aming every
thing, Muhammad also possessed the same power. Enoch was exalted on high,
but Muhammad was taken to the 'Baqab-i-qausain,' the 'two bows' length,'
where Gabriel, "one mighty in power," appeared to him. (Sura liii. 5-9).
Ishmael was ready to be sacrificed, but Muhammad endured the splitting of
his chest;[152] Joseph was to some extent handsome, but Muhammad was the
very perfection of beauty; Moses brought water from the rock, but Muhammad
produced it from his fingers. The sun was stayed on its course by Joshua
and so it was by Muhammad. Solomon had a great kingdom, Muhammad a greater,
for he possessed the keys of the treasuries of the earth. Wisdom was given
to John the Baptist whilst yet a child, so also were wisdom and
understanding granted to Muhammad at an early period of his life. Jesus
could raise the dead, so also could Muhammad. In addition to all these, the
special miracles of the Prophet are the splitting of the moon asunder, the
Mi'raj, the coming of a tree into his presence, and above all the wonderful
miracle of the Quran.[153]

The splitting of the moon in sunder is referred to in, {159} "The hour of
judgment approacheth; and the moon hath been split in sunder." (Sura liv.
1). Imam Zahid says that Abu Jahl and a Jew visited the Prophet, and
demanded a sign from him on pain of death. The Prophet made a sign with his
little finger, and at once the moon separated into two parts: one of which
remained in the sky, the other went off to a long distance. The Jew
believed in Islam forthwith. Abu Jahl ascribed the affair to magic, but on
making enquiry from various travellers ascertained that they, on this very
night, distinctly saw the moon in two parts.[154] Some, however, refer the
passage to the future, as they consider the splitting of the moon to be one
of the signs of the last day.

The Mi'raj, or night ascent, is mentioned in, "Glory be to Him who carried
His servant by night from the sacred temple (of Mecca) to the temple that
is more remote, whose precinct We have blessed, that We might show him of
our signs." (Sura xvii. 1). Muslim writers, who are fond of the marvellous,
narrate at length the wonderful things the Prophet saw and did on this
eventful night;[155] but some maintain that it was only a vision, and quote
the words: "We ordained the vision which we showed thee," in proof of this
assertion.[156] Be that as it may, all orthodox Muslims maintain the
superiority of Muhammad, as a worker