Chapter 3.4. Quran Contradictions
INTRODUCTION:
Please read it before dive into the Chapter about Quran Contradictions further down:
1. ERRORS OR CONTRADICTIONS IN THE QURAN
When many Muslims read this heading, they will immediate and in amazement respond with “There are no errors in the Quran!”
No, Impossible! This must be a Myths.
Yes, Reality; Here are the Facts! The Quran does have errors. Quite several obvious errors.
The outstanding website BillionBibles.org gives an excellent summary of such most obvious errors in the Quran.
2. MOST OBVIOUS ERRORS IN THE QURAN.
Some of the errors in the Quran are self-contradictions that Islam scholars tries to bridge with Abrogation or Naskh (this is explained later).
But Quran also has historical and archaeological errors which we will deal with underneath.
Let’s investigate some of the more obvious mistakes find in the Quran tradition.
3. EXAMPLES OF SCIENTIFIC ERRORS IN THE QURAN
The Qur’an’s internal problems - (Referring to lectures by Dr. Jay Smith; Assessing the Internal Difficulties with the Qur’an, 2020)
- Mountains (S. 16:15; 21:31; 31:10; 78:6-7; 88:19) are not tent-pegs to keep the earth from shaking, since they are formed by volcanoes & tectonic plates
- (S. 86:5-7) Does Semen really originate in the back or the kidney, or is this simply borrowing from 5th century B.C. Hippocrates? 5)
- (S. 18:86) we read, "Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water” Only the superstitious in the age of Muhammad believed that when one reaches the sun, it sets in a muddy spring
- (S. 16:66) How can cow's milk come from between the excrement and the blood of the cow's abdomen
- (S. 16:69) we are told that honey, which gives healing, comes out of the bee’s abdomen
- (S. 6:38) says that all animals and flying beings form communities, like humans. Would this include spiders, where in some species the female eats the male after mating has taken place. Is that a community like ours?
- (S. 25:45-46) maintains that it is the sun which moves to create shadows, though modern science suggests it may be the earth which does the moving
- (S. 65:12) reads, "It is God who hath created seven heavens and as many earths." We would love to know where the other six earths are.
- (S. 15:16-18; 37:6-10; 55:33-35; 67:5; 72:6-9 & 86:2-3) Meteors, and shooting stars are missiles fired at eavesdropping jinn who seek to listen to the reading of the Quran in heaven. Yet meteors are carbon dioxide, vs non-material jinn?
- King Solomon was taught the speech of birds (S. 27:16) and the speech of ants (S. 27:18-19). Yet, ants don’t speak, but exchange pheromones as chemical signals between them, using their antennae; so, did Solomon grown antennae?
- Surah 21:33 says the Sun and the Moon have orbits, but not separate. Surah 36:40 says the Sun and Moon orbit the earth, one following the other. Surah 91:1-2 says the Moon follows the Sun. It all starts from Man’s perspective, observing the two from the earth.
Conclusion: Whoever wrote the Quran didn’t know their science.
Scientific problems include misunderstanding how mountains are formed, not knowing where semen, honey and cow’s milk comes from, or where the sun sets, or even how it makes shadows, or misunderstanding spiders, ants, birds, or confusing how many earths there are, to say nothing of misconstruing what meteors are made of, or even what they do
Many of these are borrowed theories from other traditions. God, however, who created science, wouldn’t have made these kinds of errors.
Suggesting once again, the Quran is a very human book!
4. ERRORS IN MATHEMATICS AND LOGIC.
The Quran contains errors in mathematics, and erroneous mathematics in Quran refute the claimed divine authorship of the Quran.
Surah 4 of the Quran, which contains Allah's mathematics on dividing inheritance, is rife with errors. These erroneous mathematics in Quran are small enough to pass perfunctory inspection but significant in exposing the Quran's ungodly authorship.
Consider just one example of mathematical flaw:
(A) if a man is survived by his parents, wives and two daughters, Quran's mathematics require 113% of his estate to be divided: and,
(B) if a man is survived by his mother, wives and two sisters, Quran requires 108% of his estate to be divided, as follows:
"Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children.
But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt. Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise. And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child.
But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth.
