Divine custom has dictated that every phenomenon follows a...

Divine custom has dictated that every phenomenon follows a specific cause and according to the verses of the Holy Qur’an, there will be no change in this way (refer to al-Isrā’:77, al-Ahzāb:62, Fātir:43, Fateh:23). Therefore, extraordinary acts, which are the proof for such changes in these customs, are rejected by these verses. This doubt is like the previous one; the difference is that in the former, the intellect was used for reasoning and in the latter the verses of the Holy Qur’an.

The response is that it is not reasonable to limit unchangeable Divine customs to merely include usual causes for all phenomena. It is like saying that there is an unchangeable Divine law and that fire is the only cause for heat! Such claims can be challenged by saying that different causes for various phenomena, and the replacement of the usual causes by unusual ones, have always existed in the world and should consequently be described as a Divine custom.

Therefore, restricting the causes of events to usual ones is considered a change in Divine customs and those verses of the Holy Qur’an are (in fact) denying it. Thus, interpreting the verses, which deny changes in Divine customs in a way that they show the replacement of usual causes by unusual ones, is impossible and it is unreasonable to describe that interpretation as a Divine custom.

Moreover, the great number of verses, which indicate the occurrence of miracles and extraordinary acts, can be strong reasons for falsifying such an interpretation. The correct interpretation for such verses should be searched for in the books of commentary; however, I will briefly explain that such Holy verses deny the independence of the events from their causes, rather than the plurality of causes or the replacement of a usual cause by an unusual one.

It is nonetheless; probably right to claim that the majority of such verses are related to the effect of unusual causes. Why did the Prophet of Islam (s) refuse to present miracles to the public? It is stated in the Holy Qur’an that people frequently asked the Prophet (s) to present to them some miracles, but he refused (refer to al-An’ām:37,109, Yūnus:20, al- Ra’d:7, al-Anbiyā’:5). If providing miracles is a way of proving prophecy, why did the Prophet (s) not use this means?

The response is that such verses are related to the requests after the Prophet (s) had proved his prophecy in three ways: clues to his honesty, predictions made by the previous prophets, and miracles.