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The ] is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent down by God ({{langx|ar| <big>الله</big> | Allah}}) and revealed to ] by the angel ] (]). The '''Quran''' has been subject to '''criticism''' both in the sense of being the subject of an interdisciplinary field of study where secular, (mostly) Western scholars set aside doctrines of its divinity, perfection, unchangeability, etc. accepted by Muslim Islamic scholars;<ref name="what-atlantic-1999">{{cite journal |journal=Atlantic |last1=LESTER |first1=TOBY |date= January 1999 |title=What Is the Koran? | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/01/what-is-the-koran/304024/ |accessdate=8 April 2019}}</ref> but also in the sense of being ''found fault with'' by those — including Christian missionaries and other skeptics hoping to convert Muslims — who argue it is not divine, not perfect, and/or not particularly morally elevated.
Muslims believe that the ] is the literal word of ] (]) as recited to ] through the ]. Critics argue against this belief, and criticize various statements in the Qur'an.<ref>Islam: the Basics. Turner, C. (2006) Routledge, p. 42</ref>
==The origins of the Qur'an==


In critical-historical study scholars (such as ], ], ], ]) seek to investigate and verify the Quran's origin, text, composition, and history,<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/> examining questions, puzzles, difficult text, etc. as they would non-sacred ancient texts.<ref name="BibleInQuran">, by Kaufmann Kohler Duncan B. McDonald, ''Jewish Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 22 April 2006.</ref> The most common criticisms concern various pre-existing sources that Quran relies upon, internal consistency, clarity and ethical teachings. According to Toby Lester, many Muslims find not only the religious fault-finding but also Western scholarly investigation of textual evidence "disturbing and offensive".<ref name="what-atlantic-1999" />
Muhammad, according to tradition, recited perfectly what the angel Gabriel revealed to him for his companions to write down and memorize. Muslims hold that the wording of the Qur'anic text available today corresponds exactly to that revealed to Muhammad in the years 610–632.<ref> John Esposito, ''Islam the Straight Path'', Extended Edition, p.19-20 </ref>


__TOC__
====Historical Authenticity of the Qur'an====
{{main|Historicity_of_Muhammad#Historical_Authenticity_of_the_Qur'an}}
{{seealso|Origin and development of the Qur'an}}
] believes that the Qu’ran is a ] in part of other sacred scriptures, in particular the ] scriptures.<ref>Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation (1977) and The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History (1978) by Wansbrough.</ref><ref>http://www.derafsh-kaviyani.com/english/quran3.html (Discusses Wansbrough)</ref> ] and ] challenge the traditional account of how the Qur'an was compiled, writing that "there is no hard evidence for the existence of the Koran in any form before the last decade of the ]." (See ]) They also question the accuracy of some of the Qur'an's historical accounts. For example, professor ] study of ancient Qur'an manuscripts led him to conclude that the Qur'an is a "cocktail of texts", some of which may have been present a hundred years before Muhammad.<ref>Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, and Gerd R. Puin as quoted in {{cite news | url=http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199901/koran | publisher=The Atlantic Monthly | title=What Is the Koran? | author=Toby Lester |date=January 1999}}</ref>
]


==Historical authenticity==
Prof. Herbert Berg writes that "Despite ]'s very cautious and careful inclusion of qualifications such as "conjectural," and "tentative and emphatically provisional", his work is condemned by some. Some of the negative reaction is undoubtedly due to its radicalness...Wansbrough's work has been embraced wholeheartedly by few and has been employed in a piecemeal fashion by many. Many praise his insights and methods, if not all of his conclusions."<ref> Herbert Berg(2000), p.83 </ref> It is generally acknowledged that the work of Crone and Cook was a fresh approach in its reconstruction of early ], but the theory has been almost universally rejected.<ref>David Waines, Introduction to Islam, Cambridge, Eng.: ], 1995. ISBN 0-521-42929-3, pp 273-274 </ref> Van Ess has dismissed it stating that "a refutation is perhaps unnecessary since the authors make no effort to prove it in detail...Where they are only giving a new interpretation of well-known facts, this is not decisive. But where the accepted facts are consciously put upside down, their approach is disastrous."<ref name="van Ess">van Ess, "The Making Of Islam", ], Sep 8 1978, p. 998</ref> R. B. Sergeant states: "…is not only bitterly anti-Islamic in tone, but anti-Arabian. Its superficial fancies are so ridiculous that at first one wonders if it is just a ‘leg pull’, pure ’spoof’."<ref> Sergeant, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1981, p. 210 </ref> ] states that "Few have failed to be convinced that what is in our copy of the Quran is, in fact, what Muhammad taught, and is expressed in his own words" because "The search for variants in the partial versions extant before the Caliph Uthman’s alleged recension in the 640s (what can be called the “sources” behind our text) has not yielded any differences of great significance."<ref> Peters, F. E. (Aug., 1991) "The Quest of the ]." ], Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 291-315.</ref>
{{See also|Historical reliability of the Quran|History of the Quran|Historicity of Muhammad}}


===Traditional view===
In 2006, legal scholar Liaquat Ali Khan claimed that Crone and Cook have explicitly disavowed their earlier book <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/04/28/d60428020635.htm|title=Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels|accessdate=2006-06-12|author=Liaquat Ali Khan}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://baltimorechronicle.com/2006/042606AliKhan.shtml|title=Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels|accessdate=2006-06-09|author=Liaquat Ali Khan}}</ref>. However, neither scholar has publicly confirmed his assertions. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}


According to Islamic tradition, which criticism may question or contradict, the Quran followed a passage from heaven down to the angel ] (Jabreel) who revealed it in the seventh century CE over 23 years to a ]i Arab trader, ], who became one of the Prophets of Islam.<ref name="Ayaz-response"/>{{#tag:ref|Muhammad relayed God's revelation to the early Muslims, and many of his contemporary nonbelievers/opponents maintained he (Muhammad) was the true origin of the Quran. Numerous verses of the Quran (Q.6:50, 7:203, 10:15, 10:37, 10:109, 13:38 and 33:2) vehemently deny that the Qur’an was Muhammad's own work, or that he was doing anything other than following what was revealed to him by God.<ref name=RARDtQ2017:69>]: p.69</ref>|group=Note}}
Patricia Crone in an article published in 2006 provided an update on the evolution of her conceptions since the printing of the thesis in 1976. <ref></ref>. In the article she acknowledges that Muhammad existed as a historical figure and that the Quran represents "utterances" of his that he believed to be revelations. However she states that the Quran may not be the complete record of the revelations. She also accepts that oral histories and Muslim historical accounts cannot be totally discounted. She however remains skeptical about the traditional account of the Hijrah and the standard view that Muhammad and his tribe were based in Mecca. She describes the difficulty in the handling of the hadith because of their "amorphous nature" and purpose as documentary evidence for deriving religious law rather than as historical narratives.
Muhammad shared these revelations – which brought uncompromising monotheism to humanity – with his ] who wrote them down and/or memorized them.<ref>John Esposito, ''Islam the Straight Path'', Extended Edition, p.19-20</ref> From these memories and scraps, a standard edition was carefully compiled and edited under the supervision of ] not long after Muhammad's death.<ref name=TWLUI1982:63-4>]: p.63-4</ref>
Copies of this ] or "'']''" were sent to the major centers of what was by this time a rapidly expanding empire, and all other incomplete or "imperfect" variants of the Quranic revelation were ordered by Uthman to be destroyed.<ref>(Burton, ''The Sources of Islamic Law'', 1990, pp. 141–42 – citing Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 18).</ref> In the next few centuries, the religion and empire of Islam solidified, and an enormous body of religious literature and laws were developed, including commentaries/exegeses ('']'') to explain the Quran.


Thus, according to Islamic teaching, it was ensured that the wording of the Quranic text available today corresponds exactly to the literal, infallible,<ref name=AGI1954:55>]: p.55</ref> "perfect, timeless", "absolute"<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/> unadulterated ] revealed to Muhammad.<ref>John Esposito, ''Islam the Straight Path'', Extended Edition, p.19-20</ref> That revelation in turn is identical to an eternal “mother of the book”{{#tag:ref|(''umm al-kitab','{{cite quran|43|4|s=ns|b=n}} and {{cite quran|13|3|s=ns|b=n}}), also “well-guarded tablet” (''lawh mahfuz'' verse {{cite quran|85|22|s=ns|b=n}}) and “concealed book” (''kitab maknun'' {{cite quran|56|78|s=ns|b=n}})|group=Note}} the archetype<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:127>]: p.127</ref>/prototype<ref name="Hitti">{{cite web |last1=Hitti |first1=Philip K. |title=The First Book |url=https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/197006/the.first.book.htm |website=aramco world |accessdate=8 April 2019}}</ref> of the Quran. This was not created/written by God, but an attribute of Him, co-eternal and kept with Him in ].<ref name=AGI1954:59>]: p.59</ref>{{#tag:ref|As God's speech, the Quran was not created or written by God but is an "uncreated" attribute of God |group=Note}}
==Claim of divine origin==


=== Muslim views of criticism ===
{{seealso|Wahy#The origin of the Qur'an and the question of sincerity of Muhammad}}
For Muslims the contents of the Quran have been "a source of doctrine, law, poetic and spiritual inspiration, solace, zeal, knowledge, and mystical experience."<ref name=TWLUI1982:59>]: p.59</ref> "Millions and millions" of whom "refer to the Koran daily to explain their actions and to justify their aspirations",{{#tag:ref|professor emeritus of Islamic thought at the University of Paris, Algerian Mohammed Arkoun.<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/> |group=Note}} and in recent years many consider it the source of scientific knowledge.<ref name="Guessoum-2008">{{cite journal |last1=Guessoum |first1=Nidhal |title=ThE QUR'AN, SCIENCE, AND THE (RELATED)CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM DISCOURSE |journal=Zygon |date=June 2008 |volume=43 |issue=2 |page=411+ |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00925.x |url=https://www.academia.edu/1447032 |accessdate=15 April 2019 |issn=0591-2385|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="SARDAR-2008">{{cite journal |last1=SARDAR |first1=ZIAUDDIN |title=Weird science |journal=New Statesman |date=21 August 2008 |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/books/2008/08/quran-muslim-scientific |accessdate=15 April 2019}}</ref> Revered by pious Muslims as "the holy of holies",<ref name=AGI1954:74>]: p.74</ref> whose sound moves some to "tears and esctasy",<ref name="meanings-iii">{{cite book |last1=Pickthall |first1=M.M. |title=The Glorious Qur'an |date=1981 |publisher=Iqra' Book Center|location=Chicago IL|page=vii}}</ref> it is the physical symbol of the faith,<ref name=TWLUI1982:59/> the text often used as a charm<ref>{{cite web |title=261 results for "quran keychain" | website=Amazon |url=https://www.amazon.com/quran-keychain/s?k=quran+keychain |accessdate=8 April 2019}}</ref> on occasions of birth, death, marriage. The traditional Muslim understanding of the Quran is not that it is simply divinely inspired, but the literal word of God;<ref name="Carroll-Q-H">{{cite web |last1=Carroll |first1=Jill |title=The Quran & Hadith |url=https://www.world-religions-professor.com/quran.html |website=World Religions |accessdate=10 July 2019}}</ref> the last and complete message from God, from his final messenger (Muhammad)<ref name=AGI1954:63>]: p.63</ref> superseding the Old and New Testament and purified of "accretions of Judaism and Christianity".<ref name=HARGM1953:47>]: p.47</ref><ref name="corruption">{{cite web |last1=Salih Al-Munajjid |first1=Muhammed |title=Corruption of the Tawraat (Torah) and Injeel (Gospel) |url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/2001/corruption-of-the-tawraat-torah-and-injeel-gospel |website=Islam Question & Answer |accessdate=10 April 2019 |date=25 May 1998}}</ref>
{{seealso|Qur'an#Literary structure of the Qur'an}}
{{seealso|Legends and the Qur'an}}
] script]]


Muslims have developed their own Quranic studies or "Quranic sciences" (''‘ulum al Qur’an'')<ref name="Guessoum-2008-414">{{cite journal |last1=Guessoum |first1=Nidhal |title=The QUR'AN, SCIENCE, AND THE (RELATED) CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM DISCOURSE |journal=Zygon |date=June 2008 |volume=43 |issue=2 |page=414 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00925.x |url=https://www.academia.edu/1447032 |accessdate=15 April 2019 |issn=0591-2385|doi-access=free }}</ref> over the centuries,<ref name="Nasr-2008">{{cite book |last1=Nasr |first1=Seyyed Hossein |title=Islamic Spirituality: Foundations |orig-date=1987|year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=13-978-0-415-44262-6 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc79AQAAQBAJ&q=as+viewed+by+muslims%2C+what+is+called+higher+criticism&pg=PT30 |accessdate=29 November 2019 |chapter=1. Quran as the Foundation of Islamic Spirituality (notes)}}</ref> following the Quranic encouragement "Will they not contemplate the Quran?"({{cite quran|4|82|style=nosup|expand=no}}).<ref name=GSRQSaIC2008:9>]: p.9</ref> There are two types of ] to explain and interpret the Quran: '']'' (literal interpretation) and '']'' (allegorical interpretation). Other issues studied are ''kalimat dakhila'' (the investigation of the foreign origin of some Quranic terms);<ref name=GSRQSaIC2008:19>]: p.19</ref> '']'' (studying contradictory verses{{#tag:ref|naskh'' applies also to contradictory ], and to Quranic verses and hadith that contradict each other|group=Note}} to determine which should be abrogated in favor of the other), study of "occasions of revelation" (connecting Quranic verses with "episodes of Muhammad's career based on hadith and biographies of him -- which are known as '']''), chronology of revelation,<ref name="Guessoum-2008-414"/> the division of quranic chapters (]s) into "]" (those believed to have been revealed in ] before the ]) and "] (revealed afterward in the city of ]).<ref name=GBRRCQ2008:71>]: p.71</ref> According to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, these traditional religious sciences <blockquote>"provide all the answers to questions posed by modern western orientalists about the structure and text of the Koran, except, of course, those questions that issue from the rejection of the Divine Origin of the Koran and its reduction to a work by the prophet. Once the revealed nature of the Koran is rejected, then problems arise. But these are problems of orientalist that arise not from scholarship but from a certain theological and philosophical position that is usually hidden under the guise of rationality and objective scholarship. For Muslims there has never been the need to address these 'problems' ..."<ref name="Nasr-2008"/></blockquote>
Critics of the Qur'an say it is nothing more than the combination of the Bible and Jewish and ] with Muhammad appended. Critics reject the idea that the Qur'an is miraculously perfect and impossible to imitate. ], for example, writes: "The language of the Koran is held by the Mohammedans to be a peerless model of perfection. An impartial observer, however, finds many peculiarities in it. Especially noteworthy is the fact that a sentence in which something is said concerning Allah is sometimes followed immediately by another in which Allah is the speaker; examples of this are suras xvi. 81, xxvii. 61, xxxi. 9, and xliii. 10".<ref>Jewish Encyclpoedia: comp. also xvi. 70</ref> However other scholars argue that
this sudden shift in the pronoun of the speaker or the person spoken about is known as ''iltifāt'' (to turn/turn one's face to) in ''balāgha'' (Arabic Rheotoric).<ref></ref> Many peculiarities in the positions of words are due to the necessities of rhyme (lxix. 31, lxxiv. 3), while the use of many rare words and new forms may be traced to the same cause (comp. especially xix. 8, 9, 11, 16)."<ref> </ref>.


In contrast, many of the original non-Muslim scholars of the Quran worked "in the context of an openly declared hostility" between Christianity and Islam, with an eye to debunking Islam or proselytizing against it.<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/> The nineteenth-century orientalist and colonial administrator ], wrote that the Quran was one of "the most stubborn enemies of Civilisation, Liberty, and the Truth which the world has yet known."<ref name=ESO1978:151>]: p.151</ref>
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, "The dependence of Mohammed upon his Jewish teachers or upon what he heard of the Jewish Haggadah and Jewish practises is now generally conceded."<ref>http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=363&letter=K&search=Koran</ref>
In the twentieth century, scholars of the early ] working in the context of ] and fighting the "]" went on about how Muhammad and the first Caliphs were "mythical figures" and that "the motive force" of early Islam was "the mercantile bourgeoisie of Mecca and Medina" and "slave-owning" Arab society.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islam and Russia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGsAAAAAMAAJ&q=%22the+mercantile+bourgeoisie+of+Mecca+and+Medina%22 |date=1956 |author=Ann K.S. Lambton |page=46 |accessdate=15 April 2019}}</ref>


At least in part in reaction, some Muslim opposition to "The Orientalist enterprise of Qur'anic studies" has been intense.<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/> In 1987 Muslim critic S. Parvez Manzoor, denounced it as conceived in "the polemical marshes of medieval Christianity".
===Criticism of the science in the Qur'an===
<blockquote>At the greatest hour of his worldly-triumph, the Western man, coordinating the powers of the State, Church and Academia, launched his most determined assault on the citadel of Muslim faith. All the aberrant streaks of his arrogant personality—its reckless rationalism, its world-domineering phantasy and its sectarian fanaticism—joined in an unholy conspiracy to dislodge the Muslim Scripture from its firmly entrenched position as the epitome of historic authenticity and moral unassailability.<ref>"Method Against Truth: Orientalism and Qur'anic Studies," by S. Parvez Manzoor, ''Muslim World Book Review'', v.7, n.4, Summer 1987</ref></blockquote>


In the twenty-first century, some Muslim Islamic scholars have warned against lending "legitimacy to non-Muslim scholars’ understanding about Islam" by engaging with them, and that even a rigorously scholarly academic work on Islam such as the ] ] "is filled with insults and disparaging remarks about the Qur’an".<ref name="balaghbooks">{{cite web |title=THE QUR'AN, ORIENTALISM, AND THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE QUR'AN |url=https://www.albalaghbooks.com/general/orientalism/the-quran-orientalism-and-the-encyclopedia-of-the-quran/ |website=albalaghbooks.com |accessdate=3 April 2019}}</ref>
Critics point to a statement the Qur'an makes regarding the setting of the sun ({{cite quran|18|86|style=nosup|expand=no}}), which they take to mean that the sun sets in a body of water. They believe the verse is couched in such a way that it was meant to be taken literally instead of figuratively, which would imply a belief in a flat instead of a ].<ref>{{cite web | title=Islam and the Setting of the Sun | coauthors=Sam Shamoun & Jochen Katz | url=http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Science/sun_set.html}}</ref> A Muslims websites reports the following different interpretation on this verse, saying that this part of the Qur'an is describing the man Dhul-Qarnain's point of view, and is indeed to be taken as a figurative description of what he saw - that the sun appeared to be setting into the sea, but was not actually doing so.<ref>{{cite web | coauthors=Hesham Azmy & Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi | title=Qur’anic Commentary on Sura’ Al-Kahf (18):86 | url=http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/quranic-commentary-on-sura-al-kahf-1886}}</ref>


Textual criticism of the Quran, the structure and style of the ]s, has been opposed on grounds that it questions the divine origin of the Quran.<ref name="Ayaz-response">{{cite web |last1=Ayaz |first1=Iftikhar Ahmad |title=Response to Criticism on the Holy Quran |url=https://www.alislam.org/library/articles/Response-to-Criticism-on-the-Holy-Quran.pdf |website=Al-Islam |accessdate=8 April 2019 |date=31 August 2013}}</ref> Seyyed ] has denounced the “rationalist and agnostic methods of higher criticism” as similar to dissecting and subjecting ] to “modern medical techniques” to determine whether he was born miraculously or was the son of ],<ref name="Nasr 2004, 23">2004. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. ''The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity.'', San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco</ref><ref name="Guessoum-2008"/><ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/> In his influential '']'', ] declared Western study of the Middle East — including the religion of Islam — inextricably tied to Western ], making the study inherently political and servile to ].<ref>''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'', Third Edition. (1999) p. 617.</ref>
In a similar vein, critics point to verses they think imply that the moon gives off light instead of reflecting it from the sun, ({{cite quran|25|61|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|10|5|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|71|15|end=16|style=nosup|expand=no}}) and are skeptical of Muslim statements that the verses should be taken to mean reflective light only.<ref>{{cite web | title=Qur'an and Science: Moon Light is Reflected Light | coauthors=Jochen Katz, William F. Campbell M.D. | url=http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Science/moonlight_wc.html}}</ref> Some critics also think that the Qur'an says that mountains were created to prevent earthquakes, ({{cite quran|16|15|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|21|31|style=nosup|expand=no}}), a view which is incompatible with modern ].<ref>{{cite web | work=The Qur'an and the Bible in the light of history and science | title=A. THE EARTH, THE HEAVENS AND THE 6 OR 8 DAYS OF CREATION | author=William F. Campbell M.D. | url=http://www.answering-islam.org/Campbell/s4c2a.html}}</ref> Another criticism of the Qur'an involves verses {{cite quran|86|5|end=7|style=nosup|expand=no}}. These verses are interpreted by critics and some Muslims to mean that sperm comes from the lower back. This contradicts the scientific fact that semen is produced by the ], ], and ], none of which are between the backbone and the ribs. Critics note<ref>Dr. Lactantius 1999</ref> that ], whose writings were widely available in the ] ],<ref name="musallam0"> Basim Musallam, ''Sex and Society in Islam.'' Cambridge University Press.</ref> had taught that semen passes from the kidneys via the testicles into the penis, and believe that this is a plausible source for the idea in this verse. Muslim ] ] states that these verses are "hardly comprehensible".<ref>Maurice Bucaille, ''The Bible, the Qur'an, and Science,'' quote on page 208. </ref> Campbell criticizes Maurice saying he finds his own translations of them using meanings not found in dictionaries.<ref>Campbell, page 184. </ref>