But if they are more than two, they share a third, after any bequest which was made or debt if there is no detriment [caused]. [This is] an ordinance from Allah, and Allah is Knowing and Forbearing... They request from your a [legal] ruling. Say, " Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs]."
If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child.
But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two-thirds of what he left. If there are both brothers and sisters, the male will have the share of two females. Allah makes clear to you [His law], lest you go astray. And Allah is Knowing of all things." - Quran 4:11,12,176
66.7% = 2/3 for daughters 16.7% = 1/6 for mother
33.3% = 2 x (1/6) for parents 25.0% = 1/4 for wives
12.5% = 1/8 for wives 66.7% = 2/3 for sisters
112.5% = total for case (A) 108.4% = total for case (B)
A) A logical and historical impossibility. (Read about it here)
Quran 17:1 state that one night, Allah took Muhammad to "al-Aqsa" mosque in Jerusalem:
"Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa ..."
This is called the Isra and Mi'raj (Arabic: الإسراء والمعراج , al-'Isrā' wal-Mi'rāj) as the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621.
But there are some historical problems here…
The Muslim army captured Jerusalem in 637 ad and al-Aqsa mosque was built in the early 8th century. The problem with the above claim in the Quran is that Muhammad died before the Muslim army even reached Jerusalem and decades before al-Aqsa mosque was built (for details, see al-Aqsa Mosque).
B) Who picked Moses from the river in Egypt?
The Quran says that the one who picked Moses from the river was not his sister but his mother. According to the Bible, the woman who had counselled adoption of Moses was Pharaoh’s daughter, but according to the Quran it was his wife (28:6-8).
C)The Samaritan that moulded the golden calf.
Quran claims that a Samaritan was the one who moulded the golden calf for the children of Israel and misguided them, and the golden calf was lowing (refer to chapter 20:85-88) though it is well-known that Samaria was not in existence at that time.
Quran 20 claims that Moses confronted "Aaron" and a "Samaritan" for having made the golden calf for the Israelites while he (Moses) was on Mount Sinai:
"[Moses] said, "O Aaron, what prevented you, when you saw them going astray, from following me? Then have you disobeyed my order?" [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.'" [Moses] said, "And what is your case, O Samaritan?" - Quran 20:92-95
What are the historical facts here?
Assyria conquered the Jewish northern kingdom in 722 BC, exiled its upper class and brought in conquered people from other lands who intermarried with the lower-class Jews who had been allowed to stay. Their offspring were called "Samaritans" ("Samiri" or "Samarians" in some translations of the Quran) because they occupied the region of "Samaria," named after its original owner, "Shemer" (see 1 Kings 16:24 in the Bible).
The Jews despised the Samaritans both for being a mixed race and for setting up their own temple to compete against the temple in Jerusalem.
But the golden calf incident near Mount Sinai mentioned in Quran 20:92-95 above took place in 1446 BC, which was 725 years before the first Samaritan was born in 721 BC.
D) Concerning the birth of Christ.
The Quran teaches that the Virgin Mary gave birth to him under the shade of a palm tree and not in a manger of sheep (refer to Mary 19:23).
The Quran ignores all the documented historical evidence available to all people across the ages and brings us new discoveries!
The Quran claims that Haman was pharaoh's prime minister even though Haman lived in Babylon one thousand years later? Yet the Quran says so where Haman هامان is mentioned in the Quran (Quran 28:4-6) .
And establish them in the land and show Pharaoh and [his minister] Haman and their soldiers through them that which they had feared. And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief.
F) Confusion about Mary, the mother of Jesus:
In many places, the Quran mentions Mary as the sister of Moses and Aaron and the daughter of Imran. The Quran has confused Jesus' mother with Aaron's sister because both carry the same name, though there are several centuries between them.
The Quran indicates that Mary (Christ's mother) had a brother whose name was Aaron (chapter 19:28) and a father whose name is Imran (chapter 66:12). Their mother was called "the wife of Imran" (chapter 3:35) which eliminates any doubt that it confuses Mary, mother of Jesus, with Mary, sister of Aaron.
