Muhammad Challenged to Produce a Spring (Quran vs. Hadith)
The Quran informs us that it contains details for every example of our religion, yet most people insist upon disbelieving.
[17:89] We have cited for the people in this Quran all kinds of examples, but most people insist upon disbelieving.
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ فَأَبَىٰٓ أَكْثَرُ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورًا
Despite this, most Muslims go to sources other than the Quran, such as Hadith, for their religion. As if that is not bad enough, they uphold the Hadith over the Quran. A clear example of this can be seen in the immediate next verse, where the people challenge the messenger to produce for the people a spring that specifically gushes out.
[17:90] They said, “We will not believe you unless you cause a spring to gush out of the ground.
وَقَالُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ تَفْجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ يَنۢبُوعًا
Then, the verse follows with additional requests and ends with the messenger responding that he is only human. This implies that he cannot provide these frivolous requests they are asking of him and can only deliver what his Lord decreed.
[17:91] “Or unless you own a garden of date palms and grapes, with rivers running through it. [17:92] “Or unless you cause masses from the sky, as you claimed, to fall on us. Or unless you bring GOD and the angels before our eyes. [17:93] “Or unless you own a luxurious mansion, or unless you climb into the sky. Even if you do climb, we will not believe unless you bring a book that we can read.” Say, “Glory be to my Lord. Am I any more than a human messenger?”
أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَعِنَبٍ فَتُفَجِّرَ ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرَ خِلَـٰلَهَا تَفْجِيرًا
أَوْ تُسْقِطَ ٱلسَّمَآءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِىَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ قَبِيلًا
أَوْ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيْتٌ مِّن زُخْرُفٍ أَوْ تَرْقَىٰ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَن نُّؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّىٰ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَـٰبًا نَّقْرَؤُهُۥ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّى هَلْ كُنتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا
This is covered in the previous verse were we are informed that God stopped sending these kinds of miracles. Therefore, it would be a contradiction if Muhammad would have been able to miraculously provide what they asked him for.
[17:59] What stopped us from sending the miracles is that the previous generations have rejected them. For example, we showed Thamûd the camel, a profound (miracle), but they transgressed against it. We sent the miracles only to instill reverence.
وَمَا مَنَعَنَآ أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ إِلَّآ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ وَءَاتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ ٱلنَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُوا۟ بِهَا وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ إِلَّا تَخْوِيفًا
Yet, if we look at the Hadith corpus, we see that Muhammad did just this. He not only provided them a gushing stream but provided such a massive spring to gush from his own finger and allowed as many as 1,500 people to perform ablution and quench their thirst with its water.
Narrated Salim bin Abi Aj-Jad: Jabir bin `Abdullah said, “The people became very thirsty on the day of Al-Hudaibiya (Treaty). A small pot containing some water was in front of the Prophet (ﷺ) and when he had finished the ablution, the people rushed towards him. He asked, ‘What is wrong with you?’ They replied, ‘We have no water either for performing ablution or for drinking except what is present in front of you.’ So he placed his hand in that pot, and the water started flowing among his fingers like springs. We all drank and performed ablution (from it).” I asked Jabir, “How many were you?” he replied, “Even if we had been one hundred thousand, it would have been sufficient for us, but we were fifteen hundred.”
حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حُصَيْنٌ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ أَبِي الْجَعْدِ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ عَطِشَ النَّاسُ يَوْمَ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ، وَالنَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ رَكْوَةٌ فَتَوَضَّأَ فَجَهَشَ النَّاسُ نَحْوَهُ، فَقَالَ “ مَا لَكُمْ ”. قَالُوا لَيْسَ عِنْدَنَا مَاءٌ نَتَوَضَّأُ وَلاَ نَشْرَبُ إِلاَّ مَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ، فَوَضَعَ يَدَهُ فِي الرَّكْوَةِ فَجَعَلَ الْمَاءُ يَثُورُ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ كَأَمْثَالِ الْعُيُونِ، فَشَرِبْنَا وَتَوَضَّأْنَا. قُلْتُ كَمْ كُنْتُمْ قَالَ لَوْ كُنَّا مِائَةَ أَلْفٍ لَكَفَانَا، كُنَّا خَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ مِائَةً.
So now traditionalists are in a bind. Either they adhere to the Quran and accept that Muhammad did not produce such miracles, or they follow their Hadith narrations. As witnessed, Sunnis consistently choose to accept the Hadith over the Quran despite its blatant contradictions. This shows that they think the Hadith has more authority than the Quran. Such that, when God said (1) He stopped sending these kinds of miracles (17:59), and (2) the prophet was commanded to say that this was not within his capabilities (17:90), the fabricators of Hadith decided otherwise and delivered in their narrations what God’s messenger, according to the Quran, was incapable of doing.
This indicates that they disbelieve in God’s words in the Quran when He says that this Quran is the most accurate history (12:3) and that they have chosen to follow another source other than God and His revelations, and thus have set up a partner with God and have fallen into idol worship (6:121).
[6:93] Who is more evil than one who fabricates lies and attributes them to GOD, or says, “I have received divine inspiration,” when no such inspiration was given to him, or says, “I can write the same as GOD’s revelations”? If only you could see the transgressors at the time of death! The angels extend their hands to them, saying, “Let go of your souls. Today, you have incurred a shameful retribution for saying about GOD other than the truth, and for being too arrogant to accept His revelations.
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَىْءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثْلَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ فِى غَمَرَٰتِ ٱلْمَوْتِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ بَاسِطُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمُ ٱلْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ غَيْرَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
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