In Shia books, there are not just twenty but hundreds of narrations attributing extraordinary miraculous abilities to the Imams. Indeed, there is nothing in the universe that does not bow in submission before the Imam.
The Shia Grand Imam Khomeini says:
“Undoubtedly, the Imam attains such a praiseworthy status, a high rank, and an existential caliphate under whose guardianship and dominance every particle of this universe is humbled.”
And some narrations add that they also possess the ownership of the Greatest Name (Ism-e-Azam) which even the Prophets and Messengers do not have. Rather, they have things that are greater and superior even to those possessed by Allah Almighty.
Among these miracles is also:
Earthquake on the earth, and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stopping it:
The Twelver Shia commentator Allama Kashani narrated this story:
“It is narrated from Hazrat Fatimah peace be upon her that once during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, an earthquake occurred. People went towards Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنهما, but they saw that out of fear they had already gone towards Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه. People also followed behind him. Until they all reached the door of Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه. Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه came out in a state of indifference. He walked on, and people followed him until they reached a mound and sat on it. People also sat around him. He was looking at the walls of Medina which were shaking back and forth due to the earthquake.”
Then Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه said to them: “It seems that the scene you are witnessing has frightened you.”
People said: “How can we not be frightened? We have never seen such a scene before.”
Then he moved his lips, struck with his hand, and said:
“Stop! What has happened to you?” Then the earth stopped by the command of Allah.
They were even more astonished by this than before when they had followed him. Then he said to them: “Are you amazed at this act of mine?”
They said: “Yes!”
He said: “I am the brave young man about whom Allah Almighty says:
إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا (1) وَأَخْرَجَتِ الْأَرْضُ أَثْقَالَهَا (2) وَقَالَ الْإِنسَانُ مَا لَهَا (3) يَوْمَئِذٍ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا (4)
‘When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake
And the earth discharges its burdens
And man says, “What is [wrong] with it?” –
That Day, it will report its news
Because your Lord has commanded it.'”
He said:
“I am the person who will say to the earth: What has happened to you?”
يَوْمَئِذٍ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا
“That Day it will report its news.”
The earth will relate its conditions to me.
Kulayni narrated from his chain from Abu Ja’far that he said:
“The Greatest Name (Ism-e-Azam) has seventy-two letters, and indeed one of those letters was with Asif bin Barkhiya, who pronounced it, and because of that, the earth shook from his place up to the throne of Bilqis, to the extent that she lifted the royal throne with her own hand. Then before the blink of an eye, the earth returned to its original state.”
And we have better letters of the Greatest Name, and one letter is with Allah Almighty, which He has specially kept with His knowledge of the unseen.
لاحول و لا قوة إلا بالله
The astonishing thing is that the number of letters with the Imams is more than the number of letters with Allah Almighty.
Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Riding of Clouds:
Majlisi has narrated a long story. In this story, it is said:
“Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) pointed towards two pieces of clouds. Each piece became like a spread carpet. Then Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) mounted one cloud alone. And on the other cloud – as some narrations state – some of your other companions, Hazrat Sulaiman, Miqdad, etc., mounted.”
When Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was on the cloud, he said:
“I am the light of Allah which will never extinguish. I am the eye of Allah on the earth, and I am His speaking tongue among His creation. And I am the door of Allah through which one enters, and I am His proof over His servants.”
And then very strange and bizarre things are narrated in this story.
Hazrat Ali’s companions asked him about the miracles of the Prophets (peace be upon them), and he said:
“I will show you the greatest miracle of all.”
He even said:
“By the Being who created the grain and created the soul, I am the owner of the kingdom of the earth and the heavens. If you were to receive even a little of it, your limbs would not have the strength to bear it. And indeed, the Greatest Name has seventy-two letters. One of these letters was with Asif bin Barkhiya, who brought it to his tongue, and because of it, the earth from his place to the throne of Bilqis was crushed, to the extent that he lifted the royal throne with his own hand. And then before the blink of an eye, the earth returned to its original state.”
And by Allah’s oath! We have the better letters of the Greatest Name. And one letter is with Allah, which He has kept special with His knowledge of the unseen.”
If these claims are true, then we should observe their effects in the lives of the Imams.
This is Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who according to your narrations, gave allegiance in an extremely oppressed, subdued, and humiliated state. And these fabricated narrations present him in such a form which is not even appropriate for those people who had much less faith and were driven by self-pride.
Rope around the neck of Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه:
Shia traditions state that a rope was put around the neck of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and he was dragged to pledge allegiance to Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). In the book of Saleem bin Qais Hilali, a dramatic story is written. It presents the scene where Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) sent his servant Qunfudh to bring Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) for allegiance. But he did not come. So he sent again saying:
“Go and tell him to come, otherwise I will force him myself, and if he still refuses, I will set fire to his house.” Then that cursed Qunfudh went with his companions. Without permission, they entered your house with their companions. Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) became very angry. You stood up to raise your sword, but they raised their swords first. Their number was very large. Some had drawn their swords from their sheaths. They put a rope around Hazrat Ali’s neck. When Hazrat Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) came between them and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) near the door of the house, that cursed Qunfudh struck her with a whip. When Hazrat Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) passed away, the mark of that whip was present on her arm. Then these people dragged Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and took him away until they stood him before Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). At that time you were saying: “By Allah! If my sword had reached my hand, you would have known that you could never have reached this position.”
