In addition to miracles being a mutawātir phenomenon of the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم ministry, there are specific miracles whose mutawātir transmission elevates them above any possibility of fabrication. The remainder of this chapter discusses this subset, but let us first assert that requiring mutawātir testimony before believing anything is cynicism, not prudence. Most of acquired human knowledge comes through āḥād reports, such as reading something from a single source, and so this stipulation would prevent us from believing any bit of news that people circulate. It might even prevent us from believing our own eyes when we are the sole witness to an event. We generally trust our eyes, at least until we are compelled by stronger reasons to suspect them. Hence, after realizing the possibility and demonstrability of miracles in principle, even āḥād reports of them should not be dismissed whenever their reliability is defensible and no defects in their transmission have been identified.

In a brilliant passage in Fatḥ al-Bārī, Ibn Ḥajar (d. 1449) speaks on the abundance of the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم miracles and says, This collectively confers necessary knowledge (certainty)

that a great number of supernatural events occurred at his hands صلى الله عليه وسلم, in the same manner that someone can conclusively assert the generosity of Ḥātim [al-Ṭā’ī] and the courage of ‘Alī, even if the individual reports on this are only speculative due to their being reported through āḥād chains. However, it should be noted that many of the Prophet’s miracles became well-known and widespread, were narrated by huge groups of people (mutawātir), and consequently conferred certainty by the scholars of transmission, biographical verification, and testimony authentication—even if those unfamiliar with these disciplines did not reach this degree of confidence regarding them. In fact, if someone were to claim that most of these incidents (even the non-mutawātir) were definitively established, this would not be far-fetched because it is undeniable how accurately these narrators usually related these accounts in every layer of transmission.

Furthermore, it is not documented from the Companions [of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم] or those after them a single conflicting report that challenges these accounts, and this silence necessitates approval since they are collectively above turning a blind eye to falsehood. And hypothetically, had they denied one another’s reports on these miracles, this would only be due to doubting the reliability of the narrator, or accusing him of lying, poor memory, or senility. As for the content of the narration itself, nobody ever criticized it.354

Thus, even āḥād reports about miracles can be considered authentic and reliable. Despite this, the following accounts of specific miracles will be restricted to the most indisputable examples, those established by mutawātir transmission.

The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two].

And if they see any miracle, they turn away and say, “Passing magic.” And they denied and followed their desires—and every matter will be settled.355

In an attempt to stump the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, disbelievers from the Quraysh clan demanded an undeniable sign from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, which led to God splitting the moon before their eyes.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then said, “Bear witness.”356 The baffled crowd said that Muhammad must have cast a spell on them, but since he could not have cast a spell on everyone, they decided to ask the travelers from surrounding areas if they saw what they did. They sent riders racing out to question those beyond the city of Mecca, and they too confirmed having seen the exact same phenomenon in the night sky.357 Ultimately, the idolaters from Quraysh chose denial and they were forced to deny their own eyes.

Numerous luminaries of Hadith have independently verified the mutawātir-grade reporting of this miraculous event by exploring its narrators from every layer of transmission. This was done by al-Subkī in Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar Ibn al-Ḥā jib, Ibn Ḥajar in al-Amālī, al-Qurṭubī in al-Mufhim, Ibn Kathīr in al-Bidāyah wal-Nihāyah, Imam al-Munāwī in Sharḥ Alfiyat al-‘Irāqī, and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 1071), among others.358

In describing many reports of the moon-splitting, Ibn Kathīr (d. 1373) brings a key aspect of this incident to our attention:

When the moon split, it never left the sky, rather it cleaved once the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gestured to it and became two pieces. It only proceeded to hover behind Mount Ḥirā’, setting the mountain between itself and its counterpart, as described by Ibn Mas‘ūd  who reports witnessing this himself.359

Imam al-Khaṭṭ ābī (d. 988) similarly said, The moon splitting was a grand sign to which no other prophet’s miracle could compare, for it was something that appeared in the distant sky that was contrary to every naturally existing phenomenon which this world is comprised of. It therefore falls beyond what anyone can hope to achieve through trickery, making its proof value even more evident.360

Of the bizarre objections to this incident is the expectation that there should be scientifically detectable sequelae to a supernatural event, such as a gravitational disturbance or a geological trace on the moon’s surface. However, this is a fallacious objection. The splitting of the moon was a miraculous phenomenon, something that transcended the natural order.

