Of course, a fact which no one can deny is that the powers of Allah the Exalted are countless and unlimited. It is impossible to count and enumerate them. The more a person progresses in piety and spiritual discipline, the closer they come to Allah the Exalted; and a tinge of these divine powers begins to manifest themselves in the person of such an individual proportionately. The door to the knowledge of these divine powers is opened to such people. It seems appropriate at this instance to state that the powers of the Divine are of two kinds: one which relates to the creation of God; secondly, that which relates to the nearness of God. One form of divine power which the Prophets, peace be upon them, are under, is that which relates to their being humans, created by God, as is described, for example, in the following verse:
He eats food, and walks in the streets.
Their health and suffering from illness, etc. is under the control of God. Then, a unique power of the Divine is experienced by the Prophets when they traverse through the various stages of divine nearness. Allah the Exalted comes close to them in such a manner that they begin to enjoy divine discourse, and their prayers are answered, but there are some who do not understand. This is not all, in fact, a time comes when, in addition to mere discourse, the mantle of divinity is placed upon them. God Almighty shows them diverse manifestations of His own existence. A perfect similitude of this nearness and relationship may be observed in iron which is placed inside a fire. The iron absorbs the effects of the fire and appears to be a red-hot, flaming body of fire itself. The iron begins to emit a fiery light and also develops the power to burn – a characteristic of fire. However, despite all this, it is well-established that the iron does not become fire itself, or a part thereof.
(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, p. 114)
