The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 457
X - Siege of Madīnah and Delicate State of the Muslims, Failure of the Disbelievers and Reality of Miracles 457 and said, “Now begin baking the bread. ” After this, the Holy Prophet sa began to slowly distribute the food. Jābir ra relates, “I swear by that Being, in Whose hand is my life, that this food sufficed for everyone and all ate their fill. Our pot was still boiling and the dough had not been used up completely. ” 1 Reality of Miracles In addition to Bukhārī, this narration has been related in many other books of Ḥadīth and history as well. This incident is proven to be absolutely true in terms of principles of testimony and narration, all of its narrators are reliable and the first narrator has related his own eye-witness account. Therefore, despite the fact that an incident has been related in this narration which is against the general and known law of nature, I was not reluctant in including it in the context of this historical account. In actuality, with regards to incidents of this nature, there are four points, which are to be investigated in terms of rationality and Sharī‘at : Firstly: The incident should be established by reliable eye witnesses. In other words, there should be no reasonable doubt in the occurrence having taken place in terms of principles of testimony. 2 Secondly: The incident should not possess any such aspect, which contradicts a clearly mentioned custom of God the Almighty, an unconditional promise or well-known attribute of God. 3 For it is absolutely impossible for such miracles and wonders to be manifested by God, which result in an allegation being levelled upon the very Being of God himself in one way or another. Thirdly: The incident should be of such nature that from one aspect or another, it is found to be above and beyond human intellect and human intervention, so that this may serve as an indication that its source is not the human heart and mind, but a more Supreme Being. 4 Fourthly: To some extent, the incident should possess an aspect of concealment. In other words, the state should not be such whereby a person 1 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwatil-Khandaqi Wa Hiyal-Aḥzābu, Ḥadīth No. 4101 * Fatḥul-Bārī Sharḥu Ṣaḥīḥil-Bukhārī, By Al-Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 7, p. 505- 507, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwatil-Khandaqi Wa Hiyal-Aḥzābu, Ḥadīth No. 4102, Qadīmī Kutub Khānah, Ārām Bāgh, Karachi 2 Al-Ḥujurāt (49:7), At-Taḥrīm (66:4), At-Taubah (9:120) 3 Banī Isrā’īl (17:78), Al-Aḥzāb (33:63), Ar-Rūm (30:7), Hūd (11:62-66), Al-Ḥashr (59:19-25), Al-A‘rāf (7:181) 4 Luqmān (31:11-12), Ash-Shūrā (42:11-20)