These complaints have been compared to those of other religious conservatives (Christian) against textual historical criticism of their own sacred text (the Bible).{{#tag:ref|Biblical scholar John William Burgon: "The Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth upon the Throne! Every Book of it, every Chapter of it, every Verse of it, every word of it, every syllable of it ... every letter of it, is the direct utterance of the Most High!"<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/> |group=Note}}
Quranic verses {{cite quran|3|59|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|35|11|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|96|2|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|20|55|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|6|1|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|24|45|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|15|26|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|7|11|style=nosup|expand=no}}, and {{cite quran|19|67|style=nosup|expand=no}} are all related to the ]. Some critics of Islam and many Muslims state that the Qur'an and ] are not compatible.<ref name="sal">{{cite journal | quotes = | author = Saleem, Shehzad |date= | year = 2000 | month = May | title = The Qur’anic View on Creation | journal = ] | volume = 10 | issue = 5 | pages = | doi = |id = ] | url = http://www.renaissance.com.pk/maytitl20.htm | format = | accessdate = 2006-10-11 }}</ref><ref>Osama Abdallah </ref><ref> Ahmed K. Sultan Salem</ref><ref> AnsweringIslam.org</ref><ref>Arshad, Ali </ref> This has led to a contribution by Muslims to the ].<ref> Paulson, Steve </ref> Some Muslims have pointed to certain Qur'anic verses (such as {{cite quran|21|30|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|71|13|end=14|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|29|19|end=20|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|6|134|end=136|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|10|4|style=nosup|expand=no}}) that they think are in fact compatible with evolutionary science,<ref></ref><ref> unknown author</ref> but others think that only ] is supported by the Qur'an and the hadith.<ref> by ]</ref><ref>] </ref>
Non-Muslim scholar ] acknowledges the call for humility towards the scared of other cultures — "who are you to tamper with their legacy?" — but defends challenging of orthodox views of Islamic history, saying "we Islamicists are not trying to destroy anyone's faith."<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/>


Not all Muslims oppose criticism; Roslan Abdul-Rahim writes that critical study of the Quran "will not hurt the Muslims; it will only help them" because "no amount of criticism can change that fact" that the "Quran is truly a divine piece of work as the Muslim theology stipulates and as the Muslims have so strongly defended".<ref name=RARDtQ2017:70>]: p.70</ref> Some scholars have suffered for attempting to apply literary or philological techniques to the Quran, such as Egyptian "Dean of Arabic Literature" ], who lost his post at Cairo University in 1931,{{#tag:ref| who was "charged with blasphemy, forced to withdraw his book, and lost from his university post" after publishing a book questioning the historical veracity of the Quran (''Fi'ish-Shi-r al-Jahili'')<ref name=iWWINaM1995:6>]: p.6</ref><ref>Ibn Warraq, ''The Quest for the Historical Muhammad'', Prometheus Books, 2000, p.23</ref><ref name=ADFotA2003:16>]: p.16</ref>|group=Note}} Egyptian professor Mohammad Ahmad Khalafallah, whose dissertation was rejected,<ref name="(Jomier 1954:48)">Jomier, Jacque. 1954 "Quelques positions actuelles de l'exegese Coranique en Egypte: Revelees par une pollemique recente (1941-1951)." ''Melanges Institut Dominicain d'Etudes Orientales du Caire.'' 1:39-72</ref><ref name=ADFotA2003:13>]: p.13</ref> a non-Muslim German professor ] (dismissed),<ref name="(Luling 1996:95-99)">Luling, GUnter. 1996. "Preconditions for the Scholarly Criticism of the Koran and Islam with Some Autobiographical Remarks." ''The Journal of Higher Criticism'' 3:95-99</ref><ref name=ADFotA2003:13/> and Egyptian professor ], who was forced to seek exile in Europe after being declared an ] and ] for violating a "right of God".{{#tag:ref|"... when the Arab scholar Suliman Bashear argued that Islam developed as a religion gradually rather than emerging fully formed from the mouth of the Prophet, he was injured after being thrown from a second-story window by his students at the ] in the West Bank.<ref name="STILLE-NYT-2-3-2002">{{cite news |last1=STILLE |first1=ALEXANDER |title=Scholars Are Quietly Offering New Theories of the Koran |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/02/arts/scholars-are-quietly-offering-new-theories-of-the-koran.html |accessdate=15 May 2019 |agency=New York Times |date=2 March 2002}}</ref><ref name=ADFotA2003:11-12>]: p.11-12</ref>|group=Note}}
Ahmad Dallal, Professor of Arabic and ] at ], writes that many modern Muslims believe that the Qur'an does make scientific statements, however many classical Muslim commentators and scientists, notably ], assigned to the Qur'an a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Qur'an "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science."<ref name="EoQ"> Ahmad Dallal, ], ''Quran and science'' </ref> These medieval scholars argued for the possibility of multiple ] of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Qur'an to an ever-changing science.<ref name="EoQ"/>
====Non-Muslim views====
Not all non-Muslim scholars of Islam are interested in critical examination/analysis. Patricia Crone and Ibn Rawandi argue that Western scholarship lost its critical attitude to the sources of the origins of Islam around the time of the First World War." Andrew Rippin has expressed surprise that
<blockquote>for students acquainted with approaches such as ], ], literary analysis and ], all quite commonly employed in the study of Judaism and Christianity, such naive historical study seems to suggest that Islam is being approached with less than academic candor.<ref name="47_Rippin, p.ix, Preface">Rippin, A. ''Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices'', Volume 1, London, 1991, p.ix, preface</ref>
</blockquote>
Scholars have complained about "'dogmatic Islamophilia' of most Arabists" (Karl Binswanger);<ref name="Lewis-1984-194">{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |title=The Jews of Islam |date=1984 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=1-400810-23X |page=194 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aT84Jn7zjU0C&q=%27dogmatic+Islamophilia+binswanger&pg=PA194 |accessdate=3 October 2019 |chapter=Notes to Chapter 1}}</ref> that in one western country (France as of 1983) "it is no longer acceptable to criticize Islam or the Arab countries" (Jacque Ellul);<ref name="Yeʼor-1985-27">{{cite book |last1=Bat Yeʼor |title=The Dhimmi:Jews and Christians Under Islam |date=1985 |publisher=Associated University Presse. |location=New Jersey |isbn=0-8386-3262-9 |page=27 |chapter=Preface by Jacque Ellul |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-41aDwAAQBAJ&q=%22it+is+no+longer+acceptable+to+criticize+Islam+or+the+Arab+countries%22&pg=PA27 |accessdate=3 October 2019}}</ref> that among some historians ("like Norman Daniel") understanding of Islam "has given way to apologetics pure and simple" (]).<ref name="45_Rodinson (2), p.59">{{cite book| chapter=The Western Image and Western Studies of Islam |title=The Legacy of Islam |editor1=Joseph Schach | editor2=C.E. Bosworth |publisher=Oxford University Press |last1=Rodinson |first1=Maxime |date=1974 |page=59}}</ref><ref name=iWWINaM1995:15>]: p.15</ref>


{{See also|Historiography of early Islam}}
===Claims of internal inconsistency===
However, in the 1970s, what has been described as a "wave of skeptical scholars" challenged a great deal of the received wisdom in Islamic studies.<ref name="Donner 1998">Donner, Fred ''Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writing'', Darwin Press, 1998</ref>{{rp|23}} They argued that the Islamic historical tradition had been greatly corrupted in transmission, that there was a lack of supporting evidence consistent with the traditional narrative, such as the lack of archaeological evidence, and discrepancies with non-Muslim literary sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/mohammed_3866.jsp|title=What do we actually know about Mohammed?|work=openDemocracy|access-date=7 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421171853/http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/mohammed_3866.jsp|archive-date=21 April 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> They tried to correct or reconstruct the early history of Islam from other, presumably more reliable, sources such as coins, inscriptions, and non-Islamic sources.
Several critics believe that there are mutually contradictory passages in the Qur'an. ] asserts that there are numerous contradictions in the Qur'an. Examples include:
* the length of Allah's day ({{cite quran|22|47|style=nosup|expand=no}} and {{cite quran|32|5|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|70|4|style=nosup|expand=no}}),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/contra/day.html | title=How long is Allah's day? | work=The Skeptic's Annoted Quran}}</ref>
* whether or not all Jews and Christians will go to hell ({{cite quran|3|85|style=nosup|expand=no}} and {{cite quran|5|72|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|2|62|style=nosup|expand=no}} and {{cite quran|5|69|style=nosup|expand=no}}),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/contra/christians_hell.html | title=Will all Jews and Christians go to hell? | work=The Skeptic's Annoted Quran}}</ref>
* how disbelievers should be treated ({{cite quran|2|256|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|18|29|style=nosup|expand=no}}, and {{cite quran|109|6|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|3|32|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|18|29|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|3|28|style=nosup|expand=no}}, and others).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/contra/free.html | title=Is each person be free to believe as he or she wishes? | work=The Skeptic's Annoted Quran}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.carm.org/islam/Koran_contradictions.htm | author= Slick, Matthew J. |title=Contradictions in the Qur'an}}</ref>
* how many angels spoke to Mary ({{cite quran|19|16|end=19|style=nosup|expand=no}}, vs. {{cite quran|3|42|style=nosup|expand=no}},and {{cite quran|3|45|style=nosup|expand=no}})
* whether the Pharaoh was drowned or saved ({{cite quran|17|102|end=103|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|28|40|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|43|55|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|10|90|end=92|style=nosup|expand=no}})
* whether Muhammad asks for money ({{cite quran|2|195|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|8|41|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|9|103|style=nosup|expand=no}}, etc. vs. {{cite quran|12|104|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|36|21|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|42|23|style=nosup|expand=no}}, etc.)
* whether heaven or earth came first ({{cite quran|79|27|end=30|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|2|29|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|41|9|end=12|style=nosup|expand=no}})
* whether Allah will forgive everything ({{cite quran|4|110|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|39|153|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|4|48|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|4|116|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|4|137|style=nosup|expand=no}}, etc.)
* the number of angels that fought for Muhammad ({{cite quran|3|124|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|3|126|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|8|9|end=10|style=nosup|expand=no}})
* whether everyone is free to believe in what he or she wishes ({{cite quran|2|256|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|109|6|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|3|85|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|3|28|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|5|51|style=nosup|expand=no}})
* whether or not Allah is merciful ({{cite quran|1|1|end=3|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|2|37|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|2|128|style=nosup|expand=no}} vs. {{cite quran|2|7|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|2|17|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|4|56|style=nosup|expand=no}}).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/contra/by_name.html | title=Contradictions in the Quran | author=Wells, Steve | work=The Skeptic's Annoted Quran}}</ref>


===Uniform Quran===
===Criticism of information in the Qur'an regard Jewish faith===
Although there is some disagreement,{{#tag:ref|For example: Zaid b. Thabit said: It is reported... from Ibn Buraidah who said:
The Qur'an claims that Jews called ] the son of God and by doing so they are "deluded away from the Truth". (sura 9.30) <ref> sura 9.30 :
{{blockquote |The first of those to collect the Qur'an into a mushaf (]) was Salim, the freed slave of ].<ref>John Gilchrist, Jam' Al-Qur'an. ''The Codification of the Qur'an Text A Comprehensive Study of the Original Collection of the Qur'an Text and the Early Surviving Qur'an Manuscripts'', , Chapter 1. "The Initial Collection of the Qur'an Text", citing as-Suyuti, ''Al-Itqan fii Ulum al-Qur'an'', p. 135).</ref>}} |group=Note}}
* " The Jews said, "Ezra is the son of GOD," while the Christians said, "Jesus is the son of GOD!" These are blasphemies uttered by their mouths. They thus match the blasphemies of those who have disbelieved in the past. GOD condemns them. They have surely deviated."
the collection of verses for the compilation of a written Quran is said to have begun under Caliph ].{{#tag:ref|
{{blockquote |The Prophet died and the Qur'an had not been assembled into a single place.<ref>Ahmad b. Ali b. Muhammad al 'Asqalani, ibn Hajar, Fath al Bari , vol. 9, p. 9.</ref>}}
* "Waqalati alyahoodu AAuzayrun ibnu Allahiwaqalati alnnasara almaseehuibnu Allahi thalika qawluhum bi-afwahihim yudahi-oonaqawla allatheena kafaroo min qablu qatalahumu Allahuanna yu/fakoona"
<br>It is reported... from Ali who said:
* "The Jews said, "Ezra is the son of GOD," while the Christians said, "Jesus is the son of GOD!" These are blasphemies uttered by their mouths. They thus match the blasphemies of those who have disbelieved in the past. GOD condemns them. They have surely deviated."
{{blockquote |May the mercy of Allah be upon Abu Bakr, the foremost of men to be rewarded with the collection of the manuscripts, for he was the first to collect (the text) between (two) covers.<ref>John Gilchrist, Jam' Al-Qur'an. ''The Codification of the Qur'an Text A Comprehensive Study of the Original Collection of the Qur'an Text and the Early Surviving Qur'an Manuscripts'', , Chapter 1. "The Initial Collection of the Qur'an Text", p. 27 – citing Ibn Abi Dawud, ''Kitab al-Masahif'', p. 5.</ref>}}|group=Note}}
* " And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!"
The last recensions to make an official and uniform Quran in a single dialect were effected under ] (644–656) starting some twelve years after the Prophet's death and finishing twenty-four years after the effort began, with all other existing personal and individual copies and dialects of the Quran being burned:
* " 30. And the Jews say: 'Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allâh, and the Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allâh. That is a saying from their mouths. They imitate the saying of the disbelievers of old. Allâh's Curse be on them, how they are deluded away from the truth!"
{{blockquote | When they had copied the sheets, Uthman sent a copy to each of the main centres of the empire with the command that all other Qur'an materials, whether in single sheet form, or in whole volumes, were to be burned.<ref>(Burton, pp. 141–42 – citing Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 18).</ref>}}
* "30. The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah.s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!"

* " And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they!"
It is traditionally believed the earliest writings had the advantage of being checked by people who already knew the text by heart, for they had learned it at the time of the revelation itself and had subsequently recited it constantly. Since the official compilation was completed two decades after Muhammad's death, the Uthman text has been scrupulously preserved. Bucaille believed that this did not give rise to any problems of this Quran's authenticity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bucaille|first=Dr. Maurice|title=The Bible, the Quran, and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge|year=1977|publisher=TTQ, INC.f|isbn=978-1-879402-98-0|page=268|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sN65wjDOQH0C&pg=PA256}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
</ref>

However, this claim seems inexplicable, since no modern Jews claim Ezra to be son of God, nor does there is any such claim in the Jewish scriptures, Talmud, or later writings. <ref> Who is Ezra in the Jewish faith
===Qira'at and Ahruf===
* "Following their long journey from Babylon (see Jewish history for the 12th of Nissan), Ezra and his entourage arrived in the land of Israel to be near the newly built second Holy Temple in Jerusalem. A relatively small group came together with Ezra, the ..."
{{main|Qira'at}}
* wikipedai article about Ezra "Ezra is known in the Qur'an as Uzair (9:30) : "The Jews said, "Ezra is the son of GOD," while the Christians said, "Jesus is the son of GOD!" These are blasphemies uttered by their mouths. They thus match the blasphemies of those who have disbelieved in the past. GOD condemns them. They have surely deviated." This however, diverges from the Jewish view of Ezra, as there is no mention in the Bible of Jews believing him to be the son of God."
] (9th–11th century), with the '']'' as an example, from ] '']'' manuscripts:
* Ezra was only Jewish leader.

</ref> <ref> general article about the subject:
(1) Early 9th century, script with no dots or diacritic marks;(2) and (3) 9th–10th century under the Abbasid dynasty, ] system established red dots with each arrangement or position indicating a different short vowel; later, a second black-dot system was used to differentiate between letters like ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|fā’}}'' and ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|qāf}}'';
*

*
(4) 11th century, in ] system (system used today) dots were changed into shapes resembling the letters to transcribe the corresponding long vowels.]]
</ref>

Despite ] ]'s reported work to standardize the Quran, and the belief by many Muslims that it "exists exactly as it had been revealed to the ]; not a word - nay, not a dot of it - has been changed" (]),<ref name=Maududi-Towards-109>Abul A`la Maududi, ''Towards Understanding Islam''. International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations Gary, Indiana , 1970. p.109</ref> there are not one but ten different recognized versions of the Quran, known as ''qiraʼat'' (meaning 'recitations or readings').{{#tag:ref|although ''Qira{{hamza}}at'' should not be confused with '']''—the rules of ], ], and ]s of the Quran.|group=Note}} These exist because the Quran was originally spread and passed down orally, and though there was a written text, it did not include most vowels or distinguish between many consonants.<ref name="Bursi-2018-JIQSA">{{cite journal |last1=Bursi |first1=Adam |title=Connecting the Dots: Diacritics Scribal Culture, and the Quran |journal=Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association |date=2018 |volume=3 |page=111 |doi=10.5913/jiqsa.3.2018.a005 |jstor=10.5913/jiqsa.3.2018.a005 |hdl=1874/389663 |s2cid=216776083 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3989900 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> {{#tag:ref|''Qira{{hamza}}at'' now each have their own text in modern Arabic script. Most of the varieties are not commonly used but can be found on pdf with English translation at quranflash.com -- https://app.quranflash.com/?en|group=Note}} Consequently, although the differences between the ''Qira'at'' are slight and only one version of the ten is in wide use,{{#tag:ref|The ''maṣḥaf'' Quran that is in "general use" throughout almost all the Muslim world today (about 95% according to Muslimprophets website),<ref name="Muslimprophets">{{cite web |title=Quran - Comparing Hafs & Warsh for 51 textual variants |url=http://muslimprophets.com/article.php?aid=64 |website=Muslim prophets |access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref> is a ] based on the ''Qira'at'' "reading of Ḥafṣ on the authority of `Asim" (Ḥafṣ being the ''Rawi'', or "transmitter", and `Asim being the ''Qari'' or "reader").<ref name=GBRRCQ2008:74>]: p.74</ref>|group=Note}} the differences between the "readings" go beyond pronunciation into consonants and meaning.<ref name="Bursi-2018-JIQSA"/>

In addition to the ''Qira'at'' there are also '']''—both being readings of the Quran with "unbroken chain(s) of transmission going back to the Prophet",<ref name="Khatib-variant-2019">{{cite web |last1=Khatib |first1=Ammar |last2=Khan |first2=Nazir |title=The Origins of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an |url=https://yaqeeninstitute.org/ammar-khatib/the-origins-of-the-variant-readings-of-the-quran/ |website=Yaqueen Institute |accessdate=21 July 2020 |date=23 August 2019}}</ref> but all but one ''ahruf'' allegedly being forgotten after Uthman standardized the Quran.<ref>Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Tafseer Soorah Al-Hujuraat, 1990, Tawheed Publications, Riyadh, pp. 28-29</ref> There are multiple views on the nature of the ''ahruf'' and how they relate to the ''qira'at'', the general view being that ] ] eliminated all of the ''ahruf'' except one during the 7th century CE.<ref name="ri-28-29">Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Tafseer Soorah Al-Hujuraat, 1990, Tawheed Publications, Riyadh, pp.&nbsp;28-29.</ref> The ten ''qira'at'' were canonized by Islamic scholars in early centuries of Islam.<ref name=shady129>Shady Hekmat Nasser, , p. 129. Taken from ''The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an: The Problem of Tawaatur and the Emergence of Shawaadhdh''. ]: ], 2012. {{ISBN|9789004240810}}</ref>
Prior to this period, there is evidence that the unpointed text could be read in different ways, with different meanings.

