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Contradictions in the Quran: Difference between revisions
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{{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=3|Content=3|Language=2|References=3}}A recurring [[:Category:Criticism of Islam|criticism]] of the [[Qur'an|Quran]] is that it, as is argued of many other religious scriptures, contains '''contradictory pronouncements'''. The occurrence of these contradictions, critics argue, is particularly problematic in the case of the Quran because the Islamic tradition holds it to be the the direct, unmediated word of [[Allah]], or God. As such, theologians hold it to be timeless, infallible, and preeminently true - so true, in fact, that in reading it one is said to witness a miracle first hand. The contradictions proposed by critics militate against this doctrine. The critics hold that at least some of these contradictions are irresolvable through any reasonable interpretation and that, to resolve them, exegetes must resort to incredible interpretations. While some of the proposed contradictions, critics admit, may be resolved through the doctrine of [[Naskh (Abrogation)|abrogation]], whereby Allah is said to override his previous instructions (through, for instance, permitting [[alcohol]] at one point and prohibiting at another), many other contradictions are not resolvable in this manner. Indeed, the Islamic tradition holds that the doctrine of abrogation is only applicable in cases of law and not theology - what Allah says at any point with regards to the divine, the hereafter, history, the day of judgement, or other such non-legal matters, must (and, the tradition holds, does) always hold true. Critics, however, have stated that many, including some of the most problematic, of the proposed contradictions are precisely of the theological, and not legal, variety. | {{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=3|Content=3|Language=2|References=3}}A recurring [[:Category:Criticism of Islam|criticism]] of the [[Qur'an|Quran]] is that it, as is argued of many other religious scriptures, contains '''contradictory pronouncements'''. The occurrence of these contradictions, critics argue, is particularly problematic in the case of the Quran because the Islamic tradition holds it to be the the direct, unmediated word of [[Allah]], or God. Indeed, {{Quran|4|82}} makes the confident assertion: "Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction." As such, theologians hold it to be timeless, infallible, and preeminently true - so true, in fact, that in reading it one is said to witness a miracle first hand. The contradictions proposed by critics militate against this doctrine. The critics hold that at least some of these contradictions are irresolvable through any reasonable interpretation and that, to resolve them, exegetes must resort to incredible interpretations. While some of the proposed contradictions, critics admit, may be resolved through the doctrine of [[Naskh (Abrogation)|abrogation]], whereby Allah is said to override his previous instructions (through, for instance, permitting [[alcohol]] at one point and prohibiting at another), many other contradictions are not resolvable in this manner. Indeed, the Islamic tradition holds that the doctrine of abrogation is only applicable in cases of law and not theology - what Allah says at any point with regards to the divine, the hereafter, history, the day of judgement, or other such non-legal matters, must (and, the tradition holds, does) always hold true. Critics, however, have stated that many, including some of the most problematic, of the proposed contradictions are precisely of the theological, and not legal, variety. | ||
A similar discussion exists between critics and Islamic scholars surrounding supposed [[Contradictions in the Hadith|contradictions contained in the hadiths]]. | A similar discussion exists between critics and Islamic scholars surrounding supposed [[Contradictions in the Hadith|contradictions contained in the hadiths]]. | ||
==Parallel narrative passages== | |||
Many stories in the Quran are repeated in other surahs. This risks ample opportunity for a human author or editor to unwittingly introduce contradictions between the parallel narratives. Indeed this is the case. Most of the examples in this section are from the following article where they are discussed in more depth, with further insights and examples.<BR /> | |||
[https://quranvariants.wordpress.com/narrative-contradictions-in-the-quran/ Narrative Contradictions in the Quran] [https://quranvariants.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/narrative-contradictions-quran-8.pdf (Direct pdf download link)] | |||
===Abraham and the idols=== | |||
{{Quran-range|37|87|97}} contains a simpler version of the story in which Abraham smashes the idols in {{Quran-range|21|57|68}}. The two versions conflict in terms of where the events take place. In surah 37, everything takes place at the location of the idols. After some dialogue, we see in verse 90 “Then they turned away from him, departing” (fatawallaw ʿanhu mud'birīna); Abraham then smashes the idols; and “Then they came toward him, hastening” (fa-aqbalū ilayhi yaziffūna). Lane's Lexicon entry for the conjunction fa used at the start of 37:94 explains that in such usage as we see here, fa conveys proximate and uninterrupted succession.<ref>fa - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon pp. 2321-2323]</ref> | |||
In contrast, the longer surah 21 version has the people return to find the smashed idols but Abraham is no longer present there. They send a party to bring him, and then back amidst the idols he shows them the folly of their ways. So in that version it is Abraham who comes to them. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|21|57|68}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|37|87|97}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|21:57 And [I swear] by Allah, I will surely plan against your idols after you have turned and gone away."<BR /> | |||
21:58 So he made them into fragments, except a large one among them, that they might return to it [and question].<BR /> | |||
21:59 They said, "Who has done this to our gods? Indeed, he is of the wrongdoers."<BR /> | |||
21:60 They said, "We heard a young man mention them who is called Abraham."<BR /> | |||
21:61 '''They said, "Then bring him before the eyes of the people that they may testify."'''<BR /> | |||
21:62 They said, "Have you done this to our gods, O Abraham?"<BR /> | |||
21:63 He said, "Rather, this - the largest of them - did it, so ask them, if they should [be able to] speak."<BR /> | |||
21:64 So they returned to [blaming] themselves and said [to each other], "Indeed, you are the wrongdoers."<BR /> | |||
21:65 Then they reversed themselves, [saying], "You have already known that these do not speak!"<BR /> | |||
21:66 He said, "Then do you worship instead of Allah that which does not benefit you at all or harm you?<BR /> | |||
21:67 Uff to you and to what you worship instead of Allah. Then will you not use reason?"<BR /> | |||
21:68 They said, "Burn him and support your gods - if you are to act." | |||
|37:87 Then what is your thought about the Lord of the worlds?"<BR /> | |||
37:88 And he cast a look at the stars<BR /> | |||
37:89 And said, "Indeed, I am [about to be] ill."<BR /> | |||
