In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful'We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Doth not thy Lord suffice, since He is Witness over all things'' (Quran 41:53)SHE came to the world completely oblivious of what she bore in her hands 'the glorious Qur'an. She came to the world completely ignorant of the spiritual-religious identity of the womb that bore her ' a dutiful follower of Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ), upon him be peace of Allah. The baby came to the world at a time the world is held in the jugular by forces, which constantly instruct humanity to disbelieve in the Almighty. She was born at a time humanity appears to have reached a consensus to profane the sacred.No doubt her birth was a miracle. But her case is not an exception. Brethren, the world has witnessed many wonderful events the likes of which Lagos witnessed a week ago and yet such portents did not lead to any spiritual turn-around in the lives of majority of humans, who now tread this earth. Time was when a cowry shell was found with the inscription of Allah boldly written on it, time was when a part of a rock was found to be in prostration as if in Muslim prayer, time was when the horizon revealed the Name of Allah as if a calligrapher had appropriated the heavens in order to display his artistry.But of what import have these been for humanity' Of what spiritual value have these miraculous happenings been for the destiny of sons and daughters of Allah' The more the Almighty reveals these signs, the more humanity becomes steeped in disbelief and spiritual infamy.In other words, dear brethren, it appears as if, were the Almighty to appear in the horizon nowadays, and were the angels to emerge in physical forms and in a row one after the other, all calling on humanity to re-connect with their Creator, it seems a large majority would still not believe. It appears that in order for humanity to believe in the eschatological, a plea for the material must be entertained, it feels as if humanity would not believe in the Divine until they become certain how many millions of naira and dollars would accrue to them from the exercise.Dear brethren, whereas the event of the birth of a child with the Qur'an in his or her palm should occasion our wonderment, such should not lead us to forget or gloss over the message while celebrating the messenger, we should not focus on the signifier to the extent that we would forget the signified.In other words, while as humans we should ask questions about the possible identities of the child who could not have come to the world all by his or her choice, while as humans we could even query, as some have done, the authenticity of the claim by the woman who bore the child that her baby actually came to the world with the Qur'an, I guess the fundamental message in the event is the necessity for us as Muslims to reconnect with our origin, to re-establish our relationship with Allah.Brethren, in other words, the event of last week should function in reminding us of the important position of the Qur'an: that the latter was an event, which defied and transcended universal norms and laws. The Qur'an is a book of truth and about the truth, it is a book of miracles, which talks about the advent of miracles the likes of which took place in the backwaters of the city of Lagos.Brethren, the point I am making is this, true miracle usually defies all natural laws established by Allah, which could not be violated or suspended, except by His Will. The exact object of each Messenger's miracle was a challenge to particular traits of each of the groups of people to whom they were sent. A miracle would be futile if it did not achieve its desired effect on its witnesses. For it to have full impact, it should relate to an area of knowledge in which its intended audience is well versed.For example, if the people for whom a Messenger has been sent excel in medicine, sorcery or philology, the miracle should also concern these fields. Thus the birth of a baby with a Qur'an in her hand and to a Christian mother and in the presence of a midwife, who believes in nothing other than Allah could therefore not have occurred as happenstance. It calls attention to the unlimited and inimitable capacity of the Almighty to deliver His messages through whatever means and in whatever quarters.Brethren, the birth of that child has equally functioned in showing how near or far some of us are from our Creator. This is evidenced in the various commentaries that have followed the event. Some have pooh-poohed the event as fiction; some have said the woman who bore the child must have been touched by Satan, others even said that the Qur'an was placed in the baby's hands at birth and it was after that the news was taken to town. Some are even expecting modern medicine to provide explanation for the curious event.This is reminiscent of the unbelievers' comments when they heard about the journey of the Prophet to the heavens (Quran 17). It is reminiscent of what the Jews told Maryam, the mother of Jesus Christ. They asked her in jest: 'How could you say you have given birth to a baby boy without having had any relationship with a man'' They went on to disbelieve Prophet Isa even though he miraculously cured the leper and the blind and revived the dead.Before these two prophets, miracles, which were given to messengers of Allah, were equally denied by their followers. Allah bestowed Divine power upon Prophet Musa (upon him be peace), which enabled him to command the sea to divide into two.For example, the Almighty gave Prophet Ibrahim (upon him be peace) the power to give life to birds after he had cut them into pieces and put each piece on a separate hill. As soon as he called each by its name, it came to him.We must, however, understand that all that Abraham did was to call the bird and that it was Allah Who permitted the miracle to happen. Allah gave Prophet Dawud and his son miraculous signs all of which point to His majesty and power. The first had mountains at his beck and call; the second had the wind and the Jinn as his messenger. None of them conflated the message with the messenger; none of them glossed over the solemn truth that all things and everything in nature are signs and symbols, which point to something other and greater than themselves 'our Creator, the Almighty.Brethren, kindly prepare and await the next miracle from Allah and from, once again, another unlikely and unexpected source. While we await that event, ask yourself what it is you have taken away from this event. It might be that the next one would take place in your backyard.guardianfridayworship@gmail.com
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