Answers to The Claim of
Contradictions
by islamic.org.uk

Here is the collection of alledged internal contradictions:

And it just doesn't add up: (*) Sura 4:11-12 and 4:176 state the Qur'anic inheritance
law. If a man dies and leaves three daughters, his two parents and his wife then
they will receive the respective shares of 2/3 for the 3 daughters together, 1/3 for
the parents together [both according to verse 4:11] and 1/8 for the wife [4:12]
which adds up to more than the estate available. A second example is, that when a
man leaves only his mother, his wife and two sisters, then they receive 1/3 [mother,
4:11], 1/4 [wife, 4:12] and 2/3 [the two sisters, 4:176], which again adds up to
15/12 of the available property.

The shares refered to have always been understood as relative shares rather than
absolute shares. Consequently calculation is done by proportions. For example
we may have relative shares that add up to more than one 1/3 +2/3 +1/8 =9/8. If
that happens then that estate is divided appropriately as 1/3*8/9 , 2/3*8/9 ,
1/8*8/9. For situations where the proportions add up to less than 1 they get a
proportionate increase. The diminutions as well as the additions are well
recognised and have been easily understood since the beginning of Islam. There
are two technical terms for them ‘awl and radd.

How many angels were talking to Mary? (*) When the Qur'an speaks about the
announciation of the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary, Sura 3:42,45 speaks about
(several) angels while it is only one in Sura 19:17-21.

Firstly Sura 3:42,45 refers to angels and Sura 19:17-21 refers to ‘ruh’. ‘ruh’ is
understood to be Gabriel from Hadith and other parts of Qur’an. A simple
explanation is that a group of angels came and a their spokesman announces the
good news.

Further numerical discrepancies (*) Does Allah's day equal to 1,000 human years
(Sura 22:47, 32:5) or 50,000 human years (Sura 70:4)?

Firstly, these numbers are allegorical and meant to impress on the reader a great
length of time, they are not meant to be mathematicaly exact. Secondly the last
reference refers specifically to the day of judgement whereas first two references
don’t and so they are talking about different things. (There may be some
confusion about 32:5 since Yusuf Ali adds details that aren’t there in the Arabic)

--- How many gardens are there in paradise? ONE [as stated in 39:73, 41:30, 57:21,
79:41] or MANY [18:31, 22:23, 35:33, 78:32]?

The Garden is the name of the entire abode of the blessed. Inside this there are
smaller gardens and individuals may have one or more of them. This has been
covered by Abdel Haleem in "Context and Internal Relationships - Keys to
Qur’anic Exegisis" in Hawting & Sherrif Approaches to the Qur’an 1993.

--- According to Sura 56:7 there will be THREE distinct groups of people at the
Last Judgement, but 90:18-19, 99:6-8, etc. mention only TWO groups. ---

One group are the 'Kafirun' (disbelievers) and then there are two classes of
believers, those who are brought near to God and the ordinary believers. The first
verse cited defines the groups and the latter verses merely mention two of the
groups. For an in depth explanation see the article mentioned above (Approaches
to the Qur’an).

There are conflicting views on who takes the souls at death: THE Angel of Death
[32:11], THE angels (plural) [47:27] but also "It is Allah that takes the souls (of
men) at death." [39:42]

Using this type of reasoning one would have to conclude that King James wrote
the King James Version of the Bible! The references given clearly mean the Angel
of Death or Angels of Death who are acting under orders of Allah.

Angels have 2, 3, or 4 pairs of wings [35:1]. But Gabriel had 600 wings. [Sahih
Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 455]

Verse 35:1 goes on imediately to say that ‘ He increases in His creation whatever
he wishes’ this implies that number of pair of wings is as many as Allah wishes.
There is no contradiction.

Six or eight days of creation? (*) Sura 7:54, 10:3, 11:7, and 25:59 clearly state that
God created "the heavens and the earth" in six days. But in 41:9-12 the detailed
description of the creation procedure adds up to eight days.

This is only if you add the different references to days. There are many ways in
which these days could be overlapping. I could for example say "I built a house in
2 days and I completed the roof in a day." To insist that these things took 3 days
is forcing a contradiction which simply isn’t implied.

