Falk Yassine

Miracles: True events or just stories?

The topic of miracles was always a very controversial debate. In fact there
are some people that believe that they actually existed and happened through
time, and others that do not believe it for rational and scientific reasons. There
are two distinguishable type of miracles, scientific and supernatural ones;
however, many are still confusing them. According to holly books, miracles are
the manifestation of the authority, power, and existence of God. Throughout this
paper I will be first discussing miracles based on Quranic and extra-Quranic
references. Then, I will explain the theories of Sir Khan and Nursi. After that, the
third part will be reporting the results of an interview about miracles. Finally, the
last part will be for discussion for all the gathered datas from the interview.
In the event that extraordinary phenomenas have been discussed by
different scholars and theologians, some approach them base on the Quran, and
others handle heavenly supernatural manifestations in extra-Qu'ranic references.
Different extraordinary supernatural occurrences are said in the Quran as proofs
of God's presence and superiority. One of the best substantiation of the Qu'ran
supernatural manifestations is the case of Mary the Virgin, for whom Islam gives
a tremendous significance. Mary was a servant of God, she is depicted in the
Quran as the purest of all ladies. Thus, the motivation behind why she was the
one to be chosen to perfectly bring forth Jesus, one of the preeminent prophets.
Mary was known for her devotion and was the only lady who got a Surat in the
Quran named after her and her dad, Imran. In this Surat, Mary was asking god
about how can she be pregnant even if she is still virgin. I quote: "How can I have
a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste? (Quran,
Surat Maryam) (22). we can conclude from this verse that her pregnancy was a
miracle.
In any case, the main question is are supernatural events that are
describe in the Quran truly happened or are they just stories and myths? Two
authors faced off regarding the thought of heavenly supernatural manifestations;
nevertheless, both had distinctive visions and opinions about miracles. As
indicated by Said Nursi, miracles did happen and demonstrated the presence of
god. Said Nursi said: Miracles are for demonstrating cases to prophet hood and
for persuading the individuals who deny those cases, they are not for convincing
individuals to accept. Which means that miracles confirms prophets claims about

Falk Yassine
God and his existence. On the other hand, be that as it may, Sir Khan's vision of
supernatural occurrences conflicts with what Nursi said. As indicated by Sir Khan,
supernatural occurrences don't really exist, since saying that they exist is like
bringing out God's injustice. He rejects any faith in wonders, by proclaiming that
his nation cannot be civilized if they fail to reject their belief in miracles.
Interpretation of miracles varies from one person to another. Thus, I
interviewed a person about miracles that are present in the Quranic texts he
interviewee began by characterizing the Islam as a religion in light of confidence
that is loaded with extraordinary events, which premise is significantly
nonsensical since it instructs you to believe in supernatural occurrences that no
one ever seen. Numerous supernatural miracles were specified by the interview,
among them was the fact that it is described in the Quran that the shape of earth
is oval, an information that cannot be available to humans during their times
since they did not had the necessary technology to know. in addition, another
supernatural miracles that was discussed is the narrative of al Israe wa al Miaraj,
which is the nighttime travel of the prophet on a horse called Buraq from the
Arabic Peninsula to Jerusalem in one night, and the fact that. The interviewee
included that the Quran overall is considered as a supernatural occurrence, since
it is as far as anyone knows the expressions of God that he sent with the
heavenly attendant Gabriel. From the interviewee's own point of view, numerous
different supernatural occurrences are specified inside this sacred book yet are
appropriated from past sacred texts like the Bible such as the wonder of Moses
who split ocean with his stick, and the Flood of Noah, this story is not just present
in the Bible but also in old Sumerian stories. For example, the Epic of Gilgamesh,
which explain pretty much the biblical miracles. When I inquired him as to
whether he accepted and believed the miracles that are mentioned in the Quran,
he said that the Quran is an aggregation of antiquated stories of Jewish,
Zoroastrian, and locals. It is considered as a plagiarism by some researchers who
have seen the nearness of Hebrew and Greek words, which affirms this
hypothesis. Thus, we can state that he is a Nursian.
Last but not the least, I personally believe in supernatural miracles and
that they are not just fairy tale stories that aim to explain the universe to
humans. I think that these event must be interpreted literally and should not be
discussed since they are present in the Quran which is the words of god.

Falk Yassine

References

Quran, Surat Maryam. n.d. 22.