Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Farajollah Barati ¹
• Mohsen Javadi ²

¹ Director of PhD in Philosophy, Ahvaz Azad University

² Professor of Qom University

Abstract

In Islamic tradition, one of the important and basic discussions on miracle is its denotation on the prophethood. It is so important that some of Islamic thinkers believe that if this relationship is not clarified, then its epistemological values are ruined. Islamic thinkers introduce different methods to know prophets. One of these methods is through miracle. Although some of Islamic thinkers have different attitudes toward miracle, they often consider miracle as a reason to approve prophethood not to approve prophet’s teachings. They believe that there is no relationship between a supernatural act and the rightfulness of teachings. The common point of view among Islamic thinkers is the denotation of miracle on the truth of prophecy. Western thinkers’ attitudes toward this matter do not have enough clarity and coherence. In Western theosophy, miracle denotes the existence of God. They emphasize the denotation of miracle on the truth of special religious teachings. It also indicates the superiority of one religion over other religions. Although most Western thinkers consider the denotation of miracle on the existence of God and the truth of prophet’s teachings, we can also say that they justify the prophethood by means of miracle. As Allameh Tabatabai, unlike many other Islamic thinkers, holds that miracle is the only way to know prophets. Among Western thinkers, Swinburne considers the referent of miracle to be the approval of prophethood of the miracle performer. This study is aimed to compare the ideas of these two thinkers.

Keywords

• miracle
• denotation
• Prophet
• AllamehTabatabai
• Swinburne