Heavens or Earth? Which was created first? (*) First earth and then heaven [2:29],
heaven and after that earth [79:27-30].

Verse 2:29 does not refer to creation as such but the process of proportioning it.
Nor does 79:27-30 refer to creation. Moreover, in neither verses is there any
clear indication of chronological ordering.

Calling together or ripping apart? (*) In the process of creation heaven and earth
were first apart and are called to come together [41:11], while 21:30 states that they
were originally one piece and then ripped apart.

Verse 21:30 does not imply come together. The word together simply isn't there
and isn't implied by the Arabic. The phrase is perfectly well rendered in English
with ‘come into being’. More generally there are several stages to creation, the
big bang and the formation of galaxies and planets are two processes. First there
is the ripping appart and then there is the coming together.

What was man created from? (*) A blood clot [96:1-2], water [21:30, 24:45,
25:54], "sounding" (i.e. burned) clay [15:26], dust [3:59, 30:20, 35:11], nothing
[19:67] and this is then denied in 52:35, earth [11:61], a drop of thickened fluid
[16:4, 75:37]

The word translated as 'created' is misunderstood here. It is better to translate
khalaqa as ‘made’ in many instances. There are several stages to creation (71:14)
through which man went and still goes through in the womb. It is well understood
that one stage of creation of man follows another. The stages are well recognised
in the sciences of embriology and evolution. (nb. Reference to ‘nothing’ is more
clearly put as ‘when you did not exist’.)

Will there be inquiry in Paradise? (*) "neither will they question one another"
[23:101] but nevertheless they will be "engaging in mutual inquiry" [52:25], "and
they will ... question one another" [37:27].

Verse 23:101 refers to Judgement day when people have been resurrected and are
waiting for Judgement. They are too occupied with there own fate to question one
another. Read verse 23:102.

Are angels protectors? (*) "NO protector besides Allah" [2:107, 29:22]. But in Sura
41:31 the angels themselves say: "We are your protectors in this life and the
Hereafter." And also in other suras is their role described as guarding [13:11,
50:17-18] and protecting [82:10].

Verse 41:31 says that the angels are friends. Verses 13:11, 50:17-18 and 82:10
says that angels are watchful recorders. Please use the Arabic - these problems
are only in the translations.

Is everything devoutly obedient to Allah? (*) That is the claim in 30:26, but dozens
of verses speak of the proud disobedience of Satan [7:11, 15:28-31, 17:61, 20:116,
38:71-74, 18:50] as well of many different human beings who reject His commands
and His revelations.

This is a question of free will. See this link.....

Does Allah forgive shirk? (*) This is the worst sin and Allah can't really decide if he
will ever forgive it or not. No [4:48, 116], Yes [4:153, 25:68-71]. And Abraham
committed this sin of polytheism as he takes moon, sun, stars to be his Lord
[6:76-78] and still Muslims believe that all prophets are without any sin.

Shirk (associating partners with God) is essentially different from all other sins
in that all other sins can be forgiven without even repentance. For example many
small sins in life are forgiven simply through the performing the daily prayers
and more generally good deeds erase the bad (e.g. returning stolen property).
Allah forgives shirk only if the person sincerely repents and changes his ways. In
repenting for shirk you must have stopped committing this sin, because the very
act of repentance itself, if true, is a rejection of shirk. As such it only the sin of
shirk which absolutely requires repentance. As regards Abraham he became a
prophet only following his rejection of shirk. I'm not sure where you get the idea
that all prophets are without any sins. The Qur'an makes clear that at least some
of them have committed some small sins.

The event of worship of the golden calf: (*) The Israelites repented about
worshipping the golden calf BEFORE Moses returned from the mountain [7:149],
yet they refused to repent but rather continued to worship the calf it until Moses
came back [20:91]. Does Aaron share in their guilt? No [20:85-90], yes [20:92,
7:151].

