It is narrated from Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) through authentic chains of narrators that a Jew came to Medina, who was well acquainted with the Taurat, Zabur, Injeel and other prophetical books, and with the miracles performed by them, came to Medina to dispute the mission of Muhammad whose companions he found, and engaged in the Masjid.
Among the number was Amirul Momineen (a.s.), who rebutted the allegations of the Jew and vindicated the pre-eminence of Muhammad. The Jew commenced the controversy saying: O community of Muhammad, you claim for your Prophet every excellence found in the prophetical ranks; will you then answer my questions?
At that time the companions included Ibn Abbas and Abu Saeed Khudri. The rest of the Muslims remained silent, Ali joined issue with the disputant, saying that all the excellences possessed by all the prophets were united in Muhammad, to whom additional ones were likewise imparted of God. The Jew replied, I will propose certain questions, be prepared to answer me.
Jew: God commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam; has such a distinction been conferred on Muhammad? Ali: The adoration offered to Adam was not worship, but simply recognition of his exalted rank, and this distinction was far surpassed by the benedictions conferred on Muhammad by God Himself, and by the angels in the kingdom on high. Moreover it is obligatory on all believers to pronounce blessings on the Prophet down to the Judgment Day.
Jew: God accepted the repentance of Adam. Ali: And He has done more than this for Muhammad, for, notwithstanding he was sinless, the Almighty Allah said to him in the Qur’an:
لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ
“That Allah may forgive your past faults and those to follow…”125
When he shall appear at the judgment no sin or error will be attached to him. Jew: God conveyed Idris to a high place, and after his death gave him of the fruit of Paradise. Ali: And he said to Muhammad:
وَوَضَعْنَا عَنْكَ وِزْرَكَ
“And exalted for you your esteem?”126
This is sufficient to prove his superior rank; and if the Almighty Allah gave Idris fruit in Paradise, He bestowed on Muhammad, a fatherless and motherless orphan, celestial food in this world. One day Jibraeel brought him a dish from Paradise, full of its dainities, which on being taken by the Prophet uttered praises and repeated the creed, There is no God but God. Myself, Fatima, Hasan and Husain, and no others, were permitted to partake with him, and on touching the dish it uttered praises anew.
When a companion of the Prophet tried to take the plate Jibraeel said that only the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) can eat from it. So we all ate from it. My palate still retains the flavor of that celestial food.
Jew: Nuh was patient under the abuse he suffered from his people, and although they charged him with lying, he still performed his prophetical office.
Ali: Our Prophet was likewise patient under the injuries inflicted on him by the Quraish, and although accused of falsehood, he was more diligent in the exercise of his prophetical office. At last they worried him with small stones, and Abu Lahab cast the entrails of a camel on him. Upon this the Almighty Allah commanded Jabeel, the angel of the mountains, to open them and execute whatever Muhammad might order to be inflicted on his people. T
he angel waited on the Prophet, and tendered his services saying, If you command it, I will rend up the mountains from their base and hurl them on the heads of your enemies. He replied, “I am raised up in mercy; O Lord, guide my people, for they are ignorant of my status.” When Nuh saw that his people were drowned, he grieved for his son, and in his affection for the lost child, said, “O Lord, my son belongs to my family.”
The Almighty Allah consoled him by declaring, “He is not of your family, but is verily an evil doer.” On the contrary, when Muhammad knew that his people were the enemies of the truth, he drew the sword of vengeance against them, nor felt for them the tenderness of kindred ties, nor turned on them a look of kindness, because they were enemies of Allah.
Jew: Nuh pronounced a curse on his people, and in consequence water beyond measure poured down from the skies and drowned them.
Ali: The prayer of Nuh was offered in anger; Muhammad prayed for mercy on his people, and water beyond measure descended for their relief. This miracle was manifested at Medina, after his flight to that city, when everything was perishing from drought. Not a cloud was to be seen when he raised his blessed hand towards heaven, and he had not moved from his place when rain began to descend in such torrents that the people with difficulty got to their houses.
Seven days incessantly poured the rain, till the people came to the Prophet, complaining that their houses were ruined and the roads made impassable. He smiled and said, “Do the children of Adam so quickly grieve under favors?” He then prayed that the rain might cease at the city, but continue on the surrounding country and pasture grounds, which it did.
Jew: God sent a wind which avenged Hud of his enemies.
