النص المفهرس
صفحات 441-460
441 The Life of Muhammad demanded by those who are either unable to understand intellectual principles or are stubborn and obstinate. The intellectual miracles The first intellectual miracle This refers to Rasulullah's appearance and life, his unique noble characteristics, his good and beautiful deeds, and his intellectual and practical merits. This is an intellectual proof of this prophet-hood and messenger-ship for those endowed with intelligence. The person who witnessed his appearance and life, would certainly be convinced that the blessed person who possesses such character, such deeds, such intellectual and practical merits which were neither seen by anyone nor heard by anyone, has to be from Allah - who created his appearance and life completely different and distinct from everyone else. Such merits cannot be acquired through individual efforts and exercises. The second intellectual miracle Allah % gave Rasūlullah % a perfect and miraculous Book, viz. the Qur'an. This is an eternal proof of his prophet-hood. It is a unique treasure house of intellectual wisdom, practical wisdom, the wisdom of morals, domestic planning, political organization, external purity and internal purity. It is clear that for an unlettered person who neither studied under a teacher, opened the door of any school, nor remained in the company of any scholar or wise person - to produce such a miraculous and irrefutable Book can be nothing but through divine revelation, divine teaching, divine inspiration, and heavenly bestowal. The Qur'an is the greatest miracle of Rasulullah % which can never subside nor come to an end. It has been transmitted through such continuity and tawatur that no other book in the world enjoys such continuity and tawatur. It is a treasure house of such irrefutable sciences and facts that the greatest of 442 The Life of Muhammad intellectuals cannot provide a reply to it. As regards its style and eloquence, its sciences and truths, and the fact that it is totally protected from changes and interpolations, there is nothing in this world that can ever compare or compete with the Qur'an. The Qur'an is announcing for the last 1425 years that if anyone has the courage, he should write a reply to the Qur'an. Till today, not a single person had the courage to produce a small chapter like that of the Qur'an. There have been great litterateurs and men of letters since the era of Rasulullah and in every century thereafter who were opponents of this religion of Islam. Not a single one of them could produce anything like the Qur'an. Hafiz Fadl Allah Taurbashtī rahimahullāh writes in al- Mu 'tamad fi al-Mu'tagad that when the Prophets are commanded by Allah % to invite towards the truth, then in order to affirm their call, they are given miracles. It is as though the call and the proof thereof are two separate entities. However, Prophet Muhammad % alone was given a miracle like the Qur'an wherein the call and the proof thereof have both been combined. As regards its meaning, the Qur'an is a call. And as regards its eloquence and style, it is a proof of that call. Thus, the proof of the Qur'an is in itself and in it is its call as well. Is this insufficient for the virtue and superiority of the Qur'an that its call and the proof thereof are both found in it? And that both of them will not be separated from each other forever? The third intellectual miracle Hafiz Taurbashtī rahimahullah says that even the different conditions of Rasūlullah's life are proof of his prophet-hood. If one were to ponder over these, one will be convinced of his truthfulness. In the beginning, Rasūlullah % was an orphan. He did not have any power with which he could make people to believe his call. Nor did he possess wealth through which he 443 The Life of Muhammad % could have attracted the Quraysh. He did not possess any authority and influence in whose quest the people could have rallied around him. Rather, he was all alone without any helper or assistant. No person agreed with his call. So much so, that even his close relatives were his enemies and opponents. Rasulullah % came with the call of tauhid (oneness of Allah (s) while the entire Arabian peninsular was drowing in polytheism and idol worship. Looting, adultery, female infanticide and various other ills became their second nature. When the call of Rasūlullah % came to the fore, their entire condition changed. They all unanimously rallied around the true religion. Their greed, avarice, lust-worship and all other evils were changed into noble qualities and good deeds. They became so dedicated in following the true religion that they were prepared to live a life of difficulty, asceticism, and separation