definitively reliable transmission from the Prophet of Islam and from his inerrant vicegerents, that his prophethood is the seal of prophecy. When the claim is unques‌ tionably false, what is the benefit of the evidence brought forward by the claimant? Moreover, it is not incumbent on God, the Exalted, to expose the falsity of such a claim when reasoning has already decided that it is impossible, or when transmitted evidence has established its falsity.
By contrast, it may happen that a person claims a divine appointment and per‌ forms a deed beyond human power, yet that deed serves as evidence of his falsity. This was the case with Musaylima, who is reported to have spat in a dilapidated well to increase its water; instead, the water that was in it dried up. He is also said to have passed his hand over the heads of the children of Banu I:Iunayfa and rubbed their palate [as the Prophet had done], but baldness afflicted all the children whose head he had touched, and those whose palate he had rubbed developed a lisp. ١ When the pretender provides this kind of evidence, it is not incumbent on God to expose him, because the evidence itself is enough to give the lie to his pretensions. More‌ over, such a thing is not a miracle, according to conventional usage.
Furthermore, as defined by usage, miracles do not include feats of magicians, trick‌ sters, or masters of certain exact theoretical sciences, even if they are capable of things which others cannot accomplish. Nor is it incumbent on God to expose them when it is known that their actions are founded on magic or jugglery or some other natural factors, even if they claim a divine appointment and substantiate it by such acts of magic. This is because the exact theoretical sciences are founded on laws that are well known to the specialists. These laws will inevitably produce their results, pro‌ vided they are accurately manipulated. Accordingly, the wonders of medical sciences are outside the realm of miracles, for they are actually conditional upon the constitu‌ tion of the substances, notwithstanding the fact that these are unknown to the lay‌ man and, perhaps, to the medical scientists themselves.
It is not inappropriate for God to single out one of His creatures for knowledge of one of these things, even if it were a critical matter beyond the generality of people [because this scientific knowledge has no connection with a prophets claim to di‌ vine appointment]. However, it would be inappropriate if He were to mislead the ignorant by means of their ignorance, and to allow the miracles to be wrought at the hands of an impostor, thus causing people to go astray.

The Necessity for a Prophet to Perform Miracles

It is incumbent on God, the Exalted, to impose moral-religious obligations (taklif) on the generality of people. This is a rational conclusion derived from sound rational proofs and explicit rational evidence that establish that human beings, on their path to perfection, are in need of religious-moral obligations in order to attain happiness and success in commerce. Thus, if God does not impose religious-moral obligations on them, this would be either because He is unaware of their need for obligation‌ and God is far exalted above this ignorance; or because He desires to prevent them from attaining their perfection [through the performance of these obligations]-and this miserliness is inadmissible of the Absolutely Generous One; or because He de-