Ali: But for the Messenger of Allah (S) there was a better miracle: At the siege of Khandaq, the Almighty Allah sent a wind filled with gravel against the enemy, and moreover an army of eight thousand invisible angels, which makes the miracle twice as great as that of Hud. The first thing is that eight thousand angels accompanied the Prophet. Secondly the wind of Hud was sent in wrath against the people of Aad, but the wind of Muhammad was sent in mercy to protect the Muslims, did no harm even to the infidels; all of which is thus expressed in the Qur’an:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَاءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَمْ تَرَوْهَا
“O you who believe! call to mind the favor of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts, that you saw not…”127
Jew: For Salih (a.s.) the Almighty Allah caused a camel to come out of a rock, as an argument to convince his people. Ali: Yes, it was thus, but He gave a better miracle to the Prophet. That camel neither spoke nor testified to Salih’s prophethood, but in one of our battles when we were sitting with the Prophet a camel came to him, and Allah caused it to speak, and it said, “O Messenger of Allah (S), such a man made me labor till I am old, and now he plans to slaughter me; in you I take refuge.” The Holy Prophet (S) sent to ask the camel of its owner, who gave it to him, and he set the creature free.
On another occasion we were present with the Prophet when a Bedouin arrived pulling a camel and another man came behind him also claiming the ownership of the camel. They had also brought witnesses with them and they gave a false testimony but the animal testified on behalf of its true owner and said by the command of Allah: O Prophet, this another Bedouin is my master, such and such Jew had stolen me from him.
Jew: The Almighty Allah imparted divine knowledge to Ibrahim in his childhood, so that he was able to adduce proofs from the wonders of heaven and earth.
Ali: So it was when Ibrahim was fifteen years old; but when the Messenger of Allah (S) was only seven years of age a party of Christian merchants came to Mecca, and encamped between Safa and Marwah. Some of them, seeing the Prophet, recognized him by the description they had read in sacred books, and after questioning him as to his name. His Eminence, replied: Muhammad (S). They asked who his father was. He replied: “Abdullah.”
Then they asked what this is (pointing the earth) and he replied: “It is the earth.” Then they asked what this is (pointing the sky) and he replied: “It is the sky.” Then they asked who was their preserver. He replied, “The Lord of the universe.” He then demanded of them if they wished to make him doubt his own faith, adding such a doubt he had never known.
“I have never doubted my faith.” He was acquainted with divine things, although living among people who worshipped idols, gambled, and associated creatures with the Creator, and amid all this wickedness he alone declared, “There is no god but Allah.”
Jew: Ibrahim was concealed from Namrud three times and he could cause no harm to him.
Ali: Yes, but Muhammad was concealed from a person who attempted to kill him by five veils, and two veils more than that of Ibrahim as the Qur’an itself testifies:
وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ سَدًّا وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ سَدًّا فَأَغْشَيْنَاهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ.
“And We have made before them a barrier and a barrier behind them, then We have covered them over so that they do not see.”128
And also said:
وَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ جَعَلْنَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ حِجَابًا مَسْتُورًا.
“And when you recite the Qur’an, We place between you and those who do not believe in the hereafter a hidden barrier…”129
This is the fourth veil. Then He said:
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا فِي أَعْنَاقِهِمْ أَغْلَالًا فَهِيَ إِلَى الْأَذْقَانِ فَهُمْ مُقْمَحُونَ.
“Surely We have placed chains on their necks, and these reach up to their chins, so they have their heads raised aloft.”130
Jew: Ibrahim’s argument for the truth was perfect against infidel Namrud who disputed with him about Allah. Ali: A man, Ubayy bin Khalaf, one day came to the Prophet and denied resurrection. The skeptic had a decayed bone in his hand, which he crumbled to pieces, saying, “Who can make a rotten bone live?” Divine revelation came down on the Prophet and he said: “He who formed creatures at first and whose omniscience distinguishes each individual.” At this rebuke the infidel went away ashamed.
Jew: Ibrahim, indignant for the honor of God, broke the idols of his people.
Ali: The Messenger of Allah (S) broke and cast out of Kaaba three hundred and sixty idols, and banished idolatry from Arabian peninsula, subduing the infidels with the sword.
Jew: Ibrahim caused his son to lie down that he might sacrifice him for the pleasure of the Almighty Allah.
Ali: But Allah spared him that anguish by substituting an animal for the sacrifice. Trials of the Messenger of Allah (S) surpassed this, when, at the Battle of Uhud, he saw his uncle Hamza, the lion of God and the Prophet, slain and horribly mutilated, yet he acquiesced in the will of God, uttered no lamentation, nor did even a sigh or tear escape him, such was his perfect resignation.
