Third kind: This includes the wonderful events at the time of and in connection with the Messenger's birth. Many other incidents occurred before he was commissioned with Messengership, and each is one of his miracles. Out of many examples, we mention a few that became very well‑known and accepted by Tradition authorities as having verified authenticity.

First example: On the night of his birth, the Prophet's mother and the mothers of 'Uthman ibn al‑'As and 'Abd al‑Rahman ibn al‑'Awf saw a magnificent light. Each woman said: "During his birth, we saw a light that illuminated the east and the west."[44]

Second example: On that night, idols within the Ka'ba  toppled over.[45]

Third example: During that night, Chosroes' palace shook and cracked, and its pinnacles collapsed.[46]

Fourth example: On that night, the small lake of Sawa in Persia (sanctified by the Persians) sank into Earth. The fire worshipped by the Magians at Istakhrabad, which had burned continually for 1,000 years, went out.[47]

These incidents indicated that person born on that night would abolish fire‑worship, destroy the palace of the Persian rulers, and prohibit the sanctification of things that God does not allow to be sanctified.

Fifth example: Incidents taking place before the night of his birth also are considered irhasat. Of these, the Event of the Elephant (105:1‑5) is the best known. Abraha, governor of Yemen for the Abyssinian kingdom, marched upon Makka to destroy the Ka'ba. He placed his huge elephant Mahmud at the front of his army. When they approached Makka, the elephant stopped. Since they could not make it move forward, they retreated. On their way, a host of ababil birds attacked and routed them. This curious event is recorded in history books. It is also a sign of Muhammad's Prophethood, for this miraculous event saved the Ka'ba and Makka, his birthplace and beloved home and toward which he would pray. This happened at a time close to his birth.

Sixth example: When God's Messenger was residing with Halima's Family during his childhood, both Halima and her husband often observed a small cloud shading his head.[48] They narrated this event, and it acquired a justified fame. Similarly, when the Prophet traveled to Damascus at the age of with his uncle, the Christian monk Bahira saw and pointed out to others a small shade‑providing cloud located above Muhammad.[49] Before his Prophethood, Khadija noticed that two angels, in the form of a cloud, shaded God's Messenger when he returned from a trading journey with her servant Maysara. When she mentioned this to Maysara, the latter responded: "I saw the same throughout the journey."[50]

Seventh example: An authentic narration reports that before his Prophethood, God's Messenger once sat under a tree. That previously arid spot suddenly became green, and the tree's branches bent down and twisted above his head to shade him.[51]

Eighth example: God's Messenger stayed with Abu Talib during his boyhood. Whenever Abu Talib and his household ate with him they were satisfied; when he did not eat with them they were not satisfied.[52] This is a well‑known and authenticated incident. Umm Ayman, who served God's Messenger when he was a child, reports: "He never complained about hunger and thirst, neither when he was little nor when he grew up."[53]

Ninth example: The milk of his wet nurse's (Halima) goats and goods were seen (unlike others in the tribe) to increase through his blessing.[54] Also, flies did not bother him.[55] One of his descendants, Sayyid 'Abd al‑Qadir al‑Jilani, inherited this quality.

Tenth example: After the Messenger's birth, and especially during the night of his birth, shooting stars became more frequent. This was a sign that satans and jinn could no longer obtain knowledge of the Unseen.[56]

Since God's Messenger would be endowed with Revelation, any information about the Unseen given by soothsayers and jinn, which is usually inaccurate and mixed with falsehood, would have to cease. This was necessary so that people would not mistake such words for Revelation or doubt the Revelation itself. The Qur'an ended soothsaying, which was widespread before Muhammad was raised as the Prophet. Many soothsayers embraced Islam, for they could find no jinn informers to provide them with information of the Unseen.[57]

To conclude, many incidents and people confirmed, or caused others to confirm, Muhammad's Prophethood. All creation, both as an individual and as a species, longingly waited for and announced, with God's permission, the advent of the world's spiritual leader.[58] This leader would change the world's spiritual and moral structure, make it the sowing ground for the Hereafter, proclaim the real value of the world's beings, save transient humanity and jinn from eternal annihilation, disclose the Divine purpose for the universe's creation, and make the Creator known to everybody. As proved in the previous signs and examples, each species of creation welcomed him by becoming the means for him to work one variety of his miracles, thereby affirming his Prophethood.

[44] Shifa', 1:366; Ibn Sa'd, ibid., 1:63; Bayhaqi, 1:80-92; Hakim, 2:600.

[45] Bayhaqi, 1:19.

[46] Abu Nu'aym, 1:139; Bayhaqi, 1:126.

[47] Suyuti, al-Khasa'is, 1:128; Shifa', 1:366.

[48] Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, 1:97; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 2:273; Shifa', 1:368.

[49] Abu Nu'aym, Dala'il, 1:168-172; Tirmidhi (version verified by Tuhfat al-Ahwazi, No. 3699); Ibn Hisham, 1:180-81.

[50] Shifa', 1:368; Bayhaqi, Dala'il al-Nubuwwa, 2:65.

[51] Shifa', 368; Sharh al-Shifa', 1:753.

[52] Abu Nu'aym, 1:166; Shifa', 1: 367.

[53] Shifa', 1:368; Bayhaqi, 6:125; Suyuti, al-Khasa'is, 1:111.

[54] Al-Bidaya, 2:273; Ibn Hisham, 1:173; Shifa', 1:366.

[55] Shifa', 1:368.

[56] Shifa', 1:347-48.

[57] Today, soothsaying has reappeared in the form of mediumship. However, that topic is beyond the scope of this book.

[58] This being, who was addressed by God with the words "But for you, I would not have created the worlds," is so great a leader that his rule continues even after centuries. In each century since he lived, millions of people and half the globe have placed themselves under his banner. His subjects, who today number more than 1.5 billion, try to follow him in deep respect and daily ask God to bestow peace and blessings upon him. Thus they daily renew their oath of allegiance to him.