37:90 '''So they turned away from him, departing.'''<BR /> | |||
37:91 Then he turned to their gods and said, "Do you not eat?<BR /> | |||
37:92 What is [wrong] with you that you do not speak?"<BR /> | |||
37:93 And he turned upon them a blow with [his] right hand.<BR /> | |||
37:94 '''Then the people came toward him, hastening.'''<BR /> | |||
37:95 He said, "Do you worship that which you [yourselves] carve,<BR /> | |||
37:96 While Allah created you and that which you do?"<BR /> | |||
37:97 They said, "Construct for him a furnace and throw him into the burning fire." | |||
|} | |||
===Abraham and the Angels=== | |||
The parallel Guests of Abraham stories in the Quran have been analysed in depth in a paper by Joseph Witztum in order to determine the relative chronology of the parallel passages.<ref>Joseph Witztum. “Thrice upon a Time: Abraham’s Guests and the Study of Intra-Quranic Parallels”. In Holger Zellentin (ed.), The Quran’s Reformation of Judaism and Christianity: Return to the Origins. London: Routledge, 2019, pp. 277–302.</ref> Four contradictions between them are particularly notable here. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|11|69|79}} (see also {{Quran-range|29|31|32}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|15|51|60}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|24|31|34}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|11:69 And certainly did Our messengers come to Abraham with good tidings; they said, "Peace." He said, "Peace," and did not delay in bringing [them] a roasted calf.<BR /> | |||
11:70 '''But when he saw their hands not reaching for it, he distrusted them and felt from them apprehension. They said, "Fear not. We have been sent to the people of Lot."''' | |||
|15:51 And inform them about the guests of Abraham,<BR /> | |||
15:52 When they entered upon him and said, "Peace." [Abraham] said, "Indeed, we are fearful of you."<BR /> | |||
15:53 '''[The angels] said, "Fear not. Indeed, we give you good tidings of a learned boy."''' | |||
|51:24 Has there reached you the story of the honored guests of Abraham? -<BR /> | |||
51:25 When they entered upon him and said, "[We greet you with] peace." He answered, "[And upon you] peace, [you are] a people unknown.<BR /> | |||
51:26 Then he went to his family and came with a fat [roasted] calf<BR /> | |||
51:27 And placed it near them; he said, "Will you not eat?"<BR /> | |||
51:28 '''And he felt from them apprehension. They said, "Fear not," and gave him good tidings of a learned boy.''' | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|11:71 '''And his Wife was standing, and she smiled. Then We gave her good tidings of Isaac and after Isaac, Jacob.'''<BR /> | |||
11:72 '''She said, "Woe to me! Shall I give birth while I am an old woman and this, my husband, is an old man? Indeed, this is an amazing thing!"'''<BR /> | |||
11:73 They said, "Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? May the mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house. Indeed, He is Praiseworthy and Honorable." | |||
|15:54 He said, "Have you given me good tidings although old age has come upon me? Then of what [wonder] do you inform?"<BR /> | |||
15:55 They said, "We have given you good tidings in truth, so do not be of the despairing."<BR /> | |||
15:56 He said, "And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?" | |||
|51:29 '''And his wife approached with a cry [of alarm] and struck her face and said, "[I am] a barren old woman!"'''<BR /> | |||
51:30 They said, "Thus has said your Lord; indeed, He is the Wise, the Knowing." | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|11:74 '''And when the fright had left Abraham and the good tidings had reached him, he began to argue with Us concerning the people of Lot.''''<BR /> | |||
11:75 Indeed, Abraham was forbearing, grieving and [frequently] returning [to Allah].<BR /> | |||
11:76 [The angels said], "O Abraham, give up this [plea]. Indeed, the command of your Lord has come, and indeed, there will reach them a punishment that cannot be repelled." | |||
|15:57 '''[Abraham] said, "Then what is your business [here], O messengers?"'''<BR /> | |||
15:58 '''They said, "Indeed, we have been sent to a people of criminals,'''<BR /> | |||
15:59 Except the family of Lot; indeed, we will save them all<BR /> | |||
15:60 Except his wife." Allah decreed that she is of those who remain behind. | |||
|51:31 '''[Abraham] said, "Then what is your business [here], O messengers?"'''<BR /> | |||
51:32 '''They said, "Indeed, we have been sent to a people of criminals'''<BR /> | |||
51:33 To send down upon them stones of clay,<BR /> | |||
51:34 Marked in the presence of your Lord for the transgressors." | |||
|} | |||
Various contradictions are apparent in these parallels (the first 3 discussed by Witztum in his paper). | |||
1) Abraham's wife receives the good tidings either directly (Surah 11) or indirectly having overhead the tidings given to Abraham (Surah 51). Her immediate reaction is the same in both versions. | |||
2) In 51:28 (and 15:53) Abraham is only given tidings of a learned boy (singular), which his wife overhears, whereas in 11:71 his wife is given tidings both of Isaac and of Jacob. Again, it is notable that her same immediate reaction is given in 11:72 and 51:29, so these are portraying the same moment. | |||
3) In Surah 11 and Surah 51 Abraham's fear comes after the angels do not take the food and it is at that point that they reassure him of their mission (either to the people of Lot or to bring him the good tidings). In surah 15 however, Abraham expresses his fear as they arrive exchanging greetings of peace. | |||
4) In 11:70 the angels calm Abraham's fear by telling him that they have been sent to the people of Lot. Later, in verse 74, he argues with them on behalf of the people of Lot (qawmi lūṭin, again) perhaps having already understood their intention earlier. In surahs 15 and 51 they instead respond to Abraham's fear with the good tidings and it is only later in 15:57 and 51:31 that he seems to learn of their next mission when he asks “Then what” (famā) is their next business. | |||
===Lot and the angels=== | |||
After the business with Abraham and his wife, the angels visit Lot and his family to save them from the destruction coming to the people there. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|15|61|74}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|11|77|83}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|15:61 And when the messengers came to the family of Lot,<BR /> | |||
15:62 He said, "Indeed, you are people unknown."<BR /> | |||
15:63 They said, "But we have come to you with that about which they were disputing,<BR /> | |||
15:64 And we have come to you with truth, and indeed, we are truthful.<BR /> | |||
15:65 '''So set out with your family during a portion of the night and follow behind them and let not anyone among you look back and continue on to where you are commanded."'''<BR /> | |||
15:66 And We conveyed to him [the decree] of that matter: that those [sinners] would be eliminated by early morning.<BR /> | |||
15:67 '''And the people of the city came rejoicing.'''<BR /> | |||
15:68 '''[Lot] said, "Indeed, these are my guests, so do not shame me.'''<BR /> | |||
15:69 '''And fear Allah and do not disgrace me."'''<BR /> | |||
15:70 They said, "Have we not forbidden you from [protecting] people?"<BR /> | |||
