A Response to Three Questions of a Christian — Page 38
38 miracles would not come. It does not establish the general nega- tion of all miracles. In the second case of the ألف — alif and the الم — l a m connoting universality and all inclusiveness, the meaning would be: ‘The rejection of the earlier peoples prevented the sending of all-in- clusive Signs. ’ However, it cannot be concluded from this that no miracle would be sent at all. Fourth, because all that can be concluded from the verse under discussion is that nothing beyond the rejection of the earlier peo- ples prevents Allah the Exalted from the sending of miracles, and it is clear that this is not an obstacle. Can the rejection of deniers stop the Exalted Maker from sending proofs? The Prophets, peace be upon them, have always been rejected, yet they kept coming. Rejection always ensues upon miracles, yet miracles keep occurring. Divine powers and forces cannot be halted by the obstruc- tions of deniers. The meaning of the word مَنَعَنَا is ‘tried to stop us’. This word does not mean that ‘We stopped’. But yes, if it had been stated in the Noble Quran as follows: ۡ اَن َّٓ ال َات ِ إِ ي ٰۡ ال َ مَا امۡتَنَعَنَا اَن ۡ نُّرۡسِل َ بِا َوَّلُوۡن ۡأ ال کَذَّب َ بِھَا ا , which would mean, ‘We have not stopped sending Signs and miracles except for the reason that the earlier peoples rejected them’; then, in that case, the argument of the deniers of miracles could have proceeded a bit further. However, the word in the Quran is not اِمۡتَنَعَنَا but rather, it is مَنَعَنَا , which means ‘They tried to stop Us’ and not that ‘We stopped’. In short, falsification [by the opponents] tried to stop [mir- acles], but the Exalted Maker did not stop. This is the only verse which, if interpreted and accepted to mean stop, supports the