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Contradictions in the Quran: Difference between revisions
→How should disbelievers be treated?: Added a potential contradiction on Jews being God's chosen people verses not in the Quran - and also the general contradiction on chosen people for a universal god
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=== | === Did Moses's speech impediment get fixed? === | ||
God showed Moses a magical fire that did not burn out, and informs him of his prophethood. Then commanded him to go to Pharaoh with his signs in the hope that he may be warned and fear God. Moses agreed but complained that he couldn’t speak clearly, and he asked God to cure him of it, and to open his breast and make the task easy/easier: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|24-28}}|...“Go thou to Pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed all bounds.” “( Moses) said: ‘O, my Lord! Expand me my breast,” ease my task for me, <b>and remove the impediment from my speech, so they may understand what I say.”</b> “( Allah) said: ‘Granted is thy prayer, O Moses!’”...}} | |||
{ | Here God seems to respond to his prayer instantly (the verses in between 20:29-20:35 are part of the same narrative so the order is linear): | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|36}}|<b>...Allah responded, “All that you requested has been granted, O Moses!... </b>}} | |||
However when he actually gets to Pharoah, he (Pharoah) states that he still cannot express himself clearly: | |||
| | {{Quote|{{Quran|43|52}}|“And Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, ‘O, my people! Does not the dominion of Egypt belong to me, (witness) these streams flowing underneath my (palace)? What! See ye not, then? Am I not better than this (Moses), who is a contemptible wretch, <b>and can scarcely express himself clearly?’”</b>}} | ||
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===The destruction of Thamud=== | ===The destruction of Thamud=== | ||
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Thamud's sudden destruction by a thunderbolt is narrated also in {{Quran|51|44}}, where the thunderbolt seized Thamud as they looked on. The word thunderbolt in these verses is sa'iqatan, which can refer to the sound of a thunderbolt or the lightning bolt itself.<ref>sa'iqatan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000414.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1690]</ref> Similarly, the instantaneous death of the people of Thamud by a thunderous blast (ṣayḥatan) appears in surah 11 and surah 54 quoted above in the previous section, and by a single blast (ṭāghiyati) in Q. 69:5. They were killed by an earthquake in Q. 7:78, though the word l-rajfatu, needn't mean a literal earthquake, and can mean a convulsion or jolting according to Lane's Lexicon. Thus with some harmonising effort we have a story of sudden thunderous death for the people of Thamud. | Thamud's sudden destruction by a thunderbolt is narrated also in {{Quran|51|44}}, where the thunderbolt seized Thamud as they looked on. The word thunderbolt in these verses is sa'iqatan, which can refer to the sound of a thunderbolt or the lightning bolt itself.<ref>sa'iqatan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000414.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1690]</ref> Similarly, the instantaneous death of the people of Thamud by a thunderous blast (ṣayḥatan) appears in surah 11 and surah 54 quoted above in the previous section, and by a single blast (ṭāghiyati) in Q. 69:5. They were killed by an earthquake in Q. 7:78, though the word l-rajfatu, needn't mean a literal earthquake, and can mean a convulsion or jolting according to Lane's Lexicon. Thus with some harmonising effort we have a story of sudden thunderous death for the people of Thamud. | ||
However, all other descriptions of Aad's destruction except for 41:13 say that it was by means of a violent wind over a day or number of days, which uprooted its people like trees and | However, all other descriptions of Aad's destruction except for 41:13 say that it was by means of a violent wind over a day or number of days, which uprooted its people like trees and destoyed everything, leaving only ruined homes. | ||
In an attempt to rescue the contradiction, Al-Tabari in his tafsir for 41:13 claims that sa'iqatan (thunderbolt) is a catch all term for anything that destroys something, while al-Qurtubi claims that the wind was the sa'iqatan. | In an attempt to rescue the contradiction, Al-Tabari in his tafsir for 41:13 claims that sa'iqatan (thunderbolt) is a catch all term for anything that destroys something, while al-Qurtubi claims that the wind was the sa'iqatan. | ||
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Lane's Lexicon has some discussion of the word mus'tamirrin ("continuous") as it is used in this verse and in Q. 54:2 where it is used in the phrase (“passing magic”) in the same grammatical form.<ref>mus'tamirrin - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000230.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2702]</ref> | Lane's Lexicon has some discussion of the word mus'tamirrin ("continuous") as it is used in this verse and in Q. 54:2 where it is used in the phrase (“passing magic”) in the same grammatical form.<ref>mus'tamirrin - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000230.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2702]</ref> | ||