Then Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) rebuked you and said: “Leave these false and superstitious talks and pledge allegiance.” So Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: “If I do not do so, what will you do to me?” He said: “We will disgrace and kill you.” Then they said: “O son of Abu Talib! Get up and pledge allegiance.” Then he said again: “If I do not do so, what will you do?” They said: “By Allah! We will cut your neck.”
You protested to them three times. Then you closed your fist and extended your hand. Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) placed his hand on it and accepted such allegiance from you. Before pledging allegiance, a rope was around Hazrat Ali’s neck, and you were shouting:
ابْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ اسْتَضْعَفُونِي وَكَادُوا يَقْتُلُونَنِي
“My mother’s womb! The whole nation considered me weak and almost killed me.”
Is it appropriate to fabricate such an ugly lie and attribute it to you?
Hazrat Ali (RA) and the Non-Use of Miracles:
The question arises as to why Hazrat Ali (RA) did not use his miracles?
First:
Why did he not use those extraordinary powers for the protection of his life and the support of this religion?
Second:
You spent your entire life praying behind those three caliphs.
Then the same was the case with Hazrat Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him), that you were not granted victory against him, even though you used the sword against him.
Your belief is that Imamate is one of the principles of religion. And whoever does not believe in it is a disbeliever. And whoever denies Imamate is also a disbeliever.
And whoever considers anyone other than the appointed Imams as Imam is also a disbeliever.
Then how could Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) be satisfied with the entire Ummah becoming disbelievers, while he sits holding divine weapons (not using them)?
If you think that Allah Almighty did not command such action,
then we say: why then did Allah Almighty grant you these extraordinary powers? Were they only for your consolation or for the support of the religion?
Then how is it possible that Allah Almighty entrusts you with the heavy responsibility of the Caliphate, enriches you with extraordinary miraculous powers, yet forbids you from using this power and these means?
Hazrat Hasan and Husain (may Allah be pleased with them) and the Non-use of Miracles:
Then Hazrat Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) abdicated the caliphate in favor of Hazrat Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) and agreed to remain under the authority of Amir Muawiya and serve under his command. Regardless of the fact that a large army, which had pledged allegiance to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) even at the cost of death, was with him. Yet still, he did not wage war after that. The number of their army was close to forty thousand, as mentioned by Tabari.
According to your belief, Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) is a disbeliever, and Hazrat Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) possesses divine weapons with which he could conquer the entire world. So why did you not defeat Hazrat Muawiya’s army but instead handed over the caliphate to him? Even though you had the capability to defeat Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him), and according to your belief, you could have conquered the entire earth.
Then after them comes Hazrat Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him). His Shia call him to Iraq to help him. Instead, they disgrace you; the Yazidi army besieges you and forces you to surrender your weapons. But you refuse. You remain alone with your small group. Your entire household, including women and children, is with you, and you have a miraculous great weapon, as the Shia belief holds. So why did you not use this weapon to protect your life and your family?
Is it possible to say that Allah Almighty forbade you from using it?
Can reason accept this claim?
Then the other Imams who came after them, inheriting the pillar of religion, the Imamate, by inheritance, lived a life of fear and weakness, while according to your belief, they possessed this magnificent weapon, yet neither did they benefit themselves nor the religion from it!
So can reason accept such a claim?
Millionaire Barefoot:
Do you see a man whose clothes are torn and complexion faded, who has neither home nor friends, living under the open sky?
Then you see his children, also poor and as disheveled as their father.
Poor people pass by him, and he cannot even treat them well.
And you stop there to give him charity, and he tells you, “I do not need help. I have every kind of wealth,” and you ask him!
Then why do you not benefit from that wealth to build a house for yourself, do good with your family, and also spend on the poor and needy?
He tells you: “I have renounced this world.” So in this case, you can only say that either he is lying and actually has no wealth, or there is a fault in his intellect. Because it is not possible for a sane person to own wealth and then deprive himself of benefiting from it, and keep wealth stored in treasures while depriving his family, relatives, and the needy.
This is the matter of the world, so what will be said about the matter of religion? That the Imams, who are the owners of powers and treasures, live a life of humiliation and defeat?
According to Shia traditions: their religion is defective and becoming obsolete.
Their followers live oppressed and wandering lives, yet they cannot benefit from these extraordinary and conceptual powers. Is this not a lie about these noble Imams?
Why did the followers of the Imams not raise this question?
Then, according to your view, the Imams also express these things in front of their followers. And on every occasion, they show them those extraordinary things that terrify these people and demonstrate the power of the Imams. Yet not a single one of them dares to ask: What is the benefit of your powers and energies when we, you, and our religion are subjected to humiliation and disgrace?
Reason certainly states in clear terms that these traditions were also fabricated and attributed to Ahl al-Bayt in the same way the claim of Imamate was attributed.
Final point:
Can these warnings awaken the intellect of this group?
Because when the wise are reminded, they remember, and when warned, they become cautious.
Whereas the foolish deceive and delude themselves, and accepting the truth is unpleasant for them, but!
They will surely regret it, yet the regret at that time will be of no use.