Even after centuries of Islamic scholarship, the variants of the ''Qira'at'' have been said to continue "to astound and puzzle" Islamic scholars (Ammar Khatib and Nazir Khan),<ref name="Khatib-variant-2019"/> and make up "the most difficult topics" in Quranic studies (according to ]).<ref name="every single">{{cite interview|interviewer=]|title=In the Hot Seat: Muḥammad Hijāb Interviews Dr. Yasir Qadhi|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dc1HJ8Uif4#t=81m45s|accessdate=19 July 2020|date=8 June 2020|quote=every single student of knowledge knows who studies ulm of Quran that the most difficult topics are ahruf and qira’at and the concept of ahruf and the reality of ahruf and the relationship of …… mushaf and the ahruf and the preservation of ahruf, is it one? is it three? is it seven? and the relationship of the qira’at to the ahruf ...|subject=Yasir Qadhi|time=1h21m45s}}</ref> While in theory ''Qira'at'' include differences in consonantal diacritics ('']''), vowel marks ('']''), but not the consonantal skeleton ('']'') which should be uniform in all ''Qira'at'', there are differences in ('']'').<ref name="Melchert2008">{{cite journal |last1=Melchert |first1=Christopher |date=2008 |title=The Relation of the Ten Readings to One Another |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25728289 |journal= Journal of Qur'anic Studies |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=73–87 |doi= 10.3366/E1465359109000424|jstor=25728289 |access-date=11 February 2021}}</ref> resulting in materially different readings (see ]).<ref>]: pp.&nbsp;72.</ref>

Examples of differences between two ''Qira'at'':
;''Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim'' and ''Warš ʿan Nāfiʿ'' for eight verses:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Ḥafṣ (translation) !! Warš (translation) !! verse
|-
| {{Lang|ar|يَعْمَلُونَ |rtl=yes}} (''you'' do) || {{Lang|ar|تَعْمَلُونَ|rtl=yes}} (''they'' do) || Al-Baqara 2:85
|-
| {{Lang|ar|مَا نُنَزِّلُ|rtl=yes}} (''We'' do not send down...) || {{Lang|ar|مَا تَنَزَّلُ|rtl=yes}} (''they'' do not come down...) || Al-Ḥijr 15:8
|-
| {{Lang|ar|لِأَهَبَ|rtl=yes}} (that ''I'' may bestow) || {{Lang|ar|لِيَهَبَ|rtl=yes}} (that ''He'' may bestow) || Maryam 19:19<ref name="Q1919">While the difference cannot always be rendered with screen fonts, in order to comply with the Uthmanic rasm, the readings of Warsh an Nafi and of Abu 'Amr were written using a superscript ya over the alif, or by a red line between the lam-alif and ha to indicate that hamza should not be pronounced, or by writing a ya in coloured ink. See the discussions in {{cite book |last=Puin |first=Gerd, R. |editor-last=Reynolds |editor-first=Gabriel Said |title=New Perspectives on the Qur'an: The Qur'an in Its Historical Context 2 |publisher=Routledge |date=2011 |pages=176 |chapter=Vowel letters and orth-epic writing in the Qur'an |isbn=9781136700781 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6dqoAgAAQBAJ&dq=ahaba+%22yahaba%22+19+19&pg=PA176 }} and p.15 in {{cite journal |last1=Dutton |first1=Yasin |date=2000 |title=Red Dots, Green Dots, Yellow Dots and Blue: Some Reflections on the Vocalisation of Early Qur'anic Manuscripts (Part II) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25727969 |journal=Journal of Qur'anic Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |doi=10.3366/jqs.2000.2.1.1 |jstor=25727969 |access-date=11 February 2021}}</ref>
|-
| {{Lang|ar|قَالَ|rtl=yes}} (''he said'') || {{Lang|ar|قُل|rtl=yes}} (''Say!'') || Al-Anbiyā' 21:4
|-
| {{Lang|ar|كَبِيرًا|rtl=yes}} (''mighty'') || {{Lang|ar|كَثِيرًا|rtl=yes}} (''multitudinous'') || Al-Aḥzāb 33:68
|-
| {{Lang|ar|فَبِمَا|rtl=yes}} (''then'' it is what) || {{Lang|ar|بِمَا|rtl=yes}} (it is what) || Al-Shura 42:30
|-
| {{Lang|ar|يُدْخِلْهُ|rtl=yes}} (''He'' makes him enter) || {{Lang|ar|نُدْخِلْهُ|rtl=yes}} (''We'' make him enter) || Al-Fatḥ 48:17<ref>رواية ورش عن نافع - دار المعرفة - دمشق Warsh Reading, Dar Al Maarifah Damascus</ref><ref>رواية حفص عن عاصم - مجمع الملك فهد - المدينة Ḥafs Reading, King Fahd Complex Madinah</ref>
|-
| {{Lang|ar|عِبَٰدُ|rtl=yes}} (who are the ''slaves'' of the Beneficent) || {{Lang|ar|عِندَ|rtl=yes}} (who are ''with'' the Beneficent) || al-Zukhruf 43:19
|}
While the change of voice or pronouns in these verse may seem confusing, it is very common in the Quran<ref name=Bell_Watt_1977_66>{{cite book |last1=Bell |first1=R. |last2=Watt |first2=W. M. |title=Introduction to the Quran |location=Edinburgh |year=1977 |page=66 |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/60357048/Bell-s-Introduction-to-the-Quran-Revised-by-Montgomery-Watt |access-date=14 March 2021 |archive-date=22 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422190028/https://www.scribd.com/document/60357048/Bell-s-Introduction-to-the-Quran-Revised-by-Montgomery-Watt |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=ADFotA2003:45-46>]: p.45-46</ref> and found even in the same verse.<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:135>]: p.135</ref> (It is known as '' iltifāt''.)
*Q.2:85 the "you" in Hafs refers to the actions of more than one person and the "They" in Warsh is also referring to the actions of more than one person.
*Q.15:8 "We" refers to God in Hafs and the "They" in Warsh refers to what is not being sent down by God (The Angels).
*Q.19:19 (li-ʾahaba v. li-yahaba) is a well known difference, both for the theological interest in the alternative pronouns said to have been uttered by the angel, and for requiring unusual orthography.<ref name="Q1919" />
*Q.48:17, the "He" in Hafs is referring to God and the "We" in Warsh is also referring to God, this is due to the fact that God refers to Himself in both the singular form and plural form by using the royal "We".
*Q.43:19 shows an example of a consonantal dotting difference that gives a different root word, in this case ʿibādu v. ʿinda.

The second set of examples below compares the other canonical readings with that of Ḥafs ʿan ʿĀṣim. These are not nearly as widely read today, though all are available in print and studied for recitation.

There is a hadith related by Tabarī minimizing confusion over ''Qira'at'' or '']''. ] prefaces his early commentary on the Quran illustrating that the precise way to read the verses of the sacred text was not fixed even in the day of the Prophet. Two men disputing a verse in the text asked ] to mediate, and he disagreed with them, coming up with a third reading. To resolve the question, the three went to Muhammad. He asked first one-man to read out the verse, and announced it was correct. He made the same response when the second alternative reading was delivered. He then asked Ubay to provide his own recital, and, on hearing the third version, Muhammad also pronounced it 'Correct!'. Noting Ubay's perplexity and inner thoughts, Muhammad then told him, 'Pray to God for protection from the accursed Satan.'<ref>Christoph Luxenberg, 2007 p.36</ref>

===Extant copies prior to Uthman version===
====Sanaa manuscript====
{{main|Sanaa manuscript}}
]. The "subtexts" revealed using UV light are very different from today's Qur'an. ] believed this to mean an ''''''evolving'''''' text.<ref>{{cite web|archive-date=25 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825233826/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/01/what-is-the-koran/304024/|date=1 January 1999|first1=Toby|last1=Lester|title=What Is the Koran?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/01/what-is-the-koran/304024/|website=The Atlantic}}</ref> A similar phrase is used by ] for ]. Because, according to his studies, Islamic scientific view on the date of birth of the Prophet until the second century A.H. had exhibited a diversity of 85 years.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/abraha-and-muhammad-some-observations-apropos-of-chronology-and-literary-topoi-in-the-early-arabic-historical-tradition1/3C7779B2986050C4381A72D79D2B8F3F |title=Abraha and Muhammad: Some Observations Apropos of Chronology and Literary topoi in the Early Arabic Historical Tradition|access-date=29 October 2020|last1=Conrad|first1=Lawrence|date=June 1987|issue=2|page=239|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=50|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00049016|s2cid=162350288 }}</ref>]]

In 1972, a cache of 12,000 ancient Quranic parchment fragments was discovered in a mosque in ], Yemen – commonly known as the ].
Of the fragments, all except 1500–2000 were assigned to 926 distinct Quranic manuscripts as of 1997.

The manuscript is a ] and comprises two layers of text, both of which are written in the ]. The upper text largely conforms to the standard ] in text and in the standard order of chapters ({{transliteration|ar|]}}, singular {{transliteration|ar|]}}), whereas the lower text (the original text that was erased and written over by the upper text, but can still be read with the help of ultraviolet light and computer processing) contains many variations from the standard Uthmani text, and the sequence of its chapters corresponds to no known Quranic order.

For example, in sura 2, verse 87, the lower text has ''wa-qaffaynā 'alā āthārihi'' whereas the standard text has ''wa-qaffaynā min ba'dihi''. The Sana'a manuscript has exactly the same verses and the same order of verses as the standard Quran.{{sfn|Sadeghi|Goudarzi|2012|p=26}} The order of the suras in the Sana'a codex is different from the order in the standard Quran.{{sfn|Sadeghi|Goudarzi|2012|p=23}} Such variants are similar to the ones reported for the Quran codices of Companions such as ] and ]. However, variants occur much more frequently in the Sana'a codex, which contains "by a rough estimate perhaps twenty-five times as many ".{{sfn|Sadeghi|Goudarzi|2012|p=20}}

On the basis of studies of the trove of Quranic manuscripts discovered in Sana'a, ] concluded that the Quran as we have it is a 'cocktail of texts', some perhaps preceding Muhammad's day, and that the text as we have it evolved.<ref name="theatlantic.com"/> However, other scholars, such as Asma Hilali presumed that the San'aa palimpsest seems to be written down by a ] in the context of a "school exercise", which explains a potential reason of variations in this text from the standard Quran Mushafs available today.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Hollenberg|first1=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zSFKCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|title=The Yemeni Manuscript Tradition|last2=Rauch|first2=Christoph|last3=Schmidtke|first3=Sabine|date=2015-05-20|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-28976-5|language=en}}</ref> Another way to explain these variations is that San'aa manuscript may have been part of ] ] which escaped the 3rd caliph ]'s attempt to destroy all the dialects (]) of Quran except the Quraishi one (in order to unite the Muslims of that time).

====Birmingham/Paris manuscript====
{{See also|Sana'a manuscript|BnF Arabe 328(c)}}

The early Arabic script transcribed 28 consonants, of which only 6 can be readily distinguished, the remaining 22 having formal similarities which means that what specific consonant is intended can only be determined by context. It was only with the introduction of ] some centuries later, that an authorized vocalization of the text, and how it was to be read, was established and became canonical.<ref>] Verlag Hans Schiler, 2007 {{isbn|978-3-899-30088-8}} p.31.</ref>
In 2015, the ] disclosed that scientific tests may show ] as one of the oldest known and believe it was written close to the time of Muhammad. The findings in 2015 of the Birmingham Manuscripts lead Joseph E. B. Lumbard, Assistant Professor of Classical Islam, Brandeis University, to comment:<ref name="Joseph E. B. Lumbard">{{cite news|last=Lumbard|first=Joseph|title=New Light on the History of the Quranic Text?|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-e-b-lumbard/new-light-on-the-history-_b_7864930.html|access-date=27 July 2015|work=HuffPost}}</ref>
{{blockquote|These recent empirical findings are of fundamental importance. They establish that as regards the broad outlines of the history of the compilation and codification of the Quranic text, the classical Islamic sources are far more reliable than had hitherto been assumed. Such findings thus render the vast majority of Western revisionist theories regarding the historical origins of the Quran untenable.}}

Tests by the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit indicated with a probability of more than 94 percent that the parchment dated from 568 to 645.<ref name=AsOld>{{cite news|author=Dan Bilefsky for '']''|title=A Find in Britain: Quran Fragments Perhaps as Old as Islam|newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 July 2015|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/world/europe/quran-fragments-university-birmingham.html?mcubz=0 |access-date=24 May 2021}}</ref> Dr Saud al-Sarhan, Director of ] in ], questions whether the parchment might have been reused as a ], and also noted that the writing had chapter separators and dotted verse endings – features in ]s which are believed not to have been introduced to the Quran until later.<ref name=AsOld/> Al-Sarhan's criticisms were supported by several Saudi-based experts in Quranic history, who said that the Birmingham/Paris Quran could not have been written during the lifetime of Muhammad. They said that while Muhammad was alive, Quranic texts were written without chapter decoration, marked verse endings or use of coloured inks; and did not follow any standard sequence of surahs. They said that those features were introduced into Quranic practice in the time of the Caliph Uthman, and so the Birmingham leaves could have been written later, but not earlier.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150727251595 |title=Experts doubt oldest Quran claim |date=27 July 2015 |newspaper=Saudi Gazette |access-date=27 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906130646/http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150727251595 |archive-date=6 September 2015 }}</ref>

Professor Süleyman Berk of the faculty of Islamic studies at ] said there is a strong similarity between the script of the Birmingham leaves and those of a number of Hijazi Qurans in the ], which were brought to Istanbul from the ] following a fire in 1893. Berk said that these manuscripts had been intensively researched in association with an exhibition on the history of the Quran, ''The Quran in its 1,400th Year'' held in Istanbul in 2010, and the findings published by François Déroche as ''Qur'ans of the Umayyads'' in 2013.<ref>{{cite book|last=Déroche|first=François|title=Qur'ans of the Umayyads: a first overview|year=2013|publisher=Brill Publishers|pages=67–69}}</ref> In that study, the Paris Quran, ], is compared with Qurans in Istanbul, and concluded as having been written "around the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth century."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailysabah.com/history/2015/07/27/oldest-quran-still-a-matter-of-controversy|title=Oldest Quran still a matter of controversy|date=27 July 2015 |newspaper=Daily Sabah|access-date=27 July 2015}}</ref>

In December 2015 ] of the ] said the two Birmingham leaves were those of the Paris Qur'an BnF Arabe 328(c), as had been proposed by Alba Fedeli. Deroche expressed reservations about the reliability of the radiocarbon dates proposed for the Birmingham leaves, noting instances elsewhere in which radiocarbon dating had proved inaccurate in testing Qurans with an explicit endowment date; and also that none of the counterpart Paris leaves had yet been carbon-dated. ], managing director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, has proposed that, were the radiocarbon dates to be confirmed, the Birmingham/Paris Qur'an might be identified with the text known to have been assembled by the first ], ], between 632 and 634 CE.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35151643|title=Birmingham's ancient Koran history revealed|date=23 December 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=4 February 2016}}</ref>

===Further research and findings===
Critical research of historic events and timeliness of eyewitness accounts reveal the effort of later traditionalists to consciously promote, for nationalistic purposes, the centrist concept of Mecca and prophetic descent from Ismail, in order to grant a ] orientation to the emerging religious identity of Islam:
{{blockquote|For, our attempt to date the relevant traditional material confirms on the whole the conclusions which ] arrived at from another field, specifically the tendency of ] to grow backwards.<ref>J. Schacht, ''The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence'', London, 1950, pp. 107, 156.</ref>}}

In their book 1977 '']'', written before ], ] and ] challenge the traditional account of how the Quran was compiled, writing that "there is no hard evidence for the existence of the Koran in any form before the last decade of the seventh century."<ref name="Hagarism">Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, and Gerd R. Puin as quoted in {{cite magazine| url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199901/koran | magazine=The Atlantic Monthly | title=What Is the Koran? | author=Toby Lester |date=January 1999}}</ref><ref name="theatlantic.com">Toby Lester ] January 1999</ref> Crone, Wansbrough, and Nevo argued, that all the primary sources which exist are from 150 to 300 years after the events which they describe, and thus are chronologically far removed from those events.<ref>] "Towards a Prehistory of Islam," ''Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam'', vol. 17, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1994 p. 108.</ref><ref>] ''The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History'', Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1978 p. 119</ref><ref>], ''Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam,'' Princeton University Press, 1987 p. 204.</ref>
] era.]]

It is generally acknowledged that the work of Crone and Cook was a fresh approach in its reconstruction of early ], but the theory has been almost universally rejected.<ref>David Waines, ''Introduction to Islam'', Cambridge: ], 1995. {{ISBN|0-521-42929-3}}, pp. 273–74</ref> Van Ess has dismissed it stating that "a refutation is perhaps unnecessary since the authors make no effort to prove it in detail ... Where they are only giving a new interpretation of well-known facts, this is not decisive. But where the accepted facts are consciously put upside down, their approach is disastrous."<ref name="van Ess">van Ess, "The Making Of Islam", '']'', 8 September 1978, p. 998</ref> R. B. Serjeant states that "... is not only bitterly anti-Islamic in tone, but anti-Arabian. Its superficial fancies are so ridiculous that at first one wonders if it is just a 'leg pull', pure 'spoof'."<ref>R. B. Serjeant, ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' (1978) p. 78</ref> ] states that "Few have failed to be convinced that what is in our copy of the Quran is, in fact, what Muhammad taught, and is expressed in his own words".<ref>Peters, F. E. (Aug. 1991) "The Quest of the ]." '']'', Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 291–315.</ref>

In 2006, legal scholar Liaquat Ali Khan claimed that Crone and Cook later explicitly disavowed their earlier book.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/04/28/d60428020635.htm|title=Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels|access-date=12 June 2006|author=Liaquat Ali Khan}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://baltimorechronicle.com/2006/042606AliKhan.shtml|title=Hagarism: The Story of a Book Written by Infidels for Infidels|access-date=9 June 2006|author=Liaquat Ali Khan}}</ref> Patricia Crone in an article published in 2006 provided an update on the evolution of her conceptions since the printing of the thesis in 1976. In the article she acknowledges that Muhammad existed as a historical figure and that the Quran represents "utterances" of his that he believed to be revelations. However she states that the Quran may not be the complete record of the revelations. She also accepts that oral histories and Muslim historical accounts cannot be totally discounted, but remains skeptical about the traditional account of the ] and the standard view that Muhammad and his tribe were based in Mecca. She describes the difficulty in the handling of the ] because of their "amorphous nature" and purpose as documentary evidence for deriving religious law rather than as historical narratives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/mohammed_3866.jsp|title=What do we actually know about Mohammed?|date=3 September 2014|website=openDemocracy|access-date=7 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421171853/http://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/mohammed_3866.jsp|archive-date=21 April 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The author of the '']'' Abd al-Masih ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (not the famed philosopher ]) claimed that the narratives in the Quran were "all jumbled together and intermingled" and that this was "an evidence that many different hands have been at work therein, and caused discrepancies, adding or cutting out whatever they liked or disliked".<ref>Quoted in A. Rippin, ''Muslims: their religious beliefs and practices: Volume 1'', London, 1991, p. 26</ref> Bell and Watt suggested that the variation in writing style throughout the Quran, which sometimes involves the use of rhyming, may have indicated revisions to the text during its compilation. They claimed that there were "abrupt changes in the length of verses; sudden changes of the dramatic situation, with changes of pronoun from singular to plural, from second to third person, and so on".<ref>R. Bell & W.M. Watt, ''An introduction to the Quran'', Edinburgh, 1977, p. 93</ref> At the same time, however, they noted that "f any great changes by way of addition, suppression or alteration had been made, controversy would almost certainly have arisen; but of that there is little trace." They also note that "Modern study of the Quran has not in fact raised any serious question of its authenticity. The style varies, but is almost unmistakable."<ref>''Bell's introduction to the Qurʼān''. By Richard Bell, William Montgomery Watt, p. 51: </ref>

==Questions about history and origins==
{{See also|Wahy|Quran and miracles|Legends and the Quran}}

===Questions about the text===
The Quran itself states that its revelations are themselves "miraculous 'signs{{'"}}<ref name=AGI1954:55/>—inimitable ('']'') in their eloquence and perfection<ref name=cook-2000-112-3>{{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Michael|title=The Koran : A Very Short Introduction|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUEe1twiimUC&q=The+Koran+%3A+A+Very+Short+Introduction |isbn=0192853449|pages=112–113}}</ref>
and proof of the authenticity of Muhammad's prophethood. (For example {{cite quran|2|2|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|17|88-89|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|29|47|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|28|49|style=nosup|expand=no}})
{{#tag:ref|Several verses in the Quran -- such as the one below -- challenged unbelievers to produce something like the Qur'an:
*"If men and Jin banded together to produce the like of this Qur'an they would never produce its like not though they backed one another."(17:88)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tanzil.net/|title=Tanzil - Quran Navigator &#124; القرآن الكريم|website=tanzil.net}}</ref>|group=Note}}
Several verses remark on how the verses of the book set clear or make things clear,{{#tag:ref|{{cite quran|11|1|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|6|114|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|16|89|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|41|3|style=nosup|expand=no}}. Though they also state that some verses are not entirely clear and that "none knows its hidden meanings save Allah".(Q.3:7)|group=Note}} and are in "pure and clear" ] language {{#tag:ref|{{Cite Quran|16|101 |end=103 |style=ref| tn=p}}|group=Note}}
At the same time, (most Muslims believe) some verses of the Quran have been abrogated ('']'') by others and these and other verses have sometimes been revealed in response or answer to questions by followers or opponents.<ref name=AGI1954:59/><ref name="al-Suyuti, v.1, 28">Al-Suyuti, 'Abd al-Rahman Jalal al-Din. (1963). ''Asbab al-Nuzul'', volume 1 of 4 vols. Cairo: Dar al-Tahrir, page28</ref><ref name=RARDtQ2017:65-6>]: p.65-6</ref>

Not all early Muslims agreed with this consensus. Muslim-turned-skeptic ] (d.911) dismissed the Quran as "not the speech of someone with wisdom, contain contradictions, errors and absurdities".<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:42>]: p.42</ref>
In response to claims that the Quran is a miracle, 10th-century physician and polymath ] wrote (according to his opponent ]),
<blockquote>You claim that the evidentiary miracle is present and available, namely, the Koran. You say: "Whoever denies it, let him produce a similar one." Indeed, we shall produce a thousand similar, from the works of rhetoricians, eloquent speakers and valiant poets, which are more appropriately phrased and state the issues more succinctly. They convey the meaning better and their rhymed prose is in better meter. ... By God what you say astonishes us! You are talking about a work which recounts ancient myths, and which at the same time is full of contradictions and does not contain any useful information or explanation. Then you say: "Produce something like it"?!<ref name="Stroumsa-1999-103">{{cite book |last1=Stroumsa |first1=Sarah |author1-link=Sarah Stroumsa|title=Freethinkers of medieval Islam: Ibn al-Rawāndī, Abū Bakr al-Rāzī and their Impact on Islamic Thought |date=1999 |publisher=Brill |page=103 |isbn=9004113746 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9b8uQfmQM8kC&pg=PA103 |access-date=13 March 2021}}</ref><ref>Abu Hatim al-Razi: The Proof of Prophecy, a Parallel Arabic-English Text - Islamic Translation Series</ref></blockquote>

Early Western scholars also often attacked the literary merit of the Quran.
Orientalist ], {{#tag:ref| though considering Muhammad a man of real vision and self-conviction (according to Edward Said),<ref name=ESO1978:152>]: p.152</ref>
|group=Note}} called the Quran "toilsome reading and a wearisome confused jumble, crude, incondite" with "endless iterations, long-windedness, entanglement" and "insupportable stupidity".<ref>Thomas Carlyle (1841), ''On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History'', p. 64-67</ref> ] wrote that this book warrants "little merit ... from a literary point of view".{{#tag:ref|
"From the literary point of view, the Koran has little merit. Declamation, repetition, puerility, a lack of logic and coherence strike the unprepared reader at every turn. It is humiliating to the human intellect to think that this mediocre literature has been the subject of innumerable commentaries, and that millions of men are still wasting time absorbing it."
<ref>{{cite book|first=Salomon
|last=Reinach
|title=Orpheus: A History of Religions
| year=1909}}</ref>|group=Note}}

