The Bible is often criticized by non-Christians who say it is full of contradictions. Followers of Isa Al-Masih know this is not true. Often what looks like contradictions are in fact just different sides of the same viewpoint.
Muslims tell us that the Quran is proven to be God’s book because it has no contradictions. But a careful reading of the Quran points to endless contradictions. We will look at just a few of them.
Who Was the First Muslim?
Many Muslims think that Abraham was the first Muslim. Qs 2:127 states that he and Ishmael built the first House of God. But in other passages, the Quran states that Muhammad was the first Muslim (Qs 6:14,163), while in Qs 7:143 Moses says, “Glory be to You! To You, I come in repentance, and I am the first (one) to believe.” Qs 2:37 says that Adam was the first Muslim. So, according to Islam, who was the first Muslim?
How Did God Create Man?
Most of my Muslim friends have told me that God created Adam from dust, just like the Bible states (Qs 3:59, 30:20, 35:11). But other surahs contradict this. Qs 96:1-2 says that God created man from a blood clot. Qs 19:67 states: “But does not man remember that We created him even while he was nothing?”
The Bible, on the other hand, clearly states that God created man from the dust of the ground, and never says anything else. “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Taurat, Genesis 2:7).
Contradiction about the Number of Days in Creating the Earth
The writer of the Quran seems unsure of how long it took for God to create the earth. Qs 7:54, 10:3, 11:7, and 25:59 clearly state that God created “the heavens and the earth” in six days. This matches the teaching of the Taurat (Genesis 1:31-2:2). But Qs 41:9-12 gives a detailed account of creation, telling how many days it took to make each part. Allah created the earth in two days, then created the mountains in four days, and last made the heavens with the sun, moon and stars, which took two days. When these are added up, they equal eight days, not six!
Contradictions about the Science of Astronomy
There are other contradictions in the Quran about science. One is about the stars and the moon. The Quran teaches that there are seven heavens, and the stars are in the lower heaven (67:5, 37:6), while the moon is further up in a higher heaven (71:16). This is clearly wrong as science has proven that the moon is much closer to earth than any star is!
The Quran Contradicts Historical Fact
A contradiction in the Quran about history relates to the Hebrews. Qs 20:85-87 states that a Samaritan made the golden calf that the Israelites worshipped when Moses was on Mt. Sinai. The problem with this is that the term “Samaritan” was not used until 722 BC, hundreds of years after Israel received the Ten Commandments.
The Primary Goal of the “Isa and Islam” Staff
By pointing out these contradictions in the Quran our goal is to help all people evaluate the Quran objectively.
Our main desire is for all people, Christians and Muslims, to understand the good news of Jesus Christ as set forth in the Gospel. Only the Gospel contains the good news that God has provided a “straight way” to heaven through Isa Al-Masih. This is the most important news in the world!
[We invite you to visit us at https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation to learn more about God’s gift of Salvation. God loves you and waits to hear from you. Isa clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Injil, John 14:6). For a deeper understanding of Isa we suggest you subscribe to “Isa, Islam, and Al-Fatiha” at this link.]
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In Islam, Allah created man from dust right? Adam, “the father of the mankind,” is the only who was created from dust.
But others, like me and you, were created in our mothers “from a blood clot,” which science has proved.
So your Bible is wrong, unless you were created from dust.
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Khalid,
Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that all mankind is created from dust. It teaches that Adam was created from dust (Taurat, Genesis 2:7).
The Zabur teaches us, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.” (Psalm 139:13-15)
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You are changing your words. How do you explain this: “The Bible, on the other hand, clearly states that God created man from the dust of the ground, and never says anything else.”
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Khalid,
That quote is referring to Creation, when God created the first man, not to every man that God creates. That is what that whole section is discussing. I am sorry if you were confused by that.
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These are just words! Can you prove them?
Give me one example and I will tell you 100 from your book.
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One example of what, Khalid?
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I am bit disappointed to see your poor effort to disprove the Holy Quran. In “Contradictions about the Science of Astronomy” you said Qs 71:16 talks about the moon being in higher heavens. The verse is “And has made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?” Where does it talk about moon being in higher heavens?
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Saifur,
One translation of the Quran says, “And made the moon a light in the middle.” I would assume this means the middle layer. Also, if you read verse 16 with verse 15 in any translation, it would make sense that the moon is in a higher layer than the stars, as the verses say, “See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp” (Qs 71:15-16). Doesn’t “in their midst” mean in the middle? That is the way I would interpret it.
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Qs 71:15-16 says, “Do you not consider how Allah has created seven heavens in layers. And made the moon therein a [reflected] light and made the sun a burning lamp?” from Quran.com . I don’t see how you can find the moon is in the middle layer from this verses. No my friend, your interpretation is wrong and your effort to disprove the Holy Quran has been proven futile. But I really appreciate your effort, as it is helpful to strengthen my own belief in the Holy Quran.
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Saifur,
I believe this is going to be an instance where we are going to have to agree to disagree, because we each believe we are interpreting the verse correctly.
You might notice that your comment below this has been deleted. That is because our guidelines, which are given above, ask that you only make one comment at a time.
Thank you.
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Dear Jasmin,
I agree to disagree. May Allah grant us all the path of truth and righteousness.
I will come back on some other issues.
Salams
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“One translation of the Quran says, “And made the moon a light in the middle.” I would assume this means the middle layer”. Jasmin, Name this translation.
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It’s Yusuf Ali for 71:16.
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Aila, my Yusuf Ali reads:
“And made the moon a light in their midst, and
made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?”
It does not say middle, sorry.
A translation by Sahih International also reads:
”And made the moon therein a [reflected] light and made the sun a burning lamp?”
No translation mentions this ”middle” of yours. This attempt is really poor, sorry
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The, what does midst mean according to the translation? Also, Yusuf Ali’s and Sahih International’ translations are not similar.
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They were six days of creation. The verses of 41:9-12 speak of overlapping actions in spans of four and two days each. The adverbs are the keys to understanding this. The verses of 11 and 12 use the adverbs “thummah” and “fa” which imply consecutive of action.
Neither of these two, however, are used in verse 10 (the only one which mentions four days) which instead uses the adverb “wa” implying parallel, or “overlapping” actions. In other words, the grammar tells us that the four days mentioned in verse 10 are a continuation of the two mentioned in verse 9. The four days of “measuring the earth’s sustenance” refers to the two days of the creation of the earth in addition to the two days of the “spreading out of the earth’s features”.
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Muslim,
Okay. In the translations such as Sahih International, Shakir and Ghali, there are “and” in the beginning. Also, on the verse 12, it talked about the creation of seven heavens in two days. I believe that it refers to the verse 11. So total, there were 8 days?
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What does the Bible say about Mary, the mother of Jesus?
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Hi Muhammad,
Thanks for your question. One of the thing about Mary was that she was found favor with Allah. She was blessed by Allah who chose her to be Isa’s mother. If you want to know more, learn through the Bible.