2007). A Comprehensive Exploration of the Scientific Miracles in Holy Quran. Trafford Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4120-1443-4. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  36. ^ Ahmad Dallal, Quran and science, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
  37. ^ http://jima.imana.org/article/view/8693 A Scientist's Interpretation of References to Embryology in the Qur'an
  38. ^ a b SARDAR, ZIAUDDIN (21 August 2008). "Weird science". New Statesman. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  39. ^ TALIB, ALI (9 April 2018). "Deconstructing the "Scientific Miracles in the Quran" Argument". Transversing Tradition. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  40. ^ Ansari, Zafar Ishaq (2001). "Scientific Exegesis of the Qur'an / ‮التفسير العلمي للقرآن‬". Journal of Qur'anic Studies. 3 (1): 92. doi:10.3366/jqs.2001.3.1.91. JSTOR 25728019.
  41. ^ Talib, Ali (9 April 2018). "Deconstructing the "Scientific Miracles in the Quran" Argument". Transversing Tradition. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  42. ^ Guessoum, Nidhal (June 2008). "ThE QUR'AN, SCIENCE, AND THE (RELATED)CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM DISCOURSE". Zygon. 43 (2): 411+. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00925.x. ISSN 0591-2385. Retrieved 15 April 2019.

Further reading

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