The shaykh and imam, the learned and erudite scholar, the godly sage into whose heart the light of the Quran had been cast, Shaykh al-Islām Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-‘Abbās Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment—said:

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds—abundant, good and blessed praise, as our Lord loves and is pleased with. I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner, and that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, whom He chose, selected and guided. May Allah bestow blessings upon him and his family, and abundant peace, until the Day of Judgment.

A Noble Principle Concerning Miracles and Miraculous Favors

Although the term “miracle” encompasses every occurrence that departs from the ordinary course of things, both in its linguistic sense and in the usage of the early imams, such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others—who also call such occurrences “signs”—many later scholars distinguish terminologically between the two, reserving the term “miracle”