The Problem of the Miraculousness of the Extraordinary Events Attributed to Moses in the Quran Kur’an’da Hz. Mūsā’ya Atfedilen Olağanüstü Olayların Mucizeliği Sorunu
Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, cilt.67, sa.1, ss.437-454, 2026 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 67 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.33227/auifd.1500315
- Dergi Adı: Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, ATLA Religion Database, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Index Islamicus, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.437-454
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Law of Nature, Miracle, Moses, Staff of Moses, Tafsir, White Hand
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Until the eighteenth century, the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars regarded miracles as events that occur in contradiction to the laws of nature. In classical Islamic thought, the laws of nature were generally conceptualized through the notion of ʿāda (habitual order), while miracles were defined as khāriq al-ʿāda, namely events that transcend the ordinary course of nature. Within this framework, the essential characteristic of a miracle lies in humanity’s inability to produce anything similar to it. Numerous Qur’anic verses state that prophets were granted clear signs and manifest miracles (bayyināt). Accordingly, Muslim scholars generally considered miracles rationally possible and interpreted the extraordinary events attributed to Prophet Moses in the Qur’an according to their literal meanings, accepting them as genuine miracles. However, following the Enlightenment, certain approaches emerged first in the Christian world and later in the Islamic tradition, arguing that miracles should not be understood as events that contradict the laws of nature. Influenced partly by positivist thought, proponents of these approaches tended to overlook the classical linguistic and hermeneutical principle that figurative interpretation should not be preferred when the literal meaning remains possible. Consequently, some extraordinary events attributed to Prophet Moses came to be interpreted symbolically or metaphorically. This study aims, through the method of document analysis, to identify the extraordinary events attributed to Prophet Moses in the Qur’an and to examine them in terms of their miraculous nature. More specifically, the study investigates whether these narratives refer to actual miraculous events or to symbolic expressions. In this context, the relevant Qur’anic verses were identified and various interpretations concerning each verse were analyzed. As a result, the study evaluates the nature of the miracles attributed to Prophet Moses, particularly with regard to whether they occurred in a manner contrary to the ordinary order of nature.