The miracles of awliya were based on the fact that it was supernatural and went against the laws of nature. What if there was some law of nature that was not yet discovered? Based on this, couldn’t some of the awliya of the past not be "real" awliya?
The word ‘waliyy’ (pl. awliya') means ‘a friend of God’. Allah Most High describes these people in Qur’an, saying,
"Lo! The friends of Allah have no fear, nor do they grieve. [They are] those who have believed and are godfearing."[1]
In the light of this verse, scholars explain that a ‘waliyy’ is someone who believes in Allah and then acts according to his belief by fulfilling His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.
Miracles are extraordinary feats that the people are incapable of reproducing or imitating. In the Arabic definition, the words used are khaariqunlil-'aadah meaning something out of the ordinary. It is not really necessary that such Arabic words are to be understood by the term "supernatural" or inexplicable according to natural laws. The important thing is to just explain how something might have occurred or was an extraordinary scenario. Moreover, what makes a miracle miraculous is because people can't reproduce it, not that it is impossible to understand or justify according to current knowledge.Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The karaamaat of the close friends of Allah (awliya’) are true according to the consensus of the imams of Islam and of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l Jamaa‘ah. That is indicated by the Qur’an in more than one place and by saheeh hadeeths and well founded reports from the Sahaabah, Taabi‘een and others. It is only denied by innovators such as the Mu‘talizah, Jahamiyyah and those who followed them. But many of those who claim to have performed miracles or to whom people attributed miracles may have been lying or confused.” [2]
It should be noted that the true miracle for the slaves of Allah, and especially for His close friends (awliya’) only occurs because of their following the path of righteousness and their adherence to it.
Shaykh al-Islam said: “The real karaamah (honour) is steadfastness in adhering to the path of righteousness; There is no honour that Allah bestows on any of His slaves that can match the honour of helping him to do that which He loves and which pleases Him, and to do more of that which will bring him closer to Him and raise him in status.” [3]
However, such miracles are neither necessary nor sufficient indicators of closeness to Allah, Most High. Miracles are not necessary indicators of closeness because the litmus test of being close to Allah is--as mentioned in the verse above: belief and god fearing, not the ability to work miracles. There have been many friends of Allah who had no miracles at all. Miracles are also not sufficient indicators of closeness because Allah sometimes grants such preternatural phenomena to people who are astray to lead them even further astray. The Dajjal is a prime example of such a person.
A casual look at any classic work of Islamic spirituality will reveal that most awliya' de-emphasize their miracles and try to conceal them. They explain that miracles are not the point at all. The point is Allah. Although we affirm that many of the awliya' are, indeed, blessed with miracles, we should focus our attention on what they focused their attention on: Allah and His obedience. This is their secret, and this is how they became who they were. And Allah Most High knows best.[4]References:
[1] Surah Yunus Verse 62
[2] Mukhtasar al-Fataawa al-Masriyyah, 2/63
[3] Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 11/298
[4] http://spa.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=12363&CATE=1
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