Replies to the claims of contradictions in the Quran
By : A. Mohamed
PART 3
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Before dealing with this claim, it must be pointed out that there is nothing in these verses to say that while the sleepers of the cave had been sleeping they had their eyes open. In 18:9-25 we read about the miracle of the seven sleepers of Ephesus. In 1928, Franz Miltner, an Austrian archaeologist discovered the tomb of the seven sleepers of Ephesus. Their history is well documented in several encyclopaedias. Ephesus is located about 200 miles south of ancient Nicene, and 30 miles south of today's Izmir in Turkey. The dwellers of the cave were young Christians who wanted to follow the teachings of Jesus and worship God alone. They were fleeing the persecution of neo-christians who proclaimed a corrupted Christianity three centuries after Jesus, following the Nicene Conferences, when the Trinity doctrine was adopted. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 42 There are no words in these two verses that say that the sun moves to create shadows! Let us read the two verses: Have you not seen how your Lord extends the shadow? Had He willed, He could have made it still. Then We ordained the sun as its guide. Then We retract it gently back towards Us. 25:45-46 The words in the 2 verses tell us:
1- The position of the sun in our sky, which constantly changes towards the west due to the spinning of the Earth and not to the movement of the sun, acts as an indicator to the length of the shadow. 2- There are no words in these verses that say that the sun itself is moving. 3- The Arabic word 'Qabadnah' (withdraw it) in verse 46, is in the masculine form because it refers to the word 'zhil' (shadow) and not to the word 'shams' (sun) which is feminine. If the reference was made to the 'shams' the word which would have been used would have been 'Qabadnaha'. It follows that the movement spoken of in verse 46, which the author incorrectly ascribed to the sun, is in fact the movement of the shadow and the change in its length. This is caused by the changing position of the sun in our sky and not by the movement of the sun itself around the Earth.
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It is not for the prophet and those who believed to ask forgiveness for the mushrikeen, even if they were their relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the companions of Hellfire. 9:113
The claim is that the underlined words in 17:23-24 contradict the underlined words in 9:113. Once again, there is no contradiction between the two verses. To clarify, we must study the two verses together. By doing so, we can deduce the following: 1- In 17:23-24, we read "If one of them or both of them reach old age" and the words "treat your parents kindly". These words indicate that the subject of the verse is the parents who are still alive. We may ask God to show mercy on our living parents. Once they are dead, the Quran stresses the fact that all intercession will be useless. Once we die, our records are sealed and the Judgement rests in God's hand alone. 2- Furthermore the words "after it has become clear to them that they are the companions of Hellfire" (9:113) confirm that it is prohibited to ask forgiveness for the idol worshippers, whether they are dead or still alive, even if they were our own parents. God does not accept a plea of forgiveness for idol worshippers. The story of Abraham's plea for forgiveness for his father and how it was rejected by God is a good example (9:114). To conclude, a plea for God's mercy for our loved ones who are alive is permitted, provided they are not idol worshippers. No plea for God's mercy is accepted for the idol worshippers, even if they are our own parents, and whether they are alive or dead.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 44 Say, "To whom belongs what is in the heavens and the earth?" Say, "To God." He has decreed mercy upon Himself. 6:12 If their turning away is too great for you, then if you are able, seek a tunnel in the earth, or a stairway into the sky, so as to produce for them a miracle! Rather, if God willed, He could have gathered them all to guidance. Therefore, do not be one of the ignorant ones. 6:35 What the author wants to say in reality is how can God decree "mercy upon Himself", yet refrain from guiding some people when He is able to guide all people? In order to answer this question, reference needs to be made to the following key words: 1- "Then if you are able, seek a tunnel in the earth, or a stairway into the sky, so as to produce for them a miracle (they still would not believe)". These words indicate that it is not God who willed that these people go astray. God sends the guidance to all people, but the wicked ones will never believe even if they are shown the greatest of miracles! For that, it is they who choose to be disbelievers, in spite of the guidance that was sent to all mankind. 