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Signs Of Prophethood
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Signs of Prophethood[1]
All praise be to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His forgiveness, we seek refuge with Him from the evils of our souls, and the shortcomings of our actions. Whoever Allah guides, no one can mislead him, and whoever He misguides, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that (the Prophet) Muhammad is indeed His servant and Messenger, may Allah shower His peace on him, on his household, and his companions, and profusely shower His blessings on him.
To Proceed:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, as He is meant to be feared, and be conscious of Him in private and confidential talk.
O Muslims:
Allah sent the Messengers to guide the creation, to complement the Fitrah (what Allah has fashioned His slaves to naturally acknowledge, be conscious of, unify and worship) with what they have from light of revelation, and call to the worship of Allah, good deeds and noble character. The servants' need for the Messengers is greater than their need for the food, drink and breathing, since there is no way to happiness, success and attainment of Allah's satisfaction at all, but through them.
Allah, the Exalted, exclusively possesses absolute wealth, full ability and comprehensive knowledge, while the Messengers (may Allah blessings be upon them) are human beings that are not capable of any of these three (attributes) except that which Allah has granted to them. Allah, the Exalted, told His Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him),
ﱡﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜﱠ
"Say: 'I do not tell you that I have the treasures of Allah, and neither do I know the unseen, nor do I claim to be an angel'".
Thus, Allah, has singled them out with marvellous signs out of His ability, knowledge and power, to make it clear to the servants that they were indeed the Messengers of Allah and were truthful in what they reported. The Messenger of Allah said, "There is no Prophet amongst the Prophets except he was given that which people will be confident in". (Agreed upon [i.e. narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]).
Salih (may Allah's blessings be upon him) brought his people a big she-camel that came out from a boulder.
Ibrahim (may Allah's blessings be upon him) was cast into large fire, yet it did not harm him.
Musa (may Allah's blessings be upon him) was given nine clear signs, and he struck the sea with his staff, so it parted and each part was as a mighty mountain, he also threw his staff and it became a snake, of a strong nature.
Also, Dawud and Sulayman (may Allah's blessings be upon them) were taught the language of the birds and they had been given all things[2].
And Isa (may Allah's blessings be upon him) used to heal the blind and the leper, and bring the dead to life by the permission of Allah. He also spoke in his cradle where he declared his mother innocent and singled out his Lord with that which he is deserving of.
Amongst the signs their testify to their truthfulness: what they portrayed of their beautiful behaviour and upright character, and what Allah has done to them and their followers such as standing by them (in all their endeavours) and granting them a good end, and what He has done to those who disbelieved in them and went against them by destroying and punishing them.
Allah has granted our Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) signs which are more and greater than what the Prophets came with. Shaykhul-Islam [ibn Taymiyyah] (may Allah have mercy on him), said, "His miracles (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) are over one thousand, and in this world there is no science required with Mutawaatir[3] reports except that the science of the signs of the Prophet and the laws of his religion is predominant over them all. Allah (may He be exalted) says,
ﱡﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ ﳇ ﳈ ﳉﳊ ﳋ ﳌ ﳍﱠ
"It is He Who sent His Messengers with guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may make it prevail over all other religions, and Allah is sufficient to bear witness."
From the signs of His prophethood are the glad tidings of the Prophets about Him before his arrival. Ibrahim and Ismail (may Allah's blessings be upon them) said,
ﱡﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ ﱯﱠ
"Our Lord! And raise up in their midst a messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Your verses and teach them the Book and Wisdom, and purify them".
And Isa (may Allah's blessings be upon him) said,
ﱡﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘﱠ
"… and to give glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me whose name will be Ahmad".
An angel descended to him while he was young, then split his chest and removed the allotment of Shaytaan from it[4].
Allah protected him, before he was missioned, against Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic) issues and its filth; He was never seen nude, never touched an idol, nor did He drink alcohol or participate in any unlawful transactions.
The guard of the sky was supplemented with meteors with which the Shayateen (demons) were stoned so as to keep his message safe. The Jinn said,
ﱡﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔﱠ
"We made our way towards the heaven, but we found it filled with stern guards and blazing flames (shooting stars)".
Among his miracles are those that exist right from his time and remain until now like the Glorious Quran, knowledge and faith that was conveyed by his followers.
