Quran Teaches

Apostasy

2: 27 Those who break Allah's Covenant after it is ratified, and who sunder wha
t Allah Has ordered to be joined, and do mischief on earth: These cause loss (on
ly) to themselves.
2:39, But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, they shall be companions of
the Fire; they shall abide therein.
3:90-91 "Verily, those who disbelieved after their Belief and then went on incr
easing in their disbelief - never will their repentance be accepted [because the
y repent only by their tongues and not from their hearts]. And they are those wh
o are astray. Verily, those who disbelieved, and died while they were disbelieve
rs, the (whole) earth full of gold will not be accepted from anyone of them even
if they offered it as a ransom. For them is a painful torment and they will hav
e no helpers."
4:89 They long that ye should disbelieve even as they disbelieve, that ye may be
upon a level (with them). So choose not friends from them till they forsake the
ir homes in the way of Allah; if they turn back (to enmity) then take them and k
ill them wherever ye find them, and choose no friend nor helper from among them,
9:66, Make ye no excuses: ye have rejected Faith after ye had accepted it. If We
pardon some of you, We will punish others amongst you, for that they are in sin

9:74, They swear by Allah that they said nothing (evil), but indeed they uttered
blasphemy, and they did it after accepting Islam; and they meditated a plot whi
ch they were unable to carry out: this revenge of theirs was (their) only return
for the bounty with which Allah and His Messenger had enriched them! If they re
pent, it will be best for them; but if they turn back (to their evil ways), Alla
h will punish them with a grievous penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: Th
ey shall have none on earth to protect or help them.
47:25,26 Those who turn back as apostates after Guidance was clearly shown to th
em, the Evil One has instigated them and busied them up with false hopes.
Volume 9, Book 83, Number 17:
Narrated 'Abdullah:
Allah's Apostle said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the rig
ht to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except i
n three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual
intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims
."
Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 445:
Narrated Abu Dhar:
The Prophet said, "Gabriel said to me, 'Whoever amongst your followers die witho
ut having worshipped others besides Allah, will enter Paradise (or will not ente
r the (Hell) Fire)." The Prophet asked. "Even if he has committed illegal sexual
intercourse or theft?" He replied, "Even then."
(Sahih Bukhari 4.260)
Narrated Ikrima:
Ali burnt some people [hypocrites] and this news reached Ibn 'Abbas, who said, "
Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet said, 'Don't
punish (anybody) with Allah's Punishment.' No doubt, I would have killed them,
for the Prophet said, 'If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.'
"
Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57:
Narrated 'Ikrima:
Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to 'Ali and he burnt them. The news of thi
s event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not h
ave burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody wi
th Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the stateme
nt of Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"
See also this Islamic site.
http://thetruereligion.org/apostatepunish.htm
Terror
3:151
We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they set up
with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and their abode is the
fire, and evil is the abode of the unjust.
8:60
And prepare against them what force you can and horses tied at the frontier, to
terrorize thereby the enemy of Allah...
8:12
I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off
their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.
Moreover Allah says of those who reject him. Because, Allah has already sentence
d them to death.

Unbelievers
2:191, And slay them wherever ye catch them
2:193, And fight them on until there is no more Tumult or oppression
2:216, Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible tha
t ye dislike a thing which is good for you
3:28, Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than
believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah
4:48 Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgivet
h anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise
a sin Most heinous indeed.
4:84, Then fight in Allah s cause - Thou art held responsible only for thyself - a
nd rouse the believers. It may be that Allah will restrain the fury of the Unbel
ievers; for Allah is the strongest in might and in punishment.
4:141, And never will Allah grant to the unbelievers a way (to triumphs) over th
e believers
5:33, The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and
strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or cruci
fixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from
the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs
in the Hereafter;
8:12, I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above t
heir necks and smite all their finger-tips off them
8:15-16, O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in hostile array, never
turn your backs to them. If any do turn his back to them on such a day - unless
it be in a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own)- he draws on
himself the wrath of Allah, and his abode is Hell,- an evil refuge (indeed)!
8:17, It is not ye who slew them; it was Allah: when thou threwest (a handful of
dust), it was not thy act, but Allah s: in order that He might test the Believers
by a gracious trial from Himself
8:60, Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, includ
ing steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of Allah a
nd your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom Allah doth k
now. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of Allah, shall be repaid unto you, an
d ye shall not be treated unjustly.
8:65, O Prophet! rouse the Believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst y
ou, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they
will vanquish a thousand of the Unbelievers
9:5, But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wher
ever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in e
very stratagem.
9:3, And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people (assembled)
on the day of the Great Pilgrimage,- that Allah and His Messenger dissolve (tre
aty) obligations with the Pagans. If then, ye repent, it were best for you; but
if ye turn away, know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah. And proclaim a grievous
penalty to those who reject Faith.
9:14, Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover them with sham
e, help you (to victory) over them, heal the breasts of Believers,
9:23, O ye who believe! take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers i
f they love infidelity above Faith: if any of you do so, they do wrong.
9:28, O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after thi
s year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque.
9:29, Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbi
dden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the r
eligion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay t
he Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
9:39, Unless ye go forth, (for Jihad) He will punish you with a grievous penalty
, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least.
9:73, O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be
firm against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge indeed.
9:111, Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for
theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and sla
y and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel,
and the Qur an
9:123, O ye who believe! fight the unbelievers who gird you about, and let them
find firmness in you: and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.
22:9, (Disdainfully) bending his side, in order to lead (men) astray from the Pa
th of Allah: for him there is disgrace in this life, and on the Day of Judgment
We shall make him taste the Penalty of burning (Fire).
22:19-22; These two antagonists dispute with each other about their Lord: But th
ose who deny (their Lord),- for them will be cut out a garment of Fire: over the
ir heads will be poured out boiling water. With it will be scalded what is withi
n their bodies, as well as (their) skins. In addition there will be maces of iro
n (to punish) them. Every time they wish to get away therefrom, from anguish, th
ey will be forced back therein, and (it will be said), Taste ye the Penalty of Bu
rning!
25:52, So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them herewith with a gre
at endeavour.
25:68 Those who invoke not, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Alla
h has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit fornication; - and any that
does this (not only) meets punishment. (But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment w
ill be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy,-
37:22-23, Bring ye up , it shall be said, The wrong-doers and their wives, and the
things they worshipped- Besides Allah, and lead them to the Way to the (Fierce)
Fire!
47:4, Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks;
At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): t
hereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down
its burdens.
48:13 And if any believe not in Allah and His Messenger, We have prepared, for t
hose who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire!
48:29, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong
against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other.

Afterlife
69:30-37 (The stern command will say): Seize ye him, and bind ye him, And burn y
e him in the Blazing Fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the lengt
h is seventy cubits! This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High. And
would not encourage the feeding of the indigent! So no friend hath he here this
Day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds, Whic
h none do eat but those in sin.
22:19-22, These two antagonists dispute with each other about their Lord: But th
ose who deny (their Lord),- for them will be cut out a garment of Fire: over the
ir heads will be poured out boiling water. With it will be scalded what is withi
n their bodies, as well as (their) skins. In addition there will be maces of iro
n (to punish) them. Every time they wish to get away therefrom, from anguish, th
ey will be forced back therein, and (it will be said), "Taste ye the Penalty of
Burning!"

Thief
5:38 Cut off the hands of thieves, whether they are male or female, as punish
ment for what they have done a deterrent from God: God is almighty and wise.

"Unbelievers are those who do no judge according to God's revelations. We decree

d for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for a
n ear, a tooth for a tooth, and a wound for a wound" The Table #43-
"He that chooses a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him a
nd in the world to come he will surely be among the losers" The Imrans #85
"Believers, do not befriend your fathers or your brothers if they choose unbelie
f in preference to faith. Wrongdoers are those that befriend them." Repentance (
3)#23
"Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends1. They are
friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become on
e of their number. God does not guide the wrongdoers." The Table (5) #51. (Respo
nse 1, 2)
"Muhammad is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers
but merciful to one another." Victory 48:29
"Believers, do not make friends with any but your own people. They [the unbeliev
ers] will spare no pains to corrupt you. They desire nothing but your ruin. Thei
r hatred is evident from what they utter with their mouths, but greater is the h
atred which their breasts conceal." The Imrans 3:118

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 111:

Narrated Ash-Sha'bi:
Abu Juhaifa said, "I asked Ali, 'Have you got any book (which has been revealed
to the Prophet apart from the Qur'an)?' 'Ali replied, 'No, except Allah's Book o
r the power of understanding which has been bestowed (by Allah) upon a Muslim or
what is (written) in this sheet of paper (with me).' Abu Juhaifa said, "I asked
, 'What is (written) in this sheet of paper?' Ali replied, it deals with The Diy
ya (compensation (blood money) paid by the killer to the relatives of the victim
), the ransom for the releasing of the captives from the hands of the enemies, a
nd the law that no Muslim should be killed in Qisas (equality in punishment) for
the killing of (a disbeliever).
Sunan Abu-Dawud Book 38, Number 4348: (scroll down to no.4348)
Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas:
A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him)
and disparage him. He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she
did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (peace_be_
upon_him) and abuse him. So he took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it
, and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood t
hat was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was inform
ed about it.
He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this ac
tion and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over t
he necks of the people and trembling the man stood up.
He sat before the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah! I am h
er master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did n
ot stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons l
ike pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and
 disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I ki
lled her.
Thereupon the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is
payable for her blood.

"Ali Ibn Abi Talib encountered a man called 'Umru and told him, `I indeed invite
you to Islam.' 'Umru said, `I do not need that.' 'Ali said, Then I call you to
fight.' (This was the same policy Muhammad used with those who rejected his invi
tation.) 'Umru answered him, `What for my nephew? By God, I do not like to kill
you.' `Ali said, `But, by God, I love to kill you"' (ibn Hisham, "The Biography
of the Prophet", part 3, p. 113; see also Al Road Al Anf part 3, p. 263).

Freedom of religion.
3:85, If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never
will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of tho
se who have lost (All spiritual good).
8:39, And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there p
revail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere.

Women
2:223 Your women are a tilt for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilt as ye will
, and send (good deeds) before you for your souls, and fear Allah, and know that
ye will (one day) meet Him. Give glad tidings to believers, (O Muhammad)
2:228, And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them, according
to what is equitable; but men have a degree (of advantage) over them
2:230, So if a husband divorces his wife (irrevocably), He cannot, after that, r
e-marry her until after she has married another husband and He has divorced her

2:282, and get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men,
then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of t
hem errs, the other can remind her.
4:3, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye sh
all not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that y
our right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing i
njustice.
4:11-12, Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children s (Inheritance): to the
male, a portion equal to that of two females:
4:24 Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right h
ands possess.
4:34, Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to exc
el the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women
). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guar
ded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to
beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them
. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
 33:50
O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their do
wers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom A
llah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and d
aughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makka) with thee;
and any believing woman who dedicates her soul to the Prophet if the Prophet wis
hes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); We kn
ow what We have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their
right hands possess;- in order that there should be no difficulty for thee. And
Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
53:27, Those who believe not in the Hereafter, name the angels with female names
.
66:10, Allah sets forth, for an example to the Unbelievers, the wife of Noah and
the wife of Lut: they were (respectively) under two of our righteous servants,
but they were false to their (husbands), and they profited nothing before Allah
on their account, but were told: Enter ye the Fire along with (others) that enter
!

Volume 7, Book 62, Number 33:

Narrated Usama bin Zaid:
The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to m
en than women."
Volume 7, Book 62, Number 31:
Narrated Ibn 'Umar:
Evil omen was mentioned before the Prophet: The Prophet said, "If there is e
vil omen in anything, it is in the house, the woman and the horse."
Volume 7, Book 62, Number 122:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "If a woman spends the night deserting her husband's bed (
does not sleep with him), then the angels send their curses on her till she come
s back (to her husband)."
Volume 4, Book 54, Number 460:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "If a husband calls his wife to his bed (i.e. to have
sexual relation) and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels wi
ll curse her till morning."

Volume 2, Book 18, Number 161:

Narrated 'Abdullah bin Abbas:
 The sun eclipsed in the life-time of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) . Allah's Apostle
offered the eclipse prayer and stood for a long period equal to the period in w
hich one could recite Surat-al-Baqara. Then he bowed for a long time and then st
ood up for a long period which was shorter than that of the first standing, then
bowed again for a long time but for a shorter period than the first; then he pr
ostrated twice and then stood up for a long period which was shorter than that o
f the first standing; then he bowed for a long time which was shorter than the p
revious one, and then he raised his head and stood up for a long period which wa
s shorter than the first standing, then he bowed for a long time which was short
er than the first bowing, and then prostrated (twice) and finished the prayer. B
y then, the sun (eclipse) had cleared. The Prophet then said, "The sun and the m
oon are two of the signs of Allah. They eclipse neither because of the death of
somebody nor because of his life (i.e. birth). So when you see them, remember Al
lah." The people say, "O Allah's Apostle! We saw you taking something from your
place and then we saw you retreating." The Prophet replied, "I saw Paradise and
stretched my hands towards a bunch (of its fruits) and had I taken it, you would
have eaten from it as long as the world remains. I also saw the Hell-fire and I
had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that most of the inhabitants were w
omen." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Why is it so?" The Prophet replied,
"Because of their ungratefulness." It was asked whether they are ungrateful to
Allah. The Prophet said, "They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husba
nds) and ungrateful to good deeds. If you are benevolent to one of them througho
ut the life and if she sees anything (undesirable) in you, she will say, 'I have
never had any good from you.' "
Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o 'Id-al-
Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alm
s, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women
)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "You curse frequ
ently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient
in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led ast
ray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in o
ur intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal
to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is t
he deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray n
or fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This
is the deficiency in her religion."

It is forbidden for a woman to be seen by any man except her husband when she is
made up or well-dressed. (TR. P 430)
3. A woman is not a believer if she undertakes a journey which may last three da
ys or longer, unless she is accompanied by her husband, son, father or brother.
(TR. P 431 )
4. A woman must veil herself even in the presence of her husband's father, broth
er and other male relations. (TR. P 432)
5. She is forbidden to spend any money without the permission of her husband, an
d it includes giving food to the needy or feast to friends. (TR. P 265)
6. A wife is forbidden to perform extra prayers (NAFAL) or observe fasting (othe
r than RAMADAN) without the permission of her husband. (TR. P 300)
7. If prostration were a legitimate act other than to God, woman should have pro
strated to her husband. (TR. P 428)
8. If a man is in a mood to have sexual intercourse woman must come immediately
even if she is baking bread at a communal oven. (TR. P 428) 9. The marriage of w
oman to her man is not substantive. It is precarious. For example if the father
of the husband orders his son to divorce his wife, he must do so. (TR. P 440)

11. Majority of women would go to hell. (Muslim P 1431)

12. If a woman refuses to come to bed when invited by her husband, she becomes t
he target of the curses of angles. Exactly the same happens if she deserts her h
usband's bed. (Bokhari P 93)
13. The women who are ungrateful to their men, are the denizens of hell; it is a
n act of ingratitude for a woman to say: "I have never seen any good from you."
(Bokhari P 96)
14. A woman in many ways is deprived of the possession of her own body. Even her
milk belongs to her husband. (Bokhari P 27)

See also www.islam-qa.com

Adultery
Adultery in Islam is a great sin punishable by stoning and sin. But a Muslim can
commit adultery with his maid or a married woman if he invades her town and cap
tures her in the war.
[al-Mu'minun 23:1-7] The believers must (eventually) win through,-2] Those who h
umble themselves in their prayers; 3] Who avoid vain talk; 4] Who are active in
deeds of charity; 5] Who abstain from sex, 6] Except with those joined to them i
n the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (in
their case) they are free from blame, :7] But those whose desires exceed those l
imits are transgressors;-
[Al Nisa 4:24] And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captive
s) whom your right hands possess.

Sura 4:144: Believers, do not choose the unbelievers rather than the faithful as
your friends. Would you give Allah a clear proof against yourselves?
Sura 5:17: Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely, Allah-- He is the Messiah,
son of Marium. Say: Who then could control anything as against Allah when He wi
shed to destroy the Messiah son of Marium and his mother and all those on the ea
rth?
Sura 5:51: O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friend
s; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a frie
nd, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people
.
Sura 8:13: When thy Lord revealed to the angels, saying, 'I am with you; so make
firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbeli
eve. Smite them above their necks, and smite off all finger-tips.
Sura 8:40: And fight them until there is no persecution and religion is wholly t
o Allah. But if they desist, then surely Allah is Watchful of what they do.
Sura 9:5: And when the forbidden months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever
you find them and take them captive, and beleaguer them, and lie in wait for th
em at every place of ambush. But if they repent and observe Prayer and pay the Z
akaat, then leave their way free. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.
Sura 9:29: Fight those who do not profess the true faith (Islam) till they pay t
he jiziya (poll tax) with the hand of humility.
Sura 47:4: When you meet the unbelievers in the Jihad strike off their heads and
, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly. Then grant them their
freedom or take ransom from them, until War shall lay down her

Index to some of the verses of Quran

* * Torment to Non-believers-> 4:56
* * Only Islam Acceptable-> 3:85
* * No friends from outsiders-> 3:118
* * No friends with Jews, Christians-> 5:51
* * No friends with non believers->4:114 3:28
* * No friends with parents/siblings if not believers-> 9:23
* * Fight non-believers-> 9:123
* * Kill non-believers-> 4:89
* * Anti Jew verses-> 5:82
* * God a "plotter", deceiver -> 8:30
* * Killing Idolaters-> 9:05
* * Idolaters are unclean just because they are idolater-> 9:28
* * Forcing Christians and Jews to pay tax-> 9:29
* * The Torment of Hell-> 44:43-58
* * All except Muslims/Jews/Christians/Sabeans will go to hell-> 2:62 5:69
* * Cast terror in the hearts, smite the neck and cut fingertips of unbeliev
ers-> 8:12
* * smite the neck of unbelievers->47:4
* * Severe Punishment for atheists-> 10:4 5:10 5:86
* * Severe Punishment for non-believers-> 22:19-22 72:23 98:6
* * Punishing non-believers of Hereafter-> 17:10
* * Punishing for rejecting faith-> 3:91
* * Non believers go to hell-> 4:140 7:36
* * Partial Believers go to hell too-> 4:150-1
* * Sadistic punishments-> 56:42-43
* * Punishment for apostates-> 16:106 3:86-88 3:90 4:137
* * Threat of punishment for not going to war-> 9:38-39 48:16
* * God making someone more sinful so he can be punished more-> 3:178
* * Intentionally preventing unbelievers from knowing the truth-> 6:25 6:1
10
* * Intentionally preventing unbelievers from Understanding Quran-> 17:45-76
* * It is God who causes people to err and He punishes them for that-> 17:97
* * God could guide, if he chose to, but did not-> 6:35
* * Intentionally misguiding those whom he pleases to->14:4
* * Willfully misguiding some-> 16:93
* * God causes human to err-> 4:143 7:178
* * God deceiving human-> 4:142
How the Quran lied about Mary and Jesus Christ s birth?
By Mohammad Asghar
2005/04/18

Syeda Muneeba Masood, a devout Muslim woman, wrote in Banglarnari: Ibn Jarir
and others narrated that one day Maryam ran out of water. She asked her cousin,
Yusuf, the son of Yaqub to go with her to get some. He declined, saying he had
his sufficiency for that day, so Maryam went to fetch water alone. There, she fo
und Jibril, whom Allah had sent to her in the shape of a man.
Response: This is what the Quran tells us about Mary, the mother of Jesus C
hrist. My tafsir of the Quranic verses and the inferences I have drawn from them
are more realistic than what Ibn Jarir and others have narrated about her and h
er conception with a son whose father was not a human being but Allah Himself:
19: Sura Maryam, or Mary
It seems to us that Allah always derived great pleasure from violent deaths of H
is beloved people. Not only in the case of John but also in the case of Jesus Ch
rist, He looked the other way when the Jews of Jerusalem put His beloved son to
excruciating pains before putting him to death through crucifixion, a method of
execution the very thought of which makes many of us tremble today with extreme
fear. But the people of the past were not like the people of today: like Allah,
they, too, took great pleasure from great pains they inflicted on their victims.

And yet, we, the common folks, believe that the same Allah can save us from the
tyranny of our rulers, without giving any thought to His past failures! This bli
nd belief in many of us developed from reading what are stated in some of the mo
st disgusting Books we call Religious Scriptures; they being made sweet and effe
ctive by the preaching of the priests of all hue and characters.
With their forceful voice, the priests can lift many listeners off their feet. W
ith their well articulated but often circuitous arguments, they can turn a rat i
nto a lion. With the power of their penetrating eyes, they can mesmerize even th
ose who refuse to be influenced by anything they do not believe without verifyin
g its efficacy or truthfulness.
Fooling people in the name of religions has become a high-paying job for many pe
ople. It is their priesthood that helps them thrive in this world. It is their a
bility to fool others that has turned many of them into multi-millionaires; thei
r economically hard-pressed victims being unable to draw any tangible benefit fr
om any of the things they tell them in their sermons. Yet, they flock to their c
ongregations to be fooled again and again.
How long humans would continue to be fooled, we do not know. But we are sure of
one thing and it is this: the sharks in the garbs of priests would continue to f
east on their unsuspecting victims for so long as they would not be able to real
ize their tactics and the banality of their religious sermons.
The story of Zakariya and John over (as stated in the beginning of Sura Maryam),
Allah asked Muhammad to relate or narrate in the Quran the story of Mary: how s
he left her people and took herself to a solitary place to the east. Following H
is instruction, this is what Muhammad narrated, in his own words, in the Quran:
Verse 17: She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her
our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.
Verse 18: She said: I seek refuge from thee to (Allah) Most Gracious: (come not
near) if thou dost fear Allah:
Verse 19: He said: Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to th
ee the gift of a holy son.
Verse 20: She said: How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, a
nd I am not unchaste?
Verse 21: He said: So (it will be): they Lord saith, That is easy for Me: and (We
wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and Mercy from Us : it is a matter (so) d
ecreed.
Muhammad s ability to narrate Mary s story was not better than Allah s ability. In fa
ct, both of them seem to be handicapped by their inability to narrate clearly th
e stories of the past, most of which were, though, essential for laying the foun
dation of Islam.
Moreover, he contradicted himself in many places of the Quran. His statement in
verse 17 is one of them. In this verse, he said that just one angel i.e. Gabriel
had appeared before Mary as a man in all respects. He made quite a different st
atement in verse 3:42 and 45.
According to these verses, the number of angels who assembled in Mary s chamber wa
s not only more than one; they even fought over the question of who among them w
as going to take care of her. This contradiction makes it abundantly clear that
the Quran is a brainchild of Muhammad and that to attribute its contents to Alla
h is simply a fallacious invention on the part of the Muslims.
Despite the fact that some of the verses, quoted above, belong to the category o
f unclear verses, yet, we will make our best efforts to find out what exactly th
ey mean and what lessons we humans are supposed to take from them.
Improving upon the part of Mary s story that was narrated by Allah in Sura al-Imra
n, Muhammad tells us through verse 16, above, that there was a time in her life
when she withdrew from her family and went to a place in the East where she hid
herself behind a screen, without giving a reason for her doing such an irrationa
l thing. Some Muslim scholars, Maulana Abul Modudi, being one of them, explained
Mary s action thus:
Dedicated by her mother to the worship of Allah, Mary took up residence in a cha
mber of Baitul Muqqadus {it being the other name of the Farthest Mosque, or Masj
idul Aqsa, mentioned in 17:1} under the supervision of prophet Zakariya. Her ch
amber was located in the eastside of it. Following a requirement of isolationism
{known as ehtehkaf in Arabic} practiced by the isolationists, she hung a curtai
n to hide herself from the eyes of the onlookers.[1]
The structure the learned scholar he has referred to as Baitul Muqqadus did not
exist at the time Mary is believed to have lived. It was built in 690 A.D., or t
hereabouts by the Muslim Caliph Abd-ul-Malik at the grounds where once stood the
Temple of Solomon . Titus destroyed it in 70 A.D., whereafter it was never rebu
ilt. Hence, his attempt at clarifying Muhammad s statement is not only misplaced,
it is also a blatant lie. [2]
Whatever the location of the place, the verse does not give us a clear-cut reaso
n that required a young Mary to withdraw herself from her family, and to move to
the east, unless the prophet under whose care she was given by her mother had m
ade her pregnant.
[1] Tafhimul Quran; part 3, pp. 62 &63. It is author s translation from Urdu.
[2] Abdullah Yusuf Ali thinks the chamber was located in the Temple . See His no
te 2471, The Holy Quran, Vol. 2, p. 771.

At the time Mary had become pregnant without getting married, adultery carried d
eath sentence, especially for the women. Since prophet Zakariya was a powerful m
an, it would have been impossible for her to claim that the child she was carryi
ng was his. Her failure to tell the truth spelt death for her.
We surmise that the Quran s Marry moved to a solitary place to hide her pregnancy
from the people. Here she contrived the rest of the story that blends well with
the one that Muhammad himself had fabricated in connection with his alleged asce
nsion to the heavens and his face-to-face meeting with Allah.
At the time Mary became pregnant with Jesus Christ, the Jews believed that angel
s do come down to earth and meet Allah s selected people. They brought good news f
or some; to others they brought prosperity and happiness. They, however, differe
d on the forms or shape the angels assumed during their encounters with humans.
Being herself a Jew, Mary knew well that her co-religionists would treat her len
iently, if she told them that the child she was carrying was given to her by All
ah through an angel. She was right; the Jews did not punish her even after knowi
ng that she had become a mother without getting married to a man.
The Jews could not have punished her, even if some of them wanted to, for she pr
esented her case in such a convincing manner that was enough to put them off the
ir course. She told them that the angel who had visited her was a man in all resp
ects, implying that it was he who had made her pregnant.
The biblical story on Mary s conception does not name a particular angel; the Qura
n does. According to it, there is an archangel by the name of Gabriel, who repre
sents Allah, whenever a representation on His behalf becomes necessary. In fact,
without him, Allah cannot survive, hence his title Ruhul Quddus,[1] i.e. the So
ul of Quddus, Quddus meaning Holy, and it being one of the ninety-nine lofty tit
les of Allah.
As the Quran says, it was this archangel whom Allah had given the responsibility
to make Mary pregnant on His behalf. This is what the Arabic version of verse 7
 says, but the translator[2] whose translation we are using in our commentary in
tentionally distorted it with a particular intention: when angel Gabriel is Alla
h s Soul, it goes without saying that whatever he did he did it for and on behalf
of Allah, as He cannot do many things by Himself.
Confession by the Muslims that Allah was Christ s father will nullify Islam, for t
he Quran claimed that it is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He shou
ld beget a son. ...[3] It also insists that Allah has no partner, hence the ter
m la sharik used to describe His unitary status. Whoever thinks that Allah had o
r has a son becomes a renegade, a sin that is punishable with death penalty.
It was on account of the above reason that the translator of the verse translate
d it in a way as was necessary for him to protect his Islamic belief. To us, his
action amounted to dishonesty and forgery. Had he been an upright man, his tran
slation should have read thus:
She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our Soul,
and it appeared before her as a man in all respects. [4]
The Quran does not tell us the number of souls Allah has. Believing that He has
only one soul, we wonder what happens to Him when He transfers His soul to Gabri
el.
Does not having a soul make Allah a human-like entity? Does Allah become a statu
e during the time His soul goes out and remains in Gabriel s body? These are diffi
cult questions for which we have no answer. Perhaps, Islamic scholars or theolog
ians can help us with the answer, as many of them appear to know even those even
ts which take place in heaven, between Allah and His angels.
Seeing a young man in her solitary chamber, Mary panicked. Knowing not how to pr
otect her virginity, she begged of the man not to force her into sex. The man re
plied: I am the messenger of your Lord, and have come to give you a holy son.
Mary asked him innocently: How shall I bear a child, when I am a virgin, untouch
ed by man?
The man replied: Such is the will of your Lord, implying that he was there to br
eak her virginity, as there is no difficult thing for Him {to perform}. {The chi
ld I am going to give to you) shall be a sign to mankind, says the Lord, and a bl
essing from Ourself. This is Our decree.[5]
Verse 22: So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.
Verse 23: And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: she
cried (in her anguish): Ah! Would that I had died before this would! Would that
I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!
Verse 24: But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): Grieve not! fo
r thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee;
Verse 25: And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: it will let fall
fresh ripe dates upon thee.
Being assured that the man was not a rapist; that he was carrying Allah s soul in
his body, and that the child he would help her produce would be Allah s son, Mary
agreed gladly to let him sleep with her. Her one time affair with him made her p
regnant with Jesus Christ, and this she realized soon after the man departed fro
m her chamber.
Instead of staying in her chamber where she could be cared for in her advance st
age by her relatives, Mary took flight once again; this time landing herself ben
eath a palm-tree of a desert. Here she lived all by herself, until she was ready
to deliver her baby.
As it happens to all would-be mothers, Mary, too, was overtaken by the pains of
her child s birth. Finding no human around who could extend a helping hand to help
ease the delivery, she cried out: Would that I had died and passed into oblivio
n!
Instead of helping Mary deliver His son, Allah made someone cry out to her from
below the surface where she was laboring: Do not despair. Your Lord has provided
a rivulet that runs at your feet, and if you shake the trunk of this palm-tree
it will drop fresh ripe dates in your lap.
We are amazed by the lack of sensibility as well as sensitivity in Allah. Here i
s a woman with His child, and she is crying with pains of childbirth, He does no
thing but to assure her of the food and water He arranged for her to live on, pr
ovided she survived the threat posed to her life by the un-assisted delivery of
His baby!
[1] The Quran; 16:102.
[2] Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
[3] The Quran; 19:35 et al.
[4] See The Meaning of the Glorious Koran by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall. He us
ed the words Our Spirit. Modudi used the words My Soul in his translation of the sam
e verse. See Tafhimul Quran, Vol. 2, p. 62.
[5] This is N. J. Dawood s translation. See The Koran.
We do not know of any human who would do what Allah, the Quran says, had done to
Mary. First, He impregnated her without letting anyone know about His affairs w
ith her; then He made her leave the company of her relatives. He made her delive
r His baby by the trunk of a desert palm-tree, where there was no other human be
ing to extend her a helping hand. He capped His inane behavior by talking to her
about food and water, which she would have needed only after she had safely del
ivered the child, instead of giving her help, together with the words of consola
tion, encouragement and love.
Was it a manner in which Allah should have treated the mother of His only son? W
e wonder! If what He did to Mary was the standard bearer of His behavior, is the
re any way for us to believe that He is capable of treating us any differently?
Verse 26: So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man, I
have vowed a fast to (Allah), Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into no
talk with any human being.
Verse 27: At length she brought the (babe) to her people, they said: O Mary! Tru
ly an amazing thing has thou brought!
Verse 28: O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a
woman unchaste!
Verse 29: But she pointed to the babe. They said: How can we talk to one who is a
child in the cradle?
Verse 30: He said: I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation a
nd made me a prophet;
Verse 31: And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me
prayer and Charity as long as I live;
Verse 32: (He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;

Verse 33: So Peace be on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day
that I shall be raised up to life (again)!
Verse 35: It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a s
on. Glory to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, Be, and it is
.
Mary somehow delivered her baby. She also removed his umbilical cord with her ow
n effort, perhaps, by using the edge of a palm-leave!
Seeing both the mother and her baby safe and in good health, Allah asked Mary to
eat and drink and to cool her eye by staring at him with an instruction not to
talk to any stranger, should she happened to see one approaching her. She was to
tell him: I have vowed a fast to Allah and I will not enter into any talk with
any human being.
What kind of a fast did Allah talk about in the verse? Does it resemble the one
Muslims keep in the Lunar Month of Ramadhan, and also on other occasions? Do the
y eat and drink during their fasts?
If answers to the questions are in negative, then did not the instruction Allah
gave Mary to eat and drink but to tell others that she was fasting amount to tel
ling a great lie?
Some Muslim scholars have found an easy way to slip out of a tight situation the
above question puts them in. According to them, the fast Allah had instructed M
ary to keep was not the one Muslims keep today; it was a fast that the Children
of Bani Israel of ancient time observed through silence.[1]
Even if the Children of Israel kept their fast through silence, they must have h
ad some rules, as do the Muslims of today that governed their fasts. Muslims beg
in their fast before the break of the day; they break it in the evening before i
t becomes dark.
In the interim period of the day, Muslims do not drink or eat anything. Eating o
r drinking automatically nullifies a Muslim s fast. Did the Children of Israel hav
e similar rule for their community?
If they did, then was not Mary s statement to a stranger that she vowed a fast to
Allah sufficient to break her fast of silence? If it was, then why Allah taught
her such a foolish thing? Does it indicate that He is an All-knowing deity whom
Muslims should worship with so much of reverence and fervor?
The fact that the Children of Israel did not talk once they begin their fast is
evident from verse 29. Instead of answering people s question on her baby, Mary si
gnaled them to talk to him, for if she had said anything, it would have broken h
er fast.
Why Allah did not ask Mary to talk to the strangers in a sign language, instead
of telling her to open up her mouth, which she was not supposed to do during her
fast?
Trained well how to deal with the people she would be confronting on the questio
n of her baby, Mary returned to her town. Immediately, its people began asking h
er questions on Jesus Christ. Instead of herself responding to their questions,
she pointed to the baby and signaled them to talk to him.
Since no human had ever seen or heard of a babe taking from his cradle, they tho
ught that Mary had gone made. But the babe saved his mother s reputation, and bega
n telling them:
I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophe
t. ...
How people must have reacted to a newborn baby talking to them from his cradle w
e do not know, but we are pretty sure that many of them must have died of heart
failures. Others must have left the town, thinking that it had become an abode o
f a ghost; those who could not go away must have kept their children hidden in t
heir homes, lest they become the dinner of a demon they never saw before.
The baby s claim that he began receiving revelations from Allah immediately after
his birth must have created great uproar among the priestly people of the town.
Driven by the news, they must have come, and fallen to his feet, beseeching him
to become their chief priest then and there. They must also have asked him to le
ad them in their congregational prayers; to attend to their funerals and to arbi
trate their disputes. And to do all other things they themselves were incapable
of doing even after reaching their old age.
But we do not find any record of the people of Mary s town responding to such a ne
ver-heard of, earth-shattering and sky-falling happening that evolved around a n
ewly-born baby who talked from his cradle and that, too, in a clear language! Wa
s it possible that all of them had died as result of heart failures, caused by t
he fear of the baby s speaking ability? Or, was it due to the reason that, like al
l the newborn babies in the world, Mary s baby could not have talked immediately a
fter his birth, hence the non-availability of its record to substantiate the Qur
an s absurd claim?
[1] Maulana Abul Ala Modudi, Tafhimul Quran; part 3, p. 65.

An Imperfection in the Perfect Quran

By Kimble K. Smith
The Quran is the perfect word of Allah and cannot have errors. Written by Allah,
its perfection has existed since time began.
There is a passage in the Quran that describes the mother of Jesus of Nazareth a
s the sister of Aaron. It goes like this: At length she brought (the babe) to her
people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: O Mary! Truly a strange thing has
thou brought! O sister of Aaron, thy father was not a man of evil, nor your mot
her a woman unchaste! " (Sura 19:27-28).
But Aaron, the brother of Moses, lived and died centuries before Mary, the mothe
r of Jesus was born; and Aaron s sister was Miriam, not Mary. In the Arabic langua
ge, the word for Mary and Miriam is the same word, (Maryam) perhaps the cause of
this mistake. It is an error that an Arab of the 7th Century might make, to con
fuse Mary with Miriam, but not a mistake that the all-knowing Allah would make.

The above error was discovered during Muhammad s lifetime, and it was brought to
his attention. He had an answer for it.
His explanation went as follows: The (people of the old age) used to give names (
to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone bef
ore them. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book on General Behaviour (Kitable Al
-Adab), Book 025, Number 5326).
There is no way that Muhammad could have known that this was the reason that Mar
y was called sister of Aaron in the Quran unless Allah told him. Mary is never add
ressed anywhere (and for any reason) as the sister of Aaron in any of the Jewish o
r Christian scriptures. So either Allah gave this explanation to Muhammad as the
reason why Mary was addressed in the Quran as the sister of Aaron, or Muhammad li
ed.
If we believe that Allah told this to Muhammad, then we have to wonder why, to a
void the appearance of an error in the Quran, Allah didn t explain the use of the
phrase sister of Aaron right in the Quran in the first place. For example, why did
n t the Quran say something like this: At length she brought (the babe) to her peop
le, carrying him (in her arms). They said: O Mary! Truly a strange thing has thou
brought! And addressing her with a pious name of old, they said, O sister of Aaro
n, thy father was not a man of evil, nor your mother a woman unchaste "? Surely Al
lah, being the greatest of all poets, could have found a beautiful, perfect way
to explain this issue in the Quran.
Allah has many attributes, but stupid is not one of them. Why did Allah allow His
perfect book to be doubted and attacked for describing Mary as the sister of Aaro
n when Allah could have easily fixed the problem beforehand right in the Quran? B
ecause Allah did not fix this passage, many believe that Muhammad was lying to c
over a mistake that he, not Allah, had made. Note that Muhammad s explanation null
ifies all other possible explanations, such as the possibility that the brother
of Mary mentioned in the Quran was a different Aaron from the brother of Moses.
Also note that the Quran is a perfect book, but contains an imperfection that co
uld have easily been corrected within the book itself, creating a contradiction
of the most fundamental sort.
Surely Allah knew that the phrase, sister of Aaron would be read as a mistake by
many readers. He knew that the Arabic word for Miriam and Mary was the same word
, pointing to an Arab (and who else but Muhammad?) as the likely source of this
passage. For all these reasons, Allah had every incentive to correct this proble
m in the Quran so that it would not look like Muhammad s mistake; but He didn t corr
ect it.
Therefore, we conclude that Allah did not write the Quran.
However it is very likely that this hadith was forged and falsely attributed to
Muhammad. It is an attempt of the Muslims to whitewash Muhammad s error.
Psychotherapy a la Qur anic verses?

By Abul Kasem
[A note to the readers: All Qur an translations are by Abdullah Yusuf Ali and are
extracted from the website http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/]
A few weeks ago, I read quite an entertaining essay written by Prof. Manzurul Hu
q of Dhaka University and published in The Independent on September 10, 2003 as
an Op-Ed article. In this essay (read Prof. Manzurul Huq s article at the end of t
his rebuttal), Prof. Huq mentioned about his novel idea of using the Holy Qur an a
s a tool of Psychotherapy. I would have ignored such a piece of information had
it been written by an ordinary Islamist folk; but such a great discovery from a Pr
of. of Psychology (my guess) cannot be simply dismissed as wild imaginations of
a Madrassa educated Mullah. I read Prof. Huq s article intently and I especially s
crutinized all the Qur anic verses he mentioned in his essay. It was quite fascina
ting to note that Prof. Huq blithely mentioned certain selective verses from the
Qur an without quoting them in full or providing any references in his quibbling
essay.
To satisfy my query, I searched the Qur an exhaustively and was deeply disturbed a
t the ruse of Prof. Huq to mislead the uninformed and/or gullible readers by his
pedantry and apparent lack of explanation of those selective Qur anic verses. Is
lamists often accuse us of misquoting/misusing/distorting the Qur anic verses out
of context. When I read Prof. Huq s article, I had a good chuckle. You will surel
y discover the compelling reason of my smile when you read the following paragra
phs. After reading this rebuttal you will certainly learn for yourself, who are
more adept in quoting the Qur anic verses out of context. His article made me ver
y confident that in none of our articles we ever misquoted Qur an out of context.
Here are the Qur anic verses that Prof. Huq mentioned but never quoted fully/discu
ssed about its true content.
Verse 2:30
This verse cannot be read alone; we need to refer to 2:29-31 to get the complete
meaning of this part of Sura al-Baqara (Sura 2). Let us peruse these verses:
002.029 It is He Who hath created for you all things that are on earth; Moreove
r His design comprehended the heavens, for He gave order and perfection to the s
even firmaments; and of all things He hath perfect knowledge.
002.030 Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on ear
th." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and
shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He
said: "I know what ye know not."
002.031 And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before
the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right."
It is true that in these verses Allah informs the angels of His intention of cre
ating a human being in the nature (or image) of Allah. However, the angels were
apprehensive that this new creation of Allah would make mischief on earth. How
could the angels foretell the wicked nature of humankind even before Allah had
created him (Adam) is totally unknown? Won t this tell us that Allah s angels are a
tad smart than the Creator? Furthermore, if the human created in the spirit of A
llah could be wicked, then it follows logically that Allah surely has those trai
ts of wickedness in Him as well; because, human beings are truly the reflection
of the nature of Allah. Of course, many exegetes of the Qur an insist that the an
gels had no will power of their own, whereas Allah bestowed to human being some
limited will power. Even if we accept this crude explanation as palpable, I find
no trace of any concept of modern Psychotherapy/Psychology and mind science in th
ose verses. It is a small wonder to me as to how could a professor of modern Ps
ychotherapy/Psychology passes up those antiquated, questionable verses as reflec
ting the theories of contemporary Psychology?

Verse 15:26-29
015.026 We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape;
015.027 And the Jinn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching w
ind.
015.028 Behold! thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man, from sou
nding clay from mud moulded into shape;
015.029 "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of
My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him."
Isn t it funny to discover the laws of Psychotherapy/Psychology in these verses? T
hese four verses talk of how Allah created a human being out of burnt clay and t
hen gave it life by breathing into it His spirit. Any person with the slightest
knowledge of science, nature, and the evolutionary concept will find these verse
s to be totally unscientific and devoid of any erudition of Psychology/Psychothe
rapy.

Verse 39:53
039.053 Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair n
ot of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful.
Who can figure out current Psychology in this verse? I am stupefied that an emin
ent Professor of Psychology would try to pass up this verse as a tool for Psycho
therapy. This verse clearly mentions of the time when Muhammad was weak and Alla
h asked him to be gentle and patience while preaching to the infidels, for, Alla
h guarantees His succour to Muhammad. Of course, many Islamists use this verse t
o soft-sell Islam to the gullible infidels who are completely un-aware of the ex
istence of frightening and fearful verses of the Qur an that offer them the severe
st punishment if they do not accept Islam. Even the celebrated translator and th
e commentator of the Qur an, Abdullah Yusuf Ali could not discover an iota of Psyc
hological knowledge in this verse. In his Tafsir (commentary #3485[i] ) on this
verse, he writes:
The rejecters of Faith throw out a challenge out of bravado: Let us see if you can
hasten the punishment on us! this is a vain taunt. God s Plan will take its course
, and can neither be delayed nor hastened, it is out of His Mercy that He gave r
espite to sinners,-- in order that they may have a chance of repentance. If they
do not repent, the Punishment must certainly come to them and all on a sudden, be
fore they perceive that it is coming! And then it will be too late for repentanc
e.
What do we read in the above commentary? We surely notice the vengeful nature of
Allah. Muslim s Allah is such a spiteful tormentor that He will surely punish th
ose who do not repent their past deeds. Why should a person repent? What wrong h
as he done? Is it because he worshipped some idols for which Allah must mete out
a terrible punishment to him? Is this the Psychology of Allah? Even an arrant
fool won t be able to find any ingredients of Psychotherapy in those verses, I am
really wondering.
Verse 22:116 (?)
There is no such verse in the Qur an, or, at least I could not find it in any vers
ion of the Qur an. In fact, Sura 22 has just 78 verses in it. I guess it is a genu
ine mistake on the part of the author; an explanation from the author would be a
ppreciative, though.

Verse 49:13
049.013 O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, a
nd made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye ma
y despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is
(he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well
acquainted (with all things).
Here is another verse that the author uses very cleverly to soft-sell Islam. The
re are a few good words from Allah in this verse. Nevertheless, at first, we must
understand why Allah released this Sura. This Sura is connected to a deputation
that came to Medina to profess allegiance to Muhammad. It deals with manners and
behaviour towards the prophet, because many of those seeking audience with Muha
mmad were uncivilized, rowdy and ill-mannered Bedouin Arabs.
That is it. Now, you know why Muhammad had to tone down his belligerency toward
s the unruly Bedouins. He wanted to have some peace with these un-civilized dese
rt dwellers and so he posed himself as a very peaceful man to these people. What
connection this verse has with Psychotherapy? What Muhammad did was simply what
any person would have done. One does not need to have a doctorate in Psychology
to espouse this basic instinctive nature of all creatures.

