Why have supernatural miracles stopped?

Sources

• ✓ Al-Kafi 1:20

  Shia

  Al-Kafi · Book 1, Hadith 20

  Ibn al-Sikkit said to Abu Hasan (peace be upon him): "Why did Allah send Moses son of Imran (peace be upon him) with the staff and his white hand and the tool of magic, and send Jesus with the tool of medicine, and send Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and all the prophets with words and sermons?" Abu Hasan replied: "When Allah sent Moses (peace be upon him), magic prevailed among his people, so He brought to them from Himself what was beyond their ability to do similar to it and invalidated their magic and established His proof over them. Allah sent Jesus (peace be upon him) when the times had appeared and people needed medicine. So He brought what they did not have like it and by which He revived the dead, healed the blind and leper by Allah's permission and established His proof over them. Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) when the prevailing among his people were speeches and poetry, so He brought to them from Allah admonitions and wisdom by which He invalidated their sayings and established His proof over them." Ibn al-Sikkit said: "By Allah, I never saw anyone like you; what then is the proof over creation today?" He said: "Intellect is by which one who is truthful towards Allah is believed, and the liar is disbelieved." Ibn al-Sikkit said: "By Allah, this is the answer." — OR — I asked Abu Abdullah about the saying of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious: 'The innate nature of Allah which He created mankind upon.' He said, 'He created them all upon monotheism.' — OR — I asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) about the watering holes between Mecca and Medina that are frequented by wild beasts, dogs defecate in them, and junub people wash in them. I asked: What is the approximate amount of water? I said: Up to mid-calf, or to the knee, or even less. He said: Perform ablution with it. — OR — Between me and a man was a division of land. That man was an astrologer who picked the hour of good fortune to go out, and I went out at the hour of misfortune. We divided the land and the better portion went to me. Then the man struck his right hand on his left and said, 'I have never seen anything like it today.' I said, 'Woe to the other.' He replied, 'I am an astrologer and I sent you out in the hour of misfortune while I went out in the hour of good fortune. Then we divided the land, and the better part went to you.' I said, 'Shall I tell you something my father told me? The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Whoever wishes to have God remove the misfortune of his day should begin his day with charity, by which God removes the misfortune of that day. And whoever wishes to have God remove the misfortune of his night should begin his night with charity, by which God removes the misfortune of that night." I said, "I also began my departure with charity; this is better for you than knowing the times of the stars." — OR — The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, 'What a good offspring daughters are: gentle, prepared, comforting, blessed, and honored.' — OR — A man is most entitled to his wealth as long as there is life in him. If he makes a will with all of it, it is permissible for him. — OR — I said, regarding the statement of God Almighty, 'And do not spread corruption on the earth after it was set right,' he said, "O Mu'aysir, the earth was corrupt, so God set it right by His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Then He said, 'And do not spread corruption on the earth after it was set right.'" — OR — I said: Inform me about calling to Allah and jihad in His cause—does it belong strictly to a specific group and only those among them take it up, or is it permissible for anyone who has unified Allah the Almighty and believed in His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) to call to Allah, obey Him, and engage in jihad for His sake? He replied: That belongs to a group to whom it is permitted and only those among them engage in it. I asked who they are, and he said: Whoever meets Allah's conditions in fighting and jihad upon the Mujahidin, he is authorized to call to Allah and engage in jihad. Whoever does not fulfill Allah's conditions in jihad upon the Mujahidin is not authorized for jihad nor for calling to Allah until he determines within himself the obligations Allah imposed for jihad. I asked: Explain that to me, may God have mercy on you. He said: Allah the Blessed and Exalted informed His Prophet in His Book about calling to Him and described those who call to Him, assigning degrees among them to introduce some by others and to deduce one from another. He said Allah is the first to call to Himself and to obedience and following His command, beginning with Himself. He said: "Allah calls to the abode of peace and guides whom He wills to a straight path." Then He mentioned His Messenger: "Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good exhortation and argue with them in a way that is best"—that is, with the Qur'an. No one calls to Allah disobeying His command in His Book nor invites to Allah by means other than what He ordered. He commanded that no one be called except by Him. He said of His Prophet: "Indeed, you guide to a straight path." He said this thrice in His Book. Then He mentioned those who are authorized to call to Him after Him and His Messenger, stating: "Let there arise from among you a group inviting to good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. Those