Seventh: Religious devotion consists in fulfilling the obligations of servanthood: doing what is incumbent upon you and what you have been commanded to do. Extraordinary occurrences, by contrast, belong to the prerogatives of divine lordship when the servant has not been commanded to bring them about. Even when they result from the servant’s efforts, it is Allah who creates them through the causes He establishes. The servant should concern himself with his duties and what he has been commanded to do.

As for concerning himself with what Allah does, when he has not been commanded to concern himself with it, this may be superfluous. Such occurrences may be valued for the benefits they offer, comparable to the benefits of authority and wealth that can support religion: multiplying food and drink, for example, and securing people’s obedience when they witness them. They may also ward off harm from religion, much as jihad repels and overcomes the enemy.

But does religion fundamentally require such occurrences because belief in prophethood cannot be complete without an extraordinary sign? Or are they unnecessary for the select few, though needed by the general public? We shall discuss this.

The most beneficial extraordinary occurrence is one that is itself religious in nature, as was the case with our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said:

“Every prophet was given signs of a kind that led people to believe. What I have been given, however, is revelation that Allah has revealed to me, so I hope to have the greatest number of followers on the Day of Resurrection.”

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim both narrated it in their Sahīh collections. His sign was itself his call and his proof, unlike those of the other prophets. Thus we find that many among us who deviate toward a Jesus-oriented approach flee from the Quran and verbal teaching to spiritual states, just as those among us who deviate toward a Moses-oriented approach flee from faith and spiritual states to