Among the miracles are what he narrated from what was disclosed to him by his Lord about many previous events as well as the unseen future; a detailed information that would never be known if not for Allah's revelation (may He be Esteemed and Exalted). Allah, the Exalted) says,
ﱡﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔﱠ
"That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you; neither you nor your people knew it before this".
From amongst the past events that He informed us about is Adam's story and the prostration of angels towards Him, Iblis and his arrogance, many wonderful details of stories of the Prophets, what the nations before us disagreed upon, and the stories of the people of Cave and the people of Elephant.
Allah has challenged the creation to bring ten chapters that are similar to that of the Quran, and then informed them that they are incapable of doing that until the day of Resurrection, and indeed, none was able to do so. He said about the disbelievers, while he was still oppressed in Makkah,
ﱡﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂﱠ
"Their gatherings shall be routed, and they will turn their backs [in retreat]."
This came to pass after some years. He showed the Muslims the points of demise for various courageous people of Quraysh, a day before the battle of Badr. He said, "This is the point of death of so and so"; Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "And the Prophet was pointing on the ground, (saying), 'Here is the place, here is the place', and none of them was off target of the place the Prophet touched (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)" (Muslim). He set out to Khaybar (to fight them in the path of Allah) and said, "Khaybar is destroyed", and was he subsequently conquered it. (Agreed upon).
He sent His companions to Mu'tah to wage war against Rome, and He announced the death of the martyrs (among his companions) before the news of their demise was brought. (Al Bukhari). He once stated that Persia will conquer Rome in its lifetime. When the messenger of Kisra (the King of Persia) came to Him (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) with a book from him, He told him, i.e the messenger of Kisra, "My Lord has killed your lord - [meaning] your master - tonight.") (Ahmad).
On His way to Tabuk, He said, "A strong wind will blow over you tonight, none of you should stand in it." (Agreed upon).
He Informed about the nearness of his death and his passage to the superior companions. He once sat on the pulpit and said, "A servant that Allah has given the choice between worldly materials and that which is with Him (Allah), and he preferred that which is with Him!" Therein Abu Bakr broke into tears and cried profusely, then said, "May our fathers and mothers be ransomed for you!" (Agreed upon). Afterwards, he did not stay long until he left the world. He said that after one hundred years after his demise, none of his companions will be left on the Earth (Agreed upon). All of those came to pass exactly as He said, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him.
He informed us about the conquest of Bayt al-Maqdis, and that it will be followed by plague that will wipe out many Muslims. Following this, there will be an abundance of wealth to the extent that none will want to accept it. All that He informed about has come to pass. Bayt al-Maqdis was conquered, and Sham was plagued; both happened in the tenure of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). After that, the wealth was widespread in the time of Uthman bin 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) to the extent that a man was annoyed at one hundred dinars that he was given.
He also revealed that many cities will be conquered, and the people of Madinah will move to them in search of greener pastures and affluence, and He said, "And Madinah is better for them, if only they knew." (Agreed upon). Both Kisra (the King of Persia) and Qaysar (the King of Rome) will perish, and their treasures will be spent in the way of Allah. Also, He said that worldly materials will be provided in abundance for His nation, and they will compete for it, like those before them, and that His nation will imitate those before them and follow their footsteps, such that if they were to enter a lizard's chamber, they would follow them. (Agreed upon).
He clarified the signs of the Hour, i.e. those that precede it, such as the lack of knowledge, prevalence of ignorance, emergence of trials and tribulations, widespread killing, and people competing with each other in building structures. He was with his companions and informed them of what will happen until the Day of Resurrection. Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The Prophet stood amongst us [one day], whereupon he did not leave any issue until the Day of Resurrection untouched, except that he informed us about it, those who were able memorise it memorised it, whilst those who are destined to forget it forgot it) (Agreed upon).
He addressed them about what he saw in Heaven. Allah caused Him to set out on a night journey [i.e. al-Israa] from Makkah to the al-Masjid al-Aqsa. From there he ascended to the Heavens [i.e. al-Mi`raj] until he reached Sidrah al-Muntaha [i.e. the Lote tree that lies to the right of the Throne, beyond which none has passed, except the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him)] Then, he returned in the same night, to Makkah. He narrated to them what He saw, about Jannah, the Hell Fire and their dwellers and also informed them of the Lote tree of Sidrah al-Muntaha, and the sound of the writing of the universe planning pens that he heard.
Allah assisted Him with glaring universal signs; He split the moon into two, which was sighted by people of Makkah and other than them.