Verse 2:280
002.280 If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time Till it is easy for him
to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only
knew.
This verse says it all. It simply talks of debt write-off. Which branch of Psych
ology this verse is talking about? May I ask such a simple question to the auth
or?
Verse 16:125

016.125 Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching;
and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knowe
th best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.
This Meccan Sura is simply Allah s advice to Muhammad in preaching his new brand o
f religion (Islam). Of course, this verse sounds very peaceful and attractive, b
ecause Muhammad was very weak during this nascent stage of his proselytising. Du
ring this period, he had very little choice but to be gracious, peaceful and acc
ommodative towards his opponents. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, in his commentary (comment
ary #2162[ii] ) on this verse writes:
 It may be that the Preacher sometimes says to himself What is
the use of teaching those people? They have made up their minds, or they are ob
stinate or they are only trying to catch me out. Let him not yield to such a thou
ght. Who knows how the seed of the Word of God may germinate in people s minds? It
is not for man to look for results. Man s inner thoughts are known best to God.
Why did a learned person such as Abdullah Yusuf Ali fail to note any theory of c
ontemporary Psychology/Psychotherapy in this verse?
Verse 41:34
041.034 Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Th
en will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and int
imate!
Muhammad received this Sura from his Allah while he was at Mecca. In the beginni
ng, when he started preaching, he was quite peaceful and accommodating to the pa
gans. As he was too weak to face the pagans forcefully, he applied this selling-
trick of pleasing his tribal people with sugarcoated words. Note that many verse
s during this period were actually borrowed from the Gospel. Therefore, if one,
at all, finds some rules of Psychotherapy, then the credit should go to the Gosp
el and not to the Qur an. I wonder why did not the writer mention many Slokas that t
he Buddhists chant for peace and happiness of mankind. In reality, if one really
wants to find Psychotherapy in any religious book then the Buddhists meditation
techniques and their chanting of mantras could be the prime examples to find spiri
tual upliftment and inner peace.
Verse 20:44
020.044 "But speak to him mildly; perchance he may take warning or fear (Allah).
"
This early Meccan Sura narrates the story of Moses and Pharaoh. When Moses becam
e a fugitive after killing an Egyptian, Allah commanded him to meet the mighty P
haraoh. But Moses was very scared that once Pharaoh gets hold of him, he would p
ut Moses on trial for murder and would punish him accordingly. Therefore, Allah
asked Moses to be nice to Pharaoh and to speak with this strong ruler gently. On
e may genuinely doubt the immense power of Allah in this case. Why did Allah hav
e to take the help of Moses to bring back an errand Pharaoh to the Straight Path ?
Where is Psychotherapy in this verse? In fact, this verse advocates the use of fea
r to guide one to Allah. Does the modern Psychotherapy use fear (read terror) ta
ctic to the mentally disturbed patients? Is the author suggesting that Islamic te
rrorism is a scientifically proven method to apply Psychotherapy?
Verse 9:119
009.119 O ye who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are true (in word and
deed).
This verse is really unabashed in declaring that fear is definitely an effective
means to bring people to faith (read Islam). If anyone still doubted the Islami
c terror being applied to control the Psychological well being of a person, then
this verse will be clear enough. Please re-read the previous explanation (verse
20:44) regarding the use of fear (or terror) to apply Islamic Psychotherapy.
Verse 29:45
029.045 Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish r
egular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembra
nce of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the
(deeds) that ye do.
This verse merely exhorts the believers to offer regular prayers to restrain the
mselves from some shameful deeds, without specifying what those shameful deeds a
re. This is done, once again, to instill fear in believer s mind by reminding the
faithful the awesome might of Allah. Shall we not consider this verse to be noth
ing but a form of coercion to subjugate believers to a questionable Allah and Hi
s supreme power?
It is quite hilarious to read essays from erudite Islamic scholars who discover
science, technology, medicine, biology (embryology), botany etc. in the Qur an. Musl
ims have the fascination for the field of embryology. Because it deals with hum
an reproduction. However, Muslims shy away from talking about Charles Darwin s th
eory of evolution. Gene cloning, recombinant DNA technology, etc., are taboo su
bjects too! And now it is even more amusing when we note that impeccably qualif
ied academics find tools of Psychotherapy in the Qur an. Austrian psychotherapist
Sigmund Freud must be rolling in his grave hearing that a pedagogue from Dhaka s
Psychology department had found Qur anic instruction through which one can do psyc
hotherapy. I wonder which Psychiatrist/clinic/hospital/therapist will concur wi
th the findings of Prof. Manzurul Huq s latest discovery? Any guess? I am anxiou
s to hear from Prof. Huq. Hello, Prof. Huq, do you hear me?
[i] Ali, A. Yusuf, The Holy Quran, Translation and commentary, Amana Corp. (1983
); 4411 41st St. Brentwood, Maryland 20722, p.1044
[ii] Ibid, p.690
Here I include the seminal findings of Prof. Manzurul Huq as published in Dhaka s
Daily Independent on September 10, 2003:
Quranic approach to psychotherapy
PROF. MANZURUL HUQ
Psychotherapeutic measures as involved in the Quranic program of healthy persona
lity development, are directed towards the achievement of fullest development of
innate divine potentialities of human beings and helping them to overcome obsta
cles to be encountered in the course of such development.
As potential Khalifa or vicegerent of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala (Al-Quran, 2:30)
, each human being possesses an unbounded reserve of resources consisting of nas
cent divine traits representing the Attributes of Allah (SWT) in finite forms. B
eing Divine vicegerent, the core entity of human being is essentially spiritual
in nature. However this spiritual entity has been infused in an animal structure
of man (Al-Quran, 15:26-29). This interaction of spirit with an animal body has
provided man with immense developmental promises as well as special vulnerabili
ties for personality development. In realizing the spiritual promises individual
s are required to successfully overcome these inherent vulnerabilities as well a
s get through the hurdles and obstacles stemming from their socio-physical envir
onment.
Qalb (Heart), the Key Entity in Regulating Behaviour and Shaping Personality: In
the interactive functions between the spiritual entity and the physical body Is
lamic tradition identifies qalb or heart to be playing the key role. This Qalb i
s not synonymous with the physical heart. It is a transcendental supra-sensuous
entity that, however, is functionally and inextricably related to physical heart
, The transcendental heart holds the reins of human personality. It regulates al
l sorts of behavioural functions and drives and steers personality through the e
ntire course of its development. The Holy Quran has therefore made qalb the prim
e target of its developmental program. Heart (Qalb) operating in combination wit
h aql (intellect) and irada (will), two innate properties of heart, constructs a
cognitive map- a cognitive frame of reference - as well as generates and adopts
appropriate plan of actions to traverse through this cognitive map to attain th
e life-goals. Thus the whole behaviour pattern and the total human personality a
re inextricably anchored to heart. States and Phases of Personality Development:
Opposed to aql (intellect), there is another element related to Qalb called sha
ilaniyya (demonic element) that represents destructive force in human self. Both
intellect and demonic element struggle to get hold of shahwa (appetite) and gad
hab (anger), two animal drives related to self, to use them as tools for their r
espective purposes. Aql employs these drives for the growth and development of s
elf by diverting them to constructive channels. If it succeeds in subordinating
them to make them useful to self. The devil in him also becomes subdued and its
malignant influences also become ineffective. Once the mischievous tendency of d
evilish element has been neutralized and the animal drives are made to work in h
armony with Aql the conflict of the opposing forces comes to an end and a state
of harmony and balance prevails in personality. This state of peace is referred
to in Al-Quran as al nafs-al-mutmainnah or the tranquil soul. With the internal
harmony achieved through the ascendancy of heart's divine property of aql, self
also gets fully attuned to the Divine design and guidance that enables it to mak
e unimpeded progress towards actualizing its innate divine potentialities leadin
g towards the goal --state of Divine vicegerency.
At the opposite pole of development when the animal forces overpower the divine
element at the instigation of 'shaitaniyya', evil tendencies dominate and reign
over self. Aql gets weakened and its functions are blocked and paralyzed. As a r
esult all other faculties of self become subservient to animal forces and eventu
ally aql may also become their captive. All these faculties are then used to ful
fil the impulses of passion, anger, and lust and finally reason is also made to
serve them by making plans and schemes for the gratification of these impulses.

Intervening between the above two phases there is an intermediate state. Self in
this state is characterized by constant vigilance and self-awareness. It strive
s continuously to get rid of lower passions and desires through self-criticism,
scrutinizing its actions in the light of reasoning and reflection. The Holy Qura
n has termed this state as al-nafs-allawwamah i.e, the reproaching self. If nurt
ured to its maturity this state may become a prelude to the final state of tranq
uil soul. Therapeutic processes as involved Al-Quran, therefore, consists of mea
sures for guiding individuals to a transition through the lower personality phas
es to the final state of tranquil soul.
Faith and Cognition of Tawheed is the Vital Force Liberating Human Being: To lib
erate human souls from the overriding influences of animal and demonic elements
as well as from other alien forces of world and universe, Al-Quran has followed
a program of implanting an all-encompassing faith and cognition of Tawheed, the
faith and realization of the Omnipotence and Absolute Sovereignty of Allah (SWT)
, in the hearts of the people. To assimilate the faith and cognition of Tawheed
in all its purity, the heartbeds of the believers were also being weeded out of
all bases and sources of false perceptions and assumptions about life and realit
y i.e., all kinds -of false deities be they gods or their images, and any other
things, such as people and societies, wealth, power or positions, assumed to hav
e independent capacities to influence human life and destiny besides the Being o
f Allah (SWT).
This triggered the process of surging up the divine reserves of human hearts and
souls and consequent emergence of a growing all-encompassing conscience that en
abled the believing individuals gradually to get rid of their vicious behavioura
l practices and shape their personalities into positive moulds of Divine viceger
ency by stages, keeping pace with the growing levels of maturity of hearts' Tawh
eed-based cognitive structure.
Some Therapeutic Impacts of Quranic-World View: The Holy Quran presents Allah (S
WT) as the All-Powerful, All-Wise, Omniscient Creator, Sustainer and Provider as
well as the Most Merciful, Beneficent Oft-Forgiving Being. The totality of crea
tion is also stated in Al-Quran as a Divinely ordered purposive system. Belief a
nd cognition of such Divine Attributes would generate most salubrious kind of op
timism in the hearts of the believers and provide them with constant drive for c
ontinuous forward thrust in their personality strivings and enable them to face
all challenges of lives with vigour and zest.
Annoying effects of sustained self-reproaches and guilt-feelings, that often pla
gue human psyche, are successfully overcome by adherents to Quranic belief in th
e Merciful and Forgiving Divine Being. Such a person can always resume his effor
ts to rebuild his personality in response to the Divine call of total forgivenes
s even after being totally wrecked ( Al-Quran, 39:53).
Harmful effects of worrying and lamenting over untoward occurrences in life, tha
t often results in eating up our vigour and strength, can be effectively prevent
ed and reverted by a trust in the Absolute Wisdom of Divine Design and Providenc
e ( 22:116).
Even persons who are mentally retarded or physically handicapped or have inferio
r social status by birth, should not feel crippled and barred from attaining suc
cess in life. Because, honour in the eyes of Allah (SWT), the real measure of ge
nuine success, lies in Taqwa, i.e., piety and God-fearingness, and not in any co
ndition beyond one's voluntary control (49:13; 2:280). In sum, the total harmoni
ous Quranic world-view with a definite Divine design, would replace the percepti
on of a random chaotic and purposeless universe with the cognition of a profound
ly meaningful, superbly ordered, adequately predictable system of life and unive
rse, where man as the most resourceful Divine agent has been assigned a central
and most dignified role to play. Such a view of life and universe would salvage
modem man from all bewildering and crippling perplexities of meaninglessness in
life.
Some Quranic Principles and Etiquettes Involved in the Practice of Counselling a
nd Behaviour Modification: Al-Quran has laid pivotal importance on the sincerity
and purity of motivation for the acts of persuasion and counselling. The Holy Q
uran says that the sole motive of all the prophets for counselling people was to
gain return from Allah alone (26:164, 180). However, attaining Divine pleasure
was the highest form of return for them.
Two basic features characterizing the mission of the Divine apostles were genuin
e love and positive regard for the fellow human beings. These two qualities have
special bearing on the practice of counselling and psychotherapy as they are es
sential requirements for establishing effective rapport with clients and patient
s and for gaining their trust and confidence. Besides love and positive regard,
Allah (SWT) also exhorts prophets to deal softly and to employ wisdom in their a
cts of persuasion and counselling (20:44; 16:125).
A supremely generous and extremely effective principle stated in Al-Quran for br
inging change in attitude and behaviour of others is to counter evil with good (
41:34). Al-Quran also counsels the believers to remain with the truthful people
(9:119). The people can be immensely benefited by such practice from the group n
orm of righteous persons.
Therapeutic Impacts of Regular Practice of Salaat (Ritual Prayer), And Zikr (Rem
embrance of Allah).
Therapeutic impacts of the above practices lie, among other things, in activatin
g the transcendental dimension of human self through exclusive absorption in the
 perceptual presence of Allah (SWT) and intimate communion with Him. With the as
cendancy of transcendental dimension in personality through the practice of regu
lar salaat and abundance of Zikr, individuals gain control over their animal ins
tincts and get rid of all kind of immodest and unjust behaviour (29:45). They al
so play significant roles in removing worries of life and multiple dispersions o
f personality.
Some Relevant Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars: In the end, some reference
s have been made to some highly effective therapeutic principles and methods tha
t were devised and practiced by some great Muslim philosopher-psychologists and
physicians centuries earlier than their discoveries by modem psychologists. Thes
e therapeutic principles and devices were largely derived from their understandi
ng of the Quranic concepts of human nature and personality.
[The writer is Professor, Department of Psychology; Dhaka University. This artic
le is an abridged version of his paper presented as Professor Mofassil Uddin Ahm
ed Trust Fund Lecture 2003 recently.]

[1] Ali, A. Yusuf, The Holy Quran, Translation and commentary, Amana Corp. (1983
); 4411 41st St. Brentwood, Maryland 20722, p.1044
[1] Ibid, p.690
Here I include the seminal findings of Prof. Manzurul Huq as published in Dhaka s
Daily Independent on September 10, 2003:
Quranic approach to psychotherapy
PROF. MANZURUL HUQ
Psychotherapeutic measures as involved in the Quranic program of healthy persona
lity development, are directed towards the achievement of fullest development of
innate divine potentialities of human beings and helping them to overcome obsta
cles to be encountered in the course of such development.
As potential Khalifa or vicegerent of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala (Al-Quran, 2:30)
, each human being possesses an unbounded reserve of resources consisting of nas
cent divine traits representing the Attributes of Allah (SWT) in finite forms. B
eing Divine vicegerent, the core entity of human being is essentially spiritual
in nature. However this spiritual entity has been infused in an animal structure
of man (Al-Quran, 15:26-29). This interaction of spirit with an animal body has
provided man with immense developmental promises as well as special vulnerabili
ties for personality development. In realizing the spiritual promises individual
s are required to successfully overcome these inherent vulnerabilities as well a
s get through the hurdles and obstacles stemming from their socio-physical envir
onment.
Qalb (Heart), the Key Entity in Regulating Behaviour and Shaping Personality: In
the interactive functions between the spiritual entity and the physical body Is
lamic tradition identifies qalb or heart to be playing the key role. This Qalb i
s not synonymous with the physical heart. It is a transcendental supra-sensuous
entity that, however, is functionally and inextricably related to physical heart
, The transcendental heart holds the reins of human personality. It regulates al
l sorts of behavioural functions and drives and steers personality through the e
ntire course of its development. The Holy Quran has therefore made qalb the prim
e target of its developmental program. Heart (Qalb) operating in combination wit
h aql (intellect) and irada (will), two innate properties of heart, constructs a
cognitive map- a cognitive frame of reference - as well as generates and adopts
 appropriate plan of actions to traverse through this cognitive map to attain th
e life-goals. Thus the whole behaviour pattern and the total human personality a
re inextricably anchored to heart. States and Phases of Personality Development:
Opposed to aql (intellect), there is another element related to Qalb called sha
ilaniyya (demonic element) that represents destructive force in human self. Both
intellect and demonic element struggle to get hold of shahwa (appetite) and gad
hab (anger), two animal drives related to self, to use them as tools for their r
espective purposes. Aql employs these drives for the growth and development of s
elf by diverting them to constructive channels. If it succeeds in subordinating
them to make them useful to self. The devil in him also becomes subdued and its
malignant influences also become ineffective. Once the mischievous tendency of d
evilish element has been neutralized and the animal drives are made to work in h
armony with Aql the conflict of the opposing forces comes to an end and a state
of harmony and balance prevails in personality. This state of peace is referred
to in Al-Quran as al nafs-al-mutmainnah or the tranquil soul. With the internal
harmony achieved through the ascendancy of heart's divine property of aql, self
also gets fully attuned to the Divine design and guidance that enables it to mak
e unimpeded progress towards actualizing its innate divine potentialities leadin
g towards the goal --state of Divine vicegerency.
At the opposite pole of development when the animal forces overpower the divine
element at the instigation of 'shaitaniyya', evil tendencies dominate and reign
over self. Aql gets weakened and its functions are blocked and paralyzed. As a r
esult all other faculties of self become subservient to animal forces and eventu
ally aql may also become their captive. All these faculties are then used to ful
fil the impulses of passion, anger, and lust and finally reason is also made to
serve them by making plans and schemes for the gratification of these impulses.
Intervening between the above two phases there is an intermediate state. Self in
this state is characterized by constant vigilance and self-awareness. It strive
s continuously to get rid of lower passions and desires through self-criticism,
scrutinizing its actions in the light of reasoning and reflection. The Holy Qura
n has termed this state as al-nafs-allawwamah i.e, the reproaching self. If nurt
ured to its maturity this state may become a prelude to the final state of tranq
uil soul. Therapeutic processes as involved Al-Quran, therefore, consists of mea
sures for guiding individuals to a transition through the lower personality phas
es to the final state of tranquil soul.
Faith and Cognition of Tawheed is the Vital Force Liberating Human Being: To lib
erate human souls from the overriding influences of animal and demonic elements
as well as from other alien forces of world and universe, Al-Quran has followed
a program of implanting an all-encompassing faith and cognition of Tawheed, the
faith and realization of the Omnipotence and Absolute Sovereignty of Allah (SWT)
, in the hearts of the people. To assimilate the faith and cognition of Tawheed
in all its purity, the heartbeds of the believers were also being weeded out of
all bases and sources of false perceptions and assumptions about life and realit
y i.e., all kinds -of false deities be they gods or their images, and any other
things, such as people and societies, wealth, power or positions, assumed to hav
e independent capacities to influence human life and destiny besides the Being o
f Allah (SWT)
This triggered the process of surging up the divine reserves of human hearts and
souls and consequent emergence of a growing all-encompassing conscience that en
abled the believing individuals gradually to get rid of their vicious behavioura
l practices and shape their personalities into positive moulds of Divine viceger
ency by stages, keeping pace with the growing levels of maturity of hearts' Tawh
eed-based cognitive structure.
Some Therapeutic Impacts of Quranic-World View: The Holy Quran presents Allah (S
WT) as the All-Powerful, All-Wise, Omniscient Creator, Sustainer and Provider as
 well as the Most Merciful, Beneficent Oft-Forgiving Being. The totality of crea
tion is also stated in Al-Quran as a Divinely ordered purposive system. Belief a
nd cognition of such Divine Attributes would generate most salubrious kind of op
timism in the hearts of the believers and provide them with constant drive for c
ontinuous forward thrust in their personality strivings and enable them to face
all challenges of lives with vigour and zest.
Annoying effects of sustained self-reproaches and guilt-feelings, that often pla
gue human psyche, are successfully overcome by adherents to Quranic belief in th
e Merciful and Forgiving Divine Being. Such a person can always resume his effor
ts to rebuild his personality in response to the Divine call of total forgivenes
s even after being totally wrecked ( Al-Quran, 39:53).
Harmful effects of worrying and lamenting over untoward occurrences in life, tha
t often results in eating up our vigour and strength, can be effectively prevent
ed and reverted by a trust in the Absolute Wisdom of Divine Design and Providenc
e ( 22:116).
Even persons who are mentally retarded or physically handicapped or have inferio
r social status by birth, should not feel crippled and barred from attaining suc
cess in life. Because, honour in the eyes of Allah (SWT), the real measure of ge
nuine success, lies in Taqwa, i.e., piety and God-fearingness, and not in any co
ndition beyond one's voluntary control (49:13; 2:280). In sum, the total harmoni
ous Quranic world-view with a definite Divine design, would replace the percepti
on of a random chaotic and purposeless universe with the cognition of a profound
ly meaningful, superbly ordered, adequately predictable system of life and unive
rse, where man as the most resourceful Divine agent has been assigned a central
and most dignified role to play. Such a view of life and universe would salvage
modem man from all bewildering and crippling perplexities of meaninglessness in
life.
Some Quranic Principles and Etiquettes Involved in the Practice of Counselling a
nd Behaviour Modification: Al-Quran has laid pivotal importance on the sincerity
and purity of motivation for the acts of persuasion and counselling. The Holy Q
uran says that the sole motive of all the prophets for counselling people was to
gain return from Allah alone (26:164, 180). However, attaining Divine pleasure
was the highest form of return for them.
Two basic features characterizing the mission of the Divine apostles were genuin
e love and positive regard for the fellow human beings. These two qualities have
special bearing on the practice of counselling and psychotherapy as they are es
sential requirements for establishing effective rapport with clients and patient
s and for gaining their trust and confidence. Besides love and positive regard,
Allah (SWT) also exhorts prophets to deal softly and to employ wisdom in their a
cts of persuasion and counselling (20:44; 16:125).
A supremely generous and extremely effective principle stated in Al-Quran for br
inging change in attitude and behaviour of others is to counter evil with good (
41:34). Al-Quran also counsels the believers to remain with the truthful people
(9:119). The people can be immensely benefited by such practice from the group n
orm of righteous persons.
Therapeutic Impacts of Regular Practice of Salaat (Ritual Prayer), And Zikr (Rem
embrance of Allah).
Therapeutic impacts of the above practices lie, among other things, in activatin
g the transcendental dimension of human self through exclusive absorption in the
perceptual presence of Allah (SWT) and intimate communion with Him. With the as
cendancy of transcendental dimension in personality through the practice of regu
lar salaat and abundance of Zikr, individuals gain control over their animal ins
tincts and get rid of all kind of immodest and unjust behaviour (29:45). They al
so play significant roles in removing worries of life and multiple dispersions o
f personality.
Some Relevant Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars: In the end, some reference
s have been made to some highly effective therapeutic principles and methods tha
t were devised and practiced by some great Muslim philosopher-psychologists and
physicians centuries earlier than their discoveries by modem psychologists. Thes
e therapeutic principles and devices were largely derived from their understandi
ng of the Quranic concepts of human nature and personality.
[The writer is Professor, Department of Psychology; Dhaka University. This artic
le is an abridged version of his paper presented as Professor Mofassil Uddin Ahm
ed Trust Fund Lecture 2003 recently.]

Inheritance

By Rand
The Quran claims to be a clear document.
After a family tragedy, family members will be deeply saddened and must then al
locate the inheritance.
Let's assume a case where the deceased left $100,000,000. Ask 100 people and the
re will be 1000 different allocations. The Quran does not mention who determines
the allocation, and in many cases no allocation is mentioned. There will be hu
ge fights, and greedy people will try to find ways to get all this money. The l
aws of inheritance are described via 2:240, 4:11, 4:12 and 4:176.

http://debate.org.uk/topics/coolcalm/qurcontr.html
wrote:
35) It just doesn't add up: Sura 4:11-12, 176 speaking on the inheritance law, s
pecifies that when a man dies, and leaves behind [for instance] three daughters,
two parents and a wife, the 3 daughters will receive 2/3 of the inheritance, 1/
3 will go to the parents together [according to verse 4:11] and 1/8 for the wife
[4:12] which adds up to more than the available estate. A second example: If a
man leaves only his mother, his wife and two sisters, then the mother receives 1
/3 ( 4:11), 1/4 for the wife [4:12] and 2/3 for the two sisters [4:176], which t
hen adds up to 15/12 of the available property.

To summarize my understanding of 4:11, 4:12 and 4:176, an inheritance is allocat

ed among children, parents, siblings, and wives. Below are a small sample of cas
es that the Quran does not adequately address:

1. In some translations of 4:11 it mentions 2 or more daughters, others m

ention more than 2 daughters.
2. In 4:11 the Quran did not bring up the case of a deceased who only had
sons.
3. The case of daughters only but no parents was not mentioned.
4. The verse does not address adopted-children, concubines, right-hand-po
ssessions and non-believers. Most cases are not explicitly mentioned, so differe
nt people interpret it differently.
5. It ignores the case of a single person that dies, with no living paren
ts, siblings or children.
6. A man dies while having a pregnant wife. Is that (future) child entitl
ed to a share? We must determine when life begins.
7. A husband dies and has an infant. When should this child be entitled t
o receive the inheritance? Is the mother allowed to spend this inheritance mone
y by providing for the infant? Who takes custody of the money?
8. A state has an inheritance law that determines the proper allocation.
However, the state will allow an exemption whereby Muslims can follow their own
traditions. Now some family members believe in Islam, some don't and some are co
nsidered kaffirs by some but not all Muslims. Under which of these cases shoul
d we follow Islamic law?
9. An unmarried couple lives together and has children, the husband dies.
Is his partner and child entitled to the inheritance?
10. The wife commits adultery and has a child that is brought up by her husb
and. Is the child considered a child of the biological parents or the parents th
at brought her up?
11. If there is a joint bank account, and the husband dies, is the wife enti
tled to the entire account?
12. There is a married lesbian couple, and one of the partners gives birth.
Who is considered the wife, the father and the mother?
13. A rich brother and poor sister die at approximately the same time. If he
died first then his sister would get much of the money which would be distribut
ed to her family. If she died first then the brother s family would get most of th
e money. Suppose we don't know who died first?

Maintenance for wives

2:240 seems to indicate that a husband must leave provisions for one year fo
r his wives. This adds further questions: Suppose one does not have a will, shou
ld this be imposed on the husband? Is this bequest in addition to any inheritanc
e, the wives are otherwise entitled to? How much money does maintenance imply?
Are the wives entitled to the entire inheritance when there are insufficient fun
ds to provide for one year? Or perhaps we should just ignore 2:240, see below:
Volume 6, Book 60, Number 53: Sahih Bukhari
Narrated Ibn Az-Zubair:
I said to 'Uthman bin 'Affan (while he was collecting the Qur'an) regarding the
Verse:-- "Those of you who die and leave wives ..." (2.240) "This Verse was abro
gated by an other Verse. So why should you write it? (Or leave it in the Qur'an)
?" 'Uthman said. "O son of my brother! I will not shift anything of it from its
place."

Western Scholars Play Key Role In Touting 'Science' of the Quran

By DANIEL GOLDEN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Joe Leigh Simpson, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Me
dicine in Houston, is a church-going Presbyterian.
But thanks to a few conferences he attended back in the 1980s, he is known in pa
rts of the Muslim world as a champion of the doctrine that the Quran, Islam's ho
ly book, is historically and scientifically correct in every detail. Dr. Simpson
now says he made some comments that sound "silly and embarrassing" taken out of
context, but no matter: Mideast television shows, Muslim books and Web sites st
ill quote him as saying the Quran must have been "derived from God," because it
foresaw modern discoveries in embryology and genetics.
Publicity Machine
Dr. Simpson is just one of several non-Muslim scientists who have found themselv
es caught up in the publicity machine of a fast-growing branch of Islamic fundam
entalism.
Dubbed "Bucailleism," after the French surgeon Maurice Bucaille, who articulated
it in an influential 1976 book, the doctrine is in some ways the Muslim counter
part to Christian creationism. But while creationism rejects much of modern scie
nce, Bucailleism embraces it. It holds that the Quran prophesied the Big Bang th
eory, space travel and other contemporary scientific breakthroughs. By the same
token, it argues, the Bible makes lots of scientific errors, and so is less reli
able as the word of God. Muslims believe the Quran to be God's revelations to th
e prophet Muhammad, as told to him by an angel.
Before the planets and stars, modern science has largely concluded, the universe
was probably a cloud of dust and gas. The Quran presaged that conclusion in the
seventh century, Bucailleists argue, in a text saying Allah "comprehended in hi
s design the sky, and it had been as smoke." The discovery of black holes in spa
ce? Foreseen in the passage, "Heaven is opened and becomes as gates."
While disdained by most mainstream scholars, Bucailleism has had an important ro
le in attracting converts to Islam and in keeping young, Western-leaning adheren
ts faithful. Widely taught in Islamic secondary schools, the doctrine fosters pr
ide in Muslim heritage, and reconciles conflicts that students may feel between
their religious beliefs and secular careers in engineering or computers.
Conferences and Videotapes
"All over the Arab world, in the universities, you will find people who hold ont
o this line of thought more and more," says Muzaffar Iqbal, president of Center
for Islam and Science in Alberta, Canada. "It has more credence there than creat
ionism has here. In the Muslim world, there is no organized opposition to it."
Says Zaghloul El-Naggar, an Egyptian geologist who touts the doctrine on a popul
ar weekly television program shown in the Arab world: "One of the main convincin
g evidences to people to accept Islam is the large number of scientific facts in
the Quran."
Bucailleism has been propelled by a well-funded campaign led by Prof. El-Naggar'
s onetime protege, Sheikh Abdul Majeed Zindani, a charismatic Yemeni academic an
d politician. Founder and former secretary-general of the Commission on Scientif
ic Signs in the Quran and Sunnah, based in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Zindani organized c
onferences where Dr. Simpson and other scientists appeared and were videotaped.

A Friend of Osama
Mr. Zindani also is a friend and mentor to another Bucailleism devotee of Yemeni
descent: Osama bin Laden. The world's most wanted man has regularly sought Mr.
Zindani's guidance on whether planned terrorist actions are in accord with Islam
, says Yossef Bodansky, biographer of Mr. bin Laden and staff director of a U.S.
congressional task force on terrorism. "Zindani is one of the people closest to
bin Laden," says Mr. Bodansky, who attributes the book's findings to interviews
with various intelligence agencies, current and former terrorists and others.
Mr. Zindani, who stepped down as secretary general of the Commission on Scientif
ic Signs in 1995, is now a leading figure in a Yemeni opposition party that advo
cates an Islamic state. He isn't listed as a terrorist by the U.S. government. H
e declined comment for this article, saying through an intermediary that he is p
reoccupied with political and academic affairs.
In an interview last May in a magazine published by the Commission on Scientific
Signs, he said that when Muslims learn of the scientific accuracy of the Quran,
"they feel a kind of honor, confidence and satisfaction that they are following
a true religion." The persuasiveness of the evidence, he added, "is clear and o
bvious, as it is testified by a group of eminent non-Muslim scholars in several
fields."
Bucailleism began gaining momentum around 1980, when Mr. Zindani became director
of a team at King Abdulaziz University that sought out Western scientists visit
ing Saudi Arabia. His breakthrough came when one of his assistants, Mustafa Abdu
l Basit Ahmed, presented a leech to Keith Moore, a University of Toronto profess
or and author of a widely used embryology textbook.
Mr. Ahmed wanted to show that a verse from the Quran, which states that God made
man as a leech, was an apt simile to describe early human gestation as seen und
er a microscope. Mr. Ahmed says Prof. Moore was bowled over by the resemblance b
etween the leech and the early embryo. Since the Quran predated microscopes, Pro
f. Moore, son of a Protestant clergyman, concluded that God had revealed the Qur
an to Muhammad. Prof. Moore has disseminated this view not only on Mr. Zindani's
videos but in many lectures, panel discussions and articles.
Prof. Moore sanctioned a special 1983 edition of his textbook, "The Developing H
uman," for the Islamic world, that was co-written by Mr. Zindani. It alternates
chapters of standard science with Mr. Zindani's "Islamic additions" on the Quran
. In its acknowledgments, among "distinguished scholars" who gave "full support
in their personal and official capacities," Mr. Zindani lists Sheikh Osama bin L
aden, alongside Dr. Simpson and other Western scientists. Prof. El-Naggar, the E
gyptian geology professor who taught Mr. Zindani, says Mr. bin Laden became intr
igued by Bucailleism in his college days after hearing Mr. Zindani lecture, and
helped pay for the book's publication.
Now a professor emeritus, Prof. Moore declined to be interviewed. Reached in Tor
onto, he said he was busy revising his textbook and that "it's been 10 or 11 yea
rs since I was involved in the Quran."
Cultivating Scientists
In 1984, after being denied a permanent position at King Abdulaziz, Mr. Zindani
turned to the Muslim World League, a nonprofit organization primarily funded by
the Saudi government. The World League provided financial support to establish t
he Commission on Scientific Signs. Mr. Ahmed, who moved to Chicago in 1983, was
put on its payroll at $3,000 a month, and traveled from coast to coast cultivati
ng U.S. and Canadian scientists.
The commission drew the scientists to its conferences with first-class plane tic
kets for them and their wives, rooms at the best hotels, $1,000 honoraria, and b
anquets with Muslim leaders -- such as a palace dinner in Islamabad with Pakista
ni President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq shortly before he was killed in a plane crash.
Mr. Ahmed also gave at least one scientist a crystal clock.
Mr. Ahmed, who left the commission in 1996 and now operates an Islamic elementar
y school in Pennsylvania, says he reassured the scientists that the commission w
as "completely neutral" and welcomed information contradicting the Quran. The sc
ientists soon learned differently. Each one was given a verse from the Quran to
examine in light of his expertise. Then Mr. Zindani would interview him on video
tape, pushing him to concede divine inspiration.
Marine scientist William Hay, then at the University of Colorado, was assigned a
passage likening the minds of unbelievers to "the darkness in a deep sea ... co
vered by waves, above which are waves." As the videotape rolled, Mr. Zindani pre
ssed Prof. Hay to admit that Muhammad couldn't have known about internal waves c
aused by varying densities in ocean depths. When Prof. Hay suggested Muhammad co
uld have learned about the phenomenon from sailors, Mr. Zindani insisted that th
e prophet never visited a seaport.
Prof. Hay, a Methodist, says he then raised other hypotheses that Mr. Zindani al
so dismissed. Finally, Prof. Hay conceded that the inspiration for the reference
to internal waves "must be the divine being," a statement now trumpeted on Isla
mic Web sites.
"I fell into that trap and then warned other people to watch out for it," says P
rof. Hay, now at a German marine institute.
Similar prodding failed to sway geologist Allison "Pete" Palmer, who was working
for the Geological Society of America. He stuck to his position that Muhammad c
ould have gleaned his science from Middle Eastern oral history, not revelation.
On one video, Mr. Zindani acknowledges that Mr. Palmer still needs "someone to p
oint the truth out to him," but contends that the geologist was "astonished" by
the accuracy of the Quran. Mr. Palmer says that's an overstatement. Still, he ha
s fond memories of Mr. Zindani, whom he calls "just a lovely guy." He and the ot
her American scientists say they had no idea of Mr. Zindani's ties to Mr. bin La
den. And in any case the U.S. didn't regard Mr. bin Laden as an outlaw at that t
ime.
Looking for Verification
Prof. Gerald Goeringer, an embryologist retired from Georgetown University, says
he urged the commission to try some verification: hire an independent scholar t
o see whether the Quran's statements could have been taken from Aristotle, the G
reek philosopher-scientist who preceded the book by nearly 1,000 years. After hi
s request was denied, Prof. Goeringer says, he stopped going to the conferences
for fear of being associated with fanaticism.
"It was mutual manipulation," he says. "We got to go places we wouldn't otherwis
e go to. They wanted to add some respectability to what they were publishing."
Prof. Simpson -- who attended conferences in Saudi Arabia, Cairo and Islamabad -
- recalls being asked to analyze an anecdote from the Sunnah, an Islamic holy bo
ok recording the acts and words of the prophet, in view of modern genetics.
In this passage -- apparently intended to discourage unjustified accusations of
adultery -- a Bedouin complained to Muhammad that his wife had given birth to a
black child. Muhammed inquired about the nomad's camels, and was told that some
were tinged with red, but one was dusky in color. The prophet then likened the c
hild to the dusky camel, saying both could have inherited their hues from ancest
ors.
At the urging of conference organizers, Prof. Simpson attested that this passage
was consistent with the way recessive genes pass on traits not obvious in paren
ts. But he says that the parallels -- while striking -- aren't necessarily evide
nce of divine inspiration.
University of Pennsylvania historian S. Nomanul Haq, a leading critic of Bucaill
eism, says the notion of inheriting traits from ancestors was commonplace in Muh
ammad's time. He attributes the rise of Bucailleism to a "deep, deep inferiority
complex" among Muslims humiliated by colonialism and bidding to recapture faded
glories of Islamic science.
Headquartered in the holy city of Mecca, the Commission on Scientific Signs has
a branch office in an ornate, three-story building on the outskirts of another S
audi city, Jidda. According to its current secretary general, Hassan A.A. Bahafz
allah, Mr. Zindani no longer has any official ties to the commission, although h
e is still invited to its events. Of Mr. Zindani's association with Mr. bin Lade
n, he says, "All I know is that during the jihad in Afghanistan, Zindani used to
go and visit him."
Mr. Bahafzallah says the commission raises about $250,000 a year from individual
s and businesses, besides its subsidy from the Muslim World League. It has opera
ted five conferences since 1986, most recently in Beirut in 2000, each costing a
bout $100,000.
The legacy of those conferences lives on. Among other products, the commission d
istributes a videotape, "This is the Truth," which intersperses Mr. Zindani's in
terviews with non-Muslim scientists and his commentary -- including the prophecy
that unbelievers "will be exposed to a fire in which every time their skin is b
urnt, we will replace them with new skins."
Islamic publishers and organizations have distributed 800,000 copies of "A Brief
Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam," which reprints large portions of the
videotape's script, including the testimonials of the scientists.
The script is also available on Internet sites such as Islamicity.com, which had
more than one million visitors in November. Based in Culver City, Calif., Islam
icity has been digitizing Mr. Zindani's lectures on Quranic infallibility, accor
ding to Chief Executive Mohammed Abdul Aleem. He visits local schools to talk ab
out "correspondences" between the Quran and modern science. Bucailleism, Mr. Ale
em says, "resonates very strongly in the young and educated and especially I thi
nk among Muslims who are going through universities in the U.S."

Folklore in Qur an-Who was Zul-Qarnain?

Syed Kamran Mirza

Virginia, USA
Syed_mirza@hotmail.com

The Zul-qarnain story was narrated in Qur an by series of verses (18:83-98). Here
let me cite a few verses related to Zul-qarnain story:

Quran-18:83 84: They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say I will rehearse to you s
omething of his story. Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him
the ways and means to all ends.

Quran-18:86: Until, when he reached the setting of the Sun, he found it set in
a spring of murky water; near it he found a people; We said O Zul-qarnain ! Thou
hast authority either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness.

Quran-18:90: Until, when he came to the rising of the Sun, he found it rising o
n a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the Sun.

Quran-18:94: They said: O Zul-qarnain ! The Gog and magog (people) do great misch
ief on earth, shall we then render thee tribute in order that thou mightiest ere
ct a barrier between us and them?

Questions to ponder: If Allah did not consider the earth FLAT how in the world H
e sent Zul-qarnain to the (end of the world) place where sun was setting? Or.
To the place where sun was rising? Does anybody needs to reach a setting or ris
ing place to observe sun-set or sun-rise?

Who was Zul-Qarnain?

Many Islamic thinkers and intellectuals consider that the said Zul-Quarnain ment
ined in Quran is the Greek conqueror Alexander the great. Here are some source
from where Islamic thinkers perhaps got this idea of Quranic Zul-qarniain as Ale
xander the great. The famous Quranic translator maulana A. Yousuf Ali gave a lon
g story as Appendix Vll (titled: Who was Zulqarnain; page 760-765) detailing the
facts and figures why most Islamic scholars including himself considered very s
trongly that, Quranic Zulqarnain was nobody but Alexander the Great. In this lon
g Appendix, maulana yousuf Ali tried to justify why he thought that the person i
n Quran by the name of Zul-qarnain was nobody but Alexander the Great. Readers p
lease see for yourself the above mentioned appendix in the Maulana Yousuf ali s Tr
anslated Quran. Because, here in this essay I will only illustrate some importan
t quotations (supporting Maulana Yousuf ali s assertion) from this Appendix. Rea
ders please note that, Maulana Yousuf ali s quotations are in italics:

Maulana Yousuf Ali stated, I have not the least doubt that Zul-qarnain is meant t
o be ALEXANDER THE GREAT, the historic Alexander, and not the legendary Alexande
r, of whom more presently. My first appointment after graduation was that of lec
turer in Greek history. I have studied the details of Alexander s extraordinary pe
rsonality in Greek historians as well as in modern writers, and have since visit
ed most of the localities connected with his brief but brilliant career.

What is the meaning of the name Zul-qarnain? According to Maulana Yousuf Ali Lord o
f the two Qarns (horn). And other meanings may be applicable as implying: (1) is
a man or a great king; (2) Lord of East and West, Lord of wide territory or of
two kingdoms; (3) Lord of two crests on his diadem, typifying two kingdoms , or
rank superior to that of an ordinary king; (4) Lord of more than one Epoch one who
se power and influence extend far beyond his lifetime.
Maulana Yousuf Ali stated, If we accept the popular identification of Zulqarnain
with Alexander, all the three letter designations would be applicable to him, as
he was the Lord of the West and the East, Lord of the Greek states united for t
he first time (Hellenic Captain-General) and of the widely-extended Persian Domi
nion which included all Western Asia, Egypt, central Asia, Afghanistan, and the
Punjab. He was represented on his coins with two horns on his head: considered h
imself a son of Jupiter Amon (who had the two horns of ram), with a divine missi
on.

Now the generality of the world of Islam have accepted Alexander the Great as the
one meant by the epithet Zul-qarnain. But some of our Ulama have raised doubts
about it and made other suggestions: (1) An earlier pre-historic king contempora
ry with Abraham, because they say Zul-qarnain was a man of faith (Quran-18:88-98
) while Alexander the Great was a pagan and believed in Grecian Gods.

Another suggestion was made that, Quranic Zul-qarnain was an ancient king of Pers
ia. But there is nothing in our literature to suggest that Zul-qarnain came to a
ny such ignominious end. If it is argued that it was some old prehistoric Persi
an king who built the iron gates (Quran:18:96) to keep the Gog and magog tribes
(Quran:18:94), this is no identification at all. Another suggestion made is tha
t it was some old prehistoric Himyarite king from Yemen, about whom nothing else
is known. An identification with a supposed pre-historic king, about whom nothi
ng is known, is no identification at all.

The question of Yajuj and majuj (Gog and Magog) and the iron barrier built to kee
p them out is of some interest. It is practically agreed that they were the wild
tribes of Central Asia (Manchus and Mongols) which have made inroads on settled
kingdoms and Empires at various stages of the world s history.

The Barrier in the text must have been more in the nature of iron gates then a i
ron wall. Two iron gates, geographically far apart, have been suggested in the a
lternative. Sometimes they have been mixed up by writers not strong in geography
. Both of them have local association with the name of Alexander the great. Bot
h are near a town Derbend, and have borne the name of bab-ul-hadid (Arabic word
for iron gate). The best known iron gate in modern times is at the town and seap
ort of derbend in the middle of the western coast of the Caspian Sea. In the ear
ly days, when Muslims spread to all parts of the world, local legends were start
ed by ignorant people connecting the places they knew with places referred to in
the Quran.

We now come to the iron gate which corresponds exactly to the Quranic description,
and has the best claim to be connected with Alexander s story. It is near another
Derbend in Central asia, Hissar District, about 150 miles south-east of Bukhara
. There is no iron gate there now, but there was one in 7th century when the Ch
inese traveler Hiouen Tsiang saw it on his journey to India. He saw two folding
gates cased with iron and hung with bells. Near by is a lake named Iskandar Kul,
connecting the locality with Alexander the Great. We know from history that
Alexander, after his conquest of Persia and before his journey to India, visite
d Sogdiana (Bukara) maracanda (Samarqand). We also know from Muqaddasi, the Ara
b traveler and geographer, who wrote about A.H. 375 (A.D. 985-6) the Abbasi Khal
ifa Wathiq (842-846 A.D.) sent out a mission to Central asia to report on this i
ron gate. They found the defile 150 yards wide: on two jambs made with bricks o
f iron welded together with molten lead, were hung two huge Gates, which are kep
t closed. NOTHING COULD CORRESPOND MORE EXACTLY WITH THE DESCRIPTION IN HOLY QUR
A N (18: 95-96)

If then the Barrier (in Quran:18:95-98) refers to the Iron gate near Bukhara ,we
are able to proceed to a consideration of the Gog and Magog people with some c
onfidence. They were the Mongol tribes on the other side of the Barrier, while
the industrious men who did not understand Zul-qarnain s language were the turks,
with their agglutinative language, so different from the languages then spoken
in Western Asia. This Barrier served its purpose for the time being. We need n
ot bother about the legends of Gog and Magog people. They were reputed to be Gia
nts, and two tiny hills in flat Cambridgeshire are derisively called the Gog and
Magog hills. In the Alexander legends of medieval Europe, Gog and magog are sa
id to have come with 400,000 men to the help of Porus whom Alexander defeated, a
nd to have fled after that defeat. They fled to the mountains, and Alexander bui
lt a wall with brass gates to prevent their irruption (Paul Meyer, Alexander le
Grand dans la literature fraqaise du Moyen age: Paris, 1886; Vol.2, pp:386-389).

