The Wrestling Match With Rukana

Another incident that can be classified as a miracle is the wrestling of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) with Rukānah. Rukānah was the strongest wrestler in Makkah; Rukānah had never, ever lost a wrestling match, and he was an unbeliever. He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and he said, "Would you challenge me?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) amazingly accepted the challenge. It seems that Rukānah had done this with the most evil of intentions — he wanted to humiliate the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); being a kāfir, he wanted a chance to lay his hands on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). He did not know the surprise that was awaiting him. They started to fight, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was able to turn Rukānah upside down and throw him on the ground. Rukānah could not believe what happened; he stood up again and he tried to fight another time — the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did it a second time. And then Rukānah tried a third time, and he lost, for three times in a row. Rukānah then said: "Muhammad, no one has ever put my back on the ground before you, and no one was more hateful in my sight before this than you, but now I testify that there is no god but Allah, and that you are the Messenger of Allah."

By the way, the deal was that whoever wins gets a hundred sheep — so this was a bet; this was before betting was made ḥarām. After that, betting was made ḥarām, but at that time it was allowed. So the agreement was whoever wins gets a hundred sheep. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) got the hundred sheep, but then he gave them back to Rukānah and said, "Take these sheep." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was able to win three times against Rukānah, and that shows the strength that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had — the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had the strength of thirty men. This is a further miracle.