from their families. They spent their lives and wealth for the cause of Allah % like water - in which there was not even a taint of material motives. He made this crooked nation so worthy, that it was able to render the two greatest powers of that time, Rome and Persia, into smithereens and throw all the treasures of Caesar and Choesroes in the courtyard of Musjid-e-Nabawī. When a person ponders over these conditions and revolutions, he is convinced that such great feats could not have been achieved through intellectual and rational planning. Human strength and endeavour cannot reach such a level. This is nothing but a manifestation of Allah's % power and assistance. It is not possible without the order and command of Allah de. Human will and spirit have no influence in this. The Qur'an also makes reference to this: "Were you to spend all that is in the earth, you would not have been able to reconcile their hearts. Rather, it is Allah who reconciled their hearts." (Sūrah al-Anfal, verse 13) 444 The Life of Muhammad The fourth intellectual miracle Rasūlullah % openly proclaimed before the scholars of the Taurah and Injil: "Allah gave glad tidings of my coming in the Taurah and Injil. The Prophets of the past also proclaimed that there will eventually come a time when the final Prophet will be sent whose prophet-hood will be for the entire mankind and jinn. You, people of the Book, have knowledge of this. You should therefore believe in me." After this call and invitation of Rasūlullah , many people of the Book embraced Islam and they gave testimony that Rasūlullah % is certainly the Prophet whose glad tidings are given in the Taurāh and Injīl. Due to their jealousy, many other people of the Book did not believe in Rasūlullah % despite having knowledge of him and despite their scholars having related these glad tidings before the advent of Rasulullah . They used to say to the people of Makkah: "O people of Makkah! The time for the final Prophet has drawn near." The reason for their jealousy and opposition is that they feared losing their authority and leadership. They therefore did not embrace Islam. However, none of them had the audacity to reject those verses of the Qur'an which mention that Rasūlullah is mentioned in the Taurah and Injil. In fact, the Qur'an even claims that the Sahabah & are mentioned in these Books. Allah says: "That is their similitude in the Taurah and their similitude in the Injīl." The 'ulama' of the people of the Book could not say that this information of the Qur'an is incorrect or that neither Rasūlullah nor the Sahabah & are mentioned in the Taurah and Injil. At the time when these verses were revealed, there were numerous 'ulamā' of the Jews and Christians in the Arabian peninsular. If this claim of the Qur'an was incorrect, these 'ulama' would have exposed this error so that those Jews and Christians who 445 The Life of Muhammad % had embraced Islam will come back, and others will not want to leave their Judaism and Christianity in order to embrace Islam. The fifth intellectual miracle At the time when Rasulullah was commissioned as a Prophet, the entire world was drowning in deviation and engrossed in various types of deviation. At that time, there were primarily six religions: 1. The Magaens. This religion was mostly prevalent in Persia extending toward Khurāsān and Turkistan. The rule of Choesroes was overlooking this religion. The Magaens believed in two gods: Yazdan and Ahraman. They used to worship fire and consume carrion. They used to marry their daughters and sisters. The situation was even worse when it came to their paternal and maternal aunts. 2. The Christians. This religion was found in Syria, Iraq and other places in that region. Caesar of Rome was a Christian by faith. This religion therefore progressed under the protection of the Roman ruler. These people believed in the trinity, in 'Isa su being the son of God, in the divinity of 'Îsa , and that 'Îsa stal died for their sins. 3. The Jews. They believed in the Taurah. However, their obstinacy and pride had reached such a level that it had become their norm to kill their Prophets and their scholars for the different admonitions that the latter gave to them. Allah % says: "They kill the Prophets unjustly and they kill those who command justice." (Sūrah Al 'Imran, verse 21) The majority of the Jews lived in Yemen, Khaybar and around Madinah. Turning away from their religion, giving bribes in order to change the injunctions of their religion, and making 446 The Life of Muhammad changes to the divine Books that were sent to their Prophets were all their salient characteristics. 4. The Polytheists. In other words, those who worshipped idols. This religion was prevalent in the Arabian peninsular and in India. 