Will Allah communicate to us through universal signs? Like wind. For ex : when I pray, a strong wind hit me. So is that an yes from allah Or something or wind is wind or is it shirk?
1 Answer
God is able to send a sign
Only those who listen will respond. As for the dead, God will resurrect them; then to Him they will be returned. And they say, “If only a sign could come down to him from his Lord.” Say, “God is Able to send down a sign, but most of them do not know.”
Signs of Him given to the Jews and to the disbelievers are manyfoldly cited in the Quran. Mostly, the story ends in that the disbelievers did not believe in spite of the signs, and the signs were vain; two examples out of many:
46:21-25
And mention the brother of Aad, as he warned his people at the dunes. Warnings have passed away before him, and after him: “Worship none but God; I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day.” They said, “Did you come to us to divert us from our gods? Then bring us what you threaten us with, if you are being truthful.” He said, “The knowledge is only with God, and I inform you of what I was sent with; but I see you are an ignorant people.” Then, when they saw a cloud approaching their valley, they said, “This is a cloud that will bring us rain.” “In fact, it is what you were impatient for: a wind in which is grievous suffering.” It will destroy everything by the command of its Lord. And when the morning came upon them, there was nothing to be seen except their dwellings. Thus We requite the guilty people.
Another passage
30:50-53
So observe the effects of God’s mercy—how He revives the earth after it was dead. Indeed, He is the Reviver of the dead. He is Capable of everything. But if We send a wind, and they see it turning things yellow, they would continue thereafter to disbelieve. You cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call when they turn away. Nor can you guide the blind out of their error. You can make hear only those who believe in Our signs, and so have submitted.
Allah speaks of signs through wind; He states that it would not make the disbelievers believe, and continues:
You can make hear only those who believe in Our signs, and so have submitted.
But it is the wind the sign? He speaks of «hearing» the signs. It is rather His Word which is the sign.
Allah communicated to His messengers and prophets through their mind; i.e. the Word that was not spoken out acoustically.
We, too, may receive answers of Him in our mind. However, it is not easy to discern this from any other thought that comes into our minds. We have to know the Word of God (from the Quran) to know whether it can be His answer.
I would not believe in external signs like wind as His answer. If you have a question, would God change the winds to answer you? What a trouble would this create in our weather if any question of an individual would change the winds! Even if we suppose that it would be possible to Allah to do so, He is likely not to do it.