I do not wish to mention the miracles of Bahá’u’lláh, for it
may perhaps be said that these are traditions, liable both to truth and to
error, like the accounts of the miracles of Christ in the Gospel, which come to
us from the apostles, and not from anyone else, and are denied by the Jews.
Though if I wish to mention the supernatural acts of Bahá’u’lláh, they are
numerous; they are acknowledged in the Orient, and even by some non-Bahá’ís.
But these narratives are not decisive proofs and evidences to all; the hearer
might perhaps say that this account may not be in accordance with what
occurred, for it is known that other sects recount miracles performed by their
founders. For instance, the followers of Brahmanism relate miracles. From what
evidence may we know that those are false and that these are true? If these are
fables, the others also are fables; if these are generally accepted, so also
the others are generally accepted. Consequently, these accounts are not
satisfactory proofs. Yes, miracles are proofs for the eyewitness only, and even
he may regard them not as a miracle but as an enchantment. Extraordinary feats
have also been related of some conjurors.
Briefly, my meaning is that many wonderful things were done
by Bahá’u’lláh, but we do not recount them, as they do not constitute proofs
and evidences for all the peoples of the earth, and they are not decisive
proofs even for those who see them: they may think that they are merely
enchantments. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Some Answered Questions’)
