A Guide to the Qur'anic Contradictions (Part-5)
After 4th Part
Sura 12: Yusuf (Prophet Joseph)
12:19 A passing caravan's water‑drawer rescued Joseph. Contradiction: 12:20 says Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave for a miserly price.
12:100 Joseph thought Satan had created enmity between him and his brethren; Joseph's parents and his brothers prostrated before Joseph. Contradiction: 2:255, 3:2, 3:18, 11:2, 20:98, 40:62, 40:65 say humans must prostrate (worship) only to Allah, and no one else.
12:109 Allah sends revelations to men only. Contradiction: 27:82 says Allah also sends a beast as a messenger. Contradiction: 35:1 says Allah sends angels with wings as messengers. Contradiction: 6:130, 11:69, 11:77, 22:75 say Allah also sends jinns and angels as messengers.
12:111 Qur'an is in detail, and confirms what went before; it is a guide and mercy to the believers; Joseph's story is not an invented tale but a confirmation of Allah's guide and mercy. Contradiction: 17:106, 25:32 say Allah sent the Qur'an in stages.
Sura 13: ar‑Rad (Thunder)
13:11 There are guards (angels) in front and behind each person. Contradiction: 2:107, 29:22 say Allah is the only protector.
13:38 Previous messengers also had wives and children; no messenger can produce a miracle without Allah's authorization. Allah decrees every matter. Contradiction: Jesus had no wife or children.
13:39 Allah removes (abrogates) what He wills, and fixes (replaces) what He wills; Allah has kept the Mother of the Book. Contradiction: 6:34, 6:115 say none can change the words of the Qur'an.
Sura 14: Ibrahim (Prophet Abraham)
14:4 Allah sends His messages only in the language of His apostle's people in order to make the message clear to them. Allah misguides whom He pleases. Contradiction: 10:35 says Allah Himself guides mankind to the truth. Contradiction: 37:147‑148 says Allah sent Yunus to hundred thousand people of Nineveh, in the region of Mosul.
Sura 15: al‑Hijr (The Rocky Tract)
15:23 Allah controls life and death; He will inherit all things on earth. Contradiction: 3:189, 57:2 say Allah is the owner of all things in the heavens and in the earth.
15:26 Allah created the man from sounding (i.e., burnt) clay from mud, and shaped him like a potter's clay. Contradiction: 3:59 says Allah created Adam from dust. Contradiction: 38:71 says Allah created Adam out of wet clay.
15:29 Allah completely fashioned the first man (Adam), then breathed the soul which Allah had created for him (Adam); then Allah asked the angels to bow down to a live man created by Him. Contradiction: 32:9 says Allah breathed His own (not a soul specially created) soul into Adam.
Sura 16: an‑Nahl (The Bee)
16:36 Allah sent apostles to every people or community or nation. Contradiction: 29:27 says Allah gave prophet hood only to Abraham's progeny. Contradiction: Allah says in 28:46, 32:3, 34:44, 36:6 before Muhammad, He did not send any messengers to the Arabs.
16:43 Allah chooses only men (human beings) to be His messengers. Contradiction: in 11:69 Allah says he sent to Abraham angels as messengers. Contradiction: 27:82 says Allah sends a beast as a messenger.
16:49 Every creature in the heavens and in earth, including the angels, prostrates to Allah and obeys Him. Contradiction: 2:34 says Iblis, the Satan, did not prostrate before Adam; he disobeyed Allah. Contradiction: 17:61 says all angels, except Iblis prostrated before Adam.
16:89 On the resurrection day, Allah will appoint Muhammad as the witness of all other prophets, who were the witnesses for their respective people; Qur'an explains all things. Contradiction: 17:106, 25:32 say Allah sent the Qur'an in stages.
16:101 Allah substitutes one revelation with another; Allah has the mother of the Book (the original Qur'an). Contradiction: 6:34, 6:115 says none can change the words in the Qur'an.