2- The Arabic words 'Lauw sha Allah, lagamaahum ala al hoda' which translate to "if God willed, He could have gathered them all to guidance" indicate that God is able to impose belief on any human, but what credit would any person deserve if belief is imposed on him? When Jesus delivered God's Word to the world, God was able to force all people at the time of Jesus to be believers. Why did God not do that? The answer is the same at the time of Jesus or the time of any other messenger of God. The answer will be the same until the end of time. Man has to earn faith, and not have it imposed on him. God neither forces anyone to believe nor prevent anyone from believing. God sends guidance through the messengers and the Scripture. This guidance is sent to all humanity. However, it is the pure in heart who accept the truth of the Scripture and choose to worship God. Now we come to the third verse: We have not sent any messenger except in the tongue of his people so that he would make things clear for them. God then sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. He is the Dignified, the Wise. 14:4 The ones who are sent astray are only reaping the result of their wickedness. God does not lead astray those who are good in heart, but He leaves the wicked to be led astray due to their wickedness. It is important here to read the following verse which confirms this meaning: Had God known of any good in them, He would have made them hear. But even if He had made them hear, they would still turn away in aversion. 8:23 This verse once again confirms that God is fully aware that these wicked ones will never believe no matter what guidance is given to them. Due to this fact, they are led astray (with God's knowledge) through their own doing and not out of God's preference.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 45 We will direct you towards a Qiblah (direction for prayer) that you are content with. So turn your face towards the Masjid Al-Haram. And wherever you may be, you shall all turn your faces towards it. 2:144 The claim is that as per 2:115 God made it lawful for the believers to face in any direction during the Salat, yet in 2:144 the command is to pray only in the direction of Mecca! The obvious misunderstanding here is that while verse 144 is speaking about Qiblah (direction) for the prayer, verse 115 is not speaking about prayer at all. Verse 115 is speaking about the fact that God is everywhere, thus wherever we may look or wherever we may go, we will always be facing God. There is no contradiction between the two verses.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 46 Now let us read the complete verse 3:7, including the words which the author omitted: He is the One who brought down upon you the Book containing clear-cut verses that constitute the foundation of the Book, and others which allow multiple meanings. As for those who harbour deviation in their hearts, they pursue the multiple-meaning verses, seeking to cause discord and seeking to interpret it, but none know its true interpretation except God. And those well founded in knowledge say, "We believe in it, all of it is from our Lord." But none will remember except those who possess intelligence. 3:7
The author falsely claims that 3:7 states that no one knows the interpretation of the Quran except God. However, when we read 3:7 we note that the wisdom and the understanding of the Quran is also given to "those well founded in knowledge". All what 3:7 is that no one knows the full and complete understanding of every word in the Quran except God. We are also told in the Quran that the truth and wisdom of the Quran are only given to the pure in heart, to those who worship God alone. The words "those well founded in knowledge" are not related to any scientific or intellectual knowledge, they simply mean the knowledge and understanding of the Quranic message. The knowledge that God should be worshipped alone and that all idolatry should be rejected. Thus the claim that only God understands the Quran, as implied by the author, is false.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 47 Indeed, We brought it down in the Night of Decree.
And how would you know what the Night of Decree is?
