equal number of ways. The Wise Qur’an alone demonstrates a thousand of the proofs of his prophe-thood, in addition to its own forty aspects of miracul-ousness.

Since prophethood is a phenomenon of humanity, and hundreds of thousands of individuals who claimed prophethood and performed miracles have lived and passed away,(5) of a certainty the prophethood of Muhammad is superior to all the others. For whatever evidences, qualities, and attributes made prophets such as Jesus and Moses (Upon whom be peace) be known as prophets and were the means of their messengership, they were all possessed in a more perfect and compre-hensive fashion by Muhammad (Upon whom be bles-sings and peace). And since the causes and means of prophetic authority were more perfectly present in the person of Muhammad, this authority was to be found in him with more certainty than in all the others.

THIRD SIGN

The miracles of the Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were extremely varied. Since his messengership was universal, he was distinguished by miracles that related to almost all species of creation. Just as the supreme lieutenant of a renowned ruler, arriving with many gifts in a city where various peoples live, will be welcomed by a

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(5) Musnad v, 266; Valîyyuddîn Tabrîzî, Mishkât al-Masâbîh iii, 122; Ibn al-Qayyimal-Jawzî, Zâd al-Ma’âd (Tahqîq: al-Arnacûd) i, 43-44.