16:103 Some people accused Muhammad of learning the Qur'an from a foreigner, but Qur'an is in pure and clear Arabic. Contradiction: 3:7 says only Allah knows the hidden meanings, and only the men of understanding will grasp the Qur'an.
Sura 17: Bani Israel (The sons of Israel) or al‑Isra (The Night Journey)
17:15 Whoever does good deeds will be guided, whoever goes astray is due to his detriment; no one can bear another person's burden. Allah does not punish a population until He sends a messenger to them. Contradiction: 11:110 says Allah intentionally created dispute about Moses' Book. Contradiction: 16:25 says Allah will doubly punish the arrogant infidels for their unbelief and for misleading others. Contradiction: 20:129 says Allah could destroy the unbelievers instantly. Contradiction: 29:13 says unbelievers are to bear the burden of their own sins, as well as the burden of deluding others.
17:16 When Allah decides to destroy a population, He warns its leaders, they indulge in insolence for a brief period, and then Allah inflicts on them an utter destruction. Contradiction: 6:131 says Allah does not destroy a city when its inhabitants are in it.
17:23 Worship only Allah, and be kind to aging parents in your care; respect them and do not shout at them. Contradiction: 9:23, 29:8, 58:22 say show no love of friendship to the parents if they criticize Islam or Muhammad.
17:55 Allah is discriminatory; he prefers some prophets to others. Contradiction: 4:152 says Allah makes no distinctions among prophets.
17:61 Allah created Adam from clay. Commanded by Allah, all the angels prostrated to Adam except Iblis. Iblis, the Satan, was upset that Allah placed Adam superior to him. Contradiction: 16:48 says even the shadows of all objects (unbelievers included) prostrate to Allah. Contradiction: 16:49 says every creature in the heavens and in earth, including angels, prostrate only to Allah.
17:86 If willed, Allah could withdraw (cancel) His revelations (Qur'an) to Muhammad. In that case, Muhammad would have no protection from Allah. Contradiction: 6:34, 6:115 say none can change the words in the Qur'an.
17:103 Because Pharaoh evicted the Children of Israel (from Egypt), Allah drowned him and all his men. Contradiction: 10:92 says Allah saved Pharaoh.
17:106 For easy recital, the Qur'an is divided into parts; it is revealed in stages. Contradiction: 2:185, 3:3, 12:111, 16:89, 43:4, 97:1 indicate Allah sent the ENTIRE Qur'an in one night.
17:111 Allah has no children; He does not share His authority and power with anyone else; He is the only protector and helper. Contradiction: 41:31, 32 say angels are our protectors in this life and the life hereafter. Contradiction: 5:55 says Allah's messengers are our protectors.
Sura 18: al‑Kahf (The Cave)
18:31 Muslims will be in Gardens of eternity (Eden), beneath which rivers flow. Allah adorns the residents of the Gardens with bracelets (bangles) of gold, green garments, fine silk and comfortable furnishing. Contradiction: 39:73 says one garden in Islamic Paradise. Contradiction: 22:23, 35:33 say Muslims will wear bracelets/bangles of gold and pearls.
18:109 An ocean of ink is not enough to write all of Allah's words. (This means the Qur'an is not complete—Walker, p. 165.) Contradiction: 6:38 says the Qur'an is complete, nothing has been left out.
End of Part 5
To be continued in part 6.
- A Bengali freethinker and is a teacher by profession
- Ccontributed in Leaving Islam – Apostates Speak Out and Beyond Jihad – Critical Voices from Inside
- Written extensively on Islam in various websites and is the author of several e-Books including: A Complete Guide to Allah, Root of Terrorism ala Islamic Style, Sex and Sexuality in Islam, Who Authored the Quran? and Women in Islam
- Mr. Kasem lives in Sydney, Australia
- Latest contribution is in the book Why We left Islam, edited by Susan Crimp et al.
- Can be contacted at abul88 at hotmail dot com and nirribilli at gmail dot com