Prophecies: The Greatest Miracle

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The Review of Religions brings you a special and faith-inspiring series as it delves into the world of prophecies, analysing how these prophetic words were so profoundly and conclusively fulfilled and continue to stand the test of time

Shahzad Ahmed, London, UK

Richard Dawkins was once asked what it would take for him to believe in God. ‘Well, I’m starting to think nothing would’ said Dawkins, and then went on to say, ‘A scientist should change his mind when evidence is forthcoming, [but the] trouble is I can’t think what that evidence would look like.’[1]

Well, perhaps if Dawkins hadn’t been so stubborn in his stance and actually read the commentary of the Holy Qur’an which was sent to him by the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), he would have certainly found the robust and compelling evidence in abundance to satisfy his scientific quandary.[2]

Atheists have always perceived religion to be antiscientific for the fact that empiricism lies at the very heart of scientific investigation and since they claim that religious belief in the supernatural is unobservable and beyond the scope of being objectively measured, hence it remains unevidenced.

So long as this remains the premise of their foremost argument, atheists will always have to grapple with this conundrum. Because God, by the very nature of His existence, is both immaterial and timeless and thus beyond any means of physical measurement. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and founder of The Review of Religions expounds upon this very point and wrote, ‘To insist that the mysteries of that [spiritual] world should be wholly revealed through reason would be like shutting one’s eyes and insisting that visible things should become perceptible through the sense of smell.’[3]

So if that is the case, then how does one prove the existence of God? And can religion ever be evidence-based? Well, this is something that the Holy Qur’an has so beautifully and succinctly explained in the following verse:

‘Eyes cannot reach Him but He reaches the eyes. And He is the Incomprehensible, the All-Aware.’[4]

Indeed, human faculties are limited and so attempting to perceive God through them would mean that not only would God have to take on a physical form but that He must also be confined within the parameters of our limited senses. In fact, herein lies a stark difference between a scientist’s line of enquiry and that of a sincere seeker of truth, in that while a scientist relies solely upon utilising his own senses to perceive something, God however, manifests Himself to His servant through various means and in accordance to their respective faculties and senses, which lead them to absolute and total conviction of His being.

One of the many ways God Almighty manifests Himself is also through divine revelation in the form of prophecies. There are many people who make predictions and educated guesses, of which some may even come true and hence one may argue that this is nothing out of the ordinary, but what makes prophecies of the prophets of God so distinct and such an extraordinary phenomenon is that these predictions are so vast in number, so great in scope and multi-layered, and yet, in the face of so many variables and against any pre-existing circumstances that one is left with no choice but to admit that the source of this knowledge cannot be conveyed by anyone other than a Supreme Being Who is All-Knowing and All-Powerful.

It is for this reason that the Holy Qur’an has stipulated divine knowledge as essential criterion of a prophet’s truthfulness:

‘He is the Knower of the unseen; and He reveals not His secrets to any one, except to him whom He chooses, namely a Messenger of His.’[5]

It is not humanly possible for one to foretell such events and occurrences with such clarity and conviction; it can only be from a transcendent source which therefore makes them such a powerful sign of the existence of God Almighty and the Promised Messiah (as) has stated that ‘No other miracle is greater than this.”[6]

Let us take the example of Prophet Muhammad (sa), the Holy Founder of Islam. Born in 6^th century Arabia, in the desert city of Makkah, completely secluded from the eyes of the world, who could not even read or write. And yet, upon receiving divine revelation he foretold scientific phenomena that continue to be discovered centuries later; for example, the distinct stages of embryonic development to the cosmological insight precisely describing how the universe came into existence, which were only discovered in the last century by modern science. He spoke of such technological advancements which could not even be conceived by any human mind at the time. He foretold the fall of great empires that were deemed unshakable. He gave tidings of grand victories to those who were few in number and up against mighty armies, and prophesied such global events and celestial signs that are beyond the reach and might of any mortal being, and yet, did not set a foot outside of the Arabian desert. Could this be the work of a single human mind or was this divine inspiration from the Almighty God?

The Review of Religions brings you a special and faith-inspiring series as it delves into the world of prophecies, analysing how these prophetic words were so profoundly and conclusively fulfilled and continue to stand the test of time, proving that God, Who throughout the ages has spoken to His chosen servants, continues to speak even today and brings forth irrefutable and ever-living signs as evidence of His Being.

About the Author: Shahzad Ahmed serves as the Associate Editor of The Review of Religions, having graduated from Jamia Ahmadiyya UK – Institute of Modern Languages and Theology. He is also an Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and presents shows on contemporary Islamic issues for MTA International.

ENDNOTES

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vG_8wkwhr0

2. https://www.reviewofreligions.org/27085/rays-of-wisdom-from-the-caliph-virtual-meet

3. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), The Essence of Islam – Vol. II (Tilford, Surrey: Islam International Publications Ltd., 2004), 34.

4. The Holy Qur’an, 6:104.

5. The Holy Qur’an, 72:27-28.

6. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Malfuzat – Vol. I (Farnham, Surrey: Islam International Publications Ltd., 2018), 312-313.