Moreover he said, “Were it not that Hamza’s sister, Safiya would be grieved at the neglect, and the act might hereafter be quoted to show that carelessness of the dead as meritorious, verily I would leave Hamza in this shocking condition to beasts and birds of prey so that they might have eaten him up and on Judgment Day he would have been raised up from their bellies.”
Jew: Ibrahim’s people cast him into a fire which God rendered cool and refreshing to him.
Ali: The Messenger of Allah (S) camped at Khyber where a woman of that place gave Muhammad poison, but God changed the fiery portion to salubrity, till his appointed time had come, when at last the poison acted and secured him the prize of martyrdom.131
Jew: God gave Yaqub (a.s.) a good fortune in making him the father of the tribes, and Maryam was also his child.
Ali: the Messenger of Allah (S) has a greater share of good as Fatima, the best of all women, was his daughter, and Hasan and Husain, and the imams descending from Husain are his children, which surpasses the fortune of Yaqub.
Jew: But Yaqub was patient under the separation from his beloved son till he nearly died.
Ali: And his grief at last was ended when his son was restored to him, whereas the Prophet was voluntarily content at the death of his son, Ibrahim, and said, “Though it is very sad and the heart laments, yet will I say nothing that may be displeasing to the Lord.” He was always satisfied with the divine allotments, and in everything obeyed the law of God.
Jew: Yusuf tasted the bitterness of separation from his father and preferred the horrors of a prison to the commission of a crime; and though innocent, was cast into a dark pit.
Ali: The Messenger of Allah (S) in fleeing to Medina left the sacred Kaaba and his dear native place which was safe, and endured the bitterness of exile, voluntarily separating himself from his people and children. To soothe his excessive grief at his separation from Mecca and the Kaaba, Allah sent him a dream like that of Yusuf by revealing to him:
لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ الرُّؤْيَا بِالْحَقِّ ۖ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ آمِنِينَ مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ لَا تَخَافُونَ ۖ فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا فَجَعَلَ مِنْ دُونِ ذَٰلِكَ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا.
“Certainly Allah had shown to His Apostle the vision with truth: you shall most certainly enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah pleases, in security, (some) having their heads shaved and (others) having their hair cut, you shall not fear, but He knows what you do not know, so He brought about a near victory before that.”132
If Yusuf was cast into prison, the Prophet was three years shut up in Shebe Abu Talib, while his relatives and friends reduced him to the greatest straits, till at length Allah sent worms which destroyed the contract his enemies had sealed and placed in the Kaaba, by which means the league formed against him was annulled and they came to know the facts about the Prophet.
After that another Jew came and said: God sent the Taurat to Musa, which contains the divine statutes and commandments.
Ali: The Lord of the universe gave to the last Prophet the two Surahs of the Qur’an entitled Surah Baqarah and Surah Maidah, as equivalent to Injeel; the three Surahs of Ta Seen, and the Surah of Ta-ha, and lengthy Surah that is Surah Muhammad to the end of the Qur’an, and seven Surahs entitled Ha Mim as equal to the Taurat; the other half of the short Surahs as equivalent to the Zabur; the Surahs entitled Bani Israel, and the Declaration of Immunity, as equal to the books of Ibrahim and Musa; and as more than an equivalent to the books of all the other prophets were given to the Prophet the seven long Surahs of the Qur’an, and the Surah of praise, which contains seven verses; all this, besides innumerable communication of divine wisdom. Jew: God spoke with Musa on Mt. Tur.
Ali: And the Almighty Allah addressed our Prophet at Sidratul Muntaha (the farthest lote tree). The position of the Messenger of Allah (S) is well known in all the skies and he is mentioned near the empyrean of God.
Jew: God imparted such love to Musa (a.s.) that whoever beheld him loved him involuntarily.
Ali: Allah bestowed on our Prophet this same distinction, that wherever the creed is repeated, following the testimony to the divine unity, is the declaration of Muhammad’s prophethood.
Jew: The Almighty Allah on account of Musa’s rank sent a divine communication to his mother.
Ali: Allah likewise sent angelic communications to the mother of Muhammad, testifying that he is the Messenger of Allah (S), and his name is celebrated in all divine books. In a dream, she saw angels who said to her, “Your unborn son is the chief of first and last; call him Muhammad, a name derived from the great divine titles, for God is Mahmud and he is Muhammad.”