5. The Sabaens. They believed in the spirits and worshipped the stars. This religion was more in vogue in Harran and Iraq. During the rule of Namrud, most of the people followed this religion. Allah % sent Ibrahim Sell for the guidance of these people. Allah says: "Surely those who believed, and those who are Jews, and the Sabaens, and the Christians, and the Magaens, and those who are polytheists - Allah shall decide between them on the day of resurrection. Surely Allah is witness to everything." (Sūrah al-Hajj, verse 17). This verse makes mention of these five religions which were prevalent in the world at the time when Rasulullah was commissioned as a Prophet. 6. The atheists. The above verse which mentioned the five religions were the well known religions. Apart from them, there was a group of atheists regarding whom Allah % says: "They say: 'There is no life except the life of this world. We live and die. Nothing but time destroys us.' They have no knowledge thereof. They are merely making assumptions." (Sūrah al-Jāthiyah, verse 24) The Qur'an makes repeated mention of this group. The dawn of Islam Rasulullah % came to this world with the religion of Islam. The above-mentioned religions were present in the world. These religions were under the protection and support of the different kings and rulers. Islam was in opposition to all these religions. The person who brought this religion of Islam was an orphan 447 The Life of Muhammad and a poor unlettered person. After being commissioned as a Prophet, he presented this religion to the world. He refuted all the proofs and evidences of all the religions in such a manner that the world was left astonished. He engaged in debates with the greatest Jewish and Christian scholars. However, not a single one of them could refute any of his proofs and evidences. This, despite the fact that he was unlettered - he could neither read nor write. The Qur'an and Hadith are filled with refutations of baseless religions. This is a clear proof that Rasulullah was certainly inspired and helped by Allah . The reason for this is that, while being unlettered, it is impossible to prove the authenticity of Islam through absolute and clear proofs, and refute the proofs of other religions. When the truth became apparent before the world after a continuous struggle of 13 years, and there remained no possibility of any doubts and misgivings, Rasūlullah %, acting under the command of Allah , emigrated from Makkah. Again, acting under the command of Allah , he waged jihad against the opponents of the truth one year after the emigration. In accordance with the promise of Allah , he was victorious over his enemies. During all these battles and military expeditions, such astonishing feats were displayed that when the enemies of Islam witnessed them, they realized that such astonishing feats together with this lack of resources at the hands of such poor and pitiable people, and this disgrace and humiliation which they suffered at the hands of these Muslims - all this is impossible without divine help and assistance. Eventually, when they had no alternative, they submitted before the truth and entered the religion of Allah s in droves. The sixth intellectual miracle Rasūlullah % giving information of the unseen, it proving true to the letter and not being incorrect in the least, his relating the incidents and stories of the Prophets of the past and the nations 448 The Life of Muhammad of the past in a manner as though he was present there and saw them with his own eyes and heard them with his own ears, his exposing the inner secrets and thoughts of the hypocrites and his opponents - which are related in the books of Hadith and tafsir - all this is a clear proof that this person is one to whom divine revelation comes. This is because such predictions through the intellect alone are impossible. Knowledge of incidents which are beyond the intellect, imagination, circumstances and proofs cannot be acquired without divine revelation and divine inspiration. The seventh intellectual miracle The fact that Rasulullah's % supplications were accepted is also a clear proof that he is a true Prophet. Whatever supplication he made was accepted in the court of Allah . The perceptual miracles Apart from the intellectual and internal miracles which Allah ! blessed Rasūlullah % with, He also gave him numerous external and perceptual miracles. These can be perceived by the senses. For example, under the request of the unbelievers of Makkah, Rasūlullah % pointed to the moon and split it in two. Water gushed forth from his fingers. About 1500 Sahabah quenched their thirst from this water, they all