About Alexander s westward journey Maulana Yousuf Ali writes:

One such point in the mention of Alexander s westward journey (Quran:18:86): He saw
the sun set in a piece of murky water which is described as a spring. Most comm
entators have understood the spring to be the sea, and takes the murky water to be t
he dark blue water ..to the west of the town of Lychnis is a lake 170 square miles
in area fed by underground springs that issue through limestone rocks and give o
ut murky water. Both town and lake is now called Ochrida, about 50 miles west of
Monastir. The water is so dark that the river which forms the outlet of the lak
e to the north is called the Black Drin. Looking at the Sun-set from the Town,
the observer would see the sun set in a pool of murky water (Quran-18:86). Histo
ry tell us that, it was a question before the boy King Alexander the dreamy, impul
sive, fearless rider, whether he would put the barbarous Illyriccans to the swor
d or show them mercy. He showed true discrimination and statesmanship. He punish
ed the guilty and showed kindness to the innocent, and thus consolidated his pow
er in the west. This I (Yousuf Ali) construe to be the meaning of verses (18:86-
87); otherwise these verses do not seem to be perfectly clear. Another point ma
y be noted. Three episodes mentioned are: (1) journey to the west, (2) the jou
rney to the east, (3) and journey to the Iron Gate : The journey to the west I hav
e just explained. The journey to the east was to the Persian Empire. Here he fou
nd a people who lived in the open and wore little clothing. This might apply to
people who lived in an inland place in the latitude of Persepolis or Multan. He
left them alone as they were (Quran:18:91).

As I mentioned in my previous essay that, Maulana Yousuf Ali was an educated Mul
lah who frequently gave a very sensible/modern explanation to Quranic Ayats (unl
ike other Madrasa educated Mullah) and by doing that he put Quranic diviness in
clear jeopardy. Therefore, to save Quranic diviness, he at the same time made so
me incongruous arguments to save Allah s integrity. Here in this explanation of Qu
ranic Folklore story about Alexander he created very logical historical backgrou
nd but by doing this he put Allah in a precarious situation because of the fact
that Alexander was not a believer as Quran postulated by various Ayats. So to sa
ve Allah s side, Maulana erected some ludicrous logic: Alexander was a focus of Chr
istian and Jewish learning for some centuries. The Christians also made Alexande
r a saint. The Jews carried the Alexander cycle into the east. Our Persian poet
Jami (A,H. 535-599, A.D. 1141-1203) worked it up into his epic the Iskandar-nama
. He is careful to show the historical or semihistorical and the ethical parts
separately. The one relates to action or exploits (Iqbal) and the other to wisd
om (Khirad). He had the advantage of Quran s story before him. The story mentions
three historical episodes incidentally, but draws our attention to matters of th
e weightiest spiritual significance, and that is the chief thing to note in the
story. All that is known about Alexander the Great shows that he was a man of lo
fty ideals. He died over three centuries before the time of Jesus, but that does
not mean that he was not a man of faith, for God revealed Himself to men of all
nations in all ages. Alexander was an disciple of philosopher Aristotle, noted
for his pursuit of sound Truth in all departments of thought.

Comments:
My question to all Islamists of the opposing group who do not consider Zul-qarna
in as the Alexander the great: How can you deny all these (above) arguments by
Maulana Yousuf Ali? Apologists are in real problem with this simulation of Zul-
qarnain story because ancient history does not give us any such character which
fits with Zul-qarnain story in Quran. Zul-qarnain story exactly fits with the hi
storical facts of the Alexander the Great. But Mullahs are in real problem to ac
cept Alexander as Zul-qarnain, as because, Alexander was a pagan. Interestingly
, if the Alexander was a believer or at least somebody from any of the three mon
otheistic religions of the world, Mullahs would immediately jump to the conclusi
on that Zul-qarnain is no one but Alexander the Great. Readers should ponder why Qur
anic Zul-qarnain story matches 100% with the story of Alexander the Great? Could
it be a mere co-incidence?

Any Muslims (especially Bangladeshi) who experienced Waz-Mehfil of a half-educated

, or Madrasha (Taliban Factory) educated maulana have definitely enjoyed the super
stitious and mythological description of Yajuj and majuj (of this fanciful Zul-qar
nain story) as the terrible Giants who will erupt from some parts of Syria and w
ill destroy this beautiful world of Islam. Then it is the Prophet Issa (Jesus C
hrist) who will come again to fight this Yajuj and majuj to save the world. This
colorful superstitious story is believed by hundreds of millions of blind-faith
muslims, just the way they believe that Qur an is the word of Allah. However, this
historical statement in Qur an is seriously erroneous. Because the ancient histor
y tells us that Alexander was a licentious, belligerent, idolatrous, and claimed
to be the son of Amun, the God of Egypt. And Qur'an amazingly stated that, the
Alexander was the one who reached the west point of flat earth (?), to a end poi
nt where sun set down in a well of muddy water, and also he reached the point of
east end of the earth where he saw sun was rising. About two years ago, Americ
a's PBS telecast a multi-part series on Alexander the Great. In one episode, it
was shown that two Qur'anic scholars from Middle East (Arab) read a passage on A
lexander. He was described in Qur'an as a demon with two horns who caused much d
estruction on earth. The commentator, an English professor, remarked that Alexan
der's disheveled hairdo and the shape of his head indeed portray him as a person
with two horns. Perhaps it was a folklore that this brute Alexander--a devil wi
th two horns--had passed through a big chunk of Arab land. Still now, people can
visit some remote parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, NWFP of Pakistan, a
nd Punjab and hear some folk melodies in which a man name Eskander or Sikander i
s glorified as a fierce fighter. The bottom line is that Qur'an has obviously bo
rrowed this folklore story that was prevailing in Arab peninsula.

Like the one I just described above, there are many stories in the Quran which w
ere taken from: local folklore, the fanciful details of Jewish writers, local st
ories from Arab heretical Christians, mythological stories from Zoarostrians who
apparently got from Hindu mythology. Here are some examples of folklore which Q
uranic author obviously borrowed from various sources:

Story of Azazil

Quran took this name Azazil from Jews who call the evil spirit by the same name. B
ut the story of Azazil was taken from Zoroastrian book of 5. Let us see the comp
arison of the two:
Quranic (Muslim) version of the story: Allah created Azazil, who in the sevent
h hell worshiped the Almighty for a thousand years; he then ascended, spending a
similar term at each stage, till he reached the earth. Elsewhere we read rhat t
he Devil (Azazil) stayed three thousand years close by the gate of the paradise,
with hostile intentions against Adam and Eve, of whom he entertained the utmost
jealousy.

Zoarostrian version of the story: He remained in the abyss, dark and ignorant,
there to commit hurt and injury, and such mischief and darkness is the place th
at they term the dark region. Ormazed (Zoarostrian name of God), who knew everyt
hing was aware of Ahriman s(evil) existence and designs. Both remained thus for 30
00 years, without change or action. The evil spirirt was ignorant of Ormazed s exi
stence; but eventually rising out of the pit, at least behind the light of Ormaz
ed; then filled with hostility and envy, he set to work to destroy.

Other folklore stories which I have no scope to describe here in this essay are:
(a) Legend of the Companions of the cave (Quran-18:8-25), (b) The story of Haru
t and Marut (Quran-2:96), (c) Origin of The Balance (in Quran: 7: 7-8; 21: 48). I
will try to bring them in my future essay.

Yet, apologists will always attempt to defend Quranic flaws by following ridicul
ous and incogitant arguments: (a) They will blame the translation, (b) will say
human being can not understand Allah s Qudraat, (c) Quran has to be taken (when th
ere is serious flaws) as Allegory/parable, (d) Quranic verses (which has flaws)
are only a poetry and not to be taken as real, or (e) at least will say mission i
mpossible , Or, (f) will attack the messenger leaving messages by saying Mr. X or
Y is not an intellectual (high quality enough) to comment on Holy Quran even thoug
h Allah repeatedly said: I (Allah) made the Quran in simple Arabic so that ordin
ary Arabs can understand it.

References:

1. Holy Quran-translated by Mauolana Yousuf Ali

2. Holy Quran-translated by Maoulana Mahiuddin Khan
Samples of Quranic Contradictions, Inconsistencies and Errors.
And no question do they bring to you but We reveal to you the truth and the best
explanation (Quran 25:33).

1- Numerical Contradictions:
2- Creation of the Heaven and Earth
3- Sun-set and Sun-rise
4- A Resting Place For Sun!?
5- Why Allah Created Stars!
6- Is Sky/Heaven A ROOF or Canopy Over the Earth?
7- Does Sun Rotate Around the Earth?
8- Does Earth Spread Out Like Carpet (flat)
9- Is Man Created From Clotted Blood?
10- Is Religion Compulsive or is it not?

Prepared by: Syed Kamran Mirza

Special Note: Quranic ayats are taken mostly from translated Quran by Maulana A.
Yousuf Ali and Maulana Muhiuddin Khan.
Numerical contradictions
There are many numerical contradictions in the Quran. Can God make so much error
in doing simple calculations?
How many days did it take to create Heavens and Earth ?
Quran 7: 54 Your gurdian-Lord is Allah who created the heavens and earth in Six
Days
Quran 10: 3 Verily your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and earth in Six
Days
Quran 11:7 He it is Who created the heavens and earth in Six Days
Quran-25:29: He Who created the heavens and earth and all that is between, in Si
x Days
The above verses clearly state that God created the heaven and Allah created the
heaven and the Earth in 6 days. But the verses below stated-
Quran 41: 9 Is it that ye deny Him who created the earth in Two Days ?
Quran 41: 10 He set on the (earth) Mountains standing firm high above it, and be
stowed blessing on the earth, and measured therein all things to give them nouri
shment in due proportion, in FOUR DAYS
Quran 41: 12 So He completed them (heavens) as seven firmaments in Two days and
Now do the math: 2(for earth) + 4(for nourishment) + 2 (for heavens) = 8 days; a
nd not 6 days
Similar mistakes you can see in the verse: Quran 4: 11 - 12, and Quran 4: 176 in
inheritance law. In these verses one can see the total property after adding al
l distributed parties adds up more than the available property, i.e., totals bec
ome more than 1 which are: 1.125 and 1.25. How come ? A gross mathematical error
s, is not it ?
Allah s Days Equal to 1000 Years or 50,000 Years?
Quran 22: 47 A day in the sight of the Lord is like a thousand years of your rec
koning. Quran-32:5: To Him, on a Day, the space whereof will be a thousands year
s of your rekoning
Quran 70: 4 The angels and the spirit ascend unto him in a day the measure where
of is Fifty thousands years.
So, which one is it? Is the day of Allah equal to 1,000 earth years or 50,000 ea
rth years?
Creation of the Heaven and Earth
Which one was created first? As you will see in the verses below, Allah at one t
ime says that Earth was created first and another time he says that the Heaven w
as created first.
Quran 2: 29 It is He who hath created for you all things that are on Earth; THE
N He turned to the Heaven and made them into seven firmaments (Skies) .
Quran 79: 27 - 30 Are you the harder to create, or is the heaven that He built?
He raised the height thereof and ordered it; and He has made dark the night the
reof, and He brought forth the morning thereof. And after that, He spread (flatt
ened) the earth
Now, does it match modern science? Do you believe that, Earth was created first,
after that, God created Heaven? Modern science tells us that? Or How come SEVEN
firmaments (layers)? Modern science tells us that, actually there is no such th
ing Sky is no roof over us. It is only a space with no known boundary at all. Thes
e verses simply reinforce the ancient idea of ROOF over us which is called SKY,
is it not so? How funny!
Sun-set and Sun-rise
Koran teaches us that the Sun sets in a muddy spring:
Quran 18: 86 Till, when he (the traveller Zul-qarnain) reached the setting-plac
e of the Sun, he found it going down into a muddy spring
Quran 18: 90 Till, when he reached the rising-place of the Sun, he found it ris
ing on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter from it.
Serious scientific errors here! Firstly, it is scientifically accepted fact that
, the Sun never go down in a muddy spring. Secondly, this seems to presuppose a
FLAT Earth, otherwise how can there be an extreme point in the West or in the Ea
st? A sunrise there would be basically just the same as at any other place on th
is earth, at land or sea. It would still look as if it is setting far away . It doe
s say, that he reached THE PLACE where the Sun sets and in his second Journey th
e place where it rises.
A resting place for Sun!?
Quran 36: 38 And the sun runneth on unto a resting place for him. That is the me
asuring of the Mighty, the Wise.
Quran 36: 39 And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she return like an
old shrivelled palm leaf.
Quran 36: 40 It is not for Sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstri
p the day. They float each in an orbit.
Allah is indeed a big scientist. Where is sun and where is moon situated? Can an
ybody tell me how they could collide/meet/overtake each other? Are the sun and t
he moon neighbors to each other? I have the answer for this error: Ancient Allah
saw (bare eye observations) sun and moon traveling from east to west seemingly
in the same Sky area or same path, without colliding, causing day and night etc.
Allah hardly could imagine that all these phenomena are simply due to Earth s rot
ation and NOT by Sun s rotation. Sun is stationary for Earth, because earth is stu
ck in the sun s Gravity, like we are stuck in earth s gravity. Allah never says any
where in the whole Quran that, EARTH ROTATES. Perhaps Allah could not feel earth s
rotation.
A resting place for sun WAS CONFIRMED BY HADITHS?
Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 421
Sahih Bukhari Hadiths: Abzur Ghifari (ra) narrated: one day Prophet Mohammad (pb
uh) asked me, Abzar do you know after setting where does Sun go? I replied, I do n
ot know, only Allah s apostle can say better. Then Prophet (SA) replied, After sett
ing, the sun remains prostrated under Allah s Aro sh and waits for Allah s command for
rising again in the East. Day will come when sun will not get permission to ris
e again and Qeyamot will fall upon Earth .
Can anybody tell me what is it? It was the superstitious belief of ancient peopl
e reflected in the Quran and Hadiths by Allah. A 10-year-old boy would not tell
such fairy tale story today.
Why Allah Created Stars!
Quran gives us further scientific knowledge by telling us that the stars were cr
eated by Allah as missiles to throw at the devils:
Quran 67: 5 And We have (from of old) adorned the lowest heaven (sky) with lamps
, and We have made such (Lamps as) missiles to drive away Satans
Quran 37: 6-8 We have indeed decorated the lower heaven (sky) with beauty (in)
the stars, (for beauty) and for guard against all obstinate rebellious Satans. S
o they should not strain their ears in the direction of the Exalted Assembly but
be cast away from every side.
Thus, the stars are nothing but missiles to throw at devils so that they may not
eavesdrop on the heavenly council. Once again we find how Allah was high on his
superstitious weirdness.
Is Sky/Heaven A ROOF or Canopy Over the Earth?
Quran 21: 32 And We have made the sky a roof withheld (from them). Yet they turn
away from its portents.
Quran 31: 10 He hath created the heavens (Skies) without supports (pillars) that
ye can see, and hath cast into the earth firm Mountains/Hills, so that it quake
not with you; and He hath dispersed
Quran 2: 22: Who has made the earth your couch, And the heavens (Sky) your canop
y
Modern science tells us- whole thing around the earth is space and there is no b
oundary even if we go Billions of light years away in all directions. Questions
are: When there is no sky above us then how in the world, it needs pillars for s
upport? Do we really have a roof above us? Is there a canopy above the Earth? Is
there anything called above or beneath us? Are mountains there to prevent Earth
from shaking? Give me a break!
Once again Allah considered sky as roof over the Earth, which will broke/shatter
ed during dooms day
Quran 78: 19 And the heavens (sky) Shall be broken (opened) as if there were doo
rs opens
Quran 82: 1 When the Sky is cleft asunder
Quran 69: 16 And the sky will be Rent asunder, for it will That day be flimsy (s
oft)
Quran 81: 2 When the stars fall, losing their luster.
Yousuf Ali comments in his Tafsir: beautiful blue-sky overhead (which we take fo
r granted in sunshine) will be shattered to pieces. Modern science tells us that
there is no such thing as roof/sky or any canopy over the Earth; rather all aro
und Earth is a limitless space. Only Allah knows what will break/shatter or will
get soft/flimsy or how doors will open , there is no walls, where from doors wi
ll come? In some Ayats Allah threatened kafirs by saying: I (Allah) will throw br
oken pieces of sky over your head.
Does Sun Rotate Around the Earth?
Quran 31: 29 Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day and He merges Day i
nto Night; That He has subjected the sun and moon (to His law), each running its
course for a term (time) appointed.
Quran 21: 33 It is He who created The Night and Day, And the Sun and Moon; each
of them Swim (float) along in its own course.
Ayats mentioned above could be found over and over again and again almost in eve
ry pages of Quran. Because, Allah standing in the open Arab desert saw very well
that, every morning SUN is rising from the East and gradually (appointed time o
r fixed time) setting to the West, and as a result, day and night follows. Allah
truly mentioned this wrong knowledge (sun moving) of pre-historic people. Every
time Allah mentioned Sun & Moon, He mentioned day & night, as if it is due to s
un s movement day and night follows. But surprisingly, all the hypocrite Mullahs g
iving false credit to Allah by saying: look Quran told about sun s movement 1400 y
ears ago which modern science only found out now. In real world, sun takes 225 m
illions of years to make just one complete circle through the solar Universe. An
d obviously this movement of sun has nothing to do with DAY & NIGHT of the earth
. Actually, Sun is stationary in relation to the Earth, because the Earth is stu
ck to the giant gravitation force of the Sun, and the Earth also moves along wit
h the Sun wherever it goes, just the way we are stuck to the Earth s gravitation f
orce and do not feel its movement at all.
Why then, Allah was telling the Sun s movement again and again. I have already men
tioned above, why Allah was hysteric about the Sun s movements. Now dishonest Mull
ahs are claiming science here. I wonder, why Allah has to mentioned about the Su
n s 225 millions year journey (which is even unimaginable to mankind) to tell abou
t day and night? What relation Sun s movement has with the day and night?
Does Earth Spread Out Like Carpet (flat)?
Quran 15: 19 And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon Mount
ains firm and immovable;
Quran 78: 6-7 Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, And the mountains as
pegs (anchor)?
Allah was sure that earth is flat like a carpet and mountains are there to ancho
r the earth so that earth does not shake with us. Allah is really merciful scien
tist.
Is Man Created From Clotted Blood?
Quran-23:14: Then fashioned We the drop (semen) a CLOT OF CONGEALED BLOOD then f
ashioned We the Clot a little lump (foetus), fashioned We the little lump into b
ones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it another creation.
So blessed be Allah, the Best of Creators. ( Bengali translated Quran said: Zamaa t
Raokto theeke Manoosh banieesi And this Ayat has been repeated again and again t
hroughout the Quran ) Quran-75:38: Then he becomes a CLOT; then (Allah) shaped a
nd fashioned
Quran 96: 2 Created man, out of a mere clot of congealed blood
There are serious scientific problems here:
Blood clot cannot grow into anything. This idea also came from the Greek. Aristo
tle erroneously believed that, humans are originated from the action of male sem
en upon female menstrual blood, which is absolutely an incorrect assumption. Qur
an s assertion on Clot (alaqa) is completely wrong about human development, since
there is absolutely no stage during which the embryo consists of a clot. The onl
y situation in which an embryo might appear like a clot is during a miscarriage,
in which case the clotted blood that is seen to emerge (much of which comes fro
m mother) is solidified and by definition no longer alive. Therefore, if ever an
embryo appeared to look like a clot it would never develop any further into a h
uman; it would be a dead mass of bloody miscarrying flesh. Since Prophet Muhamma
d (pbuh) had some thirteen wives it is entirely possible that he would be very f
amiliar with miscarriages.
Modern science tells us that, the formation of human embryo is a seamless contin
uation from conception to birth; hence there are no hard- and- fast boundaries o
f stages as Quran describes. Quran describes 4 stages, which matches exactly wit
h Galenic description of development of human embryo (which was proved wrong by
modern science).
Creation of bones and clothing of bones with flesh: According to modern embryolo
gists including Prof. Moore, the tissue from which bone originates, known as mes
oderm, is the same tissue as that from which muscle (flesh) develops. Thus bone
and muscles begin to develop simultaneously, rather than sequentially (as the Qu
ran is telling us). Moreover, most of the muscle tissue that we humans have is l
aid down before birth, but bones continue to develop and calcify (strengthen wit
h calcium) right into one s teenage years. So it would be more accurate if the Qur
an had said that muscles started to develop at the same time as bones, but compl
eted their development earlier. The idea that bones are clothed with flesh is no
t only scientifically completely wrong/false, but was directly copied from the a
ncient Greek doctor Galen s hypothesis.
Also, the idea of saying: made into bones and clothed the bones with muscle came f
rom the technique of making animal statue out of rod and cement or mud. People u
sually make the skeleton (out of rod or stick) first and, then cover it up with
cement or mud. This is scarcely a scientific description of embryonic developmen
t. It is rather a description of an unlettered man.
Is Religion Compulsive Or Is It Not?
Quran 02: 256 There is no Compulsion in religion .
OR
Quran 9: 29 Fight those who do not profess the true faith(Islam) till they pay t
he polltax (jiziya) with the hand of humility.
Quran 9: 5 Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolators wherever
ye find them and take them captive, and besiege them and prepare for them each
ambush .
Quran 47: 4 When you meet the unbelievers in the Jihad strike off their heads .
Quran 2: 191 And slay (kill) them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from
where they have turned you out such is the reward of those who suppress faith.
Quran 8: 65 O Apostle ! rouse the believers to the fight of .unbelievers.
Very often apologetics claim that, Islam is a religion of peace and there is no
compulsion. Yet punishment of an apostate in Islam is, of course, death penalty.
In very many Ayats Allah claimed that, He has given this Quran in the easy and c
lear language so that, it will not be difficult to understand by the ordinary Ar
abs.
Quran 44: 58 Verily, We have made This Quran easy in the tongue, in order that t
hey may give heed.
No matter which translated Quran we read, the Quranic materials remain the same
to us and every sentence is self explanatory and it does not take a rocket scien
tist to comprehend what is the message Allah wanted to transmit for Arabs. Yet,
bigot Mullahs will always blame translators for Quranic contradictions/errors/in
consistencies etc. and will try to find lame excuses to cover up Allah s ignorance
.
Comments:
The Holy Qur an is full of inaccuracies, contradictions, inconsistencies, redundan
cies, no chronology or chapters, grammatical errors, etc. One can find hundreds
of contradictions/errors/inconsistencies in the Holy Quran. The above-mentioned
Ayats are just selected samples from the Quran. But still it is a miracle to tho
se who are blindfolded bigots.

The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon i
t, the more it will contract. - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Divinity of Quran

By Syed Kamran Mirza

Quran is anything but a divine book! When I myself read Quran---my intention was
to search something or anything that was impossible for human beings to think,
know, formulate, or imagine in the 7th century period. But to my utter surprise,
I could not find a single statement, or fact in the Quran which could not be sa
id/think/formulate/imagine by human beings. This statement is true for all relig
ious books, not just Quran.
Quran: (Q.4:82 ): Do they not consider the Qur an? Had it been from any other than
Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.
Discrepancy? There are plenty of discrepancies in Quran. One can find numerous d
iscrepancies, inconsistencies, contradictions, scientific errors, full of redund
ancies, lack of any chronology etc throughout the entire Qur an. We read in the el
ementary class the famous poem: Apanere bora vole bora shay noy, loke jare bora v
ole bora shay hoy . Self proclamation of greatness is never valid, but when other
people say good then it really becomes good. Just because, Quran itself claimed
that it is free of any discrepancy, that does not mean it is free of any discrep
ancy. It is to be judged nonbiased by it s contents only.
My several previous articles on Qur an, Hadiths and some historical happenings suc
h as: Adoption in Islam, Prophet s marriage, Embryological development of human, S
word of Mercy etc. have very well postulated various facts which I consider most
ly proven much reflections much of what was going on in the mind of the man who
composed it. We have been talking about self-serving Quranic revelations, such a
s, sending Ayats: to prohibit adoption in Islam to justify marrying (scandalous)
adapted son s divorced wife, marrying six year old Ayesha, (revealing Sahi Hadith
s to justify) ; Ayats to prohibit/control the movements of disciples in the prop
het s house; and insisting/luring the followers to fight/kill in order to get prop
het s intention fulfilled, Ayats to subdue Prophet s own wive s rebellion by giving th
reat of mass divorce etc. Do we need to search for the reflections in Quran? Hum
an reflections are every where in the Quran.
These are pure human reflections on the so called divine orders. Prophet Muhamma
d (pbuh) wanted to establish a new religion and he had to overcome any obstacles
/resistance on his path and he needed strength to fight those obstacles to get t
he success. And so he brought revelations to lure/insist people to fight and kil
l for his cause. If he was an omnipotent human being, probably he would not have
to ask people to kill.

Erroneous Historical Facts:

Stating historical facts is not impossible for human beings. History is the thin
g of the past and mankind so far discovered/learned lots of amazing past of this
planet. Mankind s quest of knowing our past can reach millions of years and it do
es not take divinity to know the past. Of course, knowing future could take a di
vine help, because mankind hardly can predict the future (except weather forecas
t) very accurately. For example, take these case of Dhul-Qarnayn and Embryology:
Dhul-qarnayn: This is historical past happened not far from Arab and again this
historical statement is seriously erroneous. This Dhul-Qarnayn history (Quran:18
:83-98) is said to be about Alexander the Great who came from the north (Macedon
ia). Quran amazingly claims that Alexander the Great was a righteous man (Muslim
), even though, history tells us that, Alexander was a licentious, belligerent,
idolatrous and claimed to be the son of Amun, the God of Egypt. And Quran amazin
gly stated that, the Alexander was the one who reached the west point of flat ea
rth where sun set down in a well of muddy water, and also he reached the point o
f east end of the earth where he saw sun was rising.
Quran mentioned (Quran: 19:28, 66:12, 3:35) Mary (Mother of Jesus) as the sister
of Aaron and Moses and the daughter of Imran. This is a grave error of the hist
ory. Virgin Mary the mother of Jesus had no brother named Aaron and Mary born al
most 1500 hundreds years after the Moses and Aaron was born.
Therefore, stating historical past is not impossible for mankind. Of course, somet
imes people may record wrong history such as the case of Mary. People get them f
rom various story tellers, archeological ruins, records of the past, historical
installations etc. Most of the historical stories in the Quran are believed to b
e originated from Old testaments, book of Zoroastrian, and other local myths and
heretical Arab s stories. Most of all, knowing the past history was never impossi
ble for human beings of any ages. But we can see, the above two samples of histo
rical past in Qur an were not true or accurate. If it was from divine source, one
could expect it to be true and accurate. Modern human beings can discover/ know
the history of millions of years old with much accuracy with out the help of div
ine power. Mankind discovered very accurately our fossilized pasts and discovere
d the existed past of the extinct Dinosaurs which ruled the earth 65 million yea
rs ago. Existence of the Dinosaur is not an imagination, it is a reality today.
This is a great historical fact which Allah even did not remember to mention in
any of the Holy books.
Embryology in Quran: There is no embryological science presented in the Quran, w
hich was not know at the time of 6th or 7th century period. In fact, most of the
embryological science described in Quran was known to this world well before th
e time of Quranic compilation. Quranic description very well fits the embryologi
cal descriptions of Hippocrates, Aristotle and Galenic (from 5th century B.C. to
4th century A.D.) period. It is irrelevant to ask how Muhammad could have known
or found this knowledge. But it is important to note that this much of embryolo
gical knowledge was available/prevailing at that time of the world. Most importa
ntly, embryological knowledge presented in the Quran,and ancient Greeks (Hippocr
ates, Aristotle) and Galenic period was scientifically incorrect compared to the
modern scientific knowledge. Quite obviously, had there been this knowledge of
embryology came from divine source, there could be no error fond in them today o
r even after millions of years.
In my article, Ambiguity of Human Embryology-Science #2 , I have mentioned how embr
yological knowledge in Quran was borrowed from ancient Greek ideas. As for examp
le, Quran stated, We created man from clotted blood (Zammat rakta theke manush ba
niechi) was the same erroneous idea of Hippocrates who thought, human embryo dev
elops by mixing menstrual blood with semen. Truth of the matter is, nothing can
grow from clotted blood.
What could be then convincing revelation to consider Divinity?
Revelations which could be considered purely divine are: had there been statemen
t/prediction/foretold in Quran such as, existence of Dinosaurs, human beings will
fly in the sky like a bird, mankind will land in the moon, diseases are caused b
y living organisms, human beings will conquer new lands to the other side of the
ocean or at least earth is round and not flat and it is not the sun moves/trave
ls for appointed times but it is the earth moves around the Sun etc etc.
THEN, NOBODY WOULD RAISE ANY DOUBT OR WOULD HAVE ASKED ANY QUESTION ABOUT THE DI
VINENESS OF THE HOLY QURAN TO DAY.

Did Jesus Escape Crucifixion?

Despite the fact that all Christians believe that Christ was crucified, which is
also clearly stated in the Mark 15. 21-41; Matt. 27.32-44; Luke 23. 26-43 and J
ohn 19. 17-27, Quran states that it wasn't Jesus that the Jews crucified but som
eone resembling him.

"And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), s
on of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allâh," - but they killed him not, nor cruci
fied him, but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and the
y killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have n
o (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they kill
ed him not [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)
But Allâh raised him ['Iesa (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul) unto Himself
(and he is in the heavens). And Allâh is Ever AllPowerful, AllWise. )" (Q.4:157-158)

The story of Christ being lifted to heaven "in body and soul" is obviously contr
ary to all logic and science. One wonders what kind of Heaven Muhammad was envis
ioning? The above verse implies that Muhammad believed heaven must be a geograph
ic place and that God has a physical body. Because if he had thought that Heaven
is a spiritual realm, then where did the body of Jesus go? You need a physical
place to accommodate a physical body. In an age that science is unraveling the m
ysteries of the extra terrestrial space, it would be interesting to question a M
uslim, where is this physical heaven that Christ has ascended and God has set up
his thrown?

One wonders why Muhammad would say such thing despite the emphasis in all four G
ospels. The answer lies in the group of Nestorian Christians who populated the D
amascus and Northern Arabia during time of Muhammad. These Christians thought th
at it would be impossible to kill the Son of God and believed that god tricked t
he Jews and sent someone else who looked like Jesus to be crucified, thus he sav
ed his favorite Son. This is the source of the above verses of Quran.
By reading Quran one realizes that Muhammad knew the New Testament only through
second hand stories and he never read the book himself.
There is another mistake of Muhammad that should be really embarrassing to anyon
e who claims that Quran is a revealed book. And that is about confusing Marry th
e Mother of Christ with Miriam the Sister of Aaron and Moses. These two were bor
n about 1400 years apart from each other. See what Quran says.

At length she brought (the babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms), They
said: "O Mary! Truly a strange thing has thou brought! "O sister of Aaron, thy
father was not a man of evil, nor your mother a woman unchaste!" Q. 19:27-28

And Mary, the daughter of `Imran, ... -- Q. 66:12

In Quran one finds a lot of mistakes of this sort that shows Muhammad had very l
ittle knowledge of the reality of this world as well as of other religious books
that he claimed are God's revelations. For a detailed study of the mistakes in
Quran visit this site, and see for yourself if really Quran is a miracle!
http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/

Inheritance
Who Taught Allah Math?
By Ali Sina
One of the most obvious mathematical mistakes of the Quran can be found in the d
ivision of the inheritance.
The laws of inheritance are spread out in several Suras. One can find references
to them in Al-Baqarah(2), Al-Maidah(5) and Al-Anfal(8). But the details of thes
e laws are spelled out in the Surah Nisa (4).
Q. 4:11
Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children's (Inheritance): to the mal
e, a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters, two or more, their
share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For p
arents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children;
if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; i
f the deceased Left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribut
ion in all cases ('s) after the payment of legacies and debts
Q. 4: 12
In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but i
f they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In w
hat ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a c
hild, they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts
Q. 4:176
If it is a man that dies, leaving a sister but no child, she shall have half
the inheritance: If (such a deceased was) a woman, who left no child, Her brothe
r takes her inheritance: If there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of
the inheritance (between them): if there are brothers and sisters, (they share)
, the male having twice the share of the female. Thus doth Allah make clear to y
ou (His law), lest ye err. And Allah hath knowledge of all things.
Despite the fact that it says Allah made them clear , these laws are far from clear
.
Verse 4:11 says that if a man has only one daughter, she gets half of the inheri
tance irrespective of other heirs. But since the same verse says that the portio
n of the male is twice that of the female, her brother is supposed to get all th
e inheritance. Isn t this a discrepancy? Certainly there is an error in how this l
aw is written. Yet the problem is aggravated further when the share of other hei
rs like parents and wives are taken into consideration.
There are cases when the total of the shares assigned to the heirs exceeds the p
atrimony. Take for example the following.
According to the above verses, if a man dies leaving behind a wife, three daught
ers and his two parents,
His wife s share of his inheritance is 1/8. (In what ye leave, their share is a fo
urth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth)
His daughters would receive 2/3 (if only daughters, two or more, their share is
two-thirds of the inheritance;)
and his parents each will get 1/6 of his inheritance. (For parents, a sixth shar
e of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children;)
When you add all these fractions the sum is more than the total of inheritance.
Wife1/8 = 3/24
Daughters 2/3 = 16/24
Father 1/6 = 4/24
Mother1/6 = 4/24
Total = 27/24
Now take another example. Say a man is survived by his wife, his mother and his
sisters.
The wife receives 1/4 of the inheritance, (In what ye leave, their share is a fo
urth, if ye leave no child;)
the mother 1/3 (if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of
the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; if no children, and the
parents are the heirs, the mother has a third;)
and the sisters 2/3. (If there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of th
e inheritance (between them)
When we add up these fractions they too are more than the total.
Wife1/4 = 3/12
Mother 1/3 = 4/12
Sisters 2/3 = 8/12
Total = 15/12
In the above examples, the shares apportioned to the heirs exceed the total of t
he inheritance. In both cases the total of the inheritance sums to exactly one B
EFORE taking into account the wife's share.
What should be done if a man has two wives, one with children and the other with
out children? Does the one with children receive 1/8 and the one without childre
n 1/4? And is this justice?
Now suppose a woman dies leaving a husband and a brother:
Husband receives half (In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they l
eave no child.)
Brother receives everything (If (such a deceased was) a woman, who left no chil
d, Her brother takes her inheritance.)
Does this mean that the parents, sisters and husband do not get anything? In tha
t case where is the justice and if they do how can the brother get everything?
Husband, (1/2) = 1/2
Brother (everything) = 2/2
Total = 3/2
This verse does not specify that the brother gets everything only when there are
no other heirs. It just says when there are no children he gets everything. In
the same verse it says that if a man dies leaving a sister, she gets half. What
will happen to the other half?
Here is another example: A woman leaves behind a husband, a sister and a mother.
Husband, (1/2) = 3/6
Sister (1/2) = 3/6
Mother (1/3) = 2/6
Total = 8/6
We can conclude that the Quran in matters of inheritance is very obtuse. It is s
o obtuse that Shiites and Sunnis practice this law differently. For example:
If a man leaves a wife and the two parents, the Shiits will give the wife 1/4 an
d then distribute the remainder as 1/3 for the mother and 2/3 for the father, i.
e. they will receive 1/4 and 1/2 of the original estate (see #2741). Sunnis give
the wife 1/4, the mother 1/3 and the father as the nearest male relative the re
st, i.e. 5/12. As one can witness, the Quran is anything but clear.
In order to solve these problems the Islamic doctors of law have devised a compl
ex science called Al-Fara id . It contains rules of "Awl" and "Usbah," and the laws of
"Usool" of the Fara'id, the laws of "Hajb wa Hirman," and many other issues rel
ating to this matter.
The laws of Awl (accommodation) deals with cases when the inheritor's shares excee
d or "overshoot" the sum of the total inheritance. In such case the shares are a
djusted to accommodate everyone. This is how it works:
Wife1/8 = 3/24 is changed to 3/27
Daughters 2/3 = 16/24 is changed to 16/27
Father 1/6 = 4/24 is changed to 4/27
Mother1/6 = 4/24 is changed to 4/27
Total = 27/24 27/27
and for the second case,
Wife1/4 = 3/12 is changed to 3/15
Mother 1/3 = 4/12 is changed to 4/15
Sisters 2/3 = 8/12 is changed to 8/15
Total = 15/12 15/15
Thus the problem is solved thanks to human ingenuity but the portions are not th
e same as indicated in the Quran. Each party has to waive part of his or her sha
re in order to make this law work. This is a clear case in which the words of Al
lah needed human intervention in order to become applicable.
There are yet cases when the shares of the inheritors do not sum to a whole 100%
and there is a surplus left.
Take for example a man who dies and leaves his wife and his parents.
Parents 1/3 = 4/12
Wife 1/4 = 3/12
Total = 7/12
Who will receive the balance 5/12 of the inheritance?
The following are other cases that after the distribution, there is a surplus of
Inheritance::
scenario fund distributed surplus
Only a wife: = 1/4 3/4
Only a mother: = 1/3 2/3
Only a daughter = 1/2 1/2
Two daughters = 2/3 1/3
Only a Sister = 1/2 1/2
A mother and a sister = 1/3 + 1/2 = 5/6 1/6
A wife and a mother = 1/4 + 1/3 = 5/12 7/12
A sister and a wife = 1/2 + 1/4 = 3/4 1/4

In all these cases and many other combinations there is a surplus. What will hap
pen to this surplus? Who will inherit it?
To deal with this problem the law of "Usbah" comes to effect. This law is to reg
ulate the unclaimed shares, which have no corresponding people to receive them.
Of course if the Quran was clear with no errors, there would have been no need f
or all these sciences and amendments.
The law of Usbah is based on the following Hadith.
Sahih Bukhari 8. 80. 724
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The Prophet said, "Give the Fara'id (the shares of the inheritance that are
prescribed in the Qur'an) to those who are entitled to receive it. Then whatever
remains, should be given to the closest male relative of the deceased."
According to this law, a man who dies and is survived by only his daughter with
no other close male relative except a second cousin, his daughter will receive h
alf of his inheritance and the other half will go to the man s second cousin. This
seems quite unfair to the daughter, but it would be especially unfair if the ma
n had a needy aunt or a female first cousin that would receive nothing because t
hey are of the wrong gender.
Now suppose that a man has no other heir except his wife and a distant male rela
tive. The wife will receive 1/4 and the distant male relative gets the balance,
i.e. three times the inheritance that his widowed wife gets. Is this justice?
What if the deceased has no male relative at all? What will happen to the rest o
f his inheritance? What happens in the reverse case when a wife has no relatives
? The husband will receive half of her inheritance; who will get the other half?
Note that in the Quran there is no priority for the distribution of the inherita
nce. In nowhere it says first give to these and from what is left, give to those .
Even if we had to reinterpret these laws and prioritize them in the order that t
hey are mentioned, it still does not work because in that case, each subsequent
inheritor will have his or her share shrunk. Also in most cases the total inheri
tance will never be used up.
This is the fallacy in which Mr. Sami Zaatari engages. In an attempt to refute t
his article Mr. Zaatari wrote: "If A [ the deceased] left a widow or widower, t
he widow's or widower's share would first be calculated as in the first half of
verse 4:1"
Mr. Zaatari must show us this instruction in the Quran. There is no provision in
the Quran to pay certain inheritors first and divide the rest among other heirs
. The fact remains that the Quran in matters of the division of the inheritance
is wrong mathematically.
The obtuseness of these laws of inheritance is further emphasized in the followi
ng example. Consider the case of a man with only one daughter and 10 sons. Accor
ding to the Quran, the daughter receives half while all the sons must share amon
g themselves the other half. So each will receive not more than 1/20 of the inhe
ritance. But this would contradict the other ruling that a male is to receive tw
ice the share of the female.
Of course for 1400 years Muslims have practiced Islam and somehow they managed t
o make these confusing laws work. How they did it? They reinterpreted, adjusted
and compromised to make sense of these nonsense laws. They put all the inheritan
ce in a pool and gave to each male child twice the share of their female sibling
s. This solution, though satisfies one of the ruling of the Quran about the inhe
ritance, it contradicts the other.
Despite all these incongruencies and errors the real problem with these laws is
not the fact that they do not add up. The problem is in the inherent injustice t
hat they embody. A fair minded person cannot avoid but to question, why daughter
s should receive half of what the sons receive? Why sisters receive less than br
others? And why a widower is entitled to double the share than a widow? Why the
Quran states to the male, a portion equal to that of two females ? (4:11). Think of
a man with four wives. All the wives have to share the ¼ of his wealth, if he ha
s no children and 1/8 if he has. In the first case each wife will receive 1/16 o
f the inheritance and in the second case 1/32. How a woman who may not be young
enough to remarry can survive with such meager share in a male dominated society
as Islamic countries? On the other hand a man who loses all his four wives will
inherit half to ¼ of every wife s wealth. Isn t this the formula to enrich the men an
d impoverish the women? It is easier to forget the mathematical errors of the Qu
ran than forgive its injustice.
The verse (4:175) claims that Thus doth Allah make clear to you (His law), lest y
e err. And Allah hath knowledge of all things. As we saw, the above laws are anyt
hing but clear. They do not add up, the portions are not clearly defined, and th
e shares are distributed unfairly. It is up to Muslims to decide whether Allah,
does not have the knowledge of all things , cannot add simple fractions, is confuse
d and unfair or that the Quran is mistaken, and Muhammad was not a prophet of Go
d. It is one or the other. You decide.
Masjidul Aqsa
Muslims are absolutely certain that Allah revealed Quran through his angle Gabri
el to Muhammad and nothing of that is changed.
Let us put this claim to the test. There is a hadith that reports Muhammad one n
ight, riode on a winged horse that drove him from Masjidu lHaram to Msjidu l Aqsa (i
n Jerusalem) and from there to the seventh heaven where he was shown the hell an
d the paradise and then taken to the presence of Allah. This story that is commo
nly accepted by All the Muslims and is known as Mi raj is also confirmed in Quran
Glory to (Allah)
Who did take His Servant for a journey by night,
From the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque.
-- Quran 17:1
Here we are not going to question the absurdity of such trip. Considering that i
t would take the light (fastest thing in the universe) 8 years to make a round t
rip to the closest solar system, and 30 billion years to the outskirts of the kn
own universe, and considering that wings don t serve beyond the atmosphere of the
Earth, such trip performed on the back of a horse with wings in one night is jus
t stuff of the fables. If Muhammad could travel from Medina to the presence of A
llah, riding on a winged pony, and come back in one night, then Allah s palace mus
t be not much far from Medina. I wonder how come no one has found it yet? We ar
e not also going to ask whether the gate of the heaven is in Jerusalem? Why Muha
mmad had to go to Masjidul Aqsa in order to go to heaven?
The biggest problem with this story is that the Masjid ul Aqsa Farthest Mosque was b
uilt after the death of Muhammad.
When Omar conquered Jerusalem he performed a prayer in the site where Temple of
Solomon used to stand. The Romans in 70 A.D destroyed that temple. Since then n
o temple, church or mosque stood on that spot. It was Calif Abd al-Malik ibn Marw
an who built the Dome of the Rock around 691 A.D. i.e 72 years after Hijrah. And
Masjidu l Aqsa was built on the Temple Mount by the end of the 7th century. This
is reported in The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Harper & Row, 1989, p. 46 and
102.
Muhammad s alleged Mi raj took place around the year 622. At that time Jerusalem was
in the hands of the Christians. There were no Muslims living there and certainl
y there was no Mosque in Jerusalem. 53 years after the death of Muhammad, Muslim
s built the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa on the site where Solomon had his t
emple
This makes one wonder that perhaps, just like the Bible, also Quran was written,
 manipulated and enriched years after its author passed away, permitting the fable
s that were constructed around Muhammad after his death to crepe into his book.
Whoever has been the author of the verse 17:1, was not aware that Masjid ul Aqsa
did not exist during the time of Muhammad and he could not have made his trip t
o heaven from a place that did not exist.
This, is an obvious blunder of those who compiled Quran so much so that many Isl
amic scholars, including Yusuf Ali are of the opinion that by Masjid u Aqsa, it is
intended the SITE of the building and not the actual building.
This apologetic line could have been a way out of the dilemma if it was not for
the following Hadith, which unequivocally asserts that Masjid ul Aqsa was an actua
l building which existed in the time of Muhammad.
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 636:
Narrated Abu Dhaar:
I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was built first?" He replied, "Al-M
asjid-ul-Haram." I asked, "Which (was built) next?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Aq
s-a (i.e. Jerusalem)." I asked, "What was the period in between them?" He replie
d, "Forty (years)." He then added, "Wherever the time for the prayer comes upon
you, perform the prayer, for all the earth is a place of worshipping for you."
Muslims could bring the excuse that Masjid means any place of worship (sojda), tha
t is why the prophet refers to the temple of Solomon as Masjid. In that case, al
l churches, synagogues and the Zoroastrian Ateshkadehs are Masjids. During the t
ime of Muhammad there were many such Masjids built in cities much farther than Jer
usalem. (i.e farthest from Mecca or Medina) and the Masjid ul Aqsa actually was no
t the farthest mosque.
This hadith presents yet another problem. Masjid ul Haram (Ka ba) was allegedly buil
t by Abraham. He lived about 2000 BC and the Temple of Solomon (the site of the
Msjid ul Aqsa) was built about 958-951 BC. There is a gap of about over 1040 year
s between the dates of the construction of the two buildings. His holiness Muham
mad s mistake was a mere one thousand years.
By Ali Sina

Samaritans and Moses?

