The Agent of Miracle from the Perspective of Shiite and Sunni Commentators

Miracle is a supernatural act beyond human power, which proves the truthfulness of prophecy claim. Some Quranic verses have explained miracle and its types in the story of the prophets. Sometimes, these verses have clearly referred to God's agency in fulfilling this extraordinary affair, and other times regard its performance at prophet's request with the permission of God. The present paper studies Shia and Sunni commentators’ views about some of these verses. Some commentators separate these verses and regard God as the performer of miracle in some cases and prophets in other cases. Other commentators, however, have expressed their ideas based on rational and theological arguments, regardless of the clarity of verses. Some of them regard miracles as an act of prophets and argue that the performance of material acts by God is impossibility. Another group believes that the glorious God is the only one who can perform miracles. The author of this paper holds that performance of this superhuman act by the prophets, who are called human beings in the holy Quran, is possible in the light of three principles. First, granting them with the position of existential authority by God; second, the manifestation of divine qualities and attributes in the position of Divine vicegerency; and third, performing miracles in the light of God’s permission.