==Allah== | ==Allah== | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran-range|25|68|70}}|Those who invoke not, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit fornication; - and any that does this (not only) meets punishment. (But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy,- Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful, }} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|25|68|70}}|Those who invoke not, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit fornication; - and any that does this (not only) meets punishment. (But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy,- Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful, }} | ||
=== Can anyone change the word of Allah? === | |||
Yes - the Jews especially seem to be charged with doing this, which is the mainstream Islamic view,<ref>E.g. see [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/2.75 ''Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on verse 2:75'']. Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d. 864 ah / 1459 ce) and his pupil Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 ah / 1505 ce).</ref> though is not without controversy ''(see: [[Corruption of Previous Scriptures]])''.{{quote | {{Quran|2|59}}|But those who were unjust changed it for a saying other than that which had been spoken to them, so We sent upon those who were unjust a pestilence from heaven, because they transgressed.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|2|75}}|Have ye any hope that they will be true to you when a party of them used to listen to the word of Allah, then used to change it, after they had understood it, knowingly?}}{{Quote|{{Quran|2|79}}|Therefore woe be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands and then say, "This is from Allah," that they may purchase a small gain therewith. Woe unto them for that their hands have written, and woe unto them for that they earn thereby.}}{{quote |{{cite quran|3|77|end=79|style=ref}}|(As for) those who take a small price for the covenant of Allah and their own oaths-- surely they shall have no portion in the hereafter, and Allah will not speak to them, nor will He look upon them on the day of resurrection nor will He purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement. '''Most surely there is a party amongst those who distort the Book with their tongue that you may consider it to be (a part) of the Book, and they say, It is from Allah, while it is not from Allah, and they tell a lie against Allah whilst they know.''' It is not meet for a mortal that Allah should give him the Book and the wisdom and prophethood, then he should say to men: Be my servants rather than Allah's; but rather (he would say): Be worshipers of the Lord '''because of your teaching the Book and your reading (it yourselves).'''}}{{quote | {{Quran|3|187}}|And when Allah made a covenant with those who were given the Book: You shall certainly make it known to men and you shall not hide it; but they cast it behind their backs and took a small price for it; so evil is that which they buy.}}{{quote | {{Quran|4|46}}|Of those who are Jews (there are those who) alter words from their places and say: We have heard and we disobey and: Hear, may you not be made to hear! and: Raina, distorting (the word) with their tongues and taunting about religion; and if they had said (instead): We have heard and we obey, and hearken, and unzurna it would have been better for them and more upright; but Allah has cursed them on account of their unbelief, so they do not believe but a little.}}{{quote |{{cite quran|5|13|end=15|style=ref}}|But on account of their breaking their covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard; '''they altered the words from their places and they neglected a portion of what they were reminded of;''' and you shall always discover treachery in them excepting a few of them; so pardon them and turn away; surely Allah loves those who do good (to others). And with those who say, We are Christians, We made a covenant, '''but they neglected a portion of what they were reminded of''', therefore We excited among them enmity and hatred to the day of resurrection; and Allah will inform them of what they did. O followers of the Book! indeed Our Messenger has come to you making clear to you '''much of what you concealed of the Book and passing over much'''; indeed, there has come to you light and a clear Book from Allah;}}{{quote | {{Quran|5|41}}|O Messenger! let not those grieve you who strive together in hastening to unbelief from among those who say with their mouths: We believe, and their hearts do not believe, and from among those who are Jews; they are listeners for the sake of a lie, listeners for another people who have not come to you; '''they alter the words from their places, saying: If you are given this, take it, and if you are not given this, be cautious'''; and as for him whose temptation Allah desires, you cannot control anything for him with Allah. Those are they for whom Allah does not desire that He should purify their hearts; they shall have disgrace in this world, and they shall have a grievous chastisement in the hereafter.}}No | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|6|115}}|And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can alter His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.}} | |||
==Angels and demons== | ==Angels and demons== | ||
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Some claim that one of these could refer to the battle of Uhud, but that was a defeat for the Muslims. | Some claim that one of these could refer to the battle of Uhud, but that was a defeat for the Muslims. | ||
===Who could Allah send as messengers (rasulan)?=== | ===Who could Allah send as messengers (rasulan)?=== | ||
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Yes | Yes | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|29|13}}|They will bear their own burdens, and (other) burdens along with their own, and on the Day of Judgments they will be called to account for their falsehoods.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|29|13}}|They will bear their own burdens, and (other) burdens along with their own, and on the Day of Judgments they will be called to account for their falsehoods.}}Yes; this verse tells contemporary Jews that they will not get their wanted miracle from Muhammad because past Jews killed prophets that performed miracles.<ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/3.183 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on verse 3:183.]'' Al-Jalalayn / Al-Mahalli and as-Suyuti. Published 1505CE.</ref> | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|3|183-184}}|Tell those who say, ‘Allah has pledged us not to believe in any apostle unless he brings us an offering consumed by fire,’ ‘Apostles before me certainly did bring you manifest signs and what you speak of. Then why did you kill them, if you are truthful?’ But if they deny you, [other] apostles have been denied before you, who came with manifest signs, holy writs, and an illuminating scripture.}} | |||
===Who takes people's souls?=== | ===Who takes people's souls?=== | ||
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===How strong is a believer?=== | ===How strong is a believer?=== | ||
20 Muslims can overcome 200 disbelievers | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|8|65}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|8|65}}| | ||
If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve }} | If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve }} | ||
100 Muslims can overcome 200 disbelievers | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|8|66}}|So if there be of you a steadfast hundred they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a thousand (steadfast) they shall overcome two thousand by permission of Allah. }} | {{Quote|{{Quran|8|66}}|So if there be of you a steadfast hundred they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a thousand (steadfast) they shall overcome two thousand by permission of Allah. }} | ||
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===Can you eat non-halal meat?=== | ===Can you eat non-halal meat?=== | ||
Yes | Yes, Christian and Jewish food may be eaten | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|5}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|5|5}}| | ||
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These verses are traditionally explained as gradual abrogation, while critics see a contradiction as a result of the author changing his mind over time. | These verses are traditionally explained as gradual abrogation, while critics see a contradiction as a result of the author changing his mind over time. | ||
It is a wholesome drink | It is a wholesome drink (though not necessarily fermented in this verse) | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|16|67}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|16|67}}| | ||
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Unto you your religion and unto me my religion }} | Unto you your religion and unto me my religion }} | ||
Yes | Yes, the treaty-breakers must die unless they convert or individually seek refuge | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|5}}|And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|5}}|And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.}} | ||
Yes, | Yes, certain Christians and Jews who will not believe must be fought until they pay the jizyah | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|29}}|Fight those who (do) not believe in Allah and not in the Day the Last, and not they make unlawful what Allah has made unlawful and His Messenger, and not they acknowledge (the) religion (of) the truth, from those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the jizyah willingly, while they (are) subdued.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|29}}|Fight those who (do) not believe in Allah and not in the Day the Last, and not they make unlawful what Allah has made unlawful and His Messenger, and not they acknowledge (the) religion (of) the truth, from those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the jizyah willingly, while they (are) subdued.}} | ||
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It was not Allah who wronged them, but they wronged their own souls }} | It was not Allah who wronged them, but they wronged their own souls }} | ||
===How should | ===How should disbelievers be treated?=== | ||
Kindly | Kindly | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|9|29}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|29}}| | ||
Fight those who believe not in | Fight those who (do) not believe in Allah and not in the Day the Last, and not they make unlawful what Allah has made unlawful and His Messenger, and not they acknowledge (the) religion (of) the truth, from those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the jizyah willingly, while they (are) subdued.}} | ||
=== | === Are Jews God's chosen people? === | ||
Yes - the idea of favouring one people over another for seemingly no apparent reason is strange and contradictory to begin with for a universal God. However this contradiction would have to be incorporated by a man claiming the former National Israelite God Yahweh (which initially had no relation to non-Israelites)<ref>This gradual change of an Israelite religion to a universal one is commonly accepted among historians, see: [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yahweh Britannica Yahweh Entry] | Britannica | |||
To see an overview of the scholarly discussion of the history of Yahweh and the consensus, see e.g. Heath D. Dewrell's review of: ''Yahweh before Israel: Glimpses of History in a Divine Name''. By Daniel E. Fleming. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Pp. xviii + 320 + 15 figures. | |||
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/721377 | |||
And Lewis, Theodore J., 'The Origin of Yahweh', ''[https://academic.oup.com/book/37440/chapter-abstract/331575152?redirectedFrom=fulltext The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity]'' (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 20 Aug. 2020), <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190072544.003.0006</nowiki>, accessed 14 June 2024. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran| | </ref> was universal, or at least related and relevant to the Arabs of his time. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|47}}|“O Children of Israel! Remember my favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I favoured you over all other peoples.”}}{{Quote|{{Quran|2|122}}|Children of Israel, remember My blessing wherewith I blessed you, and that I have preferred you above all beings;}} | |||
No, they are just like everyone else | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|62|6}}|“Say: ‘Oh, you who are Jews! If you claim that you are favoured of Allah to the exclusion of mankind, then long for death, if you are truthful.”}} | |||
==People of the Book== | ==People of the Book== | ||
===How are Christians towards the believers?=== | |||
They are allies of the Jews, do not take them as allies | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|51}}| | |||
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.}} | |||
Christians are nearest in love to the believers | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|82}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|5|82}}| | ||
Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, "We are Christians": because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. }} | Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, "We are Christians": because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. }} | ||
Christians have hearts of compassion and mercy | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|57|27}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|57|27}}| | ||
We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and we ordained in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy. }} | We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and we ordained in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy. }} | ||
==Sex== | ==Sex== | ||
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He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding. }} | He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding. }} | ||
No, letters such as | No, letters such as these at the start of some surahs have an incomprehensible meaning | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|1}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|1}}| | ||
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Gabriel Said Reynolds notes that the idea of two years of suckling comes from the Babylonian Talmud Ketubbot 60a.<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds (2018) ''The Qurʾān and Bible: Text and Commentary'' p. 92</ref> | Gabriel Said Reynolds notes that the idea of two years of suckling comes from the Babylonian Talmud Ketubbot 60a.<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds (2018) ''The Qurʾān and Bible: Text and Commentary'' p. 92</ref> | ||
===The moon was split=== | |||
''Main article: [[Muhammads Miracles#Moon Splitting Miracle|Moon splitting miracle]]'' | |||
The Qur'an (according to a common interpretation) and a hadith tradition claim that the moon was miraculously split into two pieces and then, presumably, put back together again. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|54|1|2}}|1. The hour drew nigh and the moon did rend asunder. | |||
2. Yet if they see a sign they turn away, and they say 'A continuous sorcery!'}} | |||
Yet we are told Muhammad cannot produce a sign (in the form of a miracle), but only warn people with the message, in verses such as: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|13|7}}|The unbelievers say, "Why has God not sent him, (Muhammad), some miracles." (Muhammad), you are only a warner. For every nation there is a guide.}} | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|6:109}}|They swear their strongest oaths by Allah, that if a (special) sign came to them, by it they would believe. Say: "Certainly (all) signs are in the power of Allah: but what will make you (Muslims) realise that (even) if (special) signs came, they will not believe."?}} | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|11|12}}|Perhaps you, (Muhammad), may by chance leave (untold) a part of that which is revealed to you and feel grieved because they say, "Why has some treasure not been sent to him or an angel sent down with him?" Say, "I have come only to warn you." God is the Guardian of all things.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|10|20}}|They (unbelievers) say, “Why has his Lord not given him some miracles to (support his claim of being His Messenger)?” Say “(The knowledge) of the unseen certainly belongs to God. Wait and I too shall be waiting with you}}{{Quote|{{Quran|21|9}}|But they said, ‘[They are] muddled dreams!’ ‘Indeed, he has fabricated it!’ ‘Indeed, he is a poet!’ ‘Let him bring us a sign, like those sent to the former generations.’}} | |||
===What are the shares in an inheritance?=== | ===What are the shares in an inheritance?=== | ||