More specifically, "peculiarities" in the text have been alleged.<ref name="JE">. From the ''Jewish Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 21 January 2008.</ref>
Iranian rationalist and scholar ] points out that before its perfection became an issue of Islamic doctrine, early Muslim scholar Ibrahim an-Nazzam "openly acknowledged that the arrangement and syntax" of the Quran was less than "miraculous".<ref name=AD23Y1994:48>]: p.48</ref>

Ali Dashti states that "more than one hundred" aberrations from "the normal rules and structure of Arabic have been noted" in the Quran.<ref name=AD23Y1994:42>]: p.42</ref>
<blockquote>sentences which are incomplete and not fully intelligible without the aid or commentaries; foreign words, unfamiliar Arabic words, and words used with other than the normal meaning; adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of the concords of gender and number; illogically and ungrammatically applied pronouns which sometimes have no referent; and predicates which in rhymed passages are often remote from the subjects.<ref name=AD23Y1994:41>]: p.41</ref>
</blockquote>

Scholar ] puts the number of unclear verses much higher:
<blockquote>The Koran claims for itself that it is 'mubeen,' or 'clear,' but if you look at it, you will notice that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn't make sense. Many Muslims—and Orientalists—will tell you otherwise, of course, but the fact is that a fifth of the Koranic text is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Koran is not comprehensible—if it can't even be understood in Arabic—then it's not translatable. People fear that. And since the Koran claims repeatedly to be clear but obviously is not—as even speakers of Arabic will tell you—there is a contradiction. Something else must be going on.<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/></blockquote>

Scholar of the Semitic languages Theodor Noldeke collected a large quantity of morphological and syntactic grammatical forms in the Quran<ref name="71-Theodor Noldeke">Theodor Nöldeke, "Zur Sprache des Korāns" in ''Neue Beiträge zur semitishen Sprachwissenschaft, Strassburg: Trubner, 1910, 1-30; French translation by G.-H. Bousquet, Remarques critiques sur le style et la syntaxe du Coran'', Paris: Maisonneuve, 1953</ref> that "do not enter into the general linguistic system of Arabic".<ref name=CGRtAotQ2008:95>]: p.95</ref>
Alan Dundes points out the Quran itself denies that there can be errors within it, "If it were from other than Allah, they would surely have found in it many contradictions". (Q.4:82)<ref name=ADFotA2003:8>]: p.8</ref>

===Obscure words and phrases===
The Quran "sometimes makes dramatic shifts in style, voice, and subject matter from verse to verse, and it assumes a familiarity with language, stories, and events that seem to have been lost even to the earliest of Muslim exegetes", according to journalist and scholar ].<ref name="what-atlantic-1999"/>

The Quran is known to contain a number of words the meaning of which is not clear and for which Muslim commentators (and Western scholars) have created "a welter of competing guesses".<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:138>]: p.138</ref>
*''qaḍb'' ({{cite quran|8|28|style=nosup|expand=no}}) possible meaning "green herbs" of some kind.<ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:42>]: p.42</ref>
*''ʿābb'' ({{cite quran|8|31|style=nosup|expand=no}}), possible meaning "pasture"<ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:42/>
*''Jibt'' ({{cite quran|4|51|style=nosup|expand=no}}), "no explanation has been found" guesses include "idol or priest or sorcerer, or sorcery, or satan, or what not".<ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:42/>
*''Ghislīn'' ({{cite quran|69|36|style=nosup|expand=no}}), unknown. guess: "what exudes from the bodies of the inmates" of Hell.<ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:42/>
*''Iram'' ({{cite quran|89|7|style=nosup|expand=no}}), unknown. foreign word, possibly a name of city or country.<ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:42/>
*''Qurbān'' ({{cite quran|46|28|style=nosup|expand=no}}), evidently means "sacrifice", but maybe "favorites of a prince" or then again "a means of access to God"<ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:42/>
*''ṣābiʿīn'' ({{cite quran|2|62|style=nosup|expand=no}}), literally "the baptizers", but does not make sense in that context.<ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:43>]: p.43</ref>
*''abābīl'' ({{cite quran|105|3|style=nosup|expand=no}})<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:138/>
*''sijjīl'' ({{cite quran|105|4|style=nosup|expand=no}})<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:138/>
*''samad'' ({{cite quran|112|2|style=nosup|expand=no}})<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:138/>
*''kalāla'' ({{cite quran|4|11-12|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|4|176|style=nosup|expand=no}})<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:139/>
*''an yadin'' ({{cite quran|9|29|style=nosup|expand=no}}) usually translated as "out of hand" as a means of payment, but what this means has not been agreed upon.<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:139>]: p.139</ref>
*''ar-raqim'' ({{cite quran|18|9|style=nosup|expand=no}}) guesses by exegetes include "books", "inscription", "tablet", "rock", "numbers", or "building", or a proper name for "a village, or a valley, a mountain, or even a dog".<ref name=GSRQSaIC2008:1>]: p.1</ref>

Michael Cook argues that there may be more obscure words than has been recognized.<ref name="Cook-1983-71">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Michael |title=Muhammad |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0192876058 |pages=71–2}}</ref>
*{{cite quran|106|1|e=2|style=nosup}}: "For the accustomed security of the Quraysh - Their accustomed security the caravan of winter and summer",
Contains the word ''ilaf''—interpreted to mean arrangements with local tribes for protection ("accustomed security"); and the word ''rihla''—thought to mean the caravan journey. According to hadith, the foundation of Mecca's trade were two annual commercial caravans by the Quraysh tribe from Mecca to Yemen and back in the winter and another to Syria in the summer. But the Arabic word ''rihla'' simply means journey, not commercial travel or caravan; and there was uncertainty among commentators as to how to read the vowels in ''ilaf'' or how the term was defined. Consequently Cook wonders if {{cite quran|106|1|e=2|style=nosup}} is brief mention of Mecca's basic commerce or if the hadith about the two caravans (many hadith being known to be fabricated) was made up to explain Quranic passages whose meaning was otherwise unclear.<ref name="Cook-1983-71"/>

Explanations include that God is "making the point that He knows something we don't" (for example ''qāriʿah'' in Q:101), or that in some cases the words are used to rhyme a verse.<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:138/>("The use of many rare words and new forms may be traced to the same cause (comp. especially Q.9:8-9, 11, 16)."<ref name="JE"/>

====Arabic words====
Several verse—Q.16:103, 12:2, and 42:7 -- state the Quran is revealed in Arabic, pure and clear.<ref name=adl-call>{{cite web |last1=Al 'Adl |first1=Ansar |title=The Qur'an's Pure Arabic and the Presence of Foreign Words |url=https://www.call-to-monotheism.com/the_qur_an_s_pure_arabic_and_the_presence_of_foreign_words__by_ansar_al__adl |website=call to monotheism |accessdate=11 April 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Wilson-foreign">{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Faye |title=Foreign Words in the Quran |url=https://americaoutloud.com/foreign-words-quran/ |website=America Out Loud |accessdate=12 April 2019 |date=22 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=16&verse=103 |title=Verse (16:103) - English Translation |accessdate=11 April 2019 }}</ref>
However the scholar ] (1445–1505 CE) enumerated 107 foreign words in the Quran,<ref>Al Suyuti, ''al-Itqan'' (Cairo 1925), vol.1, ch. 38 pp (135/41)</ref> and Arthur Jeffery found about 275 words that are of Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Ethiopic, Persian, and Greek origin<ref>Jeffery, Arthur, ''The Foreign Vocabulary of the Koran'', Baroda, 1938</ref> according to Ibn Warraq.<ref name=iWWINaM1995:108>]: p.108</ref> ] states that not only Orientalists but medieval Arabs admitted the Quran contained foreign words. Al-Jawālīqī (]), a 12-century Arab grammarian, spoke of "'foreign words found in the speech of the ancient Arabs and employed in the Quran' without any cautious restrictions."<ref name=11-jawaliqi>Al-Jawālīqī, ''al-mu'arrab min al-kalam al-a'jami 'ala huruf al-mu'jam'', Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (ed.) Cairo: Matba'at Dar al-Kutub, 1942, 3</ref><ref>Andrew Rippin, "Syriac in the Quran", in The Quran in its Historical Context, edited by Garbriel Said Reynolds, 2008, p.252</ref>
Defending against these charges, Ansar Al 'Adl of "call to monotheism" states that "pure arabic" actually really refers to the "clarity and eloquence" of the arabic language in the Quran, and that the foreign words "had actually been naturalized and become regular Arabic words before they came to be used in the Qur'an"<ref name=adl-call/>

===="Mystery letters"====
Another mystery is why about one quarter of surahs of the Quran begin with a group of between one and five letters that do not form words. These are known as ] ('disconnected letters'):
*Alif Lam Ra – Q. 10, 11, 12, 14, 15.
*Alif Lam Mim – Q. 2, 3, 29, 30, 31, 32.
*Alif Lam Mim Ra – Q. 13.
*Alif Lam Mim Sad – Q. 7.
*Ha Mim – Q. 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46.
*Ha Mim ‘Ain Sin Qaf – Q. 42.
*Sad – Q. 38.
*Ta Sin – Q. 27.
*Ta Sin Mim – Q. 26, 28.
*Ta Ha – Q. 20.
*Qaf – Q. 50.
*Ka Ha Ya 'Ain Sad – Q. 19.
*Nun – Q. 68.
*Ya Sin – Q. 36.

According to the Muslim translator and expositor ]:
<blockquote>"The significance of these letter-symbols has perplexed the commentators from the earliest times. There is no evidence of the Prophet's having ever referred to them in any of his recorded utterances, nor any of his ] having ever asked him for an explanation. None the less, it is established beyond any possibility of doubt that all the Companions - obviously following the example of the Prophet - regarded the muqatta'at as integral parts of the suras to which they are prefixed, and used to recite them accordingly: a fact which disposes effectively of the suggestion advanced by some Western orientalists that these letters may be no more than the initials of the scribes who wrote down the individual revelations at the Prophet's dictation, or of the Companions who recorded them at the time of the final codification of the Qur'an during the reign of the first three Caliphs.
<p>"Some of the Companions as well as some of their immediate successors and later Qur'anic commentators were convinced that these letters are abbreviations of certain words or even phrases relating to God and His attributes, and tried to 'reconstruct' them with much ingenuity; but since the possible combinations are practically unlimited, all such interpretations are highly arbitrary and, therefore, devoid of any real usefulness …" <ref name=asad>{{cite web|url=http://www.webring.org/l/rd?ring=6666;id=1;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebspace%2Ewebring%2Ecom%2Fpeople%2Fvm%2Fmutmainaa%2FDhikr%2Fdisjoint%2Ehtml |last1=Asad |first1=Muhammad |title=The Message of the Qur'an |publisher=Dar al-Andalus Limited |location=3 Library Ramp Gibraltar, rpt.v |others=Appendix II |date=1993 | page=992 |accessdate=12 April 2019}}</ref><ref name=answer-mystery>{{cite web |title=The Perspicuity of the Quran and It's Mysterious Letters |last1=Shamoun |first1=Sam |url=https://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/perspicuity_letters.html |accessdate=9 April 2019}}</ref></p></blockquote>

Asad quotes ] as saying : ‘In every divine writ (kitab) there is mystery - and the mystery of the Qur'an is in the openings of the suras.’" <ref name=asad/>

====Mystery religion====
The Quran mentions the "Jews, Christians, and ]" three times ({{Cite quran|2|62|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{Cite quran|5|69|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{Cite quran|22|17|style=nosup|expand=no}}). But while the identity of the first two religions is/was widely known among Muslims and non-Muslims, the Ṣābiʼūn (usually Romanized as Sabians) was not<ref name="Buck-identity-1984">{{cite journal |last1=Buck |first1=Christopher |title=The identity of the Ṣābiʼūn |journal=Muslim World |date=July–October 1984 |volume=LXXIV |issue=3–4 |pages=172+ |doi=10.1111/j.1478-1913.1984.tb03453.x |url=https://www.academia.edu/33760876 |accessdate=2 October 2019 |issn=0027-4909}}</ref> {{citation needed span |text=even among the earliest Quranic commentators of the 7th and 8th century. |date=November 2023}}
{{#tag:ref|Because the Sabians were ''Ahl al-Kitāb'' (]) but unknown, they are said to have been used as a "loop hole" in Islamic law by a religious group threatened with either conversion to Islam or death. According to Abu Yusuf Absha al-Qadi, Caliph ] of ] in 830 CE stood with his army at the gates of ] and questioned the Harranians about what protected religion they belonged to. As they were neither Muslim, Christian, Jewish or Magian, the caliph told them they were non-believers. He said they would have to become Muslims, or adherents of one of the other religions recognized by the Qur'an by the time he returned from his ] or he would kill them.<ref name="Churton2009-26"/> The Harranians consulted with a lawyer, who suggested that they find their answer in the Qur'an II.59, which said that Sabians were tolerated. It was unknown what the sacred text intended by "Sabian" and so they took the name.<ref name="Churton2009-26">{{cite book|last=Churton|first=Tobias|title=The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians|date=9 September 2009|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|language=English|isbn=9781594779312|pages=26–7}}</ref>|group=Note}}

====Narrative voice: Mohammed or God as speakers====

Since the Quran is God's revelation to humanity, critics have wondered why in many verses, God is being addressed ''by'' humans, instead of Him addressing human beings. Or as scholars ] and ] point out, while it is not unheard of for someone (especially someone very powerful) to speak of himself in the third person, "the extent to which we find the Prophet apparently being addressed and told about God as a third person, is unusual", as is where "God is made to swear by himself".<ref name=Bell_Watt_1977_66/>)

Folklorist Alan Dundes notes how one "formula" or phrase ("... acquit thou/you/them/him of us/your/their/his evil deeds") is repeated with a variety of voices both divine and human, singular and plural:
*`Our Lord, forgive Thou our sins and acquit us of our evil deeds` {{cite quran|3|193|style=nosup|expand=no}};
*`We will acquit you of your evil deeds`, {{cite quran|4|31|style=nosup|expand=no}};
*`I will acquit you of your evil deeds`, {{cite quran|5|12|style=nosup|expand=no}};
*`He will acquit them of their evil deeds`, {{cite quran|47|2|style=nosup|expand=no}};
*`Allah will acquit him of his evil deeds`, {{cite quran|64|9|style=nosup|expand=no}};<ref name=ADFotA2003:45-46/>

The point-of-view of God changes from third person ("He" and "His" in ''Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa''), to first person ("We" and "Our" in ''We have blessed, to show him of Our signs''), and back again to third ("He" in ''Indeed, He is the Hearing'') all in the same verse. (In Arabic there is no capitalization to indicate divinity.) Q.33:37 also starts by referring to God in the third person, is followed by a sentence with God speaking in first person (''we gave her in marriage ...'') before returning to third person (''and God's commandment must be performed'').<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:135/> Again in {{cite quran|48|1|style=nosup|expand=no}} {{cite quran|48|2|style=nosup|expand=no}} God is both first (We) and third person (God, His) within one sentence.<ref name=AD23Y1994:150>]: p.150</ref>

The '']'', for example, writes: "For example, critics note that a sentence in which something is said concerning Allah is sometimes followed immediately by another in which Allah is the speaker (examples of this are Q.16.81, 27:61, 31:9, 43:10) Many peculiarities in the positions of words are due to the necessities of rhyme (lxix. 31, lxxiv. 3)."<ref name="JE"/> The verse {{cite quran|6|114|style=nosup|expand=no}} starts out with Muhammad talking in first person (I) and switches to third (you).
*{{cite quran|6|114|style=nosup|expand=no}} ''Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when He it is Who hath revealed unto you (this) Scripture, fully explained? Those unto whom We gave the Scripture (aforetime) know that it is revealed from thy Lord in truth. So be not thou (O Muhammad) of the waverers.''

While some (Muhammad Abdel Haleem) have argued that "such grammatical shifts are a traditional aspect of Arabic rhetorical style",{{#tag:ref|quote is Dundes<ref name=ADFotA2003:47>]: p.47</ref> referring to Muhammad Abdel Haleem<ref>Haleem, Muhammad Abdel. 1992 "Grammatical Shift for Rhetorical Purposes: ''Iltifat'' and Related Features in the Qur'an", ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'' v.55 pp.407-32</ref><ref>Haleem, Muhammad Abdel. 2001. ''Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Style'', London: I.B. Tauris, pp.184-210</ref> |group=Note}} ] (also quoted by critic ]) notes that in many verses "the speaker cannot have been God". The opening surah ]<ref name=iWWINaM1995:106>]: p.106</ref> which contains such lines as
<blockquote>''Praise to God, the Lord of the Worlds, ...<br>You (alone) we worship and from You (alone) we seek help. ...''</blockquote>
is "clearly addressed to God, in the form of a prayer."<ref name=AD23Y1994:148>]: p.148</ref><ref name=iWWINaM1995:106/><ref name=AD23Y1994:109>]: p.109</ref>
Other verses (the beginning of {{cite quran|27|91|style=nosup|expand=no}}, "I have been commanded to serve the Lord of this city ..."; {{cite quran|19|64|style=nosup|expand=no}}, "We come not down save by commandment of thy Lord") also makes no sense as a statement of an all-powerful God.

Many (in fact 350) verses in the Quran<ref name=iWWINaM1995:106/> where God is addressed in the third person are preceded by the imperative "say/recite!" (''qul'') -- but it does not occur in ] and many other similar verses. Sometimes the problem is resolved in translations of the Quran by the ''translators'' adding "Say!" in front of the verse (] and ] for Q.27.91,<ref name=iWWINaM1995:107>]: p.107</ref> ] for Q.6:114).<ref name=iWWINaM1995:106/>

Dashti notes that in at least one verse
*{{cite quran|17|1|style=nosup|expand=no}} -- ''Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.''

This feature did not escape the notice of some early Muslims.
] — one of the companions of Muhammad who served as a scribe for divine revelations received by Muhammad and is considered a reliable transmitter of ahadith — did not believe that Surah Fatihah (or two other surah — 113 and 114 — that contained the phrase "I take refuge in the Lord") to be a genuine part of the Quran.<ref name=AD23Y1994:149>]: p.149</ref> He was not alone, other companions of Muhammad disagreed over which surahs were part of the Quran and which not.<ref name=iWWINaM1995:106/> A verse of the Quran itself ({{cite quran|15|87|style=nosup|expand=no}}) seems to distinguish between Fatihah and the Quran:
*{{cite quran|15|87|style=nosup|expand=no}} -- ''And we have given you seven often repeated verses and the great Quran. (Al-Quran 15:87)''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://irebd.com/quran/english/surah-15/verse-87/|title=Quran Surah Al-Hijr ( Verse 87 ) with English Translation وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ|website=IReBD.com}}</ref>
], the noted medieval philologist and commentator of the Quran thought five verses had questionable "attribution to God" and were likely spoken by either Muhammad or Gabriel.<ref name=iWWINaM1995:106/>

Cases where the speaker is swearing an oath by God, such as surahs 75:1–2 and 90:1, have been made a point of criticism.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} But according to ], this was probably a traditional formula, and ] compared such verses to {{Bibleverse|Hebrews|6:13|KJV}}. It is also widely acknowledged that the first-person plural pronoun in Surah 19:64 refers to angels, describing their being sent by God down to Earth. Bell and Watt suggest that this attribution to angels can be extended to interpret certain verses where the speaker is not clear.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Edinburgh University Press| isbn = 978-0-7486-0597-2| last1 = Bell| first1 = Richard| last2 = Watt| first2 = William Montgomery| title = Bell's introduction to the Qurʼān| date = 1970|pages=66–67}}, and note.10</ref>

;Spelling, syntax and grammar
In 2020, a Saudi news website published an article<ref>"Amending The Quran," by Saudi journalist Ahmad Hashem in the "Saudi Opinions" website, 10 January 2020; quoted in {{cite web |title=Articles In Saudi Press Call To Amend Thousands Of Scribal Errors In The Quran, Reexamine Islamic Texts In Light Of Modern Perceptions |url=https://www.memri.org/reports/articles-saudi-press-call-amend-thousands-scribal-errors-quran-reexamine-islamic-texts-light |website=memri |accessdate=8 September 2020 |date=18 August 2020}}</ref> claiming that while most Muslims believe the text established by third caliph 'Uthman bin 'Affan "is sacred and must not be amended", there are some 2500 "errors of spelling, syntax and grammar" within it. The author (Ahmad Hashem) argues that while the recitation of the Quran is divine, the Quranic script established by Uthman's "is a human invention" subject to error and correction. Examples of some of the errors he gives are:
*Surah 68, verse 6, بِأَيِّيكُمُ appears, instead of بأيكم. In other words, an extra ي was added.
*Surah 25, verse 4, جَآءُو appears, instead of جَاءُوا or جاؤوا. In other words, the alif in the plural masculine suffix وا is missing.
*Surah 28, verse 9, the word امرأت appears, instead of امرأة.<ref name="memri-saudi-press">{{cite web |title=Articles In Saudi Press Call To Amend Thousands Of Scribal Errors In The Quran, Reexamine Islamic Texts In Light Of Modern Perceptions |url=https://www.memri.org/reports/articles-saudi-press-call-amend-thousands-scribal-errors-quran-reexamine-islamic-texts-light |website=memri |accessdate=8 September 2020 |date=18 August 2020}}</ref>

;Phrases, sentences or verse that seem out of place and were likely to have been transposed.
An example of an out-of-place verse fragment is found in Surah 24 where the beginning of a verse — (Q.24:61) "There is not upon the blind constraint nor upon the lame constraint nor upon the ill constraint ..." — is located in the midst of a section describing proper behavior for visiting relations and modesty for women and children ("when you eat from your houses or the houses of your fathers or the houses of your mothers or the houses of your brothers or the houses of your sisters or ..."). While it makes little sense here, the exact same phrases appears in another surah section (Q.48:11-17) where it does fit in as list of those exempt from blame and hellfire if they do not fight in a jihad military campaign.<ref>Bayḏā wī, ''Anwār al-tanzīl wa-asrāa al-tanʿwil'', ed. H.O. Fleischer (Leipzig, 1846-1848), v.2, p.6</ref><ref>I. Goldziher, ''Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law'', trans. A. & R. Hamori (Princeton University Press, 1981), pp.28-30</ref><ref name=WtKRS-I-IW2002:57-8>]: p.57-8</ref>

] complains that "many sentences begin with a 'when' or 'on the day when' which seems to hover in the air, so that commentators are driven to supply a 'think of this' or some such ellipsis."<ref name="Nöldeke-241">Nöldeke in , 9th edn. Vol.16, pp.623</ref> Similarly, describing a "rough edge" of the Quran, Michael Cook notes that verse Q.33:37 starts out with a "long and quite complicated subordinate clause" ("when thou wast saying to him ..."), "but we never learn what the clause is subordinate to."<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:135/>

====Reply====
A common reply to questions about difficulties or obscurities in the Quran is verse 3:7 which unlike other verses that simply state that the Quran is clear (''mubeen'') states that some verses are clear but others are "ambiguous" (''mutashabihat'').
*{{cite quran|3|7|style=nosup|expand=no}} ''It is He who sent down upon thee the Book, wherein are verses clear that are the Essence of the Book, and others ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is swerving, they follow the ambiguous part, desiring dissension, and desiring its interpretation; and none knows its interpretation, save only God. And those firmly rooted in knowledge say, 'We believe in it; all is from our Lord'; yet none remembers, but men possessed of minds.''