By Ali Sina
In the Bible (Exodus 32) there is a story about Israelites worshiping a calf whe
n Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God. When he re
turned he was angered and ordered everyone to put on his sword and kill his broth
ers, his friends, and his neighbors (Ex.32:27). In this story the culprits are th
e Israelites and Aaron the brother of Moses who let himself to be influenced by
them. This incident is reported in the Quran in following verse.
He [Allah] said, "We have tempted thy people since thou didst leave them. The Sa
maritan (in Arabic Samiri) has led them into error." Then Moses returned ... ...
and we cast them [(gold) ornaments], as the Samaritan also threw them, into the
fire." (Then he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they s
aid, "This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has forgotten.") ... Moses
said, "And thou, Samaritan, what was thy business?" ...
Quran 20:85-88, 95
In the Quranic version the culprit is the Samaritan who mislead the Jews into wo
rshiping the bull. But in the original story of the Bible there is no mention of
any Samaritan. Muslims claim that the Bible is corrupted. But the fact is that
when Moses was alive, there were no Samaritans at all. According to 1 King 16:24
Samaria was a hill belonging to Shemer that was purchased by King Omri where he
founded the city of Samaria about 870 B.C. The Samaritans as a distinct people
only emerged after the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the resettlem
ent of the area under king Sargon II after 722 B.C.
Moses lived 1400 years B.C. That is five to seven century before anyone could b
e called Samaritan (Sameri). Therefore the explanation of the Quran that Samarit
ans led the Jews to worship a calf cannot be correct. At the time of Moses Samar
ia did not exist and no one could be the citizen of a city that did not exist.
One wonders where Muhammad got the idea of Samaritans leading Israelites to idol
atry? The answer to this confusion can be found in another similar story of calf
-worshiping narrated in the (1 King 12:26-33). This episode happened during the
time of Jeroboam. This was a time when the Jews were split into two kingdoms, th
e Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of the Judah; Jerusalem be
ing the major center of the worship for all the Jews was in Judah. Holy towns at
tract pilgrims, promote commerce and generate income. Jeroboam who was the king
of the Israel, thought that not having a holy place of worship in his kingdom is
weakening his position. So he decided to build a temple in Samaria, the seat of
the Northern Kingdom, adorning it with the statutes of two golden calves to riv
al Jerusalem as the center of worship.
Biblical Scholars like Richard Elliot Friedman believe that the first story of t
he Jews worshiping the golden calf during the time of Moses to which Quran is al
luding, actually did never happen. They believe that this story was fabricated b
y the writers of the Bible who were the high priests and the custodians of the t
emple of God in Jerusalem, to discredit Jerobeam and his temple in the Northern
Kingdom. They invented the story of Moses and the golden calf, claiming that it
provoked the wrath and punishment of God during the time of Moses. This did cert
ainly send a strong message to the Jews that the temple erected by Jerobeam is u
nacceptable by God. Most probably the calves adorning the temple of Israel were
symbolic and were not intended to be worshiped. Yet the story of the calf-worshi
ping-Jews, provoking the wrath of God, in the time of Moses had its intended eff
ect. Emergence of a new temple in the North would not have only undermined the i
mportance of Jerusalem as the sole religious center for all the Jews, but it wou
ld have also separated religiously a nation already split politically.
Hosea echoed his disapproval of the northern temple in the following terms.
Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will
they be incapable of purity? They are from Israel! This calf - a craftsman has m
ade it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. -- Hos
ea 8:5-6
This is a warning to the Jews of 700 B.C. living in Samaria. It has nothing to d
o with the story of Moses and the Golden calf. Muhammad must have heard these tw
o stories. But he confused the two and placed the Samaritans in a wrong context.
Quran further continues:
Moses said: "Get thee gone! but thy (punishment) in this life will be that thou w
ilt say, 'touch me not'; and moreover (for a future penalty) thou hast a promise
that will not fail: Now look at thy god, of whom thou hast become a devoted wor
shipper: We will certainly (melt) it in a blazing fire and scatter it broadcast (
Qur'an 20:97)
It is interesting to note that in this verse the Quran alludes to the fact that
the Samaritans were regarded as untouchables (thou wilt say, touch me not ) by the
Jews. In fact the Israelites looked down at Samarians and considered them untouch
able (Najis) because of their idolatry. But this stigma was not placed on the Sam
aritans by Moses. There were no Samaritans in the time of Moses. They earned thi
s designation by the Jews centuries later.
Ali Sina

The Day of Judgment

Muslims believe that when a person dies two angels called Nakeer and Munkar visi
t him in his grave. They question him about his Faith, if he is found a believer
his tomb is widened 70 cubits square (each cubit is one foot six inches) and it
is illumined. Then he is told to go to sleep like a bridegroom until the day of
resurrection when Allah raises him up to reward him. But if he is found a "hypo
crite" they order the tomb to squeeze him until his ribs are crushed.
Quran says that at the Day of Judgment, the heaven is split asunder (Q.84:1) and
it will heave with (awful) heaving (Q.52:9), the sun is overthrown (Q.81:1), th
e Earth is shaken with her (final) earthquake (Q. 99:1), the moon is eclipsed (
Q.75:8) and the angel Israfil will sound the trumpet and all living creatures, ma
nkind, angels and jinn then living, will die. Another blast and all will be rais
ed to life. Allah's throne will appear in the clouds, carried by 8 angels. Belie
vers will receive a book of their deeds in their right hand, and unbelievers in
their left hand. The books will be opened and men's works weighed on scales (miz
an). In fear, men will look for someone to plead with Allah. They will go to Ada
m, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, but find no help. At last they will turn to Muhamma
d
 Muslims also believe that there is a bridge across Hell, named Sirat, which is sh
arper than the edge of sword and thinner than a hair. Faithful Muslims believe t
hat they will cross over it in the "twinkling of an eye" and enter Paradise. Oth
er Muslims may fall into Hell, but will later be released. Unbelievers will fall
into Hell and remain forever.
No one knows the exact time for the Day of Judgment but it is going to be a Frid
ay 10th of Muharram. At that time Allah will resurrect all the dead. He will col
lect their dispersed dusts and call them to visit him. And people will see Allah
as clear as seeing the sun in a not cloudy day. Then he will judge them based o
n their beliefs. Those who did not associate any other God with Allah, irrespect
ive of what crimes they have committed will go to Paradise. There are verses in
Quran that speak of good deeds like this one,
[Al-Imran 3:30] On the Day when every soul will find itself confronted with
all that it hath done of good and all that it hath done of evil (every soul) wil
l long that there might be a mighty space of distance between it and that (evil)
.
But actually the evil for Muhammad did not mean what we usually think of it.
By evil he meant disbelief. This is clear from the following verse.
[Ibrahim 14:44] And warn mankind of a day when the doom will come upon them,
and those who did wrong will say: Our Lord! Reprieve us for a little while. We
will obey Thy call and will follow the messengers. (It will be answered): Did ye
not swear before that there would be no end for you?
For Allah nothing is more abhorrent than disbelief and once you believe all your
sins are forgiven and your place in paradise is guaranteed. In a Hadith noted b
y Bukhari the importance of belief over good deeds is emphasized.
Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 445:
Narrated Abu Dhar:
The Prophet said, "Gabriel said to me, 'Whoever amongst your followers die w
ithout having worshipped others besides Allah, will enter Paradise (or will not
enter the (Hell) Fire)." The Prophet asked. "Even if he has committed illegal se
xual intercourse or theft?" He replied, "Even then."
But for disbelievers there is no salvation.
[al-Ma'idah 5:36] As for those who disbelieve, lo! if all that is in the ea
rth were theirs, and as much again therewith, to ransom them from the doom on th
e Day of Resurrection, it would not be accepted from them. Theirs will be a pain
ful doom.
[al-Kahf 18:106] That is their reward: hell, because they disbelieved, and m
ade a jest of Our revelations and Our messengers.
[Ta Ha 20:100] Whoso turneth away from it, he verily will bear a burden on t
he Day of Resurrection,
What about those who have loved others? We humans put a great emphasis on lo
ving and helping each other and on charitable works, but for Allah all that is i
rrelevant.
[al-`Ankabut 29:25] The love between you is only in the life of the world. T
hen on the Day of Resurrection ye will deny each other and curse each other, and
your abode will be the Fire, and ye will have no helpers.
Those who did not accept Allah will easily be recognized because they will h
ave their faces blackened .
[az-Zumar 39:60] And on the Day of Resurrection thou (Muhammad) seest those
who lied concerning Allah with their faces blackened. Is not the home of the sco
rners in hell?
If another person said the above politically incorrect statement, it would have
offended the blacks, but strange as it is the blacks are the ones who are flocki
ng towards Islam, as if they are completely unaware of the prophet s low opinion o
f their race.
This stereotyping is reaffirms in another place.
[Al-Imran 3:106] On the Day when (some) faces will be whitened and (some) fa
ces will be blackened; and as for those whose faces have been blackened, it will
be said unto them: Disbelieved ye after your (profession of) belief? Then taste
the punishment for that ye disbelieved.
Of course the absurdity of this belief is self-evident and needs no clarificatio
n. However Muslims are unable to ask themselves simple questions like what is th
e use of a wide and illumined grave to a deceased? Has anyone seen a widened and
illumined grave?
Islamic Paradise is a physical place. That is why Allah has to collect all the d
ust of the dead people to punish or reward them. That makes even less sense when
we know that we constantly renew the elements that compose our body..
It seems that the prophet had no idea of the spiritual reality of man that is in
dependent from the material world. Allah's rewards are hoories, wine, honey, gar
dens, mansions, cloths with gold embroidery and other material objects. These ar
e all material rewards. What is the use of all these for human spirit? His punis
hment is also physical: fire. Heaven, in Islam, is the place where believers wil
l be reclining under the shade of the trees, eating and drinking exquisite wines
, and engaging in sex with virgins.
[Surah 55:54-46]"They will recline on carpets whose inner linings will be o
f rich brocade: the fruit of the gardens will be near. In them will be (Maidens)
, Chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched
(virgins)."

Good deeds have no merits; Belief in Allah and his messenger is the only requisi
te to inherit this materialistic paradise. Even Christians will not be spared.
In one place one is lead to believe that the people of the scriptures, i.e. the
Jews and the Christians are saved,
[al-Hajj 22:17] Lo! those who believe (this revelation), and those who are J
ews, and the Sabaeans and the Christians and the Magians and the idolaters - Lo!
Allah will decide between them on the Day of Resurrection. Lo! Allah is Witness
over all things.
Then again, this is contradicted by another verse.
[al-Ma'idah 5:14] And with those who say: "Lo! we are Christians," We made a
covenant, but they forgot a part of that whereof they were admonished. Therefor
e We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection,
when Allah will inform them of their handiwork.
The same is said of the Jews (Q.10:93). So don't be surprised to see Mother The
resa burning in the Hell while Khomeni and Saddam Hussein who believed in Allah
and his messenger sitting under the shade of a tree with a pretty hoory at their
right side and another at their left, sipping from the chilled wine in Paradise
.
The concept of the life after death in Islam is very much similar to the Jehowa'
s Witnesses' concept of the other world. Jehowa Witnesses believe that after the
death, the deceased has no consciousness until the last day when he is risen fr
om death and if found a believer would inherit the Earth and would live in a ter
restrial Paradise forever. This is how Quran and Hadith explain the life after d
eath. However, this subject is foggy for most of the Muslims. They have their pe
rsonal ideas about it that often contradict the above what Quran and the hadithe
s teach about the life after death.

By Ali Sina

Predestination

By. Ali Sina

Does God choose to guide people or do we have free will?

One of the most disconcerting concepts in Quran is the concept of predeterminati
on (jabr). According to Islam, believing in Allah is the sole purpose of a human s
life in this world.
"I did not create Jinn and Men except that they may worship me" [Qur'an 51:
56].
Also in a Hadith, generally cited by the Sufis, Allah says, I was a hidden treasu
re and wished to be known, so I created the people to know me and to worship me .
Upon this recognition depends our chance to enter the paradise. Failing to recog
nize Allah would bring eternal damnation and the hellfire. This is very importan
t to Allah. He does not like to be ignored and has no mercy on those who do so.
This belief is not exclusive to Islam. The Bible also presents a vengeful and a
jealous God.
The problem is that being able to pass this test of faith and to gain admittance
to paradise is not in our hand. It is again Allah who chooses those whom he ple
ases to guide and lead astray those whom he wants.
In one verse, the Qur'an affirms that if Allah so willed, he could certainly hav
e brought every soul its true guidance. But that won t happen as he makes it clear
that he does not want to guide everyone and vows to fill the Hell with Jinns and
men all together."
If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true gui
dance: but the Word from Me will come true, "I will fill Hell with Jinns and men
all together."(Q.32.13)
The first question that comes to mind is why ? Why should a loving God not guide hi
s own children (or as Muslims put it "slaves")? Why should he leave them to them
selves and then come upon them with such a wrath filling the Hell with those who
m he purposefully did not guide? This defies logic.
In response Muslims say that we have free will to accept God or reject him. But
this is not what the above verse is saying. As this verse clearly explains, if A
llah wanted to guide people, he certainly could have done it. Yet, he decided no
t to guide some and then fill the Hell with all those who he did not guide. This
verse tells that human beings have no control over being guided at all. It all
depends on God s pleasure or whim.
Some verses in the Qur'an indicate that even if one wants to be guided, he canno
t, because Allah has sealed his heart.

.Such are men whose hearts Allah has sealed. (Q.47.16)

This is reminiscent of the bargaining of Moses with Pharaoh for the release of t
he Israelites. Each time Pharaoh conceded and let Moses take away the Jews, God
intervened and made his heart stubborn then he kept sending a new calamity to the
poor people of Egypt who had nothing to do with Pharaohs decisions, until Pharao
h accepted the departure of the Jews, but again God made his heart stubborn and
sent upon the wretched innocent people, another calamity.
In another verse Allah curses his creatures and instead of giving them insight m
akes them blind and deaf.
Such are the men whom Allah has cursed for He has made them deaf and blinded
their sight. (Q47.23)
This behavior is not befitting of the creator of this universe. Even if these pe
ople whom Allah chose to mislead, did something wrong why he, instead of opening
their hearts should seal them? Why he made them deaf and blind, instead of giv
ing them sight and hearing and then punish them? Is this justice? What would you
say of a king that cuts the feet of his subjects and orders them to run and the
n burns them for not running. Wouldn't you say such a king is a psychopath? Woul
d the almighty God act like a psychopath?
The riddle becomes more confusing when in the next verse the responsibility is s
hifted on the people themselves who lock their own hearts!
Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Qur'an, or are their hearts
locked up by them? (Q.47.24)
Is it God that seals the hearts of the people or they do it themselves? Obviousl
y these two statements don t add up.
Sometimes the Qur'an contradicts itself in the same verse.
"This is an admonition: whosoever will, let him take a path to his Lord. But ye
will not, except as Allah wills ... He will admit to his mercy whom He wills. Bu
t the wrongdoers - for them has he prepared a grievous penalty." (Q.76:29-31)
The first part of this verse gives the idea that people have free will to choose
between taking the path or not. Then immediately that is contradicted and it sa
ys that Allah will admit to his mercy whom HE wills." Either we choose to be guid
ed or Allah chooses. Only one of these statements can be true.
The next question is how can Allah punish people with a grievous penalty if He has
chosen not to guide them?
If the choice of being guided is made by us, then the verse 32:13, 47:16 and 47:
23 are wrong. But if they are right and indeed it is Allah who chooses to guide
anyone that he pleases, then there is a tremendous injustice in the way Allah de
als with his servants. If being guided or not entirely depends on Allah's will,
then what is our fault? He assigned to us our destiny and he cannot punish us fo
r what he has willed for us. This is clearly unjust, which belies another claim
of the Qur'an that says Allah is a just god.

And Allah means no injustice to any of His creatures. (Q.3.108)

Why a god who is able to guide people chooses to lead them astray, and then fill
the Hell with those whom he himself has misled?
Muslims criticize the Christians for the irrationality of their belief in trinit
y. However with some degree of imagination, one can make sense of this Christian
dogma. Yet with no stretch of imagination one can make any sense of this puzzle
.

Allah's Split Personality

The confusion does not end there. The following verses assert that Allah mislead
s people by making their deeds pleasing to them.
As to those who believe not in the Hereafter, We have made their deeds plea
sing in their eyes; and so they wander about in distraction. [27:4]
Nay! to those who believe not, their pretence seems pleasing, but they are ke
pt back (thereby) from the path. And those whom Allah leaves to stray, no one ca
n guide. [13:33]"
Yet, in other places it is Satan that makes their sinful act seem alluring to th
em.
..On the contrary their hearts became hardened, and SATAN made their (sinful
) acts seem alluring to them. [6:43]
Remember SATAN made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them, and said [8:
48]
By Allah, We (also) sent (Our messengers) to Peoples before thee; but Satan
made, (to the wicked), their own acts seem alluring: He is also their patron tod
ay. [16:63]
So isn t it logical to deduce that Satan is a partner of Allah, helping him in his
daily work of misguiding people? Or perhaps Allah has a split personality that
sometimes reveal itself as Satan! .
Explaining the Unexplainable
This confusion whether it is Allah that seals the hearts of the people or they t
hemselves do it has fueled heated debates between Muslims throughout the centuri
es. It caused schisms and a lot of bloodshed.
On one hand the bulk of the Muslims adhered to the concept of predetermination (
jabr=compulsion). The more radical of these jabrians were the Asharian who denied
all free agency in man. Arguing:
"Nothing can happen in the world, whether it respects the conditions and operati
on of things, or good or evil, or obedience and disobedience, or faith and infid
elity ... that is not contained in the written tablet of the decree of Allah." (
"Dictionary of Islam" by T.P. Hughes, pages 472-473).
On the other hand the Qadrias and the Mutazilites advocated the free will of man
and therefore were rejected as heretics. They argued that man has absolute free
dom of will and is responsible for his own actions. If not so rewards and punish
ments for virtuous acts and sins have no meaning. They quoted the verse (42:30)
that says;
And whatever affliction befalls on you, it is on account of what your hands have
wrought. (42:30)
In fact there are many verses that give an impression that men are responsible f
or their actions.
"Because Allah will never change the grace which He hath bestowed on a people un
til they change what is in their (own) souls" (8.53)
Allah does not change a people's lot unless they change what is in their hearts.
But when (once) Allah willeth a people's punishment, there can be no turning it
back, nor will they find, besides Him, any to protect. (13.11)
Those who strive in His path, are guided in the right path, while those who pers
ist in denial and sinful living have their hearts sealed against faith (ii. 7, 2
6; iv. 155; v;.i. 102).
Allah does not compel belief and leaves the people free to believe or disbelieve
(6: 35, 150; xvi-. 9).
Whoever has done an atom's weight of good shall meet with its reward and whoever
has done an atom's weight of evil shall meet with its consequences (99: 7-8).
Thus, each person could find something in Qur'an that corroborated his preferenc
e in this baffling dilemma of Islamic concept of predetermination (jabr) and fre
e will (Ikhtyar)
Most modern Muslims tend to side with the free will of man but their opinion is
drastically in contrast with many verses of Qur'an that alarmingly maintain that
Allah s decisions are completely arbitrary.
"Allah blots out and establishes what He pleases." (3:39).
"Allah has power over all things." (3:159).
Many are the verses that confirm the idea of a despotic Allah who would not adhe
re to any norm of conduct and therefore his actions are whimsical and unpredicta
ble.
"If Allah had willed he would have made you one nation. But he leads astray
whom he will and guides whom he will. But you shall certainly be called to accou
nt for all your actions." (16:93).
Here again, Allah is in charge. He is the one who guides whom he wills. What is
unclear is how people could be accountable for their actions if it is Allah who
has chosen not to guide them. This is like a play director assign good and bad
roles to some actors and then punish and reward them for their roles.
The same concept is conveyed in the following verse.
"It is equal to them, whether you warn them or not, they will not believe. A
llah has put the seal upon their hearts." (2:6-7)
The above verse renders futile the whole idea of prophethood. If Allah has put t
he seal upon the people s hearts and warning or not warning them makes no differen
ce, then what is the point of sending messengers? It simply does not make sense
that a wise God seal the hearts of the people and send messengers to guide them
knowing that they will not be guided thanks to his little operation on their hea
rts.
"Whomsoever Allah guides, he is rightly guided, and whom he leads astray, th
ey are the losers! We have created for Gehenna many jinns and men ..." (7:178-17
9)
Here again it is Allah who guides or leads astray people. But this verse goes ev
en further. It gives the impression that Allah has deliberately created some jin
ns and some men and purposefully leads them astray in order to use them as fuel
in his Gehenna (Hell). Just to make sure that we have not misunderstood the conc
ept, let us study other verses.
"Do ye desire to guide him whom Allah led astray? Whom Allah leads away, you wil
l find no way for him." (4:88).
"If Allah willed he would have made mankind one nation, but they continue in the
ir differences, excepting those on whom your Lord has mercy. To that end, he cre
ated them and perfectly is fulfilled the word of your Lord: 'I shall assuredly f
ill Gehenna with jinns and men altogether.'" (11:118-119).
"Allah leads astray whomsoever he will and guides whomsoever he will." (14:4).
For Allah leaves to stray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. So let not thy
soul go out in (vainly) sighing after them: for Allah knows well all that they
do! (35:8)
" Thus doth Allah leave to stray whom He pleaseth, and guide whom He pleaseth:.
(74:31)
"With Allah is the argument that reaches home: if it had been His will, He could
indeed have guided you all." (Sura 6:149).
Predestination in Hadith
There are many hadiths that ratify the concept of predestination.
Sahih Muslim Book 32, Number 6392:
Narrated Hudhayfah ibn Usayd:
Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: When the drop of (semen) remains in th
e womb for forty or fifty (days) or forty nights, the angel comes and says: My L
ord, will he be good or evil? And both these things would be written. Then the a
ngel says: My Lord, would he be male or female? And both these things are writte
n. And his deeds and actions, his death, his livelihood; these are also recorded
. Then his document of destiny is rolled and there is no addition to and subtrac
tion from it.
If every aspect of the life of an individual in predestined to such detail as it
is given in the above hadith, it is unclear where is the free will of man and w
hy he should be punished for doing something wrong that was predestined for him
even before he was born?
However, the above hadith contains some more errors that are scientifically wron
g. The gender of the fetus in not determined forty or fifty days after conceptio
n. It is determined at conception itself. Some sperms carry an X chromosome and
some a Y. The sex of the child depends on which one hits the egg. Now, parents c
an choose the gender of their child with the help of a doctor quite easily by se
lecting the sperms that carry the right chromosome. So people can change what Mu
hammad thought is predestined and unchangeable. This is another strong argument
that many Islamic dogmas, are baseless.
In another hadith we learn that Allah has created the Hell and the paradise and
their denizens already.
Sahih Muslim Book 32, Number 6435:
Narrated Aisha: A child died and I said: There is happiness for this child w
ho is a bird from amongst the birds of Paradise. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (peac
e be upon him) said: Don't you know that Allah created the Paradise and He creat
ed the Hell and He created the dwellers for this (Paradise) and the denizens for
this (Hell)?
This hadith conveys the idea that the child won t go to paradise automatically bec
ause he was a child and had not committed sins. Whether he goes to paradise or n
ot depends whether he was created to be a dweller of paradise or the denizen of
hell. The concept of predestination as explained by Islam embodies an injustice
that did not escape even the prophet s contemporaries.
Sahih Muslim Book 32, Number 6406:
Narrated Imran ibn Husayn: AbulAswad reported that Imran asked me: What is y
our view what the people do today in the world, and strive for, is it something
decreed for them or preordained for them or will their fate in the Hereafter be
determined by the fact that their Prophets brought them teaching which they did
not act upon? I said: Of course, it is something, which is predetermined for the
m and preordained for them.
He (further) said: Then, would it not be an injustice (to punish them)? I fe
lt greatly disturbed about that, and said: Everything is created by Allah and li
es in His Power. He will not be questioned as to what He does, but they will be
questioned. Thereupon he said to me: May Allah have mercy upon you, I only meant
to ask you in order to test your intelligence.
This kind of reaction is typical of the Muslims when they are asked questions th
at they cannot answer. If someone asked a question concerning an absurd tenet of
Islam that Muslims cannot respond to, the only answer he would get is frown, in
the best case and punishment by death in the worse case.
The idea of God controlling the mind of his subjects, inspiring in them sin or p
iety and then punishing or rewarding them for what they had no control is clearl
y unjust. But when the questioner speaks out his mind he is scolded and has to c
hange his attitude least he be branded as heretic an suffer the consequences.
Two men of the tribe of Muzaynah came to Allah's Apostle (PBUH) and said: Allah's
Apostle, what is your opinion? That which the people do in the world and strive
for, is something decreed for them, something preordained for them? And will th
eir fate in the Hereafter be determined by the fact that their Prophets brought
them teachings which they did not act upon and thus they deserve of punishment?
Thereupon, he said: Of course, it happens as it is decreed by Destiny and preord
ained for them, and this view is confirmed by this verse of the Book of Allah, t
he Exalted and Glorious: "Consider the soul and Him Who made it perfect, then br
eathed into it its sin and its piety." (91:8). (ibid)
The verse 91:8 that is referred to in this hadith states that it is Allah who in
spires in people sin (fojur) and piety (taqva), which is in conformity with anot
her verse in the Qur'an that clearly states all good things and bad things are f
rom Allah.
" Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up str
ong and high!" If some good befalls them, they say, "This is from Allah"; but if
evil, they say, "This is from thee" (O Prophet). Say: "All things are from Alla
h." But what hath come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fa
ct? (4.78)
Sahih Muslim Book 32, Number 6407:
Narrated AbuHurayrah: Allah's Apostle (PBUH) said: Verily, a person performs
deeds for a long time like the deeds of the people of Paradise. Then his deeds
are terminated like the deeds of the people of Hell and, verily, a person perfor
ms deeds like the denizens of Fire for a long time, then this deed of his is ult
imately followed by the deeds of the people of Paradise.
Muslims argue that since Allah is the owner of this universe, he can do whatever
he wills with it without having to respond to anyone, just as a farmer is entit
led to do whatever he wishes with his gardens. A gardener is free to prune any t
ree, to transplant it and even to cut it and burn it. Since he is the owner of h
is property his decisions are law. Despite this, unless he is completely crazy,
the gardener s actions are predictable. No gardener would chop and burn the trees
that produce good fruits, nurture trees that bring forth bitter fruits, or destr
oy his garden without any reason. He is free to do whatever he wishes but if he
is not out of his mine he would follow the norms of logic and therefore his act
ions are predictable.
Of course, God can do whatever he pleases. However he will not act crazy. He can
not be unjust or stupid. He can but he won't. You and I can do a lot of things t
hat no one would ever find out, like steal or lie or even kill someone we don't
know for no reason and get away with it. However if we are not psychopaths we wi
ll not do such things. By the same token, even if God can be unjust he will not
be because he is not a psychopath God. The fact that he can do anything he pleas
es and there is not law above him to keep him accountable is no excuse for him t
o act his this insane way. Shouldn t God be reasonable in his deeds? Shouldn t his
actions make sense? Why should a just God throw into hell a person who has comm
itted no crime and reward one who has done no good? This goes against any sense
of justice, as we know it.
Why did Muhammad depict his Allah in this way? It is because Allah was Muhammad'
s own alter ego. Allah was everything the narcissist Muhammad wanted to be. Narc
issists want to be loved, feared, respected, and be free to do as they please an
d respond to no authority. Muhammad lived his wet dream though his sockpuppet Al
lah.
 Book 32, Number 6416:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: I heard Allah's Apostle (PBUH) as sayi
ng: Allah ordained the measures (of quality) of the creation fifty thousand year
s before He created the heavens and the earth, as His Throne was upon water.
Modern Muslim apologists reason that the idea that Allah has a foreknowledge of
everything that He created and the fact that the events unfold exactly accordin
g to what he predicted, does not imply that human beings have been completely de
prived of the freedom of action. The foreknowledge of God is an acknowledged fac
t, but it should not be interpreted in the sense of predestination, for if we do
so we shall have to conceive of eternity as a storehouse of ready-made events,
from which they drop one by one like particles of sand in a glass hour. If we ta
ke the foreknowledge to be a reflecting mirror we shall have to deprive the Crea
tor and the Controller of the Universe of His Creative activity. This view contra
dicts the Qur'an and many hadiths that unequivocally affirm that destiny is pred
etermined and it cannot be changed.
The Quran also teaches that potentialities are pre-fixed too. For example if a
person is born with a physical defect, that is what God has preordained for him
and nothing can change it. Nevertheless, with the advancement of the medicine, m
any physical defects can be overcome. Some physical deficiencies can be rectifie
d even when a child is still unborn. Should we conclude that man is changing wha
t God had determined as the destiny and recorded in his book as unchangeable?
Book 32, Number 6420:
Narrated AbuHurayrah: The polytheists of the Quraysh came to have an argumen
t with Allah's Apostle (PBUH) in regard to Destiny and then this verse was revea
led: "On the day when they are dragged into the Fire upon their faces; taste the
touch of Fire. Surely, We have created everything according to a measure"
According to Muhammad even accidents are the works of God. If a person makes a m
istake, say for example passes through the traffic light, which causes an accide
nt; we think that he is responsible. But the prophet of God used to think it is
the work of God.
Book 32, Number 6441:
Narrated AbuHurayrah: and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you,
don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but sa
y: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your "if" opens the (gate for t
he Satan.
Men are, therefore, completely subordinate to the overruling power of God, they
cannot do anything unless God wills so.
The idea of predetermination is clearly expressed in a story told in the Qur'an.
(18: 60-82) It is a story of Moses meeting Khidhr, a man wiser than himself. Mo
ses accompanies Khidhr for enlightenment and is puzzled when Khidhr, among few o
ther bizarre things, slays an innocent boy. When he enquires, Khidhr explains th
at the lad would have grown up to become an obstinate and a rebellious person, h
ence becoming a disappointment to his pious parents. So he killed the boy to spa
re his parents from future anguish of having a disbelieving son.
So the boy was punished for a crime that he had not yet committed. This story el
iminates any chance that the boy could have chosen to become a pious person. Whi
ch raises the question, if his destiny was predetermined and the only way to sav
e his parents from the torments of his future misdemeanor was to kill him before
he grow up, why Allah made him in the first place? And why he does not kill all
the people whom he knows would commit sin sometime in the future? Wouldn't it b
e nicer if God killed all the baby's that he knows would be disbelievers (the bi
ggest crime) when they grow up as soon as they are born? Then the question rema
ins, why he makes them in the first place? Why he destines for them this sin whe
n they are still a 40 day fetus? The following hadith is in confirmation of the
above verse
Book 32, Number 6434:
Narrated Ubayy ibn Ka'b: Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: The young
man whom Khadir killed was a non-believer by his very nature and had he survive
d he would have involved his parents in defiance and unbelief.
Further Reading:
Christians Ask Muslims by Gerhard Nehls
From all this, we can either conclude that God is a psychopath lunatic or that M
uhammad was a liar and had no understanding of God. Which one makes more sense t
o you?

Historical Errors of the Qur'an

Historical errors are so many in the Qur'an that we cannot cover them all, but w
e will be content to point out some very obvious examples:
The Crucifixion of Christ
The Qur'an explicitly denies that Jesus was crucified. It claims that the Jews b
ecame so confused that they crucified somebody else instead who had the likeness
of Christ. It is recorded in the Qur'an 4:15,
"They slew him not nor crucified but it appeared so unto them."
In his commentary on this verse al-Baydawi said (p. 135),
"A group of Jews cursed Christ and his mother. He invoked evil on them and,
may He be exalted, turned them into monkeys and swine. The Jews gathered togethe
r to kill him, but God, may He be exalted, informed him (Jesus) that He was goin
g to lift him up to heaven. Thus, (Jesus) said to his companions, `Who would lik
e to have my likeness cast on him and be killed and crucified, then enter the pa
radise?' One of them volunteered (to do so) and God cast on him Christ's likenes
s. He was then arrested, crucified and killed. It is also said that (the crucifi
ed one) was a traitor who went with the mob to guide them to Christ (he meant Ju
das), thus God cast on him the likeness of Jesus and he was arrested, crucified
and killed."
Al- Baydawi is not the only one who records these mystical stories, but all Musl
im scholars who attempt to interpret the above verse, plainly state that Jesus w
as not crucified. The Qur'an has ignored not only the records of Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John and the rest of the New Testament, but also all the other chronic
lers. It ignores the history of the Roman Empire which documented that a Jewish
man by the name of Jesus was crucified during the time of Pilate the Pontius, th
e Roman Governor who gave way to the demands of the chief priests of the Jews.
It is well known that Christ's trial took place in front of the chief priests an
d the Roman Governor. It is also common knowledge that the arrested man did not
remonstrate and say, "I am not Christ, I am Judas who wanted to betray Him and g
ive Him away to you." All Jesus' words on the cross denote that He was Christ, e
specially His statement, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they d
o" (Luke 23:34).
Jesus Himself told His disciples that He must be delivered to the chief priests
and be crucified, then He would rise from the dead on the third day. Christ Hims
elf foretold that and the crucifixion was fulfilled according to the many prophe
cies recorded in the Old Testament which predicted His crucifixion centuries bef
ore. Christ came to accomplish God's plan for man's salvation.
Therefore, it is not reasonable that six hundred years after Christ's crucifixio
n, a man should appear and declare to the world (ignoring all the historical evi
dence) that the one who was crucified was not Christ. This is similar to a man w
ho comes hundreds of years from now to tell us that the one who was assassinated
in the twentieth century was not Martin Luther King (or John F. Kennedy or Zia
al-Haqq) but rather someone else who looked like him. Of course, nobody would be
lieve him, even if he claimed that the angel Gabriel (or the thunder angel) reve
aled it to him.

The Virgin Mary

In many places, the Qur'an mentions Mary as the sister of Moses and Aaron and th
e daughter of Imran. The Qur'an has confused Jesus' mother with Aaron's sister b
ecause both of them carry the same name, though there are several centuries betw
een them. The Qur'an indicates that Mary (Christ's mother) had a brother whose n
ame 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 thei
r desperate attempts to justify this grave error. Their contradictory interpreta
tions 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 Qur'anic statement that Mary is Aaron's sis
ter (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 thos
e who were with him who belonged to the same class of brotherhood. It was also s
aid that she was one of Aaron's descendants though there were a thousand years b
etween them. It was said too, that he (Aaron) was a righteous or a wicked man wh
o lived during their time (time of Mary). They likened her to him to ridicule he
r or to insult her."
Yet Baydawi's statement is repealed by the Qur'an because the Qur'an did not ref
er to a moral relationship but stressed the literal meaning. If the Qur'an had m
eant to elevate Mary to the same level of Aaron, the prophet, or to the status o
f a daughter of Imran, why then did it mention that her mother was the wife of I
mran as it is recorded in chapter 3:35? It is very obvious that the matter was e
ither confused in the mind of Muhammad or of Gabriel, the angel! It is not accep
table that the Qur'an intended to say that Mary enjoys the same status as a sist
er of Aaron and a daughter of Imran. Therefore it is impossible to treat Mary (t
he mother of Jesus) as if she were the sister of Aaron and Moses.
The contemporary scholar who translated the Qur'an which was authorized by the S
audi authorities said (in the introduction of page 47 of chapter of the Family o
f Imran),
"Al Imran takes its title from v. 32, where `the family of Imran' (the fathe
r of Moses) occurs as a generic name for all the Hebrew prophets from Moses to J
ohn 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 co
nfused Mary, the mother of Jesus, with Mary, the sister of Moses. Most Muslims b
elieve (on the authority of the Qur'an) that the grandfather of Jesus Christ was
named `Imran' which may also have been the name of the father of Moses. In Sura
h XIX 28 where Mary is addressed as `sister of Aaron', they hold the ancestral s
ense 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 Qur'an said that the mother of Mary was
the wife of Imran, especially if the Qur'an intended (as they say) to show the
moral relationship only. It is an obvious historical mistake, my dear reader, be
cause Mary had no brother named Aaron.

Alexander the Great

It is amazing to see the Qur'an talking about Alexander the Great as if he were
a righteous man and a teacher, though it is well-known that the Greek, Alexander
, was idolatrous and claimed to be the son of Amun, the God of Egypt. If the rea
der wonders where it is recorded in the Qur'an that Alexander was a righteous ma
n, we would refer him to the chapter of the Cave 18:83-98 where we encounter six
teen verses which talk about this military general. These verses explicitly say
that God assisted him, guided him and removed all obstacles from his way in orde
r that he could accomplish his plans and fulfill his desires. They indicate that
Alexander was the one who reached the place of the sunset and found it set down
in a well of water and mud. They claim that he encountered some people and God
gave him the option to torment them, to kill them or to take them captive, call
them to the faith and to lead them in a straight path.
These comments are expressed by all the scholars without any exception (refer to
Baydawi, p. 399, al-Jalalan, p. 251, al-Tabari, p. 339, al-Zamakhshari, part 2
of al-Kash-shaf, p. 743). If we do not refer to these great expounders of the Qu
r'an to whom, then, shall we refer? The Greek Alexander was not a righteous serv
ant of God as the Qur'an said, but he was a licentious, belligerent, idolatrous
man. He did not have any relationship with God and God never asked him to guide
people and to teach them the faith.
Other Historical Errors
Does the reader believe that Abraham did not offer Isaac, but Ishmael, as a sacr
ifice? This is what all Muslim scholars say. Do you know that the Qur'an claims
that Haman was pharaoh's prime minister even though Haman lived in Babylon one t
housand years later? Yet the Qur'an says so. The Qur'an says that the one who pi
cked Moses from the river was not his sister but his mother (28:6-8), and that a
Samaritan was the one who molded the golden calf for the children of Israel and
misguided them, and the golden calf was lowing (refer to chapter 20:85-88) thou
gh it is well-known that Samaria was not in existence at that time. The Samarita
ns came after the Babylonian exile. How could one of them have made the golden c
alf for the people of Israel?
Concerning the birth of Christ, the Qur'an teaches that the Virgin Mary gave bir
th to him under the shade of a palm tree and not in a manger of sheep (refer to
Mary 19:23). The Qur'an ignores all the documented historical evidence available
to all people across the ages and brings us new discoveries!
The Qur'an claims (Chapter 2:125-127) that Abraham and Ishmael, his son, are the
ones who built The Ka'ba in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The late Dr. Taha Husayn (th
e most famous professor of Arabic literature in Egypt) acknowledges that the inf
ormation recorded in the Qur'an pertaining to the construction of Ka'ba at the h
and of Abraham and Ishmael is not historically documented. He said:
"The case of this episode is very obvious because it is of recent date and c
ame into vogue just before the rise of Islam. Islam exploited it for religious r
easons" (quoted in Mizan al-Islam by Anwar al-Jundi, p. 170).
This declaration invoked the rage of the Muslim scholars against him. The former
president of Tunisia did the same thing when he stated that the Qur'an contains
mythical stories. Muslim scholars revolted against him and threatened to kill h
im because these are Muhammad's orders - kill anybody who insults the Qur'an. So
what could Taha Husayn or Abu Ruqayba [better known in the West as Bourgiba] (o
r we) do if the Qur'an rejects the most scientifically documented historical sto
ries? Are we supposed to shut up our mouth and close our minds lest we be killed
?

