Jesus walks into bar. People are amazed, so he tries to be polite, and goes to shake the first person’s hand. The first person goes, “Praise the Lord! my arthritis is gone.” He goes and shakes the second person’s hand, and the person yells, “Praise the Lord. My back pain is gone.” Jesus approaches the third person, and the third person goes, “Back off man. Don’t touch me. I’m on disability benefits.” So, even Jesus is not allowed to perform miracles in some cases (40:78).
Now, seriously, there are cases when God’s messengers should bring a miracle, and there are cases when they should not. And when they should, they will. And when they should not, they will not. So, should they, or should they not? Well, some of them did, and some of them did not. But not anymore. The devil is in the details, so let me explain:
Nowhere in the Quran do we find that God’s messengers should bring proof of their messengership. On the contrary, here is what the Quran says:
“…It is not for a messenger to produce a proof (ayat, miracle), except when God issues (a new) commandment…” (13:38)
God explains it even further in the Quran by telling us that THE ONLY – I repeat – THE ONLY duty of a messenger is to deliver the message clearly (5:92, 18:56). There is nothing there in the Quran about messengers being obliged to bring proof.
So then, why did some of God’s messengers bring new proof anyway, even though it was not their duty? Let me tell you why: It is because those messengers brought new commandments, or new agreements with God, or what religious people call new covenants, new testaments. See, proofs are God’s signature, and He signs agreements – He does not sign messengers. It makes sense, that if a king brings a new law, he would sign the law, but he would not sign the messenger who delivers that law to the people. So messengers have to bring new proof only if they bring new laws, which is exactly what verse 13:38 says, that messengers are obliged to bring proofs only when God issues a new commandment.
So, this means that if a messenger enters into a new covenant with God – which would obviously would make him a messenger of the covenant – in that case he would have to bring new proof. For example, Moses brought nine new commandments, and he was also supported by nine miracles (17:101). I am aware that people say that Moses brought ten commandments, but the first commandment was already in existence at the time of Moses, which was in existence from the time of Adam, which was “You shall worship God alone.” So, Moses brought only nine new commandments, and this is why he was supported with exactly nine miracles or proofs (17:101, 27:12).
Also, Abraham was supported with four new proofs (21:69, 2:260, 11:72, 37:107), because he brought four new commandments – which we today call Abraham’s religious practices – namely (1) the Contact Prayers, (2) the Obligatory Charity, (3) Fasting, and (4) Pilgrimage – four of them.
On the other hand, Noah did not bring any new laws, and this is why he did not bring any new miracles to his people. He simply repeated what was in existence from the time of Adam (11:26). Also, God’s messenger, Hud, did not bring any miracles, or new proofs (11:53), because brought no new laws.
So then, how are we supposed to believe God’s messengers, if they do not bring proof? Are we supposed to have blind faith in them? No. That’s not what I am saying. What I am saying is that God’s messengers are not obliged TO BRING new proof. However, all of God’s messengers are supported by proof (57:25). And the word “SUPPORTED” is a different thing, because we can be supported with OLD PROOF or new proof, and you don’t have to bring any, because if there is old proof in existence, it’s already there, and you do not need to bring proof (2:106, 6:115). For example, Aaron did not need to turn his staff into a snake, because Moses already did it, and it worked simply like this:
Moses brought proof (17:101). This means that people must trust him (2:118). So, Moses said to people, “Trust me, Aaron is also God’s messenger.” (20:29-36), and that’s also proof for Aaron (10:75). This means that any messenger today would also have to be supported by proof, and in this case they would have to be by the Quranic verses, because they are proof – they are the ultimate proof (10:1, 12:1, 13:1, 15:1). Ultimate proof is enough proof (29:51). This means that if I say what the Quran says, then I am supported by proof – I am supported by the Quran – the ultimate proof.
So, the rule is simple: Messengers do not bring proof, except when God issues a new commandment (13:38, 40:78). And, because the Quran is complete (6:115), perfect (2:2, 10:37), and fully detailed (10:37, 6:114), no new commandments are needed (5:3), which means, “no proof is needed” (13:38), which means “messengers do not need to bring proof”, which means “they must be supported by old proof”, which means, “they must be supported by the Quran”, which means, “they must be supported by the Quranic verses”, and I’m talking of being supported with clear Quranic verses, not with vague statements (3:7).
