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EXAMPLES
OF OTHER KINDS OF MUHAMMAD’S MIRACLES
Examples
of the Prophet’s miracles related to
his effective increase in food
As related by Anas ibn Malik, Abu
Talha, on seeing God’s Messenger
hungry, invited him to a meal. The
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, came with a crowd of
people. Abu Talha had only one loaf of
rye bread at home. Umm Sulaym, Abu
Talha’s wife, spread some butter on
it. The Messenger prayed for
abundance, and since there was not
enough space for all the people, they
ate of the bread ten by ten and left
satisfied. They were about seventy to
eighty people.1
As another example, ‘Abd al-Rahman
ibn Abi Bakr relates that they, one
hundred and thirty Companions, were in
the company of God’s Messenger
during an expedition. The Messenger
asked them whether they had something
to eat. One of them had about one or
two sacks of flour . Dough was
prepared to make bread and a sheep was
bought from a polytheist who happened
to pass by with his flock. They
roasted the liver of the sheep, which
the Messenger divided among those
present, giving each a piece of it,
and put aside the share of those who
were not present there then. They
cooked the meat in two bowls and
everyone ate of it. After they
finished eating all satisfied, the
meat was still as if no one had eaten
of it at all.2
There
are many other examples of this kind of
miracle. They were all transmitted
through various-sometimes as many as
sixteen-channels. Most of them took
place in the presence of large
assemblies and were narrated by many
persons of truth and good repute.
Examples
of the Prophet’s miracles concerning
water
The Companions were left without water
in a place called Zarwa. They were
going to do wudu’ (ritual ablution)
but they could not find enough water.
God’s Messenger, upon him be peace
and blessings, ordered them to bring a
bowl of water. He dipped his hands
into the bowl and water began to run
from his fingers like a fountain. Anas
ibn Malik says that on that day they
were three hundred people.3
Anas
relates this incident on behalf of
three hundred persons. Is it at all
conceivable that those three hundred
people would not have confirmed him,
if they thought him to be truthful, or
otherwise contradicted him?
As a second example, during the
campaign of Hudaybiya, the Companions
complained to God’s Messenger about
the lack of water. The Messenger, upon
him be peace and blessings, took an
arrow out of his arrow-bag and ordered
them to put it in the well of Samad.
When they did that, the water of the
well began to gush. During the
campaign, all of the Companions drank
from it and did wudu’ with it.4
There
are many examples of the Prophet’s
miracles concerning water. They were
related by numerous Companions and
transmitted through various reliable
channels.
Examples
of the miracles of the healing of ill
and wounded people
Authentic
books of Tradition, including primarily Sahih
al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim,
report:
During the Battle of Khaybar, God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, asked where ‘Ali was.
‘He is suffering from sore eyes’,
the Companions answered. He sent for
him. ‘Ali came and the Messenger
applied his healing saliva to his
eyes. At the same moment the pain
ceased and ‘Ali’s eyes became
better than before.5
‘Uthman ibn Hunayf relates:
A
blind man came to God’s
Messenger and requested him to
pray to God to recover his eyes.
The Messenger said: “If you
desire, I’ll not pray-being
blind may be better for your
afterlife-or I’ll pray.” The
man chose to be relieved of
blindness and the Messenger told
him: “Go and do an ablution.
Then pray two rak‘as
and say: ‘O God! Surely my
appeal is to You and I turn
toward You through the Prophet
Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy:
O Muhammad, surely I turn toward
God through you, that He uncover
my sight. O God, make him my
intercessor.’” The man did
what the Messenger told him and
his sight was restored.6
There
are many more examples concerning this
kind of miracle God’s Messenger
worked, all of which are recorded in
books of Tradition.
The
testimony of animals to Muhammad’s
Prophethood
The
animal kingdom recognized God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, and became the means for him
to work miracles. Although there are
many examples, we will mention here only
a few that have become well-known and
agreed on by exacting authorities.
During the Hijra, when God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, took shelter from the
pursuit of unbelievers in the cave
of Thawr, two pigeons stood guard at
the entrance like two sentries, and
a spider, like a doorkeeper, covered
the entrance of the cave with a
thick web. As Ubayy in Khalaf, one
of the chieftains of the Quraysh,
was examining the cave, his friends
suggested that they should enter,
but he answered: ‘There is a web
here, which seems to have been spun
before the birth of Muhammad.’ The
others added: ‘Would those
pigeons, standing there, still be
there if someone were in the cave?’7
As another example, Jabir relates:
I
was with God’s Messenger
during a military campaign. When
my camel became exhausted and
left behind, God’s Messenger
prodded it slightly. This made
the camel so fast that I had to
pull on the reins to make it
slower so that I could listen to
the Messenger, but Iwas unable
to [slow it down].8
Anas ibn Malik reports:
After
the conquest of Khaybar, a
Jewish woman offered God’s
Messenger a roasted sheep. God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, ate a piece of it
but, according to the narration
of Abu Dawud, stopped eating and
said: This sheep says that it is
poisonous. Then he turned to the
woman and asked her why she
offered him a poisonous sheep.