15:71 '''[Lot] said, "These are my daughters - if you would be doers [of lawful marriage]."'''<BR /> | |||
15:72 By your life, [O Muhammad], indeed they were, in their intoxication, wandering blindly.<BR /> | |||
15:73 So the shriek seized them at sunrise.<BR /> | |||
15:74 And We made the highest part [of the city] its lowest and rained upon them stones of hard clay. | |||
|11:77 And when Our messengers, [the angels], came to Lot, he was anguished for them and felt for them great discomfort and said, "This is a trying day."<BR /> | |||
11:78 '''And his people came hastening to him, and before [this] they had been doing evil deeds. He said, "O my people, these are my daughters; they are purer for you. So fear Allah and do not disgrace me concerning my guests. Is there not among you a man of reason?"'''<BR /> | |||
11:79 They said, "You have already known that we have not concerning your daughters any claim, and indeed, you know what we want."<BR /> | |||
11:80 He said, "If only I had against you some power or could take refuge in a strong support."<BR /> | |||
11:81 '''The angels said, "O Lot, indeed we are messengers of your Lord; [therefore], they will never reach you. So set out with your family during a portion of the night and let not any among you look back - except your wife; indeed, she will be struck by that which strikes them. Indeed, their appointment is [for] the morning. Is not the morning near?"'''<BR /> | |||
11:82 So when Our command came, We made the highest part [of the city] its lowest and rained upon them stones of layered hard clay, [which were]<BR /> | |||
11:83 Marked from your Lord. And Allah 's punishment is not from the wrongdoers [very] far. | |||
|} | |||
Three contradictions are evident in these parallel passages. | |||
1) In surah 15, the angels tell Lot when they first arrive that they are there to save him and his family from the punishment to come. A mob arrives trying to take the visitors and Lot attempts to placate them by offering his daughters. In Q. 11, the sequence of events is very expressly the other way around, with the mob events occurring first, which leads to the angels explaining how they will save them. Although 15:66 starts with the "And" conjunction (like some of the previous verses), the suspicion of contradiction in Q. 15 is well justified from the textual sequence of the elements (this is, after all, a narrative), and from what naturally reads like the angels explaining themselves upon their arrival in the first few verses. This is even apparent from the way Lot addresses them as "people unknown" (qawmun munkarūna) in 15:62, mirroring the way Abraham addressed them when he greeted them in 51:25 (see above). | |||
2) Another contradiction concerns the context in which they tell Lot of their mission to save him and his family. In 15:61-66, the angels reveal this in response to him addressing them as people unknown / strange when they first come to him, alluding in verse 63 to Lot's pleadings to the people in other passages. In surah 11, instead they reveal this to ease the fear he expresses about the mob. | |||
3) Finally, the accounts conflict in sequencing the elements of Lot's appeal to the mob. In 11:78 he says “these are my daughters” then asks them to “fear Allah and do not disgrace me”. In 15:68-71 instead he asks them to “fear Allah and do not disgrace me”, the mob responds, and then comes the “These are my daughters” element. | |||
===Moses meets Allah at the fire=== | |||
In this example, three accounts of Moses talking with Allah at the fire bear only a passing resemblance to one another. It is worth noting that {{Quran|4|164}} says regarding the nature of the interaction “And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech". Al-Razi notes in his commentary for 20:12 that the Mu’tazilites, Al-Ash’ari and al-Maturidi had different theological views on whether the words of Allah came from via the bush itself, and whether they were audible. | |||
All three versions have “O Moses, Indeed, I am Allah” as a common element in the Arabic. However, there is otherwise little attempt at consistency in the variant stories. In surah 27, Allah is introduced as “Lord of the worlds” in the 3rd person and introduces himself with the common element along with another title. In surah 28 we see the opposite sequence with the “Lord of the Worlds” title used in the 1st person after the common introduction. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|20|10|16}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|27|7|9}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|28|29|30}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|20:10 When he saw a fire and said to his family, "Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch or find at the fire some guidance." | |||
|27:7 [Mention] when Moses said to his family, "Indeed, I have perceived a fire. I will bring you from there information or will bring you a burning torch that you may warm yourselves." | |||
|28:29 And when Moses had completed the term and was traveling with his family, he perceived from the direction of the mount a fire. He said to his family, "Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire. Perhaps I will bring you from there [some] information or burning wood from the fire that you may warm yourselves." | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|20:11 And when he came to it, he was called, "O Moses,<BR /> | |||
20:12 ''Indeed, I am your Lord''', so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa.<BR /> | |||
20:13 And I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed [to you].<BR /> | |||
20:14 '''Indeed, I am Allah.''' There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.<BR /> | |||
20:15 Indeed, the Hour is coming - I almost conceal it - so that every soul may be recompensed according to that for which it strives.<BR /> | |||
20:16 So do not let one avert you from it who does not believe in it and follows his desire, for you [then] would perish. | |||
|27:8 But when he came to it, he was called, "Blessed is whoever is at the fire and whoever is around it. '''And exalted is Allah, Lord of the worlds.'''<BR /> | |||
27:9 '''O Moses, indeed it is I - Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise."''' | |||
|28:30 But when he came to it, he was called from the right side of the valley in a blessed spot - from the tree, '''"O Moses, indeed I am Allah, Lord of the worlds."''' | |||
|} | |||
===Moses expresses his fears and asks Allah about Aaron=== | |||
In this sequence contradiction, Allah has revealed himself at the fire to Moses, who expresses his worries and makes a request. In the surah 26 version, Moses expresses his fear that the people of Pharaoh will deny him; he requests that he be assisted by his brother, Aaron; and finally, Moses mentions that the Egyptians want revenge for someone he had killed. However, in the surah 28 version, these three elements occur in the reverse order. | |||
Regardless of differences that could be simply put down to the vagaries of translation from ancient languages or alternative paraphrases and shortening for brevity, the information content and sequencing is more fundamental and susceptible to contradiction, particularly when the Quran claims that such and such was said by a person on a particular occasion. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|26|10|17}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|28|33|35}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|26:10 And [mention] when your Lord called Moses, [saying], "Go to the wrongdoing people -<BR /> | |||