The signs of His prophethood were clear amongst mankind also; when he was delivering the Farewell Hajj sermon, Allah allowed everyone to hear Him, and they were over one hundred thousand in number. (Abu Dawud).
He prayed for Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah would provide him with an abundance of wealth and children, and he buried over one hundred and twenty of his immediate children. (Agreed upon).
He also prayed for Abu Hurayrah and his mother, may Allah be pleased with them, that Allah should make the believers love both of them. Abu Hurayrah may Allah be pleased with him said, "There is no believer who has heard or seen me except that he loves me." (Muslim).
He prayed for `Urwah al-Bariqi as well, may Allah be pleased with him, that Allah should bless his transactions, [and He answered it], such that even if he were to sell dirt, he would have profited. (Al-Bukhari).
Abdullah bin `Atiik's leg was broken, may Allah be pleased with him, and He [i.e. the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him] rubbed His hand over it, and he was healed. (Al-Bukhari).
He spat in Ali's eyes too, may Allah be pleased with him, because of conjunctivitis [i.e. pink eye] affecting him, and he was healed as if he didn't feel any pain before. (Agreed upon).
The signs of His prophethood were also apparent in animals; He, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, once entered an enclosed area belonging to some of the Ansar, where a camel was kept. As the camel saw the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, he broke into tears, and the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him, rubbed His hand over its back and it became calm. Then, He told the owner of the camel, "Will you not fear Allah in [your dealings with] this animal that He provided you? He complained about you to me that you starve it and overburden it." (Abu Dawud).
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with said: (There was a wild animal that belonged to the household of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, whenever the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, went out, it played wildly, running back and forth, and when it sensed that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, had returned, it would lie down and not move, nor would it produce the slightest sound, as long the Messenger of Allah may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, was around; in dislike of disturbing him. (Ahmad).
Among His signs, was that He was blessed with the ability of making the food and drink abundant. At [the treaty of] Hudaybiyyah, one thousand five hundred accompanied Him. Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "… and the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him, placed His hand on the small jar (coffeepot), and water began to intensely gush forth from his fingers like that of springs. We then drank (to satisfaction) and performed ablution (from it)". He (Jabir) was then asked how many they were at that point. He replied, "If we were one hundred thousand, it would have sufficed us. We were fifteen hundred, that is one thousand, five hundred". (Al-Bukhari).
And at the expedition of Dhat ar-Riqa', a little bit of water was gathered in a small food bowl, and each soldier was able to fill his container.
At Khaybar, food was scarce, and He, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him, commanded them (His companions) to gather what they had with them, and blessed it, that is, He prayed to Allah to put blessings in it. Then, all of the army ate to their satisfaction, and they were one thousand, five hundred in number.
About thirty thousand (people) were with him in Tabuk searching for water, so, he made ablution from a spring among the available springs. Thereupon, water gushed forth until they all quenched their thirst. (Muslim).
Samurah bin Jundub, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "We were with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, eating from a Qas'ah [a large round dish meant for serving food, from which up to ten people can eat] from early morning until night, as ten people left, another ten entered). We astonishingly said, 'What had been the source of its provision?' He said: 'What astonishes you? It was not provided except from here, and He pointed to the Heaven.'" (At-Tirmidhi).
Allah has made the trees and stones subjected to Him as sign of His prophethood. He once descended in a valley, and chose two trees (to follow him), and they assembled, i.e. is they gathered in subjection to his command (to form a shade and guide). (Muslim).
The Jinn gathered around Him listening to the Quran when he was in Makkah, and a nearby tree informed him about it. (Agreed upon).
He also used to deliver the sermon on the trunk of a palm tree. Then, a Minbar (pulpit) was made for him. When he was delivering sermon on it (the pulpit), the trunk longed for it (the action of delivering sermon) and it wept like a child, until the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, placed His hand on it, and it calmed down. (Al- Bukhari).
He said, "I know a stone in Makkah that used to greet me before I was sent [i.e. as a Prophet], I know it even until this moment." (Muslim).
He once mounted Uhud with a group of his companions, and it quaked. He then struck it and said, "Stand still, Uhud" and it became stable. (Al-Bukhari).
Allah has assisted him with Angels, in a manner that was never rendered to any Prophet before him. In Makkah, the Angel of the Mountains sought His permission to cover up its (Makkah) disbelievers with Al-Akhshabayn (they are two mountains in Makkah). He asked him [i.e. the angel] to grant them respite.
