Al-Bayhaqī also reports that the Prophet’s uncle, Abū Ṭālib, once fell ill. He asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to supplicate to his Lord on his behalf; the Prophet prayed for him, and Abū Ṭālib was cured of that sickness (1).

Many similar incidents, following the same pattern of removing pain and lifting disease, are recorded—too numerous to recount in full.

Among the extraordinary gifts (karāmāt) granted to the friends of Allah is the restoration of sight to one who had first been struck blind through supplication. Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir relates—through Saʿīd Abū Saʿīd al-Aʿrābī, from Abū Dāwūd—who said: ʽUmar ibn ʽUthmān narrated to us; Baqiyyah narrated to us, from Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, from Abū Muslim: A woman had maligned Abū Muslim’s wife, so he invoked blindness upon her and she lost her sight. She later came to him and said, “O Abū Muslim, I did what I did and I shall never repeat it.” He then prayed, “O Allah, if she is truthful, restore her sight,” and she was able to see once more (2).

Ibn ʿAsākir also transmits the story through another chain from Abū Bakr ibn Abī al-Dunyā: ʽAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Wāqid told us; Ḍumrah told us; ʽĀṣim told us; ʽUthmān ibn ʽAṭāʾ told us:

Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī, whenever he entered his house, would pronounce the takbīr. When he reached the middle of the courtyard he would say takbīr and his wife would answer with a takbīr; on reaching the room he would say takbīr and she would respond in kind. He would then enter, remove his cloak and sandals, and she would bring him food, which he ate.

One night he arrived and said takbīr, but she did not reply. He went to the door, said takbīr and gave salām, yet she still remained silent. The house was without a lamp, and there she sat, holding a stick and drawing lines in the ground. He asked, “What is the matter with you?” She replied, “People are living comfortably, and you are Abū Muslim. If only you would go to Muʽāwiyah, he would appoint a servant for us and give you something to live on.” He prayed, “O Allah, whoever has corrupted my wife, take away his sight.”

A woman had indeed visited his wife and said, “If you would speak to your husband so that he might speak to Muʽāwiyah, he would provide you with a servant and give you something.” While that woman was in her own house and the lamp was shining brightly, she suddenly could no longer see. She asked, “Has your lamp gone out?” They said, “No.” She exclaimed, “It is I—my sight is gone!” She came, just as she was, to Abū Muslim, persistently pleading with him until he supplicated to Allah, and her sight was restored. His wife then returned to her former state (3).

As for the story of the heavenly Table, Allah the Exalted says:

“When the disciples said, ‘O Jesus, son of Mary, can your Lord send down to us a table spread with food from heaven?’ He said, ‘Fear Allah, if you are believers.’ They said, ‘We want to eat from it, so that our hearts may be reassured, and that we may know that you have told us the truth, and that we may be among its witnesses.’ Jesus, son of Mary, said, ‘O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table spread with food from heaven, to be a festival for the first of us and the last of us, and a sign from You; and provide for us, for You are the best of providers.’ Allah said, ‘I will indeed send it down to you; but whoever among you disbelieves afterwards, I shall punish him with a torment such as I will inflict on no one else in all the worlds.’” (al-Māʾidah 112–115)

We have already discussed this at length in the Tafsīr (4), along with the differing positions of the commentators as to whether…