26:11 The people of Pharaoh. Will they not fear Allah?"<BR /> | |||
26:12 '''He said, "My Lord, indeed I fear that they will deny me'''<BR /> | |||
26:13 '''And that my breast will tighten and my tongue will not be fluent, so send for Aaron.'''<BR /> | |||
26:14 '''And they have upon me a [claim due to] sin, so I fear that they will kill me."'''<BR /> | |||
26:15 [Allah] said, "No. Go both of you with Our signs; indeed, We are with you, listening.<BR /> | |||
26:16 Go to Pharaoh and say, 'We are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds,<BR /> | |||
26:17 [Commanded to say], "Send with us the Children of Israel."'" | |||
|28:33 '''He said, "My Lord, indeed, I killed from among them someone, and I fear they will kill me.'''<BR /> | |||
28:34 '''And my brother Aaron is more fluent than me in tongue, so send him with me as support, verifying me. Indeed, I fear that they will deny me."'''<BR /> | |||
28:35 [Allah] said, "We will strengthen your arm through your brother and grant you both supremacy so they will not reach you. [It will be] through Our signs; you and those who follow you will be the predominant." | |||
|} | |||
===How should Moses describe Allah to Pharaoh?=== | |||
{{Quran-range|20|47|49}} narrates Allah's instructions to Moses at the fire and his first encounter with Pharaoh, ending with a display of miracles and Pharaoh's subsequent scheming. In this passage, Allah tells Moses to say that he and Aaron are "messengers of your Lord" and the account of their first encounter begins with Pharaoh asking, "So who is the Lord of you two, O Moses?". However, in {{Quran-range|26|16|23}} Allah instructs them to use a different title, "Lord of the worlds", which Pharaoh then enquires upon at the start of the narration of their first encounter, again before the display of miracles and Pharaoh's subsequent scheming. Similarly, {{Quran|7|104}} narrates "And Moses said, "O Pharaoh, I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds" on their first encounter. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|20|47|49}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|26|16|23}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|20:47 <span style="color:#0000FF"> So go to him and say, 'Indeed, we are messengers of your</span> '''Lord''', <span style="color:#0000FF">so send with us the Children of Israel</span> and do not torment them. We have come to you with a sign from your Lord. And peace will be upon he who follows the guidance. | |||
20:48 Indeed, it has been revealed to us that the punishment will be upon whoever denies and turns away.' "<BR /> | |||
20:49 [Pharaoh] said, "So who is the '''Lord''' of you two, O Moses?" | |||
|26:16 <span style="color:#0000FF"> Go to Pharaoh and say, 'We are the messengers of the</span> '''Lord of the worlds''',<BR /> | |||
26:17 <span style="color:#0000FF"> [Commanded to say], "Send with us the Children of Israel.</span>"'"<BR /> | |||
...<BR /> | |||
26:23 Said Pharaoh, "And what is the '''Lord of the worlds?'''" | |||
|} | |||
===Pharaoh and his Chiefs=== | |||
Coming after Moses has impressed Pharaoh with the miracles of the serpent and white hand, both surah 7 and 26 immediately then describe a discussion between Pharaoh and his chiefs. In surah 7, Pharaoh asks his council what do they instruct/advise (famādhā tamurūna?), but in surah 26, the same question is transferred from his mouth to the council, apparently asking themselves (in both versions the addressee of the question is plural, and the addressee of the answer is singular i.e. Pharaoh). | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|7|109|112}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|26|34|35}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|7:109 '''Said the eminent among the people of Pharaoh''', "Indeed, this is a learned magician<BR /> | |||
7:110 Who wants to expel you from your land [through magic], so what do you instruct?<BR /> | |||
7:111 They said, "Postpone [the matter of] him and his brother and send among the cities gatherers<BR /> | |||
7:112 Who will bring you every learned magician." | |||
|26:34 '''[Pharaoh] said to the eminent ones around him''', "Indeed, this is a learned magician<BR /> | |||
26:35 He wants to drive you out of your land by his magic, so what do you advise?<BR /> | |||
26:36 They said, "Postpone [the matter of] him and his brother and send among the cities gatherers<BR /> | |||
26:37 Who will bring you every learned, skilled magician." | |||
|} | |||
The whole dialogue is identical in Arabic, except for the addition of "by his magic" (bisiḥ'rihi) in verse 26:35 and "send" (ib'ʿath) instead of its synonym (arsil) in 26:36. | |||
This contradiction (and the awkwardness of the surah 7 version) has attracted the attention of numerous academic scholars. Joseph Witztum notes that Muslim exegetes proposed that both Pharaoh and his chiefs asked the same question in the same way despite it being portrayed at the same place in the same dialogue in both versions. Judging the attempted harmonization attempt to be "far from compelling", instead he observes that the mala (chiefs) are a theme of surah 7, mentioned eight times (three of which are in an Egyptian context) and speaking in all but one of them. That compares with this one time in surah 26.<ref>Witztum, J. (2021) [https://www.lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/jaos/article/view/795/634 Pharaoh and His Council: Great Minds Think Alike] Journal of the American Oriental Society, 139(4), 945–952. https://doi.org/10.7817/jameroriesoci.139.4.0945</ref> It is then easy to see how dialogue could accidentally be transferred into their mouths at some point during composition, editing or transmission. Indeed, it is not uncommon for small details to be merged, transferred or substituted between repeated narratives.<ref>Another example of transferred dialogue relates to the one of the previous contradiction examples. In the quotes in the earlier section we see that Moses mentions to Allah that he killed a man in surahs 26:10-17 and 28:33-35. However, another version in {{Quran-range|20|24|47}} lacks this element in the words of Moses and instead it is Allah who mentions in verse 40 "And you killed someone, but We saved you from retaliation and tried you with a [severe] trial."</ref> | |||
===Who believed in Moses?=== | |||
Some days later, Moses defeats the magicians at the arranged contest by performing the snake miracle again. Three surahs narrate that the magicians then professed their belief in Moses, even defying threats made towards them from Pharaoh. However, surah 10 narrates the same occasion but only mentions the tricks by the magicians without a miracle from Moses. It says that then none believed Moses except for youths/offspring from his people. | |||
There was some discussion by exegetes as to whether “his people” in 10:83 refers to the people of Moses or (awkwardly as al-Tabari notes, since he is only named subsequently) the people of Pharaoh. Regardless, it contradicts the other surahs in which the magicians now believed in him. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|26|38|51}} (see also {{Quran-range|7|113|129}} and {{Quran-range|20|60|76}}) | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|7|161|162}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|26:38 So the magicians were assembled for the appointment of a well-known day.<BR /> | |||
