Miracles before the Sacred Birth of Prophet Muhammad

The birth of great personalities is sometimes preceded by occurrence of extraordinary events. Thus, the birth of Prophet Muhammad , who is the greatest personality among all creation, was preceded by many extraordinary events. Al-Mighty

displayed many signs regarding the arrival of Prophet Muhammad , so that after witnessing these signs, people would respond to the call of the Holy .

Incarceration of Satan (Iblis)

Before the birth of the Holy Prophet , Satan and his followers (jinn) were allowed to enter the heavens (till the third heaven) and would gather information by listening to the talks of the angels. They would then relay this information to the soothsayers, oracles and other misguided people, who would use that information for their own purpose. These creatures were barred from entering the heavens just before the birth of the Holy Prophet . Hussain ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Diyar Bikri states:

  فی ليلة میلادہ صلی الله علیه وسلم صارت الشیاطین وكبیرھم ابلیس محجوبة من السماء مرمية بالشھب الثواقب وكانت قبل تصعد فتسترق السمع. ¹

  On the night of birth of the Messenger of Allah, the Satans and their leader Iblis were prevented from entering the sky, and were thrown away by the burning embers. Before that, they used to ascend to the heavens and tried to listen (to the words of the angels) secretly.

The Rising of a Specific Star (Ahmed)

A narration from Hassan ibn Thabit reflects that before the birth of the Holy Prophet , a star rose on the horizon, which was in fact a sign of his birth and its appearance was also mentioned in the previous religious scriptures. In this regard, the statement of a Jewish scholar, which he quoted on the morning of Prophet Muhammad’s birth is narrated by Hassan ibn Thabit . Ibn Kathir quotes Hassan ibn Thabit and states:

  عن حسان بن ثابت قال: إني لغلام يفعة ابن سبع سنين أو ثمان، أعقل ما رأيت وسمعت إذا بيھودي في يثرب يصرخ ذات غداة: يا معشر يھود۔ فاجتمعوا إليه وأنا أسمع فقالوا ويلك مالك؟ قال: قد طلع نجم أحمد الذي يولد به في هذه الليلة. ²

  It is narrated on the authority of Hassan ibn Thabit that he said: I was seven or eight years old and could understand everything which i could see and hear. Early in the morning in Yathrib, a Jew called out, "O Jews! (And I was listening)." They came to him and asked, ‘May you be destroyed! What is the matter?’ He said: “The star of Ahmed has risen and he has been born tonight.”

A similar narration has also been cited by Ibn Hisham with a little difference of expression. ³ These citations reflect that the rising of a specific star was one of the clear signs of Holy Prophet’s advent, which were mentioned in the previous religious scriptures. The appearance of these signs was meant to draw the attention of the people, specifically the people of the Book, to the fact that it was the time of the advent of the Last Messenger of

.

 

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• ¹ Hussain ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Diyar Bikri (2009), Tareekh Al-Khamees fe-Ahwal Anfus Al-Nafees, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 368.
• ² Abul Fida Ismael ibn Kathir Al-Damishqi (2011), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Kathir, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 38.
• ³ Abd Al-Malik ibn Hisham (2009), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Hisham, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 129.