Verse 20:91 is a statement of intent by the Isralites, it is not an historical event.
Aaron [20:85-90] tried to prevent the idolatry (which you interpret as
demonstrating his innocence) and then Moses thinks that Aaron has not done
enough to prevent it. There is no contradiction here!

Moses and the Injil? (*) Jesus is born more than 1,000 years after Moses, but in
7:157 Allah speaks to Moses about what is written in the Injil [the book given to
Jesus].

The Qur’an switches from Allah speaking to Moses to a general statement for all
people. To insist that the general statement is also part of the statement given to
Moses is simply contrived.

Can slander of chaste women be forgiven? (*) Yes [24:5], No [24:23].

Verses 24:4-5 are declares forgiveness for those who have repented and changed
their ways. Verse 24:23 is refering to those who haven’t repented. It is well
understood in interpreting Arabic texts generally that an unqualified statement
should be understood in the same way as a qualified statement dealing with the
same subject. This is a rule in Islamic jurisprudence and this issue is a case in
point. I might say "Theft is wrong" and most people would agree with this. I
might also say "Theft is wrong except when it is the only way to avoid starving"
and again most people would agree with me. The first is a general statement and
the second adds an exception. There could only be a contradiction if the first
statement had ruled out all exception by saying explicitly "All theft is wrong". For
anyone who doesn't understand this I suggest you read any elementary book on
logic.

How do we receive the record on Judgment Day? (*) On Judgement day the lost
people are given the Record (of their bad deeds): Behind their back [84:10], or in
their left hand [69:25].

I can easily be taken in their left hand and behind their back. Can anyone see a
contradiction here???

Can angels disobey? (*) No angel is arrogant, they all obey Allah [16:49-50], but:
"And behold, we said to the ANGELS: 'Bow down to Adam'. And THEY bowed
down, EXCEPT Iblis. He refused and was haughty." [2:34].

Iblis was not an angel. This follows a principle in classical Arabic for which
there is a well established grammatical category on ‘exceptions’. For example it
is possible to say something like " All the people left except a dog". This verse
employs a use of the Arabic word translated as ‘except’. It would be more suitable
in English to translate this as a new sentance: "All the people left. Only a dog
remained".

Three contradictions in 2:97 and 16:101-103 (*) Who brings the revelation from
Allah to Muhammad? The ANGEL Gabriel [2:97], or the Holy Spirit [16:102]?

The ‘ruh’ or holy spirit is known from hadith to be Gabriel. They are not 2
separate entities.

The new revelation confirms the old [2:97] or substitutes it [16:101]?

The word used in 2:97 means the whole of revelation in general which is
confirmed, whereas the word in 16:101 refers to specific verses or stages of
revelation suitable to the developing circumstances. For instance the Muslims
were at one time ordered to be patient in the face of oppression and at another
time they were ordered to defend themselves.

The Qur'an is PURE Arabic [16:103] but there are numerous foreign, non-Arabic
words in it.

The Qur’an does not say ‘pure Arabic’ it says ‘clear Arabic’. All languages
include imported words. For a trivial example "I’ve studied algebra." uses the
Arabic word algebra - this is never the less an English sentance.

The infinite loop problem (*) Sura 26:192,195,196: "It (the Qur'an) is indeed a
revelation from the Lord of the Worlds, ... in clear Arabic speech and indeed IT
(the Qur'an) is in the writings of the earlier (prophets)." Now, the 'earlier writing'
are the Torah and the Injil for example, written in Hebrew and Greek. HOW can an
ARABIC Qur'an be contained in a books of other languages? Furthermore, if would
have to contain this very passage of the Qur'an sinc the Qur'an is properly
contained in them. Hence these earlier writings have to be contained in yet other
earlier writings and we are in an infinite loop, which is absurd.

It’s the general meanings that are in the previous writings : God, Judgement,
prophets, not lying about others, not speaking from ignorance etc - These
principles are in previous writings as well as in the Qur’an

"An old woman" and God's character (*) About the story of Lot: "So we delivered
him and his family, - all exept an old woman who lingered behind." [Sura
26:170-171] And again: "But we saved him and his family, exept his wife: she was
of those who lagged behind. [Sura 7:83]. Either this is a contradiction or if indeed
Lot's wife is derogatorily called "an old woman" then this does not show much
respect for her as a wife of a prophet.