performed ablution with it, and they also gave this water to their animals to drink. They then filled their containers and water-skins with this water. A small amount of food sufficed an entire army. Trees walked towards him when he summoned them. Trees and rocks greeted him. Roasted meat which was poisoned was presented before him. It addressed him and asked him not to eat it because the enemies had poisoned it. Pebbles that were in his hand read the tasbih (glorification of Allah (%). And numerous other such miracles so that onlookers may realize that this person has been chosen by Allah , he is His deputy and His 449 The Life of Muhammad ambassador who has come with His orders and guidelines. It is for this reason that these extraordinary feats are performed at his hands. These are signs of ambassadorship on behalf of Allah g. Human power alone is unable to display these feats. Such extraordinary feats are impossible without divine help. From this we can conclude that this person is helped by Allah . That this person enjoys the unseen help of such a blessed Being in whose hands are the reins of nature, the planets, the stars, etc. That when He wills, He enables His chosen servant to split the moon by the mere indication of his finger. That when He wills, He enables fountains of water to gush forth from between his fingers without any outward cause. All this He does so that the experts of nature and those who look for causes in everything may realize that there is such a Being who is not restricted and confined to any causes and reasons. This claimant to prophet-hood at whose hands these supernatural feats are demonstrated is a Messenger of that very absolute power and true Allah who is also the creator and master of astronomical and elemental causes. By demonstrating these supernatural feats, the objective of the Absolute Creator is that it should become clear to the creation that just as whatever is emanating from the mouth of Rasulullah % is a reflection of the knowledge and wisdom of that all-knowing and all-wise Allah, in like manner, the blessed hand of Rasūlullah % is also a reflection of the powerful hand of Allah # through whom these supernatural feats are demonstrated. Allah % says in the Qur'an: "Surely those who pledge their allegiance to you are actually pledging their allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands." (Surah al-Fath, verse 10). Allah % says: "You did not fling at the time when you did fling. Rather it was Allāh who flung." (Sūrah al-Anfal, verse 17) For a human to demonstrate such extraordinary feats which are certainly beyond human power is a clear proof that behind the hand of this person, the hand of Allah is doing in a hidden way. 450 The Life of Muhammad % And that whatever is being demonstrated at the hands of this Prophet is actually an act of Allah and not of the Prophet. When it becomes clear to the people through these distinguishing signs that Rasulullah % is a chosen servant of Allah , His deputy and His ambassador, the people will consider him worthy of obedience and they will consider obedience to him to be obedience to Allah . The gist of what we said above is that the wisdom behind miracles is that the masses must become convinced of Rasulullah's prophet-hood and that these miracles must become like a mandate for the prophet-hood of the Prophet . Rasūlullah ¿ has countless miracles. However, we are only mentioning those that are established through authentic Ahadith. Although they may have not reached the level of tawatur, their total number has reached such a level that there remains no room whatsoever for any doubt or misgiving. The example of their authenticity is like how popular the bravery of 'Alī 4% and the generosity of Hatim Ta'ī is. That although these have not reached the level of tawatur, their total number has reached a level that leaves no room for any doubt or misgiving. It is for this reason that the bravery of 'Alī 4% and the generosity of Hatim Ta'ī are proverbial. According to the Jews, the miracles of the staff and luminous hand of Musa sal are proof of his prophet-hood. According to the Christians, the miracles of giving life to the dead and curing the deaf, dumb and the lepers are proof of the prophet-hood of 'Îsa Stal. In like manner, the miracles of Muhammad are proof of his prophet-hood and messenger-ship. The Christians' rejection of the miracles of Muhammad _ is similar to the Jewish rejection of the miracles of 'Îsa (de). After enumerating the above in a comprehensive way, we shall now provide some details about the miracles of Muhammad . 