Islamic Studies Assessment Task- The miracles of Prophet Muhammad (saw)

What is a miracle?
A miracle is a supernatural event that happens and takes place due to Allah (swt). It cannot
come from nature or from ordinary human beings like us and it is not something you can
contradict with, only from God and from the permission of God. Miracles are not magic or
illusions. In specific today I am going to be talking about the miracles of Prophet
Muhammad (saw). Allah used many miracles to not put prophets in hard situations e.g. He
may have used a miracle to convince disbelievers that Prophet Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah and that Allah (swt) is the only God and alone he should be worshipped.

What are the benefits of any miracle?

The benefits of miracles that occur to prophets is that it shows that they are prophets and
that Allah is the only god and Islam is the right religion that will guide you to paradise and
the straight path. For example, when Musa (as) performed all those miracles that were from
Allah to prove that farown is not god and that Allah is god.

First Miracle:

The first miracle that I am going to be talking about is Isra and Miraj, there were two parts
to this miracle, the first part was the prophets night trip from Mecca to Jerusalem and the
other part was him ascending to heaven. This was one of the best blessings and gift from
Allah (swt). When the prophet did go to Jerusalem he specifically went to Masjid Al Aqsa
which is written in surah Al Israa- (First Verse).

Isra and Miraj took place one year before Hijrah. It happened on the twelfth year of his
prophet hood and is observed on the 12th of Rajab. In the hadith, it states that when he was
lying in Al- Hijr someone came and cut his body open, took out his heart then washed it and
filled it with belief and then returned it to its original place. This was done by two of the
greatest angels Jibreel and Mikaeel. After that a white animal that was smaller than a horse
or mule but bigger than a donkey was brought to him, it was a very unique animal that its
step could reach the furthest point within its sight. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was carried
on that animal and set out with Gabriel until they reached the nearest heaven. When they
reached the closest heaven and that gate opened he saw Adam there. After that Jibreel
ascended Prophet Muhammad to the second heaven, when the gate opened he saw Yahya,
John in English and Isa, Jesus which were cousins. Then Jibreel took Prophet Muhammad to
the third heaven, in the third heaven he saw Yusuf, Joseph. After they were finished they
went to the fourth heaven, at the fourth heaven he saw Idris. After the fourth heaven, he
went to the fifth heaven where he saw Harun, Aaron. Then they went to the sixth heaven
where he saw Moussa (as). After the sixth heaven, he went to the seventh heaven where he
saw Ibrahim (as). Then he was ascended to Sidrat ul Muntaha which is the Lote Tree. Where
there were fruits and leaves that were as big as an elephants ears. There were also four
rivers, two of them were hidden and the other two were visible. Prophet Muhammad asked
what those two rivers were and Jibreel said the visible rivers are the Nile river and the
Euphrates, and for the two hidden rivers they are in paradise. After Prophet Muhammad
visited Al- Bait-ul-Mamur which is the sacred house and is mentioned in surah at tur.

At that time, the prayers were fifty prayers a day, so while he was returning he passed by
Moussa who said that his people will not be able to pray fifty prayers a day which he has
experienced with Bani Israel, so he told the prophet to go back to Allah so he can reduce it,
it was then reduced many times, every time he would reduce it by ten times until the last
time when he went and it was reduced to five prayers a day. Moussa still wanted more
reduction but Prophet Muhammad was too ashamed to go to Allah (swt).

Then after that he returned to his people and told everyone, no one would believe this
miraculous story as it happened in such a small amount of time and everyone knew how
long it would take to go to Jerusalem and come back. So, they then asked him to describe
the mosque, when he did everyone knew that this was a great miracle.

SECOND MIRACLE
Splitting of the moon
The splitting of the moon was one of the greatest miracles from Allah (swt) that we can still
see today. It happened before the migration to Medina, the Quraysh disbelievers said to
Prophet Muhammad, if he is a real prophet that was appointed by Allah, then he must split
the moon in half, one half that will appear over the Mount Abu Qubais and the other half
must be seen over Mount Quayqian. So, the Prophet then said If he does this miracle if they
will become Muslim, they said yes. And so, on the 14th night while it was a full moon
prophet Muhammad asked Allah to do this miracle that the disbelievers asked him. Then
later angel Jibreel told the prophet that Allah has accepted his prayer and so the
disbelievers witnessed the splitting of the moon. But even though they saw this great
miracle the disbelievers said that it is magic and that its one of Abu Talibs orphan that has
affected the sky with his spell. We know that this is true because not only was it in the
Quran but it has also been discovered by NASA. This story is mentioned in surah al Qamar.

References:
https://www.islamicity.org/5843/isra-and-miraj-the-miraculous-night-journey/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_miracles