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
The angels and the Ruh descend therein by their Lord's permission with every command. 97:1-4 We brought it down in a blessed night. We have indeed warned. 44:3 We have bound every human's fate to his own neck. On the Day of Resurrection We will produce for him a book which he will find laid open. 17:13 The Quran was revealed in the Night of Decree. It is thus described in 44:3 as a "blessed night". In this claim of contradiction, the author has detailed a number of concepts that have no basis in the Quran, and used them to attack the Quran and claim that it contains contradiction: 1- The author says: To Muslims, the "Night of Decree" is a blessed night on which fates are settled. He adds that all matters of life and death of the whole year are decreed on that night! --------------- It is true that the Quran speaks of the Night of Decree as being blessed since it was the night when the Quran was brought down however, there is no mention anywhere in the Quran of the false yearly concept! If this kind of hearsay is circulated by some Muslims, then that is their choice, but such details are not found in the Quran. The Quran asserts quite the opposite of that. 57:22 confirms that everything in the heavens and the earth is already recorded from before creation (57:22), and not settled on a yearly basis! The author here used a false non-Quranic concept (the yearly concept) to attack the Quran when the Quran states quite the opposite in 57:22. 2- The author then says: The above is contradicted by: "We have bound every human's fate to his own neck." 17:13. --------------------- What the author is addressing here is whether man is master of his own fate or not. More precisely, if everyone's fate is already recorded before hand, how can God say that we have the choice to be believers or not? The Quran answers this question by stating that there are matters which are pre-destined and over which we have no control, such as where we are born, who are our parents and so on. However, every man is given full free choice over all his deeds. It is also important to understand that the fact that all our fates are already pre-recorded with God does not mean that we did not have freedom of choice over our actions. Not at all, we had full freedom and it is we who made all decisions relating to our actions. However, God knows the past, present and future. God knows what every single person will do from his birth to his death, even though it was the choice of the person in what he did. Since God knows everything we will do, before we do it, it is easy for God to pre-record it all.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 48 Moses selected seventy men from among his people to come to Our appointed time. Then when the earthquake seized them, he said, "My Lord, if You had willed, You could have annihilated them before, as well as me. Would You annihilate us for what the foolish among us have done? It is but Your test; You let whom You will be misguided through it, and You let whom You will be guided. You are our Ally, so forgive us and have mercy on us. You are the best of forgivers. 7:155
And decree for us in this world that which is good, and also in the Hereafter. We have turned to You." He said, "My punishment shall strike whomever I please and My mercy encompasses all things, and so I shall decree it for those who are reverent, give the Zakat, and those who believe in Our revelations, 7:156
and to those who follow the messenger, the ummi (has not been given any Scripture from God) prophet, whom they find written down in the Torah and the Injeel that are with them. He advocates righteousness to them and forbids them from evil. He makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them what is bad, and he relieves them from the heavy burden and the shackles that were upon them. So those who have believed in him, honoured him, supported him and followed the Light which was brought down with him; they are the successful ones." 7:157
To resolve the truth of this claim it is first necessary to determine who is referred to in 7:157 as "the messenger, the ummi prophet". The author claims that in this verse God is speaking to Moses. It is quite easy to prove that this is impossible. If we assume that God is speaking to Moses in this verse, then "the messenger, the ummi prophet" cannot be Moses himself, since it would make no sense for God to ask Moses to follow himself! Equally, if God is speaking to Moses in this verse, "the messenger, the ummi prophet" could not be Jesus nor Muhammad since it would make no sense for God to ask Moses to follow a prophet who would come after his time. The person who is described as "the messenger, the ummi prophet" is in fact Muhammad. In addition, it is clear that in 7:157 God is not speaking to Moses at all, God is speaking to all Jews and Christians who "follow the messenger, the ummi prophet (Muhammad), whom they find written down in the Torah and Injeel that are with them." What God is saying to all Jews and Christians is that He will specify His mercy to those who: (1) are reverent (2) give the obligatory charity (Zakat) (3) believe in God's revelations (4) follow the messenger, the ummi prophet, whom they find written in their Torah and Injeel.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 49 And mention Our servant Job, when he called out to his Lord, "The devil has afflicted me with hardship and suffering." 38:41 The author uses the example of Job to say that calamity comes from Satan. It is true that in this verse Job implored God saying that the devil has inflicted him with pain and hardship, however, by reading other verses in the Quran, we realise that Job was mistaken. The hardship and pain that Job was suffering were not inflicted on him by the devil, they were a mere test that God wished to put him through. We are given ample evidence in the Quran that God tests all believers. God also tests the messengers and prophets. In 38:34, we read about God testing Solomon: We have tested Solomon, and We placed a corpse on his throne whereby he repented. 38:34 Solomon and Job represent both ends of the testing spectrum. Just as God puts people to the test by means of hardship, God also tests people through wealth and prosperity. God was satisfied that Job was a faithful persevering believer: We found him to be patient and a fine servant. He was always turning to his Lord. 38:44 God thus rewarded him by doubling his family: We restored his family unto him, and added their equal number as an act of mercy from Us and a reminder for those who possess intelligence. 