Qur anic Language and Grammatical Mistakes

Our Muslim brethren say that the eloquence of the Qur an, the supremacy of its lan
guage and the beauty of its expression are conclusive evidence that the Qur an is
the Word of God because the inimitability of the Qur an lies in its beautiful styl
e of the Arabic language. We acknowledge that the Qur an (in some of its parts and
chapters) has been written in an eloquent style and impressive words. This fact
is beyond any doubt and anyone who denies that does not have any taste for the
Arabic language. Yet, on the other hand, we say that there are many clear langua
ge errors in other parts of the Qur an pertaining to the simplest principles of st
yle, literary expression and the well-known grammatical rules of the Arabic lang
uage and its expression.
We even find in the Qur an many words which do not have any meaning and are not fo
und in any language. There is also a great deal of vocabulary which no one can u
nderstand. Muhammad s companions themselves have acknowledged that, as we will see
, but before we examine all these issues, I would like to clarify two important
points.
First, from a linguistic point of view, the eloquence of any book cannot be an e
vidence of the greatness of the book and proof that it was revealed by God, beca
use what is important to God is not to manifest His power in the eloquence of st
yle and the expressive forcefulness of the classical Arabic language, but rather
to embody His power in the sublime spiritual meaning contained in that book whi
ch will lead the people to a high spiritual level which enables them to live tog
ether in peace and love. It helps them to enjoy an internal profound joy and spi
ritual, psychological fullness abundant life. God does not care to teach the peopl
e of the Earth the rules and the principles of the Arabic language. God is not a
teacher of a fading classical Arabic language, but the true living God is our s
piritual leader in life of love and joy.
Is the content of the Qur an properly fit to be ascribed to God? All that we inten
d to do here is to determine that eloquence of style is not always an evidence t
hat the words uttered come from heaven or that the one who has spoken them is a
prophet. The German poet Schiller is not a prophet, and the Iliad and the Odessa
are not composed by a prophet but rather by a Greek poet. The masterpieces of S
hakespeare s poems and plays in English literature which are translated and publis
hed more than the Qur an by ten fold have not compelled the British to say that th
e angel Gabriel is the one who revealed them to Shakespeare.
The second very significant point is that the eloquence of the Qur an and the supr
emacy of the classical Arabic language in which the Qur an is written have created
difficulty in reading and understanding, even for the Arabs themselves. So what
would we say about the non-Arabs even if they learn the Arabic language? The Qu
r an will continue to be a problem for them because it is not sufficient for a per
son to learn the Arabic language to be able to read the Qur an. He also has to stu
dy the literature of the Arabic language thoroughly. Thus, we find that the majo
rity of Arabs themselves do not understand the classical language of the Qur an wh
ich contains hundreds of words which confused Muhammad s companions who mastered t
he language but failed to explain their meanings, along with many other words wh
ich even Muhammad s companions could not comprehend.
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti composed at least one hundred pages in part II of his fam
ous book, "The Itqan", to explain the difficult words included in the chapters o
f the Qur an, under the title "The Foreign words of the Qur an". The vocabulary of t
he classical Arabic language and some of its expressions are not in use anymore
among the Arabs. The language itself was so diversified that the Shafi i was led t
o say, "No one can have a comprehensive knowledge of the language except a proph
et" (Itqan II: p 106).
The question which imposes itself on us is: What advantage do the people of the
world get out of the Book of God if it is written in a difficult language which
makes it impossible for Arabs (even Muhammad s companions and his relatives) to co
mprehend it? Does God write a book in which people do not comprehend the meaning
 of many words included in the text, especially when the scholars insist that th
e Qur an must be read only in Arabic? In his book al-Itqan, Al Suyuti says,
"It is utterly inadmissible for the Qur an to be read in languages other than
Arabic, whether the reader masters the language or not, during the prayer time o
r at other times, lest the inimitability of the Qur an is lost. On the authority o
f the Qaffal (one of the most famous scholars of jurisprudence, fundamentals and
exposition), reading the Qur an in Persian cannot be imagined. But it was said to
him, Then no one will be able to interpret the Qur an. He said, It is not so, becaus
e he will bring forth some of God s purposes and will fail to reveal others, but i
f somebody wants to read it in Persian he will never bring forth (any) of God s pu
rposes."
This is why non-Arabs repeat the Qur anic text without understanding it, because t
hey utter it in Arabic. The same words have been repeated in Dr. Shalabi s book (p
. 97), "The History of Islamic Law". He also adds,
"If the Qur an is translated into a non-Arabic language, it will lose its eloq
uent inimitability. The inimitability is intended for itself. It is permissible
to translate the meaning without being literal."
The same principle is followed by those who worked on the English authorized tra
nslation. They said (page iii),
"The Qur an cannot be translated that is the belief of traditional Sheikhs (reli
gious leaders). The Arabic Qur an is an inimitable symphony, the very sounds of wh
ich move men to tears and ecstasy."
This is true. If the Qur an were translated literally into English, for example, i
t would lose its linguistic beauty, and could not then be compared to any other
book in English, French, or German literature. In addition, a person might wonde
r how the many incomprehensible Arabic words could be translated.
The other question which confronts us is this, Does God belong to the Arabs only
? If His book can only be in Arabic, then it is written only to the Arabs and it
should not be read except in Arabic as the scholars claim as if God were an Ara
bic God. Thus, the scholars prohibit praying to God in any other language than A
rabic in all mosques. It is also required that the call for prayers and the conf
ession of faith which attests that the man is a Muslim must be uttered in Arabic
because Muhammad (the prophet of Islam) said that Arabic is the language of par
adise and the Arabs are the best nation created among peoples.
Among the famous prophetic traditions which Muhammad said to the Muslims is, "Lo
ve the Arabs for three (things): Because I am an Arab, the Qur an is in Arabic and
the language of the people of the paradise is Arabic" (refer to al-Mustadrak by
the Hakim, and Fayd al-Ghadir).
Let us now examine the failure of the Arabic language in which the Qur an is writt
en, and limit ourselves to the following points:

The Original Qur anic Text Was Without Diacritical Points, Vocalization, And Some
Of Its Letters Are Omitted.
We will attempt to explain this problem to the English reader as plainly as poss
ible. We hope he will find it exciting and interesting. The Arabic reader knows
fairly well that the meanings of the words require the use of diacritical points
above or below the letters, otherwise it becomes very difficult (if not impossi
ble) to comprehend their meanings. Vocalization also is very significant in the
field of desinential inflection, along with writing all the letters of the word
without omitting any of them. Thus, the reader of the Arabic language cannot bel
ieve or imagine that the Qur an was written originally without these significant r
equirements, but let us assure you that this is a historical fact, well-known an
d acknowledged by all Muslim scholars without any exception.
We will also see that there is a large number of words about which the scholars
could not agree as to their meanings. One simple example helps us to visualize t
he nature of the problem. Let us take the Arabic letter "ba". By changing the di
acritical points, we get three different letters "ta", "ba", and "tha". So when th
ese letters are written without the diacritical points, it becomes difficult for
the reader to know the word that is intended.
Examine the following word. Look thoroughly at the diacritical points (I repent)
, (plant), (house), (girl) (abided). Another example (rich), (stupid), and so on
. Without these diacritical points it is very hard to distinguish the words from
each other. Thus, the meaning differs from one word to another depending on the
place of these diacritical points. Many of the Arabic alphabets require the pre
sence of the diacritical point to differentiate between one alphabet and another
and hence between one word and another.
Now let us quote the Muslim scholars who have the final word in these matters.
1) In his famous book, "The History of Islamic Law" (p.43), Dr. Ahmad Shalabi, p
rofessor of Islamic history and civilization remarks,
"The Qur an was written in the Kufi script without diacritical points, vocaliz
ation or literary productions. No distinction was made between such words as slav
es , a slave , and at or to have , or between to trick and to deceive each other , o
investigate or to make sure . Because of the Arab skill in Arabic language their re
ading was precise. Later when non-Arabs embraced Islam, errors began to appear i
n the reading of the Qur an when those non-Arabs and other Arabs whose language wa
s corrupted, read it. The incorrect reading changed the meaning sometimes."
The same statement is made by Taha Husayn in "Taha Husayn" (p. 143), by Anwar al
-Jundi.
Then Dr. Ahmad alluded to those who invented the vocalization and diacritical po
ints and applied them to the Qur anic text many years after Muhammad s death such as
Abu al-Aswad al Du ali, Nasr ibn Asim and al-Khalil ibn Ahmad. He also added (on t
he same page) that "without these diacritical points, a man would believe that v
erse 3 of the chapter, The Repentance , would mean that God is done with the idolat
ers and His apostle free from obligation to the idolaters and His apostle while the
real meaning of the verse is that God and His apostle are done with the idolate
rs free from further obligation to the idolaters.
Now the question we would like to ask Dr. Ahmad and all those wise men: Why was
not the Qur an revealed to Muhammad in a perfect Arabic language complete with the
literary indicators and the diacritical points lest a difference or change of m
eaning occur? If a student of Arabic writes an essay in Arabic without the diacr
itical points would the teacher give him more than zero? The answer is known to
two hundred million Arabs.
The second question is: Did God inspire those who added the diacritical points a
nd the vocalization through an angel, for example, to eliminate the different me
anings on which the scholars disagree? Who instructed Nasr ibn Asim, Abu al-Aswad
al Du ali and Khalil ibn Ahmad to undertake this serious task and create the diac
ritical points and the vocalization for the Qur anic text? Was it not more appropr
iate that Muhammad himself or some of his successors or companions like ibn Abbas
and ibn Mas ud should accomplish this work? Yet al-Suyuti himself tells us that i
bn Mas ud was not pleased with that (refer to "Itqan", part 2, p. 160), nor were o
ther leading companions and scholars such as ibn Sirin and the Nakha i.
2) Ibn Timiyya, Sheik of the Muslims (vol. XII, p. 101), tells us,
"The companions of Muhammad had never used the diacritical points or the voc
alization for the Qur an. For each word, there were two readings either to use (for
instance) ya or tah in such words as they do or you do . The companion did not forbi
of the readings in favor of the other, then some successor of the companions be
gan to use the diacritical points and vocalization for the Qur an."
On pp. 576 and 586, he adds,
"The companions (Muhammad s friends) did not vocalize or provide diacritical p
oints for the letters of the Qur anic copies which they wrote, but later during th
e last part of the companions era, when reading errors came into being, they bega
n to provide diacritical points for the copies of the Qur an and to vocalize them.
This was admissible by the authority of the majority of the scholars, though so
me of them disliked it. The truth is, it should not be disliked because the situ
ation necessitated it, and the diacritical points distinguish the letters from e
ach other while vocalization explains the grammatical inflection."
There is a candid acknowledgment from ibn Timiyya that diacritical points are re
quired, but did not God and His angel Gabriel along with Muhammad and his succes
sors know about this problem? The simplest principles of sound Arabic language d
emand that words should have diacritical points and their letters should be writ
ten in complete form. Didn t they know that disagreements among Muslim scholars wo
uld take place and that they would fight among themselves and that even death wo
uld result from the differences in reading the Qur anic text? Didn t they know also
that the differences in meaning of the Qur anic vocabulary would be decisive in th
e interpretation and judgments of Islamic law?
It is surprising that such things had not occurred to the mind of God, Gabriel,
Muhammad, and the companions and the caliphs; then, three persons come later and
insert these changes into the Qur anic text. Yet, what is really more surprising
is that when the companions discovered the differences in the readings of the Qu
r anic text (as Ibn Timiyya says), they did not have any objection against any of
the different readings and they did not prohibit either one. The justification f
or that was that Muhammad himself had acknowledged the presence of seven differe
nt readings, not just two readings as was clearly stated in the Sahih al-Bukhari
, (vol. 6, p. 227). This fact is common knowledge among all the scholars.
3) Jalal-al-Din al-Suyuti
In his famous book, "al-Itqan Fi Ulum al-Qur an" ("Adjusted Qur anic Science"), al-S
uyuti reiterates (part four, p. 160) the same words of ibn Timiyya which had bee
n quoted by Dr. Ahmad Shalabi about those who invented the diacritical points an
d the vocalization of the words. He also said that some of the scholars detested
that, as we mentioned before. There the Suyuti presents (part four, pp. 156,157
) a list of words which could be read differently. One of them is the reading by
which the Qur an was written, though Muhammad himself had accepted and acknowledg
ed both readings.
In part one, p. 226 of "The Itqan", the Suyuti makes an important declaration in
which he says that the difference in reading has led to differences in Islamic
law. He illustrated that by the following example: He indicated that some schola
rs demanded of the worshipper that he wash himself again (the ablution) before h
e prays if he shook hands with a woman. Yet other scholars require him to do so
only in case of sexual intercourse and not just because he shook hands with her
or touched her hand.
The reason for this disagreement is ascribed to one word found in the Chapter of
Women (verse 43) and whether it has a long vowel a or not. The Jalalan (p. 70)
and the Baydawi (p. 113) record for us that both ibn Umar and al-Shafi i seriously
disagree with ibn Abbas in the way they interpret this verse because ibn Abbas ins
isted that the meaning intended here is actual intercourse while the former said
no, it is enough for a man to touch the skin of a woman or her hand to require
having his ablution (washing) repeated.
In four full pages (226-229), the Suyuti stated that the many arguments and vari
ous interpretations pertaining to the above word have brought about different or
dinances. When we read the commentary of the Jalalan or the Baydawi, we realize
that whenever they come across certain words which could be read in more than on
e form they say: This word is read in two different forms.
Before conclude this part, let me call attention to the following everyday story
: A man was asking about the place of two verses in the Qur an. He was told that h
e could locate them in the Chapters of Resurrection and the Hypocrites. He made
every effort to find these two chapters but in vain. Then he was told that the C
hapter of Resurrection is number 75 and the chapter of the Hypocrites is number
63. He told them that chapter 75 is named "The Value" and chapter 63 is named or
called "The Spenders". They told him you say so because you read them without t
he letter A (long vowel A) His logical answer was: "I have read them in exactly
the form in which they were written without the long vowel A. Why should I add t
he long vowel A to the words of the Qur an which would change the meaning?"
My dear English reader have you recognized the purpose of the above paragraph? I
s the word "reply" the same as "replay"? There are dozens of words like that in
the Qur an, even some of the titles of the Qur anic chapters have been written witho
ut the long vowel A. For example, the word "masajid" (mosques) is written "masji
d" (a mosque), and "sadaqat" (charities) as "sadaqta" (you said the truth). The
meaning (as you see) has been completely changed, as Dr. Ahmad Shalabi and Suyut
i remarked.

Meaningless Qur anic words

All Muslim scholars acknowledge that the Qur an contains words which even Muhammad s
relatives and companions have failed to understand. In his book, "The Itqan" (p
art 2, p. 4), the Suyuti states clearly,
"Muhammad s companions, who are genuine Arabs, eloquent in language, in whose
dialect the Qur an was given to them, have stopped short in front of some words an
d failed to know their meanings, thus they said nothing about them. When Abu Bak
r was asked about the Qur anic statement and fruits and fodder (8:31), he said, What
sky would cover me or what land would carry me if I say what I do not know about
the book of God? Umar ibn al-Khattab read the same text from the rostrum, then he
said, This fruit we know, but what is fodder? Sa id ibn Jubair was asked about the
Qur anic text in chapter 13 of Mary. He said, I asked ibn Abbas about it, but he kep
t silent."
Then the Suyuti indicated that ibn Abbas said that he does not know the meanings
of some of the Qur anic verses (like these in Chapter 69:36, 9:114 and 18:9).
I have quoted the Suyuti s text word for word, and stated the confession of ibn Abb
as who is interpreter of the Qur an and legal jurist of the caliphs for whom Muham
mad pleaded with God to enlighten his mind to comprehend the meaning of the Qur an
. Also, who was closer to Muhammad, my dear Muslim, than Abu Bakr and Umar, the
first two caliphs along with ibn Abbas? All of them failed to comprehend many of
the Qur anic verses. Therefore, the Suyuti warns that anyone who attempts to conce
ive the meanings of these words will suffer complete failure. Then he mentions t
hat the caliphs and ibn Abbas, themselves, did not know their meanings.
Of course, he was right, because if those great leaders had failed to know their
meanings, who would? Certainly, those intimate companions of Muhammad asked him
about the meanings of those obscure words, but it is clear enough that Muhammad
himself failed to know their meanings, otherwise he would have explained them t
o his companions as he did on several other occasions.
In addition to these ambiguous words there are at least 14 other words or symbol
s which are recorded at the introductory part of 29 Qur anic chapter. These codes
are entirely ambiguous. Also four of these codes are titles for four chapters; t
herefore, four Qur anic chapters have meaningless titles. These chapters are chapt
er Taha, ya sin, Sad, and Qaf. When the Jalalan attempted to expound the meaning
s of these 14 obscure words and the titles of these chapters, they said, "God al
one knows His own intention."
I am stating these words for the benefit of the reader as they are recorded in t
he authorized English translation of the Qur an. "Aim-Alr-Almus-Hm" means nothing
in any language! Is it a characteristic of Arabic eloquence to have meaningless
words and titles of complete chapters which no body can comprehend?

The Qur an says woe to anyone who asks for the meaning!
The Qur an acknowledges that there are meaningless words. In chapter of Family of U
mran: 7, it indicates that there are allegorical verses which "no one knoweth ho
w to explain save God." The Qur an does not tell us why these words have been reco
rded in the Qur an if no one knows their meaning. In his book, "The Itqan" (part 3
, p. 3), the Suyuti refers to the above verse, then he remarks,
"The Qur an is divided into sound, intelligible (verses) and obscure, unintell
igible (verses). The obscure (verses) are only known to God such as the detached
alphabets at the beginning of the chapters."
On pp. 5 and 6, the Suyuti asserts that the majority of the companions and the s
uccessors of the companions, especially the Sunnis (among them ibn Abbas himself)
affirm that there are words of which no one knows the interpretation save God o
nly.
It is worthwhile mentioning here that anyone who attempted to comprehend the mea
ning of those words or any of the obscured verses was severely punished. On pp.
7 and 8 (part 3 of "The Itqan"), the Suyuti records for us a moving episode abou
t a person called Sabigh who wanted to inquire about these same Qur anic interpret
ations Umar Ibn al-Khattab severely punished him on successive days until he was
almost killed due to head injuries. This is "the just Umar", as they call him.

The Qur an Gives The Antonym (opposite) Meaning Of Words And Phrases
This fact is well-known to all scholars. It clearly reveals that the Arabic lang
uage of the Qur an is not always sound as some believe. In the second part of "The
Itqan", the Suyuti speaks explicitly about things which no one expected to find
in the Qur an. Actually, these defects are not supposed to occur in any standard
Arabic book which complies with the rules and characteristics of the Arabic lang
uage. On page 135, the Suyuti says,
 "The word after has been mentioned twice in the Qur an so as to mean before , as in
this saying, We have written in the psalms (the scripture) "after the reminder"
(21:105) while He meant "before." Also in this saying, The earth "after" that He h
as extended (79:30) while he meant "before" and not "after" because the earth wa
s created first "before" and not "after" He created the heavens, as Abu Musa indi
cated."
These are the actual words of Suyuti. The question now is: Does this linguistic
defect conform to any language in the world? Does this comply with the character
istics of writing and the artistic, eloquent style of Arabic language? Is it pro
per, in the Qur anic style to write "after" when you mean "before"? How can the re
ader know the correct meaning since it is common knowledge that "after" and "bef
ore" are opposite words? Is it sensible that the angel Gabriel meant to say "bef
ore" but he instructed Muhammad to write "after"? It is difficult for us to beli
eve that.
This problem is not confined to one word because the Suyuti provides us with eig
ht pages (Itqan, part 2, pp. 132-139) full of similar examples found in the Qur an
in which, according to the interpreters of the texts, the Qur an meant the opposi
te meaning than the literal meaning of the expression. There is no connection be
tween the literal meaning and the meaning intended by the Qur an.
Let us examine together some of the examples the Suyuti presented to us in his b
ook, the Itqan, part 2,
(A) "The Qur an means, Do not those who believe know that had Allah willed, He coul
d have guided all mankind , but he said, Do not those who believe despair! instead o
f writing know as he meant" (see Thunder: 31). Is "despair" the same as "know"?
(B) "The Qur an says in chapter 2:23, ... your martyrs , but it means here, ... your
partners (p. 133). After the Suyuti made this remark, he commented,
"The martyr is supposed to be the person who is killed, or the one who testi
fies concerning people s matters, but here it means your partners."
(C) "In chapter Joseph: 20 the word Bakhs (too little) is meant to be haram (forbidd
en, sacred) contrary to the usual meaning" (p. 132).
(D) "In chapter Mariam (Mary):46 the phrase, I certainly will stone you is interpr
eted to mean, I certainly will curse you , and not, I certainly will kill you as its
literal meaning suggests" (p. 133).
Let the reader decide for himself as he examines these illustrations.
Why the Qur an did not say: "Do not know those who believe.. " instead of "do not
the believers give up all hope..." Is "despair" the same as knowledge? And if th
e Qur an intended to say, "Did not ... know" would it be recorded as to mean "to g
ive up all hope?" The same thing could be said about "too little" and "martyrs "
Does not each word have a different meaning than the meaning indicated by the Q
ur an? Is it one of the prerogatives of the language to use a word which has a dif
ferent connotation than the intended meaning?
Let us state another illustration from "The Itqan" (part 3, p. 251) where the Su
yuti says,
"In chapter the (Rahman):6, The Qur an says: The "Nagm" stars and the trees bow
themselves. Here the Qur an does not mean by the stars the heavenly stars but the pl
ants which do not have trunk. This is the far-fetched intended meaning."
We would like to state here that there is no one who would imagine or expect thi
s meaning. Even the Saudi scholars who translated the Qur an into English (p. 590)
understood the word Nagm ("star") to mean a heavenly star and stated it as such. Th
us, even the Saudi translators of the Qur an could not imagine that the Qur an has m
eant by the word "Nagm" ("star"), the plants which do not have trunks.
I, myself had some doubts about the Suyuti s explanation and thought maybe it was
the Suyuti s fault and not the Qur an s, or the Saudi scholars. Why should we attack t
he Qur an and blame it for the Suyuti s error? Therefore, as a candid researcher, I
decided to examine the interpretations of the former Muslim scholars to be sure
of the proper interpretation. I referred to the Baydawi s commentary (p. 705) and
found him in full harmony with the Suyuti s interpretation who stressed that this
word alludes to the plants which sprang from the earth without a trunk. The same
interpretation is found in the Jalalan (p. 450). In Al-Kash-shaf (part 4, p. 44
3), the Zamakh-Shari agreed with the mentioned scholars and remarks,
"And the star which is a plant which springs from the earth without a trunk su
ch as the herbs, for the trees do have trunks."
Thus, let the Saudi scholars correct the translation errors of the Qur an, along w
ith another error (as the Suyuti comprehended it) though they are right in their
interpretation of it: The word "amid most" (chapter 2:143) means - according to
Suyuti - righteous or just people (p. 251 also refer to the Baydawi p. 29 and T
abari 24). Thus Suyuti says,
"The conspicuous meaning of the word suggests the (idea) of intermediary, wh
ile the intended meaning is righteous and this is the far-fetched meaning."
Another example in which the English translator was proper.
The Qur an says in chapter 57:29: "Lest the people of the book may know." This is
the literal translation of the phrase. The word means (in both Arabic and Englis
h) "lest" while the intended meaning is that they may know (refer to the comment
ary of Jalalan p. 459). The translators of the Qur an correctly translated it as "
that they may know" which is opposite to the literal meaning of the word in Arab
ic.
Yet, before we conclude the discussion of this point, I would like to share with
the readers another strange phrase which illustrates the above mentioned point
even more clearly.
In chapters 75: 1,2 and 90:1, the Qur an repeats the phrase: "I do not swear..." T
his is the literal translation of the phrase, but the interpreters and the trans
lators of the Qur an insist that the meaning is: "I do call...," or "No, I swear"
indicating that the word "do not" is redundant, and when He said, "I do not swea
r", he meant, "I swear" (refer to the Jalalan, p. 493, 511; Al-Kash-shaf, part 4
, p. 658, 753; and Baydawi, pp. 772, 799). The Qur an says,
"I do not swear by the Day of Resurrection"
"I do not swear by the reproachful soul"
"I do not swear by this city"
While he meant (according to all Muslim scholars) that He does swear by the abov
e three things. The Zamakhshari noted that some had objected to that, and they h
ave the right to object to this confusion, but others said that the pre-Islamic,
great poet Emro Al-Qays used to do so.
In the Qur an There Are Omitted Words, Incomplete Phrases, and Errors In The Struc
ture Of Sentences
This is strange and unjustifiable. Why should many words or even completed phras
es be omitted confusing the meaning? In his book, "The Itqan", the Suyuti has di
scussed this matter and pointed to many omitted letters or words and sentences.
He devoted ten pages of part 3, (pp. 181-192) to listing ample examples of which
I quote but a few of them.
A) "We read in chapter (Surah) 22:32:
It is from the piety of hearts.
The Suyuti says it should have been written this way,
Its glorification comes from the deeds of those of piety of hearts."
B) "Also, in chapter 20:96, the Qur an says,
So I took a handful (of dust) from the footprint of the apostle.
The Suyuti says: It is supposed to be written as such:
...from the footprint of the hoof of the apostle s mare" (refer to p. 191)
C) Among the many striking examples of the omission of various sentences is what
we read in chapter 8:45,46. The Suyuti comments in p. 192,
"The verse: Send ye me oh righteous Joseph... means, Send ye me to Joseph to as
k him for the interpretation of the dream. So he did. He came to him and said, O,
righteous Joseph...."
In the Qur an just two words at the beginning are written and two words at the end
and all the words in-between are omitted!
Let the reader decide for himself if it is possible to comprehend the intended m
eaning, having all these words omitted from the verse until it becomes entirely
meaningless.

Other Language Errors In Sentence Structure

It is appropriate to refer to Muslim scholars when a person wants to study and c
omprehend the Qur an. They are well acquainted with the principles of the Arabic l
anguage and the Qur an. There is none better than the Suyuti, Baydawi, Tabari, Jal
alan, and Zamakh-Shari who are great, recognized scholars and linguists quoted b
y the Azhar scholars in Egypt as well as the Saudi scholars. The American, Europ
ean and Orientalist, with all due respect, do not understand the Qur anic language
like those great Muslim scholars. The Suyuti (part 3, p. 33), quoting several g
reat Muslim scholars, says,
"The Qur anic verse: Let not their wealth nor their children astonish thee! All
ah purposeth only to punish them in the world (chapter 9:85). It actually means: L
et not their properties and children astonish you on this Earth because God purp
oses to torment them in eternity."
Let the reader notice that there is no mention of eternity in the verse. In pp.
34 and 35, the Suyuti remarks:
"The intended original word order of (the Qur anic) text: Have you seen the one
who made his God (the object of) his compassion? (25:34) is to be read, ... who m
ade his compassion his God and not, ... his God (the object of) his compassion , bec
ause who made his God (the object) of his compassion is not blame- worthy."
In page 328, the Suyuti says that,
"There are many verses in the Qur an which were revealed without any connectio
n to the verses which proceeded or preceded them, such as what we read in chapte
r 75:13-19 because the entire chapter talks about the states of resurrection. Bu
t these verses were revealed because Muhammad used to hastily move his tongue wh
en dictating the Qur anic revelation. Some Muslims said that part of the chapter h
as been dropped, because these verses are not relevant to this chapter at all."
We conclude our discussion of this part by pointing to the boring repetition of
certain phrases by which the Qur an is characterized. The phrase, "O which of your
Lord s bounties will you deny?" is repeated thirty-one times in a chapter in whic
h there are no more than 78 verses (chapter 75). The story of Noah is repeated i
n 12 chapters. Abraham s story is repeated in 8 chapters along with the episode of
Lot. Moses story is repeated in 7 chapters, Adam s in 4 chapters, and John s in 4 ch
apters. Moses conversation with pharaoh is repeated in 12 chapters. Certainly the
se stories differ drastically from the stories recorded in the Old Testament.
There are approximately 15-20 grammatical errors found in the Qur an which cannot
be denied by those who master Arabic grammar This has created a heated argument
because these grammatical errors are not expected in a book which Muslims claim
is dictated by God and its inimitability lies in its perfect Arabic language. Th
us, how can the Qur an include grammatical mistakes which a junior high school stu
dent who has a basic background in Arabic would not make? If anyone of the Arab
readers wishes to expand his knowledge of these errors, we would like to refer h
im to the following Qur anic verses: Chapters 2:177; 3:39; 4:162; 5:69; 7:16; 20:6
3; 21:3; 22:19; 49:9 and 63:10. As an illustration, we refer to one example whic
h is found in chapter 20:63. The Qur an says,
"These two are certainly magicians" Inna Hazan Sahiran. The correct grammar mu
st say, Inna Hazyn Sahiran.
According to Arabic grammar, these two must be in the accusative case after "Inn
a", but they are stated in the nominative case which is completely wrong.

Capricious Revelation of the Qur an

The Qur anic verses were revealed according to the caprices of Muhammad, his compa
nions and his wives.
Muslim scholars believe that knowing the reasons for the revelation of the Qur ani
c verses is very important and indispensable in comprehending the verses. The Su
yuti wrote a full book concerning this fact. He called it, "The Core of Transmit
ted Traditions for the Reasons for the Revelations". In the book, "the Itqan" (p
art I, p. 82), he explains the significance of this matter to the greatest Musli
m scholars, as it is the basis for understanding various verses which have been
revealed after a certain incident or after a question was directed to Muhammad.
The Suyuti recorded for us several examples to prove that it was impossible to u
nderstand some verses unless the reasons for their revelation were known. This f
act is confirmed not only by the former scholars but also by the Azhar and conte
mporary scholars (refer, for example, to Ahmad Shalabi s book, "The History of Isl
amic Law" (p. 36) and the "Legal Opinion" of Sheikh Kishk.
In the next few pages, we are going to discuss only two issues. First, we look a
t how the angel Gabriel used to comply immediately with the wishes of Muhammad s c
ompanions and his wives who used to instruct God and His Angel in what verses He
must reveal to Muhammad. Umar ibn al-Khattab played an outstanding role in this
area.
Secondly, a throng of verses have been revealed for worthless reasons which do n
ot interest anybody.
There is a third issue which we will study in another chapter in which we will s
ee how the angel Gabriel used to comply with Muhammad s personal desires and fulfi
ll all his wishes even if these wishes did not conform to the simplest principle
of chastity, purity, and mercy. Even his wife Aisha told him: " I see that your
Lord hastes to comply with your passion, O Muhammad," as the Bukhari record in h
is Sahih, part 6, p. 147.

The Angel Gabriel Complies With The Wishes Of Muhammad s Companions

We have already mentioned that Umar ibn al-Khattab played a major role in have th
e revelation which descended upon Muhammad This is the claim of Umar and the scho
lars and not the claim of the author of this book. Whenever Umar wanted something
Muhammad answered, "Yes, God has already sent Gabriel who revealed to me this m
atter which Umar had requested" Even the inspiration, sometimes, was revealed usi
ng the same words and vocabulary of Umar. Thus, ibn Umar said, as the Suyuti menti
oned, "God has placed the truth on Umar s tongue and on his heart" (The Itqan, par
t I, p. 99). On the same page, we find a statement which affirms ibn Umar s claim a
bout his father. The Suyuti tells us:
"The Bukhari and others have recorded that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, I have co
ncurred with my Lord or My Lord has concurred with me in three (things): I said,
O, apostle of God I wish we would take the site of Abraham as a place of prayer
! The verse came down: And take ye the site of Abraham as a place of prayer (2:1
25). Then I said, O, apostle of God: Your women are visited by the righteous and
the debauchee. I wish you would command them to stay behind a veil! So the vers
e of the veil came down. (When) the apostle s wives joined forces against him, I t
old them: It may be if he divorced you (all) that Allah will give him in exchang
e consorts better than you. These exact words were bestowed in chapter 66:5."
It is common knowledge among all Muslims that the above verses which Muslims cla
im are inspired by God were really uttered by Umar. In addition to the Bukhari (S
ahih, p. 6, p. 24), other scholars (without exception) confirm that (refer to Ba
ydawi, p. 26; Jalalan, p. 18; Zamakh-shari in the Kash-shaf, part I, p. 310; Sah
ih al-Musnad, p. 13; and Asbabal-Nuzul by Suyuti, p.24). The Baydawi, for instan
ce tells us on p. 26:
"Musnad took Umar s hand and told him, This is the site of Abraham. Umar said, Sho
ldn t we take it as a place of prayer? Muhammad said to him, God has not commanded m
e to do so. But hardly the sun set when the inspired verse was given, And take the
site of Abraham as a place of worship."
That is, the wish of Umar was immediately fulfilled within a few hours. Muhammad
had already commanded his followers to worship toward Jerusalem for the sixteen
months before this verse.
Another incident in which Umar was involved is an anecdote mentioned by most Musl
im scholars and recorded for us by Suyuti in his book, "The Reasons For Verses O
f Qur an" (Asbab al-Nuzul, p. 31). The Suyuti says:
"During Ramadan, (the fasting month) Muslim s were accustomed to eat, drink an
d have intercourse with women if they are not sleeping. After they sleep and wak
e up they abstain. Umar had an intercourse with (one of his women) after he woke
up from his sleep. He went to the prophet and told him what happened to him. God
sent down this verse, It is made lawful for you to go unto your wives on the nig
ht of the fast" (2:187).
This story is recorded not only by the Suyuti but by all the scholars also (refe
r, for instance, to the Bukhari, part 6, p. 31; Zamakh-shari in his book al-Kash
-Shaf part I, p. 337; the Baydawi, p. 39; the Jalalan p. 26, and the Sahih al-Mu
swad p. 17).
In this episode, we find Umar ibn al-Khattab does not like to refrain from sexual
intercourse with his wife during the fasting month and after sleeping. Therefor
e, after he and other Muslim men violated the commandment, Muhammad found that h
e did not have a choice but either to punish and to reprove them or to rescind t
he order by claiming that Gabriel had come down to him with the above mentioned
verse. Muhammad chose the latter to appease Umar and his friends.
The Suyuti also relates to us another incident about Umar. In page 100, part 2 of
his book, the Itqan, he says:
"A Jew encountered Umar ibn al-Khattab and told him, Gabriel, whom your (proph
et) mentions, is our foe. Umar said, Who is an enemy to Allah and His angels and Hi
s messengers, to Gabriel and Michael, to, Allah is an enemy to disbelievers."
This statement was later revealed, word for word, to Muhammad (chapter 2:98) and
became a verse in the Qur an (refer to the Suyuti). Yet these incidents did not i
nvolve Umar only. Ibn Maktum (for instance) who was a blind man and one of Muhamm
ad s companions was another person to whom the Bukhari referred. In part 6, p. 227
, the Bukhari conveys the following episode:
"When this verse came: Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and ar
e not wounded, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah (4:95). Muham
mad said: Summon Zayd and let him sit down. Then he told him: Write , and he dictated
the above verse to him. Umru ibn Maktum who was blind, was sitting behind the pr
ophet. (Ibn Maktum) said: O, apostle of God, I am a blind man! How can I go to fi
ght? I have a handicap. Then, the following (phrase) was added to the above menti
oned verse: Other than those who have a handicap" (Part 6, p. 227).
It is as if God only realized the illegitimacy of His request after Umru ibn Makt
um, Muhammad s friend, pointed it out. Then God revealed the additional phrase. Mu
hammad asked Zayd to rewrite the verse and to include the addition. This episode
has been recorded not only by the Bukhari but by other scholars such as Baydawi
 (p. 123), Zamakh-shari in the Kash-Shaf (part I, p. 555); Suyuti in the Itqan (
p. 98); Asbab al-Nuzul (p. 88); and the Sahih al-Muswad (p. 53). The Baydawi rem
arks clearly on p. 123:
"Zayd ibn Thabit said: This verse was sent down without the phrase "other tha
n those who have a handicap". Ibn Maktum said: How could that be and I am blind? T
he inspiration came upon the apostle of God in the assembly. His thigh fell on m
y thigh in such a way that I feared that it would break it. Then, the (inspirati
on) departed and he said: Zayd, write other than those who have a handicap."
In my opinion, dear reader, Muhammad did not have to pretend that God had reveal
ed this additional phrase to him because it is not necessary and it is implicitl
y understood. God, indeed, would not obligate a blind man to go to war, but it s
eems that Muhammad believed it important to add these words in order to please i
bn Maktum. If God had intended these words to be part of the verse, He would hav
e mentioned them from the beginning. God does not need to learn from Muhammad s fr
iend in order to change His opinion or to alter the verse.
Of Abdullah ibn Sa d, too, in "Asbab al-Nuzul" (pp. 120-121), the Suyuti writes:
" Abdul ibn Sa d used to write for the prophet (like Zayd). When the prophet dic
tated, God is oft-mighty and oft-wise , he would write instead, God is oft-forgiving
and compassionate. Then he would read it to the prophet who would approve it by
saying, Yes... they are the same. Ibn Sa d relinquished Islam and returned to Qurays
h. He said, If God has inspired Muhammad, He has also inspired me. If God sends d
own His revelation to him, He also sends it down to me. Muhammad said, "...oft-m
ighty, oft-wise" and I said, "...oft-forgiving, compassionate". "
The Baydawi and the Imam Tabari agree with the Suyuti and both of them record th
e same episode (refer to the Tabari, p. 152, and his comment on chapter 6:93).
It is very important to state here that this verse (6:93) which was given to Muh
ammad without any justification proves that Abdulla was right in his claim. This
verse reveals the truth about Muhammad and his claim concerning revelations fro
m God.
Don t you see that Abdulla was right? If Muhammad himself approved the change which
Abdulla made in the verse, why should Gabriel become angry at Abdulla and accuse
him in another verse? Muhammad used to say "oft-mighty, wise", and he would writ
e "oft-forgiving, compassionate", then he would show it to Muhammad who would ap
prove it. Therefore he was right when he said, "If God inspires Muhammad, he ins
pires me also." Still, when Abdulla disclosed the matter, relinquished Islam and
departed, Muhammad uttered this verse (6:93) to curse him, and issued Abdulla s dea
th warrant.
Concerning this matter, Qadi (Judge) Ayyad, in his famous book, "The Healing" (Sh
ifa) remarks,
" Abdulla ibn Sa d said, I used to divert Muhammad the way I wanted. He used to d
ictate to me "...oft-mighty, wise" and I would say "oft-knowing, compassionate"
Then he would say, "Yes... It is correct". At the end, he said to me, "Write as
you wish!" "
On page 184, the Imam Baydawi records another incident in which Abdulla ibn Sa d wa
s involved. We quote it as it is record- ed. The Baydawi says (p. 184),
" Abdulla ibn Sa d was one of the prophet s scribes when the verse, We have create
d man from scion of mud was revealed, and Muhammad continued until he uttered, ...
and then we made a different creature. Abdulla said with wonder, May God be blessed
. Who is the best creator. Muhammad said, Write it, this is how it was given to me
. Abdulla became suspicious and said, If Muhammad is true, then I receive the inspi
ration as he receives it, and if he is false, then I say as he says."
Thus, we have the verse recorded in chapter (Sura), "The Believers" (23:14), "Th
is is how it has been inspired to Abdulla, not Muhammad! !"
Sa d Ibn Moaz in the book, the Itqan (part I, p. 100), the Suyuti says,
"When Sa d ibn Ma adh heard what was said against Aisha, he said, Glory to Allah!
This is a serious slander! (Sura 24:16). It was set down as such in the Qur an."
This verse was not revealed by Gabriel but was uttered by Sa d ibn Moaz when some
of Muhammad s companions accused Aisha (Muhammad s wife) of adultery, among them Muh
ammad s cousin who was the sister of Zaynab one of his other wives. On the same pa
ge, the Suyuti records verse 3:140 which was uttered by a woman, as well as vers
e 3:144 which was spoken by Mas ab ibn al-Zubayr in the war of Uhud.
Women...Muhammad s wives
How Muhammad (I mean Gabriel) used to fulfill the desires of Muhammad s wives! In
part I, p. 97, the Suyuti indicates in the Itqan that,
"Um Salma, Muhammad s wife said to him, O, apostle of God, I do not hear that G
od has mentioned anything for the immigrant women. Then God sent down, And their L
ord has accepted of them and answered them, "Never will I suffer to be lost the
work of any of you" (Sura 3:195). Um Salma also said, O apostle of God, you always
mention men and ignore women. Then the verse was sent down, For Muslim men and Mus
lim women.... (33:35)."
The Baydawi (pp. 100 and 558), the Zamakh-shari in the Kash-shaf (part I, p. 490
), the Jalalan (p. 353) on the authority of Um Amara, and the Sahih al-Musnad (p.
120), confirm the exposition of these verses as they were interpreted by the Su
yuti. On page 558, the Baydawi says,
"The prophet s wives told him, O apostle of God, God has mentioned men with goo
d things, do not we women have anything good in us to be mentioned? Then the vers
e in the chapter of Parties was sent down the above mentioned verse."
The same text is recorded in Asbab al-Nuzul by the Suyuti (pp. 69 and 219). Ther
e is a very significant question which we cannot ignore, neglect or avoid, "Did
not God know that mentioning women in the Qur an is very important until Muhammad s
wives such as Um Salma and Um Amara complained? Why did Gabriel reveal these vers
es only after the women complained and after Muhammad s wives expressed the necess
ity for them?"
The question is very plain and the answer is very clear also! The angel had noth
ing to do with these matters. Um Salma said to her husband Muhammad, I do not hea
r any mention of women. Muhammad asked Gabriel to let her hear the mention of wom
en, so the verses in Sura of the Parties: 35 and in Sura of the Family of Imran:
195 were given.
Aisha (Muhammad s most beloved wife whom he married when she was nine years old an
d he was 54 years old) had an influence on the inspiration of many verses. It is
sufficient here to allude to one episode. Muhammad was on his way back from one
of his raids accompanied by Aisha. Aisha lost her necklace on the way. Now let
Aisha relate the story,
"One of my necklaces fell in the desert while we were entering Medina. The a
postle of God halted and made his camel kneel down. He alighted and rested his h
ead on my lap sleeping. Abu Bakr came and kicked me severely and told me, You del
ayed the people because of a necklace! He also said, O daughter, in every journey
you cause trouble to people. When we woke up in the morning, we could not find wa
ter for ablution before the time of prayer. The verse in Sura of the Table was g
iven in which permission was given to wash with sand instead of water when there
is no water. Abu Bakr told me, You are a blessed woman. Then Usayd ibn Hadir said
, O, family of Abu Bakr, God has blessed people through you!"
This episode is mentioned in "Asbab al Zuyul" (p. 101) by Suyuti. It is also rec
orded by al-Bukhari in his Sahih (part 4, p. 64) and the Commentary of the Jalal
an (p. 89). This is a famous story. In order to justify Aisha s behavior lest her
father and the rest of the Muslims become angry because she delayed them in the
desert (as well as the lack of water), Muhammad claimed that God told him that t
hey can wash with sand instead of water before they pray. We don t know what type
of ablution is this, when a person performs this ritual by using sand! It is com
mon knowledge that Muhammad himself did this several times, as the Bukhari and t
he rest of the scholars indicate. The scholars say, "May God bless Aisha because
for her sake God allowed Muslims to use sand for ablution before prayer wheneve
r they could not find water."
We would like to conclude this point by conveying a moving story as it is record
ed in the "Biography of the Apostle" by ibn Hisham (part III, p. 23) as well as
by the rest of the Muslim religious scholars such as al-Jalalan, al-Baydawi, and
al-Bukhari. This episode is a famous one and is the reason behind the bestowing
of a well-known verse. Ibn Hisham says,
"The (military) company of Abdulla ibn Jahsh and some Muslims who joined him
attacked some people from the tribe of Quraysh and killed them. They took their
bounties. When they came to Muhammad, he told them, I did not command you to fig
ht during a sacred month, and he refused to take from the bounty the fifth of the
mules and the two prisoners. Quraysh said, Muhammad and his followers made it la
wful for themselves to shed blood and seize properties and capture men during th
e sacred months. (The Arabs had previously agreed to abstain from fighting during
certain months. When Muslims expressed their discontent for that, especially wh
en Muhammad himself loathed that disgraceful thing and refused to take from the
bounty, God spoke to His apostle saying, They ask you about the sacred month (if)
fighting is allowable. Say in it there is a great fight? The Muslim invaders rej
oiced when this verse was given and Muhammad took the bounty."
We wonder how this happened. When Muhammad himself conquered Mecca, he commanded
the Muslims to kill the infidel if they refused to believe, but only after the
elapse of the sacred months (9:5). Yet here, when he saw that his followers were
discontent and that might create a certain crisis among them, he was forced to
claim that Gabriel had gave him a verse which made war during the sacred months
allowable, as if war were a good and necessary matter.

Verses Sent Down For Strange And Trivial Reasons

A puppy which entered the prophet s home: This episode is recorded in the Commenta
ry of the Baydawi (p. 802); the "Itqan", by the Suyuti (part I, p. 92), and Asba
b al-Nuzul (p. 299). This narrative is related to us because the infidel said th
at inspiration had departed from Muhammad and his God had deserted him. The Suyu
ti says,
"Khawla, Muhammad s servant said, A puppy entered under the bedstead in the pro
phet s home and died. For four days the inspiration ceased to descend on Muhammad.
He said to me what happened in the house of the apostle of God to make Gabriel
cease to come to me? I told myself, What if I neatly prepared and swept the house?
I swept under the bedstead and brought out the puppy. The prophet came in with a
 trembling beard, for whenever inspiration descends on him he would be taken by
a seizure. God sent down at that time five verses from the Surah (chapter) of Du
ha."
It is well-known that the chapter of Duha is made up of only eleven verses. God
sent half of it to assure Muhammad that He had not abandoned him. Infidels claim
ed that God had deserted Muhammad because inspiration ceased to descend upon him
because a puppy entered his home and died under the bedstead. Gabriel, as the B
ukhari recorded, had already told Muhammad that he would not enter a house which
has a dog or a picture. The Suyuti stated that Muslim religious scholars (among
them Abu Hajr) said that the story of Gabriel s hesitancy to enter Muhammad s house
because of the puppy is very famous.
But the truth of the matter is that it is difficult to comment on these stories
which all Muslim scholars confirm. What can a person say about such a story? Wou
ld God really delay His revelation to a prophet because of a dead puppy? Besides
, did not Muhammad leave his home more than once during this period? Why then Go
d did not give His revelation to Muhammad while he was away from his home?
There are many such stories in the Islamic episodes. I would like to relate to y
ou three more distinctive ones.
The Red Velvet
In the Asbab-al-Zuyul (p. 65), the Suyuti says,
"Verse 161 of chapter 3, which states, No prophet could ever be false to his
trust, was given because a red velvet was missed after the War of Badr. Some peop
le said, Maybe the apostle of God took it. Thus, God revealed this verse to acquit
the apostle... ibn Abbas said so."
The Baydawi in (page 94), the Zamakh-shari in the Kash-shaf (part I, p. 475) agr
ee with the Suyuti and state the same reason. The Zamakh-shari adds,
"Maybe this verse was sent down after the War of Uhud, when some worriers de
serted their sites and came to him (Muhammad) requesting their booties. They sai
d, Maybe the apostle would not divide the booties equally as he did in the Day of
Badr. The apostle told them, Did you think that we could be false to our trust an
d would not give you your share?"
The Pretty Women Worshippers
In the reasons for the revelation of Qur anic verses (Asbab al-Nuzul) (p. 159), th
e Suyuti says,
"Ibn Abbas said, There was a woman who prayed behind the apostle of God. She w
as one of the prettiest women, thus some people stepped forward to be in the fir
st row lest they see her; others lingered behind in back rows in order to look a
t her from under their armpits whenever they prostrated themselves. So God sent d
own verse 24 of chapter 15: And verily we know the eager among you and verily we
know the laggards. Someone asked Suhayl ibn Hanif about this verse if it was sent
down in relation to fighting in the cause of Allah, he said, No, but it was sent
down in relation to rows of prayer."
As usual the Baydawi (p. 342) confirms this interpretation and indicates that so
me Muslims lagged to gaze at the pretty woman, thus this verse was revealed. Als
o the Zamakh-shari in the Kash-shaf agrees with both the Suyuti and Baydawi. Man
y other scholars and chroniclers (on the authority of the ibn Abbas) such as Tirm
adhi, Nisa i, ibn Maja, and Imam al-Tabari assert this episode (refer to al-Kash-s
haf, part 2, p. 576).
Give Room to Others, Says Gabriel!
On page 265 of Asbab al-Nuzul, the Suyuti says that whenever the Muslims saw a m
an coming to sit among them in the assembly of the apostle, they kept back their
places and refused to make room for him, thus the verse was sent down,
"O, ye who believe! When it is said make room in assemblies, then make room"
(58:11).
Indeed the Baydawi (page 722) along with the Zamakh-shari (part 4, p. 492 of the
Kash-shaf) agree with the Suyuti in the interpretation of this verse.
The simple, but essential question which we would like to ask is, "Was it necess
ary for Gabriel to come down from heaven to reveal to Muhammad so many verses fo
r such trivial things? Was not Muhammad himself able to teach Muslims to be unse
lfish and to make room for their brothers in the assemblies so they can sit like
the rest of them? Could not Muhammad exhort the Muslims not to stand behind pre
tty woman during the time of prayer to gaze at her? Or could not he say to the w
oman to go and pray in another place designated for women? Was this such as obtr
usive problem that it required Gabriel to descend from heaven bearing a revelati
on from God?"
Regarding the red velvet which was missed in the day of Badr, couldn t Muhammad te
ll the Muslims, "Shame on you! How could you accuse me of stealing and still cla
im that you believe in God and His apostle?"

