Why Did They Become Muslims

Mu’jiza [1]
(miracle) is a supernatural event that shows that
Prophets ‘alaihimus-salawâtu wattaslîmât’ were sent by Allâhu
ta’âlâ and that they tell the truth. When a Prophet displays a
miracle, he has to challenge others, saying, “Try and do the same
if you do not believe! You cannot.” A mu’jiza (miracle) is beyond
the normal course of events and the natural laws. For this reason,
scientists cannot perform miracles. If the person displaying the
marvellous event does not tell others beforehand and challenge
them to do the same, then that person is not a Prophet; he is a
Walî, and what he has done is called a karâmat. A marvellous
event performed by others is called magic. The marvellous things
performed by magicians can happen through Prophets
‘alaihimussalawâtu wattaslîmat’ and through Awliyâ ‘rahimahumullâhu
ta’âlâ’ as well. An example of this is: When Pharaoh’s
magicians changed pieces of thread into snakes, the rod of Mûsâ
(Moses) ‘alaihis-salâm’ changed into a bigger snake and ate them
all. When they saw that their magic was broken and that they could
not perform the same miracle, they all believed in Mûsâ ‘alaihissalâm’,
and they did not relinquish their belief despite Pharaoh’s
threats and oppression. Allâhu ta’âlâ is the creator of all miracles,
whether they be the mu’jizas of Prophets ‘alaihimussalawâtu
wattaslîmât’ or the karâmats of Awliyâ ‘rahima-humullâhu ta’âlâ’.
While He creates the ordinary, natural events that are harmonious
with the laws of science through a certain chain of causes, He
suspends such causes in creating the miracles. Burhân and âyat are
two other terms that can be substituted for mu’jiza. Magic changes
the events physically. It cannot change the construction of
something. Mu’jiza and karâmat can do both these types of
changes.
The advent of Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, some of his
qualifications, that he would appear on the Arabian peninsula, and
the wonderful events that would take place towards the time of his
advent were written in the Torah and the Bible. That they were
stated in those Holy Books was a miraculous event, not only for
Mûsâ (Moses) and Îsâ (Jesus) ‘alaihim-as-salâm’, but also for
Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’. Allâhu ta’âlâ blessed each Prophet
[1] When the supernatural event, miracle, takes place through a Prophet
it is called a mu’jiza. When it takes place through a Walî, it is called a
karâmat. Walî means a pious Muslim whom Allâhu ta’âlâ loves very
much. (pl. Awliyâ)
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