38:43 Further evidence that the hardship suffered by Job was not from the devil (as Job thought) is found in the following verses: When you read the Quran, seek refuge in God from the rejected devil. The devil has no power over the ones who believe and trust in God. Furthermore, the devil cannot inflict suffering nor evil on any human being. All that the devil is able to do is to entice mankind, and invite him to commit sin. It is then up to every man to reject the devil or to follow his enticing. Once again this is made evident in the following verse: And the devil said, when the matter was settled, "God has promised you the truthful promise, and I promised you, but I failed you. I had no authority over you other than that I invited you, and you responded to me. Therefore, do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I have rejected that you have set me up as a partner before." The transgressors shall have a painful punishment. 14:22 The author then quotes 4:78 to say that calamity comes from God! Well let us read 4:78 When something good happens to them, they say, "This is from God," and when something bad afflicts them, they say, "This is from you." Say, "All is from God." So what is the matter with these people that they can hardly understand anything being said? 4:78 The words "All is from God" mean that through God's will everything is decreed to happen, the good and the bad. All things, good and bad, are created by God. God showed man both routes, good and bad, after that it is up to man to choose which route to follow. This meaning is confirmed in the following verse:
The self and what fashioned it, then He inspired it with its depravity and its reverence. 91:7-8 Therefore, since God is the creator of all things, it is right to say that "All is from God". Now we move on to the third verse quoted by the author: Anything good that happens to you is from God, and anything bad that happens to you is from your own self. We have sent you as a messenger to the people, and God suffices as a Witness. 4:79 Notice that the verse said, "Anything good that happens to you" and not (anything good that you do). This confirms that all blessings that come our way are God given. Examples of that would be good health, wealth, happy family, healthy children, etc. On the other hand, all sins we incur are a result of our own doing. God does not force us to commit sin nor does He push us into sin. On the contrary God warns us from all evil. Anything bad that we do (theft, adultery, murder, dishonesty, etc) are a result of our own free choice. To summerize: 1- God is the creator of all things, the good and the bad: 2- God shows man the good and warns him from evil: 3- The devil invites man to commit sin, man is given free will to choose between the good and the bad. On Judgement Day, the devil will say: Therefore, do not blame me, but blame yourselves. 14:22
4- All blessings we receive come from God: 5- All bad things that befall us are a result of our own sin/s:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 50 The concept of Quranic abrogation, which alleges that some Quranic verses are abrogated and invalidated by other verses, was invented by some Muslim scholars during the fourth century A.H. (late 10th century A.D.). In truth, no Quranic verses have ever been, nor will be abrogated. What these scholars have done is corrupt the meaning of two Quranic verses [2:106, and 16:101] to justify their abrogation concept.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 51 They will pass around a cup that does not lead to vain talk or sin. 52:23 This verse which speaks about Heaven, confirms that all drinks therein are pure and not polluted in any way (they do not harm the body). Since all drinks in Heaven, including wine, are pure from pollution, they are thus not prohibited.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 52 God: Possessor of the ascending stairways. 70:3 The concept of God being Omnipresent, present everywhere at the same time, is not unique to the Quran but is also endorsed in the Bible. Thus, it makes little sense for the author to present this as a claim of contradiction in the Quran. It is also necessary to clarify that verses [32:5, 70:4] do not say what the author claims. These verses do not say that it takes between 1,000 and 50,000 years to reach God! The words of the 2 verses are: He organises the affair from heaven to earth, then it ascends to Him in a day the measure of which is one thousand years of your count. 32:5 The angels and the Ruh ascend to Him in a day the measure of which was fifty thousand years.70:4 As mentioned in claim 21, these verses speak of a scientific theory called 'Time Dilation'. They do not speak of the time taken to reach God! For more details please check Claim 21.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 53 And as for the one who is given his book in his left, he will say, "Oh, I wish I was not given my book and had not known my reckoning. 69:25-26 On Judgement Day, the wicked ones will hold their books behind their backs (in shame) with their left hands.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 54 The meaning of verse 196 has been completely misinterpreted by the author. The words in 26:196 do say that the Quran was written inside the earlier Scriptures, but that it was foretold in the earlier Scriptures. In every divine Scripture we read prophecies about prophets and Scriptures to follow. As an example, the Torah contained many prophecies about the coming of Jesus Christ.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 55 By reading 7:149 (which is the verse the author quotes) we do not see any words that say that the people of Moses repented before Moses came back! By reading 7:149 together with 20:91, it becomes clear that the people of Moses maintained their wickedness and their setting up of the golden calf until the return of Moses: They said, "We will not stop being devoted to it until Moses returns to us." 20:91 Once again, the assumed contradiction is non-existent.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 56 Sura 20, verses 86-93 So Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed. He said, "O my people, did your Lord not promise you a good promise? Did the oath require too much waiting from you? Or did you wish for your Lord's wrath to descend upon you and so you broke your promise to me?"
