Some of the
Miracles of Muhammad(P)
A number of miracles were bestowed
upon and performed by the Prophet Muhammad(P) to establish the proof of
his prophethood. The greatest miracle bestowed upon him was the revelation of
the Qur'an. The Qur'an is miraculous in a number of aspects: Its linguistic perfection and inimitability, its validation
by recent historical, archaeological, and scientific discoveries, its prophecies
and so on. Unlike the miracles of other prophets before him, the miracle of the
Qur'an is eternal. Prophet Muhammad(P)
also provided us with a number of true
prophecies.
Below are accounts of the some of
the other miracles of Prophet Muhammad(P) . Before reading these, it
helps to know something about the Science of Traditions (Arabic: Ahadith), an exacting and comprehensive system developed by
early Muslim scholars to verify the chain of transmission of these accounts, as
well as investigating the trustworthiness and capability of every narrator at
every level of the chain. This thorough authentication process ensures that
these accounts are real, validated narrations of the sayings, actions, and tacit
approvals of the Prophet Muhammad(P). The Traditions mentioned
below are all from Sahih al-Bukhari, the most
authentic collection.
- Splitting of the
Moon
- Food
Multiplication
- Water
Multiplication
- Supplication for
Rain
- Lights to guide
Companions
- Crying of the stem
of the Date-palm Tree
- Glorification of
Allah by the Prophet's meals
- The explusion of a Christian liar's corpse by the Earth
- The Speech of the
Wolf
- The Prophet's
Night Journey to Jerusalem and Ascent to the Heavens
Splitting of the
Moon - "The Hour has drawn
near, and the moon has been cleft asunder" [Qur'an
54:1]
Volume 6, Book 60, Number
388:
Narrated
Abdullah:
The moon was cleft asunder while we
were in the company of the Prophet, and it became two parts. The Prophet said,
“Witness, witness (this miracle)."
Volume 4, Book 56, Number
780:
Narrated Jabir:
My father had died in debt. So I
came to the Prophet and said, "My father (died) leaving unpaid debts, and I have
nothing except the yield of his date palms; and their yield for many years will
not cover his debts. So please come with me, so that the creditors may not
misbehave with me." The Prophet went round one of the heaps of dates and invoked
(Allah), and then did the same with another heap and sat on it and said,
"Measure (for them)." He paid them their rights and what remained was as much as
had been paid to them.
Volume 4, Book 56, Number
779:
Narrated
'Abdullah:
We used to consider miracles as
Allah's Blessings, but you people consider them to be a warning. Once we were
with Allah's Apostle on a journey, and we ran short of water. He said, "Bring
the water remaining with you." The people brought a utensil containing a little
water. He placed his hand in it and said, "Come to the blessed water, and the
Blessing is from Allah." I saw the water flowing from among the fingers of
Allah's Apostle , and no doubt, we heard the meal
glorifying Allah, when it was being eaten (by him).
Volume 4, Book 56, Number
777:
Narrated Al-Bara:
We were
one-thousand-and-four-hundred persons on the day of Al-Hudaibiya (Treaty), and (at) Al-Hudaibiya (there) was a well. We drew out its water not
leaving even a single drop. The Prophet sat at the edge of the well and asked
for some water with which he rinsed his mouth and then he threw it out into the
well. We stayed for a short while and then drew water from the well and quenched
our thirst, and even our riding animals drank water to their
satisfaction.
Volume 1, Book 7, Number
340:
Narrated 'Imran:
Once we were traveling with the
Prophet and we carried on traveling till the last part of the night and then we
(halted at a place) and slept (deeply). There is nothing sweeter than sleep for
a traveler in the last part of the night. So it was only the heat of the sun
that made us to wake up and the first to wake up was so and so, then so and so
and then so and so (the narrator 'Auf said that Abu Raja' had told him their
names but he had forgotten them) and the fourth person to wake up was 'Umar bin Al-Khattab. And whenever
the Prophet used to sleep, nobody would wake up him till he himself used to get up as we did not know what was happening
(being revealed) to him in his sleep. So, 'Umar got up
and saw the condition of the people, and he was a strict man, so he said, "Allahu Akbar" and raised his voice
with Takbir, and kept on saying loudly till the
Prophet got up because of it. When he got up, the people informed him about what
had happened to them. He said, "There is no harm (or it will not be harmful).
