Three Questions by a Christian and their Answers — Page 18
18 In short, the critic has drawn a far-fetched conclusion from the negation [of miracles] mentioned in the above verse, and has gone far beyond the bounds of the text. The Arab contemporaries of the Holy Prophet sa could never have dreamed of drawing such a conclusion, for, in their heart of hearts, * they were fully convinced of the truth of Islam. That earth and we see you climb the ladder to heaven before our very eyes. And we shall not accept even this sign, unless you come back with a book which we can read and hold in our hands. ' They also demanded that the Holy Prophet sa should make canals of water to flow in Mecca, which was always short of water, just as they flowed in Iraq and Syria; or that all their ancestors who had died since the beginning of the world should come back alive, including Qu s ayy bin Kil a b, for that old man always spoke the truth, and they wanted to ask him whether the Holy Prophet’s claim was true or not. They sought all these self-conceived signs, which they made even more complicated by piling up conditions that have been mentioned at several places in the Holy Quran. To a dis- cerning mind, such demands provide a clear proof of the manifest miracles, evident signs and Prophetic visage of our lord and master, the Holy Prophet sa. Only God knows how disconcerted were the spiritually blind unbelievers by the light of the truth of the Holy Prophet sa , and what wonderful heavenly blessings and heavenly support was being showered on him which so overawed and bewildered them, and they tried to escape with such unreasonable demands. The showing of such miracles would fall outside the scope of 'belief in the unseen'. God, ob- viously, has the power to place a ladder to the heaven which all people could see; and He could restore to life, not just thousands, but millions of the dead, and could make them bear witness to the truth of the Holy Prophet sa in the presence of their progeny; God could do all this, but, if you think about it, such a full disclosure would have left no room for 'belief in the unseen'—on which depends all merit and reward—and the world would become a picture of Doomsday. Just as it shall be of no avail to believe when the Day of Judgement has arrived—for it will be Contd…