Among the principles of the creed of the sunni, the ahl sunnah wal jamaa’ah, is to believe in the existence of karaamah (miracle):
25- كرامات الأولياء والصالحين حق وليس كل أمر خارق للعادة كرامة, بل قد يكون استدراجا وقد يكون من تأثير الشياطين والمبطلين والمعيار في ذلك موافقة الكتاب والسنة .
26- المؤمنون كلهم أولياء الرحمن, وكل مؤمن فيه من الولاية بقدر إيمانه .
25. Karaamah (miracle) of the close friends of Allah (the wali) and the pious men is true. But not all extraordinary thing could be taken as karaamah, because it might be happened as an istidraj (a trial from Allah), the result of satan’s and bad people’s work. The parameter in this matter is by comparing it’s suitability with the Qur’an and the sunnah.
26. All believers are the close friend of Allah, the Most Merciful. In every one of them, there is a level of closeness according to the level of their faith. (See: “Mujmal Ushul Ahlissunah” by Dr. Nashir Al ‘Aql).
Explanation:
No. 25:
Karaamah means something extraordinary, a miracle. If that extraordinary thing was given to a prophet, it is called a mu’jizah, whereas if it was given to a close friend of Allah, or a pious man, then it is called karaamah.
Regarding karaamah, men are divided into three groups:
The first group is the one that negate the existence of karaamah, consists of people of innovation, such as the mu’tazilah, the jahmiyya, and some part of the ‘Asy’ariyya. Their reason is if that extraordinary thing happened to the close friends of Allah, then it will be difficult to distinguish the prophet from the rest of the people, because the difference between prophets and other than them is the mu’jizah.
The second group, is the one that overrated the karaamah, such as the Soofis, and the grave worshipper. They believe and say that every extraordinary thing is karaamah, even though it is magic and lie.
The third group is the one that believes the existence of karaamah of the close friends of Allah, according to the rule of the Qur’an and the sunnah. They rebut the negating group by saying that there is a major difference between a prophet and common people, in affairs beside the karaamah. A close friend of Allah never claim himself as a prophet, and of course if he claimed it, he will not be a wali any longer, but a liar. Among the certainty of Allah, that He will reveal the true self of a liar, as happened to Musailamah al-Kadzdzab.
Karaamah of the close friends of Allah or the wali is true, based on the Qur’an, the sunnah, the narrations from the companions of the prophet and the tabeen.
The example of karaamah in the Qur’an is what happened to the young men who slept in a cave for three hundred plus nine years (the Ash-habul Kahfi) (see Chapter Al Kahfi/The Cave: 25), also what Allah had given to Mary, of foods from His side, while she was praying (see chapter Ali ‘Imran/The Family of ‘Imran: 37)
The example of karaamah in the valid sayings of the Prophet is what happened to Usaid Ibn Hudhair and ‘Abbad Ibn Bashir, when they came home from the attending the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- on a dark night, suddenly there was a light in front of them (that shone upon the street). When they parted, the light happened to each of them, guided them until they reached home to their family. Also what happened to Khubaib Ibn ‘Addi who was taken as captive in Mecca, he got grapes for food, while there were no grapes in Mecca at that time.
Likewise, the story of a man who came to a wizard and to a monk separately, where Allah gave him karaamah so that he was able to heal various illness with Allah’s permission, and in the story of Juraij who was accused of adultery, then the baby of the adulteress was born and when Juraij asked hi, “Whois your father?” That baby replied, “So and so the goat shepherd.”
Also what happened to the three men from the descendant of Israel, who spent a night in a cave, which later closed by a big stone. Finally, each of them prayed to Allah by mentioning a righteous deed that they had done, until the stone moved out of the cave’s entrance and they were able to get out of it.