Glory be to the One Who took His servant [Muhammad] by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We might show him of Our signs. Indeed, He Alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing.362

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was taken from Mecca to Jerusalem and back in a single night, a journey that would ordinarily take a full month for any traveler in the seventh century. When the pagans caught scent of this story being shared the following morning, they became jubilant with hopes of finally proving Muhammad was a madman. They rushed to gather everyone around him, and to their delight, people literally fell off their seats in laughter upon hearing this “ludicrous tale” from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Saddened by their mockery and disbelief, he صلى الله عليه وسلم proceeded to the Ka‘bah where he praised God and asked Him to be reshown Jerusalem. To the dismay of everyone present, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then began describing that blessed city in exquisite detail, as if he was walking through it at that very moment.

People nervously turned to the Meccan traders who—unlike Muhammad—were known to frequent Jerusalem, only to find them admitting his accuracy. Many still denied him and stormed off in frustration.

As history tends to repeat itself, the leading critics of Islam today—like the new atheists Richard Dawkins363 and Sam Harris364— also love to taunt Muslims who “reject scientific realism” and accept that “Muhammad flew to heaven on a winged horse.” However, this shows demonstrable ignorance about the Islamic faith, in addition to fallacious reasoning that actually undermines the scientific enterprise. With regards to their lack of familiarity with what Islamic sources actually say, it should be known that the creature called al-Burāq was emphatically not a winged horse and was never described as such by the Prophet Muhammad 365 .صلى الله عليه وسلم Moreover, the narrations explicitly mention that al-Burāq took the Prophet to Jerusalem; the mechanism by which God raised the Prophet to Heaven is a different matter, as has been discussed in the Islamic tradition.366

As for the logical fallacy behind this argument, it is grounded only in what is known as argumentum ad incredulum—the argument from incredulity. They seek for people to ridicule a belief purely because it sounds unimaginable and fantastically foreign to the natural realm. Yet, it is indeed the logical consequence of belief in an omnipotent God that such mirac-ulous matters lie entirely within His Capability. Moreover, the argument from incredulity would entail the demise of science for it is science that continually challenges our imagination of what is possible, unveiling the unfathomable world of quantum mechanics, bringing to light the possibility of multiple dimensions, and so on. To dismiss something out of hand simply based on incredulity would spell the end of the scientific enterprise which challenges us to explore the frontiers beyond what is imaginable.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar  reports that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to deliver his sermons while standing beside the trunk of a datepalm tree. Upon the request of an Anṣārī woman, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم permitted that a small pulpit of three steps be constructed for him so that he would be more visible and project his voice farther into the growing audience. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ascended the new pulpit on the following Friday, loud sounds of weeping emerged from this tree-trunk. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم descended and went over to it and began caressing it with his hand just as someone does to quiet a child. Anas ibn Mālik  adds, “And the mosque shook from its whimpers.” Sahl ibn Sa‘d  adds, “Many people started weeping from hearing its crying and moaning.” Ibn ‘Abbās  adds, “He صلى الله عليه وسلم went and hugged it until it quieted, then said, ‘Had I not embraced it, it would have continued like this until the Day of Resurrection.’” Jābir  adds, “It was weeping over missing the Revelation that it would hear [recited] close by.” These were only five Companions who reported this incident firsthand, though nearly twenty in total were present, according to the leading Hadith authorities. Ibn Ḥajar summarizes this investigation by saying, “The hadith of the tree weeping and moon splitting have each been transmitted by an enormous number, one that offers sure knowledge for Hadith experts who examine their chains of transmission, not those untrained in that, and Allah knows best.”373 Similarly, al-Munāwī reports this hadith on the tree whimpering through many authentic chains which collectively entail it being a mutawātir event, then states that it has been narrated from nearly twenty Companions.