26:39 And it was said to the people, "Will you congregate<BR /> | |||
26:40 That we might follow the magicians if they are the predominant?"<BR /> | |||
26:41 And when the magicians arrived, they said to Pharaoh, "Is there indeed for us a reward if we are the predominant?"<BR /> | |||
26:42 He said, "Yes, and indeed, you will then be of those near [to me]."<BR /> | |||
26:43 Moses said to them, "Throw whatever you will throw."<BR /> | |||
26:44 So they threw their ropes and their staffs and said, "By the might of Pharaoh, indeed it is we who are predominant."<BR /> | |||
26:45 Then Moses threw his staff, and at once it devoured what they falsified.<BR /> | |||
26:46 So the magicians fell down in prostration [to Allah].<BR /> | |||
26:47 '''They said, "We have believed in the Lord of the worlds,'''<BR /> | |||
26:48 '''The Lord of Moses and Aaron."'''<BR /> | |||
26:49 [Pharaoh] said, "You believed Moses before I gave you permission. Indeed, he is your leader who has taught you magic, but you are going to know. I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will surely crucify you all."<BR /> | |||
26:50 They said, "No harm. Indeed, to our Lord we will return.<BR /> | |||
26:51 Indeed, we aspire that our Lord will forgive us our sins because '''we were the first of the believers."''' | |||
|10:80 So when the magicians came, Moses said to them, "Throw down whatever you will throw."<BR /> | |||
10:81 And when they had thrown, Moses said, "What you have brought is [only] magic. Indeed, Allah will expose its worthlessness. Indeed, Allah does not amend the work of corrupters.<BR /> | |||
10:82 And Allah will establish the truth by His words, even if the criminals dislike it."<BR /> | |||
10:83 '''But no one believed Moses, except [some] youths among his people''', for fear of Pharaoh and his establishment that they would persecute them. And indeed, Pharaoh was haughty within the land, and indeed, he was of the transgressors<BR /> | |||
10:84 And Moses said, "O my people, if you have believed in Allah, then rely upon Him, if you should be Muslims."<BR /> | |||
10:85 So they said, "Upon Allah do we rely. Our Lord, make us not [objects of] trial for the wrongdoing people<BR /> | |||
10:86 And save us by Your mercy from the disbelieving people." | |||
|} | |||
===Were Pharaoh's army covered by or thrown into the sea?=== | |||
In the verses shown on the left column, particularly 10:90, we are told that the Egyptians pursued the Israelites across the sea “until when” (ḥattā idhā) they were drowned. They had pursued them across a "dry path through the sea" (20:77), “Then” (fa - see Lexicon note above) the sea covered them (20:78) which had towered on each side (26:63). | |||
However, verses 28:40 and 51:40 on the right column state instead that Allah took (akhadhnāhu) Pharaoh and his army then threw them (fanabadhnāhum) into the sea (fī l-yami). | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran|10|90}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran|28|40}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|And We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and '''Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them in tyranny and enmity until, when drowning overtook him''', he said, "I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims." | |||
|So We took him and his soldiers and threw them into the sea. So see how was the end of the wrongdoers. | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|20|77|78}}<BR /> | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran|51|40}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|20:77 And We had inspired to Moses, "Travel by night with My servants and strike for them a dry path through the sea; you will not fear being overtaken [by Pharaoh] nor be afraid [of drowning]." | |||
20:78 '''So Pharaoh pursued them with his soldiers, and there covered them from the sea that which covered them,''' | |||
|So We took him and his soldiers and cast them into the sea, and he was blameworthy. | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="40%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|26|63|66}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|26:63-66 | |||
26:63 Then We inspired to Moses, "Strike with your staff the sea," and it parted, and '''each portion was like a great towering mountain.'''<BR /> | |||
26:64 And We advanced thereto the pursuers.<BR /> | |||
26:65 And We saved Moses and those with him, all together.<BR /> | |||
26:66 Then We drowned the others. | |||
|} | |||
This contradiction has a parallel in the Biblical book of Exodus, which is discussed in detail by Pamela Barmash.<ref>Pamela Barmash. 2017. Through the Kaleidoscope of Literary Imagery in Exodus 15: Poetics and Historiography in Service to Religious Exuberance. Hebrew Studies Vol. 58 (2017) pp. 145-172<BR /> | |||
PDF downloadable at [https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:25907/]</ref> Exodus 14:23-28 contains a prose narrative of the episode, considered by academic scholars to be composed of a number of sometimes contradictory sources. The Egyptians follow the Israelites into the midst of the sea. God “shakes off” (naar) the Egyptians in the midst of the sea as they flee the returning waters. Then it says the returning waters cover their chariots, horsemen and all the forces of Pharaoh. The next chapter, Exodus 15, contains the poetic “Song of the Sea”, in which the piled up waters return and cover the Egyptians in verses 8-10, but elsewhere employs a repeated refrain that God has hurled them into the sea as well as other poetic imagery of shattering them with his fist and of burning them like straw. These images combine to give a metaphor of God as a warrior. Barmash observes that “A historical account is replaced by poetic articulation of religious exuberance”. | |||
===Moses berates Aaron about the golden calf=== | |||
After the golden calf incident, Moses grabs Aaron, who makes two very different pleadings in surahs 7 and 20. It is possible with some awkwardness to harmonise that he gave the two different excuses, one after the other, though it is further worth noting that in both accounts Aaron's protest begins with the common address “O son of my mother” as Moses grabs him. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran|7|150}}<BR /> | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|20|90|95}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|And when Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, "How wretched is that by which you have replaced me after [my departure]. Were you impatient over the matter of your Lord?" And he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by [the hair of] his head, pulling him toward him. [Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, indeed the people oppressed me and were about to kill me, so let not the enemies rejoice over me and do not place me among the wrongdoing people." | |||
|20:90 And Aaron had already told them before [the return of Moses], "O my people, you are only being tested by it, and indeed, your Lord is the Most Merciful, so follow me and obey my order."<BR /> | |||
20:91 They said, "We will never cease being devoted to the calf until Moses returns to us."<BR /> | |||
20:92 [Moses] said, "O Aaron, what prevented you, when you saw them going astray,<BR /> | |||