Jew: God raised up Musa to oppose Firon, and gave him the power of performing mighty miracles.
Ali: The Messenger of Allah (S) had many Firon to contend with, as Abu Jahl, Atba, Shaibah, Abul Bakhtari, Nazar bin Harb, Umayyah bin Khalaf, Mabnan Maiban and five others, that is Walid bin Mughairah Makhzumi, Aas bin Wail Sahmi, Aswad bin Abde Ghauth Zuhri, Aswad bin Muttalib and Harith bin Talatala who ridiculed the Prophet and the Almighty Allah showed the miracles till it was evident that the Holy Prophet (S) was true.
Jew: God avenged Musa of Firon. Ali: And he took vengeance on the Firons of the Holy Prophet (S), particularly on five men who ridiculed him, and who perished miserably in one day. About them the Almighty Allah said:
إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِينَ
“Surely We will suffice you against the scoffers…”133
Walid had gone to a village; there a person from Qaza-a had sharpened an arrow and left its piece there, which pierced Walid’s foot and he began to bleed. All efforts to stem the bleeding failed and he used to scream in pain: Muhammad’s God has killed me. And he finally died.
Aas bin Wail had gone out of the city on some purpose and on the way his foot slipped on a rock and he fell down the ravine and his body was shattered. He was also lamenting: Muhammad’s God has killed me. And he finally died.
Aswad Ibn Abde Ghauth had come out of his house to welcome his son, Zam-a and stood under the shade of a tree. Jibraeel came and bashed his head against the tree. He kept on screaming to his slave: “Catch the one who is bashing my head.” But his slave said that he was doing it himself. He kept on screaming: “Muhammad’s God has killed me.” And he finally died.
The Messenger of Allah (S) cursed Aswad bin Muttalib that he should become blind and make him suffer the tragedy of his son’s death. One day he left his house and Jibraeel hit his eye with a green leaf and he became blind. Then his son died and he also accompanied him to Hell.
In the same way, Aswad bin Harith was also punished. One day he ate roasted fish and he felt so thirsty and he drank water in such a large quantity that his stomach burst and he also went on repeating: Muhammad’s God has killed me. And he finally died.
All these enemies die on the same day, because once they had come together to the Messenger of Allah (S) and said: O Muhammad, we give you respite till afternoon, if you do not give up your mission, we would put you to death. The Messenger of Allah (S) became aggrieved and he came home and closed the door. Jibraeel came down with the following verse:
فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
“Therefore declare openly what you are bidden and turn aside from the polytheists.”134
His Eminence asked, “What shall I do about those who have threatened me with death? Jibraeel then recited the following verse:
إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِينَ
“Surely We will suffice you against the scoffers…”135
The Messenger of Allah (S) said: They had come to me. Jibraeel said: I have dealt with all of them. So the Prophet came out and resumed his duties. After that the Almighty Allah slew the rebellious Firons on the day of Badr with the swords of angels and believers and the other polytheists ran away.
Jew: Allah gave a staff to Musa which whenever he cast down, became a serpent . Ali: He gave Muhammad a better miracle than this. A certain man had a claim on Abu Jahl for a camel he had sold him, but could not recover his money, the purchaser was so constantly devoted to wine that the seller could not meet Abu Jahl. One who held the Prophet in derision met the creditor and asked him who he was searching for.
He replied: Amr bin Hasham and I want to recover the price of my camel. The man said: Shall I not tell you about someone who restores the rights of the people? He replied: Yes, why not? He sent him to the Messenger of Allah (S). This direction was given in order to bring reproach on the Prophet, for Abu Jahl had repeatedly said he wished Muhammad would apply to him for something, that he might disgrace him by a refusal.
The creditor as he was directed applied to Muhammad, desiring him to use his influence with Abu Jahl and secure payment of the debt. The Prophet immediately went with the man to the debtor’s house and said, Abu Jahl, give this man his due. That was the first time the debtor had been greeted by such a title, signifying Father of ignorance or boorishness, as his true name was Amr bin Hasham; but the nickname afterwards became his common appellation.
To the astonishment of all present, he immediately paid the debt, and after Muhammad had retired, said to his companions, “Excuse what I have done. I saw on Muhammad’s right, men with glittering weapons in their hands, and on his left two monstrous serpents gnashing their teeth, while fire sparkled from their eyes. If I had refused his demand, doubtless I should have been instantly destroyed by those men and serpents.” Now one of these serpents is equal to Musa’s, and the other, with eight armed angels, is over and above what was conferred on your Prophet.
