God sent miracles to Prophets in the past including Prophet Muhammad in order to strengthen the faith of those in doubt and establish His message firmly.
Yet, such miracles are no more.
Why?
Let us first examine the definition of miracle:
“A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” (Oxford Dictionaries)
Many people may have had extraordinary experiences that they may call miracle, but there is a difference between these events and divinely ordained miracles given to Prophets.
For example, the parting of the Red Sea during Moses Exodus from Egypt, the bringing to life of the dead by Jesus, the revelation of Quran to an illiterate Prophet, which contains information not known to mankind as well as scientific statements unknown to humans until just the recent century. Certainly these were all performed by the permission of the Creator for specific reasons.
If one were to accept that the Quran is the unchanged word of God, then the rest of this article would go like a breeze. If one, on the other hand is in doubt about this divinely revealed Book, then it might be more appropriate to do more research on this topic before moving on.
Since monotheism was the main message all Prophets were sent to remind people of, there were no longer any need for more Prophets after Muhammad, as his message was the final message and according to God, he was the final Prophet.
{Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is ever Aware of all things.} (Al-Ahzab 33:40)
Given that Prophet Muhammad was the seal of the Prophets, it would make sense that Islam would be the last of the religions ordained by God as stated below:
{[…] This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion […]} (Al-Ma’idah 5:3)
Thus, Quran contains all that one needs to know to believe in God. This is a very significant fact that cannot be overlooked due to one’s lack of knowledge or lack of interest to dig deeper in this divine revelation.
There are some well-meaning individuals who put God to test by wishing to see a miracle from Him in order to fully believe that He is there and cares for them.
Such persons do believe in God but have no personal relationship with Him. Such was also the case of the tribe of Quraysh to whom Muhammad was preaching at the advent of Islam.
They surely did believe in God as the Creator, but they also worshiped idols besides Him. Here are some examples of their stubborn resistance:
{If you asked them,”Who created the heavens and earth and subjected the sun and the moon?” they would surely say, “Allah.” Then how are they deluded?} (Al-Ankabut 29:61)
They surely knew who God was, but did not know they were in a state of ignorance.
{And if you asked them, Who created the heavens and earth?” they would surely say, “Allah.” Say, “[All] praise is [due] to Allah”; but most of them do not know.} (Luqman 31:25)
So, while they did believe in the supreme Creator, they considered the message of monotheism in conflict with their idolatry beliefs which included worshiping over 300 gods. They thought it was only through their idols that they could reach God.
{And if you asked them, “Who created the heavens and the earth?” They would surely say, “Allah.” Say, “Then have you considered what you invoke besides Allah?} (Az-Zumar 39:38)
But they claimed that if God was reachable without the idols, then let Him show them a sign before they could believe. If God could hear them directly and cared, let Him bring forth some miracles.
{They said, “We will not believe you unless you cause a spring to gush out of the ground.} (Al-Isra’ 17:90)
More demands followed:
{Or unless you own a garden of date palms and grapes, with rivers running through it.} (17:91)
But even this would not be enough:
{Or unless you cause masses from the sky, as you claimed, to fall on us. Or unless you bring God and the angels before our eyes.} (17:92)
Were all these demands signs of genuine desire to believe or mere defiance?
{Or unless you own a luxurious mansion, or unless you climb into the sky. Even if you do climb, we will not believe unless you bring a book that we can read.” Say (oh Muhammad), “Glory be to my Lord. Am I any more than an ordinary human and a messenger?”} (17:93)
Since the Prophet’s tribe did not consider the revelation of the Quran as a miracle, they were still waiting for something extraordinary. Their belief in God for them required believing in Muhammad, but they kept testing him.
{They say, “How come no miracle came down to him (Muhammad) from his Lord?” Say (oh Muhammad), “The future belongs to God; so wait, and I am waiting along with you.””} (10:20)
Yes, the revelation contained many clear signs, but they still awaited something more extraordinary in order to believe. Yet, God knew they will not believe even if all their demands were met.
{They said, “If only a miracle could come down to him (Muhammad) from his Lord!” Say, “God is able to send down a sign, but most of them do not know.”} (6:37)
Let us hope that the ones who expect miracles in order to believe that God is still there for them are not like the ones mentioned above.
One should examine his/her intention in regard to the last message God sent to the last of His Prophets. If there is assurance in the heart of the seeker that the Quran is the word of God, unchanged, then he can observe that God clearly tells us that he has been and will always be there for his human creatures and respond to their needs.
{And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.} (2:186)
There are numerous verses such as the above verses. As we notice, they are in present tense, meaning, this is a perpetual promise. Although God mentions times when He aided the believers of the past and their Prophets, His promise to continuously hear and aid the believers till their final day on earth is overwhelmingly clear in the Quran.
If we read the second part of above verse, we notice that God is telling the seekers what they need to do to reach Him. He says:
{So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.} (2:186)
Obedience to God means understanding and adhering to His commandments and at the same time, firmly believing in Him as the only Creator of the all that exits.
If we spend some of our valuable time to get closer to God by understanding Him through His Book, it may answer much of the seekers’ questions. But if we do not understand the Divine revelation and keep putting the Supreme Creator to test, we will never win. Once we get the right answer, our mind quickly jumps to another obstacle to believing in Him and come up with more questions that may be more a sign of resistance to surrender than sincere inquiry.
Let us assume that the seeker is truly not putting God to test and is genuinely seeking an answer. He may say, the above verse requires one to believe in God and obey Him, but why are the supplications of others who are disbelievers answered? The supreme Creator Himself answers by showing His manifest grace to all mankind and gives them what they seek.
{[…] And among the people is he who says, Our Lord, give us in this world,” (which Allah may give) and he will have in the Hereafter no share.} (2:200)
Yet seeking bliss in this world must include belief in the Hereafter and success in final destination.
{But among them is he who says, “Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”} (2:201)
And finally the genuine seekers take to heart the statement of God and consider this warning as a clear and open door for them to enter to and remain in the religion of Islam with certainty and peace so that they will not be among the losers.
{And whoever desires other than Islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.} (3:85)
The post If God Really Cares, Let Him Send Me a Miracle! appeared first on About Islam.
source https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/if-god-really-cares-let-him-send-me-a-miracle/
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