EACH CREATION IS A MIRACLE
Window to God-realization
BEFORE the commencement of his prophetic mission, Moses, together with his wife and family, was traveling from Midian. When he arrived at Mount Sinai, a storm was blowing, and they had lost their way. Then, on the mountainside, Moses saw a fire, and said to his wife:
Wait here. I can see a fire. Perhaps I can bring you a brand from it, or find some guidance at the fire. (20: 10)
But when he came near, he found that there was much more in the ‘Burning Bush’ than met the eye:
...A voice called out to him: ‘Moses, I am your Lord...’ (20: 11-12)
The Lord then asked him, ‘What do you have in your right hand, Moses?’ He replied, ‘It is my staff. I lean on it, and with it, I beat down the leaves for my flock; I also have other uses for it.’ But when Moses, at God’s command, cast it down, it turned into a fast-moving serpent. Similarly, Moses’ hand, when he put it under his armpit, came out shining white—another sign from God.
In ancient times the miracles were given to Prophets in order to convince people of their being true prophets. But in modern times, science can be used as substitute to miracles.
Miracles provide a powerful incentive for faith; they are a living proof of the truth of the prophets’ message.
The revelation of the Quran, being the final book of God, marked the end of the prophetic era. After the Prophet Muhammad, unto whom the Quran was revealed, no other prophet would come to the world. That meant the end of miracles as the world had known them. But miracles provide a powerful incentive for faith; they are a living proof of the truth of the prophets’ message; without them, many would miss the opportunity to get to know God. What would then compensate their absence? It was decided that human learning itself should encompass the miraculous properties invested in all things; knowledge of the inner significance of matter, which had hitherto been revealed unto prophets alone, should be made available to the whole of the human race.
The Quran made this advance in human learning possible by opening the way for human investigation into natural phenomena. The sun, moon, stars and other things that had previously been considered gods in themselves were clearly stated to be the work of God, and signs of His singular power. When they were considered divine, these natural phenomena could not be investigated, for who can delve into the nature of “god”; but in their new context they became accessible to critical and objective study: that which had been an object of worship became an object of investigation.
This process was started by the Quran which stressed that everything in the universe was a sign of God. It culminated in the scientific revolution of recent times—the knowledge explosion which has thrown open the inner significance of things. It is now possible for man, without the aid of prophetic miracles, to perceive the miraculous nature of all things, and conclude that such feats of creation can only be the work of a masterful creator.
If one observes the universe in depth, as science allows one to do, and draws conclusions in the light of Quranic teachings, one will see that everything is a miracle.
To take an example, a traveller visited the Red Sea, where Moses performed his most famous miracle—the parting of the sea. Armed with modern scientific equipment, he was able to observe the mass of colourful coral reefs, the dazzling array of glistening fish, and the elaborate marine growth that lay beneath its waters. Struck by the wondrous beauty, he wrote:
At the Red Sea, it isn’t necessary to behold the face of the Lord in the burning bush of Sinai or have the waves part for escape from the Pharaoh’s chariots. One can prove the existence of God even by means of face-mask and a snorkel. For just below the surface is a seething, kaleidoscopic universe that could only be the creation of an omnipotent artist, an all-knowing scientist, a Supreme practical-joker. (Jeff Davidson in Readers Digest, May, 1984.)
Such observations have only been made possible by the advances of science, and science only advanced because the Quran made it possible for it to do so. If one observes the universe in depth, as science allows one to do, and draws conclusions in the light of Quranic teachings, one will see that everything is a miracle; one will see the face of God shining in His creation.