451 The Life of Muhammad The definition of a miracle A miracle is an extraordinary feat performed by a claimant to prophet-hood while the entire world is unable to perform such a feat. This is done so that it may become clear to the rejecters and the opponents that this person is a chosen one of Allah de. In order to incapacitate his enemies, Allah & enabled him to demonstrate this extraordinary feat. The people may realize that divine help is behind this person. This person is not a magician or astrologer with whom others can compete. Therefore, if anyone desires his own good and salvation, he can only achieve this by believing in and following this chosen person of Allah dlg. The consequence of rejecting and opposing that chosen person whom Allah % appointed as His deputy, ambassador and envoy is nothing but wretchedness and destruction. "Look, then, what the consequence was of the rejecters." (Sūrah an- Nahl, verse 36) The intellectual and practical miracles There are two types of miracles; the intellectual and the practical miracles. The practical miracle refers to such an act or feat demonstrated by the claimant to prophet-hood that everyone else is unable to do. The intellectual miracle refers to the claimant to prophet-hood displaying such knowledge and sciences that the entire world is unable to produce the like thereof. Allah % bestowed Muhammad % with such a large number of both types of miracles that they cannot be counted. The Qur'an is the greatest miracle The Qur'an is the greatest miracle from among all the miracles of Rasūlullah . It is an intellectual miracle. It surpasses the miracles of all the Prophets. Everyone knows that knowledge takes precedence over practice. It is for this reason that the teachers of every art are respected. And in every field, the salary of the officers is more than that of the ordinary workers. 452 The Life of Muhammad # This is solely based on knowledge even though the workers put in more physical effort. The Qur'an is the intellectual miracle of Rasūlullah . It is the most superior of all his miracles. Not one Prophet was given such a miracle. The miracles of all previous Prophets were displayed at a particular time and came to an end. The Qur'an is a miracle that can never come to an end. From the beginning of revelation till now, over 1425 years have passed. It remains in its original form without any changes, alterations, additions or subtractions. And, insha Allah, this miracle will remain in the same form till the day of resurrection as it was revealed to Rasūlullah . The 'ulama' have proven the miraculous nature of the Qur'an through several ways. We shall explain just a few of these. The first reason for the miraculous-ness of the Qur'an Magic was in vogue during the time of Mūsa scal. Allah s gave him the miracles of the staff and the luminous hand. Medicine was in vogue during the time of 'Isa . Allah gave him the miracles of curing the sick and bringing the dead to life. Eloquence and articulacy was in vogue in the time of Muhammad . The Arabs referred to all the non-Arabs as 'ajam - people who are dumb. They still refer to them as such. Therefore, the greatest miracle which Allah I gave to Muhammad is the Qur'an which the greatest of writers and orators could not compete in its eloquence, style, simplicity and intricacy. It is this very miracle which the entire world is unable to compete with. A miracle is even beyond the control of a Prophet. The Qur'an is the speech of Allah . It was not the speech of Muhammad . Just as the entire world was unable to produce anything like the Qur'an, in like manner, this very Qur'an was beyond the control of Muhammad . The speech of Muhammad & is the Hadith. There is a world of difference between the Qur'an and the Hadith. 453 The Life of Muhammad Rasūlullah % announced in the assembly of the Arab literati: "Produce a chapter like it." In other words, if you have any doubt about the Qur'an being the speech of Allah 5, produce a chapter like it. The Qur'an challenged the people time and again. But not a single one of them was able to do so despite the Qur'an comprising the very words and letters which they speak. It was in the same Arabic language which they spoke. In addition to this, Rasūlullah * was unlettered. He neither wrote nor did he remain in the company of any scholar. Yet, such a miraculous speech, filled with facts and sciences, emanated from his blessed tongue. This is a clear proof that this speech is the speech of Allah s and not the speech of any human. The only relationship which Rasūlullah % had with this speech is that whatever Jibra'il & brought from Allah as divine revelation, he conveyed it to the people without any additions or subtractions. This he did so that the people may receive guidance from it. Qādī 'Iyad rahimahullah writes in his Shifa' that as