From fireproof prophets (Abraham) to talking ants (Solomon), miracle stories sound like mythology today. But did the Quran already prepare for this problem with a built-in way out?
Introduction
Let’s be honest: if you hear about a man who walks out of fire untouched, another who talks to ants, a prophet who controls the wind, and someone else who lives inside a giant fish — your first thought wouldn’t be “science,” but mythology. These sound like Greek legends, Marvel comics, or fantasy novels. Yet they are the miracle stories found in the Quran.
For centuries, believers accepted them without question. But in the modern age, shaped by physics, biology, and acoustics, such stories become impossible to swallow literally. And here’s the shocking twist: the Quran may have brilliantly anticipated this problem and left an escape clause — a verse that lets believers retreat to metaphor when miracles stop making sense.
Superhuman Stories in the Quran
The Quran is filled with what we might call “superhuman stories”:
- Abraham survives being thrown into fire, walking away unharmed (Al-Anbiya 21:69).
- Solomon commands the wind, traveling great distances in a day (Saba 34:12).
- Solomon hears the voices of ants in their own language (An-Naml 27:18–19).
- Moses splits the sea into towering walls of water (Ash-Shu‘ara 26:63).
- Moses throws down his staff and it becomes a serpent (Al-A‘raf 7:107; Taha 20:20).
- Jonah is swallowed by a fish yet survives inside it (As-Saffat 37:139–144).
- Khidr knows hidden events before they occur, including death and future consequences (Al-Kahf 18:65–82).
For a 7th-century audience, these were powerful tales. The ancient world was a world of myth: Greek gods hurled thunderbolts, Norse gods walked the earth, and Hebrew prophets summoned plagues. The Quran’s stories fit neatly into this storytelling tradition.
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