The Abrogator and Abrogated Qur anic Verses

In chapter 2:106, the Qur an plainly indicates,
"Such of our revelation as we abrogate or cause to be forgotten, we bring (i
n place) one better or the like thereof."
In their interpretation of this verse (p. 16), the Jalalan say that God s intentio
n for this verse is,
"To eliminate the ordinance of the verse either with its wording or to keep the
wording and eliminate the ordinance, or we make you O, Muhammad, to forget it; n
amely, we will remove it from your heart" (p. 16).
The Baydawi says in p. 22,
"This verse was given because the Jews and the infidels said that Muhammad o
rdered his followers to do something, then He prohibited them from it and comman
ded them to do something opposite to it. Abrogation means eliminating reading it
as an act of worship or eliminating the ordinance inferred from it, or both of
them. To forget it means to remove it from hearts."
Refer also to the Zamakh-shari in "al-Kash-shaf" (part I, p. 303). In part 3, p.
59 the Suyuti says, "Abrogation means the removal as it is mentioned in chapter
Haj: 52, and it means alteration."
In his book, "The History of Islamic Law" (p. 115), Dr. Shalabi states,
"The abrogation is to rescind something and replace it with something else,
as ibn Hazm said. Muslims in general have consented that abrogation has taken pl
ace in the Qur an as it is clearly indicated in the sound verses."
This statement means that Muhammad was accustomed to stating something to his fo
llowers with the claim that it was revealed to him through the angel Gabriel, th
en later (maybe after a few hours), he would tell them that God had invalidated
it. Thus the infidels used to say, "Muhammad utters something today and abolishe
s it tomorrow" (refer to Zamakh-shari, part I, p. 303).
In Asbab al-Nuzul, p. 19, the Suyuti says that,
"Ibn Abbas himself said, Sometimes the revelation used to descend on the proph
et during the night and then he forgot it during daytime, thus God sent down thi
s verse: 2:106."
Is it acceptable or sensible to think that God changes His mind during the night
? Ibn Abbas is not the only one who insists on that because ibn Umar says,
"Two men read a Sura which the apostle of God had taught them, yet one night
they rose up to pray but they failed to remember one word of it. The next morni
ng, they went to the apostle of God and related it to him. He told them, It is on
e of those, which have been abrogated, thus, forget about it.." (Refer to the Itq
an, 3:74).
Such strange behavior led the infidels to say that Muhammad is a calumniator and
he does not receive inspiration from God for he changes his mind whenever he wi
shes or says, "I forgot the verse because God made me forget it and it was abrog
ated". Thus, a verse was written in the Qur an referring to this debate which was
waged between Muhammad and the infidel. The verse says,
"And when we put one revelation in place of another revelation and Allah knows
best what He reveals they say, To! thou art but inventing" (16:101).
In his above-mentioned book, Dr. Shalabi attempts to defend the concept of abrog
ation. He remarks,
"God changes His ordinances according to the change of time and circumstance
s, therefore, the abrogation and the giving of one verse instead of the verses o
f the Qur an took place" (p. 116).
The reader can easily realize that this defense is meaningless and will not suff
ice because circumstances do not change drastically in a few night hours as ibn A
bbas has claimed when he said that the verse would be received during the night
and abrogated in daytime. Dr. Shalabi, in the context of his defense, says,
 "Most of what was alluded to in the abrogated verses was intended to lighten
(the ordinances)" (p. 117).
In part 3, p. 69 of the" Itqan", the Suyuti refers to the same reason. It is lef
t to the reader to answer this question, "Did God not know the circumstances of
His worshippers and their abilities so that He made it a habit to decree an ordi
nance or dictate an order, then change His mind and replace it immediately the n
ext day with a lighter command or an easier commandment?" The fact is that Muham
mad has failed to comprehend his followers' circumstances, thus he used to order
something, then change it the next day whenever he found it too difficult to be
implemented. For example, the Qur an says,
"O prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there be twenty steadfast amon
g you, they shall overcome two hundred and if there be a hundred steadfast among
you, they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve. Now has Allah ligh
tened your burden for he knows that there is weakness in you. So if there is amo
ng you one hundred who are steadfast, they shall overcome two hundred."
This verse always confuses Muslims when they fight Israel in their efforts to li
berate Palestine and the mosque (Al Aqusa).
The verses say that Allah lightened your (task) for He knows that there is a wea
k spot in you! Did God not know that each one of them had a weak spot before He
told them that "each one of you can vanquish ten"? God had to change His mind an
d say that "each one of you can vanquish two" only. The Suyuti says,
"When God imposed on them that each one of them should fight ten, it became
a burden and an unbearable (task) for them. Thus, God removed the burden from th
em and each one was (requested) to fight two men." (Asbab al-Nuzul, p. 134).
Both Baydawi (p. 244), and Dr. Shalabi (p. 117) agree with him. Another illustra
tion on this "lightening" is found in Sura 73:1,2,20.
"O thou wrapped up in your raiment, keep vigil the night long save a little"
(73:1,2). "Allah measures the night and the day. He knows that you count it not
and turns unto you in mercy. Recite, then of the Qur an why it is easy for you" (
73:20).
On p. 117, 123, Dr. Shalabi along with Suyuti says,
"The Qur anic verse: Stand (to pray) by night, but not all night was abrogated b
y the end of the Sura; then was abrogated again by (the implementation) of the f
ive prayers."
The entire Sura is only 20 verses. Its beginning is abrogated by its end, and it
s end is replaced by the injunction of the five prayers; that is, the Abrogator
has been abrogated. In relation to this verse the Jalalan say (p. 491),
"When God imposed the night prayers, Muslims feet swelled as they stood durin
g the night (for prayer); thus, God lightened it for them by saying, Pray as much
as you are able."
Did God not know that this ordinance was going to be difficult for Muslims? Why
did He not tell them that from the beginning before their feet became swollen?
A third illustration relevant to this discussion is the Qur anic saying, "Fear All
ah as He should be feared" (3:102). This commandment is abrogated by His saying,
"Fear God as much as you are able to do so" (64:16). This is the claim of the M
uslim scholars (refer to Suyuti in Asbab al-Nuzul, p. 277; Jalalan pp. 53, 473,
Dr. Shalabi, p. 122). On p. 53, the Jalalan say,
"On the authority of Sa id ibn Jubayr, he said, when the verse Fear God as He s
hould be feared was sent down, it became very hard for the people to do so; there
fore, God bestowed, in order to lighten on the people, Fear God as much as you ca
n."
The question is now why did God send down this abrogating verse after Muslims sa
id to the apostle of God, "Who can do that?" Why, only after this objection, was
this easy verse was sent down to abrogate the first one?
I believe that these illustrations are sufficient to prove the points under disc
ussion. If anyone is interested to know more about this subject, we would refer
him to the books of Suyuti and many other authors. They are filled with such exa
mples.
Two Reasons: Lightening And Forgetting
We believe that the reason behind the concept of abrogation is that Muhammad int
ended to make the performing of the Islamic rites and worship easier on his foll
owers and to obtain their approval and satisfaction with his teachings. If he de
creed something which later seemed to be too difficult for them to implement and
they remonstrated against it, he would "lighten" it immediately and claim that
God had ordered him to rescind what he previously uttered, and all the verses he
recited were replaced by new ones.
Whenever he forgot what he related to his followers, he spared himself the embar
rassment by claiming that God had abrogated what he conveyed to them before. The
re is no doubt that Muhammad tended to forget. This is clear from the above illu
strations and the incidents recorded in the Sahih of the Bukhari, (part 3, p. 22
3, and part 8, p. 91). The Bukhari says,
"Aisha said, The prophet heard a man reciting in the mosque. He said, May God
have mercy on him, he has reminded me of such and such verses which I dropped f
rom Sura so and so."
So Muhammad sometimes used to forget some verses and his friends had to remind h
im of them, but whenever he did not find anybody to remind him, he claimed that
they had been abrogated. We saw this before when two of his followers came to hi
m to help them to remember some of the verses which he had taught them. Muhammad
told them these verses had "... been abrogated, forget about them!" So abrogati
on in the Qur an was the result of forgetfulness or to lighten the task for the Mu
slims.
Forgetfulness is plainly mentioned in the verse we quoted at the beginning of th
is discussion (Sura 2:106) and it was interpreted by Muslim religious scholars w
ho affirmed that God used to make Muhammad forget and remove from his heart what
he had revealed to him before as ibn Abbas, who was among Muhammad s closest frien
ds, admits to us.
Surely none of us believes that God suffers a wavering mind and changes his opin
ion in a few hours. We can believe that Muhammad himself was subject to forgetfu
lness and made it a habit to change his mind in order to please his followers.

Types of Abrogation
Without exception, all Muslim religious scholars state that abrogation not only
includes the abolishing, dropping or replacing of a verse by another verse but i
t also includes abolishing a provision of the verse without eliminating its word
ing or text from the Qur an. Refer to Shalabi (p. 119), the" Itqan" (part 3, p. 63
), ibn Hazm in "The Nasikh and the Mansukh" and others. Throughout three pages,
the Suyuti provides us with many examples, but Dr. Shalabi, who is the professor
of Islamic history tends not to agree with him on some of these examples. He sa
ys,
"I have a personal inclination to say that not so many abrogations took plac
e in the Qur an" (p. 118).
We do not really care whether the abrogated verses are many or few, what we do c
are for is the concept itself. We wonder if the provision of the verse is abroga
ted or abolished why its text should continue to be placed in the Qur an and to be
read. The Suyuti attempts to answer this question by saying, "... so as Muslims
will be rewarded whenever they read it" (part 3, p. 69). It is as if the rest o
f the Qur an were not sufficient reading for obtaining the reward, or as if the re
ward is acquired by more reciting even if they are verses whose provisions are a
bolished and are not in effect anymore! !
We have already mentioned some examples pertaining to this type of abrogation, y
et it is appropriate to allude to all the verses which call for peace and forgiv
eness of the infidel here. These verses are all abrogated by other verses which
call for war. All religious Muslim scholars attest to this fact as we mentioned
in chapter one. Thus, no one should believe that the Qur an calls for peace becaus
e all these peaceful verses are recorded in it. All of them are abrogated as all t
he Muslim scholars attest. The Suyuti says in this respect,
"The order for Muslims to be patient and forgiving was issued when they were
few and weak, but when they became strong, they were ordered to fight and the p
revious verses were abrogated" (part 3, p. 61).
Ibn Arabi said, "The verse of the sword has abrogated 124 verses" (p. 69).
What is the second type of abrogation? It is a very strange type of abrogation,
stranger than the previous one because it abrogates its recitation and retains i
ts provision; that is, it keeps it in effect. If you wondered and asked what is
the wisdom of that, you will find that the Suyuti himself asked the same logical
question and endeavored to answer it. In part 3, p. 72, he says
"The recitation of some verses is abrogated though their provisions are reta
ined. Some people in this respect, asked a question, What is the wisdom in abolis
hing the recitation and retaining the provision? Why was not the recitation reta
ined so that the implementation of the provision and the reward of reciting it w
ill be combined? Some have answered, That is to show the extent of this nation s obe
dience without any preference to seek a determined path" (Al Itqan
. Refer also to Kishk legal opinions, part 4, p. 64. Sheik Kishk admitted this s
trange type of abrogation).
The Suyuti throughout these pages, presents many illustrations for this strange
type of abrogation. It is obvious that it is utterly meaningless to abrogate and
abolish a certain verse and to retain its provisions. Concerning the subject of
obedience, this could be manifested in many ways apart from this strange matter
. In his illustrations which the Suyuti quoted, he relied on Umar ibn al-Khattab s
sayings.

Other Strange Things Related To Abrogation

1) The abrogator precedes the abrogated
In part 3, p. 69 the Suyuti remarks,
"In the Qur an there is no abrogator (verse) without being preceded by an abro
gated (verse) except in two verses, and some added a third one, while others add
ed a fourth verse" (Al Itqan).
Then the Suyuti recorded these verses. We tell him that even if there is only on
e verse (not four) this matter is incomprehensible and unacceptable. Why should
an abrogating verse (with which Muslims are to comply) precede the abrogated ver
se? How would an abrogating verse abolish something which is not yet in existenc
e, then later, the abrogated verse is revealed and recorded in the Qur an? Why sho
uld it be recorded if it is already abrogated?
2) In part 3, p. 70, the Suyuti himself admits to this odd and amazing situation
. He indicates,
"One of the wonders of abrogation is a verse in which its beginning has been
abrogated by its end. There is nothing like it. It is (placed) in the Sura of t
he Table 105."
This is Suyuti s statement which I quoted word for word.
3) Muhammad s traditions (sayings and deeds) abrogate the Qur an. The majority of Mu
slim religious scholars confirm that this truly took place and there is no room
to deny it. One illustration would be the stoning of the married adulterer. The
Qur an talks only about scourging and exiling the adulterer, yet Muhammad himself
stoned some adulterers. Thus, stoning the married adulterer (male or female) and
not flogging them, has become Islamic law. The reason for that is that Muhammad
said and did so. Therefore, the Suyuti (part
3, p. 60), as well as Dr. Shalabi (p. 121), has said that Muhammad s traditions ab
rogate the Qur an. This is also the opinion of ibn Hazm and al-Shafi i. In this rega
rd Dr. Shalabi says (page 121),
"God is the source of the ideas whether they are included in the Qur an or in
one of Muhammad s Ahadith (traditions) which is inspired (by God) and not recorded
in the Qur an."
We believe that such things conform to sound Islamic thought because such events
did take place as we mentioned before, but we cannot understand why these inspi
red traditions which Muhammad received have not been recorded in the Qur an. Thus,
such verses would abrogate other verses, especially since the Qur an says, "We do
not abrogate a verse without revealing a better one or something like it."
Nor do we understand the saying, "... we will reveal a better one," for is there
better than the word of God? We understand that there could be something like i
t, but better? This is something we cannot comprehend or understand.
Before we conclude the subject of abrogation in the Qur an there are two things wh
ich are worth mentioning:
First, the disagreement among Muslim religious scholars in regard to the abrogat
ed verses despite the seriousness and importance of this matter. The Suyuti and
Dr. Shalabi (along with all Muslim scholars and chroniclers) agree on a very sig
nificant dialogue which took place between Ali ibn Abi Talib and one of the juris
prudents which demonstrates the importance of knowing the abrogating and the abr
ogated verses. On page 120, Dr. Shalabi says,
 "Ibn Hazm talks about the necessity of knowing the abrogating and the abroga
ted (verses) in the Qur an, and that this knowledge is a necessary condition of le
gal personal opinion (al-ijtihad). It was related that the Imam Ali saw Sa id ibn a
l-Hasan presiding in his capacity as a judge in Kufa (Iraq). He asked him, Do you
know the abrogating and the abrogated (verses)? The judge answered, No. He then to
ld him, You have perished and make (others) to perish."
No doubt that if the judge does not know the abrogating and the abrogated (verse
s), he may issue his sentence based on an abolished ordinance. A Muslim may ask
what is wrong with that? The problem and the crux of the matter is that no one k
nows exactly what the abrogating and the abrogated (verses) are. Scholars disagr
ee on pinpointing the abrogated (verses). In page 118, Dr. Shalabi says,
"Some scholars like ibn Hazm in his book, The Abrogating and Abrogator (verses
), have exaggerated (the issue of) abrogation to an extent which is unacceptable
even to linguistic taste. He examined the Qur an chapter by chapter and showed th
e abrogating and the abrogated in each of them. We disagree with him in this pro
cedure."
Then, in the same book, "The History of Islamic Law", he says,
"We have to pinpoint the abrogating and the abrogated verses to be a ray of
light for the students of the history of Islamic law. We will quote the Suyuti b
ecause he was sparing in his call for abrogation. He inclines toward rejecting e
xcessive abrogation. Though the Suyuti believes that the abrogated verses are tw
enty, still we do not agree with him on all of them."
So what can the students of the Islamic law and the judges like the judge of Kuf
a do? Ibn Hazm has recorded many abrogating and abrogated verses, then the Suyut
i came after him and eliminated many of them and ended with only twenty verses.
Later, Dr. Shalabi indicated that he disagreed even with the Suyuti on some of t
hem. The disagreement on this matter is not a simple issue. It is very serious b
ecause knowing these verses is a basic condition in applying Islamic law and in
the science of jurisprudence, as Dr. Shalabi indicated. It is well known that th
e "Ijtihad" (deduction of a legal opinion) is the third source of the Islamic la
w after the Qur an and the tradition according to all Muslim scholars (refer to p.
24). That was the trend during the time of Muhammad, the companions and the Cal
iphs the Qur an first, then tradition, then the Itjihad (refer to p. 156).
Secondly: God abrogates any desire Satan frames in the heart and the tongue of M
uhammad. This means that Satan has the power to infuse certain verses in what Mu
hammad claims to be an inspiration from God. Satan was able to place on Muhammad s
tongue certain words by which he praised the pagans gods. This incident is confi
rmed and recorded by Suyuti, Jalalan, ibn Kathir (part 3, p. 229), Baydawi, Zama
khshari, ibn Hisham, and even ibn Abbas himself along with the rest of the compa
nions. It is all recorded in the Qur an, chapter 22:52,
"Never sent we a messenger or a prophet before you but when he recited the messa
ge Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof but A
llah abolishes that which Satan proposes."
The Suyuti says in Asbab of the Nuzul (p. 184),
"Muhammad was in Mecca. He read the chapter of the Star. When he uttered, Hav
e you seen the Lat, the Uzza, and the other third Manat? , Satan instilled in his t
ongue, These are the exulted idols (daughters of God) whose intercession is hoped
. The infidels said that Muhammad had mentioned their gods with good words. Then
when he prostrated, they prostrated, too. Thus, the above verse 22:52 was not in
spired."
On page 282 of the Commentary of the Jalalan, we read the same interpretation, a
nd the Jalalan added,
"Gabriel came to Muhammad after that and told him that Satan had thrust thes
e words into his tongue. Muhammad became sad, then Gabriel delivered this verse
to him to comfort him."
This verse, as the Jalalan remarked, comforted Muhammad because it revealed that
all the prophets and the apostles who came before Muhammad had experienced this
trial and not just Muhammad. It is obvious here that this is false and spurious
because no one ever heard that any of the apostles or the prophets had been exp
osed to such trials in which Satan made them utter what they proclaimed to be a
revelation from God, then they later claimed it was Satan and not God who reveal
ed it to them. If we refer to the commentary of the Baydawi (p. 447), we find th
at he agrees with the Suyuti and Jalalan and adds,
"Muhammad desired that a Qur an which brings his people closer to God and does
alienate them may be bestowed on him; thus, Satan ill-whispered these words to
him."
In his book, "The Kash-shaf , the Zamakh-shari (part 3, pp. 164, 165), asserts tha
t,
"This episode which Muhammad experienced is common knowledge and unquestiona
ble, and is related to us by the companions of Muhammad."
Thank you, Mr. Zamakh-shari!
It is appropriate here to refer to ibn Hisham s statement in his book, "The Prophe
tic Biography". This book relies on the testimonies of Muhammad s companions. It i
s also the major source for all Muslims who always quote it. In part 2, p. 126,
ibn Hisham says,
"When some Muslims immigrated to Ethiopia, they received the news that the i
nhabitants of Mecca had accepted them. They returned to find that it was false n
ews The reason was that the apostle of God, as he was reading the chapter of Sta
r (53:19, 20), mentioned the idols of Mecca. Satan instilled in his recitation t
heir praises and he (Muhammad) acknowledged their intervention. The infidels wer
e overjoyed and said, He mentioned our idols (gods) with good words. Then God sent
down this verse (22:52). Gabriel told Muhammad, I did not bring to you these ver
ses (about the idols)."
No one can accuse Salman Rushdi, in regard to the Satanic verses, of making fals
e claims against Islam and the Qur an because this incident is acknowledged by all
Muslim scholars along with Muhammad s companions and his relatives, especially ib
n Abbas himself.
If we cannot comprehend how God abrogates what He Himself has inspired, we can e
asily understand that He abrogates what Satan utters as is recorded in verse (22
:52). Yet, we have here two important questions:
First, how was Satan able to distort the inspiration and to deceive Muhammad so
that he told the people that these were God s words, then later he reversed himsel
f and told them, "No, Satan was the one who ill-whispered to me with these words
?" Muslims believe that prophets and apostles are infallible in matters of inspira
tion, at least.
The second question is also very important. How was Satan able to imitate the Qu
r anic text with its Arabic eloquence and profound diction? If the Arabic reader r
e-read Satan s words to Muhammad he should immediately realize that they possess t
he same Qur anic literary characteristics, eloquence and style. It is impossible t
o distinguish them from the rest of the Qur anic verses.

The Contradictions of the Qur an

Christian orientalist researchers allude to dozens of Qur anic contradictions. The
y indicate that there are many contradictory verses in the Qur an. Maybe they are
right. Yet, here we are going to examine only a few of these contradictions ment
ioned by these orientalists, mainly because we would like to quote Muslim schola
rs, as we agreed upon at the beginning of the book. It is sufficient that these
Muslim scholars acknowledge the existence of these contradictions even though th
ey attempted to justify them. Their justifications proved to be feeble, as the r
eader will soon discover Also, they completely ignored some other contradictions
.
However, concerning the contradictions to which they produced some sensible just
ifications, we will accept what they offer since we are bound to recognize their
interpretations of the Qur an. Still, we believe that the refutations of the Orie
ntalist researchers are more convincing in many cases. Never-the-less, we will c
ontinue to employ the same strategy we have been applying since the beginning of
this study. We will cite Muslim scholars and refer the reader to their views.

The First Contradiction

In several verses the Qur an indicates that it was revealed in the Arabic tongue;
that is, in the Arabic language (refer to 14:4; 26:192-195; 13:37; 42:7; 39:28,
and 43:3). Yet, in at least two plain verses, the Qur an commands the deletion of
any dialect other than the Arabic language in the Qur anic text (16:103; 41:44). I
n his book, "The Itqan" (part 2, p. 105), the Suyuti tells us that many scholars
(among them the Shafi i, ibn Jarir al-Tabari) Their claim is based on these verse
s. In his book, "al-Risala", edited by Ahmad Shakir (p. 41), the Shafi i says,
"It is said, What is the proof that the Book of God is in the Arabic language
without being mixed with any (foreign words)? The proof is the Book of God itsel
f."
Then the Shafi i quoted the above mentioned verses (16:103 and 41:44). The Shafi i w
ant to defend these verses but he is not able to ignore the facts which all Musl
im scholars verify along with the companions and the legists such as ibn Abbas, M
ujahid, ibn Jubayr, Akrama, and Ata. Also included in this group is the Suyuti as
well as other scholars like Dr. Muhammad Rajab who expressed his views in "Solid
arity" (al-Tadamun) magazine (April, 1989 issue). In his book, "The Itqan" (part
 2, pp. 108-119), the Suyuti lists 118 non-Arabic words recorded in the Qur an. Ib
n Abbas, himself (along with other great Companions) asserts that some Qur anic wor
ds are Persian, Ethiopian and Nabatean (p. 105). Dr. Bayyumi also confirms the S
uyuti s opinions and views. Faced with these contradictions what does the Suyuti s
ay to justify them? He says in p. 106,
"The existence of a few non-Arabic words does not make the Qur an non-Arabic a
s the verses indicate."
And we say to Suyuti: "We know that the Qur an is an Arabic book, but the Qur an den
ies that it contains non-Arabic words (refer to verses 16:103; 41:44). It is obv
ious that this is a contradiction, especially since there are about 118 non-Arab
ic words not just five or ten words. The simple explanation for this contradiction
is that Muhammad himself did not know that the origin of the words he employed
in the Qur an were non-Arabic. He was not aware that some of them were Persian, Et
hiopian, Berber, Turkish and Nabatean; thus, he claimed that the entire Qur an was
revealed in pure Arabic language!

The Second Contradiction

In part 3, p. 83 of "The Itqan", the Suyuti designated many pages under the titl
e, "What is Mistaken For a Contradiction in the Qur an." He remarks that there is
something in the Qur an to which ibn Abbas stopped short of giving any answer. A ma
n told him that one verse in the Qur an mentions that the length of the day of res
urrection is one thousand years and another verse says it is 50 thousand years (
al-Sayda: 5 and al-Ma arij: 4). Ibn Abbas said, "These are two days which God may He
be exalted has mentioned in His book, and God knows best." This is an honest ackno
wledgment by ibn Abbas without any attempt of justification.
When ibn Musayyib, one of the great companions, was asked about these two days a
nd why they contradict each other, he said,
"Ibn Abbas avoided talking about them and he is more knowledgeable than me."
Yet we find some contemporary scholars who endeavor to justify this contradictio
n and claim that they are more knowledgeable than ibn Abbas! !

The Third Contradiction

In the same part (p. 79), the Suyuti says that the Qur an states in chapter 6:22-2
3 that in the day of judgment, infidels attempt to conceal some thing from God w
hile in chapter 4:42 the Qur an contradicts that and indicates that they do not co
nceal anything from God. The Suyuti tries to justify this contradiction by sayin
g that ibn Abbas was asked about it and he answered that they conceal it by their
tongues but their hands and their limbs admit it. Yet the question is still wit
hout answer because if their hands admit it in spite of themselves, it should no
t be said that they did not conceal any fact from God because they did try to hi
de, but their hands gave it away, as ibn Abbas says.

The Fourth Contradiction

In chapter, "al Waqiha," the Qur an talks about those who are destined to enter pa
radise. It states in verses 13 and 14 that the majority will be from the nations
who came before Muhammad and the minority will be from peoples who believed in
Muhammad. But in the same chapter (verses 39 and 40), it is said that the majori
ty will be from those people who came before and after Muhammad also. This is a
contradiction in the same chapter. Verse 14 says, "... a few of those of later t
ime", but in verse 40, the Qur an says just the opposite, "... a multitude of thos
e of later time."
I have tried to limit this discussion by quoting the interpretations of these ve
rses by Muslim scholars, but they never presented any clear cut justification fo
r this obvious contradiction (refer to the commentary of the Baydawi, p. 710; Za
makh-Shari in his Kash-Shaf, part 4, p. 458; and the Jalalan, p. 453). All of th
em just say that "... the formers are the nations from Adam to Muhammad and the
latters are the people of Muhammad." Thus, one time the Qur an remarks, "A minorit
y from others," then it says "a majority or multitude from others." This is an o
bvious contradiction observed by many and no one has found any refutation agains
t it among Muslim scholars.

The Fifth Contradiction

Pertaining to marriages, it is clear that the Qur an calls for the possibility of
marrying four women at the same time. In Chapter 4:3,
"But if ye fear that you shall not treat them fairly, then only one."
But in Chapter 4:129, we read,
"You will not be able to deal equally between your wives however much you wi
sh to do so."
In his book, "The Itqan", the Suyuti says,
"In the first verse we understand that fairness is possible while in the sec
ond, we perceive that fairness is not possible" (Itqan, part 3, page 85).
Actually, from the Qur anic point of view as well as according to Muhammad and the
rest of the Muslims, "fairness is possible" to be practiced by the evidence tha
t they got (and still get) married to four women. Even Muhammad s companions and h
is successors did so. Therefore, "fairness" seemed to be possible for them becau
se it is not reasonable that all of them, including Umar, Ali, Uthman and Muhammad
violated the Qur anic teaching.
Then why does the Qur an say in chapter 4:129 that "fairness" is not possible? Thi
s is an obvious contradiction which Muslim scholars, among them the Suyuti, real
ized and comprehended. In order to solve the problem, the Suyuti argued,
"The first verse (meant) fairness in regard to fulfilling the pledges while
the second verse is related to the heart s inclination and it is not within the ab
ility of a man to be fair in this matter."
The Jalalan (page 82) and Baydawi (page 130) agree with him. The Baydawi reitera
tes the same statement and adds,
"Muhammad himself was fair with his women in the matter of human rights, but
in the inclination of the heart, he used to say to God, Forgive me in regard to
that over which I have no control. "
Because Muhammad, according to all the scholars, favored A isha over the rest and
he did not harbor any inclination toward Sawda bint Zamea. The Zamakh-shari asse
rts Muhammad s favoritism for A isha and states that some people have interpreted th
e second verse to mean that you cannot be fair in love. Sheik Kashkak indicates
in his book of "Opinions" (part 5, page 52), that some favoritism is permissible
! Yet, the Zamakh-shari gives another significant opinion when he explicitly say
s in the Kash-shaf (part 1, pages 568 and 69),
"God has relieved you of (implementing) complete fairness to that which you
are able to carry out because it is obligatory to treat the women equally in div
iding their portions, expenses and pledges and many other things hardly uncounta
ble. It is something which is beyond (human) ability even if they all were belov
ed. How would the situation be if the heart inclined toward but some of them!"
Then the Zamakh-shari indicated, "The second verse which indicated that you will
not be able to be fair" could mean "to be fair in love" as in what happened to
Muhammad and A isha. Yet, we understand from Zamakh-Shari s statement that "fairness
" is not possible in division of portions, financial support, and pledges even i
f they were all beloved. How much harder it would be if the man s heart was inclin
ed to some of them more than others. He said what is really required is to absta
in from being fully inclined toward one woman which would be conducive to neglec
ting the rest of them. Zamakh-Shari s interpretation here is fully in congruence w
ith the remainder of the verse.
Muslim scholars cited Muhammad as an example, and the issue became more complica
ted, for what would happen to the poor wife if her husband devoted his love to a
nother wife? She cannot object because, based on the Qur anic text and by the exam
ple set by Muhammad, her husband is innocent of any wrongdoing. The Qur an asserts
that you cannot, from an emotional point-of-view, treat women justly, and Muham
mad himself has rejected the request of his daughter, Fatima, to treat all his w
ives alike and not to bestow on A isha, his favorite spouse, more than the rest of
them. He expressed his favoritism publicly several times. He planned to divorce
Sauda (one of his other wives). Some said he already did then he reinstated her
when she agreed to relinquish her night for A isha. What a pity for the Muslim wo
men!
Western orientalists also say that the Qur an contradicts itself when it alludes t
o the creation of earth and heaven by saying on the one hand that heaven was cre
ated after the earth (many verses) then on the other hand, in one verse, it says
the earth was created after the heavens. We have not used this but have attempt
ed and continue to attempt to quote only the Muslim scholars such as Suyuti, Bay
dawi, Jalalan, and Zamakh-Shari, who endeavor to explain these verses to negate
any contradiction against the proper usage of the language, such as by saying th
e word after means before . Or, as we read in Sura 90:1, they said that God does not
swear in the sacred land (that is, Mecca), then in Sura 95:3 we see Him swearing
in Mecca the sacred land. The contradiction between these two verses is evident
, yet the Suyuti (along with other scholars) denied that there is any contradict
ion because the word no in Chapter 90 is redundant. It is not intended to negate b
ut to affirm!! The Suyuti mentioned this issue among many others, under the titl
e, "What Was Mistaken to be Contradiction." He summarizes the opinions of the sc
holars in response to this criticism by saying:
"The people did not reject what you rejected because the Arabs may use not in
the context of their conversation and abolish its meaning."
The Perversion of Qur an and
the Loss of Many Parts of It
On page 131 of his book, "El-Sheaa and Correction", the contemporary Muslim scho
lar, Dr. Mosa-El-Mosawy, makes this frank confession,
"Those who adopt the notion of the perversion of the Qur an are present among
all different Islamic groups, but the majority of them come from the El-Sheaa sc
holars."
Perversion of Qur an is an unimaginable notion to the lay Muslim because the Schol
ars of Islam are hiding this truth from being published or becoming known.
Of course, we weren t just satisfied with what Dr. El-Mosawy has already mentioned
, but we went back to the most popular ancient scholars and to Muhammad s relative
s and companions to investigate this notion concerning the perversion and loss o
f several parts of the Qur an because those are the trustworthy people regarding t
he history and development of Islam.
Upon examining the testimonies of these great companions, the answer was positiv
e. They clearly stated that perversion and loss of large fragments of the Qur an d
id occur. Let us scrutinize their testimony in order to present to deluded Musli
ms the truth as it is proclaimed by their trusted spiritual leaders and scholars
. The deceptive veil must be removed so people can see the true face of the Qur an
.
Ibn Umar al Khattab explicitly admits,
"Let no one of you say that he has acquired the entire Qur an for how does he
know that it is all? Much of the Qur an has been lost, thus let him say, I have acq
uired of it what is available" (Suyuti: Itqan, part 3, page 72).
A isha (also page 72) adds to the story of ibn Umar and says,
"During the time of the prophet, the chapter of the Parties used to be two h
undred verses when read. When Uthman edited the copies of the Qur an, only the cur
rent (verses) were recorded" (73 verses).
The same statement is made by Ubay ibn Ka b, one of the great companions. On page
72, part 3, the Suyuti says,
"This famous companion asked one of the Muslims, How many verses in the chapt
er of the Parties? He said, Seventy-two or seventy-three verses. He (Ubay) told him
, It used to be almost equal to the chapter of the Cow (about 286 verses) and inc
luded the verse of the stoning. The man asked, What is the verse of the stoning? He
said, If an old man or woman committed adultery, stone them to death."
This same story and same dialogue which took place between the companion and one
of the Muslims is recorded by Ibn Hazm (volume 8, part 11, pages 234 and 235).
Then Ibn Hazm said,
" Ali Ibn Abi Talib said this has a reliable chain of authority (The Sweetest
[Al Mohalla] vol. 8.)."
The Zamakh-shari also cited it in his book, "al-Kash-Shaf (part 3, page 518).
These are unquestionable statements made by the pillars of the Islamic religion
who transmitted Muhammad s sayings and biography, "The Tradition", and who interpr
eted the Qur an among them Ibn Umar, A isha, Ubay Ibn Ka b and Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Ibn U
states that a large part of the Qur an was missed. A isha and Ubay Ibn Ka b assert th
at dozens of verses from the "Chapter of the Parties" have been lost. Ali confirm
s that, too. In regard to this particular verse, the following incident is recor
ded in "The Itqan" by Suyuti (part 1, page 168),
"During the collection of the Qur an, people used to come to Zayd Ibn Thabit (
with the verses they memorized). He shunned recording any verse unless two witne
sses attested to it. The last verse of chapter of Repentance was found only with
Khuzayma Ibn Thabit. Zayd said, Record it because the apostle of God made the te
stimony of Khuzayma equal to the testimony of two men. Umar came with the verse of
the stoning but it was not recorded because he was the only witness to it."
One can only wonder and ask, "Does Umar need another witness to agree with him? W
ould he lie to God and the Qur an? Because of that, Umar said after that, "If it we
re not that people would say, "Umar has added to the book of God , I would have re
corded the verse of the stoning" (part 3, page 75 of the Itqan). Refer also to s
kiek Kishk s book (part 3, page 64). Another confession by A isha:
"Among the (verses) which were sent down, (the verse) of the ten breast feed
ings was abrogated by (a verse which calls for five breast feedings. The apostle
of God died and this verse was still read as part of the Qur an. This was related
by Abu Bakr and Umar" (refer to Suyuti s qan, part 3, pages 62 and 63).

Events Which Led To The Loss Of Some Verses

A Domesticated Animal Eats Qur anic Verses
In his book (volume 8, part II, pages 235 and 236), Ibn Hazm says plainly,
"The verses of stoning and breast feeding were in the possession of A isha in
a (Qur anic) copy. When Muhammad died and people became busy in the burial prepara
tions, a domesticated animal entered in and ate it."
A isha herself declared that and she knew exactly what she possessed. Also, Mustaf
a Husayn, who edited and reorganized the book, "al-Kash-shaf" by the Zamakh-Shar
i, asserts this fact in page 518 of part 3. He says that the ones who related th
is incident and said that a domesticated animal ate the verses were reliable per
sons among them Abdulla Ibn Abi Bakr and A isha herself. This same story has been m
entioned also by Dar-al-Qutni, al-Bazzar and al Tabarani, on the authority of Mu
hammad Ibn Ishaq who heard it from Abdulla who himself heard it from A isha.
Professor Mustafa indicates that this does not negate that the abrogation of the
se verses may have occurred before the domesticated animal ate them. Why then di
d Umar want to record the verse of the stoning in the Qur an if its recitation was
abrogated? And why did people used to read the verses of the breast-feeding? And
, if Muhammad died while these verses were still recited who abrogated them? Did
the domesticated animal abrogate them? It is evident that this really did occur
according to the witness of the companions, Muslim scholars, and A isha herself.
Other Matters Which Were Lost, Not Recorded And Altered
In part 3, page 73, the Suyuti said,
"Hamida, the daughter of Abi Yunis, said, When my father was eighty years old
, he read in the copy of A isha, "God and His angels bless (literally pray for) th
e prophet Oh ye who believe, bless him and those who pray in the first rows." Th
en she said, "That was before Uthman changed the Qur anic copies.""
On page 74, we read,
"Umar said to Abdul-Rahman Ibn Oaf, Didn t you find among the verses that we rece
ived one saying, "Strive as you strove at the first?" We do not locate it (any m
ore). Abdul-Rahman Ibn Oaf told him, This verse has been removed among those others
which were removed from the Qur an."
It is well known that Abdul-Rahman Ibn Oaf was one of the great companions and was
among those who were nominated for the caliphate.
Also, on the same page (74, of part 3) of "The Itqan", we read,
"Maslama al-Ansar said to the companions of Muhammad, Tell me about two verse
s which have not been recorded in the Qur an which Uthman collected. They failed to
do so. Maslama said, Oh, ye who believed and immigrated and fought for the cause
of God by (sacrificing) your properties and yourselves, you received the glad ti
dings, for you are prosperous. Also, those who sheltered them, aided them and de
fended them, against whom God (revealed) His wrath, no soul knows what is awaiti
ng them as a reward for what they did."
Throughout pages 73 and 74 of part 3, the Suyuti records for us all the remarks
made by Muhammad s companions in regard to the unpreserved Qur anic verses which the
readers failed to find in the Qur an which Uthman collected and which is currently
in vogue. It is worthwhile to notice that we only quote the testimonies of the
most reliable authorities whose witness is highly regarded and cited by all the
scholars and students of the Qur an such as Ali, Uthman, Abu Bakr, A isha (Muhammad s wi
fe), Ibn Mas ud, and Ibn Abbas. In the context of expounding the Qur an, these schola
rs are always quoted to shed light on the events which took place during the tim
e of Muhammad. No one could interpret the tenets of Islam better than these scho
lars could.
If we ponder the first part of "The Itqan", by the Suyuti, we read (page 184),
"Malik says that several verses from chapter 9 (Sura of Repentance) have bee
n dropped from the beginning. Among them is, In the name of God the compassionate
, the Merciful because it was proven that the length of Sura of Repentance was eq
ual to the length of the Sura of the Cow."
This means that this chapter has lost 157 verses. Also (page 184), the Suyuti te
lls us that the words, "In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful" were
found in the chapter of Repentance in the Qur anic copy which belonged to Ibn Mas u
d which Uthman confiscated and burned when the current Qur an was edited.
Not only verses have been dropped, but also entire chapters have been abolished
from the Uthmanic copy which is in the hands of all Muslims today. The Suyuti and
other scholars testify that the Qur anic copies of both Ubay and Ibn Mas ud include
two chapters called "The Hafad" and "the Khal" . They both are located after the
chapter of "the Asr" (103) (refer to pp. 182 and 183 of part one of the gn).
He also indicates that the Qur anic copy of Abdulla-Ibn Mas ud does not contain the c
hapter of "The Hamd" and "The Mu withatan" (Surah 113, 114). On page 184, the Suyu
ti tells us that Ubay ibn Abi Ka b recorded in his Qur anic copy two chapters that s
tart with, "Oh God, we ask for your assistance," and "Oh God, you whom we worshi
p." These are the two chapters of "The Hafad" and "The Khal . " On page 185, the S
uyuti assures us on the authority of the most famous companions of the prophet t
hat Ali ibn Abi Talib was aware of these two chapters. Umar ibn al-Khattab was acc
ustomed to read them after his prostration. The Suyuti records them in their ent
irety on page 185. They are available to any Arab who wishes to read them. Then,
the Suyuti adds that the two chapters are found in the Qur anic copy of ibn Abbas
also. What more we should say after we heard the testimonies of ibn Abbas, Umar, Al
i, ibn Mas ud and ibn Abi Ka b Talib? It is evident that the Qur an once included thes
e two chapters.
If the reader asks, "What do you mean by saying ...the Qur anic copy of ibn Abbas , or
... the copy of ibn Mas ud ... A isha , etc.? Were there many different Qur anic copies?
I will not supply the answer, but I leave that to the Muslim scholars and chroni
clers as we examine how the Qur anic copies were burned and only one universal cop
y was kept.

The Collection Of The Qur an And The Fierce Dispute Among The Scholars And The Com
panions
Among the greatest events which took place during the reign of Uthman ibn Affan, t
hird caliph after Muhammad, is the collection of the Qur an. It is appropriate her
e to record briefly the story of the first collection of the Qur an which occurred
during the time of Abu Bakr after the death of Muhammad. All chroniclers, witho
ut exception, have never questioned the authenticity of the incident (refer to "
The Itqan" of Suyuti, part 1, page 165, Dr. Ahmad Shalabi, pp. 37 and 38, al-Buk
hari, part 6, page 477). What did the Bukhari say in this regard?
" Umar said to Abu Bakr, I suggest you order that the Qur an be collected. Abu Bak
r said to him, How can you do something which Allah s messenger did not do. Then Abu
Bakr accepted his proposal and came to Zayd and said to him, You are a wise youn
g man and we do not have any doubts about you. So you should search for the frag
ments of the Qur an and collect it. Zayd said, By Allah if they had ordered me to sh
ift one of the mountains it wouldn t have been heavier for me than this ordering m
e to collect the Qur an."
The question which presents itself is, why did not Muhammad give orders to colle
ct the Qur an? Why did not the angel Gabriel suggest to him to do such an importan
t task to avoid the disagreement, dispute, and the fight which spread among the
people? He could have avoided the debate about the chapters and the verses of th
e Qur an which raged among the great scholars.
Secondly, why did Zayd consider the task of collecting the verses of the Qur an mo
re difficult than removing a mountain? There is no answer for the first question
. Of course, Gabriel was supposed to order Muhammad to collect the Qur an while he
was still alive in order to save his people from the disputes and fights. The a
nswer for the second question is evident because a great number of the reciters
and the memorizers of the Qur an had already been killed in the wars of the aposta
sies, especially in the battle of Yamama. So, how could Zayd collect the Qur an th
oroughly? Removing a mountain is much easier, as he said.
Now what happened during the time of Uthman? In his book "The History of Islamic
Law" (page 38), Dr. Ahmad Shalabi says,
 "The Qur an was collected and entrusted to Hafsa. It was not proclaimed among
people until the era of Uthman ibn Affan. Huthayfa, one of Muhammad s companions who
fought in Armenia and Adharbijan, said to Uthman, The Muslims disagree on the (co
rrect) reading of the Qur an and they fight among themselves. Uthman ordered Zayd ib
n Thabit and the other three to collect the Qur an in one copy. After they accompl
ished that, Uthman gave the order to bum the rest of the Qur anic copies which were
in the hands of Muhammad s companions. That was in the year 25 H."
All Muslim scholars concur such as Al-Bukhari (part 6, page 225), Suyuti in "The I
tqan" (part 1, page 170), and Ibn Kathir in "The Beginning and the End" (part 7,
page 218) in which he remarks,
" Uthman burned the rest of the copies which were in the hands of the people b
ecause they disagreed on the (correct) reading and they fought among themselves.
When they came to take ibn Mas ud s copy to bum it, he told them, I know more than Z
ayd ibn Thabit (whom Uthman ordered to collect the copies of the Qur an). Uthman wrot
e to ibn Mas ud asking him to submit his copy for burning."
When ibn Mas ud said that he was more knowledgeable than Zayd, his claim was not q
uestioned because he was a very reliable person. In part 7, page 162 of his book
, "The Beginning and the End", ibn Kathir said about him that he used to teach p
eople the Qur an and the traditions. Some even thought that he was a member of Muh
ammad s family because he had easy access to Muhammad s assembly while Zayd was stil
l young. The Bukhari comments (part 6, page 229) that Muhammad prompted his adhe
rent to learn the Qur an from four people, among them ibn Mas ud Zayd was not mentio
ned among them. Yet, when Uthman asked Zayd to collect the Qur an, he did not add i
bn Mas ud to the committee. A contemporary scholar, Sheikh Kishk, remarks in his b
ook, "Legal Opinions" (part 1, page 102),
"The four most important commentators are ibn Abbas, ibn Mas ud, Ali ibn Abi Tal
ib and Ubay ibn Ka bal-Ansari."
So ibn Mas ud is one of the four great expounders of the Qur an and Zayd ibn Thabit
did not enjoy the same prestige of ibn Mas ud.
It was common knowledge that both ibn Mas ud and ibn Ali Ka b were accustomed to wri
te the two chapters of the Hafad and the Khal which are now eliminated from the c
urrent Qur an which Zayd collected. Ibn Mas ud asserts that the chapter of the prais
e and the Mu withatan are not part of the Qur an (refer to "The Itqan" by Suyuti, pa
rt 1, pp. 221, 222). Despite that, Zayd recorded them.
It was a strange thing, Uthman s order to burn the companions copies. If we question
that, we will be inclined to believe that these copies differed from the Qur anic
copy which Zayd edited and compiled, otherwise Uthman would not have burned them
. This is not the conclusion of the author, but it is the opinion of many great
contemporary Muslim scholars, among them Ibrahim al-Abyari, who expressed his vi
ew in his book, "The History of the Qur an" (3rd print, 1982, page 107). He plainl
y says,
"There were also other copies of the Qur an such as the copy of Abi Musa al-As
h ari, al-Maqdad ibn al-Aswad, and Salim the client of Abi Huthayfa. There were di
fferences between those copies, differences which Huthayka attested to it. That
frightened Uthman, thus he issued an order to collect the Qur an because the Kufis
followed the copy of ibn Mas ud; the Syrians the copy of ibn Abi Ka b; the people of
Basra, the copy of Musa al-Ash ari; the Damascenes, the copy of ibn Maqdad."
On page 41, he adds:
"Ibn Qutayba says that the differences between the recitations of the various Qu
r anic copies may include the meaning also."
Also on page 109, he says:
"When Abu Bakr and Umar assigned Zayd ibn Thabit to compile the Qur an, there w
as a previous compilation of the Qur an made by a group of the greatest companions
such as Ali ibn Abi Talib, ibn Mas ud and ibn Abbas and others."
The Muslim has the right to wonder and to ask why Abu Bakr and Umar took the trou
ble to do that when ibn Mas ud and ibn Abbas who were (according to Muhammad) the m
ost knowledgeable people in the Qur an, had already accomplished it? Why did they
not at least add them to the committee or solicit their opinions?
In regard to the copy of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Imam Khu i tells us in his book, "a
l-Bayan" (page 222), the following:
"The existence of Imam Ali s copy is an unquestionable matter. All scholars adm
it it and say that it contains additions which are not found in the current Qur an
. These additions are under the title of The Revelation of God for the Explanatio
n of the Intended (purpose)."
The Imam Khu i is one of the greatest scholars among the Shi ites. He drew his infor
mation from what the Imam al-Tabari had recorded in his book, " al-Ihtijaj" ("Apolo
gy") (refer to Dr. Musa, The Shi ites and the Reformation, pp. 132,133).
Dr. Musa also indicates:
"Our scholars and legists infer from an episode recorded by the Tabari in th
e book of al-Ihtijaj about the existence of a Qur anic copy compiled by the Imam Al
i. This episode tells that Ali said to Talha (one of Muhammad s relatives and compa
nions) that every verse God bestowed upon Muhammad is in my possession, dictated
to me by the apostle of God and written by the script of my hand, along with ex
position of every verse and all the lawful and unlawful (issues)."
Dr. Musa tells us, that despite the fact that he studied Islam and jurisprudence
under the direction of the Imam al-Khu i, he was involved in a fierce argument in
regard to this serious matter. But we will tell Dr. Musa that all the Shi ites an
d their scholars (whose total number is more than one hundred fifty million Musl
ims scattered all over the Islamic countries) believe this. Even Sheikh Kishk wh
o was one of the Sunnis scholars, repeats similar statements in his book, "Legal
Opinions" (part 1, page 103). He says,
" Ali remarked, Ask me about the book of God. I swear to God that there is no v
erse which I do not know whether it was sent down at night or during time, or on
a plain or on a mountain."
He also states similar words about ibn Mas ud. In spite of that, Ali ibn Mas ud and i
bn Abi Ka b had been disqualified from contributing to the compilation of the Qur an
and their copies were neglected, though they were the most important expounders
of the Qur an along with ibn Abbas.
It is Ali s copy which contains additional material lacked in the current Qur an and
includes revelations from God for explaining the intended purposes. This is what
happened in the course of the compilation of the Qur an during the time of Uthman
ibn Affan. Thus, it is no wonder that ibn Kathir explicitly mentions that Muhamma
d ibn Abi Bakr, the righteous, and the brother of A isha, Muhammad s wife had partic
ipated with Ammar ibn Yasir, one of the famous companions, in the assassination o
f Uthman, reiterating, "You have altered God s book" (refer to the Bidaya and The N
ihaya, part 7, page 185). On page 166, ibn Kathir records that a large number of
the reciters of the Qur an used to curse Uthman and encouraged people to revolt ag
ainst him.
The question is, "Why do the reciters of the Qur an do that and why does ibn Kathi
r vow that ibn Abi Bakr said that to Uthman? Did Uthman really change the copies o
f the Qur an as Hamida daughter of Abi Yunis testified along with the rest of the
great companions whom we mentioned? Yes indeed!

