Eight Miraculous Signs of the Birth of the Prophet (saw)
'And We have not sent you, [O Prophet], except as a mercy to the worlds'
[The Noble Qur’an, 21:107]
The birth of Prophet Muhammed (saw) has been the greatest blessing and favour to our Ummah and a mercy to all the worlds. His birth was an exceptionally important event and Allah (swt) sent several miraculous signs to the world, many of which have never been experienced before.
‘Indeed Allah conferred a great favour on the believers when he sent among them a Messenger from among themselves, reciting unto them His verses, and purifying them, and instructing them (in) the Book (Quran) and Al-Hikmah, (the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw)), while before that they had been in manifest error’.
(Qur’an, 3:164)
SubhanAllah, here are just a few of the amazing miracles that preceded the blessed birth of the Prophet (saw).
1. A light that shone like never before
Before his birth, the Prophet’s (saw) mother, Aaminah, was conscious of a light within her when she was pregnant with him, which one day shone from her so intensely that she could see the castles and palaces of Syria. (Ibn Ishaq)
2. The Persian Fire was extinguished
Pre-Islam, the Persians worshipped fire and kept a fire burning continuously for a thousand years. Imam Baihaqi narrated from Hani’ I-Makhzumi that as soon as the Prophet (saw) was born, this fire went out. This was a sign of the truthful call of the Prophet (saw) to his followers, to worship Allah (swt) alone.
3. The Throne Arch of Chosroes shuddered
The throne arch is referred to as the Aywan and indicates the political shift caused by the Prophet’s (saw) birth. The Arch (Aywan) of the Palace of Kisra (Chosroes), the ancient emperor of Persia, trembled when the Prophet (saw) was born. [Baihaqi]
4. Fourteen royal balconies collapsed
The Palace of Kisra, mentioned in Baihaqi’s narration, had fourteen balconies which all collapsed when the Prophet (saw) was born. This was a sign that Persian rule would only last for fourteen more Persian kings. The fourteenth (and last) Persian king ruled from the time of the Prophet (saw)’s birth, until the Muslims completely destroyed the whole of Persian Empire under Umar Bin Khattab (ra) and Uthman Bin Affan (ra). [Baihaqi]
5. Lake Sa’wah ran dry
The lake of Sa’wah is located in Qum and Hamadan in modern day Iraq. It was known as a city of evil doers but on the night of the birth of the Prophet (saw), the lake, which was vast enough for ships to sail through, dried up entirely. [Baihaqi]. This was a seen as a sign of Allah’s (saw) power and a reminder to the people of Sa’wah to follow the path of righteousness.
6. Idols fell flat
The birth of the Prophet (saw) signalled the end of idol worshipping in the lands of Arabia. When the Prophet (saw) was born, a total of 360 idols fell in and around the Holy Ka’bah. One of those idols was called Hubal, which resembled a human figure and was believed to control acts of divination.
Several people witnessed the falling of the idols, including Abdul-Mutallib, the grandfather of the Prophet (saw). The idols remained on the floor for a full twenty-four hours and any effort to pick them up and erect them throughout the world was unsuccessful.
Abdul Mutallib (ra) took his grandchild to the Ka’bah and named him Muhammad (saw), three days after the idols fell. As soon as the child was taken to the Ka’bah for the naming ceremony, the four corners of the walls of the Ka’bah spoke and declared:
“There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the Seal of Prophethood.”
7. The throne of Iblis collapsed
Iblis had a god-complex and observed that the throne of Allah (swt) is upon water as is mentioned in the following Qur’anic passage:
When he was banished from Paradise, Iblis established his throne upon water on planet earth, but this collapsed at the time of the birth of the Prophet (saw).
8. The devils were attacked with shooting stars
The devilish Jinn would ascend to the lower sky and attempt to listen to the conversations of the angels positioned at the Ka’bah, with the intention of hearing about people’s Qadr (divine decree).
‘And we have sought [to reach] heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames. And we used to sit there in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him’.
[The Noble Qur’an, 72:8 & 9]
At the time of the Prophet’s (saw) birth, they were stricken with falling stars and barred from accessing this knowledge and chased away instead by flames and comets. Among the signs is that Iblis, the forefather of the devils, was blocked from the news of the sky so he rang out a very loud scream.
The beauty of Islam allows us to continue drawing divine links from the Prophet’s (saw) birth to events which took place centuries before it. The miraculous signs of His birth are a reminder that He is indeed the Seal of the Prophets, that he was sent down as a mercy to mankind.
The Prophet (saw) taught us about the virtues of giving, so this Rabi ul-Awwal follow his Sunnah of spreading love, peace, and mercy by donating towards one of our appeals, and helping the less fortunate.