Depart!" So they departed from that place, and after covering some distance the
Prophet stopped and asked for some water to perform the ablution. So he
performed the ablution and the call for the prayer was pronounced and he led the
people in prayer. After he finished from the prayer, he saw a man sitting aloof
who had not prayed with the people. He asked, "O so and so! What has prevented
you from praying with us?" He replied, "I am Junub and
there is no water. " The Prophet said, "Perform Tayammum with (clean) earth and that is sufficient for
you."
Then the Prophet proceeded on and
the people complained to him of thirst. Thereupon he got down and called a
person (the narrator 'Auf added that Abu Raja' had named him but he had
forgotten) and 'Ali, and ordered them to go and bring water. So they went in
search of water and met a woman who was sitting on her camel between two bags of
water. They asked, "Where can we find water?" She replied, "I was there (at the
place of water) this hour yesterday and my people are behind me." They requested
her to accompany them. She asked, "Where?" They said, "To Allah's Apostle ." She said, "Do you mean the man who is called the
Sabi, (with a new religion)?" They replied, "Yes, the
same person. So come along." They brought her to the Prophet and narrated the
whole story. He said, "Help her to dismount." The Prophet asked for a pot, then he opened the mouths of the bags and poured some water
into the pot. Then he closed the big openings of the bags and opened the small
ones and the people were called upon to drink and water their animals. So they
all watered their animals and they (too) all quenched their thirst and also gave
water to others and last of all the Prophet gave a pot full of water to the
person who was Junub and told him to pour it over his
body. The woman was standing and watching all that which they were doing with her water. By Allah, when her water bags were returned
the looked like as if they were more full (of water) than they had been before
(Miracle of Allah's Apostle) Then the Prophet ordered us to collect something
for her; so dates, flour and Sawiq were collected
which amounted to a good meal that was put in a piece of cloth. She was helped
to ride on her camel and that cloth full of food-stuff was also placed in front
of her and then the Prophet said to her, "We have not taken your water but Allah
has given water to us." She returned home late. Her relatives asked her: "O so
and so what has delayed you?" She said, "A strange thing! Two men met me and
took me to the man who is called the Sabi' and he did
such and such a thing. By Allah, he is either the greatest magician between this
and this (gesturing with her index and middle fingers raising them towards the
sky indicating the heaven and the earth) or he is Allah's true
Apostle."
Afterwards the Muslims used to
attack the pagans around her abode but never touched her village. One day she
said to her people, "I think that these people leave you purposely. Have you got
any inclination to Islam?" They obeyed her and all of them embraced
Islam.
Abu 'Abdultah said: The word Saba'a
means "The one who has deserted his old religion and embraced a new religion."
Abul 'Ailya said, "The Sabis are a sect of people of the Scripture who recite the
Book of Psalms."
Volume 8, Book 73, Number
115:
Narrated Anas:
A man came to the Prophet on a
Friday while he (the Prophet) was delivering a sermon at
Volume 1, Book 8, Number
454:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Two of the companions of the Prophet
departed from him on a dark night and were led by two lights like lamps (going
in front of them from Allah as a miracle) lighting the way in front of them, and
when they parted, each of them was accompanied by one of these lights till he
reached their (respective) houses.
Crying of the stem of the Date-palm
Tree
Volume 4, Book 56, Number
783:
Narrated Ibn Umar:
The Prophet used to deliver his
sermons while standing beside a trunk of a datepalm.
When he had the pulpit made, he used it instead. The trunk started crying and
the Prophet went to it, rubbing his hand over it (to stop its
crying).
Glorification of Allah by the
Prophet's meals
Volume 4, Book 56, Number
779:
Narrated
'Abdullah:
We used to consider miracles as
Allah's Blessings, but you people consider them to be a warning. Once we were
with Allah's Apostle on a journey, and we ran short of water. He said, "Bring
the water remaining with you." The people brought a utensil containing a little
water. He placed his hand in it and said, "Come to the blessed water, and the
Blessing is from Allah." I saw the water flowing from among the fingers of
Allah's Apostle , and no doubt, we heard the meal
glorifying Allah, when it was being eaten (by him).
