He believes that the reason for the prevalence of shirk is the occurrence of “miracles”

Frankly,
your question needs to be thoroughly reviewed to establish whether it is in
accordance with proper understanding of Islamic principles or the reality of
life. 

You ask at
the beginning of your question: why has Allah given the Prophets, the angels
and awliya’ spiritual power that enables them to perform miracles? Why did
Allah make it easy for them to fulfil people’s desires and wishes? But that
is not true in the first place. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has
not given the angels and awliya’ any power that enables them to perform
miracles. This is one of the mistaken notions that are widespread in many
Muslim countries, and has been believed for many centuries among the common
folk. However the scholars and fuqaha’ have highlighted these errors and
myths to the people, and have explained that Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, has not given anyone special powers to the exclusion of all other
people, which he may use whenever and however he wishes. Anyone who make
such a claim must bring shar‘i proof from the Qur’an and saheeh Sunnah, but
he will never find anything to help him to establish that; thus it will
become clear that he has made a mistake or that he is lying, if he said that
deliberately. 

In fact
the Holy Qur’an is full of verses which highlight the weakness and
helplessness of all created beings, and tells us that they are in need of
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and that they cannot do anything to
benefit themselves or ward off harm, either independently or in conjunction
with others. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of
the meaning):

“Say (O
Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him to mankind): ‘How do you
worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to
benefit you? But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower’”

[al-Maa’idah 5:76]

“Say (O
Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘I possess no power of
benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of
the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth,
and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad
tidings unto people who believe’”

[al-A‘raaf 7:188].

If the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – who is the leader of
mankind and the dearest of creation to Allah, may He be exalted – was
affected by harm, hardship and sickness, and his Lord, may He be exalted,
instructed him to tell the people that he possessed no power of benefit or
harm for himself except whatever Allah willed, then how could he possess any
such power to affect anyone else? Who has the right, after that, to claim
that he has the power to benefit or harm anyone, or to bring about miracles
or events that are contrary to the laws of nature? This is repeated in
Soorah Yoonus (v. 49), in which Allah, may He be glorified, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O
Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘I have no power over
any harm or profit to myself except what Allah may will. For every Ummah (a
community or a nation), there is a term appointed; when their term is
reached, neither can they delay it nor can they advance it an hour (or a
moment)’”

[Yoonus
10:49].

It is also
explained clearly in the verse in which Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O
Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘I don’t tell you that
with me are the treasures of Allah, nor (that) I know the unseen; nor I tell
you that I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me by inspiration.’
Say: ‘Are the blind and the one who sees equal? will you not then take
thought?’”

[al-An‘aam 6:50].

Before the
time of our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), Nooh (peace
be upon him) was commanded to say something similar, as Allah, may He be
exalted, tells us (interpretation of the meaning):

“ ‘And
I do not say to you that with me are the Treasures of Allah, Nor that I know
the Ghaib (unseen); “nor do I say I am an angel, and I do not say of those
whom your eyes look down upon that Allah will not bestow any good on them.
Allah knows what is in their inner-selves (as regards belief, etc.). In that
case, I should, indeed be one of the Zalimoon (wrong-doers, oppressors,
etc.)’”

[Hood
11:31].

These
Prophets (who are the noblest of mankind and the closest of them to Allah,
may He be exalted, were forbidden to claim to have any authority, power or
ability to bestow provision, and they were commanded to direct all people to
address their needs to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and to focus
their hearts and minds on the Lord, the Creator, may He be glorified and
exalted. As for created beings, they are all needy and weak, no matter how
high their status may be. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of
the meaning):

“O
mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah is Rich (Free of
all wants and needs), Worthy of all praise”

[Faatir
35:15].

With
regard to the miracles of the Prophets, they are unique to them in certain
situations, and are not applicable at all times, with the exception of the
miracle of the Holy Qur’an, which will remain until the end of time. All the
other miracles were for a specific purpose, which was to prove Prophethood
to the people; they were not aimed at misguiding people or make them feel
attached to a particular power that a person possessed, whether he was a
Prophet or a Messenger. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of
the meaning):

“Surely, disbelievers are those who said: ‘Allah is the third of the three
(in a Trinity).’ But there is no ilaah (god) (none who has the right to be
worshipped) but One Ilaah (God -Allah). And if they cease not from what they
say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will
they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The
Messiah (‘Eesa (Jesus)), son of Maryam (Mary), was no more than a Messenger;
many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother (Maryam
(Mary)) was a Siddeeqah (i.e. she believed in the words of Allah and His
Books). They both used to eat food (as any other human being, while Allah
does not eat). Look how We make the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses,
lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) clear to them, yet look how they are
deluded away (from the truth).