20:93 From following me? Then have you disobeyed my order?"<BR /> | |||
20:94 [Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, do not seize [me] by my beard or by my head. Indeed, I feared that you would say, 'You caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not observe [or await] my word.' "<BR /> | |||
20:95 [Moses] said, "And what is your case, O Samiri?" | |||
|} | |||
===Command to the children of Israel upon reaching a town=== | |||
In very similar passages in which Muhammad is asked to mention an episode occurring some time after the exodus from Egypt, parallel verses invert the order in which Allah quotes himself telling the children of Israel to enter a city gate bowing humbly and request relief of their burdens. Ironically, the next verse in each case complains about Allah's words being changed. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|2|58|59}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran-range|7|161|162}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|2:58 And [recall] when We said, "Enter this city and eat from it wherever you will in [ease and] abundance, and <span style="color:#0000FF">enter the gate bowing humbly</span> and say, <span style="color:#008000">'Relieve us of our burdens.'</span> We will [then] forgive your sins for you, and We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward]."<BR /> | |||
2:59 But those who wronged changed [those words] to a statement other than that which had been said to them, so We sent down upon those who wronged a punishment from the sky because they were defiantly disobeying. | |||
|7:161 And [mention, O Muhammad], when it was said to them, "Dwell in this city and eat from it wherever you will and say, <span style="color:#008000">'Relieve us of our burdens,'</span> and <span style="color:#0000FF">enter the gate bowing humbly</span>; We will [then] forgive you your sins. We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward]."<BR /> | |||
7:162 But those who wronged among them changed [the words] to a statement other than that which had been said to them. So We sent upon them a punishment from the sky for the wrong that they were doing. | |||
|} | |||
===The forgiveness of Adam=== | |||
Academic scholars have noticed that the author or editor of the Quran appears to have combined in 2:36-39 the stories of Adam in 7:22-25 and 20:121-124, with the awkward result that Allah tells Adam and company to go down from paradise twice, in verses 2:36 and 2:38.<ref>Witztum, Joseph. 2011. [https://www.docdroid.net/EBk1ghM/the-syriac-milieu-of-the-quran-the-recasting-of-biblical-narratives-pdf The Syriac Milieu of the Qur’ ̄an: The Recasting of Biblical Narratives] Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. pp. 69-79</ref> In Surah 7 Adam requests forgiveness from Allah, but does not say whether Allah did forgive him. Instead, it immediately proceeds to the command to descend taken word for word from 7:24 in the Arabic text. Surah 20 on the other hand has Adam forgiven before the command to descend (part of a longer section narrated chronologically). Surah 2 appears to fix the ambiguity in surah 7 by inserting Allah's forgiveness after (fa - see note above) the part of the descent command from surah 7, which can be seen also partly in 20:123 where the forgiveness has already occurred. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|2|36|39}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|7|22|25}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|20|121|124}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|2:36 But Satan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been. And We said, <span style="color:#0000FF">"Go down, [all of you],</span><span style="color:#FF0000"> as enemies to one another,</span><span style="color:#008000"> and you will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time."</span><BR /> | |||
2:37 '''Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance.''' Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.<BR /> | |||
2:38 We said, <span style="color:#0000FF">"Go down from it, all of you.</span><span style="color:#800080"> And when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.</span><BR /> | |||
2:39 <span style="color:#800080">And those who disbelieve and deny Our signs - those will be companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally."</span> | |||
|7:22 So he made them fall, through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?"<BR /> | |||
7:23 '''They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers."'''<BR /> | |||
7:24 [Allah] said, "<span style="color:#0000FF">Descend,</span><span style="color:#FF0000"> being to one another enemies.</span><span style="color:#008000"> And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment for a time."</span><BR /> | |||
7:25 He said, "Therein you will live, and therein you will die, and from it you will be brought forth." | |||
|20:121 And Adam and his wife ate of it, and their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred.<BR /> | |||
20:122 '''Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him].'''<BR /> | |||
20:123 [Allah] said, "<span style="color:#0000FF">Descend from Paradise - all, [your descendants]</span><span style="color:#FF0000"> being enemies to one another.</span><span style="color:#800080"> And if there should come to you guidance from Me - then whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray [in the world] nor suffer [in the Hereafter].</span><BR /> | |||
20:124 <span style="color:#800080">And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind."</span> | |||
|} | |||
===The destruction of Thamud=== | |||
In 54:26, Allah tells the prophet Salih that tomorrow the people of Thamud will know he is not a liar. If this refers merely to the sending of the she-camel the next day, that would contradict other parallel passages where the she-camel does not lead to them accepting Salih as truthful. See 91:11-14 also shown below, where the same root for liar appears as a verb (kadhabūhu) in “But they denied him and hamstrung her” after Salih presents the she-camel, and at the end of 11:65 where it appears as a noun (makdhūbin). | |||
"They will know tomorrow who is the insolent liar" could instead mean that the people of Thamud are to be destroyed that next day and thereby learn that Salih is not a liar. However, according to verse 65 of the surah 11 story, their destruction will instead come three days after they hamstrung the she-camel. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|54|23|31}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|27|7|9}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 33%;" |{{Quran-range|28|29|30}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|54:23 Thamud denied the warning<BR /> | |||
54:24 And said, "Is it one human being among us that we should follow? Indeed, we would then be in error and madness.<BR /> | |||
54:25 Has the message been sent down upon him from among us? Rather, he is an insolent liar."<BR /> | |||
54:26 '''They will know tomorrow who is the insolent liar.'''<BR /> | |||
54:27 Indeed, We are sending the she-camel as trial for them, so watch them and be patient.<BR /> | |||
54:28 And inform them that the water is shared between them, each [day of] drink attended [by turn].<BR /> | |||
54:29 But they called their companion, and he dared and hamstrung [her].<BR /> | |||