When the woman replied that she
wanted to kill him, the
Messenger responded: God will
not let you attack and annoy me.9
‘A’isha reports:
We
had in our house a kind of
pigeon. When God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings,
was at home, it would stay
quiet, but as soon as he left
home, it would continually pace
to and fro.10
Anas ibn Malik relates:
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, was the comeliest and
the most generous and courageous
of people. One night the people
of Madina heard some voices and
set out to investigate in fear.
On their way, they saw a man
coming towards them, who
appeared to be God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings. He said to them:
There is nothing to be
distressed about. He had mounted
Abu Talha’s horse and himself
investigated the matter before
anybody else. He turned to Abu
Talha and said: I found your
horse fast and comfortable.
Whereas, that horse had been a
very slow one. After that night,
no other horse could race
against it. 11
Examples
of the Prophet’s miracles
concerning inanimate objects
Jabir ibn Samura reports:
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, once said: “Prior
to my Prophethood, a rock in
Makka used to offer me
greetings. I still recognize it.”12
‘Abullah ibn Mas‘ud reports:
We
could hear food glorifying God
while we were eating with God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings.13
Traditionists unanimously report
from Anas, Abu Hurayra, ‘Uthman
and Sa‘id ibn Zayd, who said:
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, climbed up Mount Uhud,
accompanied by Abu Bakr, ‘Umar
and ‘Uthman. The Mountain,
either in awe of them or because
of its joy, trembled. God’s
Messenger ordered it: Be still,
O Uhud, for on you there is a
Prophet, a truthful one, and two
martyrs.14
In
this saying, the Messenger predicted
the martyrdom of ‘Umar and ‘Uthman.
It is established through authentic
narrations from ‘Ali, Jabir and
‘A‘isha Siddiqa that rocks and
mountains would say to God’s
Messenger, ‘Peace be upon you, O
Messenger of God!’ ‘Ali says:
’Whenever we went for a walk in
the suburbs of Makka in the early
times of his Prophethood, trees and
rocks we encountered would say, ‘Peace
be upon you, O Messenger of God!’15
The
Prophet’s protection as a miracle
As related through various channels,
during the military campaign of
Ghatfan and Anmar, a courageous
chieftain named Ghowras unexpectedly
appeared at the side of God’s
Messenger, who was lying under a tree.
Ghowras unsheathed his sword and asked
God’s Messenger, ‘Who will save
you from me now?’ God will, the
Messenger replied. “God!” Then he
prayed: “O God, suffice me against
him in any way You will.”16
At
that moment, Ghowras was knocked down
and his sword slipped from his hand.
God’s Messenger, upon him be peace
and blessings, took the sword and
asked him: Now, who will save you from
me?
Ghowras
began to tremble and entreated God’s
Messenger to spare his life. ‘You
are a noble, forgiving one; only
forgiveness is expected of you,’ he
pleaded. God’s Messenger forgave
him, and when Ghowras returned to his
tribe, he said to them: ‘I have just
come from the best of mankind.’
Abu Hurayra relates:
Abu
Jahl once asked those near him:
'Does
Muhammad still rub his face against
earth [i.e. make prostration]?'
'Yes,
he does', they answered.
Abu
Jahl added:
'By
Lat and ‘Uzza, if I see him
doing that again, I will tread on
his neck or bury his face with
soil.'
A
short while later God’s Messenger
came and set out to pray. When he was
in prostration, Abu Jahl approached
him but suddenly turned back in fear
and amazement, trying to protect
himself with his hands. When asked why
he had done so, he answered: ‘Truly,
between him and me is a trench filled
with fire, and something horrible and
some wings.’
God’s
Messenger commented on the event:
'If
he had approached me, the angels would
have torn him to pieces.'17
God
promised to guard him against people:
O
Messenger! Make known whatever is
revealed unto you from your Lord,
for if you do it not, you will not
have conveyed His Message. God
will protect you from people.