Unfortunately the translation as ‘old woman’ coupled with disrespect for elderly
people common these days give the phrase in English a derogatory sense. This is
not at all implied in the Arabic - rather it implies experience through which she
should have known better. It is therefore a form of complement similar to the
word ‘Shiekh’ which literally means old man but has come to mean someone who
is has good knowledge of Islam.

More problems with the story of Lot (*) "And his people gave NO answer but this:
They said, "Drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be
clean and pure!" [Sura 7:82 & 27:56]. Yet: "But his people gave NO answer but
this: They said: "Bring us the Wrath of Allah if thou tellest the truth." [Sura 29:29].
Obviously these answers are different.

There could be more than one person responding with these phrases and there
could be several instances where they talked. Why do you insist on only one event
and one phrase spoken?

The "pleasure" of Allah? (*) Is God's action of punishment or mercy and guidance
or misguidance arbitrary?

This is due to mistranslating the word sha’Allah as ‘ (as)Allah pleases’ whereas
it means ‘(as) Allah wills’.

Did Abraham smash the idols? The accounts of Abraham, Suras 19:41-49, 6:74-83
differ quite a bit from Sura 21:51-59. While in Sura 21 Abraham confronts his
people strongly, and even destroys the idols, in Sura 19 Abraham shuts up after his
father threatens him to stone him for speaking out against the idols. And he seems
not only to become silent, but even to leave the area ("turning away from them
all").

These are two separate events.

What about Noah's son? According to Sura 21:76, Noah and all his family is saved
from the flood. But Sura 11:42-43 reports that Noah's son drowns.

It doesn’t say all his family but simply ‘his family’. The detail that his son was
not saved is tackled in the longer more detailed passage this is hardly a
contradiction. Here again the principle of the unqualified statement being
qualified in other parts of the Qur’an. See the answer to the point above on
"chaste women" Please also note that if you had read just a few verses further the
verses 11:45-46 strongly assert that the 'family' of Noah doesn't include his son
because of his behaviour. These verses emphasise that the concept of 'family' is
not narrowly defined as all those with blood relations.

Was Noah driven out? "Before them *the people of Noah* rejected (their
messenger): They rejected Our servant and said, 'Here is One possessed!' And he
was driven out." [Sura 54:9] Now, if he is driven out [expelled from their country]
how come they can scoff at him while he is buiding the ark since we read
"Forthwith he (starts) constructing the Ark: Every time that the Chiefs of *his
people* passed by him, they threw ridicule on him." [Sura 11:38] He cannot be
both: Driven out and near enough that they can regularly pass by.

Verse 54:9 says that Noah was spoken to harshly or scorned. He was not ‘driven
out’ and there is no way you an can reasonably understand this verse to mean
‘driven out from their country’.

Pharaoh's repentance in the face of death? (*) According to Sura 10:90-92,
Pharaoh repented "in the sight of death" and was saved. But Sura 4:18 says that
such a thing can't happen.

Repentance at the point of death is not accepted. Pharaoh was not forgiven. His
body was preserved - nothing more than that.

Abrogation? "The words of the Lord are perfect in truth and justice; there is NONE
who can change His words." [Sura 6:115] Also see 6:34 and 10:65. But then Allah
(Muhammad?) sees the need to exchange some of them for "better ones" [Sura
2:106, 16:101]. And it is not for ignorant people to question Allah because of such
practices!

The verses talk about different things. Verses 2:106 and 16:101 talk about ‘Ayah’
which means messages or signs. In contrast to this 6:34, 10:64 (your verse
number is wrong here) and 6:115 all talk about ‘Kalimaat’ or literally the word
or words which means what Allah decrees which none can change.

Guiding to truth? "Say: 'God - He guides to the truth; and which is worthier to be
followed ...?" [Sura 10:35] But how much is left over of this worthiness when we
also read: "Allah leads astray whom he pleases, and he guides whom He pleases,
..." [Sura 14:4]. And how do we know in which of Allah's categories of pleasure we
fall? How sure can a Muslim be that he is one of those guided right and not one of
those led astray?