regards the eloquence of the Qur'an, it has more than 7000 miracles. In a short chapter like Sūrah al-Kauthar, there are 10 words. The entire Qur'an has about 70 000 words. If these are divided by 10, we will get 7000. The Qur'an thus has about 7000 miracles. A reply to a misgiving Some foolish people say that there are other books in this world which have no equal, e.g. the Shahnamah of Firdaus and the Gulistān of Sa'dī. This statement is proof of the fact that such a person does not know the reality of a miracle. The reason why the Qur'an is a miracle is that our Prophet % presented the Qur'an before the Arabs and openly announced: "This Qur'an is the word of Allah , and my miracle. If anyone has any doubt in this, he should produce a word that is as eloquent as this and present it before us." This challenge was continuously made for 23 years 454 The Life of Muhammad # but no person could produce a single line like the Qur'an. The entire world remained incapable of producing anything to compete and contend against the Qur'an. We ask those who make the above claim to show us where such a challenge was made for any other book? Who made such a challenge? And on which occasion was the incapability of the addressees displayed? A mere claim that a book has no equal is not a miracle. At times, due to the beauty, splendour and excellence of an author or a book we may refer to him or it to be unique or having no parallel. But this does not mean that this book or this author is a miracle. Some times, a person considers something to be unique based on his personal opinion. While the fact of the matter is that that thing has an equal or a parallel. Mirzā Muhammad Tūrānī wrote a book titled Saulat Fārūqī in reply to the Shahnāmah. His book is far better than the latter book and criticizes the latter in most places. Moreover, for something to be a miracle, it is necessary for it to be out of the ordinary and for it not to have any outward causes to influence it. This is the main difference between magic and a miracle. Magic can be acquired through learning, practising and performing. On the other hand, a miracle is not an art that can be acquired through teaching and learning. It is clear that Sa'dī and Firdausī undertook years and years of study and endeavour, remaining for years in institutions and studying for years under teachers - learning from them and reforming their ways from them. So if their writings surpass those of others after years and years of difficulties, endeavours and hardships, then this is neither to be surprised about nor can this be called a miracle. In every era and in every language there have been great writers and literateurs. For example, the Arabic language has people 455 The Life of Muhammad like Badī' az-Zaman Hamdānī and Harīrī. But they or their writings are not miracles. The Persian language has Sa'dī and Firdausī. The English language has Milton. The Sanskrit language has Kalidas. The Urdu language has Muhammad Husayn Azād, Halī, etc. etc. All of whose writings surpassed the writings of their contemporaries. All these are results of their years and years of endeavours. They are not miracles. In this regard, some naïve people give the example of the tafsir of Faydī which was written with those letters of the Arabic language which have no dots. They say that this book has no equal. Till today, no one could write a reply to it. Now listen to the reply to this by Faydī himself. In the introduction to his tafsir, he says that he believes in the Qur'an as a Book revealed by Allah . And he regards all other sciences and books apart from the Qur'an to be a headache. He writes: العلوم كلها صداع إلا علم كلام الله وكلام الله لا عد لمحامده ولا حد لمكارمه ولا حصر الرسومه ولا إحصاء لعلومه وما علم علوم كلام الله كله أحد إلا الله ورسوله وأولوا العلم ما علموا إلا عددا. "All knowledge is a headache except the knowledge of the word of Allah. There is no limit to its excellent qualities, there is no limit to its honourable features, there is no limit to its details, there is no encompassing of its sciences. No one knows all the sciences of the word of Allah except Allah and His Messenger. The people of knowledge only know a limited amount of its knowledge." This is the admission of Faydi himself with regard to the Qur'an. After learning of his admission, to use his work as an example is extremely shameless. Even if we were to assume that Faydī, Firdausī and Sa'dī were to challenge the world as the Qur'an has challenged the world, 456 The Life of Muhammad % we do not know how many people would have responded to this challenge of theirs and presented their works to the world. The second reason for the miraculous-ness of the Qur'an The second