54:30 And how [severe] were My punishment and warning.<BR /> | |||
54:31 Indeed, We sent upon them one blast from the sky, and they became like the dry twig fragments of an [animal] pen. | |||
|11:64 And O my people, this is the she-camel of Allah - [she is] to you a sign. So let her feed upon Allah 's earth and do not touch her with harm, or you will be taken by an impending punishment."<BR /> | |||
11:65 '''But they hamstrung her, so he said, "Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. That is a promise not to be denied."'''<BR /> | |||
11:66 So when Our command came, We saved Salih and those who believed with him, by mercy from Us, and [saved them] from the disgrace of that day. Indeed, it is your Lord who is the Powerful, the Exalted in Might.<BR /> | |||
11:67 And the shriek seized those who had wronged, and they became within their homes [corpses] fallen prone<BR /> | |||
11:68 As if they had never prospered therein. Unquestionably, Thamud denied their Lord; then, away with Thamud. | |||
|91:11 Thamud denied [their prophet] by reason of their transgression,<BR /> | |||
91:12 When the most wretched of them was sent forth.<BR /> | |||
91:13 And the messenger of Allah [Salih] said to them, "[Do not harm] the she-camel of Allah or [prevent her from] her drink."<BR /> | |||
91:14 '''But they denied him and hamstrung her.''' So their Lord brought down upon them destruction for their sin and made it equal [upon all of them]. | |||
|} | |||
Al-Razi and Al-Qurtubi mention a view that “tomorrow” is just a turn of phrase to indicate the future. Such an explanation is very dubious given that the next verse promises a specific event (the sending of the she-camel) and given that a clearly literal timescale is given to the same people in 11:65. | |||
===The destruction of Aad=== | |||
In a remarkably careless mistake, 41:13 warns that not only Thamud, but both Aad and Thamud were destroyed by a thunderbolt. The next few verses mention a screaming wind sent to Aad over a number of days as a punishment (though without stating that this wind ultimately destroyed them), and goes on to mention the thunderbolt which seized 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 left 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. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! {{Quran-range|41|13|17}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|41|13|But if they turn away, then say, "'''I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt [that struck] 'Aad and Thamud.'''<BR /> | |||
41|14|[That occurred] when the messengers had come to them before them and after them, [saying], "Worship not except Allah." They said, "If our Lord had willed, He would have sent down the angels, so indeed we, in that with which you have been sent, are disbelievers."<BR /> | |||
41|15|As for 'Aad, they were arrogant upon the earth without right and said, "Who is greater than us in strength?" Did they not consider that Allah who created them was greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting Our signs.<BR /> | |||
41|16|'''So We sent upon them a screaming wind during days of misfortune to make them taste the punishment of disgrace in the worldly life'''; but the punishment of the Hereafter is more disgracing, and they will not be helped.<BR /> | |||
41|17|And as for Thamud, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance, so the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn. | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! {{Quran-range|46|24|25}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|46:24 And when they saw it as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said, "This is a cloud bringing us rain!" Rather, it is that for which you were impatient: '''a wind, within it a painful punishment,'''<BR /> | |||
46:25 '''Destroying everything by command of its Lord. And they became so that nothing was seen [of them] except their dwellings.''' Thus do We recompense the criminal people. | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! {{Quran-range|51|41|42}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|51:41 '''And in 'Aad [was a sign], when We sent against them the barren wind.'''<BR /> | |||
51:42 '''It left nothing of what it came upon but that it made it like disintegrated ruins.'''<BR /> | |||
51:43 And in Thamud, when it was said to them, "Enjoy yourselves for a time."<BR /> | |||
51:44 But they were insolent toward the command of their Lord, so the thunderbolt seized them while they were looking on.<BR /> | |||
51:45 And they were unable to arise, nor could they defend themselves. | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! {{Quran-range|54|18|20}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|54:18 'Aad denied; and how [severe] were My punishment and warning.<BR /> | |||
54:19 '''Indeed, We sent upon them a screaming wind on a day of continuous misfortune,'''<BR /> | |||
54:20 '''Extracting the people as if they were trunks of palm trees uprooted''' | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! {{Quran-range|69|4|8}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|69:4 Thamud and 'Aad denied the Striking Calamity.<BR /> | |||
69:5 So as for Thamud, they were destroyed by the overpowering [blast].<BR /> | |||
69:6 '''And as for 'Aad, they were destroyed by a screaming, violent wind'''<BR /> | |||
69:7 '''Which Allah imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would see the people therein fallen as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.'''<BR /> | |||
69:8 '''Then do you see of them any remains?''' | |||
|} | |||
There is possibly a second contradiction concerning the destruction of Aad. Some point to the fact that whereas 41:16 says the wind was sent in "days of misfortune" and 69:7 says the wind was imposed for "seven nights and eight days in succession", 54:19 says it was sent on a "day [singular] of continuous misfortune". Exegetes discussed the word "continuous" in 54:19. Al-Tabari and al-Zamakhshari said the misfortune continued until they were destroyed. Al-Razi mentioned the relevant verses and in order to harmonize them, interpreted "continuous" as indicating further days. He considered two views, that "continuous" relates to the word day or to the word misfortune, preferring the former. The verse itself mentions a "day" singular and the preceding Arabic about when the wind was sent is the same in this verse as in Q. 41:16, which then instead says "days": | |||
arsalnā ʿalayhim rīḥan ṣarṣaran fī yawmi naḥsin mus'tamirri | |||
We sent upon them a screaming wind in a day of continuous misfortune | |||
arsalnā ʿalayhim rīḥan ṣarṣaran fī ayyāmin naḥisātin | |||
We sent upon them a screaming wind in days of misfortune | |||
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> | |||
===Zechariah expressing his doubts=== | |||
Amidst a dialogue with the angel bringing good tidings of John, Zechariah answers that his wife is barren and he is too old in 19:8, but answers the opposite way around in 3:40. The passages then resume in close parallel. | |||
{| class="wikitable" width="80%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran|19|8}} | |||
! scope=col style="width: 50%;" |{{Quran|3|40}} | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
|He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when <span style="color:#0000FF">my wife has been barren</span> and <span style="color:#008000">I have reached extreme old age</span>?" | |||