Surely, God guides not the
unbelieving folk. (5:67)
The
acceptance of the Prophet’s prayers
The authorities of Hadith (Tradition)
including, notably, Imam Bukhari and
Imam Muslim, unanimously report that
whenever God’s Messenger prayed for
rain, his prayer was immediately
accepted by God. There were even times
when the rain unexpectedly began
before he had lowered his hands while
on the pulpit. As mentioned in books
of Tradition and the Prophet’s
biography, when his army ran out of
water, clouds would appear to give
them water. Even in his childhood, his
grandfather ‘Abd al-Muttalib would
go with him to pray for rain, and rain
would come out of God’s love for
him. This fact became famous through a
poem of ‘Abd al-Muttalib’s. After
the Prophet’s death, once ‘Umar
took ‘Abbas as a means to pray for
rain, saying, ‘O God, this is the
uncle of Your beloved Prophet. Give us
rain for his sake.’ Thereafter it
rained.18
As was reported by Anas ibn Malik,
while one Friday God’s Messenger was
giving a sermon, a man came into the
mosque and said to him: ‘O Messenger
of God! There is drought. Please pray
to God to send us rain.’ The
Messenger prayed and it rained until
the next Friday.
The
rain continued for one week. The next
Friday, while God’s Messenger was on
the pulpit again giving sermon, a man
stood up and said: ‘O Messenger of
God! Please pray to God to avert rain
from us.’ The Messenger prayed: “O
God! Send the rain onto the places
around us, not onto us.” Anas, the
reporter of the event, says: “By
God, I saw the clouds scatter and rain
fall onto other places, the people of
Madina being not under rain.”19
‘Adbullah ibn ‘Umar relates:
When
the number of the Companions was about
forty, God’s Messenger, upon him be
peace and blessings, prayed: “O God!
Give strength to Islam with which of
those two, namely ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
and ‘Amr ibn al-Hisham, is more
pleasing to You.” The next morning,
‘Umar came to the Messenger and
accepted Islam.20
‘Adbullah ibn ‘Abbas reports:
God’s
Messenger was in the toilet when once
I carried water to where he would do
wudu’. When he came out, he asked
who had put the water there. ‘I did,’
I answered. Whereupon he prayed: “O
God, make him profoundly knowledgeable
in religion and teach him the meaning
of the Qur’an.” 21
It
is because of this prayer of the
Messenger for Ibn ‘Abbas that Ibn
‘Abbas would later be called with
the titles of the ‘Profound Scholar
of the Umma’ and the ‘Interpreter
of the Qur’an’. When he was still
a young man, ‘Umar included him in
his consultative assembly which
consisted of the high-ranking scholars
and elders of the Companions.
Anas ibn Malik relates:
My
mother took me to God’s Messenger
and said:
'O Messenger of God! This is my son
Anas. Let him serve you. Please
pray for him.'
The
Messenger prayed:
'O God! Give
abundance to his wealth and offspring.'
22
Anas
remarked in his old age, swearing by
God:
'You see the abundance of my
wealth, and the children and
grand-children I have number about one
hundred.'
Abu Hurayra once complained to God’s
Messenger about forgetfulness. The
Messenger told him to spread out a
piece of cloth on the ground. Then
he made some movements as if he were
filling his hands with some
invisible things and emptying them
out on the piece of cloth. After
repeating this three or four times,
he told Abu Hurayra to pick it up.
Through the mysterious effect of
these actions of the Messenger, Abu
Hurayra, as he himself later stated
swearing by God, never forgot
anything again. This is also among
the well-known events related to the
Companions.23
The
Prophet met with angels and jinn and
spoke to them
‘Umar reports:
We
were sitting with God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings, when
a man appeared beside us. He had dark
black hair and was wearing a white
robe. There were no signs of traveling
upon him. He sat before the Messenger
and, touching his knees to the
Messenger’s, asked him about faith,
Islam, perfection of virtue (ihsan)
and the Last Day. After the interview,
the man left and disappeared. God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, turned to me and asked who
that man was. ‘God and His Messenger
know better’, I answered. The
Messenger concluded: “He was
Gabriel. He came to teach you your
religion.”24
Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas relates:
At
the Battle of Uhud, I saw two men
dressed in white at each side of God’s
Messenger, fighting for his sake. I
had never seen them before, nor have I
seen them since. (Sa‘d meant that
they were two archangels, Gabriel and
Michael.)25
Rifa‘a ibn Rafi‘ reports:
Gabriel
asked God’s Messenger what was
their opinion of the Companions who
participated in the Battle of Badr.
