Question: What was the Divine Wisdom behind the terrible and bloody upheavals, and why did Divine Compassion allow such things to happen to those Muslims who cannot have deserved them?

Answer: A strong spring rain activates and develops predispositions inherent in vegetables, seeds, and trees so that each will bloom and flourish in its own fashion and realize its natural function. In the same way, upheavals during the time of the Companions and their successors activated various talents. Many people rose to preserve Islam, fearing that it was in danger. Women and men shouldered a duty to be performed in the Muslim community and strove to fulfill it to the best of their ability. Each group performed a different function, such as striving to preserve the Prophetic Traditions, to protect the Shari'a, to maintain the Qur'an and the truths of belief, and so on. This caused many branches of the religious and natural sciences to flourish, as well as many people of learning to appear. The seeds of a brilliant civilization were scattered throughout the vast Muslim world, and half of the ancient world changed into "rose gardens." Nevertheless, "thorns" (deviant sects) also appeared in these rose gardens.

It was as if Divine Power shook that age with wrath, turned it over vigorously, and thus electrified all people of zeal. Activated by that movement's centrifugal force, large numbers of illustrious jurists, enlightened Traditionists, blessed memorizers of the Qur'an and Traditions, people of purity and chiefs of saints dispersed throughout the Muslim world. Thus Divine Power inspired Muslims with enthusiasm and awakened them to the Qur'an's treasures.

Now we return to our subject. The Messenger predicted thousands of events, all of which came true. Here we mention only a few. Most are agreed upon by the six most authentic books of Traditions, including the two most famous: Sahih al‑Bukhari and Sahih al‑Muslim. Many have the certainty of tawatur with respect to their meaning, while others, on account of verification by meticulous researchers, may be considered as certain as if narrated through tawatur. All are authentic.

• "You (the Companions) will defeat all your enemies and conquer Makka, Khaybar, Damascus, Jerusalem, Iraq, and Persia. You will share the treasures of the Persian and Byzantine rulers among yourselves."[11] These empires were the superpowers of their time. The Prophet did not say "I think" or "I guess"; rather, he said it as if he had seen it. He predicted this while he was in severest circumstances with a handful of followers due to pervasive hostility in and around Makka.
• "After my death, you should follow the way of Abu Bakr and 'Umar."[12] In other words, Abu Bakr and 'Umar would succeed him as caliphs and act so perfectly as to please God and His Messenger. He also declared that Abu Bakr's reign would be short, but that 'Umar would reign for a longer time and make many conquests.
• "Earth was laid out before me, and I was shown its remotest corners in the east and west. My nation will extend over whatever was laid out before me."[13]
• Before the Battle of Badr, he indicated the exact places where the polytheistic Qurayshi leaders would be killed, and said: "Abu Jahl will be killed here, 'Utba here, Umayya here," etc., and added: "I will kill Umayya ibn al‑Khalaf."[14]
• He informed his Companions of what was happening during the Battle of Muta (near Damascus), as if watching it, even though it would take someone one month to reach it on foot. He said: "Zayd has taken the flag and been hit; now Ibn Rawaha has taken it and been hit; now Ja'far has taken it and been hit; now one of God's swords (i.e., Khalid) has taken it."[15] Two or three weeks later, Ya'la ibn Munabbih returned from the battlefront. In his presence, the Prophet described the fighting in detail and Ya'la swore by God that everything had happened exactly as described.
• "The Caliphate after me will last for years and then be replaced by a biting monarchy.[16] This affair certainly began with Prophethood and as a mercy. Then it will be mercy and caliphate, after which it will change into a biting monarchy, and finally into iniquity and tyranny."[17] In other words: the caliphates of four Rightly‑Guided Caliphs and the 6‑month caliphate of Hasan, after which the caliphate became a monarchy, which later was transformed into tyranny and the corruption of his nation.
• "'Uthman will be killed while reading the Qur'an. God probably will dress him in a shirt, but they will want to remove it from him."[18] By this he meant that 'Uthman would become caliph, his deposition would be sought, and that he would be martyred while reading the Qur'an.
• According to an authentic narration, when the Prophet was cupped, he ordered 'Abdullah ibn Zubayr to bury the blood. Upon learning that Ibn Zubayr had drunk it as a blessing, he said: "Woe unto the people for what will befall them because of you, and woe unto you for what will befall you because of the people."[19] Thus he prophesied that the courageous Ibn Zubayr would lead the Muslims and that they would face awful attacks so that people would suffer great disasters. Ibn Zubayr declared his caliphate in Makka during the Umayyads' rule and fought heroic battles against them, until finally Hajjaj the tyrant martyred him after a fierce battle.
• The Messenger foretold the founding of the Umayyad state and that most of its rulers, including Yazid and Walid, would be unjust.[20] He also foretold that Mu'awiya would rule the Muslims and advised him to be just and mild: "When you rule, act gently."[21] The Prophet also predicted the Abbasids' long rule after the Umayyads, saying: "The descendants of 'Abbas will appear with black flags and rule for many times longer than them (the Umayyads)."[22]
• He prophesied the dreadful destruction of Genghis Khan and Hulagu, which caused the 'Abbasid state to collapse: "Woe to the Arabs for the evil that has approached."[23]
• The Prophet said to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, when the latter was gravely ill: "Hopefully you will be spared so that some may benefit through you and others be harmed through you,"[24] suggesting that Sa'd would be a great commander and make many conquests. While many would benefit from him by converting to Islam, many others would be harmed through him because he would destroy their states. Later on, Sa'd commanded the Muslim armies that destroyed Persia's Sassanid Empire and brought many peoples within the guidance of Islam.
• When Negus, the Abyssinian ruler who embraced Islam, died 7 years after the Prophet's migration, he told his Companions what had happened and prayed the funeral prayers for him. A week later, news arrived announcing the Negus' death on the very day it was announced by the Messenger.[25]
• When the Messenger was on top of either Mount Uhud or Hira with his four closest friends, the mountain trembled. He said: "Steady, for on you are a Prophet, a truthful one (Abu Bakr) and martyrs ('Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali)." [26]

