Imam Reza (peace be upon him) said: “The friend of a person is his intellect, and his enemy is his ignorance.”[1]
One day, Ibn Sikkit – one of the famous scholars during the time of Imam Reza (peace be upon him) – asked him:
“Why did Allah send Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) with the miracle of the staff, the shining hand, and tools to combat magic, while He sent Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) with medicine, and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the miracle of eloquence?”
The Imam replied:
“Because when Allah appointed Moses (peace be upon him) as a prophet, magic and sorcery were widespread among his people, and magic had supremacy over all other knowledge. Moses (peace be upon him) brought something from Allah that they had never seen before and could not counter with their knowledge. Through this miracle, he invalidated their magic and established the proof upon them.
When Allah sent Jesus (peace be upon him) as a prophet, various diseases were widespread, and the people were in dire need of medicine and healing. He brought something from Allah that was unprecedented among them, as he revived the dead, healed the blind from birth, and cured those suffering from skin diseases, all by the command of Allah, and thus proved the truth to them.
As for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Allah sent him when eloquence and rhetoric were dominant among the people of his time. Therefore, Allah, through the revelation of the Qur’an and its teachings and laws, refuted their arguments.”
Excerpt from the book “An Analytical Study of the Life of Imam Reza (peace be upon him)” by Muhammad Jawad Fadlullah.
It is important to note that the miracles of past prophets were specific to their time and are no longer accessible to us today. Among them, the Qur’an remains the only perpetual miracle, and even today, humanity can observe its miraculous aspects, such as its eloquence and clarity, by reflecting upon its verses. Although rhetoric was widespread at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation, its miraculous nature is not confined to that era alone; it is also comprehensible to modern-day people. Moreover, the miracle of the Qur’an extends beyond its eloquence, as it also contains prophecies about future events that later came to pass, as well as references to the secrets of creation, many of which were uncovered centuries later. This demonstrates that the Qur’an was revealed by One who has complete knowledge of the secrets of creation. The Qur’an, with all its miraculous aspects, was brought by a Prophet who, as history confirms, was unlettered. This clearly indicates that he did not bring the Qur’an of his own accord, but rather it was revealed to him by the Lord of the Worlds.
Footnote:
[1] Al-Kafi, Volume 1, Page 10.