The Messenger answered like this:
“We consider them among the most
virtuous of Muslims.” Gabriel
responded: “So do we; we consider
the angels who were present there
among the most virtuous of angels.”26
In his Musnad, Ahmad ibn
Hanbal reports from ‘Adbullah ibn
Mas’ud that God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings,
invited jinn to accept Islam and
taught them of the Qur’an. 27
The
appearance of invisible objects and
realms to the Prophet
‘A’isha Siddiqa reports:
One
day the sun was eclipsed. God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, performed the prayer of
eclipse and then explained:
Surely,
the sun and the moon are two of God’s
signs. When you witness an eclipse,
pray until it ends. By God, in this
place where I have performed the
prayer I have seen everything promised
to me. When you saw me move forward
during the prayer, I did that to take
a cluster of grapes which appeared to
me from Paradise. Again, by God, when
you saw me move backward, I did that
because I saw Hell roaring with its
parts piling one upon another.28
‘Adbullah ibn ‘Abbas relates:
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, passed by two graves and
said: “Heed what I will tell you:
Those lying in those graves are
suffering torments. They are suffering
torments because of two grave sins.
One of them used to backbite and
slander others everywhere. The other
was not careful [about guarding
himself] against urine-stains.”29
The
testimony of trees to Muhammad’s
Prophethood
Jabir ibn ‘Adbullah reports:
We
were walking with God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings. We
went down a wide valley. The
Messenger searched for a place to
relieve himself. When he saw that
there was not a single covered
place, he went to the two trees he
had caught sight of by the valley.
He pulled one of them by one of its
branches, next to the other tree.
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
joined together and formed a screen.
30
‘Adbullah ibn ‘Umar reports:
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, used to lean against a
pole called the ‘date-palm trunk’
when delivering a sermon. Later a
pulpit was built and when the
Prophet started giving his sermons
from it, the pole moaned because of
its separation from him. The
Messenger climbed down and stroked
it. The pole stopped moaning.31
‘Abu Sa’id al-Khudri relates:
God’s
Messenger gave Qatada ibn Nu‘man a
stick on a dark night, saying: “This
stick will light up your
surroundings as far as seven meters.
When you get home, you will see a
black shadow. Without giving it
respite to tell you anything, strike
it with this stick. Qatada did what
God’s Messenger told him to.32
1.
Bukhari, Ayman, 22; Muslim, Ashriba,
142.
2. Bukhari, At‘ima, 6; Muslim, Ashriba,
175.
3.
Nasa’i, 1.60; Bukhari, 4.233;
Muslim, Hadith No. 2279.
4. Bukhari, Shurut, 15.
5.
Bukhari, Fada’l al-Sahaba, 9;
Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba, 34.
6.
Tirmidhi, Da‘awat, 119; I. Hanbal,
4.138; I. Maja, Iqama, 189.
7.
I. Hanbal, Musnad, 1.348.
8. Bukhari, Nikah, 10.22.
9.
Muslim, Salam, 45; Abu Dawud, Diyat,
6.
10.
I. Hanbal, Musnad, 4.112.
11. Bukhari, Adab, 39; Muslim, Fada’il,
48; I. Hanbal, 3.147.
12.
Muslim, Fada’il, 2; Darimi,
Muqaddima.
13. Bukhari, Manaqib, 25; I. Hanbal,
Musnad, 1.460.
14.
Muslim, Fada’il, 50.
15.
Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 3630; Hakim,
2.607.
16.
Bukhari, Maghazi, 31, 33; Muslim, Fada’il,
13.
17.
Muslim, Sifat al-Munafiqin, 38.
18.
Bukhari, 2.35; Bayhaqi, Sunan, 6.147.
19.
Bukhari, Istisqa’, 7; Muslim,
Istisqa’, 1.
20. Bukhari, Istisqa’, 7; Muslim,
Istisqa’, 1.
21. Bukhari, ‘Ilm, 17; Muslim, Fada’il,
137.
22.
Muslim, Fada’il, 143.
23.
Muslim, Fada’il, 159.
24. Bukhari, Iman, 37.
25.
Bukhari, Maghazi, 18; Muslim, Fada’il,
46-7.
26. Bukhari, Maghazi, 11.
27. Musnad, 1.455.
28. Bukhari, Abwab ‘amal fi l-Salat, 2;
Muslim, Kusuf, 3.
29. Bukhari, Adab, 46; Muslim, Tahara, 3.
30.
Muslim, Zuhd, 74.
31. Bukhari, Manaqib, 25; Tirmidhi,
Manaqib, 6; Nasa’i, Jumu‘a, 17.
32.
I. Hanbal, Musnad, 3.65
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