The Difference between Miracles and Magic in the Eyes of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra, Compared to the Qur'an

Abstract

A miracle is one of the most important signs of proving the truthfulness of a prophet in his claim of prophethood. Therefore, discussing what a miracle is and explaining how it differs from magic and other supernatural events, is one of the basic issues in this field. In the present study, we first compared the philosophical explanations of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra on this issue; then, by referring to the content of the Qur'an and using clear historical semantics, we have evaluated the extent of matching the philosophical findings with the Qur'anic content. As a result of these investigations, it became clear that Ibn Sina, by emphasizing the specific characteristics of the prophets, and Mullah Sadra, by considering miracles as gifted, explained the philosophical differences between miracles and magic. They have considered the prophet's soul to be the proximate agent for the miracle. Ibn Sina also implicitly accepted the proof of the signification of a miracle on the truth of the claim of prophecy, while Mulla Sadra considers this signification to be unique to nonsensuous miracles. Qur'anic studies showed that the interpretations regarding miracles in the Qur'an show the inherent signification of miracles and proof of the truth of the claim of prophecy, and in this way, the distinction between magic and miracles is also clarified. On the other hand, by categorizing the types of miracles in the Qur'an, it became clear that a prophet is considered the proximate agent only in certain types of miracles. In the end, it is concluded that the philosophical efforts of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra were in many cases consistent with the Qur'anic intentions, and in cases where this concordance does not exist, newer philosophical explanations should be followed.

Keywords

• miracle
• magic
• sign
• ibn sina
• mulla sadra
• quran