al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiyat bayna Basair al-Tanzil wa Dayajir al-Inkar wa al-Tawil

al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiyat bayna Basa'ir al-Tanzil wa Dayajir al-Inkar wa al-Ta'wil (Miracles and Unseen Matters Between the Insights of Revelation and the Darknesses of Denial and Interpretation) is a theological and exegetical study by Abd al-Fattah Ibrahim Salama, an assistant professor at the College of Hadith and Islamic Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1. Published as an academic treatise in the Journal of the Islamic University of Madinah, the work defends the literal reality of scriptural miracles (mu'jizat) and unseen phenomena (ghaybiyyat) against materialist denial and rationalist figurative interpretation (ta'wil) Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.

Purpose and Scope

The treatise categorizes human attitudes toward scriptural miracles and unseen realities into three main positions al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1:

1. Outright denial by materialists who claim backing from empirical science and physical reason al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
2. Skepticism vacillating between faith and denial, found among certain philosophically inclined figures and Westernized currents influenced by Orientalism, who claim Quranic narratives contain symbolic literary myths Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl….
3. Figurative reinterpretation (ta'wil) by those nominally affiliated with Islam (Ahl al-Qiblah) Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl….

Salama directs his principal analysis toward the third group, aiming to provide an evidence-based critique grounded in the Quran and the Sunnah, while explicitly warning against unwarranted accusations of disbelief (takfir) or moral wrongdoing (tafsiq) Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.

Methodological Framework and Definitions

Salama begins by defining key terminology:

• The Unseen (al-Ghayb): Linguistically rooted in concealment from sight, and legally denoting everything beyond the witnessed physical realm (al-shahadah) al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1. It encompasses absolute and relative unseen matters, past historical events, future worldly occurrences, and the afterlife al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• Miracles (al-Mujizat): Linguistically derived from i'jaz (rendering unable), and defined in Islamic terminology as a supernatural event by which God supports His prophets to demonstrate their truthfulness al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1. Salama observes that while the nominal form al-mu'jizah is not used in the Quran, the Quran employs terms such as al-ayah or al-ayat to express this meaning al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya….

He also notes historical attacks on miracles, highlighting Abu Bakr al-Razi's early polemical work Makhariq al-Anbiya as documented by al-Mutahhar al-Maqdisi in al-Bad' wa al-Tarikh al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.

Topics and Rebuttals of Figurative Interpretations

The core of the study addresses specific Quranic accounts that have been subjected to allegorical or rationalizing interpretations:

• Noah's Lifespan and the Ark: Rebutting rationalist claims that Noah's stated lifespan of 950 years referred merely to the duration of his religious law (shari'ah) and that his Ark was a metaphor for faith, Salama demonstrates that explicit Quranic verses detail the Ark's physical construction from planks and nails al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1. He likewise refutes speculative claims that women were made barren for fifteen years prior to the flood so that no unaccountable children would perish al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya….
• The She-Camel of Salih: Rejecting claims that the she-camel was merely a metaphor for an overwhelming intellectual proof, Salama cites Quranic descriptions of her drinking, grazing, and being hamstrung al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• Solomon's Hoopoe and the Ants: Addressing assertions that the hoopoe was a human scout and the ants were a weak human tribe, he cites verses stating that Solomon was taught the speech of birds and notes biological observations recorded by al-Jahiz in Kitab al-Hayawan regarding ant behavior al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• The Physical Transformation (Maskh): Analyzing interpretations of the Sabbath-breakers turned into apes, Salama outlines the figurative moral interpretation attributed to Mujahid ibn Jabir and contrasts it with the literal view championed by al-Tabari, al-Zamakhshari, al-Jahiz, Ibn Kathir, and al-Qasimi, while noting the positions of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and modern commentator Abd al-Jalil Isa al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• Effacement of Faces (Tams al-Wujuh): Comparing literal understandings of Quran 4:47 with interpretations reading it as spiritual misguidance, expulsion from the Hijaz, political failure (as advanced by Rashid Rida), or the humiliation of chieftains al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• The Disciples' Heavenly Table (al-Ma'idah): Refuting modern rationalizations—particularly by Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab al-Najjar in Qisas al-Anbiya equating the Quranic table to the Gospel of Matthew's narrative of the five loaves and two fish—as well as mystical allegories presented by Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• The Nature of Revelation (Kayfiyyat al-Wahy): Refuting philosophical assertions that divine revelation is merely the subjective removal of physical veils from the prophetic intellect, affirming the external, bodily descent of the angel Gabriel based on Quranic texts and Hadith reports al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• Pharaoh's Stakes and Modern Interpretations: Rebutting Muhammad Abduh's claim that "Pharaoh, the possessor of stakes" ( وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الأَوْتَادِ ) referred to the Egyptian pyramids, noting the absence of historical evidence linking the specific Pharaoh of the Exodus to pyramid construction al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.
• The Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al-Ard): Examining eschatological interpretations and refuting modern speculations that identify the Beast with spiritualist séances (Tantawi Jawhari), radio broadcasts, space satellites, or agricultural pests (such as the cotton leafworm), alongside Shia interpretations linking it to the doctrine of return (raj'ah) al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya….
• Descriptions of Hellfire: Defending the literal reality of eschatological descriptions—such as Hell speaking ( يَوْمَ نَقُولُ لِجَهَنَّمَ هَلِ امْتَلأْتِ وَتَقُولُ هَل مِنْ مَزِيدٍ ), seeing wrongdoers, calling out, and mounting upon hearts—against purely figurative or psychological explanations al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.

Salama concludes that the proper methodology concerning scriptural miracles and unseen phenomena is submission to the clear wording of revelation and the authentic Sunnah, rejecting the imposition of transient physical theories onto divine matters al-Mujizat wa al-Ghaybiya…+1.