This is firstly NOT whom He pleases but rather whom He wills. This also has to
be read in conjunction with verse 2:26- " ...But He leads astray only the wicked.
Those who break God’s covenant after it is ratified and break apart what God has
ordered to be joined and do mischief on the earth."

What is the punishment for adultery? Flogging with a 100 stripes (men and women)
[24:2], "confine them to houses until death do claim them (lifelong house arrest -
for the women) [4:15]. For men: "If they repent and amend, leave them alone"
[4:16]. 24:2 contradicts both the procedure for women and men in Sura 4. And
why is the punishment for women and men equal in Sura 24 but different in Sura
4?

Surah 4 is talking about something different from surah 24. There is a difference
between ‘Zina’ which means adultery and ‘fahisha’ which means gross indecency
(eg stripping naked or 'being lewd' in public)

Will Christians enter Paradise or go to Hell? (*) Sura 5:69 says "Yes", Sura 5:72
(just 3 verses later) says "No".

Verse 5:69 refers to those Christains who believe in God and the day of
judgement and do good deeds. Anyone who ‘believes’ means believe without
associating partners with God. Verse 5:72 clearly talks about those who associate
partners with Allah.

God alone or also men? Clear or incomprehensible? (*) The Qur'an is "clear Arabic
speech." [16:103] Yet "NONE knows its interpretation, save only Allah." [3:7].
Actually, "men of understanding do grasp it." [3:7]

Verse 3:7 is talking only about the allegorical verses whose ultimate (t’aweel)
meaning None knows but Allah. The verse goes on to say: Men of firm
understanding say not that they know this ultimate meaning but rather ‘We
believe in it. It is all from our Lord’.

Was Pharaoh Drowned or Saved when chasing Moses and the Israelites? Saved
[10:93], drowned [28:40, 17:103, 43:55].

His body was preserved (saved). see above

When Commanded Pharaoh the Killing of the Sons? When Moses was a Prophet
and spoke God's truth to Pharaoh [40:23-25] or when he was still an infant
[20:38-39]?

These are two separate events. It was his habit and he did it more than once.

When/how are the fates determined? "The night of power is better than a thousand
months. The angels and spirit descend therein, by the permission of their Lord, with
all decrees." [97:3,4] "Lo! We revealed it on a blessed night." [44:3] To Muslims,
the "Night of Power" is a blessed night on which fates are settled and on which
everything relating to life, death, etc., which occurs throughout the year is decreed.
It is said to be the night on which Allah's decrees for the year are brought down to
the earthly plane. In other words, matters of creation are decreed a year at a time.
Contradicting this, Sura 57:22 says, "No affliction befalls in the earth or in your
selves, but it is in a Book before we create it." This means it is written in the
Preserved Tablet, being totally fixed in Allah's knowledge before anyone was
created. All of the above is contradicted by "And every man's fate We have
fastened to his own neck." This says that man alone is responsible for what he does
and what happens to him. [17:13]

This idea of fate being decreed yearly may be popular culture in some parts of the
Muslim world but it cannot be derived from the Qur’an. Everything is known
beforehand to Allah.

Wine: Good or bad? (*) Strong drink and ... are only an infamy of Satan's
handiwork. [5:90, also 2:219]. Yet on the other hand in Paradise are rivers of wine
[47:15, also 83:22,25]. How does Satan's handiwork get into Paradise?

Wine in paradise need not be anything like the wine we have here. You cannot
compare the two. In paradise the drink which people have does not intoxicate.
See verse 37:47 ‘Free from headiness nor will they suffer intoxication from it.’

Will all Muslims go to Hell? According to Sura 19:71 every Muslim will go to Hell
(for at least some time), while another passage states that those who die in Jihad
will go to Paradise immediately.

Verse 19:71 says that every human being (not just Muslims) will pass over Hell
(meaning over the bridge above Hell). The good ones will be saved while the
others will fall in to Hell. There is no part of the Qur’an that says that Martyrs go
immediately to Paradise.