Why was the miracle of our Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, different from those of other prophets?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Allaah The Almighty supported His prophets with miracles as  proof of their truthfulness. The miracle of each prophet was suitable for the people to whom he was sent. The people of Moosaa (Moses) were skilled at magic so they were given the miracle that was appropriate for them. Allaah The Almighty invalidated their magic with the miracle they witnessed at the hands of Moosaa . They failed to defeat him despite their experience and skill in that field. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {So the truth was established, and abolished was what they were doing.} [Quran 7:118]  ‘Eesaa (Jesus) was also granted a miracle that suited his people’s profession, which was medicine. Allaah The Almighty  granted him the ability to cure complex diseases and to restore the dead to life.

It is worthy to note that all the miracles of the previous prophets had two features in common. The first is that they were all perceptible miracles, like the stick that was turned into a snake and the splitting of the sea for Moosaa . Also, the fire becoming cold and safe for Ibraaheem (Abraham) bringing the dead back to life and curing the sick as happened with ‘Eesaa were all perceptible miracles. The second common feature is that all these miracles were restricted to a certain time and place, meaning, they were neither universal nor eternal, because each prophet was sent particularly to his own people. On the other hand, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was the last and final prophet, and his message is the final one. Hence, Allaah The Almighty supported him with two kinds of miracles:

The first were the perceptible miracles that were witnessed by all those who were with him and those who accompanied him, like, for example the splitting of the moon, the springing of water from underneath his fingers, as well as other miracles of the same sort that are mentioned in many Hadeeths.  This kind of miracle was just like those with which Allaah The Almighty supported other prophets.

The second kind is a spiritual and mental miracle represented in the Holy Quran that has been made an eternal means for establishing indisputable awareness among people throughout the years. It is definitely a miracle because no one can ever produce anything like it, for Allaah The Almighty Says (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] They failed and will never succeed in coming up with its like despite their earnest desire to prove that it is not from Allaah The Almighty. The Quran challenges them directly and explicitly to produce something like it. They are challenged to produce even only one chapter, and their inability to take up that challenge together with their insistence on disbelieving in the Holy Book indicates their complete failure. Hence, it becomes clear that the miracle of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is unique. It is great, universal and eternal. This is supported by the Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Hurayrah where the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned that all prophets were given miracles because of which their people came to believe in them, and he was given Divine Inspiration (i.e., the Quran) that was revealed to him. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then supplicated to Allaah The Almighty that his followers would outnumber those of other prophets on the Day of Judgment. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

In other words, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that his miracle, with which he challenged the whole world, is the Quran, as mentioned by Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar . For further information, see Fatwa 49129.

Allaah Knows best.