—dates fell for her in one solid cluster, as though it were a single, seamless cone: the fruit did not break apart when it hit the ground, nor did it spoil. That, too, is a sign from Allah. The entire episode of her pregnancy and delivery belongs to the same category of divine signs—an honor Allah bestowed upon her, as He says, “We made her and her son a sign for all peoples.”
The third category, however, is what Allah allows to appear at the hands of charlatans and sorcerers who employ the jinn. Allah brings these phenomena forth as a trial—for them and for those who watch them. A person may perform something that breaks the normal order, yet he is no wali. Shall we therefore call it a karamah? Plainly not. He is also certainly no prophet—there is no prophet after Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Hence such feats can only come from the devils.
The fourth category is an extraordinary event that Allah manifests through a liar in order to expose him. Take, for instance, what is reported about Musaylimah the Liar. Near the end of the Prophet’s lifetime, Musaylimah claimed prophethood and some people followed him. One day a group from the tribe of Harb came to him complaining that the water in their well had almost dried up. They asked him to come to the well and spit into it so that the water might return. He agreed: they handed him some water, he rinsed his mouth, and then spat it back into the well. There had been a little water in the well, but the moment he spat, the remainder vanished completely. This was certainly an extraordinary occurrence and, in that sense, a sign—but Allah made it a humiliation for that lying impostor and a clear exposure of his falsehood.
Thus we have four distinct kinds of events that break the normal pattern: the prophetic sign, the wali’s karamah, the sorcerer’s trickery, and the liar’s disgrace. Though all are extraordinary, they differ according to the one through whom Allah allows them to appear. God willing, we shall soon discuss the scriptural proofs the author has cited.