Praise be to Allah.
Frankly, your question needs to be thoroughly reviewed to establish whether it is in accordance with proper understanding of Islamic principles or the reality of life.
You ask at the beginning of your question: why has Allah given the Prophets, the angels and awliya’ spiritual power that enables them to perform miracles? Why did Allah make it easy for them to fulfil people’s desires and wishes? But that is not true in the first place. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has not given the angels and awliya’ any power that enables them to perform miracles. This is one of the mistaken notions that are widespread in many Muslim countries, and has been believed for many centuries among the common folk. However the scholars and fuqaha’ have highlighted these errors and myths to the people, and have explained that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has not given anyone special powers to the exclusion of all other people, which he may use whenever and however he wishes. Anyone who make such a claim must bring shar‘i proof from the Qur’an and saheeh Sunnah, but he will never find anything to help him to establish that; thus it will become clear that he has made a mistake or that he is lying, if he said that deliberately.
In fact the Holy Qur’an is full of verses which highlight the weakness and helplessness of all created beings, and tells us that they are in need of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and that they cannot do anything to benefit themselves or ward off harm, either independently or in conjunction with others. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him to mankind): ‘How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to benefit you? But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower’”
[al-Maa’idah 5:76]
“Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe’”
[al-A‘raaf 7:188].
If the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – who is the leader of mankind and the dearest of creation to Allah, may He be exalted – was affected by harm, hardship and sickness, and his Lord, may He be exalted, instructed him to tell the people that he possessed no power of benefit or harm for himself except whatever Allah willed, then how could he possess any such power to affect anyone else? Who has the right, after that, to claim that he has the power to benefit or harm anyone, or to bring about miracles or events that are contrary to the laws of nature? This is repeated in Soorah Yoonus (v. 49), in which Allah, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘I have no power over any harm or profit to myself except what Allah may will. For every Ummah (a community or a nation), there is a term appointed; when their term is reached, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment)’”
[Yoonus 10:49].
It is also explained clearly in the verse in which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘I don’t tell you that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor (that) I know the unseen; nor I tell you that I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me by inspiration.’ Say: ‘Are the blind and the one who sees equal? will you not then take thought?’”
[al-An‘aam 6:50].
Before the time of our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), Nooh (peace be upon him) was commanded to say something similar, as Allah, may He be exalted, tells us (interpretation of the meaning):
“ ‘And I do not say to you that with me are the Treasures of Allah, Nor that I know the Ghaib (unseen); "nor do I say I am an angel, and I do not say of those whom your eyes look down upon that Allah will not bestow any good on them. Allah knows what is in their inner-selves (as regards belief, etc.). In that case, I should, indeed be one of the Zalimoon (wrong-doers, oppressors, etc.)’”
[Hood 11:31].
These Prophets (who are the noblest of mankind and the closest of them to Allah, may He be exalted, were forbidden to claim to have any authority, power or ability to bestow provision, and they were commanded to direct all people to address their needs to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and to focus their hearts and minds on the Lord, the Creator, may He be glorified and exalted. As for created beings, they are all needy and weak, no matter how high their status may be. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah is Rich (Free of all wants and needs), Worthy of all praise”
[Faatir 35:15].
With regard to the miracles of the Prophets, they are unique to them in certain situations, and are not applicable at all times, with the exception of the miracle of the Holy Qur’an, which will remain until the end of time. All the other miracles were for a specific purpose, which was to prove Prophethood to the people; they were not aimed at misguiding people or make them feel attached to a particular power that a person possessed, whether he was a Prophet or a Messenger. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Surely, disbelievers are those who said: ‘Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).’ But there is no ilaah (god) (none who has the right to be worshipped) but One Ilaah (God -Allah). And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.
Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
The Messiah (‘Eesa (Jesus)), son of Maryam (Mary), was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother (Maryam (Mary)) was a Siddeeqah (i.e. she believed in the words of Allah and His Books). They both used to eat food (as any other human being, while Allah does not eat). Look how We make the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth).
Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him to mankind): ‘How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to benefit you? But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower.’”
[al-Maa’idah 5:73-76].
Think about how Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, denounced those who were confused by the miracles of the Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him); they took them out of the context in which the Messiah had brought them, which was only to confirm his Prophethood, and they took those miracles as a means to associate others with Allah, may He be exalted, based on the claim that the Messiah possessed a unique and far-reaching ability, granted by Allah, may He be exalted, to raise the dead and heal the sick; this claim is the cause of confusion and trouble. Moreover, it should be understood that over and above all that, these miracles could only come about by the decree, creation and authority of Allah, and by His leave, as we clearly see in the story of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him). His miracles did not come about by virtue of independent power, or by complete license from Allah (to perform miracles at any time); rather these were temporary situations in which Allah caused miracles to occur at the hand of His Prophet, then that ceased. Hence Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, followed that with a reminder to these people of the human nature of the Messiah and his mother, and their human helplessness and weakness, as He said: “Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him to mankind): ‘How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to benefit you?” [al-Maa’idah 5:76].
Thus miracles were brought by the Messengers and Prophets for a specific purpose, which was to confirm Prophethood and no more. This implies that use of miracles was limited to appropriate times and places, and was not a matter in which the individual Prophet or Messenger was given free rein.
The Messiah (peace be upon him) – despite his dazzling miracles of raising the dead by Allah’s leave – was not able to ward off the aggressors who wanted to crucify him, until Allah took him up to Him and caused one of his companions to resemble him. And when the disciples asked him to bring down the table from heaven, he was not able to do that except by asking and beseeching Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.
Moosa (peace be upon him) fled with the Children of Israel from the aggression of Pharaoh and his people; he did not use his staff except when Allah instructed him to do so, then He parted the sea and made it easy for them to escape.
When the disbelievers of Quraysh grew stubborn in demanding signs from our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), it was as if they thought that he had absolute powers to bring about miracles however and whenever he wanted. The response to all of that was two words which will give an answer to all your confusion; these words are an expression of amazement at their stubbornness and their misunderstanding of the true nature of Prophethood. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says:
“And they say: ‘We shall not believe in you (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us;
‘Or you have a garden of date-palms and grapes, and cause rivers to gush forth in their midst abundantly;
‘Or you cause the heaven to fall upon us in pieces, as you have pretended, or you bring Allah and the angels before (us) face to face;
‘Or you have a house of adornable materials (like silver and pure gold, etc.), or you ascend up into the sky, and even then we will put no faith in your ascension until you bring down for us a Book that we would read.’ Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘Glorified (and Exalted) be my Lord (Allah) above all that evil they (polytheists) associate with Him! Am I anything but a man, sent as a Messenger?’”
[al-Isra’ 17:90-93].
In contrast to the miracles of the Prophets, which are the greatest causes of guidance, we find the fitnah (trial or test) of the Dajjaal, and what Allah will cause to happen at his hands of extra ordinary feats, which are the greatest of tests and the most dangerous causes of misguidance, as it says in the hadeeth of an-Nawwaas ibn Sam‘aan (may Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of the Dajjaal and said: “He will come to a people and call them, and they will believe in him and respond to his call. Then he will command the sky and it will rain, and he will command the earth and it will bring forth produce. Their herds will come back to them in the evening with their humps as high as they ever were and their udders full and their flanks stretched. Then he will come to another people and call them, and they will reject what he says, so he will leave them and they will be afflicted with drought, with none of their wealth in their hands. He will pass by ruins and say: Bring forth your treasure, and its treasure will follow him like a swarm of bees. Then he will call a man brimming with youth and will strike him with a sword and cut him in two. He will place the pieces as far apart as a target is from an archer, then he will call him and he will come with his face gleaming and laughing.”