reason for the miraculous-ness of the Qur'an is that it combines all the sciences of guidance. The person who looks into and examines the sciences and facts of the Qur'an, will find all the rules and means of beliefs, deeds, culturing of habits, civilization, society, the principles of government and politics, spiritual progress, acquisition of the recognition of Allah , spiritual purification, ways of governing, ways of meting justice, gaining proximity to Allah s and closeness to Him. On seeing all this, his tongue and heart will spontaneously bear testimony that this is certainly the word of Allah , and it is certainly the revealed Book of Allah . A treasure house of such sciences and facts cannot be presented by even all the greatest of scholars and sages put together. How, then, can this be produced by an unlettered person belonging to an ignorant nation ?! How could he have presented such a book to the world which guarantees wellbeing and success in this world and in the hereafter? Which explains in detail the rights of Allah %, the rights of fellow humans and the rights of one's self? Which refutes, through proofs and evidences, the baselessness of all false religions: Judaism, Christianity, polytheism, the Magaens and the Sabaens? And no scholar of these religions has the power to refute these Qur'anic proofs? Is this not a proof of the fact that this Qur'an is certainly a revealed Book of Allah ( ?! The third reason for the miraculous-ness of the Qur'an The third reason for the miraculous-ness of the Qur'an is that it contains information about forthcoming events. Information about things that the mind did not even imagine. Which human perception could not even conceive. The Qur'an gave information about these long before they occurred. That event 457 The Life of Muhammad then took place exactly as the Qur'an foretold. For example, even before the emigration, the victory of the Romans over the Persians was predicted. Refer to the first few verses of Sūrah ar-Rum. The defeat of the unbelievers in the battle of Badr was foretold: "The army will be defeated and they will turn on their backs." The victory of Islam was foretold: "He is the one who sent His Messenger with guidance and the true religion so that it may surpass all other religions." And various other predictions. Details in this regard will insha Allah be provided in the chapter on predictions. In short, the news which the Qur'an foretold took place exactly as stated by the Qur'an. Similarly, the Qur'an comprises stories and incidents about the past Prophets and nations, e.g. the stories of Ibrahim sell, Mūsā sel, 'Isa , Yusuf , etc. the story of Dhul Qarnayn, the Seven Sleepers, etc. which were not even known to the scholars and 'ulamā' of the Jews and Christians. When Muhammad recited these verses to their scholars and 'ulama', none of them could refute these stories. The Hadith of Muhammad - another miracle After the Qur'an, the other intellectual miracle of Rasulullah is his Hadith. It is also referred to as the Shari'ah and the Millah. On seeing the completeness and comprehensiveness of the Hadith, a person possessing the minimum amount of intelligence will be convinced that the source of such a constitution that defies intelligence and nature can be nothing but the blessed being of Allah . It cannot be from a human alone. Especially from a human who was unlettered, who neither read nor wrote. How could fountains of such sciences and facts that silenced the intellects ever gush forth from his mouth. We can therefore deduce that whatever emanated from the mouth of this unlettered Prophet is in reality a veil to the actual speaker, viz. Allah . When Musa staly heard a voice 458 The Life of Muhammad from a tree, it was not really the tree that was talking, it was the voice of Allah . This tree was like a telephone conveying a sound from the unseen world to Musa El. That unlettered Prophet # may be understood in the same light. That whatever was emanating from his mouth was actually the revelation of Allah g and the voice of Allah . Allah forbid, it was not his own personal words. "He does not speak by the desire of his soul. It is solely an order that is sent down." (Sūrah an-Najm, verses 3-4) The beliefs which the Islamic Shari'ah teach are pure and free from fabrications and baseless things. They are established through rational, traditional and natural proofs through which a person can be convinced that these beliefs are certainly authentic and correct. A parallel to the noble characteristics which the Islamic Shari'ah ordered cannot be found in the previous scriptures. In like manner, the acts of worship, dealings, actions and deeds which the Islamic Shari'ah ordered are based