In regards to questions about the narrative voice, ] asserts that "moving from one style to another serves to make speech flow more smoothly", but also that by mixing up pronouns the Quran prevents the "boredom" that a more logical, straight forward narrative induces; it keeps the reader on their toes, helping "the listener to focus, renew his interest", providing "freshness and variety".<ref name="Robinson-1996-245"/> "Muslim specialists" refer to the practice as ''iltifāt'', ("literally 'conversion', or 'turning one's face to{{'"}}).<ref name="Robinson-1996-245">{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Neal |title=Sudden Changes In Person & Number: Neal Robinson On Iltifāt |date=1996 |publisher=SCM Press Ltd. |pages=245–252 |url=https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/text/grammar/robinson |access-date=14 March 2021 |chapter="The Dynamics Of The Qur'ānic Discourse"}}</ref> Western scholar Neal Robinson provides a more detailed reasons as to why these are not "imperfections", but instead should be "prized": changing the voice from "they" to "we" provides a "shock effect", third person ("Him") makes God "seem distant and transcendent", first person plural ("we") "emphasizes His majesty and power", first person singular ("I") "introduces a note of intimacy or immediacy", and so on.<ref name="Robinson-1996-245"/>
(Critics like Hassan Radwan suggest these explanations are rationalizations.)<ref>
Hassan Radwan| YouTube| 3:54 | 5 August 2018</ref>

===Preexisting sources===
]. ]]
{{Main|Biblical and Quranic narratives}}
====Similarities with Jewish and Christian Narratives====
In dealing with the question of the origins of the Quran, non-Muslim historians have often focused on Christian and Jewish sources.

The ] contains references to ] and events also found in the ] (including ] and ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], David and ], Jonah, Jesus, Mary. ], is mentioned 135 times<ref>{{cite book|title=Third Way (magazine)|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u20z-dBo6SIC&pg=PA18|date=May 1996|last1=Ltd|first1=Hymns Ancient Modern}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide|author=Bat Yeʼor|year=2002|page=309|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4kTdYgwQPkC&pg=PA30|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|isbn=9780838639429}}</ref>
Moses is mentioned in 502 verses in 36 surahs,<ref>{{Citation | first = Annabel | last = Keeler | contribution = Moses from a Muslim Perspective | editor1-last = Solomon | editor1-first = Norman | editor2-last = Harries | editor2-first = Richard | editor3-last = Winter | editor3-first = Tim | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9A4JZ8CSJJwC&pg=PA55 | title = Abraham's Children: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conversation | publisher = T&T Clark | year = 2005 | pages = 55–66| isbn = 978-0-567-08171-1 }}</ref> Abraham in 245 verses, Noah in 131.<ref name=iWWINaM1995:131>]: p.131</ref>
{{see|List of legends in the Quran}}
Legends, ]s or pieces of ] that appear in the Quran, with similar motifs to ] traditions include ], Abraham destroying idols, ] conversing with a talking ant. ] traditions include the ], the naming of ], the selection of Mary's guardian by lottery, how a palm tree obeyed the commands of the child Jesus.

The Quran and Bible differ on a number of narrative and theological issues. There is no ] in the Quran; it specifically and repeatedly denies the Christian ] of three persons in one God, and denies that Jesus is the son of God (9:30) was crucified (4:157) and died, or rose from the dead. It holds that the Holy Spirit is actually the angel Gabriel (2:97; 16:102). The Devil, ] (]), is regarded as a ] not a fallen angel, in most contemporary scholarship<ref name="Gauvin, page=69">{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Gauvain|title=Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God|publisher=]|location=Abingdon, England|date=2013|isbn=978-0710313560|page=69}}</ref> (2:34; 7:12; 15:27; 55:15).<ref> by Matt Slick |carm.org |12/12/08</ref>

Muslims believe the Quran refers to figures, prophets, and events in the ] and the ] because these books are predecessors of the Quran, also revealed by the one true omnipotent God. The differences between two books and the Quran can be explained (Muslims believed) by the flawed processes of transmission and interpretation of the Bible and New Testament, distorting revelation that the Quran provides free from any distortions and corruptions.

Non-Muslim historians – secular but also Jewish and Christian – in keeping with ], have looked for simpler, non-divine/non-supernatural explanations for the connection{{#tag:ref|In the words of atheist author ] rephrasing ]: "Which is more likely -- that a man should be used as a transmitter by God to deliver some already existing revelations, or that he should utter some already existing revelations and believe himself to be, or claim to be, ordered by God to do so?"<ref name="Hitchens-2007-48">{{cite book |last1=Hitchens |first1=Christopher |title=god is not great |date=2007 |page=48 |edition=pdf |url=http://evolbiol.ru/docs/docs/large_files/hitchens.pdf |accessdate=9 October 2019}}</ref>|group=Note}} (In Islamic language, dealing only with ''shahada'', i.e. what can be perceived, described, and studied; and not with the unseen '']'', made known only by divine revelation). Many stories of the Muhammad hearing about Christianity from Christians and Judaism from Jews come from Muslim sources.

Western academic scholars who have studied "the relationship between the Quran and the Judaeo-Christian scriptural tradition"<ref name=FMDQiRS2008:30>]: p.30</ref> include ],<ref name=Geiger-1833>Geiger, A. ''Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen'', Bonn: F. Baaden, 1833 (Reprint: Berlin: Parerga, 2205</ref> ],<ref name=Andræ-1926>Andrae, T., "Der Urspriung des Islams und das Christentum." ''Kyrkshistorisk arsskrift'' 23, 1923, 149-206; 24 1924, 213-25; 25, 1925, 45-112 (Reprint: ''Der Ursprung des Islam und das Christentum''. Uppsala: ALmqvist and Wiksells, 1926)</ref> ],<ref>Bell, R. ''The Origin of Islam in its Christian Environment''. London: Macmillan, 1926</ref> and ].<ref name=Torrey-1933>Torrey, C. C., ''The Jewish Foundation of Islam'', New York: Jewish Institute of Religion, 1933</ref>

;Jewish influence
In the 19th century, ] argued for Jewish influence on the formation of the Quran,<ref name=Geiger-1833/> as did C. C. Torrey even more forcefully in the early 20th Century.<ref name=Torrey-1933/> Micheal Cook believes Muhammad "owed more to Judiasm than to Christianity",<ref name="Cook-1983-82">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Michael |title=Muhammad |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0192876058 |page=82}}</ref> and mentions a "fusion" of Jewish-based "monotheism with Arab identity" in Palestine prior to Islam. According to a fifth-century Christian writer — ] — some "Saracen" (Arab) tribes rediscovered their "Ishmaelite descent"<ref name="Cook-1983-81">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Michael |title=Muhammad |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0192876058 |page=81}}</ref> after coming into contact with Jews and had adopted Jewish laws and customs.<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:141/><ref>Sozomen, ''Kirchengeschichte'', M, 38, (''The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen'', pp.309F.)</ref><ref name=PCMTatRoI1987:191-2>]: p.191-2, note 104</ref> Although there is no evidence to show "a direct link" between these Arabs and Muhammad,<ref name="Cook-1983-81"/> it is a milieu where Quranic material could "have come into existence" before Muhammad.<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:141>]: p.141</ref>

Several narratives rely on Jewish ] legends, like the narrative of Cain learning to bury the body of Abel in ].<ref>Samuel A. Berman, Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu (KTAV Publishing house, 1996) 31-32</ref><ref>Gerald Friedlander, Pirḳe de-R. Eliezer, (The Bloch Publishing Company, 1916) 156</ref> Critics, like ] argue that the dependence of the Quran on preexisting sources is one evidence of a purely human origin.<ref>Geisler, N. L. (1999). In Baker encyclopedia of Christian apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. Entry on Qur'an, Alleged Divine Origin of.</ref>

In their book '']'', Michael Cook and Patricia Crone postulate that a number of features of Islam may have been borrowed from the Jewish breakaway sect of ]: "the idea of a scripture limited to the ], a prophet like ] (i.e. ]), a holy book revealed like the Torah (the ]), a sacred city (]) with a nearby mountain (] -- the Samaratan mountain being ]) and shrine (the ]) of an appropriate patriarch (]), plus a caliphate modeled on an ]."<ref name=IWOoICLatS2000:94-5>]: p.94-5</ref><ref name=OoIaCLatS2000>{{cite book |authorlink1=Ibn al-Rawandi |editor1-last=Ibn Warraq |title=The Quest for the Historical Muhammad |date=2000 |publisher=Prometheus |pages=94–5 |chapter=2. Origins of Islam: A Critical Look at the Sources}}</ref> Ibn Warraq compares the similarities of Muhammad of Islam and Moses of the Jews. Both bearers of revelation (Pentateuch v. Quran), both receiving revelation on a mountain (Mount Sinai v. Mt. Hira), leading their people to escape persecution (Exodus vs. Hijra).<ref name=IWSoMatRoI2000:76>]: p.76</ref>

According to the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', "The dependence of Mohammed upon his Jewish teachers or upon what he heard of the Jewish Haggadah and Jewish practices is now generally conceded."<ref name="JE"/> Early jurists and theologians of Islam mentioned some Jewish influence but they also say where it is seen and recognized as such, it is perceived as a debasement or a dilution of the authentic message. ] describes this as "something like what in Christian history was called a Judaizing heresy."<ref>Jews of Islam, Bernard Lewis, p. 70: </ref>
According to Professor ], specialist in Arabic epigraphy, the legends about Muhammad having ten Jewish teachers developed in the 10th century CE:

{{quote |''"In most versions of the legends, ten Jewish wise men or dignitaries appear, who joined Muhammad and converted to Islam for different reasons. In reading all the Jewish texts one senses the danger of extinction of the Jewish people; and it was this ominous threat that induced these Sages to convert..."''<ref>Studies in Islamic History and Civilization, ], p. 347: </ref>}}

;Christian
], saw Christian "Nestorians of Yemen, monophysites of Ethiopia and especially ... Syrian pietism" influencing Islam".<ref name=Andræ-1926/><ref name=FMDQiRS2008:32>]: p.32</ref> ] regards the reliance on pre-Islamic Christian sources as evidence that Islam derived from a heretical sect of Christianity.<ref name="CARRIER-did-2015">{{cite web |last1=CARRIER |first1=RICHARD |title=Did Muhammad Exist? (Why That Question Is Hard to Answer) |url=https://www.richardcarrier.info/archives/8574 |website=richardcarrier.info |accessdate=10 October 2019 |date=1 October 2015}}</ref>

Scholar Oddbjørn Leirvik states "The Qur'an and Hadith have been clearly influenced by the non-canonical ('heretical') Christianity that prevailed in the Arab peninsula and further in Abyssinia" prior to Islam.<ref name=OLIoJCiI2010:33-66>]: p.33-66</ref> H.A.R. Gibb states that many of the details in the description of Judgement Day, Heaven, and Hell and some vocabulary "are closely paralleled in the writings of the Syriac Christian fathers and monks."<ref name=HARGM1953:39>]: p.39</ref>

British author ] thinks it notable that some doctrines that the Quran mentions in association with Christianity - e.g. that Jesus did not die on the cross (which is referenced in the Gospel of Basilides)<ref name=THItSotS2012:317>]: p.317</ref> that he was a mortal man and not divine (held by the ]ites)<ref name=THItSotS2012:226>]: p.226</ref> and that the mother of Jesus is divine<ref name=THItSotS2012:226/> - come not only from minority Christian sects, but ones that had not enjoyed prominence for some time by the 7th century CE, when the Quran was revealed.<ref name=THItSotS2012:316-7>]: p.316-7</ref>

===Influence of heretical Christian sects===
{{See also|Historicity of Jesus|Collyridianism}}
====Death of Jesus====
{{see|Jesus in Islam}}
The Quran maintains that Jesus was not actually crucified and did not die on the cross. The general Islamic view supporting the denial of crucifixion may have been influenced by ] (]), which holds that someone else was crucified instead of Jesus, while concluding that Jesus will return during the end-times.<ref name="ReferenceA">Joel L. Kraemer ''Israel Oriental Studies XII'' BRILL 1992 {{ISBN|9789004095847}} p. 41</ref> However the general consensus is that Manichaeism was not prevalent in Mecca in the 6th- & 7th centuries, when Islam developed.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Manichaeism, by Michel Tardieu, translation by DeBevoise (2008), p 23-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=M. Tardieu, "Les manichéens en Egypte," Bulletin de la Société Française d'Egyptologie 94, 1982,. & see M. Tardieu (1994)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/manicheism-iv-missionary-activity-and-technique-|title=Manicheism v. Missionary Activity & Technique|quote=That Manicheism went further on to the Arabian peninsula, up to the Hejaz and Mecca, where it could have possibly contributed to the formation of the doctrine of Islam, cannot be proven. A detailed description of Manichean traces in the Arabian-speaking regions is given by Tardieu (1994).}}</ref>
{{blockquote|That they said (in boast), "We killed ] Jesus the son of ], the ] of ]";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-<br>Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-|]<ref name="Lawson 12">{{cite book|last=Lawson|first=Todd|date=1 March 2009|title=The Crucifixion and the Quran: A Study in the History of Muslim Thought|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C1cQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|publisher=Oneworld Publications|page=12|isbn=978-1851686353}}</ref>}}

Despite these views and no eyewitness accounts, most modern scholars have maintained that the ] is indisputable.<ref name="Eddy 2007 p. 172">Eddy, Paul Rhodes and Gregory A. Boyd (2007). The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. Baker Academic. p. 172. {{ISBN|0801031141}}. ...if there is any fact of Jesus' life that has been established by a broad consensus, it is the fact of Jesus' crucifixion.</ref>

The view that Jesus only appeared to be crucified and did not actually die predates Islam, and is found in several apocryphal gospels.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

] in his book ''Against Heresies'' describes ] that bear remarkable resemblance with the Islamic view:
{{blockquote|''He did not himself suffer death, but Simon, a certain man of Cyrene, being compelled, bore the cross in his stead; so that this latter being transfigured by him, that he might be thought to be Jesus, was crucified, through ignorance and error, while Jesus himself received the form of Simon, and, standing by, laughed at them. For since he was an incorporeal power, and the Nous (mind) of the unborn father, he transfigured himself as he pleased, and thus ascended to him who had sent him, deriding them, inasmuch as he could not be laid hold of, and was invisible to all''.-|], Book I, Chapter 24, Section 40}}

A Gnostic writing, found in the Nag Hammadi library, ] has a similar view of Jesus' death:
{{blockquote|''I was not afflicted at all, yet I did not die in solid reality but in what appears, in order that I not be put to shame by them''}}

and also:
{{blockquote|''Another, their father, was the one who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. Another was the one who lifted up the cross on his shoulder, who was Simon. Another was the one on whom they put the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over all the riches of the archons and the offspring of their error and their conceit, and I was laughing at their ignorance''}}

], likewise, reveals the same views of Jesus' death:
{{blockquote|I saw him (Jesus) seemingly being seized by them. And I said 'What do I see, O Lord? That it is you yourself whom they take, and that you are grasping me? Or who is this one, glad and laughing on the tree? And is it another one whose feet and hands they are striking?' The Savior said to me, 'He whom you saw on the tree, glad and laughing, this is the living Jesus. But this one into whose hands and feet they drive the nails is his fleshly part, which is the substitute being put to shame, the one who came into being in his likeness. But look at him and me.' But I, when I had looked, said 'Lord, no one is looking at you. Let us flee this place.' But he said to me, 'I have told you, 'Leave the blind alone!'. And you, see how they do not know what they are saying. For the son of their glory instead of my servant, they have put to shame.' And I saw someone about to approach us resembling him, even him who was laughing on the tree. And he was with a Holy Spirit, and he is the Savior. And there was a great, ineffable light around them, and the multitude of ineffable and invisible angels blessing them. And when I looked at him, the one who gives praise was revealed.}}
====Mother Mary====
{{see|Mary in Islam}}
The ], early Christian heretical sect in ], whose adherents apparently worshipped the ], as a ],<ref name="Block13">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRtGAQAAQBAJ&q=Collyridianism&pg=PA186|title=The Qur'an in Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Historical and Modern Interpretations|last=Block|first=Corrie|date=8 October 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135014056|pages=186|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Angelika Neuwirth: Qur'ānic Studies Today. p. 301. The Collyridians, an arabian female sect of the fourth century, offered Mary cakes of bread, as they had done to their great earth mother in pagan times. Epiphanius who opposed this heresy, said that the trinity must be worshipped but Mary must not be worshipped.}}</ref> have become of interest in some recent Christian–Muslim religious discussions in reference to the ]. The debate hinges on some verses in the ], primarily {{Quran-usc|5|73|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{Quran-usc|5|75|style=nosup|expand=no}}, and {{Quran-usc|5|116|style=nosup|expand=no}} in the ] ], which have been taken to imply that Muhammad believed that Christians considered Mary to be part of the Trinity. That idea has never been part of mainstream Christian doctrine and is not clearly and unambiguously attested among any ancient Christian group, including the Collyridians.

===Contradictions and abrogation===
The Quran contains divine commands or policies that are ignored in Islamic law (]), including ],<ref>{{Cite Quran|24|2|style=nosup|expand=no}}</ref> which prescribes a penalty of "100 lashes" for '']'' (sex outside of marriage), while sharia law—based on hadith of Muhammad—orders adulterers to be stoned to death, not lashed.<ref name=MCKaVSI2000:140>]: p.140</ref>
This seeming disregard of the founding work of revelation of Islam has been explained by the concept of abrogation ({{lang|ar|]}}), whereby God sometimes abrogates one (sometimes more) revelation(s) with another—not only in the Quran but also among ]. ''Naskh'' also holds that are Islamic laws based on verses once part of the Quran but no longer found in present-day ] (written copies of the Quran),<ref name="yaqeen">{{cite web |last1=Khan |first1=Nazir |last2=Khatib |first2=Ammar |title=The Origins of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an |url=https://yaqeeninstitute.org/nazir-khan/the-origins-of-the-variant-readings-of-the-quran/#ftnt2 |website=Yaqeen Institute |access-date=30 March 2020}}</ref> which is the case with the stoning penalty for adultery.
A number of verses mention the issue of abrogation, the central one being:
*{{cite quran|2|106|style=nosup}}: "We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quran.com/2/106 |title=Surat Al-Baqarah 2:106&#93; – The Noble Qur'an – القرآن الكريم |publisher=Quran.com |access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref>

Besides {{Cite Quran|24|2|style=nosup|expand=no}}, some other examples of ''naskh'' cited by scholars are:
*{{Cite Quran|2|219|style=nosup |expand=no}}, which allows but discourages Muslims from drinking alcohol; {{Cite Quran|4|43|style=nosup|expand=no}}, which forbids Muslims from praying while drunk, and {{Cite Quran|5|90|style=nosup|expand=no}} which commands Muslims not to drink alcohol. These seeming contradictory commands are explained by the first verse being abrogated by the second, and the second by the last, as part of a gradual process of weaning early Muslims from alcohol consumption.<ref name="A-A-E">{{cite web |last1=Abu Amina Elias |title=NOBLE QURAN القرآن الكريم Abrogation and specification in the Quran |url=https://abuaminaelias.com/abrogation-and-specification-in-the-quran/ |website=Faith in Allah |access-date=9 July 2018 |date=10 December 2014}}</ref>
*The revelation of a verse criticizing Muslim slackers in the waging of jihad, prompted a blind Muslim ('Abd Allah ibn Umm Maktum) to protest that his lack of vision prevented him from fighting. "Almost instantaneously" a revelation ({{Cite Quran|4|95|style=nosup|expand=no}}) was sent down partially abrogating the earlier one{{#tag:ref|Roslan Abdul-Rahim describes the reports of the ''asbab'' or circumstances of the naskh as having "the potential to be even embarrassing for the Muslims".<ref name=RARDtQ2017:67>]: p.67</ref>|group=Note}} by adding the qualifier "except the disabled".
*{{Cite Quran|8|65|style=nosup|expand=no}} tells Muslim warriors, "If there be of you twenty patient believers, they will overcome two hundred" enemy. It is thought to be abrogated by {{Cite Quran|8|66|style=nosup|expand=no}} which lowers the number of enemies each Muslim warrior is expected to overcome in battle from ten to only two: "Now God has alleviated your burden, knowing that there is weakness in you. If there should be of you one hundred, they will overcome two hundred;.<ref name=JBSILITA1990:30>]: p.30</ref>
*Verses such as {{Cite Quran|43|89|style=nosup|expand=no}} urging followers to "turn away" from mocking unbelievers "and say, 'Peace{{'"}}, when Muslims were few in number, were replaced with the "Sword verse" {{Cite Quran|9|29|style=nosup|expand=no}} commanding "Fight those who (do) not believe in Allah and not in the Day the Last ... ", as Muhammad's followers grew stronger.<ref name="Fatoohi 2013 p. 114">{{cite book | last=Fatoohi | first=Louay | title=Abrogation in the Qurʼan and Islamic law : a critical study of the concept of | publisher=Routledge | location=New York | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-415-63198-3 | pages=114–115, 120}}</ref>