The Dispute Among The Companions And The Seven Readings Of The Qur an
On the authority of all the scholars, the Suyuti tells us that the most eminent
companions disagreed on the number of chapters of the Qur an and their verses. The
y disagreed on the order of the chapters. He listed for us the order of the chap
ters in Ali s and ibn Mas ud s copies (refer to the Itqan, part 1, pp. 176 and 189). He
tells us that the multitude of scholars said that the order of the chapters was
the outcome of the companions opinion and they disagreed about that among themse
lves. The Suyuti admits on this page that both Ali and ibn Mas ud each owned his ow
n copy. Also Ubay ibn Ka b possessed his own, too.
He regarded the dispute over the verse, "In the name of God the Compassionate an
d Merciful", a striking example about the dispute between the most eminent compa
nions and the scholars. Some said that it is not one of the Qur anic verses, so ib
n Abbas told them that they eliminated 114 verses from the Qur an because it was re
peated 114 times. The Zamakh-shari, who recorded this incident in the Kash-shaf
(part 1, pp. 24-26) states that those who denied these verses were ibn Mas ud hims
elf, Abu Hanifa, Malik and all the reciters and legists of Medina, Basra and Syr
ia.
Imam Malik used to say, "This verse should not be read aloud or privately becaus
e it is not part of the Qur an. Sheikh Kishk agrees with the Zamakh-shari in this
matter and confirms that a dispute has resulted among the greatest scholars beca
use of this verse. Some famous scholars such as the Qurtubi and ibn Arabi are of
the same opinion as Malik that this verse is not of the Qur an (refer to "Legal Op
inions" of the contemporary Egyptian scholar Sheikh Kishk, part 9, pp. 41-47).
Of course, this verse is included in all the chapters of the Qur an except the cha
pter of the Repentance. The reason for that is a very significant story which re
veals that the compilation of the Qur an and the order of the chapters are the pro
duct of human effort in compliance with the order of Uthman. In his "Itqan" (part
1, pp. 172,173), the Suyuti tells us:
"Ibn Abbas said to Uthman, What made you combine the chapter of the Anfal and t
he chapter of Tawba (repentance) without separating them by the verse, "In the n
ame of God the compassionate, the Merciful"? (And why) did you put them among th
e seven long (chapters)? Uthman said, The chapters used to be bestowed upon the apo
stle of God. The chapter of Anfal was among the early ones which were revealed i
n Medina and the chapter of Repentance was among the last revealed. Its story wa
s similar to the early story (of the Anfal), so I thought that it was part of it
. Then the apostle of God died without showing us that it was part of the (Anfal
); thus, I combined them and did not write between them the verse, "In the name
of God the Compassionate, the Merciful", and it is among the long ones."
The order and organization of the Qur an depended on Uthman s view as he admitted him
self to ibn Abbas. This time Uthman s opinion was wrong. The Suyuti tells us in "The
Itqan" (part 1, page 195) that a dispute broke out among the scholars because o
f this verse which was revealed in some of the seven readings but not in all of
them.
You may wonder what "the seven readings" are, and what we mean when we say that
the Qur an was sent down in "seven letters" (readings). We would briefly answer th
is question before we move to the last subject in this chapter which is the reli
gious teachings, the mythical episodes and the meaning of the chapters included
in the contents of the Qur an.

The Seven Letters (Readings) Of The Qur an

Both former and latter Muslim scholars agree on this issue. They all relied on M
uhammad s famous statements which Bukhari and others recorded, as well as an incid
ent which is frequently quoted by most of these scholars. The incident took plac
e between Umar ibn al-Khattab and one of the great companions by the name of Hish
am ibn al-Hakam in which Muhammad was the arbitrator.
Muhammad s Statements
Muhammad said:
"Gabriel made me read in (one dialect), I consulted with him again and conti
nued asking for more (dialectical reading) and he continued to add to that until
I finished with seven readings" (refer to Bukhari, part 6, page 227, and "The I
tqan", part 1, page 131).
The Suyuti tells us that this admission is quoted in al-Bukhari, and Sahih of Mu
slim on the authority of ibn Abbas. Also, ibn Abbas indicated to us (part 1, page
132) that Muhammad said,
"My Lord told me to read the Qur an in one dialect. I sent back and asked Him
to make it easy for my people. He answered me (saying), Read it in two dialects. I
requested of him again, thus he sent to me (saying), Read it in seven dialects."
"Gabriel and Michael visited me. Gabriel sat at my right side and Michael at my
left side. Gabriel said (to me), Read the Qur an in one dialect. Michael said, Add (m
ore dialects) until he reached seven dialects."
These are Muhammad s statements, but before we allude to the meaning of the seven
letters (readings) as they were recorded by Muslim scholars, let us look at the
incident which took place between Umar and Hisham (part 6, page 482 of al-Bukhari
).
Umar ibn Al-Khattab said, "I heard Hisham ibn Hakim reciting Al-Furqan and I lis
tened to his recitation and noticed that he recited in several different ways wh
ich Allah s messenger had not taught me. I was about to jump on him during his pra
yer and when he had completed his prayer, I put his upper garment around his nec
k and seized him by it and said, Who taught you this Surah which I heard you reci
ting? He replied, Allah s Messenger taught it to me. I said, You have lied for Allah s
essenger has taught it to me in a different way. So I dragged him to Allah s Messen
ger and said to him, I heard this person reciting Surah Al-Furqan in a way which
you haven t taught me. Allah s Messenger said, It was revealed in both ways. This Qur an
has been revealed to be recited in seven different ways, so recite out of it wh
ichever way is easier for you."
Refer also to Dr. Shalabi s book (page 40) along with other major sources, for all
of them have recorded this story. It is very interesting to notice that Muhamma
d, the prophet, approved the readings of both of them in spite of the obvious di
fferences between them which provoked Umar and forced him to treat Hisham brutall
y and pull him by his clothes.
The Meaning Of The Seven Letters (Readings)
The Suyuti says in "The Itqan" (part 1, pp. 131-140), scholars have argued among
themselves about the meaning of the seven letters Some like ibn Qutayba said th
at there is a difference in the meaning and not only in the usage of the vocabul
ary or the dialect. For some words, the meaning may change according to the voca
lization of the word. The verb may be in the past tense or imperative as we find
in chapter Saba : 19; or it depends on the word s diacritical points which incur a
change in the meaning; or whether a phrase was added or deleted from the verse;
or if a word is replaced by another. These are the views of ibn Qutayba who is o
ne of the most famous scholars of his time.
Ibn al-Jazri agrees with him and admits that the meaning changes from one readin
g to another. The Suyuti states that Muslim scholars have said so because of the
incident which occurred between Umar and Hisham ibn Hakeem, because both of them
belonged to the same tribe of Quraysh and used the same dialect. It is impossib
le to say that Umar disapproved Hisham s dialect. This denotes that the Seven Lette
rs do not mean mere difference in the dialect of the Arab tribes, otherwise Umar
would not have objected to Hisham s reading (refer to Suyuti, part 1, page 136). Y
et some other scholars such as al-Tabari argue that the difference is only in th
e vocabulary. One scholar agrees with the Tabari who said that ibn Mas ud used to
read:
" Every time the (lightning) shines, they walk therein (chapter 2:20). Yet othe
r times, he may read, Passed through or went forward ; that is, stating the same me
aning but using different vocabularies."
It is obvious to the reader that the differences between the seven readings incl
ude the meaning and the vocabulary because both Umar and Hisham belonged to the s
ame tribe which speaks the same dialect. Yet they differed in their reading of t
he verses because the Qur an was given without any vocalization or diacritical poi
nts, as the scholars indicated. In this case, it is inevitable that the meaning
be exposed to change and disruption as ibn Qutayba, ibn al-Jazri and others ment
ioned and demonstrated by definite examples.
It is evident then that there are seven different dialects in the Qur anic text. T
hat created a dilemma for Muslim scholars. Even Suyuti himself alluded (page 136
) to the fact that this issue has created a doubt in the minds of the scholars b
ecause the seven dialects required Gabriel to deliver each verse seven times.
Scholars Admission Of A Strange Thing
In his "Itqan" (paragraph 1, page 137), the Suyuti remarks,
"A great scholar, that is the Mawardi, said that Muhammad had permitted the
reading (of the Qur an) on the basis of any of the Seven Letters as it happened in
the episodes of Umar. He also allowed replacing a letter with another letter."
The Suyuti also says on (pages 141,142),
"The multitude of the scholars and the legists said that the Uthmanic Qur an was (w
ritten) in accordance to one letter (dialect) only."
On pages 170 and 171, the Suyuti adds:
"When the lads and their teachers fought against each other during the era o
f Uthman due to the difference in reading (the Qur anic text), he ( Uthman) standardi
zed the reading and made people recite it accordingly because he was afraid of r
iots since the Iraqis and the Damascenes disagreed on the dialect. But before th
at, the Qur anic copies (used to be read) on the basis of the Seven Letters in whi
ch the Qur an was given."
Let us now examine what Dr. Shalabi said in this regard. In his book, "The Histo
ry of Islamic Law" (pp. 40-41), he remarks:
" Uthman wanted to have a standardized text read by all Muslims, but, after th
e era of Uthman, Muslims began again to read the Qur an based on the Seven Letters
as they used to do before. Each country followed the dialect of a famous reciter
whom it trusted. Then public opinion settled on the Seven Readings taken from t
he most eminent reciters who were Nafi , Ibn Khathir, Abu Umar, Ibn Amir, Asim, Hamza
and the Kisa i. Egypt, for instance, followed the reading of Hafas who learned it
from Asim."
Such circumstances created a problem for many Muslims who were seeking a solutio
n. One of the inquirers asked Sheikh Kishk a question which this scholar attempt
ed to answer in his book, "Legal Opinions" (part 1, pp. 113 and 114). The questi
on was, "I heard a reciter reading the Qur anic text, O ye who would believe even i
f a godless messenger brought you news, be cautious. He read it, Investigate instea
d of, Be cautious . I ask for a clarification for this reading and other similar ve
rses."
Sheikh Kishk answers:
"The reading of the reciter, Investigate , is a correct famous reading which ha
s been handed down (to people). Hamza, Kasa i and Khalaf followed it. These three
were among the ten on whom the Muslims relied that their reading is correct. The
Qur anic copies to which the inquirer referred, do not contain this reading. Thus
, the reading is correct because the Qur anic copies with which (the inquirer) is
acquainted have the diacritical points based on the recitation of Hafas. If the
Qur an, in our time was written according to the recitation of Hamza or the readin
g of any of those who were with him, the diacritical points would be congruent w
ith the reading of (Hafas).
"Maybe, there are Qur anic copies which are written in the same pattern as this re
ading, yet the point to be taken into account is the authenticity of the chain o
f authority and its uninterrupted succession. All these readings proved to be co
rrect and they were handed down uninterrupted. If the noble inquirer had pondere
d a little, he would have found that the formation of the word lends itself to b
e read in two ways based on the difference in the diacritical points. This is on
e of the secrets of the Uthmanic copy because during the era of the caliph Uthman
ibn Affan, there was no vocalization or diacritical points."
Despite this answer, the question which is still without explanation is, "In whi
ch dialect was the Qur an given to Muhammad? In which dialect were the tablets whe
n it was still with God? Was there one Qur an or seven Qur ans with seven dialects?
What did Sheikh Kishk (and his prophet Muhammad) mean when he said all the diale
cts and all the meanings are correct?"
The Content of the Qur an
In this part, we are going to discuss two issues, the mythical episodes and the
religious teachings. We will be brief, otherwise we would need to write another
book to deal with the strange, unacceptable things contained in the Qur an which n
o sensible person believes. Our main aim is to remove this deceptive veil from t
he face of the Qur an.

First: Some Names Of Qur anic Chapters And Mythical Episodes

We have already mentioned that there are some chapters in the Qur an whose names h
ave no meaning. These chapters are: 20, 36, 38, 50, and 68. No one knows what Ta
ha, Yasin, Sad, Qaf, or Nun mean. Mostly, they are mere letters and not words as
to say, for instance, Chapter N, Chapter S, Chapter Y. Would that mean anything
in English?
All the Muslim scholars have indicated that they do not know the meanings of the
names of these chapters. God only knows (refer to the Jalalan). On the other ha
nd, the meanings of the names of the rest of the chapters are understood and fam
iliar although there are very strange names linked to a mythical episode which i
s meaningless, as we will see.
It should be noted that some of the Qur anic chapters carry the names of insects o
r animals such as the chapters of the Cow, Ants, Spider, Elephant, Bee and the C
attle. We do not find in the Bible, for example, books with such names as "The B
ook of the Lion" or "The Bat" or "The Buffalo" or "The Book of the Serpent". We
also find in the Qur an some chapters entitled, "Chapter of the Afternoon", or "Th
e Dawn", or "The Night", or "Morning".
Moreover, there are strange stories which were the reasons behind these given na
mes. Also, we are going to relate some stories recorded in the Qur an which are on
ly fit to be narrated by grandparents to children as part of folklore.
1. The Chapter Of The Ants (27:17-19)
In this chapter, the Qur an says:
"And there were gathered together unto Solomon his armies of the Jinn and hu
mankind and of the birds and they were set in the battle order. Till, when they
reached the valley of the Ants, an ant exclaimed, O Ants! Enter your dwellings le
st Solomon and his armies crush you. And Solomon smiled, laughing at her speech."

This is the reason why this chapter is entitled, "The Ant". All scholars (withou
t exception) present this episode as it is recorded. They acknowledge that it is
supernatural, yet it truly happened with Solomon, the Wise (refer to Baydawi, p
age 501; the Jalalan, p. 316,317).
When Qatada, one of Muhammad s companions, came to Iraq, he was surrounded by some
Muslims who inquired of him about this episode. The Imam Abu Hanifa who was sti
ll a lad, asked him, "Was the ant of Solomon male or female?" He answered, "It w
as a female." This is what Zamakh-shari has recorded. He even mentioned that the
ant which warned its friends was called Tahina and Solomon heard her when he wa
s still three miles away.
In order to have a fuller picture of the story, let us read the rest of the epis
ode and see what happened to Solomon (chapter 27:20-22).
"And Solomon sought among the birds and said, How is it that I see not the ho
opoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment o
r I verily will slay him or he verily shall give me a plain excuse. But he was no
t long in coming and he (the hoopoe) said to Solomon, I have found out a thing th
at you apprehended not and I come unto you from Sheba with sure tidings."
So Solomon sent the hoopoe to the Queen of Sheba and her people to preach to the
m about the oneness of God. Muslim commentators (without exception) confirm this
interpretation. Of course, the Bible records for us that the Queen of Sheba cam
e to visit Solomon. After she observed the wisdom of Solomon and of his servants
, she believed in the God of Israel, but there is no mention of a military battl
e between Solomon s soldiers of vultures and Jinn and the kingdom of ants, or of t
he hoopoe, the teacher and the preacher!
2. The Chapter Of The Prophets (21:81, 82)
"And unto Solomon we subdued the wind in its raging. It set by his command t
oward the land which we had blessed. And of the evil ones (demons) subdued we un
to him some who dived for pearls for him and did other works."
All scholars agree on the interpretations of these verses. God utilized the wind
s to obey Solomon s orders. Thus, they some- times blew smoothly and sometimes the
y raged like a strong storm whenever he wanted them to carry him fast for a long
distance. God even utilized the demons to dive deep in the sea to bring forth t
reasures of precious stones. They were sometimes ordered to construct cities and
palaces, and to invent some progressive handicrafts. These same words are recor
ded also in another place in the Qur an. The expounders presented the same interpr
etation for these verses (refer to Baydawi, page 435; Jalalan, page 274; Zamakh-
shari in The Kash-shaf, part 3, page 130).
Of course, the Azhar scholars along with the Saudi scholars agree with the forme
r scholars concerning the subject of the ants, the hoopoe, and the exploitation
of the wind and demons to serve Solomon. For example, Sheikh Sha rawi (the most fa
mous preacher in the Islamic world today) asserts that this story undoubtedly ha
ppened and that God subjected the Jinn to Solomon in order to refurbish the eart
h and for the benefit of the people (refer to the "Legal Opinions", page 422).
3. The Chapter Of The Jinn Or Jan (17:1)
Since we have mentioned the Jinn, it is inevitable that we allude to the chapter
of the Jinn.
"Say, O Muhammad, it is revealed unto me that a company of the Jinn gave ear
and they said, Lo, it is a marvelous Qur an."
All Muslim scholars, in the context of their exposition of those verses, say tha
t God foretold this matter to Muhammad which was invisible to the eyes of Muhamm
ad. As Muhammad was praying the morning prayer and reading the Qur an beside a pal
m tree near Mecca, a party of Jinn (who were Satan s soldiers) heard him. When the
y returned to their own people, they told them, "We have heard eloquent, well-st
yled words, and we have to repent and believe and never worship Satan again or b
e subservient to him." They were between three and ten persons.
The Baydawi says that the Jinn are beings which are made mostly of fire or wind,
or else they are mere spirits or human souls which departed from their bodies (
refer to Baydawi, page 763; Jalalan, page 488; Zamakh-shari, part 4, page 623).
The Bukhari assures us that they were demons who listened to the Qur an being reci
ted by Muhammad during the dawn prayer while he was on his way to Suq Ukadh. They
were moved by what they heard, and recanted. This is the testimony of ibn Abbas
himself (refer to the Sahih of the Bukhari, part 6, page 200).
This same story of the Jinn listening to Muhammad and repenting is found in the
chapter of the Ahqaf. Both Kishk and Sheikh Sha rawi agree with the former scholar
s and do not question their interpretation (refer to the "Legal Opinions" by She
ikh Kishk, part 1, page 20).
4. Chapter Of The Elephant
This chapter could have been called the chapter of the gravel or the vultures, b
ut it was called the chapter of the Elephant simply because the vultures carried
the gravel and threw it at the elephants and their riders who marched towards M
ecca to invade the Ka ba. We read in the Qur an the following:
"Hast thou not seen how your lord dealt with the owners of the elephants? Di
d he not bring their stratagem to naught, and send against them swarms of flying
creatures which pelted them with stones of baked clay."
All Muslim scholars affirm that this event took place many years before the proc
lamation of Muhammad s prophethood. Some said maybe during the time of his birth.
What really happened was that Abraha, king of Yemen, constructed a church in San a
. An Arab man came and defiled the church and did some damage to it. Abraha deci
ded to demolish the Ka ba which was a sacred site for the heathen people of Qurays
h and the site of their annual pilgrimage before Islam.
Abraha headed the invasion operation along with his generals who rode on elephan
ts. It was said that there was a huge, strong elephant called Mahmud. God sent b
lack or green birds to attack the invading army. Each bird carried one piece of
gravel in his beak and two in his claws and hit the owners of the elephants. The
y claim that each piece of gravel penetrated the head of a man and exited from t
he backside (anus - lower opening of the rectum). On each piece of gravel was wr
itten the name of the victim. Abraha suffered a violent death (refer to the Zama
kh-shari in the Kash-shaf, part 4, page 797; Baydawi, page 811;Jalalan, page 519
; also the "Prophet s Biography" by ibn Hisham, part 1, pages 38 and 39).
The Qur an does not tell us why God sent these vultures to assist the heathens aga
inst the Christians. The Qur an was content to record the episode of this battle b
etween the vultures and the elephants. Thus, a chapter in the Qur an was inspired
under the title of Chapter of the Elephant.
5. The Chapter Of The Cave
Why was it called by this strange name? The answer is simple. Some lads (accompa
nied by their dog) entered a cave and slept for three hundred and nine years! Th
e story is recorded in the Qur an in seventeen verses (18:9-25).
The Qur an clearly relates this story and all Muslim scholars agree on its interpr
etation. They said that God forbade the sun to hurt them, and he used to turn th
em from one side to the other so the ground would not erode their flesh. Their d
og whose name was Qatmir, laid down stretching its legs. The lads who entered th
e cave were seven. Their names were Yamlikha, Makshalmina, Mashilmina, Martush,
Darnush, Shadhinush, along with a shepherd They were from the city of Ephesus. (
This information is related to us by the Baydawi, page 390; Jalalan, pp. 244, 24
5, and the Zamakh-shari in the "Kash-shaf", part 2, page 703.) Contemporary scho
lars verify this information.
Before we conclude the episode of the chapter of the Cave, it is appropriate to
allude to the story of Moses, the Whale, the ship and the lad. This strange stor
y is also recorded in the chapter of the cave (l8:60-82) The gist of the story a
s it is stated in the Qur an is that God disagreed with Moses who claimed that he
was the most knowledgeable person. He told him that he has a servant "whose name
is Khadr who is more knowledgeable than you. Take with you a whale and go to th
e confluence of the two seas. When the whale departs from you, you will find him
(the man)."
Moses did so and found the man. Moses told him, "I will be submissive and obedie
nt to you." The Khadr took Moses and sailed in a ship which belonged to some poo
r people who toiled hard in the sea. This man, Khadr, caused the boat to spring
a leak big enough to sink it. When Moses complained, the Khadr told him, "We had
agreed that you would never complain. I will show you in the end that I am more
knowledgeable than you are." Moses kept silence.
Then they met a young boy who was playing with his friends. The Khadr seized him
and violently killed him by smashing his head against the wall, the Zamakh-shar
i remarked. Moses objected to that, then he apologized to the Khadr. Later, the
Khadr started to explain to Moses the implication of his behavior. He said, "I s
ank the ship because there was a wicked king who was intending to confiscate it
by force. And I killed the lad because he was going to cause his righteous paren
ts much hardship by his atheism."
This strange story is meaningless, because this poor lad was guilty of no crime
that he should be brutally killed by a man of whom God boasted. God said to Mose
s that the Khadr was "my righteous servant and he is more knowledgeable than you
". Did he foretell the future and know that this lad was going to create a lot o
f problems for his devout parents? Would this be a justification for his death o
r should it be a cause for his guidance and repentance?
This baffling issue made some people ask ibn Abbas, "Is it permissible for the Kh
adr to do that to the lad?" He answered that the apostle of God himself said, "Y
es." He also added that this is lawful to anyone if he can foretell what this la
d is going to do in the future (refer to Baydawi, page 396; Bukhari, part 6, pp.
111, 112; Jalalan, page 250; and the Zamakh-shari in the "Kash-shaf", part 2, p
age 736). The Bukhari insists that the Khadr seized the lad and pulled his head
off, separating it from his body.
We have already discussed the story of Alexander the Great who had located the s
un s setting place which is recorded in this same chapter (the Cave).
6. The Chapter Of The Cow
In this lengthy chapter, there are at least four mythical stories recorded. We w
ill briefly examine them as evidence of the lack of authenticity of the Qur an.
A. Jews Transformed Into Apes
God transformed these Jews into apes because they disobeyed His commandment and
went to catch fish on a Saturday. These Jews inhabited a coastal city (refer to
Chapter 2:65). The Qur an says:
"And you know of those of you who broke the Sabbath, how we said unto them, B
e apes, despised and hated!"
The interpretation of the expositors of the Qur an is in full agreement with the c
ontent of these verses (refer to the Baydawi, page 14; Jalalan, pages 10, 11; Za
makh-shari, part 1, page 286). We also read the same incident in chapter 7:163-1
66 and in chapter 5:60 in which these Jews were transformed into apes and swine.
B. Two Angels Teach People Magic
This story is among the strangest episodes recorded in chapter 2. Who would beli
eve that God would send two angels in order to tempt people to see whether they
would be seduced into learning magic or not? Muslim scholars indicate that these
two angels were called Harut and Marut and the incident took place in Babylon.
They used to warn people not to learn magic "... because it is ungodly, but if t
his is your desire, then we will teach you." Thus, people started to learn how t
o cause separation between a husband and wife by employing magic (refer to the c
ommentary of the Jalalan, page 15; The Baydawi, page 21; Zamakh-shari in the "Ka
sh-shaf", part 1, page 301).
Contemporary scholar Sheikh Sha rawi states in his "Legal Opinions" (part 1, page
42) that this incident of separation between a husband and wife really happened
by the power of magic performed by these two angels. Sha rawi says:
"One of the characteristics of the Jinn is the ability of transformation. It
is possible for a Jinn to take the image of an ape (and superimpose) himself on
the face of a woman. Thus, her husband would hate her. Also, Satan can transfor
m himself into a beast (and superimpose) himself on the face of a husband which
would make her turn against her husband."
C. Should Angels Prostrate Themselves Before Man?
The Qur an says yes, and God Himself commanded them to do so; therefore, they all
prostrate themselves before man except Satan who refused to obey. We read in the
Qur an (2:34),
"And when we said unto the angels, Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell
prostrate, all save Iblis (Satan). He demurred through pride, and so became a d
isbeliever."
The reason for all that is an obscure, meaningless story recorded in chapter 2:3
0-34:
"And he taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels saying, Inf
orm me of the names of these if you are truthful. They said, Be glorified! We have
no knowledge saving that which Thou has taught us. Lo! Thou, only thou, are the
Knower, the wise" (2:3 1 -32).
We wonder why it would be a crime if the angels did not know the names of the an
imals. What merit does Adam have if God secretly taught him these names? Does th
is justify God s command to the angels to prostrate themselves to Adam? It is well
known that the Bible teaches us that such worship should be only to God.
We do not believe this story and this dialogue between God and the angels, espec
ially since the angels words proved to be true and they manifested their knowledg
e of the future. Man defiled the earth and shed blood since the time of Cain, so
n of Adam, who killed his brother. Adam himself disobeyed his Lord and did not d
eserve worship from the holy angels no respect or adoration, but only reproach eve
n though he knew all the names.
D. The Cow And The Dead Man.
This episode is clearly taught in the Qur an (2:67-73). Muslim commentators indica
te that a righteous Israeli old man had a son who was assassinated by his cousin
s in order to get his inheritance. They dumped his corpse at the city gate. No o
ne knew who had killed him. God told Moses, "Slay a cow and hit the dead man by
a part of it (its tongue, or thigh, or ear) as the scholars say." When Moses did
 so, the deceased rose up and told them who had killed him, then he immediately
died again (refer to the commentary of the Baydawi, pp. 14,15; the "Kash-shaf" b
y the Zamakh-shari, part 1, page 289; and the Jalalan, page 11). Indeed, we do n
ot find this story in the biblical records of the Old Testament.
7. Chapter Of al-Hujarat (The Private Apartment)
There is no mythical story in this chapter, but the reason for naming it is some
what amusing and does not entail the need to receive an inspired chapter under t
his title. Those who translated the Qur an into English indicate that this name wa
s given to this chapter because of the following verse:
"Lo those who call you (Muhammad) from behind the private apartments, most o
f them have no sense" (49:4).
Now, what is the interpretation of this verse? The Baydawi says (page 683),
"What is meant by Private rooms, is the women of the prophet Muhammad. It is tan
tamount to his being in seclusion with the women and their calling to him from w
ithin their private quarters. Either they came into them (private rooms) room by
room or they (the women) scattered themselves among these rooms calling for him
."
We read the same words in the "Kash-shaf" of the Zamakh-shari (part 4, page 357)
, also in the commentary of the Jalalan (page 435). They said,
"Each one of his women called from behind (inside) her room in a voice fille
d with harshness and estrangement."
These are the statements of the scholars who interpreted this verse. Does this
personal, private, insignificant matter require that Gabriel inspire a chapter u
nder the title, "The Private Rooms"; that is, the private rooms of Muhammad s wive
s?
8. The Chapter Of Yunis
It is sufficient to quote verses 90 and 91 of this chapter. The Pharaoh, while h
e was sinking in the sea, said, "I have believed in God," but God did not accept
his repentance, and told him, "Do you say this now because you are drowning?" T
he commentators tell us that Muhammad s companions, such as ibn Umar and ibn Abbas,
have said that Muhammad himself told them:
"Gabriel told me, I wish you had seen me taking mud from the sea to close up
Pharaoh s mouth lest he believe and be reached by God s mercy (refer to Jalalan, page
179; Zamakh-shari, part 2, page 368, and others).
Undoubtedly, this story is mythical, because if Pharaoh intended to believe, God
would have accepted his repentance immediately and there is no need for the ang
el Gabriel to hasten to take a handful of sea mud to close Pharaoh s mouth so that
he would not make a confession of faith and be pardoned. God does not send his
angels to do such wicked things.
We believe Muhammad s companions and ibn Abbas who claimed that Muhammad related th
at to them. They cannot lie in such matters, especially since Muhammad warned th
em that whoever "lies and claims things which I do not do, or says things which
I did not say, will occupy his seat in hell". We believe the companions in all t
hat they convey to us on the authority of Muhammad, but we cannot believe Muhamm
ad s claim that Gabriel had told him that he closed Pharaoh s mouth. The one who pre
vents people from believing is Satan not an angel of God.
Second: God In The Qur an
God in the Qur an is not the God of love, the God of the Christian revelation and
the Holy Gospel. It is as if God (six hundred years after the birth of Christ) h
as deteriorated. After He had been full of love and affection, He has become a r
elentless, wrathful God. You can search the heart of this God of Islam, but you
will never find the flowing, loving feelings which were clearly manifest in Jesu
s Christ.
Let us now probe the most significant characteristics of God as they are reveale
d in the Qur an. There us no doubt, the Qur anic God differs from the God of the Gos
pel. The Gospel s God is real while the other is illusive, non-existent. We have a
lready alluded to God s command recorded in the Qur an when we discussed human right
s and women s status, non-Muslims classification and the enslavement of man to his
fellow man.
Yet, here we would like to magnify a very salient concept; that is, the concept
of love. The God of the Qur an lacks the element of love. The Qur an records ninety-
nine attributes of God which do not include the attribute of love although among
these attributes are some which repeatedly contain the same inference, but love
is not one of them. Indeed, some of these attributes indicate that God is merci
ful, yet you do not find mercy expressed on the pages of the Qur an, in the life o
f Muhammad or among his companions. If mercy had ever been practiced in Muhammad s
life or in the life of his companions, this would have been the exception and n
ot the rule. The rule was the application of relentless brutality and barbarism.
There is no substitute for the word love. Love is stronger and richer than mercy
. We do not say that a husband bestows mercy on his wife. We say he loves her. L
ikewise, we do not say (even when it is fitting to say) that a mother bestows he
r mercy on her children, but rather that she loves them. Love is a word rich wit
h the meanings of sacrifice and giving. Love is a warm expression elevating huma
n relationships to the highest summit of healthy growth. The Qur an is empty of th
is word whether in its relationship to man or in the area of human relationships
.
God (in the Qur an) does not liken himself to a Father who loves His spiritual chi
ldren, the believers, as stated in the Gospel, but rather as a fearful master. P
eople are but mere slaves who must always live in fear of Him.
Now let us survey some Qur anic verses and vivid samples from the lives of the mos
t devout Muslim believers.
1. In chapter "The Believers" (: 60), we read the following:
"And those who give that which they give with hearts afraid because they are
about to return unto their lord."
Muhammad himself spared us the trouble of interpreting this verse because he him
self explained it. In Baydawi (page 457), Jalalan (page 288), and in the "Kash-s
haf" of the Zamakh-shari (part 3, page 192), we read:
"A isha said, O, apostle of God, is the one who is afraid of God the one who co
mmits adultery, steals, drinks wine, thus he is afraid of punishment? Muhammad to
ld her, No, O daughter of Sedik, he is the one who prays, fasts and gives alms, t
hus he is afraid that God may not accept these things from him."
We wonder where then is the sense of security and peace of mind. Where is the as
surance and the guarantee concerning eternal life? How can peace fill the Muslim s
 heart? How can his soul rejoice and his spirit be filled with joy if he does no
t know whether God is going to accept his acts of fasting, praying and his almsg
iving or not? Therefore, all Muslims suffer from fear because whatever they do o
f good deeds, their hearts will constantly be subjected to fear, according to th
e Qur anic text and the interpretation of Muhammad himself.
We do not find among the chapters of the Qur an and their verses one clear verse w
hich offers a life of joy. There is no love and joy. Of course, we do not hear m
elodies of rejoicing bursting out of the hearts and mouths of the Muslim worship
pers who gather in the mosques, but rather you see grim faces, especially those
who are the most devout and those who are the most acquainted with the fundament
als of their religion, the interpretation of the Qur anic verses and Muhammad s expo
sitions. The reason is because they are not sure of what to expect after death.
The future of their eternal life is obscure and their God does not guarantee the
m anything.
The first person we quote is Abu Bakr Al Sedik, who said that there is no certai
nty with God. Abu Bakr (the first Caliph) is regarded by all Muslims as one of t
he best Muslims if not the best. Even Muhammad acknowledged that Abu Bakr Al Sed
ik was the closest to him. Therefore, the Muslims elected him as caliph after th
e death of Muhammad. Abu Bakr always believed in Muhammad and in all that he utt
ered. He used to obey him blindly. When Muhammad suffered from a sickness which
caused his death, he ordered Abu Bakr to lead the Muslims in prayer. What did Ab
u Bakr Al Sedik say about God?
"I swear to God that I do not feel safe from God s cunning (deceitfulness) eve
n if one of my feet is already inside paradise" (refer to the successors of the
Apostle, Khalid Muhammad Khalid, page 114).
What a striking acknowledgment uttered by Abu Bakr the caliph of the Muslims and
the father of A isha, wife of Muhammad! "I do not feel safe from God s cunning even
if one of my feet is already inside paradise". Maybe God would deceive him and
push that foot outside of paradise because He changed His mind. There is no othe
r meaning of this statement. This is not surprising, O, Abu Bakr, because the Go
d of Islam and Muhammad as well as of the Qur an, as you well know, does not besto
w on the believer any assurance concerning eternity. He is not at all the God of
the Christian revelation whom we know and experience, enjoying His love with whom
we have a personal relationship based on spiritual love because He is our heave
nly father.
When we ponder the life of both Rabi a al- Adawiyya and Hasan al-Basri who both are
renowned among Muslim circles so that students used to come from all of the Isla
mic world to learn from them and to receive instruction, we find that both of th
em lived in fear of God. Dr. Su ad Abdul-Razzak says:
"Rabi a al- Adawiyya asked al-Hasan al-Basri and said to him, What does a scholar
say when asked, "If I die and the people are called in the day of resurrection
(to be divided in two groups), one group to go to paradise and the other to be s
ent to hell, in which group will I be?" He said to her, "This is concealed, and
nobody knows what is concealed except God"" (p. 44).
On page 87, we also read that whenever death was mentioned in the presence of Ra
bi a al- Adawiyya, she would shiver and faint. On pages 84 and 85 of the same book,
we read:
"Rabi a al- Adawiyya s life bore the stamp of sadness and fear; and Hasan al-Basri
was heading the group of the fearful devout. Sadness dominated his life. He inc
reasingly (spent his time) in mourning. He made mourning a norm for all people.
He used to believe that the Qur an is the key to permanent sadness. He was accusto
med to saying, O, son of Adam, I swear to God, if you had read the Qur an and belie
ved in it, your sadness would have been prolonged, and your fear would have been
stronger. You mourning in the world would have been excessive. The people of Bas
ra said about him, Every time we see him, he looks as if calamity has recently be
fallen him."
We have to remember that al-Hasan al-Basri received his religious education from
the companions (refer to "Itqan", part 4, page 21l). Those people understood Is
lam and they knew that the Qur an is the key to abiding sadness. Whoever reads it
and believes it will be subject to ever-increasing sadness, fear and mourning.
On the other hand, the word Gospel, which we will discuss later, means "glad tid
ings" and "good news" which makes people full of joy, happiness and abiding peac
e.
These are living examples drawn from the lives of Rabea al- Adawiyya, al-Hasan al-
Basri and Abu Bakr Al Sedik who said when resurrection, paradise, and hell were
mentioned in his presence, "I wish I were a tree eaten by an animal; I wish I ha
d never been born" (refer to Jalalan, page 45 1). This is the same Abu Bakr who
remarked, "I do not feel safe from God s cunning."
But, there is more than that about God in the Qur an. God is depicted in the Qur an
as if He purposed the destruction of all people. He says, for example, "I indeed
will fill hell with both people and jinn." In another verse, He indicates:
"And if your lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed toget
her" (Yunis: 99).
On the other hand, the Gospel declares clearly that God does will that all peopl
e be saved. God is not the cause for the eternal damnation of any man. He does n
ot will that. God forbid! The only reason for man s eternal damnation is his own r
ebellious will and his unrepentant heart. This fact is repeated dozens of times
in the Gospel.
This is contrary to the Qur an which indicates that God does not will the salvatio
n of all people. Had He willed it, then all who inhabited the earth would have b
elieved in Him. Such a God is not the God whom Jesus Christ proclaimed to us.
In addition to the above, the Qur an presents God to us a God who plots against ma
n to destroy him. If you do not believe it, turn with me to the Qur an to read a q
uotation from the "Chapter of the Isra" ("The Night Journey") 17:16:
"And when we would destroy a township, we send commandment to its folk who l
ive a life of ease and afterwards they commit abomination therein, and so the wo
rd of doom has its effect and we annihilate with complete annihilation."
The reader should notice that God did not eradicate the town because it was fill
ed with so much wickedness that He found himself obliged to destroy it against H
is will. Rather the Compassionate, the Merciful God purposed and determined to a
nnihilate it. Therefore, He laid down a very well planned plot. He ordered its s
umptuous residents to live a licentious life, thus it becomes subject to damnati
on. He ordered its affluent residents to commit debauchery! What a holy order!
Lastly, we say that God has disclosed his heart s desire when He referred to hell
in the chapter Mariam: 71. He said, "Not one of you but will pass through it." P
eople asked whether this verse refers to the wicked or includes all men; and wha
t does the phrase passing through it mean? In "Itqan" (part 4, page 237), the Suyu
ti tells us that Muhammad himself has answered this question and said:
"There is no righteous or debaucher who would not enter hell."
We do not understand the reasoning which causes God to send even the righteous t
o hell. Then the verse continues, "But we (God) shall save those who guarded aga
inst evil."
Sheikh Kishk asserts Suyuti s claim that Muhammad said that all people (the righte
ous and the debaucher) will "pass through it" or "enter it" (refer to "Legal Opi
nions", part 6, page 41). This is the God of the Qur an, my dear reader. He is ind
eed a fearful God who cannot be trusted; who wills and plans to annihilate peopl
e to fill hell with them. He is a God with whom nobody can feel safe, even the m
ost devout person (like Abu Bakr) lest He does not accept him as Muhammad said.
This is the acknowledgment of many great Muslims who experience this fear in the
ir relationship with God and according to what they understood from Muhammad and
the Qur an.
What a difference between this God and the God of the Gospel which was said of H
im:
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinner
s, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Third: Content of Paradise
Since we have alluded to eternal life, it is appropriate to examine the image of
paradise in the Qur an. What did Muhammad say about Paradise? How it was depicted
in the Qur an in clear verses? Paradise in the Qur an is a place full of beautiful
women and seducing virgins, grapes, and pomegranates. Yes, it is a place filled
with fruits, meats, wine and honey for everlasting feasts. Also its inhabitants
wear silk and splendid clothes. This is the picture of paradise which is present
ed to us by the Qur an, Muhammad, and most of the former and later Muslim scholars
.
It is feasible here to cite one example from among the dozens of Qur anic verses w
hich give us an accurate description of the Qur anic paradise (refer to the follow
ing chapters and verses: 47:15, 87:31-33 [sic, perhaps 78:31-34], 56:35-37,56:22
-23, 36:55-56, 55:56, 37:41-49).
Of course, the expounders agree on the interpretation of these verses. Refer, fo
r instance, to the Jalalan (page 328), or any other commentary you like. In chap
ters 68:31-33 and 55:56, we are presented with the houris, who are assigned to f
ulfill men s sexual pleasures. These houris are always virgins. Their sexual relat
ionship with men does not affect their virginity. Every time men approach them,
they find them always virgins. Their breasts are not hanging down loose. They ar
e always firm. They do not age beyond thirty-three years of age. They are white
with black, wide, charming eyes. Their skin is smooth. Women who died old on ear
th will be re-created virgins for the enjoyment of men. Read the following comme
ntaries Al Glalan (p. 328, pp. 451-453, p. 499), Al Baydawy (pp. 710, 711, 781), A
l Zumakhary (part 4, pp. 690,453, 459-462).
This is Muhammad s own description of Paradise (refer to the commentary of the Ba
ydawi, pp. 710, 711 and 781; the Zamakh-shari in Kash-shaf , part 4, pp. 453, 459-4
62, and 690; and the Jalalan, pp. 451-453, 499). You may also refer to any other
major commentary because all Muslim expositors re-iterate the same thing. But a
s we read chapter Yasin: 55-56, we encounter some strange and shameful matters:
"Lo those who merit Paradise this day are happily employed (working) they an
d their wives, in pleasant shade, on thrones reclining."
Ibn Abbas himself acknowledged that their business is to deflower the virgins (refe
r to Zamakh-shari, part 4, page 21; Jalalan, page 372, and "Women of the Paradis
e" by Muhammad Abu al- Abbas, page 54). This is the mission of the believers in pa
radise.
Is it any wonder that many people embrace Islam seeking to enjoy this imaginary
paradise by which Muhammad deceived the Arabs, thus they entered God s religion by
groups? Arabs sought this alluring life in the desert. They missed the fruit, p
ure water, fresh milk, beautiful white women whose skin is not browned by the he
at of the desert sun. This is paradise as it is depicted in the Qur an.
In his book, "Legal Opinions", Sheikh Sha rawi exposed Islam and Muhammad when he
said on page 36:
"The apostle of God was asked, Will we have sexual intercourse in paradise? He
said, Yes, I swear by the One who holds my soul in His hand that it will be a vi
gorous intercourse, and as soon as the man departs from her (the houri) she will
again become immaculate and virgin."
On page 148, the Sha rawi says:
"The apostle of God, Muhammad, said, Every morning one hundred virgins will b
e (the portion) of each man."
On page 448, he states that:
"The houris in paradise are white with big eyes."
He also indicates on pp. 265 and 266:
"Her (the houri, the virgin) two breasts are like the cone; that is, they ar
e not hanging loose."
On page 191, the Sha rawi says that if a woman got married to more than one man ei
ther because her husband died or she was divorced, she would be given the right
in paradise to choose one of them. Yet a man in paradise has the right to have d
ozens of the houris. It is not a secret that the Lord Christ (to Him be all glor
y), when He was asked the same question, said:
"You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in t
he resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angel
s of God in heaven" (Matthew 22).
In his "Legal Opinions" (part 6, page 42), Sheikh Kishk remarks:
But in the case of the houris, they are a blessed favor from God bestowed on
his servants who sincerely worshipped Him. They are added to the man s believing
women for his enjoyment, as the texts record. But concerning women, Muhammad sai
d, Any woman who believed in God and died before she was married, God will marry
her to the best of the devout."
When I singled out both Sheikh Sha rawi and Sheikh Kishk, I did so because of thei
r reputation as famous scholars whose knowledge in the fundamentals of Islam is
highly recognized and trusted by millions of Muslims all around the world.
In his famous book, "The Women of The People of Paradise; their Classifications,
and Beauty", Muhammad Ali Abu al- Abbas (a contemporary Muslim scholar) wrote abou
t one hundred pages in which he specified these matters in detail. This book is
a current book published in 1987. The author encourages young men to be practici
ng Muslims in order to acquire all the available women in paradise, food, drinks
, and clothes. On page 33, he himself says,
"We pray to God that He may grant us the pleasure of virgin women of paradis
e because the virgin has a sweeter mouth, and is more desirable in bed, than the
deflowered woman."
On page 41, he says that Muhammad, the apostle of God, said:
"Every man of the people of paradise is given the power of a hundred men for
eating, drinking, intercourse and sexual desire" (The Qurtubi in his book al-Ta
dhkira).
He also said that the apostle of God indicated that:
"Whoever wears silk on earth will never wear it in eternity; and whoever dri
nks wine on earth will never drink it in eternity" (page 40, also al-Qurtubi in
the al-Tadhkira).
The Tirmadhi also mentioned (part 7, page 161 of his book) that the apostle of G
od said:
"The martyr will be married to seventy-two wives of the houris. He has the r
ight to intercede for seventy of his relatives" (page 44).
Muhammad, the apostle of God, was asked about the meaning of the Qur ans words, "g
ood dwellings in paradise of Eden." Muhammad replied, "The dwellings are palaces
made of pearl. In each palace there are seventy mansions. In each mansion there
are seventy houses. In each house there is a bed. On each bed there are seventy
sheets of different colors. On each sheet there is a nymph wife (houri) and in
each house there are seventy tables, and on each table there are seventy kinds o
f food" (Volume 4, page 537 of "The Revival of Religious Science" The Ghazali).
These are quotations from Muhammad s sayings and interpretations. No wonder, then,
a Muslim wishes to fight against Christians and Jews (infidels) and die as a ma
rtyr in order to get married to seventy-two women.
In his Sahih (part 4, page 142; part 7, page 47, and part 9, page 50), the Bukha
ri records this incident in which Muhammad related to the Muslims that when he a
scended to Paradise on the back of the Buraq, he saw a beautiful, young girl bes
ide a palace. When he asked the angel about it, the angel answered, "The palace
and the girl are for Umar ibn al-Khattab." Muhammad turned away because he rememb
ered Umar s jealousy toward his women. When Muhammad related this incident to his c
ompanions, Umar started to cry, saying, "Would I feel jealous of you 0, the apost
le of God!" This is Muhammad who deceived his Arab people and promised them they
would be rewarded with houris (refer also to Sahih of Muslim, volume 5).

