Signs & Miracles · The Qur'an Itself

The sign that is still here

Handle with care. Do not use this to belittle the miracles of Moses or Jesus (peace be upon them). The Qur'an affirms them.

In short

1.A staff turning into a snake helps whoever was standing there. Everyone after that is relying on a report.
2.The Qur'an is different: it is in front of you, recited daily, in the same wording, worldwide.
3.The Prophet said his own sign was revelation — that is why he expected followers on the Day of Judgement.
4.This is why the book, not the wonders, is the strongest thing to hand someone.

The claim being examined

Every earlier miracle was seen by the people present and then became a report. The Qur'an is the one sign a person can examine today.

The Islamic position

Islam holds that the Prophet's lasting miracle is the Qur'an itself — which is why it is the sign to lead with, not the wonders.

Analysis

Al-Bukhari records the Prophet distinguishing his sign from those of earlier prophets: theirs were witnessed events, his was revelation given to him. Muslim theologians developed this into the doctrine of i'jaz al-Qur'an — the inimitability of the Qur'an — and treated it as the standing, examinable evidence of prophethood, precisely because it does not depend on trusting a report about a past event.

From the Qur'an

أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ أَنَّا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ

Is it not enough for them that We sent down to you the Book, recited to them?

From the Sunnah

There was no prophet but was given signs because of which people believed; what I have been given is revelation which God revealed to me, so I hope my followers will be the most numerous on the Day of Resurrection.

Sources

Al-Baqillani, I'jaz al-Qur'an · Al-Suyuti, al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an · Sahih al-Bukhari 4981; Q 29:51

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