The diversity of miracles in accordance with the people of every prophet
It was a great wisdom of Allah The Almighty to make the miracles of the messengers match the field of excellence of those to whom the message was sent. This is to stress the establishment of proof against them and to refute their excuses. Moreover, if the prophet's miracle were from an profession unknown to those whom it has been sent to, they would argue that they do not have command over this field and they could imitate this miracle if they mastered it. Here are some examples for how the messengers' miracles matched the field of excellence of their people:
· Moosa, may Allah exalt his mention, was sent to a people amongst whom magic was very popular. Therefore, Allah The Almighty gave him a miracle that surpassed the magic powers of all the magicians in his era, as they were unable to produce anything like it. After the magicians saw this miracle, they realized that this was not an act of witchcraft, but a divine miracle their Lord had given His prophet Moosa to support him. Thereafter, they immediately believed and submitted to Allah The Almighty.
· When Allah The Almighty sent 'Eesa, may Allah exalt his mention, to the children of Israel, the art of medicine was widespread among them. Therefore, the wisdom of Allah The Almighty made many of his miracles similar to the work of physicians. He cured, by the permission of Allah The Almighty, the leper and the congenitally blind, and he gave life to the dead. Leprosy and congenital blindness, not to mention death, are incurable conditions that the physicians of his time were not able to heal. Allah The Almighty gave his prophet 'Eesa, may Allah exalt his mention, the miracle of curing these diseases with a touch and a prayer. This indicated that his method of curing these diseases was certainly not a work of medicine, since doctors may be able to cure leprosy, but only after a long period of treatment, and they can treat accidental blindness, as long as it does not impair the essence of the sight. However, they do not have the power to cure the congenitally blind who have no sight, and this is also applied to the ability to give life to the dead.
· The same principle goes for our Prophet Muhammad, , as he, , was sent to a people of eloquence and fluency, and he, , was an unlettered man who could neither read nor write. Hence, Allah The Almighty gave him a miracle that matched the Arabs' field of excellence, which was eloquence. His miracle was the Quran, and Allah The Almighty challenged the Arabs to produce the like of it, which they failed to do. Then He challenged them to bring ten Soorahs (chapters) like it and they failed; even when He challenged them to produce only one Soorah like it, they failed. Finally, He informed them that even if all of humankind gathered and the Jinn helped them in an effort to produce something similar of the Quran, all their efforts would be in vain, as it is impossible for them to it. Allah The Almighty Said (what means): {Say, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants."}[Quran 17:88}.
The previous examples do not mean that all miracles are of one type, which is the miracles that happened in accordance with the circumstances of every people. There were some miracles that took place upon request from those whom the message was sent. For instance:
· When the disciples asked 'Eesa, may Allah exalt his mention, to ask Allah The Almighty to send down to them a table spread with food, and he responded to their request, whereupon Allah The Almighty fulfilled his supplication.
· Also when the people of Saalih, may Allah exalt his mention, asked him to bring a she-camel out of the rock, and he asked that from Allah The Almighty and Allah heard and answered his supplication.
· The Prophet Muhammad, had been given some miracles after requests from his people as well, like the miracle of splitting the moon and the miracle of water streaming from between his fingers, , and so on.
Nevertheless, all miracles have the same purpose, which is supporting the prophets and showing their truthfulness of their messages.