al-Bayḍāwī's case for prophethood of our Prophet ﷺ

Imām al-Bayḍāwī said:
❝The [case for the] prophethood of our Prophet Muḥammad, (ﷺ), is supported by [the following] points of evidence:

1.) [As to his words and actions]:
1a. He claimed prophethood, this being a fact by consensus, and

1b. He produced a miracle, since
1b,i; He came bringing the Qur'ān to us, and he issued a challenge regarding it without being contradicted; and
1b,ii; He gave information about the things of the unseen world:

1b,ii; 1.) He did so as shown by the word of [God] Most High:
● "After their defeat, they shall be victorious"; [Qur'ān, 30:3] and,
● "Indeed, He will bring you back as in a Homecoming"; [Q. 28:85]
● "You will be called out against a people who have great strength"; [Q. 48:16] and,
● "God's promise is to those of you who have believed [and have done what is right, to make you His leading men in the land . . .]." [Q. 24:55]

1b,ii; 2.) Moreover, the Prophet's own words are here:
"The [rightful] leadership after me will last thirty [successive] years;"
"Be guided by those who come after me, Abū Bakr and 'Umar;—and [the Prophet's] statement to Ammār ibn Yāsir, "the party coveting power will kill you",
and Ammār was killed on the battle of Siffīn;
—and the Prophet's statement to 'Abbās [ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib] when ['Abbās] despaired of his life,
"where is the money that you deposited to Makkah with Umm al-Fadl [Lubabah, your wife], when no one was with the two of you, and you said,
'If I am killed, then 'Abd Allāh will have so much, and Fadl will have so much?'"

1b,ii; 3.) [Another example of what Prophet knew about the unseen world is when he] gave [advance] information about the death of Najashi, and spoke of riots that would take place as well as other signs [in advance] that indicated his Prophethood, [signs] such as the calamity of remote Baghdad, and the Fire that was taken as far as Busayra.

1c. Furthermore, the evidence includes narratives from the early Muslims, how he had attained to such extensive wisdom in both theory and practice quickly and apparently without instruction of practical experience.
[In this category of evidence,] other miracles are traditionally reported of him, such as the Splitting of the Moon,
the greeting of the Stone,
the Springing of Water from between his Fingers,
the Kneeling of the Palm Log,
the Complaint of the She-camel,
[his] Knowing of the Poisoned Mutton,
and so on, things that are mentioned in the book 'The Proofs of Prophethood.'

Now, even though not all these [miracles] have a record [i.e. varying degrees] of authenticity in tradition, the feature with commonality among them is well authenticated.
Therefore, we conclude he is a Prophet.

Indeed, if a man should stand up in a great [royal] assembly, and say,
"I am sent to you as the Messenger of [my] King,"
whereupon they would request from him proof, and then should say
"O King [i.e. of this people], if in your sight I am speaking the truth in my invitation to you, then diverge from your custom and rise from your seat to stand,"
and if he should do so, then his truthfulness would have to be recognised.

2.) [As to his character.]
Furthermore, the whole of his life and characteristics that have been authentically and consistently reported—such as
consistency with truth and shunning of worldly things throughout his lifetime,
a wholehearted devotion to purpose,
courage to the extent that he would never flee from anyone even though there was a great alarm as on the [Battle] Day of Uhud,
an eloquence that silenced the stentorian orators of the desert Arabs,
a persistence in the mission of invitation,
together with clearly observable toil and hardship,
disdain for the rich,
and humility among the poor—
all of these characteristics would never exist unless they should belong to prophets.❞

— al-Bayḍāwī, Ṭawāli' al-Anwār Min Maṭāli' al-Anẓār.