ibn Kathir: Allah's miracles for Moses, Jesus and Mohammed

The Quran, based on a mix of the Gospel narratives, Christian lore and apocryphal texts, in chapter 3:48-51 states Jesus' miracles included creating a bird from clay, giving sight to the blind, healing the leper, and raising the dead:

And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel. And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah . And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allah . And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me. Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path."--Quran 3:48-51 (Sahih International)

I will not deal here with the obvious, that the Clay Bird miracle actually demonstrates Jesus is an "associate with Allah" since Jesus is doing the same thing the Torah describes God as doing for creating man from clay and breathing life into him. Or the fact, the writing Muslim apologists tell us to read to prove this account and "prove" the Gospels have been corrupted actually still tell us the Holy Spirit is being that cannot be equated with Muhammed, or that Jesus is the Son of God, and is called "Lord" in these books. Rather, let's see what the great Sunni commentator,  Ismail ibn Kathir (c.1300 – 1373) on the Quran has to say about this passage:

"Many scholars stated that Allah sent every Prophet with a miracle suitable to his time. For instance, in the time of Musa, magic was the trade of the time, and magicians held a high position. So Allah sent Musa with a miracle that captured the eyes and bewildered every magician. When the magicians realized that Musa's miracle came from the Almighty, Most Great, they embraced Islam and became pious believers. As for `Isa, he was sent during a time when medicine and knowledge in physics were advancing. `Isa brought them the types of miracles that could not be performed, except by one sent by Allah. How can any physician bring life to clay, cure blindness and leprosy and bring back to life those entrapped in the grave Muhammad was sent during the time of eloquent people and proficient poets. He brought them a Book from Allah; if mankind and the Jinn tried to imitate ten chapters, or even one chapter of it, they will utterly fail in this task, even if they tried to do it by collective cooperation. This is because the Qur'an is the Word of Allah and is nothing like that of the creatures."--Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Commentary on Quran 3:48-51

Ibn Kathir's statement can be simplified to this:

God gave each prophet a miracle best suited for his time, so that in an area they would accel beyond those of their contemporaries, therefore prove that they were sent from Allah.

For Moses': Magicians were respected in his day. God made him out perform the works of magicians, therefore proving he is from God.

For Jesus': Medicine was a valued practice in his day. God made him create birds from clay, heal the blind, the leper, and raise the dead to life, therefore proving Jesus is sent from God. 

For Muhammad:  Arab liked poems in his day. So Allah had him write (though scribe) a book SO AMAZING, that no one could EVER mimic, therefore proving Muhammed was sent from God.

That's it! No, Arab's in his day must have valued poetry above even their own lives! The claim about a word being so amazing is just like that of the Mormons' and the Book of Mormon, since Joseph Smith couldn't actually perform an real supernatural feat, and his prophecies weren't very convincing, or so ambiguous, or so conditioned there were plenty of excuses why things didn't happen.

It is no wonder Muslims still cling to how amazing the Quran is in order to prove Muhammed must be a prophet. Never mind that the Quran makes claims against Christians that were never believed by any main stream group of Christians, or seems to be confused about when Moses lived, or mistakenly quotes a Jewish rabbi's words as being God's own.