Despite all these feats, he will be one eyed, and he will not have the power to restore his own eye in his face. Between his eyes will be written the word “kaafir” (disbeliever), and he will not have the power to erase it or change it. The Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) will kill him, and he will not have the power to ward off killing from himself. It was narrated from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of the Dajjaal and said: “He will come but it will be forbidden to him to enter the mountain passes of Madinah. So he will go to the barren tracts near Madinah and on that day a man will go out to him who is the best of mankind or one of the best of mankind, and he will say to him: I bear witness that you are the Dajjaal of whom the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke. The Dajjaal will say: If I kill this man and bring him back to life, do you think that you will have any doubts about the matter? They will say: No. So he will kill him then bring him back to life, and when he is brought back to life he will say: By Allah, I was never more certain of you than I am now. He said: The Dajjaal will want to kill him but he will not be able to do so.” Narrated by Muslim (2938).
So the believer is the one who seeks the protection of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and is not deceived by those extraordinary feats or and does not believe that they are signs of divinity or sufficient reason to worship anyone other than Allah, may He be glorified. If he ponders the matter briefly – as explained above – he will realise the difference between divinity and servitude. The Holy Qur’an clearly highlights this great difference and points out that this is a test and a trial for humanity, for this world is basically the realm of tests and trials. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If Allah willed, He would have made you one nation, but that (He) may test you in what He has given you; so strive as in a race in good deeds. The return of you (all) is to Allah; then He will inform you about that in which you used to differ”
[al-Maa’idah 5:48]
“Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving”
Al-Mulk 67:2]
“And He it is Who has created the heavens and the earth in six Days and His Throne was on the water, that He might try you, which of you is the best in deeds”
[Hood 11:7].
With regard to being deceived by tales that are told of relieving hardship, resolving problems and dispelling worries and concerns by seeking the help of those who claim to perform miracles and have extraordinary powers, whether they are Muslims or otherwise, this is also one of the causes of misguidance for the sons of Adam. No one is doomed by this except one who does not understand the reality of faith and is deceived by some stories.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It should be understood that the reason why the Christians and others who also went to extremes, such as the extreme worshippers and the Shi ‘ah and others, went astray, is due to three things:
1.Ambiguous and unclear words, that are general in meaning, that were narrated from the Prophets; those people ignored the clear, unambiguous words, and clung to these (ambiguous) words. Every time they heard something that could be interpreted in support of their specious arguments, they clung to it and interpreted it in accordance with their views, even if there was no evidence to that effect. But with regard to clear and unambiguous words that were contrary to that, they either say Allah knows best what it means, or they misinterpret them as the followers of misguidance do. They follow ambiguous evidence, whether it is rational or textual, and they turn away from clear, unambiguous evidence of both types.
2.Extraordinary feats that they think are signs or miracles, but they are the tricks of the devils. This is something that caused many of the mushrikeen and others to go astray, such as when the devils enter the idols and speak to the people, or when the devils tell the soothsayers about matters of the unseen, but they mix it with lies. And there are other actions that the devils do.
3.Reports which were transmitted to them and they thought they were true, when in fact they were false. Otherwise neither the Christians nor any other misguided group has any evidence to support their falsehood, whether it is based on clear rational thinking or sound texts, nor do they have any sign or miracle of the Prophets.
End quote from al-Jawaab as-Saheeh (2/315)
In the third reason there is a response to what you say in your question: “why pleasing their powers other than Allah people are leaving a peaceful life and how their dreams are fulfilled and how their problems disappear if they recite some lines written in their books?” The questioner confirms that most of what you hear of such things is clearly lies or rumours and exaggeration. Otherwise, let these charlatans produce those solutions that they claim to have for all of humanity, or at least for their own people, and let them save everyone around them from poverty, sickness, unemployment and other misfortunes.