Verily the Holy Prophet (S) greatly annoyed the infidel Quraish in summoning them to embrace Islam. On one occasion he accused them of being very foolish, abused their religion, reviled their idols, and called their fathers wanderers from the right way. They were very dejected under these rebukes, and Abu Jahl said, “By Allah! death is better for us than a life of such reproach.
Is there no one who will devote himself to death by killing Muhammad?” As the Quraish declined the deed, Abu Jahl declared he would do the business himself, whether the sons of Abdul Muttalib took his life in retaliation or forgave the act. The Quraish encouraged him by saying that he would thus confer a favor on the people of Mecca, for which he would ever be held in grateful remembrance.
Said Abu Jahl, “Muhammad performs a great deal of prostration at the Kaaba; the next time I find him prostrate there I will dash out his brains with a stone.” Soon after, the Prophet came, performed seven circuits around the Kaaba, prayed and prostrated himself in adoration, and continued long in that attitude.
Abu Jahl took up a heavy stone, and approached the Prophet’s head, but was met by a mad camel that rushed at him with open mouth, which so frightened him that he dropped the stone on his foot, which was thereby severely wounded. With ghastly countenance and heavy perspiration on him, he called to his companions, and begged them to excuse his plight, for he had beheld such a sight as never met his eyes before.
Jew: God gave Musa a luminous hand.
Ali: Better than this he bestowed on His chosen one; wherever he was, light beamed all around him.
Jew: A way in the sea was opened for Musa.
Ali: As we were marching to the Battle of Hunain, we came to a river whose depth was fourteen fathoms. One of the companions exclaimed, “O Messenger of Allah (S), what a position is ours, with a sea in front and enemies in our rear, like the people of Musa when they thought themselves prisoners.
إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ
“Most surely we are being overtaken.”136
The Prophet dismounted and said, “O Lord to every Prophet you has given a miracle, then show me a sign of Your power.” Remounting his camel, he advanced on the surface of the water, on which the whole army proceeded after him, and not even the hooves of the horses became wet in the passage. We advanced to the battle, and Allah gave us victory.
Jew: God gave Musa a rock from which twelve fountains flowed.
Ali: When the Prophet encamped at Hudaibiyah, and was there besieged by the people of Mecca, his army was reduced to great distress for water, and their animals were near perishing of thirst. He ordered a vessel to be brought, in which he placed his blessed hand, when such a quantity of water issued from between his fingers that we and our animals were all satisfied, after which we filled our water-skins at the same miraculous fountain.
There was a well at this place and it had dried up. The Holy Prophet (S) took out an arrow from the quiver and gave it to Baraa bin Azib and asked him to fix it in that well. When he did that, twelve springs erupted from that arrow. Again, in the expedition of Miqat the Prophet put his hand into a vessel, from which sufficient water immediately flowed to satisfy eight thousand men, and enable them to perform ablution before prayers, besides supplying their animals and water-skins.
Jew: The Almighty Allah gave Musa manna and quails.
Ali: Allah made the wealth of infidels lawful plunder to Muhammad and his sect, which favor was never granted to any before him, and this is better than the manna and quails of Musa. Moreover, such is the divine munificence of the Prophet and his sect; that a good intention secures a reward of merit, which grace has been enjoyed by the votaries of no other religion. If a Muslim resolves to perform a good action but fails to accomplish it, one degree of reward is credited to him; but if he performs his vow, ten degrees of reward are set down to his account.
Jew: God caused a cloud to shade Musa and his host.
Ali: This was done for Musa when he and his people were distressed in the desert of Tiyah, but a cloud shaded our Prophet from his birth till his death, whether he was at home or on a journey.
Jew: God softened iron for Dawood so that of it he easily made coats of mail.
Ali: And for Muhammad, in the expedition of Khandaq, He softened a stone, and the hard rocks of Baitul Maqdas were soft as dough under his feet. We have often seen the same miracle repeated in our military expeditions.
Jew: Dawood wept so much for his sin that the mountains felt and wailed likewise.
Ali: The asylum of prophecy, through extreme awe of God, when engaged in prayer, emitted from his bosom, where divine knowledge was casketed, a sound like that of a boiling pot, so excessive was his weeping, notwithstanding Allah had secured him from wrath. Still he would humble himself before his Lord, and for ten years, in the standing posture of prayers, he rested his whole weight on his toes, till his sacred feet were swollen and his rosy complexion sallowed.