Say (O
Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him to mankind): ‘How do you
worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to
benefit you? But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower.’”

[al-Maa’idah 5:73-76]. 

Think
about how Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, denounced those who were
confused by the miracles of the Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon
him); they took them out of the context in which the Messiah had brought
them, which was only to confirm his Prophethood, and they took those
miracles as a means to associate others with Allah, may He be exalted, based
on the claim that the Messiah possessed a unique and far-reaching ability,
granted by Allah, may He be exalted, to raise the dead and heal the sick;
this claim is the cause of confusion and trouble. Moreover, it should be
understood that over and above all that, these miracles could only come
about by the decree, creation and authority of Allah, and by His leave, as
we clearly see in the story of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him). His
miracles did not come about by virtue of independent power, or by complete
license from Allah (to perform miracles at any time); rather these were
temporary situations in which Allah caused miracles to occur at the hand of
His Prophet, then that ceased. Hence Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
followed that with a reminder to these people of the human nature of the
Messiah and his mother, and their human helplessness and weakness, as He
said: “Say (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him to
mankind): ‘How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power
either to harm or to benefit you?” [al-Maa’idah 5:76]. 

Thus
miracles were brought by the Messengers and Prophets for a specific purpose,
which was to confirm Prophethood and no more. This implies that use of
miracles was limited to appropriate times and places, and was not a matter
in which the individual Prophet or Messenger was given free rein. 

The
Messiah (peace be upon him) – despite his dazzling miracles of raising the
dead by Allah’s leave – was not able to ward off the aggressors who wanted
to crucify him, until Allah took him up to Him and caused one of his
companions to resemble him. And when the disciples asked him to bring down
the table from heaven, he was not able to do that except by asking and
beseeching Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. 

Moosa
(peace be upon him) fled with the Children of Israel from the aggression of
Pharaoh and his people; he did not use his staff except when Allah
instructed him to do so, then He parted the sea and made it easy for them to
escape. 

When the
disbelievers of Quraysh grew stubborn in demanding signs from our Prophet
Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), it was as if they
thought that he had absolute powers to bring about miracles however and
whenever he wanted. The response to all of that was two words which will
give an answer to all your confusion; these words are an expression of
amazement at their stubbornness and their misunderstanding of the true
nature of Prophethood. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says:

“And
they say: ‘We shall not believe in you (O Muhammad blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth
for us;

‘Or you
have a garden of date-palms and grapes, and cause rivers to gush forth in
their midst abundantly;

‘Or you
cause the heaven to fall upon us in pieces, as you have pretended, or you
bring Allah and the angels before (us) face to face;

‘Or you
have a house of adornable materials (like silver and pure gold, etc.), or
you ascend up into the sky, and even then we will put no faith in your
ascension until you bring down for us a Book that we would read.’ Say (O
Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘Glorified (and Exalted)
be my Lord (Allah) above all that evil they (polytheists) associate with
Him! Am I anything but a man, sent as a Messenger?’”

[al-Isra’ 17:90-93].

In
contrast to the miracles of the Prophets, which are the greatest causes of
guidance, we find the fitnah (trial or test) of the Dajjaal, and what Allah
will cause to happen at his hands of extra ordinary feats, which are the
greatest of tests and the most dangerous causes of misguidance, as it says
in the hadeeth of an-Nawwaas ibn Sam‘aan (may Allah be pleased with him),
according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
spoke of the Dajjaal and said: “He will come to a people and call them, and
they will believe in him and respond to his call. Then he will command the
sky and it will rain, and he will command the earth and it will bring forth
produce. Their herds will come back to them in the evening with their humps
as high as they ever were and their udders full and their flanks stretched.
Then he will come to another people and call them, and they will reject what
he says, so he will leave them and they will be afflicted with drought, with
none of their wealth in their hands. He will pass by ruins and say: Bring
forth your treasure, and its treasure will follow him like a swarm of bees.
Then he will call a man brimming with youth and will strike him with a sword
and cut him in two. He will place the pieces as far apart as a target is
from an archer, then he will call him and he will come with his face
gleaming and laughing.” 