The expulsion of a
Christian liar's corpse by the Earth
Volume 4, Book 56, Number
814:
Narrated Anas:
There was a Christian who embraced
Islam and read Surat-al-Baqara and Al-Imran, and he used to write (the revelations) for the
Prophet. Later on he returned to Christianity again and he used to say:
"Muhammad knows nothing but what I have written for him." Then Allah caused him
to die, and the people buried him, but in the morning they saw that the earth
had thrown his body out. They said, "This is the act of Muhammad and his
companions. They dug the grave of our companion and took his body out of it
because he had run away from them." They again dug the grave deeply for him, but
in the morning they again saw that the earth had thrown his body out. They said,
"This is an act of Muhammad and his companions. They dug the grave of our
companion and threw his body outside it, for he had run away from them." They
dug the grave for him as deep as they could, but in the morning they again saw
that the earth had thrown his body out. So they believed that what had befallen
him was not done by human beings and had to leave him thrown (on the
ground).
Volume 3, Book 39, Number
517:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "While a man was
riding a cow, it turned towards him and said, 'I have not been created for this
purpose (i.e. carrying), I have been created for sloughing." The Prophet added,
"I, Abu Bakr and 'Umar
believe in the story." The Prophet went on, "A wolf caught a sheep, and when the
shepherd chased it, the wolf said, 'Who will be its
guard on the day of wild beasts, when there will be no shepherd for it except
me?' "After narrating it, the Prophet said, "I, Abu Bakr and 'Umar too believe it."
Abu Salama (a sub-narrator) said, "Abu Bakr and 'Umar were not present
then." (It has been written that a wolf also spoke to one of the companions of
the Prophet near
Narrated Unais bin 'Amr: Ahban bin Aus said, "I was amongst my sheep. Suddenly a wolf
caught a sheep and I shouted at it. The wolf sat on its tail and addressed me,
saying, 'Who will look after it (i.e. the sheep) when
you will be busy and not able to look after it? Do you forbid me the provision
which Allah has provided me?' " Ahban added, "I clapped my hands and said, 'By Allah,
I have never seen anything more curious and wonderful than this!' On that the
wolf said, 'There is something (more curious) and wonderful than this; that is,
Allah's Apostle in those palm trees, inviting people to Allah (i.e. Islam).'
"Unais bin 'Amr further
said, "Then Ahban went to Allah's Apostle and informed
him what happened and embraced Islam.)" palm trees or
other trees and share the fruits with me."
The Prophet's Night Journey to
Volume 5, Book 58, Number
228:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
Regarding the Statement of
Allah"
"And We
granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens) which We made you see (as an
actual eye witness) was only made as a trial for the people."
(17.60)
Ibn Abbas
added: The sights which Allah's Apostle was shown on the Night Journey when he
was taken to Bait-ulMaqdis (i.e.
Volume 4, Book 54, Number 462:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet said, "On the night of
my Ascent to the Heaven, I saw Moses who was a tall brown curly-haired man as if
he was one of the men of Shan'awa tribe, and I saw
Jesus, a man of medium height and moderate complexion inclined to the red and
white colors and of lank hair. I also saw Malik, the
gate-keeper of the (Hell) Fire and Ad-Dajjal amongst the signs which Allah
showed me." (The Prophet then recited the Holy Verse): "So be not you in doubt
of meeting him' when you met Moses during the night of Mi'raj over the heavens" (32.23)
Narrated Anas and Abu Bakra: "The Prophet
said, "The angels will guard
Volume 5, Book 58, Number
227:
Narrated Abbas bin Malik:
Malik bin Sasaa
said that Allah's Apostle described to them his Night Journey saying, "While I
was lying in Al-Hatim or Al-Hijr, suddenly someone came to me and cut my body open from
here to here." I asked Al-Jarud who was by my side,
"What does he mean?" He said, "It means from his throat to his pubic area," or
said, "From the top of the chest." The Prophet further said, "He then took out
my heart. Then a gold tray of Belief was brought to me and my heart was washed
and was filled (with Belief) and then returned to its original place. Then a
white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought
to me." (On this Al-Jarud asked, "Was it the Buraq, O Abu Hamza?" I (i.e. Anas) replied in the affirmative). The Prophet said, "The
animal's step (was so wide that it) reached the farthest point within the reach
of the animal's sight. I was carried on it, and Gabriel set out with me till we
reached the nearest heaven.