They said, "We did not break our promise to you out of our own will, but we were made to carry heavy loads of the people's jewellery, so we threw them in just as the Samarian did throw."
He then produced for them a calf with a body that emitted a mooing sound, and they said, "This is your god and the god of Moses, but he forgot.
Did they not see that it could not return a word to them, nor possessed the power to harm them or benefit them?
Aaron had earlier told them, "O my people, you are being tested by it. Your Lord is the Almighty, so follow me and obey my command."
They said, "We will not stop being devoted to it until Moses returns to us."
He said, "O Aaron, what prevented you when you saw that they had strayed from following me? Have you disobeyed my command?" 20:86-93
From these verses we learn the following: 1- Upon the return of Moses he found his people worshipping the golden calf which was made by the Samarian. 2- Aaron tried to talk them into rejecting this idolatry and to only worship God the Most Gracious. 3- Upon the return of Moses, he was angry with Aaron, in the belief that Aaron did not stop the people from worshipping the calf. However, contrary to what Moses thought, the truth about whether Aaron is to share in the guilt regarding the act of idolatry committed by the people of Moses is uncovered in the following verse: And when Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed, he said, "What a miserable thing you have done behind my back after I had gone! Did you want to hasten the command of your Lord?" He threw down the tablets and took hold of his brother's head, pulling him towards him. He said, "Son of my mother, the people overpowered me and they almost killed me, so let not the enemy gloat over me, and do not count me among the transgressing people." 7:150 Here we are told how Moses thought that Aaron was to blame for the act of idolatry of the people and dragged Aaron by the head. The underlined words confirm that Aaron had in fact tried to stop the people from worshipping the calf and that they overpowered him, almost killing him. He was thus forced to succumb to their wishes. As a result, Aaron was not to blame for the idolatry of the people. Thus Aaron had every justification in telling his brother Moses: "do not count me among the transgressing people" Nowhere in the Quran are we told that Aaron was to share in the guilt, therefore the claim of contradiction is false.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 57 1- Prayers for believers 2- Intercession ________________ 1- Prayers for believers. It is perfectly acceptable to offer prayers for our living loved ones as long as they are not idol worshippers. Many verses in the Quran speak of prayers that are offered for the believers. In the following verse we read that the angels ask forgiveness for those on Earth: The heavens almost shatter from above them, and the angels glorify their Lord with praise and ask forgiveness for those in the earth. Indeed, God is the Forgiver, the Merciful. 42:5
The words "those in the earth" are quite significant. They confirm that prayers can only be offered to living people and not those who are dead.