All of that and other things are legitimate questions for us to put to you, and we do not understand how anyone in the twenty-first century, when knowledge and understanding have become widespread among people, could think in such an irrational manner and start again to believe that there could be any human being who possesses any power independent of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, that will enable him, by reciting a few lines or doing some tricks and extraordinary feats, to change the life of any person.
But if what you meant is that the followers of the Prophets can make problems disappear from their lives by merely reciting a few lines from their books, this is also clearly wrong and far removed from any understanding of the true nature of the Prophets’ call and how their followers lived. First of all, we say to you that the virtue of following the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and adhering to his teachings and message, is not attained merely by reciting a few lines from their books. Rather that requires a fundamental change in lifestyle and way of thinking, in order to follow the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in an exact manner.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And verily, this (i.e. Allah’s Commandments) is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”
[al-An ‘aam 6:153]
“Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘Verily, my Salat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists).
‘He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims”
[al-An‘aam 6:162-163].
Moreover we say to you: the problems and hardships of life, such as poverty, sickness and loss of loved ones – all these trials and tribulations were not absent from the lives of the Prophets or their followers. This world is based on trials and tests, in accordance with the great wisdom of Allah. But what was absent from their lives was distress, misery, misguidance and despair, no matter what the trials they faced!
We need to contemplate the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), in order to understand the real meaning of the message of Tawheed (affirmation of the Oneness of Allah) that Islam brought. We should not be confused by the myths of the liars and charlatans who deceive the people with some tricks or claims of “miracles” when they are the farthest of people from the path of righteousness. “Miracles” (karaamah) can only be by the action of Allah, and He is the only One Who can bestow that, and that can only be attained as a result of the blessing of following the Prophet. Allah, may He be exalted, may cause them to happen at a person’s hands because he is in a situation in which he needs this help, or to establish proof of the soundness of his religion against those who oppose him. Moreover the basic principle with regard to these miracles is that it is to be concealed and it should remain a matter between the pious slave and friend of Allah and his Lord, may He be glorified. With regard to those who boast of such feats, if they were truly following the straight path, they would not boast about it or show off to the people about it, or try to consume their wealth thereby or use those feats for their own purposes; rather this is the way of the charlatans and those who devour haraam wealth, as as-Subki (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The mu‘jizah (miracle) may be accompanied by claims of Prophethood, which is not so in the case of karaamah (extraordinary feats) … Moreover the mu‘jizah is meant to be done openly and be seen and known by many people, and the one for whom it is done (the Prophet) is enjoined to show it openly, whereas the karaamah is based on concealment and the one for whom it is done (the wali or close friend of Allah) is enjoined to conceal it, and not to make it known except in rare cases to very few, not to make it public knowledge to many people. Moreover the mu‘jizah may be any extraordinary event; the karaamah can only be of a few types, as was explained by al-Qushayri, and this is the correct view.
End quote from Tabaqaat ash-Shaafa‘iyyah al-Kubra (2/317)
It should be understood that by the mercy of Allah, may He be exalted, to His slaves, and by His wisdom in all that He creates and in His commands and prohibitions, he granted to the Messengers and Prophets that which will offer proof to their people so that they will believe in them, because He, may He be exalted, loves to establish proof for His slaves (so that there will be no excuse) and He loves for them to be guided to the straight path. And whoever takes that as a means to become attached to the Prophets in a manner that is appropriate only for a slave in relation to his Lord and for a person in relation to his Creator, may He be glorified, and asks them to meet his needs in a manner which no one is able to do except Allah, then he has wronged himself and he should not blame anyone but his own self that is inclined towards evil, and that is the source of all wrong doing and misguidance. He should know that his path is one thing, and the call of the Prophets is something else altogether; their call is that which is summed up in the verse in Soorat al-Faatihah (interpretation of the meaning): “You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help” [al-Faatihah 1:5].
We have much that we could say about your questions, but we hope that what we have mentioned will be a sufficient summary.
And Allah knows best.
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