Let me explain this even further: proofs are given to saints (2:118), and not necessarily to messengers (13:38), because proofs are connected with sainthood, not with messengership. For example, we have the case of Mary (19:16). She was not God’s messenger, because she was a female (16:43, 21:7), yet she was supported with proof (23:50, 21:91), with her virgin birth (21:91), and this was because she was a saint (5:75).
Also, we have the case of the Seven Sleepers of the Cave (18:9-25) – they were resurrected after three hundred years (18:25), and this is proof (18:9), but they were not God’s messengers (13:38). They were simply saints (18:13-14).
As you can see clearly from the examples which I gave you, and also from the direct verses in the Quran, there are cases of messengers without proof, and there are also cases of non-messengers with proof.
And this is what you need to remember from this:
- New information is given to messengers (72:27);
- New proof is given to saints (2:118);
- New scripture is given to prophets (3:81).
This means that since there will be no new scriptures – the Quran is the final scripture (5:48) – this means that there will be no more prophets (33:40). And since the Quran has the final proof in it – the Mathematical Miracle of the Quran – this means that there will also be no new saints (42:14). But, there will still be messengers (7:35, 33:40), because there is still information to be revealed (16:101).
So being a messenger, does not mean that you have to bring new proof (5:99). It simply means that God has revealed you specific information, specific hidden information (72:27), which no other human being on earth knows (72:26). And, this information is usually information from the future, because it’s the future that no other human being on earth knows (72:26).
So, today messengers do not need to bring new proof, because now the Quran is a proven messenger (11:1-2), and if the Quran prophecies a specific messenger, and the person fulfills all the criteria, then he is God’s messenger. There is no need to bring new proof. Actually, asking for more proof from that person, reflects disbelief in the old proof, reflects disbelief in the proof which was given in the Quran, because the Quran has all the proof, all the information you need.
It is actually the disbelievers who ask for proof from God’s messengers, even though they already have proof (2:118, 7:203, 10:20, 13:7, 13:27, 18:55, 20:133, 26:154, 29:50). Let me explain this with two examples, the example of Abraham and Zachariah: Messengers went to both Abraham and Zachariah, informing them that they would have children despite their old age (11:09, 19:7-8). And here is what happened: Zacharia asked for proof (19:10), while Abraham did not. The question is, “Why did Zachariah ask, and Abraham did not ask?” (and both were exemplary believers). The difference is that Abraham already had proof (2:260), so he had no reason to ask for more, while Zachariah had none, so he was excused to ask once. So, basically, if you have no miracles right now which have been shown to you, then you might ask for one, but, if there is a miracle which already exists, and which is verifiable, perpetual, always existing, then you have no more reasons to ask for proof, and this is the case today (after the Mathematical Miracle of the Quran). There are no more reasons to ask for proof from God’s messengers.
It’s only the disbelievers who ask for proof from God’s messengers, from now on (2:118, 7:203, 10:20, 13:7, 13:27, 18:55, 20:133, 26:154, 29:50).
DISBELIEVERS ASK FOR PROOF FROM GOD’S MESSENGERS
“Those who disbelieved say, “Why no proof comes down to him from his Lord?” You are simply a warner – every community receives a guiding teacher.”” (13:7)
“They (the disbelievers) said, “Why does he not show us proof from his Lord?” Did they not receive sufficient evidence with the previous messages?” (20:133)
“They (the disbelievers) say “How come no miracle came down to him from his Lord?” Say, “The future belongs to God; so wait, and I am waiting along with you.” (10:20)
Those who disbelieve would say, “Why no proof comes down to him from his Lord?”…” (13:27)
“They (the disbelievers) said, “If only miracles could come down to him from his Lord!” Say, “All miracles come only from God; I am no more than a clear warner.” (29:50)
SUMMARY
- Not all messengers BRING new proof.
- ALL messengers are SUPPORTED by proof.
- Disbelievers demand proof from messengers.
- Mathematical Miracle of the Quran is enough proof.
By: Alban Fejza, the Clarifying Messenger