A number of miracles were
bestowed upon and performed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) 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 (peace and blessings be upon
him) also provided us with a number of true prophecies.
Below are accounts of the some of
the other miracles of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) .
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 (peace and blessings be
upon him).
The Traditions mentioned below are all from Sahih
al-Bukhari, the most authentic collection of ahadith.
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Splitting of the Moon
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Food Multiplication
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Water Multiplication
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Supplication for Rain
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Lights to guide Companions
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Crying of the stem of the Date-palm Tree
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Glorification of Allah by the Prophet's meals
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The explusion of a liar's corpse by the Earth
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The Speech of the Wolf
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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)."
Food Multiplication
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.
Water Multiplication
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 him up 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 it 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."
Supplication for Rain
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 Medina, and said, "There is lack of
rain, so please invoke your Lord to bless us with the rain." The Prophet
looked at the sky when no cloud could be detected. Then he invoked Allah for
rain. Clouds started gathering together and it rained till the Medina valleys
started flowing with water. It continued raining till the next Friday. Then that
man (or some other man) stood up while the Prophet was delivering the Friday
sermon, and said, "We are drowned; Please invoke your Lord to withhold it
(rain) from us" The Prophet smiled and said twice or thrice, "O Allah!
Please let it rain round about us and not upon us." The clouds started
dispersing over Medina to the right and to the left, and it rained round about
Medina and not upon Medina. Allah showed them (the people) the miracle of His
Prophet and His response to his invocation.
Lights to guide Companions
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 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).
The Speech of the Wolf
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.l" 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 Medina as narrated in Fath-al-Bari: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 Jerusalem (Arabic: Israa) and Ascent to the Heavens (Arabic: Miraj)
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-ul Maqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) were
actual sights, (not dreams). And the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Quran is the
tree of Zaqqum (itself) .
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 Medina from Ad-Dajjal (who will not be able to enter
the city of Medina)."
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 Paradise in greater numbers
than my followers.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the seventh 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 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 Medina) and its leaves were as big as the ears
of elephants. Gabriel said, 'This is the Lote Tree of the utmost boundary) .
Behold ! There ran four rivers, two were hidden and two were visible, I asked,
'What are these two kinds of rivers, O Gabriel?' He replied,' As for the hidden
rivers, they are two rivers in Paradise and the visible rivers are the Nile and
the Euphrates.'
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 Worshippers."