Muslims believe that God sent many prophets throughout history to guide humanity. They taught people about the pure creed of belief in the One God, ways to worship Him and how to lead righteous lives keeping in mind our purpose in life. The prophets also informed humanity of future events and things unseen, such as the Day of Resurrection and the life hereafter.
The prophets were all outstanding examples of honesty and righteousness, known for their pure character even before being tasked with prophethood. Therefore, their claims about the unseen could be trusted due to their reputations as being the most trustworthy of men. In addition, God granted them miracles to remove any doubts that they were sent by God. These miracles were clearly impossible for any human being to perform without divine intervention, many of which are mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. One famous example is the splitting of the Red Sea, which allowed Moses (pbuh) and the Children of Israel to flee from the Pharaoh’s army.
Splitting the Moon
Food
Healing the Sick
Tree Trunk Crying
Foretelling the Future
Out of God’s mercy and justice, He gave Muhammad (pbuh), His final messenger to humanity, an everlasting miracle which could be appreciated by all people until the end of time. That miracle is His final revelation,the Quran.
The final prophet, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him – (pbuh), was given many miracles throughout his life as well, and some of these are mentioned below.
Isra and Mairaj
When he told his fellow Meccans about his journey, people laughed. However, when Abu Bakr, a close companion and the first caliph, was confronted with this news by a mocking crowd, he replied, “If he says so, then it must be true. And where is the wonder of it? He tells me revelations come to him from Heaven to earth in one hour of day or night, and I know him to be speaking the truth.” Muhammad (pbuh) also described the caravans he had overtaken on the way home, where they were, and when they might arrive in Mecca – each arrived as he had predicted and their details matched his descriptions as well.
Water
Prayers Immediately Answered
Everlasting Miracle
Muhammad (pbuh) wasn’t known to have composed poetry and was actually illiterate. However, when God tasked him with prophethood at the age of 40 and began revealing the Quran to him, the Arabs were mesmerized by the supreme eloquence and unique rhythmic style of its verses. It didn’t fit traditional poetic forms nor was it in the category of prose. It was completely different and far superior to any literary work known to them. This wasn’t just the opinion of Muhammad’s (pbuh) followers; even one of his harshest enemies, al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah, reluctantly admitted to the Quran’s greatness: “By God! The words brought forth by this man are such as to be incomparable with any of the others. By God! His words possess a charming sweetness and a particular beauty … it is superior to all other discourses.”
Since the time of Muhammad (pbuh), Muslims have strived to memorize the Quran, aided by its divine style and flow. Today, an estimated 10 million Muslims around the world have memorized the entire book (most of them being non-Arabs).
In the end, another miraculous aspect of the Quran is the fact that it has remained unaltered since its revelation more than 1400 years ago. This, then, truly is the Word of God, as it was revealed to Muhammad (pbuh), who had it scribed in his lifetime.
The Quran, indeed, is the greatest miracle God gave to Muhammad (pbuh) and humanity continues to benefit from its guidance even today.
Note: The acronym – pbuh next to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) represents the invocation Muslims say with his name: May God’s peace and blessings be upon him.