Letters ( revised ) | THE NINETEENTH LETTER | 183
(111-259)

The First: He passed his hand over the head of ‘Umar b. Sa‘d, and prayed. When the man died at the age of eighty, through the blessing of that prayer, there was not a single grey hair on his head. [251]

The Second: He placed his hand on Qays b. Zayd’s head, and prayed. Through the blessing of the prayer and effect of his touch, when Qays reached a hundred years of  age,  his  head  was  white  except  for  where  God’s  Messenger  (Upon  whom  be blessings and peace) had placed his hand; that had remained totally black. [252]

The Third: ‘Abd  al-Rahman b. Zayd b. al-Khattab  was both small and ugly. God’s Messenger (UWBP) touched his head with his hand and prayed. Through the blessing of his prayer, ‘Abdurrahman acquired the loftiest stature and most beautiful form. [253]

The Fourth: ‘A’idh b. ‘Amr received a wound on the face during the Battle of Hunayn. God’s Messenger (UWBP) wiped away the blood on his face with his hand. The part of his face that the Messenger (UWBP) had touched acquired a shining brilliance, which the scholars of Hadith described as resembling a white blaze on a chestnut horse.[254]

The Fifth: He passed his hand over Qatada b. Malhan’s face and prayed, and Qatada’s face began to shine like a mirror.[255]

The Sixth: When Zaynab, the daughter of the Mother of Believers Umm Salama and the stepdaughter of God’s Messenger (UWBP) was a child, he sprinkled some of his ablution water on her face. With the touch of the water, her face acquired an extraordinary beauty.[256]

There are numerous further examples similar to these, most of which have been narrated by the leading scholars of Hadith. Even if we suppose each of these instances to be a single report and weak, as a whole they still demonstrate an absolute miracle of Muhammad (UWBP) that has the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.’ For if an event  is  narrated  in  numerous  different  forms,  the  occurrence  of the  basic  event becomes definite. Even if each is weak, it still proves the basic event.

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[251] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 334; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 673.

[252] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 334; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 674.

[253] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 335; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 676-7.

[254] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 334; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, ix, 412; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, iii, 487.

[255] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 334; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba, iii, 225; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, v, 319.

[256] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 334; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’, iii, 163; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, ix, 259.

No Voice

Letters ( revised )