When he asked for the gate to be
opened, it was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered, 'Gabriel.' It was asked,
'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has
Muhammad been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, 'He
is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' The gate was opened, and when I
went over the first heaven, I saw Adam there. Gabriel said (to me). 'This is
your father, Adam; pay him your greetings.' So I greeted him and he returned the
greeting to me and said, 'You are welcomed, O pious son and pious Prophet.' Then
Gabriel ascended with me till we reached the second heaven. Gabriel asked for
the gate to be opened. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered, 'Gabriel.'
It was asked, 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was
asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel answered in the affirmative. Then it was
said, 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' The gate was
opened.
When I went over the second heaven,
there I saw Yahya (i.e. John) and 'Isa (i.e. Jesus)
who were cousins of each other. Gabriel said (to me), 'These are John and Jesus;
pay them your greetings.' So I greeted them and both of them returned my
greetings to me and said, 'You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.'
Then Gabriel ascended with me to the third heaven and asked for its gate to be
opened. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied, 'Gabriel.' It was asked,
'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he
been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, 'He is
welcomed, what an excellent visit his is!' The gate was opened, and when I went
over the third heaven there I saw Joseph. Gabriel said (to me), 'This is Joseph;
pay him your greetings.' So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and
said, 'You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel
ascended with me to the fourth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It
was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied, 'Gabriel' It
was asked, 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked,
'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said, 'He
is welcomed, what an excel lent visit his
is!'
The gate was opened, and when I went
over the fourth heaven, there I saw Idris. Gabriel
said (to me), 'This is Idris; pay him your greetings.'
So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, 'You are welcomed,
O pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the fifth
heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel
replied, 'Gabriel.' It was asked. 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied,
'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the
affirmative. Then it was said He is welcomed, what an excellent visit his is! So
when I went over the fifth heaven, there I saw Harun
(i.e. Aaron), Gabriel said, (to me). This is Aaron; pay him your greetings.' I
greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, 'You are welcomed, O
pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the sixth
heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked. 'Who is it?' Gabriel
replied, 'Gabriel.' It was asked, 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied,
'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the
affirmative. It was said, 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his
is!'
When I went (over the sixth heaven),
there I saw Moses. Gabriel said (to me),' This is
Moses; pay him your greeting. So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to
me and said, 'You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.' When I left
him (i.e. Moses) he wept. Someone asked him, 'What makes you weep?' Moses said,
'I weep because after me there has been sent (as Prophet) a young man whose
followers will enter
So when I went (over the seventh
heaven), there I saw Abraham. Gabriel said (to me), 'This is your father; pay
your greetings to him.' So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and
said, 'You are welcomed, O pious son and pious Prophet.' Then I was made to
ascend to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha (i.e. the Lote Tree of the utmost boundary) Behold! Its fruits were
like the jars of Hajr (i.e. a place near
Then Al-Bait-ul-Ma'mur (i.e. the Sacred House) was shown to me and a
container full of wine and another full of milk and a third full of honey were
brought to me. I took the milk. Gabriel remarked, 'This is the Islamic religion
which you and your followers are following.' Then the prayers were enjoined on
me: They were fifty prayers a day. When I returned, I passed by Moses who asked
(me), 'What have you been ordered to do?' I replied, 'I have been ordered to
offer fifty prayers a day.' Moses said, 'Your followers cannot bear fifty
prayers a day, and by Allah, I have tested people before you, and I have tried
my level best with Bani Israel (in vain). Go back to
your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your followers' burden.' So I went
back, and Allah reduced ten prayers for me. Then again I came to Moses, but he
repeated the same as he had said before. Then again I went back to Allah and He
reduced ten more prayers. When I came back to Moses he said the same, I went
back to Allah and He ordered me to observe ten prayers a day. When I came back
to Moses, he repeated the same advice, so I went back to Allah and was ordered
to observe five prayers a day.
When I came back to Moses, he said,
'What have you been ordered?' I replied, 'I have been ordered to observe five
prayers a day.' He said, 'Your followers cannot bear five prayers a day, and no
doubt, I have got an experience of the people before you, and I have tried my
level best with Bani Israel, so go back to your Lord
and ask for reduction to lessen your follower's burden.' I said, 'I have
requested so much of my Lord that I feel ashamed, but I am satisfied now and
surrender to Allah's Order.' When I left, I heard a voice saying, 'I have passed
My Order and have lessened the burden of My Worshipers."