Muslim scholars acknowledge what happened and they are confused and fail in their desperate attempts to justify this grave error. Their contradictory interpretations fail to help them to find a solution to this dilemma. Let us examine these interpretations to see these conflicting views.
In the context of his comment on the Quranic statement that Mary is Aaron's sister (which is recorded in chapter 19:28), al-Baydawi (p. 405) said,
"Oh, sister of Aaron (the prophet). And she was an offspring of some of those who were with him who belonged to the same class of brotherhood. It was also said that she was one of Aaron's descendants though there were a thousand years between them. It was said too, that he (Aaron) was a righteous or a wicked man who lived during their time (time of Mary). They likened her to him to ridicule her or to insult her."
Yet Baydawi's statement is repealed by the Quran because the Quran did not refer to a moral relationship but stressed the literal meaning. If the Quran had meant to elevate Mary to the same level of Aaron, the prophet, or to the status of a daughter of Imran, why then did it mention that her mother was the wife of Imran as it is recorded in chapter 3:35? It is obvious that the matter was either confused in the mind of Muhammad or of Gabriel, the angel! It is not acceptable that the Quran intended to say that Mary enjoys the same status as a sister of Aaron and a daughter of Imran. Therefore, it is impossible to treat Mary (the mother of Jesus) as if she were the sister of Aaron and Moses.
The contemporary scholar who translated the Quran which was authorized by the Saudi authorities said (in the introduction of page 47 of chapter of the Family of Imran),
"Al Imran takes its title from v. 32, where `the family of Imran' (the father of Moses) occurs as a generic name for all the Hebrew prophets from Moses to John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. This with the mention of the mother of Mary as `the wife of Imran' (v. 34) and the words `sister of Aaron' addressed to Mary (XIX.28) have given rise to a charge of anachronism.
Some say that the prophet confused Mary, the mother of Jesus, with Mary, the sister of Moses. Most Muslims believe (on the authority of the Quran) that the grandfather of Jesus Christ was named `Imran' which may also have been the name of the father of Moses. In Surah XIX 28 where Mary is addressed as `sister of Aaron', they hold the ancestral sense to be the more probable, while denying that there is any reason to suppose that the virgin Mary had not a brother named Aaron."
Thus, they fail to explain to us why the Quran said that the mother of Mary was the wife of Imran, especially if the Quran intended (as they say) to show the moral relationship only. It is an obvious historical mistake, my dear reader, because Mary had no brother named Aaron.
"Then she brought [Jesus] to her people, carrying him. They said, "O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented. O sister of Aaron, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste." - Quran 19:27-28
"And Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity, and We breathed into (her body) of our spirit; and she believed in the words of her Lord and of His revelations and was of the devoutly obedient." - Quran 66:12
There are several names like "Mary" - also spelled "Maria" or "Miriam" in English - in the Bible. One of them is the mother of Jesus:
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: after His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." - Matthew 1:18
But the Mary who is the "daughter of Imran" (spelled "Amram" in the Bible) and the "sister of Aaron" was the sister of Moses who lived in the 15th century BC:
"The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam." - Numbers 26:59
Therefore, unless Mary was 1,500 years old when she bore Jesus (see how old was Mary when she had Jesus?) - indeed, unless Joseph married a 1,500 year old virgin - Muhammad mistook two different women in the Bible as the same Mary.
5. MORE HISTORICAL ERRORS IN THE QURAN.
This presentation from Jay Smith agrees in many points with what is already discussed before, but as there are also new information, a summary is given underneath for clarity.
The theme of his presentation: Historical errors prove the Quran is made by man!
Smith also showed that the Quran has many Internal Historical Problems, proving it came from Human origins, and was not from God.
He points out the following facts…
A) The Quran introduces a Samaritan too early
Surah 20:85-87, 95-97: "the Samiri has led them astray...[Moses] said, "And what is your case, O Samiri?"
-Yet, Samaritans did not exist at the time of Moses (1400 BC). Samaritans were created after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by Sargon II the Assyrian king in 722BC, almost 700 years later.