Despite
all these feats, he will be one eyed, and he will not have the power to
restore his own eye in his face. Between his eyes will be written the word
“kaafir” (disbeliever), and he will not have the power to erase it or change
it. The Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) will kill him, and he
will not have the power to ward off killing from himself. It was narrated
from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of the Dajjaal and
said: “He will come but it will be forbidden to him to enter the mountain
passes of Madinah. So he will go to the barren tracts near Madinah and on
that day a man will go out to him who is the best of mankind or one of the
best of mankind, and he will say to him: I bear witness that you are the
Dajjaal of whom the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) spoke. The Dajjaal will say: If I kill this man and bring him back to
life, do you think that you will have any doubts about the matter? They will
say: No. So he will kill him then bring him back to life, and when he is
brought back to life he will say: By Allah, I was never more certain of you
than I am now. He said: The Dajjaal will want to kill him but he will not be
able to do so.” Narrated by Muslim (2938). 

So the
believer is the one who seeks the protection of Allah, may He be glorified
and exalted, and is not deceived by those extraordinary feats or and does
not believe that they are signs of divinity or sufficient reason to worship
anyone other than Allah, may He be glorified. If he ponders the matter
briefly – as explained above – he will realise the difference between
divinity and servitude. The Holy Qur’an clearly highlights this great
difference and points out that this is a test and a trial for humanity, for
this world is basically the realm of tests and trials. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“If
Allah willed, He would have made you one nation, but that (He) may test you
in what He has given you; so strive as in a race in good deeds. The return
of you (all) is to Allah; then He will inform you about that in which you
used to differ”

[al-Maa’idah 5:48]

“Who
has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in
deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving”

Al-Mulk
67:2]

“And He
it is Who has created the heavens and the earth in six Days and His Throne
was on the water, that He might try you, which of you is the best in deeds”

[Hood
11:7].

With
regard to being deceived by tales that are told of relieving hardship,
resolving problems and dispelling worries and concerns by seeking the help
of those who claim to perform miracles and have extraordinary powers,
whether they are Muslims or otherwise, this is also one of the causes of
misguidance for the sons of Adam. No one is doomed by this except one who
does not understand the reality of faith and is deceived by some stories. 

Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

It should
be understood that the reason why the Christians and others who also went to
extremes, such as the extreme worshippers and the Shi ‘ah and others, went
astray, is due to three things: 

1.Ambiguous and unclear words,
that are general in meaning, that were narrated from the Prophets; those
people ignored the clear, unambiguous words, and clung to these (ambiguous)
words. Every time they heard something that could be interpreted in support
of their specious arguments, they clung to it and interpreted it in
accordance with their views, even if there was no evidence to that effect.
But with regard to clear and unambiguous words that were contrary to that,
they either say Allah knows best what it means, or they misinterpret them as
the followers of misguidance do. They follow ambiguous evidence, whether it
is rational or textual, and they turn away from clear, unambiguous evidence
of both types.

2.Extraordinary feats that they
think are signs or miracles, but they are the tricks of the devils. This is
something that caused many of the mushrikeen and others to go astray, such
as when the devils enter the idols and speak to the people, or when the
devils tell the soothsayers about matters of the unseen, but they mix it
with lies. And there are other actions that the devils do.

3.Reports which were transmitted
to them and they thought they were true, when in fact they were false.
Otherwise neither the Christians nor any other misguided group has any
evidence to support their falsehood, whether it is based on clear rational
thinking or sound texts, nor do they have any sign or miracle of the
Prophets.

End quote
from al-Jawaab as-Saheeh (2/315) 

In the
third reason there is a response to what you say in your question: “why
pleasing their powers other than Allah people are leaving a peaceful life
and how their dreams are fulfilled and how their problems disappear if they
recite some lines written in their books?” The questioner confirms that most
of what you hear of such things is clearly lies or rumours and exaggeration.
Otherwise, let these charlatans produce those solutions that they claim to
have for all of humanity, or at least for their own people, and let them
save everyone around them from poverty, sickness, unemployment and other
misfortunes. 