Now O miserable, unfeeling, and wretched one who says that Muhammad was a wise man and then closes your eyes to that sun of the truth! Of his kinds of major miracles, so far you have heard only a tiny part of one kind—that which is related to his predictions having the certainty of tawatur. One who predicts even only one‑hundredth of such future events with his own insight would have to be of the highest genius. Even if we merely regarded him as a genius, as you do, could such a person with the insight of a hundred geniuses have perceived anything false or so far abase himself as to give false information? Not to heed the words of such a person concerning happiness in both worlds is pure stupidity.

[11] Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:83; 'Ali al-Qari', Sharh al-Shifa' (from Bukhari, Muslim and others), 1:678-79.

[12] Hakim, 3:75; also related by Tirmidhi, Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Maja, and Bayhaqi.

[13] Muslim, 4:2215; Hakim, 4:445; also related by Tirmidhi, Ibn Hanbal, and Ibn Maja.

[14] Muslim, no. 1779; Ibn Hanbal, 1:390; Qadi 'Iyad, Shifa', 1:343; Hakim, 2:327.

[15] Bukhari, 5:182; Hakim, 3:298; Abu Nu'aym, Dala'il al-Nubuwwa, 2:529.

[16] Al-Jami' al-Saghir, no. 3336; Ibn Hanbal, 4:273; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, 8:227; Abu Dawud, Sunna, 8; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 48.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Hakim, 3:100; Ibn Hanbal, 6:114; Tirmidhi, no. 2706; Majma', 5:188.

[19] Hakim, 3:554; al-Matalib al-'Aliya, 4:21; Qadi 'Iyad, Shifa' al-Sharif, 1:339.

[20] Al-Jami' al-Saghir, no. 412, 2579; Shifa', 1:338; related by Tirmidhi and Hakim.

[21] Ibn Hajar, Matalib al-'Aliya, 4085, related by Ibn Hanbal and Abu Ya'la.

[22] Ibn Hanbal, 3:216; Hakim, al-Mustadrak, 3:326; Bayhaqi, Dala'il, 6:513.

[23] Bukhari, Kitab al-Fitan, 9:60; Muslim, no. 2880; Hakim, 1:108.

[24] Abu Nu'aym, Hilyat al-Awliya', 1:94, also related by Bukhari and Muslim.

[25] Bukhari, 2:109; also related by Muslim, Ibn Malik, Abu Dawud, and Nasa'i.

[26] Muslim, 4:1880; also related by Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Hakim, and Abu Dawud.