B) And a Mosque too early
Surah 17:1 “Glorified is He who took His slave for a journey by night from al-Masjid al-Haram [Mecca] to al-Masjid al-Aqsa” [Jerusalem] (known as Mi’raj – 621 ad)
-The Dome of the Rock was built in 691 ad
-The Masjid al Aqsa was built in 710 ad
-Yet, this night journey is known as the Mi’raj, which supposedly happened in 621 ad!
-What’s more, Muslims didn’t get to Jerusalem to build anything until 638-639 ad
-It couldn’t even be the Jewish temple of Jerusalem, as it was destroyed in 70 ad!
C) And Coats of Chainmail too early
Surah 34:10-11: “And We certainly gave David… And We made pliable for him iron, make full coats of mail and calculate [precisely] the links”
-David lived in 1,000 BC
-Coats of chain mail was not invented until 200 BC, 800 years later!
D) The Quran mis-places Crucifixions too early
-S.7:120-124 [Pharaoh said to sorcerers at the time of Moses = 1400 BC] "Indeed, this is a conspiracy which you conspired in the city to expel therefrom its people...then I will surely crucify you all." (Also S.20:71)
-S.12:41 [Pharaoh to a baker at the time of Joseph = 1800 BC], “O two companions of the prison! `As for one of you, he will pour out wine for his lord to drink; and as for the other, he will be crucified…"
-Moses’s pharaoh = 1447 BC; Joseph’s pharaoh = 1800 BC
-Crucifixions were not even used in Egypt
-They were first introduced in 500 BC
-Thus, the Quran’s crucifixions are in the wrong place, and 1,000 – 1,300 years too early!
E) Then Denies the Crucifixion of Jesus
S.4:157 And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him"
-Thallus Greek (Samaritan hist. 52 ad) talk about the crucifixion
-So did Phlegon the Greek (Rome writer 1st c.)
-Josephus the Jewish historian - ad 37 to 90)
-Tacitus (Roman historian -110 ad)
-So, Greek, Roman, and Jewish Historians from the 1st – 2nd century ALL agree that it was Jesus who was on the Cross.
F) It’s got the wrong Mary
-Surah 19:28 = “O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented. O sister of Aaron”
-Surah 66:12 = “And Maryam, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity”
-Surah 20:30 = “Aaron, my [Moses] brother”
-Miriam is the sister of Aaron and Moses
-All three are the children of Amran (Ex. 6:20)
-In Luke the Father of Mary is not Amran, but Heli (Luke 3:23)
-And she lived 1400 years after Aaron and Moses
G) It confuses Pharaoh, the Tower of Babel, & Haman
Surah 40:36-37 (and S.38:28) “And Pharaoh said, "O Haman, construct for me a tower that I might reach the ways -The ways into the heavens - so that I may look at the deity of Moses; but indeed, I think he is a liar.”
-Egypt never built any towers. They built pyramids and temples
-Haman was not an Egyptian, but a Persian
-Esther 3:1 = Haman was the minister of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes 1 according to the Greeks) and reigned between 486-465BC
-Thus, Pharaoh (1500BC) and Haman (510BC) never met each other
H) It makes Alexander the Great an amazing engineer
I) It refers to ‘futuristic’ coins (Dirham) too early
-Surah 12:20 “a few dirhams counted out” (The coins used to buy Joseph)
-Joseph lived in 1800 BC
-Coins were created = 600s BC by the Lydians
-Dirhams were introduced post 661 ad, by the Sufyani family
-Could this be a later Redaction?
CONCLUSION: Whoever wrote the Quran didn’t know their history
-The Quran introduces, Samaritans, Mosques, chainmail, crucifixions, and Dirham coins too early
-It introduces the Qibla and the Ka’ba in Mecca too late
-It suggests that Alexander the Great was an amazing engineer
-It confuses the OT and the NT Marys, as well as Pharaoh, the Tower of Babel, and Haman
-This suggests that either the authors of the Quran didn’t know their history well, or that they borrowed these stories from other sources with little discretion on their parts
-Either way, this once more proves that the Quran is not from God but created and written down by finite and frail men like you and me.
Some of the public comments in response to this video is very sharp:
- Gregatyis: Have they ever identified the muddy pond that the sun sets in every night?