Among the criticisms made of the concept of abrogation is that it was developed to "remove" contradictions found in the Quran, which "abounds in repetitions and contradictions, which are not removed by the convenient theory of abrogation" (]);<ref name="Schaff 1910 4.III.44">Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1910). History of the Christian church. Third edition. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Volume 4, Chapter III, section 44 "The Koran, And The Bible"</ref> that it "poses a difficult theological problem" because it seems to suggest God was changing His mind,<ref name="Powers">{{cite journal |last1=Powers |first1=David S.|journal=Arabica |title=On the Abrogation of the Bequest Verses |date=September 1982 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=246–295|jstor=4056186|doi=10.1163/157005882X00301}}</ref> or has realized something He was unaware of when revealing the original verse, which is logically absurd for an eternally all-knowing deity (David S. Powers and John Burton);<ref>Mustafa, 1, 110 cited in ]: p.30</ref><ref name=dspp246>David S. Powers (Sept 1982), , David S. Powers, ''Arabica'', 29(3), Brill, pp. 246-247, 249-287</ref><ref name=lakp240>Liaquat Ali Khan (2008), "Jurodynamics of Islamic Law", ''Rutgers Law Review'', Vol. 61, No. 2, pp. 240-242</ref> and that it is suspiciously similar to the human process of "revising ... past decisions or plans" after "learning from experience and recognising mistakes" (]).<ref name="Dashti-1994-155">{{cite book |last1=Dashti |first1=Ali |title=Twenty Three Years |date=1994 |publisher=Mazda |location=Costa Mesa CA |isbn=1-56859-029-6 |page=155}}</ref><ref name="1400-years">{{cite web |last1=Dashti |first1=Ali |title=Twenty Three Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad |date=1994 |others=F. R. C. Bagley, translator |url=https://1400years.org/books/twentythreeyearsEN.pdf |pages=113–114 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Muslim scholars such as ] argue abrogation in Quranic verses is not an indication of contradiction but of addition and supplementation. An example of the mention of impermanent commands in the Quran is Q.2:109<ref name="Quran.com">{{cite web|url=http://quran.com/2/109 |title=Surat Al-Baqarah 2:109&#93; – The Noble Qur'an – القرآن الكريم |publisher=Quran.com |access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref> where — according to Tabatabaei — it clearly states the forgiveness is not permanent and soon there will be another command (through another verse) on this subject that completes the matter. Verse Q.4:15<ref name="Quran.com"/> also indicates its temporariness.<ref>Al-Mizan, Muhammad Husayn Tabatabayei, commentation on 2:106 translation available here {{cite web|url=http://www.shiasource.com/al-mizan/self/tafsir-2-106-107/ |title=Tafsir Al-Mizan - an Exegesis of the Holy Quran by the Late Allamah Muhammad Hussain Tabatabai |access-date=17 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306193941/http://www.shiasource.com/al-mizan/self/tafsir-2-106-107/ |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref>

The question of why a perfect and unchangeable divine revelation would need to be abrogated, however, has led other scholars to interpret verse Q.2:106 differently than the mainstream. ] in his ''Exposition of the Quran'' writes that the abrogation Q.2:106 refers to is of the Bible/Torah, not the Quran:
{{blockquote|The Ahl-ul-Kitab (People of the Book) also question the need for a new revelation (Qur'an) when previous revelations from Allah exist. They further ask why the Qur'an contains injunctions contrary to the earlier Revelation (the Torah) if it is from Allah? Tell them that Our way of sending Revelation to successive anbiya (prophets) is that: Injunctions given in earlier revelations, which were meant only for a particular time, are replaced by other injunctions, and injunctions which were to remain in force permanently but were abandoned, forgotten or adulterated by the followers of previous anbiya are given again in their original form (22:52). And all this happens in accordance with Our laid down standards, over which We have complete control. Now this last code of life which contains the truth of all previous revelations (5:48), is complete in every respect (6:116), and will always be preserved (15:9), has been given .<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tolueislam.org/exposition-of-the-holy-quran-02-surah-al-baqarah-g-a-parwez/ |title=Exposition of the Holy Quran – Ghulam Ahmad Parwez – Tolue Islam Trust |publisher=tolueislam.org |access-date=2015-07-31}}</ref>}}


===Satanic verses=== ===Satanic verses===
{{Main|Satanic Verses}}
Some criticism of the Quran has revolved around two verses known as the "]". Some early Islamic ] that as Muhammad was reciting Sūra Al-Najm (Q.53), as revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, ] deceived him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20: "Have you thought of ] and ] and ] the third, the other; These are the exalted ], whose intercession is hoped for." The Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshiped by the Meccans. These histories then say that these 'Satanic Verses' were repudiated shortly afterward by Muhammad at the behest of Gabriel.<ref>"The Life of Muhammad", ], ] (translator), 2002, p. 166 {{ISBN|0-19-636033-1}}</ref>


There are numerous accounts reporting the alleged incident, which differ in the construction and detail of the narrative, but they may be broadly collated to produce a basic account.<ref name="Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān">{{Citation
Some early Islamic ] that as Muhammad was reciting Sūra Al-Najm (Q.53), as revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, ] tempted him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20 :"Have you thought of Allāt and al-'Uzzā and Manāt the third, the other; These are the exalted Gharaniq, whose intercession is hoped for. (Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshiped by the Meccans). (citation needed)These histories then say that these 'Satanic Verses' were repudiated shortly afterward by Muhammad at the behest of the angel ].<ref>"The Life of Muhammad", ], ] (translator), 2002, p.166 ISBN 0-19-636033-1</ref> Academic scholars such as ] and ] argued for its authenticity based upon the implausibility of Muslims fabricating a story so unflattering to their prophet. Watt says that "the story is so strange that it must be true in essentials."<ref name="Watt">{{cite book | last=Watt | first=W. Montgomery | title=Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman | pages=61| year=1961 | publisher=Oxford University Press | id=ISBN 0-19-881078-4}} </ref> On the other hand, scholars such as ] and ] rejected the tradition. Caetani argued for its weak isnāds. And Burton, in an inverted culmination of Watt's approach, argued for its fictitiousness based upon a demonstration of its actual utility to certain elements of the Muslim community- namely, those legal exegetes seeking an "]" for ] of ].<ref> ] (1970). "Those Are the High-Flying Cranes". Journal of Semitic Studies 15: 246-264. </ref>
| last =Ahmed
| first =Shahab
| year =2008
| publication-date =14 August 2008
| contribution =Satanic Verses
| contribution-url =http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=q3_SIM-00372
| editor-last =Dammen McAuliffe
| editor-first =Jane
| title =Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān
| location =Georgetown University, Washington DC
| publisher =Brill
}}{{Dead link|date=September 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>


The different versions of the story are all traceable to one single narrator Muhammad ibn Ka'b, who was two generations removed from biographer ].<ref name="IbnIshaq">{{Cite book | last = Ibn Ishaq | first = Muhammad | title = Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah – The Life of Muhammad Translated by A. Guillaume. | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | page = 165| date = 1955 | url = https://archive.org/stream/TheLifeOfMohammedGuillaume/The_Life_Of_Mohammed_Guillaume#page/n104/mode/1up | isbn =9780196360331}}</ref> In its essential form, the story reports that Muhammad longed to convert his kinsmen and neighbors of ] to ]. As he was reciting ],<ref>(])</ref> considered a revelation by the angel ], ] tempted him to utter the following lines after ] 19 and 20:
The incident of ] is put forward by some critics as evidence of the Qur'an's origins as a human work of Muhammad. ] discusses the satanic verses as a conscious attempt to achieve a consensus with pagan Arabs, which was then consciously rejected as incompatible with Muhammad's attempts to answer the criticism of contemporary Arab Jews and Christians<ref> Maxime Rodinson, ''Muhammad'' (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) ps. 107-8 </ref> linking it with the moment at which Muhammad felt able to adopt a "hostile attitude" towards the pagan Arabs.<ref> Maxime Rodinson, ''Muhammad'' (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) p. 113 </ref> Rodinson writes that the story of the satanic verses is unlikely to be false because it was "one incident, in fact, which may be reasonably accepted as true because the makers of Muslim tradition would not have invented a story with such damaging implications for the revelation as a whole".<ref> Maxime Rodinson, ''Muhammad'' (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) (ISBN 1-86064-827-4) p. 106 </ref> ] while accepting the incident however states: "Thus it was not for any worldly motive that Muhammad eventually turned down the offer of the Meccans, but for a genuinely religious reason; not for example, because he could not trust these men nor because any personal ambition would remain unsatisfied, but because acknowledgment of the goddesses would lead to the failure of the cause, of the mission he had been given by God."<ref> W. Montgomery Watt, ''Muhammad at Mecca''m Oxford, 1953. 'The Growth of Opposition', p.105 </ref>
<blockquote>Have ye thought upon ] and ]
<br />and ], the third, the other?<br />These are the exalted '']'', whose intercession is hoped for.</blockquote>


Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshipped by the Meccans. Discerning the meaning of "''gharāniq''" is difficult, as it is a '']'' (i.e. used only once in the text). Commentators wrote that it meant the ]. The Arabic word does generally mean a "crane" – appearing in the singular as ''ghirnīq, ghurnūq, ghirnawq'' and ''ghurnayq'', and the word has cousin forms in other words for birds, including "raven, crow" and "eagle".<ref>{{Citation
Fischer and Abedi state that the story is rejected by almost all Muslim exegetes.<ref> M. M. J. Fischer & M. Abedi, "Bombay Talkies, The Word And The World: Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses", ], 1990, Washington, Volume 5, No. 2, p. 127. </ref> ] in his commentary points out the weakness of the various ] by which the story was transmitted, almost all of them ''mursal''- i.e. without a ] in their chain.<ref> </ref> This argument is supported by some academics such as J. Burton who believe the story is a forgery.<ref>J. Burton, "Those Are The High-Flying Cranes", Journal Of Semitic Studies, 1970, Volume 15, No. 2, p. 265.</ref> Some say that the authenticity of the 'Satanic Verses' is implausible because of the long period of time (many years) between when the verses were revealed and when they were corrected. They think that such avocation of idolatry would not have been tolerated by the fledging ] for so long. They also point out that the standard ] collections do not mention this incident at all.<ref></ref>
| last1 =Militarev
| first1 =Alexander
| last2 =Kogan
| first2 =Leonid
| year =2005
| title =Semitic Etymological Dictionary 2: Animal Names
| volume =278/2
| series =Alter Orient und Altes Testament
| location =Münster
| publisher =Ugarit-Verlag
| pages =131–32
| isbn =3-934628-57-5
}}</ref>


The subtext to the event is that Muhammad was backing away from his otherwise uncompromising ] by saying that these goddesses were real and their intercession effective. The Meccans were overjoyed to hear this and joined Muhammad in ritual prostration at the end of the ''sūrah''. The Meccan refugees who had fled to Abyssinia heard of the end of persecution and started to return home. Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel chastised Muhammad for adulterating the revelation, at which point {{Quran-usc|22|52}} is revealed to comfort him,
==The morality of the Qur'an==
{{blockquote|Never sent We a messenger or a prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise.}}
{{seealso|Islamic ethics}}


Muhammad took back his words and the ] of the Meccans resumed. Verses {{qref|53|21-23}} were given, in which the goddesses are belittled. The passage in question, from 53:19, reads:
According to some critics, the morality of the Qur’an (like the life story of Muhammad) appears to be a moral regression, by the standards of the moral traditions of Judaism and Christianity it says that it builds upon. ], for example, states that "the ethics of Islam are far inferior to those of ] and even more inferior to those of the New Testament" and "that in the ethics of Islam there is a great deal to admire and to approve, is beyond dispute; but of originality or superiority, there is none."<ref name="Oussani"/> ] however finds Muhammad's changes an improvement for his time and place: "In his day and generation Muhammad was a social reformer, indeed a reformer even in the sphere of morals. He created a new system of ] and a new family structure, both of which were a vast improvement on what went before. By taking what was best in the morality of the nomad and adapting it for settled communities, he established a religious and social framework for the life of many races of men."<ref> W Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, chapter "ASSESSMENT" section "THE ALLEGED MORAL FAILURES", Op. Cit, p. 332. </ref>


<blockquote>Have ye thought upon Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza
===Domestic behavior===
<br />And Manat, the third, the other?
{{main|Islam and Domestic violence|An-Nisa, 34}}
<br />Are yours the males and His the females?
Verse {{cite quran|4|34|style=nosup|expand=no}} of the Qur'an reads:
<br />That indeed were an unfair division!
<br />They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant. They follow but a guess and that which (they) themselves desire. And now the guidance from their Lord hath come unto them.</blockquote>


The incident of the Satanic Verses is put forward by some critics as evidence of the Quran's origins as a human work of Muhammad. ] describes this as a conscious attempt to achieve a consensus with pagan Arabs, which was then consciously rejected as incompatible with Muhammad's attempts to answer the criticism of contemporary Arab Jews and Christians,<ref>Maxime Rodinson, ''Muhammad'' (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) ({{ISBN|1-86064-827-4}}) pp. 107–08.</ref> linking it with the moment at which Muhammad felt able to adopt a "hostile attitude" towards the pagan Arabs.<ref>Maxime Rodinson, ''Muhammad'' (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) ({{ISBN|1-86064-827-4}}) p. 113.</ref> Rodinson writes that the story of the Satanic Verses is unlikely to be false because it was "one incident, in fact, which may be reasonably accepted as true because the makers of Muslim tradition would not have invented a story with such damaging implications for the revelation as a whole".<ref>Maxime Rodinson, ''Muhammad'' (Tauris Parke, London, 2002) ({{ISBN|1-86064-827-4}}) p. 106</ref> In a caveat to his acceptance of the incident, William Montgomery Watt, states: "Thus it was not for any worldly motive that Muhammad eventually turned down the offer of the Meccans, but for a genuinely religious reason; not for example, because he could not trust these men nor because any personal ambition would remain unsatisfied, but because acknowledgment of the goddesses would lead to the failure of the cause, of the mission he had been given by God."<ref>W. Montgomery Watt, ''Muhammad at Mecca'', Oxford, 1953. 'The Growth of Opposition', p. 105</ref> Academic scholars such as ] and ] argued for its authenticity based upon the implausibility of Muslims fabricating a story so unflattering to their prophet. Watt says that "the story is so strange that it must be true in essentials."<ref name="Watt">{{Cite book | last=Watt | first=W. Montgomery | title=Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman | year=1961 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=0-19-881078-4 | page= | url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadprophets00watt/page/61 }}</ref> On the other hand, John Burton rejected the tradition.
<blockquote>"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because God has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what God would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For God is Most High, great (above you all)."</blockquote>


In an inverted culmination of Watt's approach, Burton argued the narrative of the "satanic verses" was forged, based upon a demonstration of its actual utility to certain elements of the Muslim community – namely, those elite sections of society seeking an "]" for ] of ].<ref>John Burton (1970). "Those Are the High-Flying Cranes". ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' 15: 246–264.</ref> Burton's argument is that such stories served the vested interests of the status-quo, allowing them to dilute the radical messages of the Quran. The rulers used such narratives to build their own set of laws which contradicted the Quran, and justified it by arguing that not all of the Quran is binding on Muslims. Burton also sides with ], who wrote that the story of the "satanic verses" should be rejected not only on the basis of ''isnad'', but because "had these hadiths even a degree of historical basis, Muhammad's reported conduct on this occasion would have given the lie to the whole of his previous prophetic activity."<ref>Quoted by I.R Netton in "Text and Trauma: An East-West Primer" (1996) p. 86, Routledge</ref> Eerik Dickinson also pointed out that the Quran's challenge to its opponents to prove any inconsistency in its content was pronounced in a hostile environment, also indicating that such an incident did not occur or it would have greatly damaged the Muslims.<ref>Eerik Dickinson, ''Difficult Passages'', Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān</ref>
]. The actress plays the role of a Muslim woman (dressed with a transparent black clothing) as having been beaten and raped by a relative. The bodies are used in the film as a canvas for verses from the Qur'an.<ref> by ]</ref>]]
Critics claim that this is a "command to beat disobedient wives" that "is founded upon a woman’s subservient / secondary status in Islam."<ref>, by Silas (pseudonym), ''Answering Islam'', August 25, 2001, retrieved April 16, 2006</ref> The film ], which rose to fame after the murder of ], critiqued this and similar verses of the Qur'an by displaying them painted on the bodies of abused Muslim women.<ref name=submission_script></ref> ], the film's writer, said "it is written in the Koran a woman may be slapped if she is disobedient. This is one of the evils I wish to point out in the film" <ref></ref>. In an answer to a question about whether the film would offend Muslims, Hirsi Ali said that "if you're a Muslim woman and you read the Koran, and you read in there that you should be raped if you say 'no' to your husband, that is offensive. And that is insulting."<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/11/60minutes/main679609.shtml</ref>


===Intended audience===
Scholars and other defenders of Islam have a variety of responses to these criticisms. (See ] for a fuller exegesis on the meaning of the text.) Some Muslims argue that beating is only appropriate if woman has done "an unrighteous, wicked and rebellious act" beyond mere disobedience.<ref>, by Fatimah Khaldoon, ''Submission'', 2003, retrieved April 16, 2006</ref> In many modern interpretations of the Qur'an, the actions prescribed in 4:34 are to be taken in sequence, and beating is only to be used as a last resort.<ref>] in his Quranic commentary states that: "In case of family jars four steps are mentioned, to be taken in that order. (1) Perhaps verbal advice or admonition may be sufficient; (2) if not, sex relations may be suspended; (3) if this is not sufficient, some slight physical correction may be administered; but Imam Shafi'i considers this inadvisable, though permissible, and all authorities are unanimous in deprecating any sort of cruelty, even of the nagging kind, as mentioned in the next clause; (4) if all this fails, a family council is recommended in 4:35 below." ], ''The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary'' (commentary on 4:34), Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN 0-915957-03-5.</ref><ref>Sheikh ], head of the ], says that "If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts..</ref><ref>] writes that in case of rebellious behaviour, the husband is asked to urge his wife to mend her ways, then to refuse to share their beds, and as the last resort, husbands are allowed to admonish their wives by beating. ], “Tafsir of Ibn Kathir”, Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50-53</ref>
Some verses of the Quran are assumed to be directed towards all of Muhammad's followers while other verses are directed more specifically towards Muhammad and his wives, yet others are directed towards the whole of humanity.
(, , , , ).