|He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when <span style="color:#008000">I have reached old age</span> and <span style="color:#0000FF">my wife is barren</span>?" The angel said, "Such is Allah; He does what He wills." | |||
|} | |||
===When did Pharaoh command the killing of baby boys?=== | |||
When Moses was a prophet | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|40|25}}| | |||
And when he brought them the Truth from Our presence, they said: Slay the sons of those who believe with him, and spare their women. But the plot of disbelievers is in naught but error. }} | |||
When Moses was an infant | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|28|4}}| | |||
Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive. Indeed, he was of the corrupters.}} | |||
===Was 'the Pharaoh' killed?=== | |||
Maybe not | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|10|90|92}}|We took the Children of Israel across the sea: Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in insolence and spite. At length, when overwhelmed with the flood, he said: "I believe that there is no god except Him Whom the Children of Israel believe in: I am of those who submit (to Allah in Islam)." (It was said to him): "Ah now!- But a little while before, wast thou in rebellion!-and thou didst mischief (and violence)! This day shall We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs!"}} | |||
Yes | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|17|102}}|Moses said, "Thou knowest well that these things have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye-opening evidence: and I consider thee indeed, O Pharaoh, to be one doomed to destruction!"}} | |||
Yes | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|17|103}}|So he resolved to remove them from the face of the earth: but We did drown him and all who were with him.}} | |||
===Was Noah banished or exiled by his people?=== | |||
Yes | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|54|9}}| | |||
Before them the People of Noah rejected (their messenger): they rejected Our servant, and said, "Here is one possessed!", and he was driven out. }} | |||
No, he regularly spoke to them | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|11|38}}| | |||
Forthwith he (starts) constructing the Ark: Every time that the chiefs of his people passed by him, they threw ridicule on him. He said: "If ye ridicule us now, we (in our turn) can look down on you with ridicule likewise! }} | |||
===Did Noah's son survive the great flood?=== | |||
Yes | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|76}}| | |||
Remember) Noah, when he cried (to Us) aforetime: We listened to his (prayer) and delivered him and his family from great distress.}} | |||
Yes | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|37|77}}| | |||
And We made his offspring the survivors.}} | |||
No | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|11|43}}| | |||
The son replied: "I will betake myself to some mountain: it will save me from the water." Noah said: "This day nothing can save, from the command of Allah, any but those on whom He hath mercy! "And the waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood. }} | |||
==Allah== | ==Allah== | ||
===Where is Allah?=== | ===Where is Allah?=== | ||
| Line 288: | Line 772: | ||
And the Word will be fulfilled against them, because of their wrong-doing, and they will be unable to speak}} | And the Word will be fulfilled against them, because of their wrong-doing, and they will be unable to speak}} | ||
Not willingly | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|36|65}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|36|65}}| | ||
That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they did. }} | That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they did. }} | ||
Yes. Other verses describe dialogue taking place between disbelievers and believers or angels on the day of resurrection. For example: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|20|28}}|They will say, "O woe to us! This is the Day of Recompense." [They will be told], "This is the Day of Judgement which you used to deny." [The angels will be ordered], "Gather those who committed wrong, their kinds, and what they used to worship Other than Allah, and guide them to the path of Hellfire And stop them; indeed, they are to be questioned." [They will be asked], "What is [wrong] with you? Why do you not help each other?" But they, that Day, are in surrender. And they will approach one another blaming each other. They will say, "Indeed, you used to come at us from the right."}} | |||
===Where do disbelievers receive their record book on Judgment day?=== | ===Where do disbelievers receive their record book on Judgment day?=== | ||
| Line 652: | Line 1,137: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|35|8}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|35|8}}| | ||
Allah | Then is one to whom the evil of his deed has been made attractive so he considers it good [like one rightly guided]? For indeed, Allah sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. So do not let yourself perish over them in regret. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of what they do.}} | ||
Allah | Allah | ||
| Line 841: | Line 1,326: | ||
And verily We have raised among every people a messenger, | And verily We have raised among every people a messenger, | ||
(proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods. }} | (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods. }} | ||
| Line 911: | Line 1,367: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|97}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|97}}| | ||
Say (O Muhammad, to mankind): Who is an enemy to Gabriel! For he it is who hath revealed (this Scripture) to thy heart by Allah's leave, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, and a guidance and glad tidings to believers; }} | Say (O Muhammad, to mankind): Who is an enemy to Gabriel! For he it is who hath revealed (this Scripture) to thy heart by Allah's leave, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, and a guidance and glad tidings to believers; }} | ||
===Is the Quran clear?=== | ===Is the Quran clear?=== | ||
| Line 949: | Line 1,388: | ||
==Miscellaneous== | ==Miscellaneous== | ||
===How many gods are there?=== | ===How many gods are there?=== | ||
| Line 1,037: | Line 1,420: | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[https://quranvariants.wordpress.com/narrative-contradictions-in-the-quran/ Narrative Contradictions in the Quran] [https://quranvariants.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/narrative-contradictions-quran-8.pdf (Direct pdf download link)] ''- Quran Variants'' | |||
*[http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/ Contradictions in the Qur'an] ''- Contradictions in the Qur'an, Answering Islam'' | *[http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/ Contradictions in the Qur'an] ''- Contradictions in the Qur'an, Answering Islam'' | ||
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170719052545/http://www.1000mistakes.com/ 1000 Mistakes] ''- Website dedicated to mistakes in the Qur'an'' | *[https://web.archive.org/web/20170719052545/http://www.1000mistakes.com/ 1000 Mistakes] ''- Website dedicated to mistakes in the Qur'an'' | ||