Moreover he prayed the whole night, till at length his excessive devotion was reproved by the communication “We have not sent down the Qur’an unto you, that you shouldst be unhappy.” Besides, he sometimes wept so much as to swoon away. Those who saw him in this condition would say, “Has not Allah pardoned your sins, past and future?” “Yes,” was his reply, “but should I not render thanksgiving to Allah?”
If the mountains were excited on Dawood’s account, they were not less so for our Prophet. One day I was with him on Mount Hira, which presently began to move. “Be quiet,” said the Prophet, “there is no one on you but a Prophet and the true martyr,” meaning myself: Hira obeyed. On another occasion we passed a mountain that distilled drops like tears.
The Prophet asked the mountain why it wept. By divine power it replied, “O Messenger of Allah (S), one day Masih (a.s.) passed and alarmed people by mentioning fire whose fuel shall be men and rocks, and in terror I have wept till now lest I should be of them.” “Weep not,” said the Prophet, “for those rocks are brimstone.” At this declaration the mountain was quiet and its tears ceased.
Jew: God gave Sulaiman an empire of which no one after him is worthy.
Ali: And better than this he gave the Prophet, for one day He sent an angel to him who had never before visited the earth, and said: “O Messenger of Allah (S), if you wish, live forever on earth in possession of all its pleasures and power; here are the keys of its treasures; for you the mountains shall be transformed to gold and silver, and attend you wherever you go; and notwithstanding all this, when time shall end, nothing shall be subtracted from your reward in the future world.” Jibraeel, the Prophet’s angelic friend, who was present when this magnificent offer was made, gestured to him to choose humility and helplessness.
The Holy Prophet (S) replied to the angel, “I desire to be a Prophet and humble slave, to find a supply for my wants one day and be destitute another, and soon join my brethren the prophets who have gone before me.” For this choice Allah gave him in addition to what his rank before entitled him, the fountain of Kauthar in Paradise, and the office of intercession on Judgment Day, which seventy times outweighs the sovereignty of the world from the beginning to the end of all things. Allah promised him Maqame Mahmud – a seat on the empyrean at the judgment, and that it should be his province to issue commands on that day.
Jew: God made the winds obedient to Sulaiman, so that they took his throne on a month’s journey at dawn, and the same distance at evening.
Ali: The Almighty Allah transported the Prophet in less than a third part of a night, from Mecca to the distant Masjid which is a month’s journey, and thence to the kingdom of heaven, which is fifty thousand year’s journey; and in nearness of approach to the Deity he was brought within two bow’s length, and even nearer the divine presence.
Standing by the pillars of the empyrean, with the eyes of his heart, he beheld the effulgence of the Lord of glory, while the Almighty Allah graciously condescended to him and eased the hardships imposed on other sects.
Jew: God made the devils obedient to Sulaiman.
Ali: The devils under Sulaiman were infidels but He made both devils and Jinns so obedient to Muhammad that they believed in him. Nine principal chiefs of the Jinns of Nasibian and Yemen, of the children of Amr bin Aamir, whose names were Shasad, Masah, Al-Hamlakan, Marzban, Maziman, Madha, Sahib, Hazib, and Amr, waited on the Prophet at Batan-ul-Nakhl, and received his faith, as the Almighty Allah declares in this verse:
وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَا إِلَيْكَ نَفَرًا مِّنَ الْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقُرْآنَ
“And when We turned towards you a party of the jinn who listened to the Qur’an…”137
…and when they were present at the reading of the same, they said to one another, Give ear: and when it ended, they returned back to their people, preaching what they had heard.”
After that seventy-one thousand Jinns came and rendered obedience to the Prophet, engaging to fast, pray, pay Zakat, perform Hajj, fight in the cause of God and be well-wishers of Muslims. They repented and implored forgiveness for their infidelity and idolatry, and voluntarily accepted Islam. The Messenger of Allah (S) indeed was raised up a Prophet for Jinns and all mankind.
Jew: God gave Yahya understanding and knowledge in his infancy, and he wept, although he had not sinned at all.
Ali: Yahya was raised up when there was no idolatry, or ignorance on the subject of religion; but the Almighty Allah imparted wisdom to the Prophet in his infancy, among a crew of idolaters who were part of Satan’s army.