Other scholars argue that variances in the Quran's explicit intended audiences are irrelevant to claims of divine origin – and for example that Muhammad's wives "specific divine guidance, occasioned by their proximity to the Prophet (Muhammad)" where "Numerous divine reprimands addressed to Muhammad's wives in the Quran establish their special responsibility to overcome their human frailties and ensure their individual worthiness",<ref>''Women in the Quran, traditions, and interpretation'' by Barbara Freyer, p. 85, Mothers of the Believers in the Quran</ref> or argue that the Quran must be interpreted on more than one level.<ref>Corbin (1993), p. 7</ref> (See:<ref>]</ref>).
Furthermore, some contemporary Muslims have urged that the word ''idribûhunna'', normally translated as beat, should be translated instead as to leave them in the sense of "telling someone to 'beat it' or 'drop it' in English".<ref name="io"></ref> (Critics, however, maintain that the word can only mean 'to beat', citing many translations supporting this view and the use of the verb in other contexts.<ref>, by Arab Christian (pseudonym), ''FaithFreedom.org'', retrieved April 16, 2006</ref>) Even among those who accept the translation of "beat," many Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that beatings, even where permitted, are not to be harsh<ref>Sheikh ], head of the ], says that "It is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury."</ref><ref>Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqee records in his Tafsir Al-Qur'an Al-Azim that "Ibn `Abbas and several others said that the Ayah refers to a beating that is not violent. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that it means, a beating that is not severe."</ref><ref name="shaf">], '''', Islamic Perspectives. August 10, 2005</ref> or even that they should be "more or less symbolic."<ref name="asad"/><ref>One such authority is the earliest ], ].</ref> According to ] and ], the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light beating.<ref>"The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary", Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. ISBN 0-915957-03-5, passage was quoted from commentary on 4:34 </ref><ref>Kathir, Ibn, “Tafsir of Ibn Kathir”, Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50-53 </ref>


==Jurisprudence==
Some jurists argue that even when beating is acceptable under the Qur'an, it is still discountenanced.<ref>] comments that "Whenever the Prophet (peace be on him) permitted a man to administer corporal punishment to his wife, he did so with reluctance, and continued to express his distaste for it. And even in cases where it is necessary, the Prophet (peace be on him) directed men not to hit across the face, nor to beat severely nor to use anything that might leave marks on the body." "Towards Understanding the Qur'an" Translation by Zafar I. Ansari from "Tafheem Al-Qur'an" (specifically, commentary on 4:34) by Syed Abul-A'ala Mawdudi, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England.</ref><ref>The medieval jurist ash-], founder of one of the main schools of '']'', commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable."</ref><ref>"ome of the greatest Muslim scholars (e.g., Ash-Shafi'i) are of the opinion that it is just barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided: and they justify this opinion by the Prophet's personal feelings with regard to this problem." ], ''The Message of the Qur'an'' (his translation of the Qur'an).</ref>
British-German professor of Arabic and Islam ], in his work '']'' (1950) regarding the subject of law derived from the Quran, wrote:
{{blockquote|Muhammadan law did not derive directly from the Koran but developed... out of popular and administrative practice under the Umaiyads, and this practice often diverged from the intentions and even the explicit wording of the Koran... Norms derived from the Koran were introduced into Muhammadan law almost invariably at a secondary stage.<ref>Joseph Schacht, ''The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence'', Oxford, 1950, p. 224</ref>}}


Schacht further states that every legal tradition from Muhammad must be taken as an inauthentic and fictitious expression of a legal doctrine formulated at a later date:
===War and violence===
{{blockquote|... We shall not meet any legal tradition from the Prophet which can positively be considered authentic.<ref>Joseph Schacht, ''The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence'', Oxford, 1950, p. 149</ref>}}
{{onesource|date=April 2007}}
Many critics of Islam, and some of those who support Muslim terrorists and Jihadists believe that violence is Islamic, and that Islamic extremist terrorism is ] or true ].{{Fact|date=May 2007}}


What is evident regarding the compilation of the Quran is the disagreement between the ] (earliest supporters of Muhammad), as evidenced with their several disagreements regarding interpretation and particular versions of the Quran and their interpretative Hadith and Sunna, namely the ] having come into present form after Muhammad's death.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=John |author-link=John Burton (scholar) |date=1979 |title=The Collection of the Quran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ggc4AAAAIAAJ |location=United Kingdom |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=41 |isbn=0521214394}}</ref> ]'s work ''The Collection of the Quran'' further explores how certain Quranic texts were altered to adjust interpretation, in regards to controversy between ] (human understanding of Sharia) and ].<ref>Burton 1979, pp. 29–30.</ref>
Many muslims and non-muslims believe ] is ] or the actions of a few extremists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-11.html |title="Islam is Peace" Says President George W. Bush |publisher=The Whitehouse |date=] |accessdate=2007-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Bernard Lewis |title=The Crisis of Islam |publisher=Random House |year=2004 |isbn=0-8129-6785-2}}</ref><ref name=potemra>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/07april03/potemra040703.asp |title=Review of Bernard Lewis' Crisis of Islam |author=Michael Potemra |publisher=National Review |date=] |acessdate=2007-05-16}}</ref>


== Science in the Quran ==
====Attitude toward violence====
=====Criticism=====


{{See also|Islamic attitudes towards science|Islamic views on evolution}}Some scientists among Muslim commentators, notably ], assigned to the Quran a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Quran "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science."<ref name="Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān" /> These medieval scholars argued for the possibility of multiple ] of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Quran to an ever-changing science.<ref name="Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān" /> However, there are factual contradictions between the Quran and contemporary science as shown below.
Some critics believe that it is not only ] that preaches violence but Islam itself, a violence implicit in the Qur'anic text.<ref></ref>] writes that verse {{cite quran|2|194|style=nosup|expand=no}} of the Quran is significant for the understanding of jihad as ]. He quotes ]'s translation: "And one who attacketh you, attack him in like manner as he attacked you," and writes that "this is a foundation for the revenge culture that dominates so much of the ]."<ref>Robert Spencer. ''Onward Muslim Soldiers,'' page 121.</ref> He goes on to say that according to this same sura (but not others, see below), "Fight is defensive, but not optional," whilst quoting verse {{cite quran|2|216|style=nosup|expand=no}}. He writes that according to {{cite quran|4|95|style=nosup|expand=no}}, those who fight are more pleasing to Allah than those who do not, and that those who take up arms for the Muslim cause rank highest among the believers {{cite quran|9|19|end=20|style=nosup|expand=no}}.


=== Miracles ===
According to ], ], an Iranian-born American citizen awaiting trial for nine counts of attempted murder, was motivated by certain verses of the Qur'an that in his opinion deal with war, violence, and ]. Those verses are: {{cite quran|2|216|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|3|151|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|7|4|end=5|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|8|12|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|45|11|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|41|27|end=28|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|35|26|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|6|49|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|5|73|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|18|29|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|98|6|style=nosup|expand=no}},{{cite quran|8|65|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|8|39|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|3|106|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|61|9|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|9|30|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|9|29|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|9|5|style=nosup|expand=no}}, and {{cite quran|8|36|style=nosup|expand=no}}.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Herald-Sun|title=Grand jury indicts UNC Pit attacker|date=]|url=http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-730374.html}}</ref><ref></ref><ref> </ref>
Muslims and non-Muslims have disputed the presence of scientific miracles in the Quran. According to author ], "popular literature known as ''ijaz''" (miracle) has created a "global craze in Muslim societies", starting the 1970s and 1980s and now found in Muslim bookstores, spread by websites and television preachers.<ref name="SARDAR">{{cite journal |last1=Sardar |first1=Ziauddin |date=21 August 2008 |title=Weird science |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/books/2008/08/quran-muslim-scientific |journal=New Statesman |access-date=11 April 2019}}</ref>


An example is the verse: "So verily I swear by the stars that run and hide ..." (]),<ref name="BLACK HOLES">{{cite web |title=BLACK HOLES |url=https://miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_37.html |website=miracles of the quran |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713061949/https://www.miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_37.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> which proponents claim demonstrates the Quran's knowledge of the existence of ]s; or: " the Moon in her fullness that ye shall journey on from stage to stage" (]) refers, according to proponents, to human ].<ref name="SARDAR"/>
=====Responses=====


Critics argue that verses which allegedly explain modern scientific facts about subjects such as ], the ], and ], contain fallacies and are unscientific.<ref name="MCKVSI2000:30">]: p.30</ref><ref>see also: ]. 2002. ''A Fury For God''. London: Granta. p. 126.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secweb.org/index.aspx?action=viewAsset&id=168|title=Secular Web Kiosk: The Koran Predicted the Speed of Light? Not Really|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209094954/http://www.secweb.org/index.aspx?action=viewAsset&id=168|archive-date=9 February 2008}}</ref>
] while commenting on verse {{cite quran|2|216|style=nosup|expand=no}}, references verse {{cite quran|2|251|style=nosup|expand=no}}, and interprets the notion of fighting being not optional as Quran’s way of depicting fighting as a religious duty when fighting is done in defence of the oppressed and the weak.<ref name=mmdk> Pickthall, Muhammad Marmaduke: “War and Religion” page 17-18. The Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust, Surrey, England </ref> ] also uses the Quran to provide context for verse 2:216 and says that “It was an injunction to fight to end persecution and….save the houses of worship of every religion from being ruined”.<ref> Ali, Maulana Muhammad: English Translation of the Holy Quran, footnote 216a Pg 95. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore, USA.</ref>


=== Astronomy ===
] goes on to say that “Nowhere does the Qur’an approve a spirit of revenge” <ref> Pickthall, Muhammad Marmaduke: “War and Religion” page 22. The Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust, Surrey, England </ref> and situates verse {{cite quran|2|194|style=nosup|expand=no}} in the context of a defensive war. Maulana Muhammad Ali explaining the same verse says retaliation is being allowed “within the limits of the original act of aggression,” where forgiveness is not an option as “inaction…would be suicidal”<ref> Ali, Maulana Muhammad: English Translation of the Holy Quran. Foot note 194a Pg 87. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore, USA.</ref>. He, and others, have argued that the Quran clearly commands believers to prefer forgivness over retaliation where ever possible, quoting several Qura’anic verses inluding {{cite quran|42|37|end=43|style=nosup|expand=no}}.” <ref> Aziz, Dr. Zahid: “Islam, Peace and Tolerance” Page 58. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Lahore Publications, U.K. 2007. </ref> <ref> Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 550 from CH XI General Laws of Punishment. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref><ref> Ali, Maulana Muhammad: English Translation of the Holy Quran. Foot note 40a Pg 950. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore, USA.</ref><ref> Ibn Kathir’s commentary on verse 42:40 </ref>
Ijaz literature tends to follow a pattern of finding some possible agreement between a scientific result and a verse in the Quran. "So verily I swear by the stars that run and hide ..." (Q.81:15-16) or "So, I swear by the setting places of the stars, and this, if only you knew, is indeed a great oath".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://quran.com/56/75 |website=Qutan.com |title=Surah Al-Waqi'ah - 75 }}</ref>(Quran, 56:75-76)<ref name="BLACK HOLES"/> is declared to refer to black holes; " the Moon in her fullness; that ye shall journey on from stage to stage" (Q.84:18-19) refers to space travel,<ref name="SARDAR"/> and thus evidence the Quran has miraculously predicted this phenomenon centuries before scientists.


While it is generally agreed the Quran contains many verses proclaiming the wonders of nature — "Travel throughout the earth and see how He brings life into being" (Q.29:20) "Behold in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding ..." (Q.3:190) — it is strongly doubted by ] that "everything, from relativity, quantum mechanics, Big Bang theory, black holes and pulsars, genetics, embryology, modern geology, thermodynamics, even the laser and hydrogen fuel cells, have been 'found' in the Quran".<ref name="SARDAR"/><ref name="TALIB-Deconstructing">{{cite web |last1=TALIB |first1=ALI |date=9 April 2018 |title=Deconstructing the "Scientific Miracles in the Quran" Argument |url=https://traversingtradition.com/2018/04/09/deconstructing-the-scientific-miracles-in-the-quran-argument/ |access-date=16 April 2019 |website=Transversing Tradition}}</ref>
] in response to the charge laid against Islam in West as a violent religion argues that violence in Islamic history is no different than violence in histories of other religions, and the reasons for this violence inculde political and economic grievances. He also says that relative to other religions, people tend to unfairly link such violence practiced by Muslims to the religion of Islam itself.<ref name="BBC-Beyond Belief"> ], ], October 2, 2006, ''Islam and the sword'' </ref> Other writers such as ] and Jane I. Smith (a Professor of Islamic Studies) have expressed similar opinions, saying that barring some extremsits like Al-Qaeda, most Muslims do not interpret Qura’nic verses as promoting warfare; and that the phenemenon of radical interpretation of scripture by extremist groups is not unique to Islam."<ref name="Sells">{{cite news | author=Michael Sells | title=Understanding, Not Indoctrination | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A57379-2002Aug7&notFound=true | date=08-08-2002 | publisher=The Washington Post}}</ref>.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | author=Jane I. Smith | title=Islam and Christianity | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Christianity | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2005 | id=ISBN 0-19-522393-4}}</ref> According to Sells, " no more expect to apply to their contemporary non-Muslim friends and neighbors than most Christians and Jews consider themselves commanded by God, like the Biblical Joshua, to exterminate the infidels."<ref name="Sells"/>


====Treatment of enemy combatants and women captives==== === Creation and evolution ===
{{see|Islamic_mythology#Creation_narrative}}
{{Mergeto|Ma malakat aymanukum and sex|Islam and slavery|date=June 2007}}
Like the Bible, the Quran talks about God creating the universe in six days.<ref>{{qref|10|3|b=y}}, {{qref|7|52|b=y}} {{qref|11|9|b=y}}, {{qref|50|37|b=y}}</ref><ref name=AD23Y1994:162-3>]: p.162-3</ref> and like the Bible many modern believers have argued for a non-literal interpretation (for example The Holy Quran: Arabic Text and English translation by ]).
Robert Spencer writes that Muhammad was instructed to take no prisoners,<ref></ref> but also suggests that this prohibition "doesn't seem to be absolute", claiming that in another verse ({{cite quran|33|50|style=nosup|expand=no}}) "Allah gives the Muslims permission to take the wives of those they have slain in battle as concubines."<ref>''Onward Muslim Soldiers,'' pages 121-122.</ref> On the treatment of slave-girls James Arlandson cites Maududi's interpretation of verse ({{cite quran|4|24|style=nosup|expand=no}}): "Maududi says in his comment on the verse that is it lawful for Muslim holy warriors to marry women prisoners of war even when their husbands are still alive." Arlandson also writes: "It is one thing for some soldiers in any army to strike out on their own and rape women. All armies have criminal soldiers who commit this wrong act. But it is quite another to codify rape in a sacred text. Islam codifies and legalizes rape."
===== Responses =====
Maulana Muhammad Ali rejects the allegation that verse 33:50 gives Muslims permission to take concubines from War Prisoners. <ref> Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 492 from CH VI Marriage “There is no concubinage in Islam”. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref> He and Muhamad Asad argue that the reference to prisoners of war in this verse is to give permission to marry the prisoners. <ref> Asad, Muhammad: The Message of The Quran. Footnote 58, page 648. Redwood Books, Wiltshire, Great Britain </ref> Regarding verse 4:24, Asad disagrees with the interpretation that the verse is allowing marriage with war prisoners that are already married. He quotes other authorities on the Quran (Razi & Tabari) and asserts that the verse is referring not to war prisoners but to one’s already lawfully wedded wife.<ref> Asad, Muhammad: “The Message of the Quran”, footnote 26 pg. 106. Redwood Books, Wiltshire, Great Britain. </ref> He interprets the next verse as referring to female prisoners of war <ref> Asad, Muhammad: “The Message of the Quran”, footnote 30 pg. 107. Redwood Books, Wiltshire, Great Britain. </ref> and says that this verse “lays down in an un-equivocal manner that sexual relations with female salves are permitted on the basis of marriage and that in this respect there is no difference between them and free women; consequently concubinage is ruled out.”<ref> Asad, Muhammad: “The Message of the Quran”, footnote 32 pg. 107. Redwood Books, Wiltshire, Great Britain. </ref> Maulana Muhammad Ali adds that such a marriage is only allowed if the woman has converted to Islam .<ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: English Translation of the Holy Quran, footnote 25a Pg 203. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore, USA</ref> Quoting other verses of the Quran, he concludes that “prisoners of war or slaves could only be taken in marriage, and no other form of sexual relations was permitted.” <ref> Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 493 from CH VI Marriage “There is no concubinage in Islam”. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref>


Quranic verses related to the ] created from dust or mud are not logically compatible with ].<ref name="sal">{{Cite journal |author=Saleem, Shehzad |date=May 2000 |title=The Quranic View on Creation |url=http://www.renaissance.com.pk/maytitl20.htm |journal=] |volume=10 |issue=5 |issn=1606-9382 |access-date=11 October 2006}}</ref><ref>Ahmed K. Sultan Salem </ref> Although some Muslims try to reconcile evolution with the Quran by the argument from ], the Quran (and the hadiths) can be interpreted to support the idea of ]. This led to a contribution by Muslims to the ],<ref>Paulson, Steve </ref> (Some with some high profile Muslim preachers (], ], ]) advocating ] and/or maintaining that the idea that humans evolved is against the Quran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2013/jan/11/muslim-thought-on-evolution-debate|title = Muslim thought on evolution takes a step forward &#124; Salman Hameed| website=] |date = 11 January 2013}}</ref> According to opinion polls, most Muslims do not accept the theory of evolution, the percentage varying among countries (from <10% acceptance in Egypt to about 40% in Kazakhstan).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hameed |first=Salman |date=2008-12-12 |title=Bracing for Islamic Creationism |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1163672 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=322 |issue=5908 |pages=1637–1638 |doi=10.1126/science.1163672 |pmid=19074331 |s2cid=206515329 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref> Some Muslims point to a verse Q.71:14 -- “when He truly created you in stages ˹of development˺?” -- as evidence for Evolution.<ref name="Hertzenberg-compatable">{{cite web |last1=Hertzenberg |first1=Stephanie |title=Are Islam and Evolution Compatible? |url=https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/islam/are-islam-and-evolution-compatible.aspx |website=Belief.net |access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref>
====Jihad and Sura 9====
{{main|At-Tawba 5}}
=====Criticism=====


==Ethics==
Spencer writes that Sura 9:5, called “the Verse of the Sword,” is a cornerstone of the Qur’an’s teaching about jihad:
]'s polemical and apologetic work critiquing Koran and Islam. Published in Seville {{Circa|1500}}. It shows a Christian friar preaching to Muslims.]]
{{Main|Islamic ethics}}
Some critics claim that the morality of the Quran appears to be a moral regression, by the standards of the moral traditions of Judaism and Christianity it says that it builds upon. The '']'', for example, states that "the ethics of Islam are far inferior to those of ] and even more inferior to those of the New Testament" and "that in the ethics of Islam there is a great deal to admire and to approve, is beyond dispute; but of originality or superiority, there is none."<ref>. From the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 21 January 2008.</ref> William Montgomery Watt however finds Muhammad's changes an improvement for his time and place: "In his day and generation Muhammad was a social reformer, indeed a reformer even in the sphere of morals. He created a new system of ] and a new family structure, both of which were a vast improvement on what went before. By taking what was best in the morality of the nomad and adapting it for settled communities, he established a religious and social framework for the life of many races of men."<ref>W Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, chapter "Assessment" section "The Alleged Moral Failures", Op. Cit, p. 332.</ref>


The ]:-
<blockquote>"So when the Sacred Months have passed, then fight the Mushrikun wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform the Salah , and give the Zakah , then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. ({{cite quran|9|5|style=nosup|expand=no}})</blockquote>
{{blockquote| Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the ], then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.{{Cite quran|9|5|e=5|t=p}}}}
Spencer quotes ], a prominent commentator of the Qur’an, with a ] (exegesis) of this verse.<ref>’’Onward Muslim Soldiers,’’ page 132</ref> According to Ibn Kathir, ''"the first part of this honorable Surah was revealed to the Messenger of Allah when he returned from the battle of ]"''.<ref> by ]</ref> This military expedition took place within a year prior to Muhammad’s death, and was the last of his life. Ibn Kathir gives an explanation of Sura 9:5 as follows: ''"Do not wait until you find them. Rather, seek and besiege them in their areas and forts, gather intelligence about them in the various roads and fairways so that what is made wide looks ever smaller to them. This way, they will have no choice, but to die or embrace Islam."''<ref> by ]</ref> Spencer quotes ], a ] and biographer of Muhammad, who writes that the Prophet was attempting a pre-emptive strike: “The Messenger of Allah decided to lead a Muslim army into Roman territory before Roman armies crossed the Arab borders and threatened the heart of Islam.” Spencer notes that in Sura 9:81, Allah scolds those who did not cross the desert with the Prophet to fight:


According to the ''E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 4'', the term first applied in the Quran to unbelieving Meccans, who endeavoured "to refute and revile the Prophet". A waiting attitude towards the '']'' was recommended at first for Muslims; later, Muslims were ordered to keep apart from unbelievers and defend themselves against their attacks and even take the offensive.<ref name=EJBFEI-619>{{cite book|last1=Houtsma|first1=M. Th|title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 4|date=1993|publisher=Touchstone|isbn=9789004097902|page=619|quote=Tolerance may in no circumstances be extended to the apostate, the renegade Muslim, whose punishment is death. Some authorities allow the remission of this punishment if the apostate recants. Others insist on the death penalty even then. God may pardon him the world to come; the law must punish him in this world.}}</ref> Most passages in the Quran referring to unbelievers in general talk about their fate on the ] and destination in ].<ref name=EJBFEI-619/>
<blockquote>"Those who were left behind (in the Tabuk expedition) rejoiced in their inaction behind the back of the Messenger of Allah: they hated to strive and fight, with their goods and their persons, in the cause of Allah: they said, ‘Go not forth in the heat.’ Say, ‘The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat.’ If only they could understand!" ({{cite quran|9|81|style=nosup|expand=no}})</blockquote>


{{Cite Quran|98|6|quote=Lo! those who disbelieve (Kafir), among the People of the Scripture and the idolaters, will abide in fire of hell. They are the worst of created beings.}}
=====Responses=====


] (1805–1859), a French political thinker and historian, observed:
Regarding the "sword" verse, ] states that the critics and some of the Militants today take the verse out of context.<ref name="BBC-Beyond Belief"/> ] holds a similar opinion, saying that its “words are taken out of their context, and a significance is forced upon them which the context cannot bear.” <ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 413 from CH V Jihad. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref>
{{Blockquote|I studied the Quran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammad. As far as I can see, it is the principal cause of the decadence so visible today in the Muslim world and, though less absurd than the polytheism of old, its social and political tendencies are in my opinion more to be feared, and I therefore regard it as a form of decadence rather than a form of progress in relation to paganism.<ref>Alexis de Tocqueville; Olivier Zunz, Alan S. Kahan (2002). The Tocqueville Reader. Blackwell Publishing. {{ISBN|063121545X}}. OCLC 49225552. p.229.</ref>}}
The verses should be read with the whole surah; also the time and circumstances of the verses should be considered.<ref name="Boundries_Princeton"> Sohail H. Hashmi, ], ''Boundaries and Justice: diverse ethical perspectives'', ], p.197 </ref><ref> Khaleel Muhammad, professor of ] at ] regarding his discussion with the critic Robert Spencer states that "when I am told ... that Jihad only means war, or that I have to accept interpretations of the Quran that non-Muslims (with no good intentions or knowledge of Islam) seek to force upon me, I see a certain agendum developing: one that is based on hate, and I refuse to be part of such an intellectual crime." </ref> Explaining the context, some Quranic Scholars (], ]) assert that the permission to fight and kill is being given regarding specific tribes already at war with the Muslims who have breached their peace agreements and have attacked the Muslims first.<ref> Asad, Muhammad: The Message of The Quran. Footnote 7, page 256. Redwood Books, Wiltshire, Great Britain </ref><ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 414 from CH V Jihad. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref>Regarding the Tabuk Expedition (historical context of chapter 9), it is stated by the same authors that it was a defensive march to the frontier in order to safeguard against the Romans who were reportedly assembling a large force to attack Arabia. They state that when upon reaching the frontier it became known that the Romans did not intend an offensive, ] returned without attacking them in accordance with Qura’nic teachings. <ref> Asad, Muhammad: The Message of The Quran. Footnote 59, page 265. Redwood Books, Wiltshire, Great Britain </ref><ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 416 from CH V Jihad. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref> See ] regarding the principles of fighting in Islam and the "sword verse".