In the following verse we read that the messenger is encouraged to ask forgiveness for the believers: If they ask your permission in order to tend to some of their affairs, you may grant permission to whomever you wish and ask God to forgive them. God is Forgiver, Merciful. 24:62 In the following verse we are encouraged to ask for God's mercy for our parents: And lower the wings of humility for them through mercy, and say, "My Lord, have mercy on them, just as they raised me when I was small." 17:24
All these prayers are for believers who are alive and they are all approved by God. 2- Intercession The concept of intercession, which is strictly prohibited in the Quran, is the act of interceding on behalf of another person to have his/her sins forgiven on Judgement Day. The verses quoted by the author (74:48; 63:5; 34:23), plus many other verses confirm that there will be no intercession on Judgement Day. Once we depart this world, our records are sealed. Nothing can change the judgement we receive on that Day. Our fate is determined by God alone on Judgement Day. No one can intercede on our behalf. So the intercession of the intercessors will not avail them. 74:48 All intercession belongs to God. 39:44 A Day (Judgement Day) comes in which there will be no trade, no friendship and no intercession. 2:254 The myth of intercession is one of Satan's most effective tricks to dupe millions of people into idol worship. Millions of Christians believe that Jesus will intercede for them with God, and millions of Muslims believe that Muhammad will not only intercede on their behalf, but will actually take them out of Hell! Consequently, these people have made Jesus and Muhammad their saviours when the Quran states clearly that God is our only Saviour: God is the One who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, then He settled on the Throne. You have none besides Him as an ally or an intercessor. Will you not be reminded? 32:4
As a result, those who made mortals their saviours end up idolising them thinking that without them they are doomed! God the All Knower knows that the idol worshippers will make such a claim, and for that, we find a Quranic verse that makes a mockery of the belief of some idol worshippers that Muhammad will be their saviour on Judgement Day. They have been duped by the devil into believing that through his intercession, Muhammad will be able to take them out of Hell: In return, God includes the following glorious words in the Quran: As for the one who deserved the Word of punishment, are you (O Muhammad) to rescue the one who is in the Fire? 39:19 We learn from the Quran that Abraham, God's beloved servant, could not intercede on behalf of his father (9:114). Noah could not intercede on behalf of his son (11:46). Muhammad could not intercede on behalf of his relatives (9:80). What makes anyone think that a prophet or a saint will intercede on behalf of a perfect stranger? All the following verses stress that there will be no intercession on Judgement Day: 2:48, 2:123, 6:51, 6:70, 6:94, 7:53, 26:100, 30:13, 32:4, 36:23, 39:44, 40:18 & 74:48. To conclude, the author has confused two concepts here, and as explained, prayers for believers are different from the rejected concept of intercession.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 58 In contrast, all our deeds, choices in life and personal decisions are not pre-destined. They are pre-recorded by God but not predestined.
The question here is how can these matters be left to our own will when they are pre-recorded with God even before our birth?
God knows the past present and future of every person. Thus, God knows exactly what every person will do (out of his/her free will) every second of their lives, even before the universe was created. It is we who chose to do everything we have done and it is we who made all the choices we made, but God already knows it and thus it is easy for God to have it all recorded. With this understanding, there is no contradiction between 57:22 and 42:30: No disaster falls in the land or to yourselves that is not already in a Record before We bring it into existence. This is easy for God. 57:22
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 59 When we read the story of Moses in Sura 7, we read how he referred to himself as the first of the believers. Obviously Moses did not mean that he is the first believer of all time, but that he was the first to believe in the revelation God gave him: When Moses came to Our appointed time, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, let me look and see You." He said, "You cannot see Me, but look at the mountain; if it stays in its place, then you will see Me." Then when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He caused it to crumble, and Moses dropped down unconscious. When he came to, he said, "Glory to You. I repent to You, and I am the first of the believers." 7:143
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 60 God said, "O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as two gods besides God?' " He said, "Glory to You, it is not for me to say what I had no right to say. Had I said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, while I do not know what is within Yourself. You are the Knower of the unseen." 5:116 First, the verse does not mention the word trinity; the verse says that God asked Jesus whether he enjoined people to take him and his mother as gods besides God. Second, the Quran is not inaccurate in stating that Jesus and Mary have been regarded as gods by Christians. All Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh and "god the son", thus it is not in any way inaccurate to state that Christians have made Jesus a god. As with regards to Mary, all Catholics call Mary 'mother of God'. If Mary was truly the mother of God she would have to be divine herself, for how can a god be conceived except by another god? All Catholics pray directly to Mary, and that again implies that they have given her divine status. To conclude the Quran has not really misrepresented this matter in any way. What is stated in 5:116 is a true representation of what Christians believe.
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