All of
that and other things are legitimate questions for us to put to you, and we
do not understand how anyone in the twenty-first century, when knowledge and
understanding have become widespread among people, could think in such an
irrational manner and start again to believe that there could be any human
being who possesses any power independent of Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, that will enable him, by reciting a few lines or doing some tricks
and extraordinary feats, to change the life of any person. 

But if
what you meant is that the followers of the Prophets can make problems
disappear from their lives by merely reciting a few lines from their books,
this is also clearly wrong and far removed from any understanding of the
true nature of the Prophets’ call and how their followers lived. First of
all, we say to you that the virtue of following the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) and adhering to his teachings and message, is
not attained merely by reciting a few lines from their books. Rather that
requires a fundamental change in lifestyle and way of thinking, in order to
follow the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in an exact
manner. 

Allah, may
He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And
verily, this (i.e. Allah’s Commandments) is my Straight Path, so follow it,
and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path.
This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”

[al-An
‘aam 6:153]

“Say (O
Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): ‘Verily, my Salat
(prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of
the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

‘He has
no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the
Muslims”

[al-An‘aam 6:162-163]. 

Moreover
we say to you: the problems and hardships of life, such as poverty, sickness
and loss of loved ones – all these trials and tribulations were not absent
from the lives of the Prophets or their followers. This world is based on
trials and tests, in accordance with the great wisdom of Allah. But what was
absent from their lives was distress, misery, misguidance and despair, no
matter what the trials they faced! 

We need to
contemplate the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, and the Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), in order to
understand the real meaning of the message of Tawheed (affirmation of the
Oneness of Allah) that Islam brought. We should not be confused by the myths
of the liars and charlatans who deceive the people with some tricks or
claims of “miracles” when they are the farthest of people from the path of
righteousness. “Miracles” (karaamah) can only be by the action of Allah, and
He is the only One Who can bestow that, and that can only be attained as a
result of the blessing of following the Prophet. Allah, may He be exalted,
may cause them to happen at a person’s hands because he is in a situation in
which he needs this help, or to establish proof of the soundness of his
religion against those who oppose him. Moreover the basic principle with
regard to these miracles is that it is to be concealed and it should remain
a matter between the pious slave and friend of Allah and his Lord, may He be
glorified. With regard to those who boast of such feats, if they were truly 
following the straight path, they would not boast about it or show off to
the people about it, or try to consume their wealth thereby or use those
feats for their own purposes; rather this is the way of the charlatans and
those who devour haraam wealth, as as-Subki (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: “The mu‘jizah (miracle) may be accompanied by claims of Prophethood,
which is not so in the case of karaamah (extraordinary feats) … Moreover the
mu‘jizah is meant to be done openly and be seen and known by many people,
and the one for whom it is done (the Prophet) is enjoined to show it openly,
whereas the karaamah is based on concealment and the one for whom it is done
(the wali or close friend of Allah) is enjoined to conceal it, and not to
make it known except in rare cases to very few, not to make it public
knowledge to many people. Moreover the mu‘jizah may be any extraordinary
event; the karaamah can only be of a few types, as was explained by
al-Qushayri, and this is the correct view.

End quote from Tabaqaat ash-Shaafa‘iyyah al-Kubra
(2/317) 

It should
be understood that by the mercy of Allah, may He be exalted, to His slaves,
and by His wisdom in all that He creates and in His commands and
prohibitions, he granted to the Messengers and Prophets that which will
offer proof to their people so that they will believe in them, because He,
may He be exalted, loves to establish proof for His slaves (so that there
will be no excuse) and He loves for them to be guided to the straight path.
And whoever takes that as a means to become attached to the Prophets in a
manner that is appropriate only for a slave in relation to his Lord and for
a person in relation to his Creator, may He be glorified, and asks them to
meet his needs in a manner which no one is able to do except Allah, then he
has wronged himself and he should not blame anyone but his own self that is
inclined towards evil, and that is the source of all wrong doing and
misguidance. He should know that his path is one thing, and the call of the
Prophets is something else altogether; their call is that which is summed up
in the verse in Soorat al-Faatihah (interpretation of the meaning): “You
(Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help” [al-Faatihah 1:5]. 

We have
much that we could say about your questions, but we hope that what we have
mentioned will be a sufficient summary. 

And Allah
knows best.