Some Miracles of our Master Muhammad and Miracles That Took Place for Those Who Came before Our Master Muhammad ﷺ
Among the examples of Miracles that took place for those who came before Muhammad ﷺ is the great fire’s lack of effect on Ibrahim [Abraham], in such a way that it did not burn him or his clothing. Among them is the transformation of Musa’s [Moses’] staff into a real serpent, then it returning to its original state after the magicians that Pharaoh prepared for opposing Musa confessed, accepted in their hearts, and believed in Allah and disbelieved in the Pharoah, and confessed about Musa that he was truthful in what he came with.
Also among them is what took place for ^Isa [Jesus], such as reviving the dead. That is something that cannot be opposed with its likes. So the Jews, who were cursed for belying ^Isa, and were diligent to fabricate about him, were unable to oppose what he did with its likes. He also performed another great strange matter, which was curing the one born blind, and no one from his time was able to oppose that with its likes, despite the proficiency in medicine at that era. So that is evidence of his truthfulness in everything that he informed about, such as the obligation of worshipping the Creator alone, without any association of partners with Him, and the obligation of them following him in the deeds he ordered them to perform.
Some of the Miracles of the Prophet ﷺ
As for Muhammad, may the Salah of Allah be upon him and all of his brotherly Prophets, among his Miracles is the moaning tree stump. The Prophet used to lean against a stump of a palm tree when he would give the speech in his Masjid, before the pulpit was made for him. Then when the pulpit was made for him, he ascended on it and he started with the speech while he was standing on it. Then the tree stump moaned to the extent that everyone in the Masjid heard its moaning, so he came down and embraced it until it was silent.
Also among his Miracles is the speaking of those who do not speak, i.e., the animals. Imam Ahmad and Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from Ya^la Ibn Murrah Ath-Thaqafiyy with an authentic chain of narration that he said:
We were walking with the Prophet when a camel that was made to carry loads passed by. When the camel saw the Prophet it made a strange noise and lowered its neck, and so the Prophet stopped at it for a moment. Then he said, “Where is the owner of this camel?” So the owner came, and the Prophet said, “Sell it to me.” He said, “In fact, we would give it to you, O Messenger of Allah, however, it is for my family and we have no other means of making livelihood.” So the Prophet said, “If you insisted on keeping it, this camel has complained about excessive work and too little fodder, so treat it well.”
Ibn Shahin narrated in his book Dala’ilu-n-Nubuwwah from the route of ^Abdullah Ibn Ja^far that he said,
“The Prophet let me ride with him that day behind him. He entered a garden of a man among the Ansar and there was a camel there. When it saw the Prophet it moaned and cried until the Prophet came to it and he rubbed the bases of its ears, and so it stopped. He said, ‘Who is the owner of this camel?’ Then a young man from the Ansar came and said, ‘It is mine.’ The Prophet said: ‘Why do you not fear Allah in reference to this animal that Allah Enabled you to own? For certainly it has complained to me that you starve it and overwork it.’”
This is an authentic hadith, just as said by Muhaddith Murtada Az-Zabidiyy in the explanation of Ihya’ ^Ulumi-d-Din.
Among them is the springing of water from between his fingers, which was witnessed in several incidents in great battles that were narrated through many routes. The sum of those narrations promotes definitive knowledge, which is what the hadith that is mutawatir by its meaning promotes. This did not happen for anyone other than our Prophet; it happened in such a way that the water sprang from his bones, nerves, flesh and blood, and this is more amazing than water springing from the stone that was hit by Musa. For water to come out of a stone is known, which is different than water coming from between flesh and blood. This was narrated through the route of Jabir, Anas, Ibn Mas^ud, Ibn ^Abbas, Abu Layla Al-Ansariyy and Abu Rafi^.
The two Shaykhs [Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim] narrated from the hadith of Anas: “I saw the Messenger of Allah and ^Asr came in, and he sought the water for wudu’ but he did not find it. Then the Messenger was approached with water for wudu’. He put his hand in that container and then ordered the people to make wudu’, and I saw the water springing from between his fingers, and the people made wudu’ until the last one of them.” In a narration of Al-Bukhariyy, the narrator said to Anas, “How many of you were there?” He said, “Three hundred.”
Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim also narrated from the hadith of Jabir: “The people were thirsty on the day of Al-Hudaybiyah and the Messenger of Allah had a bucket in front of him from which he was making wudu’. Then the people gathered, and he said, “What is wrong with you?” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, we do not have that by which we would make wudu’ and we do not have anything to drink except what is between your hands.” So the Prophet put his hands in the bucket and the water started to pour forth from between his fingers like springs. So we began to drink and to make wudu’.” Then it was asked, “How many of you were there?” He said, “Had there been one hundred thousand of us it would have been enough. We were fifteen hundred.”
What is precise is that the water was springing from the flesh between the Prophet’s fingers itself. That is what An-Nawawiyy said explicitly in the explanation of Muslim, and it is supported by the saying of Jabir, “I saw the water coming out,” and in another narration, “It was springing from between his fingers.”
Among his Miracles is replacing Qatadah’s eye after it was knocked out. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated in his book Dala’ilun-Nubuwwah from the route of Qatadah ibn Nu^man that his eye was hit on the day of Badr and his eyeball dangled on his cheekbone. They wanted to cut it, so they asked the Messenger of Allah. He said, “No.” He called him and he buried his eye back into the socket with his palm. After that Qatadah did not know which one of his eyes was hit.
In reference to these two miracles, some of the people praised the Prophet in the meter of poetry known as Al-Basit. They said:
إنْ كانَ مُوسَى سَقَى الأَسْباطَ من حَجَرٍ فإنَّ في الكفّ مَعْنًى ليسَ في الحجَرِ
إنْ كانَ عيْسَى بَرَا الأَعْمَى بدَعوتِه فكمْ براحَتِه قدْ ردَّ مِنْ بَصَرِ
[which means] “If Musa watered the Asbat[1] from a stone, then certainly in the palm is a meaning that does not exist in a stone. And if ^Isa cured the blind with his du^a’, then how many by his palm did he return their vision?”
Also among the Prophet’s Miracles is the food saying “subhanallah” in his hand. Al-Bukhariyy narrated the hadith of Ibn Mas^ud that he said, “We used to eat the food with the Prophet and we would hear the food saying ‘Subhanallah.’” These three miracles were more astonishing than reviving the dead, which was one of the Miracles of ^Isa.
[1] The Tribes of Israel.