SCIENCE VERSUS MIRACLES — Authentication of Religious Truths

M AN finds himself in a world where there is creation everywhere but the Creator is apparently unseen. There is design in this world but the designer is nowhere to be found. There are events happening in this world but the one who makes it all happen is hidden from our sights. The whole Universe is working like a magnificent industry but the master engineer who designed this industry cannot be seen even with the help of the most powerful telescopes. The Prophets taught that behind everything we perceive, there is an unperceivable Supreme Being. To answer these very questions, Prophets were sent to this world. In all ages, the Prophets taught that behind everything we perceive, there is an unperceivable Supreme Being. This is God, our Lord and Creator, so acknowledge Him and worship Him. In this sense, the role of the prophets in some respects was an inferential role. They showed man that through observations in nature and the universe, he should use his intelligence and derive the inference of an unobservable Creator, thus laying the foundations of belief in God. In order to authenticate this inferential role the Prophets showed miracles to their people. The Quran speaks about these miracles in these words: We sent our messengers with evidence ... THE QURAN 57: 25 These Prophets showed supernatural miracles so that man could believe that the message they brought to them was the true divine message. For instance, Prophet Moses came to the people of Egypt between the 16th and 15th century BC. The Pharaoh of the time, Rameses II was the ruler. He challenged Moses saying: If you are a true messenger of God show me a miracle. THE QURAN 7: 106 On this demand of the Pharaoh, Moses threw his staff on the ground which miraculously turned into a slithering serpent. SCIENCE VERSUS MIRACLES Authentication of Religious Truths