on countless wisdoms and underlying reasons. The details concerning the rights of Allah % and the rights of fellow humans which have been provided by the Islamic Shari'ah and the belief with regard to the origin and destiny of man as expounded upon by Islam are such that they are beyond human intellect. The scholars of the west acknowledge that the teachings of the Taurah, Injil and all other past and present scriptures cannot compare with the teachings of Islam. Hundreds of thousands of Prophets, sages, rulers and scholars came into this world. However, the extraordinary caution with which every action of Rasulullah % and every word that he uttered are preserved - an example of this cannot be found anywhere. In order to preserve the actions and statements of his life, the lives of thousands of narrators were brought under 459 The Life of Muhammad scrutiny so that those studying his life will have no doubts and misgivings whatsoever. The sciences of asma' ar-rijal (biographies of narrators), isnād (chains of narrators), and usūl al-Hadith (the principles of Hadith) were all introduced with this very purpose in mind that the words, actions and deeds of Rasūlullah % be preserved in such a manner that on seeing the different chains of narrators, the reader is fully convinced that he is equal to those who have actually seen or heard these actions and words of Rasulullah . On seeing the six most authentic collections of Hadith and other collections of Hadith, a person is left amazed at the systematic way in which the Ahadith of Rasulullah were collected and compiled. Moreover, he is left amazed at the stringent rules and regulations which the scholars of Hadith laid down for the acceptance of Ahadith. The collections of Imam Malik rahimahullah, Imam Bukhārī rahimahullāh, Imām Muslim rahimahullāh, Imām Abū Dā'ūd rahimahullāh, Imām Tirmidhī rahimahullāh, Imām Nasa'ī rahimahullāh, Imām Ibn Mājah rahimahullāh and others are all before us. But no atheist or unbeliever could have the audacity of adding or removing a single letter from any of these collections. Thereafter, every Hadith from the above-mentioned collections were scrutinized and all the biographies of the narrators of each and every Hadith was given, and each and every Hadith was placed under a category - that it is either authentic, good, rare, weak, unknown, etc. The first level of narrators of the words and actions of Rasulullah % are the Sahabah . All praise is due to Allah de that not a single one of them was proven to be a liar. They numbered about 124 000. Till today, it has not been proven that a single one of them ever spoke a lie. This is a miracle of that great Prophet % that not a single one of his students was ever 460 The Life of Muhammad proven to be a liar. After this first level of narrators, even the second and third level of narrators were by and large protected from lies and falsehood. They all firmly believed that attributing something from their side to Rasūlullah % was a major sin and a very serious crime. Today, not a single Christian can show the chain of narrators or the chain through which the Injil (Bible) and the writings of the disciples came to him. He cannot show who the narrators are, who from among them are reliable and who are not reliable. The Christian scholars cannot even quote a single word of 'Îsa Sky through a continuous, unbroken chain of narrators (sanad-e- muttasil). On the other hand, the scholars of Hadith were so particular, that they would not accept a single word of Rasulullah without a sanad. The famous collections of Hadith were compiled and arranged during that golden era which was a protected era and wherein cautious people lived. Moreover, from the very era of those scholars who compiled these Ahadith, people began studying and memorizing these Ahādīth. The chains of these collections continued through time and are present till today through continuous and unbroken sources. They are still studied by scholars of the east and west. Ponder over this: such arrangements and steps were taken for the preservation of the actions and words of one single blessed person [Muhammad ]. Could this have been the result of human effort and endeavour alone? Never! This is solely a manifestation of the help of Allah % and providence. It is through this divine help that this science came to the fore for the preservation of the Hadith of Muhammad . After pondering over the science of Hadith and other related sciences, the status of all other histories falls down flat. Without doubt, that person who came as a guide for all nations and all countries till the day of resurrection - his life, his words and his actions ought to be preserved in such a miraculous way that