Library Islam Islam: Faith, Practice & History Part I: Beliefs Lesson 8-Prophets & Human Guidance 5. Role of Miracles in Prophethood
5. Role of Miracles in Prophethood
- Details
- Hits: 1587
5. Role of Miracles in Prophethood
When man realizes that he needs the guidance of prophets in order to achieve the purpose of life, he naturally feels affection for the prophets and messengers who work for his benefit and who sacrifice their lives for his advantage. This affection reaches a degree where people are willing to bear any hardship to advance the aims of the prophets; and they start preferring the commands of the prophets to their own desires.
This strong love and affection of the people for prophets of God, and the tremendous power and influences which the prophets gain has caused some ambitious persons to claim prophethood in order to advance their own interest.
So, if someone claims prophethood, one cannot believe in him without some investigation. For it is possible that he falsely proclaims prophethood, as many people have indeed done so up to the present day. In order to find out if someone is a genuine prophet, the latter must bring some evidence so that people can be sure of him and accept his claim. Thus the real prophets can be distinguished from the pretenders. This evidence is known as miracles.
What are Miracles?
Miracles (mu`jizah) are what the prophets did according to the will of God in order to prove the truth of their claim of prophethood, and which others are unable to copy.
This purpose of miracles makes it very clear as to why at times the Prophet did not accede to demands for more miracles. Some people, who had already seen miracles, demanded various things from the prophets as miracles not with the desire to follow the truth but to find an excuse for not believing. They even asked for things that were logically impossible. However, since the prophets brought enough miracles, they did not accede to such demands. Miracles are done according to the will of God and in situations where they are necessary.
The Qur'Än says, “The signs are only with God, and I am only a plain warner.” (29:50) It is not for any Messenger to bring a sign, except by God's permission. (40:78)
* * *
This lesson is based on the following: Dar Rah-e Haq Board, The Roots of Religion, Qum 1982. It has been compiled and edited extensively to suit the purpose of this course by S.M. Rizvi.