Although surrounded with such wickedness, he never inclined in the least to idolatry, he attended no idolatrous festivals, a lie was never heard from him; on the contrary, he was titled Amin and Sadiq, the honest and the true. He used to fast a week, more or less, without tasting food or drink, and he said to the people around him, I am not like you, at night I attend on the worship of my Lord who gives me food and drink. Though innocent and faultless, he wept so profusely as to wet the place where he prayed.
Jew: It is well known that Isa (a.s.) spoke in his cradle.
Ali: The Prophet at the instant of his birth placed his left hand on the ground, and raising his right hand to heaven, pronounced the formula of the creed respecting the divine unity, and such light beamed from his mouth that the people of Mecca saw the houses of Shaam and their environs, the red dwellings of Yemen, and the white palaces of Istakhar in Fars.
The whole world was illuminated on the night of his birth, and Jinns, mankind, and devils trembling said, “Some wonderful event has happened that such a marvelous sign appears.” On that night angels were seen descending and ascending, and voices of praise and adoration were heard. There was great turmoil among the stars, which fell in countless numbers, and meteors darted to all parts of the horizon.
In view of the wonders, Satan was greatly agitated, and attempted to ascend the heavens and ascertain the cause, for hitherto he had access to the fourth heaven, to which he and the devils were wont to ascend to overhear the conversion of the angels, but that night the infernal spirits were driven away by meteoric arrows shot at them by the angels, and the way, until then open to the fiends, was forever barred against them. All these amazing wonders were signs of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (S).
Jew: They say that Isa by divine power restored sight to the blind, and healed the leprous.
Ali: The Messenger of Allah (S) healed many of his companions who were suffering under various diseases, and relieved them from calamities which befell them. One day he inquired after the health of a certain Muslim, and was answered that from extreme disease the man was like a bird whose feathers had all fallen off.
The Prophet went immediately to visit the sick person, and asked him if he performed prayers when in health. He said, “Yes, I was in the habit of offering this prayer: “O Lord, the punishment you has decreed me in the future world send upon me now in this world.” The Holy Prophet (S) inquired, “Why did you not pray?”
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
“Our Lord! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire.”138
The sick man repeated this prayer and was immediately restored to health, and freed as it were from bonds, rose up and came away with us. Again, a man of the tribe of Jahina was so desperately attacked by leprosy, that some of his limbs dropped off. He came to the Prophet and supplicated for a cure.
The Holy Prophet (S) took a cup of water and ejected into it some saliva from his blessed mouth, and ordered the man to wash himself with the contents of the cup. On doing so, the cure was perfect as if he had never been diseased. In another instance a leprous Bedouin came to the Prophet, and was instantly healed by Muhammad’s casting on him some saliva from his blessed mouth.
If you say that Isa cured the insane and those possessed by Jinns, then know that a woman once came to the Prophet and said, “My son is near dying; when I carry him food he gapes, but cannot eat.” On going to the house of the patient, the Prophet said: “Enemy of God, get far hence from a friend of Allah; I am the Messenger of Allah (S) and I order you to go away.” Satan was immediately driven away, the man rose up, and is now in our army.
Furthermore, if you say that Isa restored sight to the blind, be assured that the Prophet did more than this. A very handsome man by the name of Qatada bin Rabi had his eye struck out by a spear, at the Battle of Uhud. He picked up his eye and brought it to the Prophet, saying, “After this disfigurement my wife will treat me as an enemy.”
The Prophet took the eye and restored it to its place, and so perfect was the cure that the only difference discoverable in Qatada’s eyes was that the wounded one was the more beautiful and brilliant of the two. In the Battle of Ibn Abil Haqiq, Abdullah bin Atik had his hand cut off. At night he brought the amputated member to the Prophet, who replaced it, and drawing his hand over it, every trace of the amputation was removed.
In Battle of Kaab bin Ashraf a man named Muhammad bin Muslima in like manner lost his eye and hand, which were completely healed by the touch of the Holy Prophet (S). All these were evidences of his prophetical office. In the same way Abdullah bin Anis was also injured in a similar manner and the Prophet passed his hand over it and it was completely cured. All these things prove the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (S).
Jew: They say that Isa by the power of God raised the dead to life.
Amirul Momineen (a.s.) said: Pebbles used to recite the divine praises in spite of the fact that they were non-living; their voices were audible and they had no spirits. The dead spoke to the Prophet, and implored deliverance from the divine punishment they were suffering. After praying on a certain occasion over a man who had fallen a martyr, he inquired, Is there any here of the tribe of Bani Najjar, who can repay his debt so that he can be freed from chastisement? The deceased is detained in the gate of Paradise for three dirhams, which he owned to such a Jew.