- Sonia Azam7: We already knew this. But the amazing thing is, now Muslims are confronted with FACTS and they THEMSELVES will know this. Praise the Lord
- Opit Avengers: Dr. Jay, I thought you were telling us about the Houdini's magic book. Then at the last minute I realized you were talking about the Quran.
- Stephen ng'ethe: Man made Quran; Quran made man mad.
- Alex Agudo: The historical background of the Quran is broken; the Quran has been revised and supplied.
- Lorraine Moore: Most Muslims will never admit the truth.
- Ankita Nandy: Most Muslims already know of these fallacies; they are just scared to leave Islam.
- Vince Klortho: The Koran should be retitled - A Thousand and One Arabian Mistakes! It is obviously a Nabatean doggerel!
- Sat Mat: Outstanding exposé!!! Undeniable and tangible proofs that everyone could examine and verify.
- Romeo Sabaoth: I'd be shocked in bewilderment if as many as a million Muslims remain after these things really get viral. The truth is becoming louder.
- Grace Roberts: Got the Name of Abraham's father's name wrong!
6. Grammatical Errors in the Quran.
If the Quran is ‘inimitable’, and without human intervention, then it should not have even ONE grammatical mistake. Why are there so many...?
- In Surah 2:177, the word Sabireen should be Sabiroon because of its position in the sentence (it should follow the same grammatical structure as al mufoon "to fulfill" in Surah 2:150)
- In Surah 3:59, the words Kun feekunu (which is the present tense) should be written, Kun fakaana (the past tense) as "Be, and it was" must be in the past tense. Why is it written in the present, yet then translated into the past?
- In Surah 4:162, the phrase "And (especially) those who establish regular prayer..." is written as al Muqiyhina al salaat, which again is in the feminine plural form, instead of the masculine plural: al Muqiyhuna al salaat (?). It is important to note that the two following phrases, "(those who) practice regular charity, and (those who) believe in Allah..." are both correctly written in the masculine human plural form.
- In Surah 5:69, the title al Sabioon, referring to the Sabians, should agree with "those who believe and those who practice charity," and thus should be written al Sabieen (see also Surah 2:62 ’Sabieen, and Surah 22:17 ’Sabieen)
- In Surah 7:160, the phrase "We divided them into twelve tribes," is written in the feminine plural: Uthnati (feminine) Ashrat (feminine) Asbaataan. Since it refers to several people, it should have been written in the masculine plural form: Uthnaiy (masculine) Ashara Sibtaan
- In Surah 63:10, the phrase "I shall be" is written akun. Yet, since it is a negative statement, it should be written in the negative form’ akunu.
- There are other grammatical errors found in the Quran as well, such as: Surahs 2:192; 13:28; 20:66 and the duals which replace the plurals in Surah 55
7. Universal Relevancy of the Quran
Does the Qur’an make sense for everyone, everywhere, and at any time?
Is the Quran at all relevant for the 21st Century?
- The Qur’an Ennobles Women
- The Qur’an is a revelation of Peace-
8. MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE QURAN AND THE ISLAMIC TRADITION
8.1. The Direction of Prayer (The Qibla)
8.2. The Traditional Kaaba in Mekka
9. How the Quran deals with such Contradictions like Abrogations
The Quran itself admonishes against abrogation (altering of the Quran texts).
- In Surahs 6:34 (and 10:65) which state, "...There is none that can alter the words (and decrees) of Allah".
- Surah 4:82 reads, "Do they not consider the Quran? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein many discrepancies"
Yet, the Quran also Supports Abrogation (Contradictions).
- There is a ‘law of Abrogation’ within the Quran: Surah 2:106,108: "We substitute one revelation for another..."
- Surah 17:86 reads, "If it were Our Will, We could take away that which We have sent thee by inspiration"
- Surah 16:101 reads, "None of our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar; Knowest thou not that Allah hath power over all things?”
- Jalalu'd-Din claimed many verses abrogated, some claims around 225 verses: Some excuse it as ‘Progressive Revelation’, but in a period of 22 years?
- Is the Quran not only a man-made book?
- Can this be that ... The Quran is false?
- Is Muhammad then a False Prophet?
Welcome to Continue with the next Chapter here
3.5. hat about the Abrogations in the Quran?
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