During the hijrah (emigration), Allah said,
ﱡﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴﱠ
"The second of the two, when they were in the cave, He said to His companion: Grieve not, surely Allah is with us. So, Allah sent down His tranquillity upon Him and strengthened Him with armies which you did not see."
During Badr, the best of the Angels joined the battle with him. At the battle of Uhud, the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, was sighted between with Jibril and Mikail fighting for him vigorously. (Agreed upon). Jibril also accompanied him, from Al-Khandaq to Bani-Qurayzha [both are places in Madinah]. (Al-Bukhari).
From the signs of his prophethood is Allah's protection of his prophethood against his enemies. He said,
ﱡﱺ ﱻ ﱼ ﱽﱠ
"And Allah will protect you from the people."
Thus, they had no authority over him until he prevailed over them despite their number and power.
Some Jews bewitched him, and Allah informed him that he had been bewitched, and of the place where spell was plotted, so He undid it it. They also poisoned a chunk of meat and Allah notified him of that.
Among the signs of His prophethood is His pure character and His complete creation.
Despite the prevalence of His authority, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Him, people's obedience to Him, and the preference given to him (by His companions) over their wealth and souls, He died without leaving a golden or silver penny behind, neither sheep nor camel, but his mule and weapon, and his armor with which was pledged to a jew as security for thirty Sa' (a weight) of barley bought for his household.
Thereafter, O Muslims:
Whoever ponders the biography of the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, from his birth to his death, will surely discover that he is truly a Messenger of Allah. He brought a word that its kind was never heard of in the earlier and later generations. He commanded his nation to believe in the oneness of Allah, guided them to all that is good, and forbade them from all that is bad, and Allah showed remarkable signs to him.
He came with the most complete religion and amassed great qualities of all the nations, so His nation became the most complete of nations in all aspects. They [i.e. His companions] obtained and learnt all these virtues from Him. He was the one that commanded to do so, and through it, they become the most knowledgeable, religious, just and honourable on the earth.
I seek refuge with Allah from Shaytaan, the accused the stoned.
ﱡﳓ ﳔ ﳕ ﳖ ﳗ ﳘ ﳙ ﳚ ﳛ ﳜ ﳝﳞ ﳟ ﳠ ﳡ ﳢ ﳣ ﳤ ﳥ ﳦ ﳧ ﳨ ﳩ ﳪ ﳫﱠ
"Say: 'I am only a human like you, [it is revealed to me that] your God [who is deserving of worship] is One God. So, he who hopes to meet his Lord, should do good deeds, and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.'"
May Allah bless me and you in the Noble Quran...
Second Sermon
Praise be to Allah for His kindness, and thanks be to Him for His guidance and grace. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Alone, without any partner, in exaltation of His rank. I [further] bear witness that our Prophet, Muhammad, is indeed His servant and Messenger, may Allah bless him, his household, and his companions, and continuously bless them.
O Muslims:
Reflecting on the signs of our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, and the signs of truthfulness increases [one's] Iman (faith). A high status can be achieved through frequent contemplation of His overwhelming qualities and His pure laws. In fact, there is no way to know about Allah except via His Messenger, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him.
And whosoever wants to know the truthfulness of His message and the clarity of its evidence should be reading Glorious Quran.
Since the creation's need to attestation of the truthfullness of the Messenger, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, is greater than their need of all other things, Allah has eased the discovery of the signs with which his truthfulness of the Prophets. He also made them large in number, apparent and clear such that no one would disbelieve in themexcept the obstinate one, and none would hesitate in believing them except the arrogant.
All goodness is embedded in steadfastness on the affirmation of the prophethood and in following His path.
Moreover, know that Allah has commanded you to send peace and blessings upon His Prophet…
[1] They are the proofs and evidences with which the man ascertains that the Prophets are Messengers from Allah, and are sincere in what they reported to us from Him.
This sermon was delivered on Friday 21st Rabi` al-Akhir, 1443, in the Prophet's Masjid.
[2] i.e. Allah has favoured them and granted them power which He has not given to other than them amongst mankind [Tafsir as-Sa'dee].
[3] A report that is narrated by a large number of people, on the authority of a group similar to them, while being impossible for them to agree upon a lie.
[4] i.e. So that Shaytaan cannot overcome Him.