374 Their corroboration led al-Bayhaqī to say that tracing the narrations of this incident to verify whether it happened or not, after an entire generation conveyed it to an entire generation, is unnecessary.375

In the Noble Qur’an, Allah tells us that of the powerful signs He granted Prophet David  was that his melodious glorifications of God would be echoed by the towering mountains and soaring birds around the clock: “And We certainly gave David from Us bounty. [We said], ‘O mountains, repeat [Our] praises with him, and the birds [as well].’ And We made pliable for him iron.”376 With this same miracle, Allah endorsed the Prophet Muhammad .صلى الله عليه وسلم Inanimate objects would glorify God in his hands, and even testify to his ministry as messenger and prophet. ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd  said, “We used to hear the food making tasbīḥ (glorifying Allah) as he ate.”377 The dish would praise God in the presence of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when the food was placed before him. Similarly, Abū Dharr  said, I was present with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in a circle, and in his hands were pebbles, and everyone in the circle could hear their tasbīḥ. He then passed them to Abū Bakr, and they made tasbīḥ with Abū Bakr [as well]; everyone in the circle could hear their tasbīḥ. He then passed them back to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and they made tasbīḥ in his hand again. He then passed them to ‘Umar, and they made tasbīḥ in his hand, and everyone in the circle could hear their tasbīh. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then passed them to ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān, and they made tasbīh in his hand.

He then passed them to us, and they did not make tasbīḥ with any one of us.378

The very first miracles by which Allah prepared Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم were of these types. Even before his prophethood, the stones would greet him. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “I certainly know stones in Mecca that used to greet me before I was commissioned, and I recognize them even now.”379

And after becoming the Prophet of God, the Companions witnessed this as well. ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib  says, “We were with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم in Mecca, and we did not encounter any tree or mountain but that it said, ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah.’”380

Imam al-Nawawī says, “These hadith on water gushing from between his fingers and increasing for him, and the food supply increasing as well, are all clear miracles performed by Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم on many occasions and under different conditions and have collectively reached mutawātir status.”381

Hadith scholars have prolific compilations on these incidents, of which is the following account from ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd :

We used to consider miracles as Allah’s Blessings, but you people consider them to be threatening. We were once with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم on a journey, and our water ran short. He said, “Bring me the remaining water.” The people presented him a vessel containing water, in which he then placed his hands and said, “Come get the blessed purification water, and all blessings are from Allah.” I saw the water flowing from between the fingers of Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. Indeed, we used to also hear the food glorifying Allah as it was being eaten [by him].382

Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh  narrated that the people became very thirsty on the Day of al-Ḥudaybīyah. There was a small pot containing some water in front of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and he found the people rushing towards him as he finished performing his ritual ablution with it. He صلى الله عليه وسلم asked them, “What has happened?” They said, “We have water neither for ablution nor drinking.” So he صلى الله عليه وسلم placed his palm into that pot, and water began flowing upwards from between his fingers like springs. He said, “All those seeking ablution, come forward; the blessing is from Allah.” Jābir said, “We all drank and performed ablution [from that pot], and I did not care how much I drank because I knew it was blessed.” One narrator asked Jābir, “How many were you?” He said, “Even if we had been one hundred thousand, it would have been sufficient for us, but we were fifteen hundred.” 383 Anas ibn Mālik  personally narrated several other nearly identical incidents of water pouring forth from between the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم blessed fingers.384 These reports suggest that water was emerging from the actual fingers of the Prophet ,صلى الله عليه وسلم or that it sprang through the gaps between them. Most Hadith interpreters—including al-Baghawī and al-Suyūṭī—chose the first view, and consequently deemed this feat particularly exceptional.

Salamah ibn al-Akwa‘  narrates:

We once set out on an expedition with Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and faced great hardship, and decided to slaughter some of our riding animals [for food]. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم ordered us to pool our food rations, so we spread a sheet and leather where everyone’s rations were collected. I stretched myself to assess how much that was, and it was only the area a small goat could sit on. We were fourteen hundred people, and we each ate to our satisfaction and then filled our bags with provisions.