are the successful ones." Then He described this group, its origin, and that it descends from the progeny of Abraham and Ishmael, residents of the sacred precinct, those who never worshipped others besides Allah, to whom the call of Abraham and Ishmael belongs from among the Mosque people, whom He purified and cleansed thoroughly. They were described previously in the description of the nation of Abraham (peace be upon him). Allah addressed them in saying: "Call to Allah with insight: I and whoever follows me," meaning the first among those who followed him in faith and believed in what he brought from Allah. They belong to the nation in which he was sent, and they and it were prior to creation—those who never associated partners with Allah nor mixed their faith with injustice, which is polytheism. Then He mentioned the followers of His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the followers of this nation described in His Book as those who enjoin good and forbid evil, making them callers to Him and permitting them to call to Him. He said: "O Prophet, sufficient for you is Allah and whoever follows you among the believers." Then He described the followers of His Prophet from among the believers, saying: "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves; you see them bowing and prostrating seeking bounty and pleasure from Allah. Their mark appears on their faces from prostration." That is their likeness in the Torah and their example in the Gospel. He said: "On the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him, their light will run before them and on their right." Meaning those believers. He said: "Indeed the believers have succeeded." Then He set them apart and described them so that no one seeks to join them except those from among them. He said in how He adorned them: "Those who are humble in their prayers and those who avoid vain talk," toward the saying: "Those are the inheritors who will inherit Paradise and remain in it forever." He also described their qualities and adornments as those who do not call upon another god beside Allah, who do not kill a soul forbidden by Allah except by right, who do not commit adultery, and whoever does that meets a multiplied punishment on the Day of Resurrection and remains therein disgraced. Then He declared that He purchased these believers and those similar to them, their souls and wealth, on the basis that Paradise is theirs, that they fight in the way of Allah, kill and are killed—this is a true promise in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an. Then He mentioned their faithfulness to His covenant and allegiance, saying: "Who is more faithful to his pledge than Allah? Rejoice in your sale which you have contracted." That is the great victory. When this verse was revealed—"Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and wealth because Paradise is theirs"—a man stood before the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: O Prophet of Allah, did you see a man who takes up his sword and fights until he is killed, yet commits forbidden acts; is he a martyr? He then revealed for His Messenger the verse about the repentant, worshippers, praise-givers, travelers, bowers, prostrators, enjoining good, forbidding evil, observing Allah's limits, and gave glad tidings to the believers. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) then explained that the mujahids are the believers whose attributes and qualities are described here, winning martyrdom and Paradise. He said the repentant are those free from sin who worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him. The praise-givers praise Allah in all states of hardship and ease; the travelers are those who fast; those who bow and prostrate are consistent in the five prayers, guarding them and attending with humility and at their times; the enforcers of good and forbidders of evil come afterward and act accordingly. He said: Give glad tidings to those who are killed standing with these conditions with martyrdom and Paradise. Then He informed that fighting was not prescribed except for those with these conditions. Allah said: "Permission is granted to those who are fought because they were wronged, and indeed Allah is powerful to help them—those who were expelled from their homes without right except that they said, 'Our Lord is Allah.'" All that is between heaven and earth belongs to Allah, His Messenger, and the followers of them among the believers fitting this description. Whatever was in the hands of the polytheists, unbelievers, oppressors, and wicked of the people opposed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and those turning away from obeying them, that which was in their hands unjustly against these believers who have these descriptions, and they overcame them, that is their right. Allah granted them the spoils and restored them to them. The meaning of fa'i is everything that came to the polytheists and then returned from what they had dominion over or involved in their speech or deeds. Fa'i equates to what Allah said about those who take back their wives during the waiting period of four months, returning means repenting. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. He then said: If they decide to divorce, Allah is Hearing and Knowing. Regarding two groups of believers fighting, He commanded reconciliation; if one wrongs the other, fight the aggressor till she returns to Allah's command—that is, returns. If she returns, reconcile them justly and fairly; Allah loves those who are just. The return means to revert. This is evidence that all fa'i returns to the place where it was before or in it. The sun is said to set when fa'i occurs upon the sun with its return to its setting. So it is with what Allah bestowed upon the believers from the disbelievers; it is only the rights of the believers that returned to them after the oppression of the disbelievers against them. This is Allah's saying: "Permission is granted to those who are fought because they were wronged." The believers who fulfilled the conditions of faith described here were permitted to fight. If not, he is among the oppressors who are sought out and must be fought until he repents and is not permitted to jihad or calling to Allah, for he is not among the wronged believers allowed in the Qur'an for fighting. When this verse was revealed, permission was given to those who are fought because they were oppressed among the emigrants expelled by the people of Mecca from their homes and properties. Their jihad was made lawful by their oppression. Permission was granted to them in fighting. That verse was revealed concerning the emigrants oppressed by the polytheists of Mecca, so how about their fighting against Khosrau and Caesar and those lesser among the polytheists of the Arab tribes? He said: If permission was only given for fighting those who oppressed them among the people of Mecca, there would be no way for them to fight the forces of Khosrau, Caesar, and others not from the people of Mecca among the Arab tribes, because those who wronged them were others. Permission was granted for fighting those oppressors who expelled them from their homes and properties without right. If the verse only concerned the emigrants oppressed by the people of Mecca, its obligation would be lifted after them if no oppressors or oppressed remain, and the obligation would be lifted from the people after them. But it is not as you supposed or mentioned. Rather, the emigrants were wronged in two directions: oppressed by the people of Mecca by expelling them from their homes and properties without right, so they fought them by Allah's permission; and oppressed by Khosrau, Caesar, and those beneath them among the Arab and Persian tribes with what was in their hands that the believers were more entitled to than them. They fought them by Allah's permission. By this verse's argument, believers of every era fight. Allah permitted only those who accomplished the conditions stipulated by Him for the believers in faith and jihad. Whoever fulfills these conditions is a believer, oppressed, and authorized for jihad. Whoever contradicts this is an oppressor, not among the oppressed, and not authorized to fight nor enjoin good and forbid evil, for he is not among the people of that nor authorized to call to Allah since he does not strive in this way. The believers commanded to jihad who are forbidden and prevented from jihad are not permitted to call to Allah with invitation to repentance, truth, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and whoever is commanded to enjoin good or forbid evil is obligated to do so. Whoever fulfills the conditions Allah imposed in this description of the Prophet's companions, believing and oppressed, is authorized for jihad as they were authorized. Allah's judgment upon the first and the last and His obligations upon them are equal except for some accident or circumstance. The earliest and latest are partners in forbidding accidents; their obligations are one. The later are questioned about fulfilling obligations as the first and held responsible for what they are responsible for. Whoever is not among those whom Allah permitted for jihad among the believers is not among the people of jihad and is not authorized until he fulfills Allah's conditions. When these conditions are complete in the believers and mujahidin, he becomes among those authorized for jihad. Let a servant fear Allah and not be deceived by desires prohibited by Allah from these false hadiths attributed to Allah which the Qur'an denies and distances itself and their bearers. He should not approach Allah with an excuse not accepted. There is no rank before Allah for one exposed to killing for His cause, which is the ultimate of deeds in greatness. Let a man judge himself and present to himself Allah's Book and consider it, for no one knows a person better than himself. If he finds himself fulfilling Allah's conditions for jihad, he should proceed to jihad. If he finds deficiency, he should rectify and establish them as Allah prescribed for jihad, then proceed pure and cleansed from any filth that lies between him and his jihad. We do not say to one intending jihad who is contrary to our description of Allah's conditions on believers and mujahidin: Do not fight. Instead, we say: We taught you what Allah required on the people of jihad who pledged to Him and sold themselves and their wealth for Paradise. Let a man correct what he knows of his shortcomings and align himself with Allah's conditions. If he sees he has fulfilled and completed them, he is among those permitted for jihad. If he refuses despite persistence in sin, prohibitions, and reckless endeavor competing against Allah with ignorance and false narrations, by Allah the effect came to those who did this act. Allah supports this religion by people without peers. Let a man fear Allah and beware to be among them. He has been clarified to you, and there is no excuse after clarification in ignorance. There is no power except by Allah. Enough for us is Allah; We rely on Him and to Him is the return.