Let payment be made and the prisoner freed. “If you say Isa spoke with the dead, the Prophet did a more wonderful thing than this. When he besieged the castle of Taif, a roasted sheep prepared with poison was sent to him. The shoulder of mutton immediately addressed him saying, “O Messenger of Allah (S), do not taste me, for I am laced with poison.” If a living animal speaks, it is one of the greatest of miracles.
But for a creature slaughtered and roasted, to exercise the faculty of speech is much more astonishing. Trees obeyed the Prophet’s call and they came to him; domestic animals and beasts of prey in many instances spoke with him, testifying to his prophetical office and warning men not to oppose him, which miracles exceed those wrought by Isa.
Jew: They say Isa told his people what they had eaten and stored in their houses.
Ali: Isa told his people what was concealed behind walls, but the Prophet related the progress of the distant Battle of Muta, saying, “Now such a person is martyred,” when there was a month’s journey between the Prophet and battlefield. On several occasions in which people came to ask something of the Prophet, he said to the applicant, “Shall I declare your request, or will you do it yourself?”
As the matter was left for him to state, he would say, “You came for such a purpose,” relating what was in the heart of the petitioner. He told the people of Mecca what they had covered with the mantle of secrecy. A man called Umair bin Wahab came to Medina and waited on the Prophet, saying he wished to ransom his son. “You lie,” said the Prophet; “you met Safwan bin Umayyah in such a place, and talked with him about those slain at the Battle of Bade, and said: By Allah, after the defeat Muhammad has given us, death is better than life.
Were it not that I have a family and am in debt, verily I would rid you of him. Upon this Safwan engaged to pay your debts, and endow your daughters equally with his own. You charged him to conceal the engagement and made your preparation for the journey, and came here to kill me.” The man acknowledged the fact, then became a Muslim. The Prophet gave innumerable proofs of this sort of his divine mission.
Jew: They say Isa made of clay figures of birds, breathed on them, and they became real birds and flew away.
Ali: The Prophet wrought a similar miracle: In the expedition of Hunain he took a stone in his hand, which uttered adoration and praise. He then ordered the stone to cleave, and it separated into three parts, from each of which the voice of adoration was renewed, every piece, however, differing in its utterance from the others.
On another occasion he called a tree to him: the ground broke away from around it, and it obeyed the summons, every branch of it with a loud voice proclaiming divine unity, and uttering ascriptions of praise. He then ordered the tree to cleave asunder in the centre, which was instantly done. Next he commanded the parts to unite, which forthwith followed. “Now,” said the Prophet, “testify to my prophetical office.” The tree obeyed; after which he remanded it to its place, and to utter, in the act of returning, ascriptions of praise to God. This miracle was manifested at Mecca, near the slaughter house.
Jew: They say Isa traveled around the world and journeyed over the whole face of the earth.
Ali: The Prophet fought twenty years in the cause of the Prophet, and marched with his army against infidel Arabs, and innumerable hosts of them he slew with his glittering sword, drowned them in the sea of abasement, and cast them into the lowest abyss of Hell, though they were celebrated for valor and were veterans in war. The journeys of the Prophet were all for the purpose of fighting the enemies of faith.
Jew: They said Isa was devout.
Ali: The Prophet was the most devout of all the prophets, notwithstanding he had thirteen wives, besides maidservants with whom he cohabited. His table was never so well supplied as to be taken away with food remaining on it. He ate no wheat bread, and of barley had not enough to satisfy his hunger three nights on succession.
Such was his poverty that at his departure from the world, his coat of mail was pledged in the hands of a Jew for fourteen dirhams. As to money, he had none, notwithstanding the cities he had captured and the treasures he had taken from infidels. It often happened that he distributed among his followers three hundred thousand or four hundred thousand dirhams in a day, and when at night applicants for his bounty still flocked to him, he would swear by the God who sent him that there did not remain in his house one saa of wheat of barley, and not a single dirham or dinar.
Jew: Then I testify that besides the one God, there is no Lord, and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (S), who has conferred on him double the powers and excellences distributed among the whole company of prophets that preceded him.
“And I testify,” added Ibn Abbas, addressing Ali, “that you are of those most profoundly learned.” Ali concluded by saying, “How can I properly describe the excellences of a person on whom God bestowed such greatness and glory which is thus expressed in the Qur’an:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلٰى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
“And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality.”