The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم then said, “Is there any water for performing ablution?” A man came forward with a small container that held very little water, which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم emptied into a wider basin. From that amount, all thoroughly performed their ablution. Eight individuals later came and said, “Is there any water left to perform ablution?” Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم replied, “The ablution water is finished.”385

As Imam al-Nawawī points out elsewhere, When a Companion narrates something this incredible and cites as evidence personally attending it himself along with the other Companions, who hear his narration and claim or hear about it, and do not denounce him, that further confirms it and necessitates sure knowledge about the truth of his words.386

Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh  reports that his father, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn Ḥarām , died and left behind a sizable debt. He said, So I sought the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم help with his creditors so that they would reduce his debt. He صلى الله عليه وسلم requested this from them, but they refused, so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to me, “Go divide your dates according to their kinds; set the ‘Ajwa dates on one side and the ‘Idhq Ibn Zayd on another side. Then notify me.” I did so, then notified the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. He came, sat down, then said, “Measure for the people (creditors).” I measured out their amounts until I had repaid them all that they were owed, and my dates remained as if nothing had decreased from them.” When ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭ āb  was informed of this miraculous surplus, he said, “Once the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم walked into the garden, I knew it would become blessed.”387

‘Abdul-Rahmān ibn Abī Bakr  reports:

There were 130 of us with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and he said to us, “Does any one of you have food with him?” One man had about a sā‘ of food, and so that was mixed. 388

Then a tall pagan man with disheveled hair came by driving some sheep. The Prophet said to him, “Selling or gifting?” He said, “Selling.” He purchased a sheep from him, it was cooked, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ordered that the liver be roasted as well. By Allah, there was not a single person from the 130 except that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم cut for him a piece of its liver; those who were present were given, and those absent were stowed for. It was made into two dishes which they all ate from, and we had our fill, and yet the two dishes remained, and we loaded them onto a camel.

Al-Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ says, “The Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم supplications being answered for those he prayed for and against is mutawātir in principle, known by necessity.”392 He meant that God responded to the prayers of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم on so many occasions, and this was corroborated by testimony from so many people, that doubting it would be wholly irrational. An outnumbered and unequipped Muslim army was granted victory by God at the Battle of Badr, milk was drawn from the udders of a non-lactating goat, and rain poured from a cloudless sky—all by virtue of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم raising his palms to the heavens, and those who spent the shortest time with him witnessed these events and many were driven to conviction by them.

Anas ibn Mālik  narrates:

As the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was once delivering a Friday sermon, a man rose and said, “O Messenger of Allah, the horses and sheep have perished! Will you not invoke Allah to bless us with rain?” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم lifted his hands and supplicated at a time when the sky was as clear as glass. Suddenly wind blew, driving together the clouds and causing heavy rain. We exited the mosque wading through the flowing water till we reached our homes. It kept raining until the following Friday, when the same man—or another man—stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, the houses have almost collapsed; please ask Allah to withhold the rain!” Hearing that, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم smiled and said, “O Allah, [let it rain] around us and not upon us.”393 I looked to the clouds and found them separating into a crown-like formation around Madinah.394

Abū Hurayrah  narrates that he once came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم with tears in his eyes, which caused him to ask, “What makes you cry, O Abū Hurayrah?” He said, “I keep inviting my mother to Islam, but she continues to reject it. Today, I invited her again and heard from her painful words about you. Pray that Allah opens the heart of Abū Hurayrah’s mother to Islam.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم obliged and said, “O Allah, guide the mother of Abū Hurayrah.” Abū Hurayrah narrates:

I left hopeful due to the prayer of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and returned home to find the door partially open and could hear water splashing inside. When my mother heard my footsteps, she said, “Stay where you are, O Abū Hurayrah.” After putting on her clothes, she instructed me to enter. When I entered, she said, “I testify that none is worthy of worship but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.” I returned to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم weeping with joy, just as an hour earlier I had gone weeping in sadness, and said, “Great news, O Messenger of Allah! Allah has answered your prayer and guided the mother of Abū Hurayrah to Islam.” He praised Allah and thanked Him, and then I said, “O Messenger of Allah, pray that Allah make my mother and I beloved to His believing slaves, and make them beloved to us.” He صلى الله عليه وسلم obliged, and there has not since been a believing slave who hears of me, or sees me, except that he loves me.”