In the story of a man who heard a voice on the cloud, saying, “Water the garden of so and so” , where he found later that the man whose garden was watered by that cloud was accustomed to divide his harvest into three parts, one third for him and his family, one third to be spent as charity, and one third to be returned as seeds to his garden. (See: “Riyadhush Shaalihin”, in chapter Karaamah of the close friends of Allah and their virtues)
As for the example of karaamah from the stories of the companions and the tabeen, is the vision of Umar -may Allah be pleased with him- of the troops of Sariyah, when he was standing on the pulpit in Medina, while the troops were at the Nahawand, of the east, and he called them, “O Sariya! Up to the mountain.” The troops heard his shout and followed his instruction, this they were saved from their enemy’s trick.
However, if the extraordinary thing occurred to a shaman, a wizard, or a wicked man, then it is not a karaamah, but from the work of satan.
The way to differ whether an extraordinary thing is a karaamah or from the influence of satan, is by looking at the condition of the man whom the thing occurred, if he is a faithful and pious man, which means he possesses a straight beliefs, follows the sunnah of the Prophet peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- , then it extraordinary thing is a karaamah. Contrary to that, if the person possesses wrong beliefs, upon innovations and wickedness, then that thing is the service of satan to him, or as a trial.
Imam Ash Shafi’i -may Allah have mercy on him- said:
إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ الرَّجُلَ يَمْشِي عَلَى الْمَاءِ أَوْ يَطِيْرُ فِي الْهَوَاءِ فَلاَ تُصَدِّقُوْهُ وَلاَ تَغْتَرُّوْا بِهِ حَتَّى تَعْلَمُوْا مُتَابَعَتَهُ لِلرَّسُوْلِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
“If you saw someone walking on the water or flying through the air, do not affirm him and do not be fooled by him until you know that he followed the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-“
Satan will incline to serve men after they consented to obey him and follow his persuasion, that is shirk and evil doings. Satan will be pleased with their obedience to him, and as the reward, satan and his cronies give them their service whatever they wish; which one of those is by showing him an extraordinary thing, such as flying on the air and walking on the water, and so on. Allah the Glorified and Exalted decreed, which can be translated as,
“And on the Day when He shall muster them all together, He will say (to the jinn): “O assembly of jinn, you have seduced a good many of mankind.” And their companions from among the humans will say: “Our Lord! We did indeed benefit from one another and now have reached the term which You had set for us.” (Chapter Al An’aam/The Cattle: 128)
It means that satan has succeeded in tricking the men until they followed his wheedling, and the men has also enjoyed satan’s services to him.
Pearl of wisdom:
It is important to know that if Allah did not grant karaamah to slave, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t truly faithful, because Allah the Exalted granted karaamah to His slaves due to several reasons, such as: 1). To strengthen and to toughen his faith, 2). To establish the evident proof against his enemy.
Besides, karaamah didn’t occur according to a slave’s wish, but as Allah the Exalted wished.
Likewise, we should know that the greatest karaamah that Allah bestowed upon a slave is the His guidance to him so that he would be able to stand firm upon obedience and continuance of worship, together with loyalty towards the wali of Allah, and far from backing His opponents. Therefore, the scholars said, “Istiqama (being firm upon the straight path) is the greatest of karaamah.”
No. 26: Wali comes from the word ‘walaa’, which means love and close, thus the wali of Allah means people who gives his wala’ (love, loyalty, -ed) to Allah by performing what He loves, and drawing himself closer to Allah by doing every thing that He pleased of. It is mentioned in the Qur’an that the wali of Allah are those who believe in Him and perform piety. Allah the Glorified and Exalted decreed:
“Surely the friends of Allah have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve – the ones who believe and are God-fearing.” (chapter Yunus: 62-63)
Based on this verse, every believer is the wali of Allah; however, the level of his status as wali depends largely on the level of faith within him.
Author: Marwan Ibn Musa
Article of www.whatisQuran.com
References:
“Mujmal Ushul Ahlissunnah wal Jamaa’ah fil ‘Aqiidah” (Dr. Nashir Al ‘Aql), “Sharh Ath Thahaawiyyah” (Sheikh Shalih Al Fauzan), “Sharh ‘Aqidah Wasithiyyah” (Sheikh Shalih Al fauzan), “Sharh ‘Aqidah Ahlussunnah” (Ustadz Yazid), etc.