Muslims consider Ramazan a month of miracles. Miracles are what the faithful are seeking by indulging in fasting, prayers and charity. I have expounded the Qur’anic view of fasting and prayer in previous articles. It is time we examine miracles. A miracle is a marvel that provokes bewilderment and cannot be explained by nature or scientific rules. It can be about surviving a natural disaster or an incurable illness. Life itself is a miracle; whether it is falling in love, a fortuitous business deal, or a chance meeting with a long-lost friend. People proclaim that something is a miracle if it is in line with their beliefs. If a hundred people get killed in an airplane crash, but one passenger survives, the survivor and his family call it a miracle. What the families of the dead say is never highlighted. I may be too old for miracles, and will never be struck by lightning or win a Nobel Prize. However, Littlewood, a mathematician, insinuates that individuals can statistically expect incidents with a one-in-a-million probability to happen to them at the rate of one per month. This means that even the ostensibly miraculous events are actually unexceptional. Some consider that the Creator is omnipotent and created this universe; hence, the miracles are neither beyond his power or desire. They insist that since the universe is big, vast and complicated, impossible things happen and we should accept them as miracles. One could equally argue that if God has set up all this order in the universe, why would He created disorder by means of miracles? Some cultures have institutionalised prayer and rituals for invoking miracles against their enemies. At the same time, the enemy is also begging the Creator for the same advantage. Such beliefs can only contribute to chaos, not order. God does not break his own rules by occasionally throwing in a miracle. People proclaim a miracle if it is in line with their beliefs. If a hundred people get killed in an airplane crash, but one passenger survives, the survivor and his family call it a miracle. What the families of the dead say is never highlighted Ancient miraculous stories were instigated by uninformed and primitive people. Battles were divinely won and oracles expediently obscured natural events. But in an enlightened age, we discover that nothing supernatural had happened. The occurrence of a miracle was always trumped by the evidence from nature. Many witnesses are found in history who opposed the testimonies for those miracles. If miracles represent prophecy, we would have more prophets in 21st century than the entire human history. Spinoza declared that miracles could be political projects. Then Hume destroyed the arguments of miracle-believers comprehensively by philosophically refuting incredible facts that were contrary to our past experiences and observations. Take the account of Jesus walking on water. While a man walking on water is highly unlikely, falsehood of testimonies has occurred many times. A large US study in 2014 about eyewitness testimonies has clearly shown that they are unreliable. The study found many factors that limit vision and memory, including viewing conditions, duress, high emotions and personal biases. Miracles are embraced by the Catholic and Evangelical Christians. The same is true for Judaism, though not to this extent. Buddhist and Hindu scholars do not think miracles take place outside the realm of nature. We should also note that the fall in reported miracles over the centuries coincides with people having advanced in education and knowledge. The Qu’ran only mentions the signs of God’s creation and its own verses as miracles. Some Muslim theologians have unsuccessfully tried to explain miracles and the laws of nature as customs of God. The Qu’ran does not attribute any miracle to Prophet Muhammed, and despite folklore, his own position was the same. However, Sufi literature thrives on miracles. This includes flying in the air, becoming invisible, curing the incurable diseases, and conversing with animals. People consider walking on water or thin air a miracle. But I think human existence is a miracle itself. None of us can force people to stop believing in miracles. The human mind just has an affinity towards miracles and mysticism, especially, in times of weakness. No matter how much we advance in modern sciences, a part of us will always be fascinated by this magical baloney, because this drivel has been with us since the birth of humanity. The writer is a consultant psychiatrist and visiting professor. He tweets @AamerSarfarz Published in Daily Times, June 8th 2018.