Is there a difference between miracles and the signs of the prophets?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is there a difference between miracles and the signs of the prophets?
The Shaykh : The signs of the prophets are the miracles, and some of the later scholars called them miracles, but the correct view is that they are signs, because they combine two things: the fact that humans cannot do the like of them, which is inimitability, and the fact that they are evidence of the prophethood of this prophet and his message, which is a sign. Therefore, we should call what the prophets bring of miracles "signs," just as Allah the Exalted called them in His Book. There are miracles that are not signs, but they are from the jinn; a sorcerer might be seen flying in the air, and this is a miracle that humans cannot do, but it is the work of the jinn.
And there are karamah (miracles granted to a righteous person) by which Allah honors whom He wills of His servants, the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous. They are miracles, but they are signs of the truth of what this wali (close friend of Allah) was upon and of the truth of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) by which he was acting. Therefore, we say: every karamah of a wali is a sign for the prophet whom he follows, the prophet whom this wali follows, because it is a witness from Allah to his truthfulness. The karamah of the awliya existed in the previous nations and in this nation, and they will continue to exist in it until the Day of Resurrection.
In the previous nations, the People of the Cave withdrew from their polytheistic people and took refuge in a cave. So Allah prepared a cave for them and cast sleep upon them for three hundred years, and they increased by nine. During this period, nothing changed in them; they did not need food or drink, nor did they urinate or defecate, and their nails and hair did not grow, as if they had slept for only one day. Therefore, when Allah Mighty and Majestic revived them and woke them up, they said:[Al-Kahf 18:19] This indicates that none of the human conditions affected them, neither hunger nor thirst, nor urination nor defecation, nor the growth of hair or nails, until the conditions of the village improved and their rulers who supported them in shirk (associating partners with Allah) died.
Maryam (may Allah be pleased with her) was seized by labor at the trunk of a palm tree, and it was said to her:[Maryam 19:25] A woman in labor, and I do not know what you know about the pain of childbirth. She was commanded to shake the trunk of the palm tree. If any human being had shaken the trunk of the palm tree, he would not have moved its top, but she was told: [Maryam 19:25] So she did, and [Maryam 19:25] fresh dates fell from above to the ground without spoiling, even though they were soft dates; their impact with the ground should have caused them to break, but they remained as if they had been picked, as if a man had harvested them. [Maryam 19:25-26] This is among the karamah by which Allah honors whom He wills of His servants.
In this nation, they exist: Sariyyah ibn Zunaym was a commander of a detachment in Iraq, and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was preaching to the people on Friday when they heard him say: "O Sariyyah, the mountain! O Sariyyah, the mountain! O Sariyyah, the mountain!" What? The Commander of the Faithful is preaching and then says this! What is this? So he informed them that this had been revealed to him regarding his detachment, and the enemy was surrounding him. So 'Umar called out to him: "O Sariyyah, the mountain" meaning, take refuge in the mountain. And Sariyyah heard him. So these are three things that were revealed to 'Umar, and he witnessed them; he called out to them, and they heard him; they took refuge in the mountain under the leadership of the sultan, while he was on the pulpit. Subhan Allah, a karamah from Allah Mighty and Majestic.
Therefore, it is the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community to believe in the karamah of the awliya. But who is a wali? Is everyone who claims to be a wali actually a wali? No, not everyone who claims to be a wali is a wali. Allah Mighty and Majestic said:[Yunus 10:62-63] O Allah, make us among them, O Lord of the worlds.
The questioner : Amen. May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh.
May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.
The Shaykh : The signs of the prophets are the miracles, and some of the later scholars called them miracles, but the correct view is that they are signs, because they combine two things: the fact that humans cannot do the like of them, which is inimitability, and the fact that they are evidence of the prophethood of this prophet and his message, which is a sign. Therefore, we should call what the prophets bring of miracles "signs," just as Allah the Exalted called them in His Book. There are miracles that are not signs, but they are from the jinn; a sorcerer might be seen flying in the air, and this is a miracle that humans cannot do, but it is the work of the jinn.
And there are karamah (miracles granted to a righteous person) by which Allah honors whom He wills of His servants, the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous. They are miracles, but they are signs of the truth of what this wali (close friend of Allah) was upon and of the truth of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) by which he was acting. Therefore, we say: every karamah of a wali is a sign for the prophet whom he follows, the prophet whom this wali follows, because it is a witness from Allah to his truthfulness. The karamah of the awliya existed in the previous nations and in this nation, and they will continue to exist in it until the Day of Resurrection.
In the previous nations, the People of the Cave withdrew from their polytheistic people and took refuge in a cave. So Allah prepared a cave for them and cast sleep upon them for three hundred years, and they increased by nine. During this period, nothing changed in them; they did not need food or drink, nor did they urinate or defecate, and their nails and hair did not grow, as if they had slept for only one day. Therefore, when Allah Mighty and Majestic revived them and woke them up, they said:
How long have you remained [here]?" They said, "We have remained a day or part of a day."
كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍMaryam (may Allah be pleased with her) was seized by labor at the trunk of a palm tree, and it was said to her:
shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree
هُزِّي إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِAnd shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree
وَهُزِّي إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِit will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates.
تُسَاقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًا جَنِيًّا(25) And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. (26) So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.' "
تُسَاقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًا جَنِيًّا * فَكُلِي وَاشْرَبِي وَقَرِّي عَيْنًاIn this nation, they exist: Sariyyah ibn Zunaym was a commander of a detachment in Iraq, and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was preaching to the people on Friday when they heard him say: "O Sariyyah, the mountain! O Sariyyah, the mountain! O Sariyyah, the mountain!" What? The Commander of the Faithful is preaching and then says this! What is this? So he informed them that this had been revealed to him regarding his detachment, and the enemy was surrounding him. So 'Umar called out to him: "O Sariyyah, the mountain" meaning, take refuge in the mountain. And Sariyyah heard him. So these are three things that were revealed to 'Umar, and he witnessed them; he called out to them, and they heard him; they took refuge in the mountain under the leadership of the sultan, while he was on the pulpit. Subhan Allah, a karamah from Allah Mighty and Majestic.
Therefore, it is the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community to believe in the karamah of the awliya. But who is a wali? Is everyone who claims to be a wali actually a wali? No, not everyone who claims to be a wali is a wali. Allah Mighty and Majestic said:
(62) Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve (63) Those who believed and were fearing Allah
أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَThe questioner : Amen. May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh.
May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.