Mu'jiza (Miracles of the Prophet ﷺ)

A mu’jiza is a supernatural occurrence — beyond the natural order men are accustomed to — granted by Allah at the hands of one claiming prophethood, in order to prove that claim. The word derives from ʿajaza (“to be weak/incapable”): a miracle is what the rest of mankind is too weak to reproduce.

Definition & purpose

• A mu’jiza proves a particular human was sent by Allah. Every prophet was given miracles.
• But a miracle is not the only proof of prophethood: most converts (Abu Bakr, Ali) did not convert because of a miracle. Character, truthfulness, lifestyle and the content of the Message are proofs too. The Quran stresses that miracles do not help the arrogant (Q 6:111; 17:90–93; 15:14–15; 25:21) — which is a mercy, since demanding a miracle and then rejecting it invites destruction (hence most of the Prophet’s ﷺ miracles occurred before the sahaba, not the Quraysh).

Scale

The Dala’il al-Nubuwwah literature (Abu Nu’aym; al-Bayhaqi, 12 vols.) records 1,000+ miracles; al-Nawawi counts 1,200+ authentically narrated. Ibn Hazm: “had the Prophet ﷺ been given no miracle but his own life, that would suffice to prove his prophethood.”

The ten categories (Yasir Qadhi’s grouping)

1. Inanimate objects — the stone that greeted him in Makkah; food and pebbles glorifying Allah in his hand; the weeping palm-trunk (al-hannana) of his mosque (mutawatir); trees moving at his command.
2. Animals — the poisoned lamb at Khaybar that “spoke”; the complaining camel; the camel that prostrated; Suraqa’s sinking horse.
3. Food & water — water gushing from between his fingers (Hudaybiyyah, Tabuk); a little food feeding an army (Khandaq — see Barakah (Divine Blessing)).
4. Divine protection — the Hijra; Abu Jahal driven back at the Ka’bah; every battle.
5. Ilm al-Ghayb (knowledge of the unseen) — given in part, by Allah’s leave (Q 72:26–27), never in full (Q 7:188): the death of the Najashi announced the same hour; describing Jerusalem after the Isra’; the deaths at Mu’tah narrated live; Khosrow’s assassination.
6. Prophecies of the future — the conquests (Arabia, Persia, Rome, Constantinople, Hind); a Muslim navy (Umm Haram); Abdullah ibn Busr living a century; 150–350 prophecies in all.
7. Healings — Qatada’s eye restored at Uhud; Ali’s eyes at Khaybar.
8. Answered du’a — the rain in the Friday khutbah (begun and stopped); the guidance of Abu Hurayra’s mother.
9. Stories of the previous prophets — unknowable to an unlettered Arab; incl. Quranic accounts of Jesus (the cradle-speech, the clay bird) later found in non-canonical gospels.
10. Miscellaneous — the splitting of the moon (Q 54:1); al-Mi’raj (a personal miracle); and above all the Quran — the eternal, standing miracle that still challenges mankind (“the only miracle Allah gave me is the wahy…”, Bukhari).

Cross-references

Wahy (Revelation) & Prophethood · Al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj (The Night Journey & Ascension) · Barakah (Divine Blessing) · Masjid al-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque) · The Najashi (Negus) — As'hama ibn Abjar · The Battle of Mu'tah · Muhammad ﷺ

Sources

• S011 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 085. al-Bayhaqi & Abu Nu’aym (Dala’il al-Nubuwwah); Sahih Bukhari & Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, al-Tabarani, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi; Ibn Hazm, al-Khattabi, Ibn Kathir. Quran 54:1; 72:26–27; 7:188; 6:111; 17:44, 90–93; 11:49.