Some Ordinances and Laws of the Qur an and Islam

Pilgrimage Is A Pagan Practice
All Muslims agree that the practice of pilgrimage existed before the rise of Muh
ammad by hundreds of years. The people of Quraysh (along with pagan Arabs) were
accustomed to celebrating the pilgrimage. Even Muhammad himself did so before he
claimed to be a prophet. After he installed himself as the apostle of God, he a
nd his followers continued to perform the pilgrimage s rites with the polytheistic
pagans. He did not change many things (refer to Jawami al-Sira al-Nabawiyya "Pro
phet s Biography" by ibn Hazm, page 14. Also "Islam: A Creed and A Law" by the Ima
m Mahmud Shaltut, pp. 113-115).
Almost every major Islamic history book documents these facts. Even after the co
nquest of Mecca, the pilgrimage has become one of the pillars of Islam. Muhammad
banned the Arab polytheists from the Hajj after the year of the conquest. They
were given four months either to embrace Islam or be killed, as we stated in cha
pter one. After that, Muhammad made very slight changes in the ceremonial ritual
s of the pilgrimage although he destroyed all the idols of the Ka ba. Yet Muhammad
himself continued to practice many paganistic rituals. He did not abolish them
nor reject them. That created some consternation among his followers who expecte
d him to uproot these idolatrous rudiments.
Some Pagan Rituals
Muslims continued to practice some of the pre-Islamic, pagan rituals such as run
ning between the two hills of Safa and Marwa or kissing the Black Stone. In the
first case, Arab polytheists were accustomed to running between the two hills to
glorify the idols which they erected and called them Isaf and Na ila. When Muhamm
ad destroyed the idols, Muslims were ashamed to continue this practice, and aske
d Muhammad about it. Soon, he claimed that a Qur anic verse was given to him in wh
ich this practice was re-ordained. On page 33, of his commentary, the Baydawi sa
ys this in the course of his interpretation of chapter 2:158. Muslim scholars ge
nerally agree with the Baydawi (the Jalalan, page 22, Zamakh-shari in his "Kash-
shaf", part 1). The Bukhari, for instance, remarks:
"One of the companions said to Anas ibn Malik, Did you use to hate running be
tween the Safa and Marwa? He said, Yes, because it was part of the pre-Islamic rit
uals until God gave Muhammad this verse and proclaimed that it was also one of G
od s ceremonial rites" (refer to Sahih of al-Bukhari, volume 2, page 195).
We also read in the Sahih of Muslim:
"Adherents of the prophet, (when) they were still in the pre-Islamic period,
used to come up to visit two idols, Isaf and Na ila, then they would go and run b
etween Safa and Marwa, then they would have their hair cut. When Islam was estab
lished, they hated to run between them, but God sent down this verse (2:158), th
us they ran (between them)" (refer to Sahih of Muslim, volume 3, page 411).
Ibn Abbas himself said:
"The demons in the Jahiliyya used to circumnavigate all night around these t
wo mountains. The idols (were erected) between them. When Islam came, they (Musl
ims) said, O, apostle of God, we would never run between the Safa and Marwa becau
se this is an unfavorable matter which we were accustomed to do in the Jahiliyya
. Thus, God gave this verse" (refer to Asbab al-Nuzul by Suyuti, page 27).
So, this "unfavorable matter" was strongly related to idolatry, but even so, Muh
ammad refused to abolish it and several Qur anic verses were given to confirm it.
Muhammad himself performed it and Muslims are still practicing it today.
The Kissing of the Black Stone
This famous meteorite is one of the Ka ba s stones. The idolatrous were accustomed t
o worshipping it and kissing it. When Islam was established, Muhammad did not ab
olish this practice, but rather he himself performed it and commanded his follow
ers to do so, in spite of their surprise and objection. In his Sahih (part 2, pa
ge 183), al-Bukhari records a famous statement made by Umar ibn al-Khattab which
demonstrates the confusion of the Muslims. The Bukhari says:
"When Umar ibn al-Khattab reached the Black Stone, he kissed it and said, I kn
ow that you are a stone that does not hurt or benefit. If I had not seen the pro
phet kiss you, I would have not kissed you."
All scholars (ancient and contemporary) confirm that this statement is uttered b
y Umar (refer to Sahih of Muslim, volume 3, page 406, and "Islam: A creed and a L
aw" by Imam Shaltut, page 122). It is well known that Muslim pilgrims jostle aro
und to kiss it as Muhammad and his companions did before them. Because of such c
rowding, the pilgrims suffer a large number of serious casualties. Sheikh Sha rawi
says:
The kissing of the meteorite is a firm practice in Islamic law because Muhamm
ad did it. You must not ask about the wisdom behind that because this rite is (a
n expression) of worship in spite of the obscurity of its wisdom" (refer to "Leg
al Opinions", part 3, page 167).
This was his answer to the Muslim youths who asked, "What is the wisdom of kissi
ng the meteorite?"
Other Rituals Of Pilgrimage
To be brief, we state that in addition to the kissing of the meteorite and runni
ng between the Safa and Marwa, the Muslim pilgrim has to make the trip to mount A
rafa. Hundreds of thousands attempt to climb this mountain, but many suffer hard
ship which results in many casualties because they hasten toward it in a disorde
rly manner as they do when they jostle around the meteorite. Climbing this mount
ain is one of the most important rituals of the pilgrimage. Even Muhammad used t
o say, " Arafa is the Hajj (pilgrimage)." After that, they go to another mountain
called the Muzdalifa. Then, on the tenth day of the pilgrimage, they go to Mina
and they start casting pebbles. They also have their hair cut or shortened (havi
ng it cut is better) provided that the barber starts from the right side of the
head, because Muhammad did so. After that, they slay their sheep. Some prefer to
offer these sacrifices before the day of Mina because these sacrifices pile up
in Mina. Some are forced to donate money instead of sacrificing sheep contrary t
o the advice of Muslim scholars who believe that such acts abolish one of the ru
diments of the pilgrimage and create a dispute among Muslims. (Refer to "Rudimen
ts of the Hajj" by Imam Shaltute; Sahih of the Bukhari, part 2, Sahih of Muslim,
volume 3, and any other source about the rudiments of the Hajj.)
The Hajj (Pilgrimage) by Substitution
This may invoke the surprise of the reader, yet it is true and confirmed by Musl
im scholars who assert that Muhammad himself allowed the Hajj by substitution. I
n the Bukhari (part 2, page 163), it is recorded that a Muslim asked Muhammad if
it is possible to make the pilgrimage in lieu of his father. He said to him, "Y
es, make the pilgrimage in lieu of your father." In "Legal Opinions" of the Shei
kh al-Sha rawi, page 188, we read:
"A woman asked Muhammad the prophet if she could make the pilgrimage in lieu
of her mother who died before she was able to make the pilgrimage. He said to h
er, Yes, do so. He also allowed another man to make the pilgrimage in place of his
relative whose name was Bashrama."
When Sheikh Kishk was asked plaintively (part 3, page 113 of his "Legal Opinions
"), "Is it admissible for (a man) to make the pilgrimage in lieu of either a dea
d or a living person?" He answered, "Yes, it is admissible." Therefore, the pilg
rimage is not a personal worship, but an ordinance which a Muslim has to perform
, or (in some cases) have performed for him. It is worthwhile to note that fasti
ng, like pilgrimage, can be performed by substitution. Ibn Abbas relates that to
us:
"A man came to the prophet and told him this story: O apostle of God, my moth
er died without fulfilling her fasting, can I perform it in her place? The apostl
e of God asked him, In your view, if your mother had a debt, would you pay it for
her? He said, Yes. The prophet told him, The debt of God is more deserving of payme
nt" (refer to ibn Abbas, by Abdul- Aziz al-Sha nnawi, page 133).
Fasting, then, is a mere ritual which a Muslim has to perform even after death!
In the above-mentioned book, Muhammad said that:
"The Black Stone was whiter than milk when it descended (from heaven) but, t
he sins of children of Adam have blackened it" (refer to page 142).
The Rewards Of Pilgrimage
In the same previous source, ibn Abbas asserts that Muhammad used to say that the
pilgrim who rides his animal on his way to Mecca, gains seventy merits for ever
y step his animal makes. But, if he comes walking, he will gain seven hundred me
rits of the Sacred Mosque for every step he makes. It was asked of him, "What ar
e the merits of the Sacred Mosque?" He answered, "Every merit is equal to one hu
ndred thousand merits." We need not be surprised to see Muslims strive to perfor
m the pilgrimage and compete to kiss the black stone or climb the mount of Arafa
or to circumnavigate around the sacred sites of Mecca in order to obtain hundred
s of thousands of merits which will wipe out their misdeeds.

Ablution and Prayer

It is well known that every Muslim has to pray five times a day. These are memor
ized prayers and must be uttered in Arabic. Originally, according to the Islamic
Hadith and the testimony of Muhammad himself, God intended to impose on Muhamma
d and his followers praying fifty times a day instead of five, but Moses warned
him and urged him to go back and negotiate with God to reduce the number to five
. God approved that in the end. This incident took place during the time of the
Night Journey and the Ascension. Muhammad claimed that Gabriel the angel came to
him and made him ride an animal called the Buraq (an animal between a donkey an
d a mule). It took him first to Jerusalem, then to heaven where he experienced m
any things, among them the reduction of the number of prayers.
Most Muslim scholars, early and late, believe that Muhammad experienced this sup
ernatural event in flesh. A whole chapter was inspired in which the entire story
was recorded. It tells us how Muhammad traveled from Mecca to Jerusalem in a fe
w hours where he met all the prophets and led them in prayer, then he ascended t
o heaven on the back of this animal. Our main concern is to re-examine the story
of the reduction of the number of daily prayers. This incident is recorded in a
ll the reliable Islamic sources, among them, "The Prophetic Biography" by ibn Hi
sham (part 2, page 9), Al-Sira al-Halabiyya (volume 2, page 132), also in the Sa
hih of the Bukhari (part 1, page 98). The story tells us:
"The apostle of God said, Then I came back and passed by Moses who asked me,
"How many times a day does God require you to pray?" I said fifty prayers a day.
He said, "Prayers are a heavy (task) and your people are still weak. Go back to
your Lord and ask Him to lighten for you and for your people." I returned and a
sked my Lord (to do so). This matter was repeated several times until (God) impo
sed five prayers a day. Then I went back to Moses who told me the same as before
. I said to him, "I have already returned to Him (several times) and asked that.
I am embarrassed before Him, thus I am not going to (go back to Him)." So anyon
e who performs these five prayers will have the reward of fifty prayers" (refer t
o ibn Hisham).
Ablution With Water Or Sand
The Qur an says:
"If you find not water then go to clean high ground and rub your faces and y
our hands with some of it" (5:6).
Before every prayer, each Muslim has to perform his ablution with water; that is
, he has to wash his hands, feet, face and ears. If he does not find water he mu
st use sand ... yes, the sand of the desert. Don t think this is a printing error!
Without exception, all Muslim scholars confirm this because of that very famous
incident which happened to A isha, wife of Muhammad and led the angel to deliver
verse 6 of chapter 5. We spoke of this story earlier.
We do not understand this command. Is it cleansing or dirtying? Is this the reli
gion of purification as they claim? Yet, this practice is acknowledged by all Mu
slims, even a clear Qur anic verse alluding to it. The Bukhari set aside an entire
chapter to discuss it (refer to part 1, page 91). The prophet, as the Bukhari,
tells us, used to plunge his hands in the sand or wipe his face and palms with i
t (refer to part 1, page 93), and ordered his followers to do the same. The same
statement is found in the Sahih of Muslim (volume 1, page 663).
Indeed, ablution results in great reward, no matter if the ablution is performed
with water or sand. Muhammad said:
"Whoever performs the ablution, his sins will depart from his body, they eve
n come out from under his nails, and his former and later iniquities are forgive
n" (refer to the "Riyad of the Salihin" by Imam al-Nawawi as quoted from Sahih o
f Muslim, chapter "The Merits of Ablution," page 312).
The Ablution Spoiled and The Prayer Made Void
This is a very important matter because it shows that prayer in Islam is not a p
ersonal relationship and a loving conversation between man and his God, as is ma
nifested in Christianity. It is a mere ritual and the fulfillment of an order.
Would the reader imagine that if a Muslim has performed the rites of ablution an
d bathing and is almost through with his prayer that this prayer will be nullifi
ed and his remuneration will be taken away, if a donkey, or a dog or a woman pas
ses in front of him? He has to bathe or to perform the ablution anew and to repe
at the prayers. We wonder and ask, "What does it mean to have the prayer invalid
ated? Has his conversation with God been erased? Are not prayers a conversation
with God, being in His holy presence in full submission of the heart and mind? W
hat does it mean that he has to repeat his prayer? Are prayers just uttering mem
orized words, or are they heartfelt fellowship? What effect does a dog or a donk
ey or a woman have if any of them passes in front of the worshipper?"
Muhammad says that the prayer will be defiled and invalidated. We have already a
lluded in chapter two of this book to the references related to this subject in
the context of our discussion of the status of women in Islam. We also stated A is
ha s answer to the prophet s companions when they pointed to this issue after they v
owed that they heard those words from the lips of Muhammad. She told them, "You
have equated us with a dog and a donkey." Yet, what is significant for us here,
is that prayers in Islam are external practice and not internal worship. They ar
e outward bearing, not essence.
Muhammad assures us that there is another reason for nullifying the ablution, th
at is breaking wind. Can the reader imagine that? In his Sahih, the Bukhari assu
res us that Muhammad made these statements while he was talking about ablution (
refer to part 1, page 46). He said:
"The Apostle of God said, God does not accept the prayer of one who breaks wi
nd until he performs the ablution anew."
We don t see why some gases nullify ablution and prayer!
We have already mentioned that anyone who touches a woman s hand after ablution, h
as to perform it again even if he spent five minutes in carrying out this ritual
.
Certain Times In Which Prayer Is Forbidden
Muhammad forbade Muslims from praying to God at sunrise or sunset, that is, from
dawn until sunrise or afternoon until sunset. If you ask for the reason, the pr
ophet of the Muslims tells you, "Satan at this time brings his head closer to th
e sun so those prostrate to it become infidels." All these strange things are co
nfirmed by Muhammad s followers (refer to Sahih of Muslim, volume 2, pp. 476-486 u
nder the title, "The Times in which Praying is Forbidden").
We do not understand these things because Christ taught us in the Gospel that we
ought to pray all the time. Also we read, "Pray without ceasing." It is permiss
ible for the believer to pray anytime he wishes. He can enter his own room and c
lose the door to pray to his Heavenly Father as Christ commanded us. Yet, Muhamm
ad forbade the Muslims to pray at particular times such as sunrise or sunset bec
ause Satan brings his head close to the sun during these times!
Reward And Punishment Regarding Friday Praying
One Friday, Muhammad was addressing the Muslims. A caravan of camels arrived fro
m Syria and most of the audience left him except for twelve men. Thus, a Qur anic
verse was given which says, "Whenever they had (an opportunity) for trade or ent
ertainment, they hastened to it and left you standing alone" (refer to Sahih of
Muslim, volume 2, page 514). Thus, Muhammad promised many great rewards for thos
e who pray the Friday prayer. Ibn Abbas quotes Muhammad as saying:
"Bathing on Friday atones for sins, and walking to the mosque (on Friday) is
like working twenty years. If the Muslim completes the Friday prayer, he will r
eceive a reward equal to one hundred years of work" (refer to ibn Abbas by Abdul- Az
iz al-Shannawi, page 121).
What a strange claim !
It is also recorded in Sahih of Muslim, volume 2, page 510:
"Whoever performed the ablution, then attended the Friday prayers and listen
ed (to the sermon), all his sins he would commit between that Friday and the fol
lowing Friday would be forgiven including three more days."
What an easy way to obtain forgiveness!
But the one who neglects prayers is regarded as an apostate, and must be killed
if he does not repent as we mentioned in chapter one. This is related to us by M
uslim scholars such as ibn Hazm, ibn Timiyya, Imam al-Shafi i and Malik, on the au
thority of Muhammad who said so. But Imam Abu Hanifa, who was more merciful than
the rest, said, "He must not be killed, but should be beaten and thrown in jail
until he prays, otherwise, he must be continuously beaten until he prays even i
f his beating results in his unintentional death." In regard to this subject, th
e Azhar scholars have published many important statements ascribed to Muhammad i
n the Egyptian Magazine, "The Liwa al-Islami", issue of 12/31/1987. They claim th
at Muhammad said:
"The one who neglects to pray will die thirsty, hungry, humiliated and his g
rave will become so narrow that it will press his ribs tight until they break. A
snake called the Bald Brave will be set on him to beat him in the grave until he
plunges into the ground seventy cubits. Then, (the snake) will pull him by his f
ace to the fire of hell."
Are these not meaningless words uttered by Muhammad?
The irony is that these great scholars have believed and accepted these claims.
Yet, what makes it worse is that the one who abandons his prayers is subject to
death, or in the best case, he will be beaten and jailed. Some scholars quoted M
uhammad, saying:
"Whoever neglects part of the prayer will complete them after his death on a
mountain of fire."

Some Statutes And Penalties Of Islamic Law

The Penalty Of The Thief
Islamic law is very clear about this crime. It says that a thief s hand must be cu
t off. This sentence is based on an explicit Qur anic text which says:
"As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is the rewa
rd of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah." (Refer to chapter "T
he Table": 38.)
All legists confirm that Muhammad has endorsed this penalty. They all quote his
statement:
"A hand is cut off if he steals (anything) that costs one-fourth of a dinar
and over. May God curse the thief. If he steals an egg, his hand must be cut off
, or if he steals a rope, his hand must be cut off" (refer to Sahih of the Bukha
ri, part 8, pp. 199-201).
On these same pages, the Bukhari assures us that A isha, Muhammad s wife, and the re
st of his companions have said that Muhammad used to cut off a thief s hand if he
stole a shield which cost three dirhams (refer to Sahih of Muslim, volume 4, pag
e 258 and on; ibn Timiyya, volume 8, page 331, ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in Zad of
al-Ma ad, part 5, page 49; The Baydawi, page 149; The Jalalan, page 93, and the Za
makh-shari in the Kash-shaf, part 1, page 612).
The Azhar scholars have been very explicit about this. In "The Statute of Legal
Penalties", we turn to page 5 to read:
"A person found guilty of theft shall be punishable as follows: 1 - amputati
on of the right hand for the first offense, 2 - amputation of the left foot for
the second offense, 3 -imprisonment till the time of evident repentance for subs
equent offenses."
On the same page, the Azhar scholars remark that there are cases in which the pe
nalty is not to be carried out. These cases are:
"When theft occurs in a public place during its hours of activity or in a pl
ace to which the culprit had free access unless stolen property is found in his
possession."
In his book, "Zad of the Ma ad" (part S, page 50), ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya says tha
t the embezzler and the thief who steals fruit are not subject to the penalty of
the Islamic law. He adds that Muhammad had commanded that they drop the penalty
against them.
There are two illogical elements in this Islamic law concerning the penalty of t
he thief.
Muhammad s claim that the embezzler or the thief who robs public property, are not
subject to the penalty, is meaningless. There is no law in any country of the w
orld which endorses such an unjust, irrational, and illogical statement. Why sho
uld an embezzler not be punished? We do not find any answer for that.
Why should a father not be punished if he robs his son? It is possible that the
son is a diligent person who is responsible for his wife and children while his
father is a reckless and extravagant man who wastes his money on his own pleasur
es. Why then should he and other relatives who rob their own kin, not be punishe
d? When Muhammad said to someone, "You and your property belong to your father,"
he was stating a meaningless verdict because each person lives an independent l
ife and has his own distinctive entity.
What about the larceny of the public property? It is evident that the thief must
be punished. This is the opinion of the Imam Malik, but all other scholars disa
gree with him on the basis of Muhammad s deeds and sayings. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya
tells us that Muhammad issued an order in which he dropped the penalty against
the plunderer, the embezzler, and the traitor of the trust (refer to part 5, pag
e 50).
Obviously, the relentlessness of Islamic law and Muhammad s attitude are evident.
Is it reasonable that a man s hand is not worth more than a quarter of a dinar, or
three dirhams, or an egg? Would it not be more fair that the punishment be in p
roportion to the crime? Should Muhammad cut off the hand of a man whether he ste
als an egg or a shield? What logic or sensible person would accept that? Is it f
air that a person be disabled to work or to be productive and inflicted with a p
ermanent handicap because of such a simple matter? Also, does he have the right
to replace it with an artificial hand or not? Contemporary scholars disagree on
this problem.
More than that, it was Muhammad s habit to cut off the thief s hand and to hang it a
round his neck to make an example of him, to humiliate him, and as a warning to
other people (refer to ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in Zad of al-Ma ad, part 5, pp. 52,
56). Ibn al-Jawziyya also mentioned that Muhammad ordered the death of a thief a
fter he stole for the fifth time (part 5, page 56).
Moving Stories
The following famous moving stories are recorded by most Muslim scholars. One is
a story of a woman who was accustomed to borrowing things and failing to return
them. So, Muhammad cut off her hand in spite of the intercession of his compani
ons (refer to the Bukhari, part 8, page 199). Another story related by the major
ity of the scholars who said:
"A man stole the gown of Safwan while he was in the mosque. Safwan, who was
one of Muhammad s famous companions, arrested him and brought him to Muhammad. Muh
ammad ordered his hand to be cut off. Safwan shouted with surprise, Because of my
gown you cut off his hand? I give it to him free. Muhammad said to him, That woul
d only have been possible before you brought him to me. Muhammad ordered his hand
to be cut off immediately" (refer to ibn Timiyya, volume 28, page 311; ibn Qayy
im al-Jawziyya, part 5, page 51 of Zad of the Ma ad).
Is it fair, then, after Safwan has given up his gown and presented it to the thi
ef as a gift, that Muhammad still cut off the thief s hand instead of reducing his
punishment? What does it matter if Safwan did that before he brought the thief
to Muhammad or afterward? He waived his right, what more is needed? If someone c
laims that this is God s right and the cutting off of the hand is a must, then the
question is, why did Muhammad tell Safwan that waiving of punishment would have
been possible before he brought him before Muhammad? What eccentric behavior!
If somebody steals a gown or an egg, they cut off his hand, but the one who loot
s public property and embezzles the state s treasury is not subjected to the punis
hment. This is iniquitous law devoid of rationale and fairness!
Other Strange Things
Islam allows the beating of the accused, if he acts suspiciously. Muhammad himse
lf whipped and jailed a defendant before the charge was proven true against him
(refer to ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, part 5, page 56). Such a practice is left in t
he hands of the plaintiff who decides whether to request the whipping of the sus
pect or not. But if the plaintiff demanded the beating of the suspect and it was
proven that he was innocent, then the plaintiff (the owner of the stolen proper
ty) would be beaten. Muhammad himself did so and told the accusers, "If you wish
me to beat them (the suspects), I will do so, and if your property is found wit
h them, then let it be. Otherwise, I will flog your backs as I flogged their bac
ks." They asked him, "Is this your verdict?" He said, "(It is) God s verdict and H
is apostle s" (refer to ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, part 5, pp. 52, 53, under the titl
e, "Testing the Suspect by Beating Him ).
We do not believe that this is God s decree as Muhammad claims because God does no
t punish a man before he is proven guilty. Neither God nor a free, just society
would accept this. Such abuse is the reason behind the torture inflicted on the
defendants in the Arabic and Islamic countries in order to force them to confess
to crimes they never committed. What an intolerant law, an unforgiving religion
... and an unmerciful prophet!
The Drunkard
The punishment of the drunkard is to be flogged forty times, and to be killed if
he is arrested drunk for the fourth time. This is according to Islamic law and
to actions and sayings of Muhammad. In the book of "A Proposal For The Law Of Le
gal Penalties" which was published by the Azhar (page 27), we read:
"Whipping is approved by a saying of the prophet, peace be on him, narrated
by Abu Daud and others, Whip those who drink wine."
This same book describes (page 8) the flogging procedure as follows:
"The punishment of whipping shall be inflicted by means of a knotless whip o
f medium length and a single tip after stripping the convict of such clothing as
may prevent pain to the body. Strokes must be divided all over the body; regard
ing women, the strokes may only be on her back and shoulders."
It is very evident that the Islamic Tradition has a significant role in the impl
ementation of Islamic Law since it records all the sayings and the deeds of Muha
mmad. It explained, interpreted and demonstrated some essential elements of wors
hip which the Qur an either did not deal with, or was brief. Because of its role,
the Hadith s books (Sahih of Bukhari, Sahih of Muslim and other books which collec
ted or recorded the Islamic Tradition) occupy a very important place in Islam. M
ost of these traditions are handed down to us by Muhammad s companions, his wives A is
ha in particular as well as others who lived around Muhammad.
Without the information we obtain from the Traditions, it would be impossible to
construct a detailed system of worship, procedure of pilgrimage, list of unlawf
ul food, or laws of inheritance. Many of the religious penalties, such as the pu
nishment of the drunkard, the punishment of the married adulterer, are not menti
oned in the Qur an but uttered by Muhammad (refer to the "History of the Islamic L
aw" by Dr. Ahmad Shalabi, pp. 142-153). Dr. Shalabi asserts that the Islamic Tra
dition is a basic source of Islamic law, not because it explains new ordinances
which are not mentioned in the Qur an only, but also because in it Muhammad expoun
ded the Qur anic verses and the reasons for their revelation. All contemporary sch
olars agree with Dr. Shalabi.
Let us now examine the implementation of the penal code on the drunkard as it is
recorded in the Sahih of the Bukhari which is regarded by all scholars as the m
ost important book about Islamic Tradition.
Beating with Brutality and Savagery
In his book, part 8, pp. 196, 197, the Bukhari says:
"The prophet s custom was to beat the drunkard with palm branches and sandals.
When a drunkard was brought to him, he ordered his companions to beat him with
their hands, sandals and robes. One of Muhammad s companions by the name of al-Sa ib
ibn Yazid says, We used to bring the drunkard before the apostle of God and duri
ng the caliphate of Abu Bakr and in the first stage of the caliphate of Umar, and
we would beat him with our hands, sandals and robes. During the last part of Uma
r s caliphate, he ordered us to flog him eighty times" (refer to ibn Timiyya, volum
e 28, page 336; and the book of the Sunna and its Significance, by Dr. M. Yusuf,
page 29).
What brutality to see Muhammad and his followers rise against the drunkard to be
at him altogether at the same time with their sandals and hands with the poor ma
n agonizing in the middle. Later, during the last days of Umar, the penalty of th
e drunkard was eighty lashes and not forty. Likewise, Ali ibn Abi Talib sometimes
used to lash the drunkard either forty times or eighty. It is no secret that Mu
hammad really did whip anyone who drank even a drop of any intoxicating drink. Y
es, even one drop! This was confirmed by all the scholars when Muhammad was aske
d about wine as a medicine. He said, "No, it is its own malady and can never be
a remedy" (refer to ibn Timiyya, volume 28, page 339, and Sahih of Muslim, volum
e 4, page 666).
More Than Flogging
This is true, because Muhammad said, "If someone drinks wine, lash him, if he dr
inks again, lash him, if he drinks for the third time, lash him, but if he drink
s for the fourth time, kill him" (refer to ibn Timiyya, volume 28, page 336).
On page 347, ibn Timiyya tells us that:
"Some people came to Muhammad and told him, We use a drink made of wheat to p
rotect us against the cold of our country. Muhammad said, If it intoxicates (you),
 shun it. He was told that the people would not relinquish it. Muhammad said, If t
hey do not relinquish it, then kill them."
So, the penalty was (and still is) to lash and even kill anyone who drinks any i
ntoxicating drink, even if it is used moderately or in a small amount as a prote
ction against cold.
What a law! If somebody steals an egg or anything which costs a quarter of a din
ar, they cut off his hand. If that is repeated for five times, they kill him. If
someone drinks even one drop of wine, they brutally beat him with sandals, palm
branches, and hands. If he repeats that four times, they kill him.
Despite that they tell us this is the justice and the wisdom of Islamic law. The
y also tell us that Islam is the religion of forgiveness, and Muhammad is the pr
ophet of mercy. Can we believe that the one who hangs the amputated hand of the
thief around his neck, then orders his followers to parade him around, is the pr
ophet of mercy? Such an act makes our bodies quiver, our souls feel disgusted an
d our free consciences rebel, especially if the defendant was punished before he
was proven guilty as Muhammad said and did.

Is the Qur'an Written in Pure Arabic?

Foreign Words and Poor Grammar Disprove a Quranic Claim
Among Muslim claims for the Qur'an, the purity of the Arabic within the Quranic
text is pointed to as a strong proof that the Qur'an was given as direct revelat
ion from Allah. This is understood both in the sense of its being written solely
in the Qurayshi-dialect of Arabic (the dialect of Mecca and surrouding areas) a
nd thus free from foreign influences, and also in the sense of being perfect in
its grammar and poeticity. The primary proof-text pointed to so as to prove this
thesis is Surah 16:103,
"We know indeed that they say, "It is a man that teaches him." The tongue of
him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while this is Arabic, pure and c
lear." (16:103, Yusuf Ali translation)
Thus, this verse is addressing the challenge which early opponents of Mohammed h
ad made against his preaching and claims of revelation, which was that he was re
ceiving training and assistance in his work from a human guide and instructor. T
he verse pointedly addresses both of the issues mentioned above when it mentions
that the unnamed human source claimed for Mohammed's revelations is "notably fo
reign", that is, widely known to be unskilled in the Arabic language (or at leas
t the Qurayshi dialect). The proof of Mohammed's revelation is that the Arabic o
f the Qur'an is perfect and pure Arabic, free of foreign influences and lacking
in errors which would suggest an imperfect human source. This claim is represent
ed well by Ali below:
"The wicked attribute to Prophets of Allah just such motives and springs of
action as they themselves would be guilty of in such circumstances. The Pagans a
nd those who were hostile to the revelation of Allah in Islam could not and cann
ot understand how such wonderful words could flow from the tongue of the Holy Pr
ophet. They must postulate some human teacher. Unfortunately for their postulate
, any possible human teacher they could think of would be poor in Arabic speech
if he had all the knowledge that the Qur'an reveals of previous revelations. Apa
rt from that, even the most eloquent Arab could not, and cannot, produce anythin
g of the eloquence, width, and depth of Quranic teaching, as if evident from eve
ry verse of the Book (Cf. 41:44).1
Indeed, the general understanding of commentators at this point, both Muslim and
non-Muslim, has been just this: the purity and perfection of the Quranic Arabic
proves it to be above human ability to produce or reproduce. The prevailing Mus
lim view is that the Arabic of the Qur'an is perfect because Arabic is the langu
age of heaven, and thus revelation handed down from Allah to his final messenger
Mohammed will necessarily be in flawless Arabic as well. So the question then b
ecomes one of whether or not the Qur'an stands up to scrutiny directed toward th
is claim.
First, let us examine the purity of the Arabic from the perspective of vocabular
y. In his groundbreaking work, Alphonse Mingana demonstrated that rather a large
number of words used in the Qur'an, both religious and common, are derived from
Syraic, a liturgical language used in Eastern Christian churches around the tim
e of Mohammed (and even today), which originated from the pre-Hellenistic lingua
franca, Aramaic. The Syraic influence in the time of Mohammed was strong throug
hout the Near East, especially in Syria and Palestine, which Mohammed had been t
o as a caravaner prior to his assuming the prophetship of Islam. Among the relig
ious terms found in the Qur'an which are attributed to Syraic origin 2 can be fo
und (Note - the Arabic terms are undeclined):
* kaahin (52:29, 69:42) - from khn', Syraic "priest", in the sense of a paga
n soothsayer or diviner
* masiih. (3:45, etc.) - from mshyh.', Syraic "the Christ", analogous to the
Hebrew Mashioch
* qissiis (5:85) - from qshysh', Syraic "Christian priest"
* furqaaan (2:50) - from pwrqn', Syraic "salvation"
* rabbaanii (3:73, 5:48, 5:68) - from rbn', Syraic "perceptor, doctor"
* qiyaama (2:85, 2:113, numerous times) - from qymt', Syraic "resurrection"
* ruuh. al-qudus (16:102) - from rwh. qwdsh', Syraic "Holy Spirit"
Mingana also furnishes a review of non-religious words, uncommon in Arabic but v
ery common in Syraic, which also found their way into the Qur'an from Syraic inf
luences. Included among these are:3
* Qur'an (4:85, numerous times) - from qryn', Syriac technical term for "scr
iptural lesson" or "reading"
* muhaymin (57:12, etc.) - from mhymn', Syraic for "the faithful"
* nuun (21:87) - a title for Jonah (Yunus), from nwn', Syraic for "fish"
* tuur (20:80) - from t.wr', Syraic for "mountain"
In addition to Syraic, Dr. Mingana also discerned foreign words introduced into
the Quranic vocabulary from Ethiopic, Persian, and Greek (all of which would hav
e had representative influences in the Hijaz during Mohammed's time). While Ming
ana's work is somewhat dated now, and not every one of his claimed Syraic influe
nces on the Qur'an seem plausible today4, his work was an important step in delv
ing the foreign influences upon the Quranic evolution, and in the main, remains
foundational to this day.
Anis Shorrosh, a Palestinian Christian and native Arabic speaker, has also detai
led a number of foreign words (excluding proper, personal names here) which exis
t in the Quranic text5:
* taboot, taghout, zakat, malakout - Syriac
* heber, sakinah, maoon, turat, jehannim - Hebrew
* firdaus, sirat, hoor - Persian
* injil - a bastardisation of the Greek, eua(n)ggelion
As such, both Western scholars and native Arabs alike give evidence to a fairly
great contingent of foreign words in this supposedly "pure" Arabic revelation. T
his is in spite of the fact, as Shorrosh points out, that there are perfectly fi
ne native Arabic words which could have been used interchangeably. It is importa
nt to note that these words are not loan-words which entered the Arabic language
at some distant point in the past, and gradually became genuinely Arabic. Rathe
r, they are recent introductions whose origins are often quite easily traced to
foreign influences being felt in Arabia at the time of Mohammed. The existence o
f these foreign words in the Quranic text would seem to point towards a fair amo
unt of outside influence upon Mohammed during his composition of the Qur'an. Eac
h of these languages were used by groups which had strong commercial, cultural,
religious, and military influence over the Hijaz and nearby areas of the Arabian
peninsula, so it is unsurprising (especially given the amount of Christian, Jud
aic, and Parsi influence demonstratably evident in the stories of the Qur'an) th
at these groups would have influenced Mohammed through their earlier, individual
dealings with him.
Concerning the Arabic grammar of the Qur'an, examination has also shown it to be
imperfect in places. Rather than transgress into the mechanics of a language in
which I am as yet a mere dabbler, I will simply provide a list compiled by othe
rs more knowledgeable than myself, and direct the reader to their essay which co
vers the grammatical points in detail. Rafiqul-Haqq and Newton demonstrate in th
eir foundational essay that the readings given below are errors in the Quranic A
rabic grammar, and provide corrected readings based upon accepted rules of Class
ical Arabic grammar6:
* In 2:177, there are actually FIVE grammatical errors:
o 'aaman should read tu'minuu
o 'aata shoud be tu'tuu
o 'aqaama should be tuqimuu
o 'aata shoud be tu'tuu
o saabiriina should be saabiruuna
* The yakuun in 3:59 should read kana
* The muqiimiin in 4:162 should read muqiimuun
* The Saabi'uuna in 5:69 should read Saabi'iina
* The qaribun in 7:56 should read qaribah
* The asbatan in 7:160 should read sebtan
* The 'asarru in 21:3 should read 'asarra
* The 'ikhtasamuu in 22:19 should read 'ikhtasamaa
* The ta'e'een in 41:11 should read be ta'e'atain
* The 'eq-tatalu in 49:9 should read 'eqtatalata
* The 'akun in 63:10 should read 'akuuna
* The ma in 91:5 should read man
* The haazaani in 20:63 should read haazayn
The last of the above corrections is of special interest. Rafiqul-Haqq and Newto
n's argument on this point involves the use of the word inna in the manner state
d by them in their article,
"The word haazaani was declined incorrectly because the word inna in the beg
inning of the nominal sentence causes a form of declension called "nasb" to the
nominative and the "yeh" is the "sign of nasb". This is the third grammatical er
ror.
Having previously considered this correction to be spurious because of the curre
nt reading of in that appears in the Qur'an instead of inna, I had abstained fro
m including it on the list above. In response to a Muslim pushback, Rafiqul-Haqq
and Newton have provided solid evidence from several classical Muslim sources f
or the appearance of inna in the older texts of the Qur'an. Their research demon
strates, then, TWO problems with the text of the Qur'an. First, the positive evi
dence that the present reading of in found in 20:63 is itself a corruption of th
e text. Second, their original claim of grammatical error in this ayah is vindic
ated because the older reading demonstrates the original problem which they had
previously explained. As such, I have elected to include 20:63 into the list of
errors, and invite the reader to review the evidence they provide which is linke
d above.
Muslim apologists have attempted rebuttal to the above information, usually by s
tarting with the charactre assassination of Rafiqul-Haqq and Newton, and then pr
oceeding on to defence of Quranic grammar through question-begging and the prese
ntation of unsupported grammatical counterarguments. Lest one be tempted to supp
ose that greater credence be lent to Muslim counterarguers based upon the fact t
hat they are Muslims, and thus supposedly more knowledgable of Arabic, a few thi
ngs need to be kept in mind. Being a Muslim in no wise means that a person knows
Arabic. The large majority of Muslims do not know this language. They may hear
the Qur'an read in Arabic every Friday, but this does not necessarily mean they
understand what they are hearing - many, perhaps most, do not.
Further, despite the sometime Muslim glorification of the Arabic language, it is
a language no different or more difficult than any other - in fact, it is LESS
difficult than languages in many non-Semitic linguistic groups (try comparing it
to, say, Chinese or German). There is no reason at all why a non-Arab, non-Musl
im scholar could not become extremely proficient in Arabic, and thus qualified t
o speak on topics relating to its grammar.
Also, it must be noted that Dr. Anis Shorrosh, a native Arabic speaker, confirms
six of the above grammatical errors as being present in the Quranic text, thoug
h unfortunately he does not provide a great amount of in-depth explanation conce
rning the grammatical reasoning, due to the topical survey style of his book7.
From the above, we can see that the claims to a "perfect, pure Arabic Qur'an" ar
e somewhat exaggerated, to say the least. This hyperbolic claim is typical of mu
ch of mainline Islamic treatment of the Qur'an, which tends to hold that the Qur
'an was delivered directly to Mohammed from Allah, and that it has not changed a
n iota since it's revelation. Most traditional Muslim theologians are loathe eve
n to consider that the Qur'an has a textual history behind it, or that it has be
en altered and edited to any degree at all. However, we can see that the presenc
e of foreign loan-words (despite having perfectly acceptable Arabic counterparts
) as well as certain grammatical errors embedded in the text, points to a more m
undane point of origin for this book. This would be the logical conclusion both
on the basis of the fact that Surah 16:103's claim is disproven, and also from t
he general supposition that a book handed down from God would presumably be free
from grammatical errors.
End Notes
(1) - 'Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an, p. 665, note #2143 on
Surah 16:103
(2) - A. Mingana, "Syraic Influence on the Style of the Koran", Bulletin of the
John Rylands Library, 11 (1927), p. 84-5
(3) - A. Mingana, "Syraic Influence on the Style of the Koran", Bulletin of the
John Rylands Library, 11 (1927), p. 87
(4) - e.g. his claim that the Syraic Allaaha influenced the Islamic name Allah h
as been supplanted by more more recent work demonstrating the native evolution o
f the name "Allah" in Arabia, as an elidation of the title "al ilah" meaning "th
e god". Likewise, Mingana's text can be construed as claiming that the early Ara
bic name for Jesus was "cIso", whereas more recent investigation has demonstrate
d that the more conventional "Yesu" was in use from the earliest Arabic records.
(5) - A. Shorrosh, Islam Revealed: A Christian Arab's View of Islam, p. 199
(6) - M. Rafiqul-Haqq and P. Newton, The Qur'an: Grammatical Errors
(7) - A. Shorrosh, Islam Revealed: A Christian Arab's View of Islam, pp. 199-200