Part of the sunnah of Allaah is that whenever He sends a prophet, He gives that prophet certain miracles and signs to prove his prophet hood to his people. The miracles of Moosaa, 'Eesaa and the other prophets are well known to all Muslims.
Allaah says: '
And We will make him (Eesaa) a Messenger to the Children of Israa'eel, (saying), 'I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allaah's leave; and I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I bring the dead to life by Allaah's Leave. And I inform you of what you eat, and what you store in your houses.' Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe" (Q3[Aal-lmran]:49)
So many, in fact, are the miracles that were given to certain nations, that Allaah said:
"Ask the Children of Israa'eel how many miracles We gave them ... " (Q2[Baqarah] :211)
Despite all these miracles, however, the majority of people rejected their prophets. The disbelievers of Makkah were no exception to the disbelievers of old, and rejected the call of the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam). They asked him for miracle after miracle:
'and they say, 'We shall not believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us; Or you have a garden of date palms and grapes, and cause rivers to gush forth in their midst abundantly; Or you cause the heavens to fall upon us in pieces, as you have pretended, or you bring Allaah and the angels before (us) face-to-face; Or you have a house of adorable material (i.e., gold and silver), or you ascend up into the sand even then we will put no faith in your ascension until you bring down for us a book that we would read!' Answer them (0 Muhammad), 'Glorified be my Lord! I am just a man, sent as a Messenger? (Q 17[lsrai]:90-93)
In another place, the result of the showing of these miracles has been told:
'And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken to them, and We had gathered together all things before their very eyes, even then they would not have believed, unless A1laah willed, but most of them behave ignorantly!" (Q6[An'am1:111)
Allaah then tells the disbelievers the ultimate miracle that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) has been given:
'And they say, 'Why are not miracles sent down to him from his Lord?' Say: 'The signs are only with Allaah,and I am only a plain warner.' Is it not a sufficient (miracle) for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them? Verily, herein is a mercy and a reminder for a people who believe'" (Q29[Ankabut] :50-51)
Even this, however, was not sufficient for the disbelieving Makkans. They claimed that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) was a liar who forged the Qur'aan, or a magician, or one possessed by jinn. They even claimed that they could imitate the Qur'aan: '
And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, 'We have heard this! If we wish, we can say something similar to it. These are nothing but stories of old'" (Q8[AnfaI]:31)
In response to this, Allaah challenged them to fulfil this claim of theirs.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited