3,454
edits
Scientific Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions
Scientific Errors in the Quran (view source)
Revision as of 23:34, 4 December 2025
, Yesterday at 23:34→Heaven made from smoke
| [checked revision] | [checked revision] |
Lightyears (talk | contribs) (Moved the moon sections lower down the astronomy section to give more prominence to stronger errors as these are generally considered more debatable due to other plausible interpretations. Also removed redundant sentence.) |
Lightyears (talk | contribs) |
||
| (5 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
The Qur'an mentions a few times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit or sphere/hemisphere (''fee falakin'' فِى فَلَكٍ<ref name="LLFalak">[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2443 فَلَكٍ] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf p. 2444]</ref>), but does not mention once that the Earth does too. This is consistent with an Earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless Earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the Earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16<sup>th</sup> century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. Tellingly, the sun's movement is almost always mentioned in the context of night and day (seven times; {{Quran|13|2}} is the sole exception) and is always mentioned with that of the moon (which does in fact orbit the Earth each month, and likewise appears, to the casual observer, to traverse the sky each night when it is visible). | The Qur'an mentions a few times that the sun and the moon travel in an orbit or sphere/hemisphere (''fee falakin'' فِى فَلَكٍ<ref name="LLFalak">[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2443 فَلَكٍ] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf p. 2444]</ref>), but does not mention once that the Earth does too. This is consistent with an Earth-centered (geocentric) view of the cosmos that places a motionless Earth at the center of the universe and all "heavenly bodies" travel around the Earth. This was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16<sup>th</sup> century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. Tellingly, the sun's movement is almost always mentioned in the context of night and day (seven times; {{Quran|13|2}} is the sole exception) and is always mentioned with that of the moon (which does in fact orbit the Earth each month, and likewise appears, to the casual observer, to traverse the sky each night when it is visible). | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|36|37|40}}|A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness. And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an old shrivelled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|36|37|40}}|A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness. And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an old shrivelled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.}} | ||
{{Quran-range|36|37|40}}, occurring in a passage about night and day, right after describing the change from day to night, states that the sun runs on to a resting place for it (''li-mustaqarrin lahā'' لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا). Useful linguistic evidence is found in a [[sahih]] [[hadith]] ({{Muslim| | {{Quran-range|36|37|40}}, occurring in a passage about night and day, right after describing the change from day to night, states that the sun runs on to a resting place for it (''li-mustaqarrin lahā'' لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا). Useful linguistic evidence is found in a [[sahih]] [[hadith]] ({{Muslim||159a|reference}}) which mentions the sun's daily cycle using the same Arabic word to mean a resting place, which is underneath Allah's throne, and is where each night the sun prostrates and is asked to go and rise 'from its rising place' (مِنْ مَطْلِعِهَا). This cycle repeats, until one day Allah asks the sun to rise 'from your setting place' (مِنْ مَغْرِبِكِ). | ||
An alternative view cited by classical exegetes such as Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE), attributed to Qatada ibn Di'amah (d. 735 CE),<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/36.38 Tafsir ibn Kathir for 36:38]</ref> and which is favoured by many Muslim scholars today, was that this refers to the sun's final 'resting' on the last day. Other verses talk about the sun swimming for a 'term appointed' (though using a different Arabic word). | An alternative view cited by classical exegetes such as Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE), attributed to Qatada ibn Di'amah (d. 735 CE),<ref>[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/36.38 Tafsir ibn Kathir for 36:38]</ref> and which is favoured by many Muslim scholars today, was that this refers to the sun's final 'resting' on the last day. Other verses talk about the sun swimming for a 'term appointed' (though using a different Arabic word). | ||
| Line 121: | Line 121: | ||
Some modern Muslim scholars nevertheless interpret 'smoke' as the primordial state of the universe after the big bang. It is worth noting, however, that the verse indicates a time when heaven alone, but not the Earth, was smoke. This is especially challenging when one considers that the Earth and its mountains are described as already existing in the previous two verses ({{Quran-range|41|9|10}}, discussed above). | Some modern Muslim scholars nevertheless interpret 'smoke' as the primordial state of the universe after the big bang. It is worth noting, however, that the verse indicates a time when heaven alone, but not the Earth, was smoke. This is especially challenging when one considers that the Earth and its mountains are described as already existing in the previous two verses ({{Quran-range|41|9|10}}, discussed above). | ||
Academic scholarship has identified a late antique Christian homilitic precedent for these enigmatic verses. Basil the Great of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia (d. 379 CE) understood Isaiah 51:6 in the Bible (which in the Greek version | Academic scholarship has identified a late antique Christian homilitic precedent for these enigmatic verses. Basil the Great of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia (d. 379 CE) understood Isaiah 51:6 in the Bible (which in the Greek version says the heaven as smoke [ὡς καπνός] was made firm [ἐστερεώθη], whereas the Hebrew says vanished like smoke) to mean that the heaven was initially made from a smoke-like substance.<ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/32011.htm Hexaemeron, Homily 1:8] - New Advent church fathers website</ref><ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 128-9</ref> | ||
===Seven Earths=== | ===Seven Earths=== | ||
| Line 132: | Line 132: | ||
A hadith in [[Sahih Bukhari|Bukhari]] reveals that these seven Earths are stacked above each other. | A hadith in [[Sahih Bukhari|Bukhari]] reveals that these seven Earths are stacked above each other. | ||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari| | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|||2454|darussalam}}| The Prophet said, "Whoever takes a piece of the land of others unjustly, '''he will sink down the seven earths''' on the Day of Resurrection.}} | ||
The number, like seven heavens, might have come from a misunderstanding or indigenous interpretation of mythology from classical antiquity in which there were seven moving planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and moon). The number seven, however, does not accord with the findings of modern astronomers, which know there to be eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, making for a grand total of thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found many thousands of planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundreds of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe at large. | The number, like seven heavens, might have come from a misunderstanding or indigenous interpretation of mythology from classical antiquity in which there were seven moving planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the sun and moon). The number seven, however, does not accord with the findings of modern astronomers, which know there to be eight ordinary planets and five dwarf planets, making for a grand total of thirteen in our solar system. Modern astronomy also has found many thousands of planets in other solar systems and Cosmologists estimate that hundreds of billions of stars and planets exist in the universe at large. | ||
| Line 167: | Line 167: | ||
The word translated "missiles" is rujūman (رُجُومًا), which are things that are thrown, especially stones.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000214.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1048 رُجُومًا]</ref> | The word translated "missiles" is rujūman (رُجُومًا), which are things that are thrown, especially stones.<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000214.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1048 رُجُومًا]</ref> | ||
A hadith confirms that the 'pursuant flames / missiles' in the two verses were understood to mean what we now know are visible meteors. {{Muslim| | A hadith confirms that the 'pursuant flames / missiles' in the two verses were understood to mean what we now know are visible meteors. {{Muslim||2229a|reference}} and {{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3224}} recount an occasion when Muhammad and his companions saw a shooting star at night. He explains to his companions that angels throw these at Jinn when they try to steal information about Allah's commands passed down through the heavens. | ||
Other relevant Quran verses are {{Quran-range|55|33|35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context), {{Quran-range|15|16|18}}, and {{Quran-range|72|8|9}}. | Other relevant Quran verses are {{Quran-range|55|33|35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context), {{Quran-range|15|16|18}}, and {{Quran-range|72|8|9}}. | ||
| Line 290: | Line 290: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|54|1|3}}|The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two]. And if they see a miracle, they turn away and say, "Passing magic." And they denied and followed their inclinations. But for every matter is a [time of] settlement. }} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|54|1|3}}|The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two]. And if they see a miracle, they turn away and say, "Passing magic." And they denied and followed their inclinations. But for every matter is a [time of] settlement. }} | ||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari| | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|||4864|darussalam}}|Narrated Ibn Masud: | ||
During the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) the moon was split into two parts; one part remained over the mountain, and the other part went beyond the mountain. On that, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Witness this miracle." | During the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) the moon was split into two parts; one part remained over the mountain, and the other part went beyond the mountain. On that, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Witness this miracle." | ||
| Line 470: | Line 470: | ||
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: }} | Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: }} | ||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari| | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3208|darussalam}}|Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mus'ud: | ||
“Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a '''clot of thick blood for a similar period''', and then a piece of flesh for a similar period.”}} | “Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(The matter of the Creation of) a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a '''clot of thick blood for a similar period''', and then a piece of flesh for a similar period.”}} | ||
| Line 481: | Line 481: | ||
While translators mostly use "And" in verse 39, the Arabic particle is ''fa'', as also in the previous conjunction, which indicates sequence (i.e. 'and then').<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2321 ف]</ref> Classical tafsirs share this reading, and the same reading is reflected in a sahih hadith found in both Bukhari and Muslim: | While translators mostly use "And" in verse 39, the Arabic particle is ''fa'', as also in the previous conjunction, which indicates sequence (i.e. 'and then').<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2321 ف]</ref> Classical tafsirs share this reading, and the same reading is reflected in a sahih hadith found in both Bukhari and Muslim: | ||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari| | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|||318|darussalam}}|Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "At every womb Allah appoints an angel who says, 'O Lord! A drop of semen, O Lord! A clot. O Lord! A little lump of flesh." Then if Allah wishes (to complete) its creation, the angel asks, (O Lord!) Will it be a male or female, a wretched or a blessed, and how much will his provision be? And what will his age be?' So all that is written while the child is still in the mother's womb."}} | ||
====Bones formed before flesh==== | ====Bones formed before flesh==== | ||
| Line 650: | Line 650: | ||
Modern geology has discovered that large plates in the crust of the Earth are responsible for the formation of mountains. Called plate tectonics, the slow movement of these massive plates meet and the pressure between them pushes up the crust, forming mountains while also causing earthquakes and faults in the Earth's surface. The formation of mountains and occurance of earthquakes are thus both largely the result of destabilizing tectonic activity. They are part of the same ongoing process and one cannot exist without the other. | Modern geology has discovered that large plates in the crust of the Earth are responsible for the formation of mountains. Called plate tectonics, the slow movement of these massive plates meet and the pressure between them pushes up the crust, forming mountains while also causing earthquakes and faults in the Earth's surface. The formation of mountains and occurance of earthquakes are thus both largely the result of destabilizing tectonic activity. They are part of the same ongoing process and one cannot exist without the other. | ||
The Qur'an, by contrast, holds that mountains are like pegs in the ground. | The Qur'an, by contrast, holds that mountains are like pegs in the ground. Mountain formation can involve a thickening of the continental crust beneath them, which some modern Muslim scholars attempt to compare as peg-like, though mountains form in various other ways too (see main article for details and for many further problems with this claim). | ||
The Qur'an further claims that mountains were created to prevent the Earth from shifting or swaying with its inhabitants. This is most commonly interpreted by modern Islamic scholars as a reference to earthquakes. | |||
However, in early or pre-Islamic poetry mountains are mentioned in terms of stopping the Earth as a whole | However, in early or pre-Islamic poetry mountains are mentioned in terms of stopping the Earth as a whole swaying/convulsing. This seems to support a more straightforward reading of the Quranic verses, backed also by a hadith - that shifting/convulsing (tamīda<ref>تَمِيدَ tamīda [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000274.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2746</ref>) does not refer to earthquakes, which have occured throughout history including in Muhammad's era and whose seismic waves can actually be amplified in certain locations by mountains, but rather to a movement of the entire Earth (see main article for details on all of these points and criticism of a few other interpretations). | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|16|15}}| | ||
| Line 808: | Line 808: | ||
"Wife of 'Imran" is here im'ra-atu ʿim'rāna, literally woman of Imran, though the same construction certainly means "wife" a few verses later ({{Quran|3|40}}), and in several other verses. | "Wife of 'Imran" is here im'ra-atu ʿim'rāna, literally woman of Imran, though the same construction certainly means "wife" a few verses later ({{Quran|3|40}}), and in several other verses. | ||
Some modern academic scholars cite evidence that this could be a case of typology (deliberate literary allusion between characters - see main article). This may be the best explanation, although the verses would still be misleading as historical statements. {{Muslim| | Some modern academic scholars cite evidence that this could be a case of typology (deliberate literary allusion between characters - see main article). This may be the best explanation, although the verses would still be misleading as historical statements. {{Muslim||2135|reference}} seeks to explain the coincidence based on alleged customary forms of address (to explain "sister of Aaron") or naming customs (to explain why Imran named his daughter Mary), depending on interpretation of the hadith. Either interpretation only reduces part of the coincidence. Even if a naming custom could increase the odds that this father-daughter pair would share names with some earlier biblical family, a further coincidence would still be required if her father happened to be named the same as the father (Imran) in the particular biblical family alluded to when his daughter is addressed as "sister of Aaron". Another attempted explanation is that this Imran actually had a son called Aaron as well as a daughter named Mary. | ||
=== | ==='Uzayr as the son of God in Jewish doctrine=== | ||
Historically, Judaism has been a strict form of monotheism. The Quran, by contrast, describes the Jews as | Historically, Judaism has been a strict form of monotheism. The Quran, by contrast, describes the Jews as calling a certain ''ʿUzayr'' as the son of God. This is compared directly with the Christians calling Jesus the son of God. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|30}}|The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah "; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah." That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|30}}|The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah "; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah." That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?}} | ||
ʿUzayr has traditionally been interpreted as the Biblical Ezra. Academic scholarship has tended to concur, noting that Ezra was held in high esteme (though not the "son of god") in Jewish texts such as 1 Enoch, a non-canonical apocalyptic text. | |||
However, more recent work in 2025 found a more likely identification of ʿUzayr as Rabbi Eliezar ben Hurcanus. For details see [[Historical_Errors_in_the_Quran#'Uzayr_as_the_son_of_God_in_Jewish_doctrine|Historical Errors in the Quran]]. To critics, the Quran appears to misunderstand the reverence in which R. Eliezar was held in rabbinic circles since god describes him as "Eliezer, my son" in certain texts, language which is actually common in the Hebrew Bible and is applied to multiple rabbis in the Talmud. | |||
===David invented coats of mail=== | ===David invented coats of mail=== | ||
| Line 826: | Line 830: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|21|79|80}}| And We made Solomon to understand (the case); and unto each of them We gave judgment and knowledge. And we subdued the hills and the birds to hymn (His) praise along with David. We were the doers (thereof). And We taught him the art of making garments (of mail) to protect you in your daring. Are ye then thankful?}} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|21|79|80}}| And We made Solomon to understand (the case); and unto each of them We gave judgment and knowledge. And we subdued the hills and the birds to hymn (His) praise along with David. We were the doers (thereof). And We taught him the art of making garments (of mail) to protect you in your daring. Are ye then thankful?}} | ||
Chainmail seems to have been familiar to the early Muslims. Muhammad is narrated as using a metaphor of two coats of iron (junnataani min hadeedin جُنَّتَانِ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ), one owned by a generous person and the other by a miser in whose coat every ring (halqat حَلْقَةٍ<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000265.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 629 حلقة]</ref>) becomes close together ({{Muslim| | Chainmail seems to have been familiar to the early Muslims. Muhammad is narrated as using a metaphor of two coats of iron (junnataani min hadeedin جُنَّتَانِ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ), one owned by a generous person and the other by a miser in whose coat every ring (halqat حَلْقَةٍ<ref>[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000265.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 629 حلقة]</ref>) becomes close together ({{Muslim||1021c|reference}}). Ibn Kathir [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/34.11 in his tafsir for 34:11] has narrations in which Mujahid and Ibn Abbas use that same arabic word meaning rings (الحلقة) to explain the Quranic verse<ref>[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=34&tAyahNo=11&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir of Ibn Kathir for 34:11 (Arabic)]</ref>. | ||
===Crucifixions in ancient Egypt=== | ===Crucifixions in ancient Egypt=== | ||
| Line 882: | Line 886: | ||
Al-Hijr is also identified in hadiths as the "al Hijr, land of Thamud" (al hijr ardi Thamudi الْحِجْرِ أَرْضِ ثَمُودَ): | Al-Hijr is also identified in hadiths as the "al Hijr, land of Thamud" (al hijr ardi Thamudi الْحِجْرِ أَرْضِ ثَمُودَ): | ||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari| | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3379|darussalam}}|Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar: | ||
The people landed at the land of Thamud called Al-Hijr along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and they took water from its well for drinking and kneading the dough with it as well. (When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) heard about it) he ordered them to pour out the water they had taken from its wells and feed the camels with the dough, and ordered them to take water from the well whence the she-camel (of Prophet Salih) used to drink.}} | The people landed at the land of Thamud called Al-Hijr along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and they took water from its well for drinking and kneading the dough with it as well. (When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) heard about it) he ordered them to pour out the water they had taken from its wells and feed the camels with the dough, and ordered them to take water from the well whence the she-camel (of Prophet Salih) used to drink.}} | ||
| Line 940: | Line 944: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|29|28|29}}|And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds. Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil." And the answer of his people was not but they said, "Bring us the punishment of Allah, if you should be of the truthful."}} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|29|28|29}}|And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds. Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil." And the answer of his people was not but they said, "Bring us the punishment of Allah, if you should be of the truthful."}} | ||
===The | ===The witness of a woman is worth half that of a man=== | ||
''Main Articles: [[Islam and Women|Islam and Women - WikiIslam]] and [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Women]]'' | ''Main Articles: [[Islam and Women|Islam and Women - WikiIslam]] and [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Women]]'' | ||
There is no proof that women lie more than men, | There is no proof that women lie more than men. In fact, to the contrary there is research showing that while dishonesty or intelligence is not caused by the sex of a person, certain studies suggest that men tend to lie more on average as a group than women.<ref>''[https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.820923 Frontiers | Face-to-Face Lying: Gender and Motivation to Deceive (frontiersin.org)]''. Pekka Santtila. Judee K Burgoon. Norah E. Dunbar. 2022. Front. Psychol., 22 March 2022 Sec. Forensic and Legal Psychology Volume 13 - 2022 | <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.820923</nowiki> | ||
This research article written and reviewed by three university professors covers previous academic studies on this topic, they quote e.g. a meta-analysis on honesty where men were 4% more dishonest than women (Gerlach et al., 2019), and see the General Discussion section for an overview of their findings (confirming men lie more on average) on this topic and it's nuances. </ref> Men also commit crime in much higher rates than women across the world,<ref>''[https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/legal-and-political-magazines/gender-and-crime Gender and Crime | Encyclopedia.com].'' Gender and Crime. Law. Legal and political magazines. | This research article written and reviewed by three university professors covers previous academic studies on this topic, they quote e.g. a meta-analysis on honesty where men were 4% more dishonest than women (Gerlach et al., 2019), and see the General Discussion section for an overview of their findings (confirming men lie more on average) on this topic and it's nuances. </ref> Men also commit crime in much higher rates than women across the world,<ref>''[https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/legal-and-political-magazines/gender-and-crime Gender and Crime | Encyclopedia.com].'' Gender and Crime. Law. Legal and political magazines. | ||
| Line 954: | Line 958: | ||
Women consistently beat men on average in grades at school: [https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/09/why-girls-get-better-grades-than-boys-do/380318/ ''Why Girls Tend to Get Better Grades Than Boys Do''] - The Atlantic. Education. Enrico Gnaulati. 2014 | Women consistently beat men on average in grades at school: [https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/09/why-girls-get-better-grades-than-boys-do/380318/ ''Why Girls Tend to Get Better Grades Than Boys Do''] - The Atlantic. Education. Enrico Gnaulati. 2014 | ||
</ref> | </ref> The Quran, however, rules that two women are needed to substitute for a man when witnessing financial contracts (a hadith, {{Bukhari|||304|darussalam}}, explains this as a deficiency in the intelligence of women). | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|282}}|O you who have faith! When you contract a loan for a specified term, write it down. Let a writer write with honesty between you, and let not the writer refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write, and let the one who incurs the debt dictate, and let him be wary of Allah, his Lord, and not diminish anything from it. But if the debtor be feeble-minded, or weak, or incapable of dictating himself, then let his guardian dictate with honesty,<b> and take as witness two witnesses from your men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women—from those whom you approve as witnesses—so that if one of the two defaults the other will remind her.</b> The witnesses must not refuse when they are called, and do not consider it wearisome to write it down, whether it be a big or small sum, [as a loan lent] until its term. That is more just with Allah and more upright in respect to testimony, and the likeliest way to avoid doubt, unless it is an on-the-spot deal you transact between yourselves, in which case there is no sin upon you not to write it. Take witnesses when you make a deal, and let no harm be done to the writer or witness, and if you did that, it would be sinful of you. Be wary of Allah and Allah will teach you, and Allah has knowledge of all things.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|282}}|O you who have faith! When you contract a loan for a specified term, write it down. Let a writer write with honesty between you, and let not the writer refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write, and let the one who incurs the debt dictate, and let him be wary of Allah, his Lord, and not diminish anything from it. But if the debtor be feeble-minded, or weak, or incapable of dictating himself, then let his guardian dictate with honesty,<b> and take as witness two witnesses from your men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women—from those whom you approve as witnesses—so that if one of the two defaults the other will remind her.</b> The witnesses must not refuse when they are called, and do not consider it wearisome to write it down, whether it be a big or small sum, [as a loan lent] until its term. That is more just with Allah and more upright in respect to testimony, and the likeliest way to avoid doubt, unless it is an on-the-spot deal you transact between yourselves, in which case there is no sin upon you not to write it. Take witnesses when you make a deal, and let no harm be done to the writer or witness, and if you did that, it would be sinful of you. Be wary of Allah and Allah will teach you, and Allah has knowledge of all things.}} | ||
Apologists typically argue that the scope of the rule is limited and contextualise it to the needs of women in 7th century Arabia, or argue that this is a command from God, and so human ideas of logic or fairness may not apply, making it not an 'error'. Critics contend that the verse reveals a misogynistic view of women, evidence of its human authorship from a highly patriarchal society of 7th century Arabia, rather than an all-knowing and just God. | |||
==Miracles and myths== | ==Miracles and myths== | ||