===War and peace===
====Abrogation of peaceful verses by Sura 9====
{{Main|Violence in the Quran}}
=====Criticism=====
The Quran's teachings on matters of war and peace are topics that are widely debated. On the one hand, some critics, such as ], interpret that certain verses of the Quran sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after. Harris argues that Muslim extremism is simply a consequence of taking the Quran literally, and is skeptical about significant reform toward a "moderate Islam" in the future.<ref name=Harris1>{{Cite book | last=Harris | first=Sam | title=The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason | pages= | publisher=W. W. Norton; Reprint edition | year=2005 | isbn=0-393-32765-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/endoffaithreligi00harr/page/31 }}</ref><ref>] makes a similar argument about ], saying "ccording to a literalist reading of the hadith (the literature that recounts the sayings and the actions of the Prophet) if a Muslim decides that he no longer wants to be a Muslim, he should be put to death. If anyone ventures the opinion that the Koran is a mediocre book of religious fiction or that Muhammad was a schizophrenic, he should also be killed. It should go without saying that a desire to kill people for imaginary crimes like apostasy and blasphemy is not an expression of religious moderation." '']'', 16 February 2006 (accessed 16 November 2013)</ref> On the other hand, other scholars argue that such verses of the Quran are interpreted out of context,<ref name="Boundries_Princeton">Sohail H. Hashmi, David Miller, ''Boundaries and Justice: diverse ethical perspectives'', Princeton University Press, p. 197</ref><ref>Khaleel Muhammad, professor of religious studies at San Diego State University, states, regarding his discussion with the critic Robert Spencer, that "when I am told ... that Jihad only means war, or that I have to accept interpretations of the Quran that non-Muslims (with no good intentions or knowledge of Islam) seek to force upon me, I see a certain agendum developing: one that is based on hate, and I refuse to be part of such an intellectual crime." {{cite web |url=http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~khaleel/ |title=Khaleel Mohammed- San Diego State University - Religious Studies Department |access-date=13 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708102707/http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~khaleel/ |archive-date=8 July 2008 }}</ref> and Muslims of the ] movement argue that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Quran prohibits aggression,<ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad; The Religion of Islam (6th Edition), Ch V "Jihad" p. 414 "When shall war cease". Published by '']'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421092242/http://aaiil.org/text/books/mali/religionislam/religionislammuhammadali.shtml|date=21 April 2018}}</ref><ref>Sadr-u-Din, Maulvi. "Quran and War", p. 8. Published by The Muslim Book Society, Lahore, Pakistan. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308202015/http://aaiil.org/text/books/others/sadrdin/quranwar/quranwar.shtml|date=8 March 2016}}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829203630/http://www.aaiil.org/uk/newsletters/2002/0302.shtml |date=29 August 2017 }} by Dr. G. W. Leitner (founder of The Oriental Institute, UK) published in Asiatic Quarterly Review, 1886. ("jihad, even when explained as a righteous effort of waging war in self-defense against the grossest outrage on one's religion, is strictly limited..")</ref> and allows fighting only in self-defense.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426223211/http://www.aaiil.org/text/articles/bash/quraniccommandmentswarjihad.shtml |date=26 April 2018 }} An English rendering of an Urdu article appearing in Basharat-e-Ahmadiyya Vol. I, pp. 228–32, by Dr. Basharat Ahmad; published by the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam</ref><ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad; The Religion of Islam (6th Edition), Ch V "Jihad" pp. 411–13. Published by The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421092242/http://aaiil.org/text/books/mali/religionislam/religionislammuhammadali.shtml|date=21 April 2018}}</ref>


The author Syed Kamran Mirza has argued that a concept of ']', defined as 'struggle', has been introduced by the Quran. He wrote that while Muhammad was in Mecca, he "did not have many supporters and was very weak compared to the Pagans", and "it was at this time he added some 'soft', peaceful verses", whereas "almost all the hateful, coercive and intimidating verses later in the Quran were made with respect to Jihad" when Muhammad was in Medina .<ref>{{cite book |author=Syed Kamran Mirza|title=An Exegesis on 'Jihad in Islam'|volume=Beyond Jihad: Critical Voices from Inside Islam |publisher=], LLC |editor=Kim Ezra Shienbaum |editor2=Jamal Hasan|year=2006 |pages=78–80 |isbn=1-933146-19-2 }}</ref>
Spencer writes that ] is, according to the ], “the last Sura revealed in full.” Spencer writes: "to the distress of those who claim that while Muhammad may have fought these particular infidels, he didn't actually mean to leave his followers a universal command to fight ''all'' infidels, Ibn Kathir quotes an earlier authority, ], to establish that the Verse of the Sword 'abrogated every agreement of peace between the Prophet and any idolater, every treaty, and every term.'"<ref>''Onward Muslim Soldiers,'' page 134.</ref> Ibn Kathir quotes another authority: "No idolater had any more treaty or promise of safety ever since Surah Bara’ah (Surah 9) was revealed." Spencer notes that another early commentator, ], agrees that one of this verse’s functions is "abrogating every ] in the Quran."


] has argued that "the Quran justifies wars for self-defense to protect Islamic communities against internal or external aggression by non-Islamic populations, and wars waged against those who 'violate their oaths' by breaking a treaty".<ref>{{cite book |author=Ishay, Micheline |title=The history of human rights |date=2 June 2008 |publisher=University of California |location=Berkeley |page=45 |isbn=978-0-520-25641-5 }}</ref> ] ] has also argued that the Quran encourages people to fight in self-defense. He has also argued that the Quran has been used to direct Muslims to make all possible preparations to defend themselves against enemies.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam – 25 Vols. |publisher=Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. |location=New Delhi |year=2005 |pages=386–89 |isbn=81-261-2339-7 }}</ref>
Spencer interprets these writings: "In other words, the Muslim community is indeed commanded to fight against any and all unbelievers, not just against those Muhammad was facing when the Verse of the Sword was revealed."<ref>''Onward Muslim Soldiers,'' page 134.</ref> He writes that Ibn Juzayy was referring to the Islamic doctrine of ], under which later Quranic revelations may modify and cancel certain directives, replacing them with others.


] and ] argue that Islam "does not allow Muslims to fight against those who disagree with them regardless of belief system", but instead "urges its followers to treat such people kindly".<ref>{{cite book |author1=Schoenbaum, Thomas J. |author2=Chiba, Shin |title=Peace Movements and Pacifism After September 11 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2008 |pages=115–16 |isbn=978-1-84720-667-1 }}</ref> Yohanan Friedmann has argued that the Quran does not promote fighting for the purposes of religious coercion, although the war as described is "religious" in the sense that the enemies of the Muslims are described as "enemies of God".<ref>{{cite book |author=Friedmann, Yohanan |title=Tolerance and coercion in Islam: interfaith relations in the Muslim tradition |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2003 |pages=94–95 |isbn=0-521-82703-5 }}</ref>
Spencer writes that “this idea is crucial as a guide to the relationship of the Qur’an’s peaceful passages to its violent ones. Suras 16, 29, 52, 73, and 109-the sources of most of the verses of peace and tolerance above-are all Meccan. That means that anything they teach must be considered in light of what was revealed later in Medina. (The sole exception to this is the “no compulsion in religion” verse from the Medinan Sura 2, discussed below.) On the other hand, the last sura revealed, Sura 9, is Medinan. Thus it is in effect the Qur’an’s last word on jihad, and all the rest of the book-including the “tolerance verses”-must be read in its light.”<ref>’’Onward Muslim Soldiers,’’ page 136.</ref> Spencer concludes: “In other words, Muhammad gave peace a chance with the Pacific suras, and then understood that jihad was the more expedient course.”<ref>ibid.</ref>


] has argued that the Quran commands that non-Muslims under a Muslim regime, should "feel themselves subdued" in "a political state of subservience" . He also argues that the Quran may assert freedom within religion.<ref>{{cite book |author=Tremblay, Rodrigue |title=The Code for Global Ethics: Toward a Humanist Civilization |publisher=Trafford Publishing |year=2009 |pages=169–70 |isbn=978-1-4269-1358-7 }}</ref> Nisrine Abiad has argued that the Quran incorporates the offence (and due punishment) of "rebellion" into the offence of "highway or armed robbery".<ref>{{cite book |author=Nisrine Abiad |title=Sharia, Muslim States and International Human Rights Treaty Obligations: A Comparative Study |publisher=British Institute for International & Compara |year=2008 |page=24 |isbn=978-1-905221-41-7 }}</ref>
=====Responses=====
Hussein 'Abdul-Raof, a professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, states that sura 103 was the last Sura revealed (and thus not Sura 9). <ref> Qur'an Translation: Discourse, Testure and Exegesis By Hussein 'Abdul-Raof, p.65, Routledge Taylor and Francis group </ref>


] has argued that the Quran asserts an idea of Jihad to deal with "a sphere of disobedience, ignorance and war".<ref>{{cite book |author1=Braswell, George W. |author2=Braswell, George W. Jr |title=What you need to know about Islam & Muslims |publisher=Broadman & Holman Publishers |location=Nashville, Tenn |year=2000 |page=38 |isbn=0-8054-1829-6 }}</ref>
], commenting on the “sword verse” (verse 9:5) and its relation to earlier Quranic verses on the subject, asserts that this verse and the chapter (ch .9) do not “go beyond what is contained in the earliest revelations on the subject of war.” Explaining further he compares verse 9:5 and a much earlier verse (2:191) and argues that in both cases permission is given to kill only those who have attacked the Muslims first.<ref name= mma>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: “The Religion of Islam”, Page 413 from CH V Jihad. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref> He rejects the notion that the sword verse abrogates earlier verses, arguing that when read along with the following verses of the same chapter, it is clear that even in this later revelation fighting is only permitted in self defense, which is exactly the case with the earlier verses; so the concept of one abrogating the other does not make sense as there is not “the slightest change is principles laid down earlier”.<ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 412-413 from CH V Jihad. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref> Maulana Muhammad Ali goes on stating that if the preceding and following verses to verse 9:5 are read, the context clearly shows that the reference (to fight) is only to specific idalatorous tribes (those guilty of breaching peace agreements made earlier with Muslims), and not to “all idalatorous people living anywhere.”<ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 414 from CH V Jihad. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref>


] has argued that the "deal between God and those who fight is portrayed as a commercial transaction, either as a loan with interest, or else as a profitable sale of the life of this world in return for the life of the next", where "how much one gains depends on what happens during the transaction", either "paradise if slain in battle, or victory if one survives".<ref>{{cite book |author=Bonner, Michael David |title=Jihad in Islamic history: doctrines and practice |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, N.J |year=2006 |page= |isbn=0-691-12574-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/originsofjihadsh00bonn/page/32 }}</ref> Critics have argued that the Quran "glorified Jihad in many of the Medinese suras" and "criticized those who fail(ed) to participate in it".<ref>{{cite book |author=Peters, Rudolph Albert |title=Jihad in classical and modern Islam: a reader |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers |location=Princeton |year=2008 |page=46 |isbn=978-1-55876-359-3 }}</ref>
===Severe punishments===
{{main|Hudud}}
Islam has been criticised for allegedly endorsing cruel and unusual punishments for certain crimes.<ref>http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm</ref> ] believes that "such penalties may have been suitable for the age in which Muhammad lived. However, as societies have since progressed and become more peaceful and ordered, they are not suitable any longer."<ref> </ref>


] has claimed that the Quran praises the companions of Muhammad, for being stern and implacable against the said unbelievers, where in that "period of ignorance and savagery, triumphing over these people was possible by being strong and unyielding."<ref>{{cite book |author=Ali Unal |title=The Quran with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English |publisher=The Light, Inc. |location=Rutherford, N.J |year=2008 |page=249 |isbn=978-1-59784-144-3 }}</ref>
The sentence of amputation of the limbs of ] by ] courts has been very controversial.<ref>{{cite news | last=Olukoya | first=Sam | title=Eyewitness: Nigeria's Sharia amputees |date=December 19, 2002 | publisher=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2587039.stm}}</ref> Cases of the death penalty being applied for homosexuality or sodomy in Muslim countries have been condemned by human rights groups and others: "Human rights groups have documented numerous cases in which Iran has executed its citizens on charges of sodomy and adultery.<ref>{{cite news | last=Kim | first=Richard | title=Witnesses to an Execution |date=August 7, 2005 | publisher=The Nation | url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050815/kim}}</ref>" Locke in an article adapted from Dr. Serge Trifkovic’s book, claims that the Qur'an's narration of the divine punishment of Sodom as a "rain of stones" is the source of the stoning to death punishment for homosexuals by fundamentalist Islamic regimes like the ].<ref>{{cite news | last=Trifkovic | first=Serge | title=Islam's Love-Hate Relationship with Homosexuality (book except)|date=January 24, 2003 | publisher=FrontPageMagazine.com | url=http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/Printable.asp?ID=5704}}</ref>


According to ], ] is hard to be established.<ref name="Esposito">{{cite book | last=Esposito | first=John L. | title=What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam| publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=151 | year=2002 | id=ISBN 0-19-515713-3}}</ref> Solomon Nigosian concludes that the "Quranic statement is clear" on the issue of fighting in defense of Islam as "a duty that is to be carried out at all costs", where "God grants security to those Muslims who fight in order to halt or repel aggression".<ref>{{cite book |author=Nigosian, S. A. |title=Islam: its history, teaching, and practices |url=https://archive.org/details/islamitshistoryt0000nigo |url-access=registration |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington |year=2004 |isbn=0-253-21627-3 }}</ref>
] includes arguments such as the crimes being "against God and a threat to the moral fabric of the Muslim community," and these punishment being "appropriate within the historical and social contexts in which they originated."<ref name="Esposito">{{cite book | last=Esposito | first=John L. | title=What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam| publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=151 | year=2002 | id=ISBN 0-19-515713-3}}</ref>


] argues that the Quran has been used to teach its followers that "the path to human salvation does not require withdrawal from the world but rather encourages moderation in worldly affairs", including fighting.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ghazanfar, Shaikh M. |title=Medieval Islamic economic thought: filling the "great gap" in European economics |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |location=London |year=2003 |isbn=0-415-29778-8 }}</ref> ] has argued that the Quran asserts that if a people "fear Muhammad more than they fear God, 'they are a people lacking in sense{{'"}} rather than a fear being imposed upon them by God directly.<ref>{{cite book |author=Akhtar, Shabbir |title=The Quran and the secular mind: a philosophy of Islam |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-415-43783-7 }}</ref>
===Slavery===
{{main|Islam and slavery}}


Various calls to arms were identified in the Quran by ], all of which were cited as "most relevant to my actions on March 3, 2006," after he committed a terrorist attack that injured 9 people.<ref>{{cite wikisource |wslink=Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar- Letter to The daily Tar Heel |title=Letter to The daily Tar Heel |first=Mohammed Reza |last=Taheri-azar |authorlink=Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar SUV attack#Perpetrator |year=2006}}</ref>
==== Criticisms ====
Islam has come under criticism for permitting slavery,<ref name="SpencerIU63">Robert Spencer, "Islam Unveiled", p. 63, 2003, ], ISBN 1-893554-77-5</ref> a practice that was a common feature of pre-Islamic pagan Arabia.<ref>Jonathan Bloom, Sheila Blair, "Islam: A Thousand Years of Faith and Power", p. 47, 2002, ], ISBN 0-300-09422-1</ref> ] specifically holds up verses {{cite quran|23|1|end=6|style=nosup|expand=no}} for scrutiny, claiming that they allow for the taking of slaves as concubines.<ref name="SpencerIU63"/>


===Violence against women===
<blockquote>The believers must (eventually) win through,- Those who humble themselves in their prayers; Who avoid vain talk; Who are active in deeds of charity; Who abstain from sex, Except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (in their case) they are free from blame, ({{cite quran|23|1|end=6|style=nosup|expand=no}})</blockquote>
{{Main|Islam and Domestic violence|An-Nisa, 34}}
Verse 4:34 of the Quran as translated by Ali Quli Qara'i reads:


{{blockquote|Men are the managers of women, because of the advantage Allah has granted some of them over others, and by virtue of their spending out of their wealth. So righteous women are obedient, care-taking in the absence of what Allah has enjoined to guard. As for those whose misconduct you fear, advise them, and keep away from them in the bed, and strike them. Then if they obey you, do not seek any course against them. Indeed, Allah is all-exalted, all-great.<ref name="4-34">{{cite web|url=http://al-quran.info/#4:34 |title=Surat An-Nisa' 4:34&#93; – The Noble Qur'an – القرآن الكريم |publisher=al-quran.info/#4:34 |access-date=2012-08-13}}</ref>}}
<blockquote>It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (as handmaidens): and Allah doth watch over all things. ({{cite quran|33|52|style=nosup|expand=no}})</blockquote>


Many translations do not necessarily imply a chronological sequence, for example, ]'s, ]'s, or ]'s. Arberry's translation reads "admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them."<ref>] ''A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of Life, Letters and History'' (], 2001) p. 184 {{ISBN|0375758372}}</ref>
Spencer claims that slavery is still practiced in several Muslim countries today, such as Sudan and Mauritania, a situation that he thinks will always be possible as long as slavery is "explicitly sanctioned by the Qur'an and Islamic law".<ref name="SpencerIU63"/> He also claims that the impetus to end slavery came from the West, and was resisted by at least one ] who defended the practice as not prohibited by the "laws of any sect".<ref>Robert Spencer, "Islam Unveiled", p. 65, 2003, Encounter Books, ISBN 1-893554-77-5</ref>


The Dutch film '']'', which rose to fame outside the Netherlands after the assassination of its director ] by Muslim extremist ], critiqued this and similar verses of the Quran by displaying them painted on the bodies of abused Muslim women.<ref name=submission_script>{{Cite web |url=http://www.opzij.nl/opzij/show?id=23669&framenoid=19755 |title=Script for the movie, Submission |access-date=14 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225432/http://www.opzij.nl/opzij/show?id=23669&framenoid=19755 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ], the film's writer, said "it is written in the Koran a woman may be slapped if she is disobedient. This is one of the evils I wish to point out in the film".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dnd.nl/showarticle.php3?newsID=15018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320233336/http://www.dnd.nl/showarticle.php3?newsID=15018|url-status=dead|title=Hirsi Ali on Film over Position of Women in Koran|archivedate=20 March 2012}}</ref>
==== Responses ====


Scholars of Islam have a variety of responses to these criticisms. (See ] for a fuller exegesis on the meaning of the text.) Some Muslim scholars say that the "striking" allowed is limited to no more than a light touch by siwak, or toothbrush.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/family/marital-relationships/174868.html |title=Wife Beating in Islamic Perspective – Marital relationships – counsels |publisher=OnIslam.net |date=14 March 2013 |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islamicfinder.org/articles/article.php?id=307 |title=Articles and FAQs about Islam, Muslims, Allah, Muhammad, Quran, Hadith, Woman, Fiqh and Fatwa |publisher=Islamicfinder.org |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> Some Muslims argue that striking is only appropriate if a woman has done "an unrighteous, wicked and rebellious act" beyond mere disobedience.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230062211/http://www.submission.org/women/beating.html |date=30 December 2006 }}, by Fatimah Khaldoon, ''Submission'', 2003. Retrieved 16 April 2006.</ref> In many modern interpretations of the Quran, the actions prescribed in 4:34 are to be taken in sequence, and striking is only to be used as a last resort.<ref>] in his Quranic commentary states that: "In case of family jars four steps are mentioned, to be taken in that order. (1) Perhaps verbal advice or admonition may be sufficient; (2) if not, sex relations may be suspended; (3) if this is not sufficient, some slight physical correction may be administered; but Imam Shafi'i considers this inadvisable, though permissible, and all authorities are unanimous in deprecating any sort of cruelty, even of the nagging kind, as mentioned in the next clause; (4) if all this fails, a family council is recommended in 4:35 below." ], ''The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary'' (commentary on 4:34), Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. {{ISBN|0-915957-03-5}}.</ref><ref>], head of the ], says that "If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts.{{cite web |url=http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID%3D7061 |title=Islam Online - Services (Fatwa) |access-date=2007-06-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404235348/http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=7061 |archive-date=2005-04-04 }}.{{cite web |url=http://memri.de/uebersetzungen_analysen/themen/liberal_voices/ges_beating_22_03_04.pdf |title=Islam Online - Services (Fatwa) |access-date=2007-06-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404235348/http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=7061 |archive-date=2005-04-04 }}</ref><ref>] writes that in case of rebellious behavior, the husband is asked to urge his wife to mend her ways, then to refuse to share their beds, and as the last resort, husbands are allowed to admonish their wives by beating. ], "Tafsir of Ibn Kathir", Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50–53</ref>
Qura'nic Scholars have varying interpretation of the verses. While some scholars such as ] comment that verses {{cite quran|23|1|end=6|style=nosup|expand=no}} explicitly allow sex with slave girls outside of marriage,<ref>Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, "The Meaning of the Qur'an, Volume 3", note 7-1, p. 241, 2000, Islamic Publications</ref> others like ], Khawaja Kamaluddin and Lord Headly reject the allegation that certain verses of the Quran allow slaves to be taken as concubines.<ref name=mmaslavesex>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 493 from CH VI Marriage "There is no concubinage in Islam". The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref><ref>Lord Headly & Khawaja Kamaluddin: Islam on Slavery, Pg 22. Darul-Ishaat-e-Kutb-e-Islamia, Bombay.</ref> Regarding verses 23:1-6 Maulana Muhammad Ali argues that these are describing true believers and apply equally to men and women, and do not allow concubinage.<ref> Ali, Maulana Muhammad: The Religion of Islam, Page 490 from CH VI Marriage “There is no concubinage in Islam”. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam (Lahore) USA. 1990 </ref> Regarding verse 33:52, Maulana Muhammad Ali says that by the term "those whom they right hand possesses" refer to the wives of the Prophet whom he had lawfully married.<ref>Ali, Maulana Muhammad: English Translation of the Holy Quran, footnote 52c Pg 842. Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore, USA </ref> He claims that therefore "slaves could only be taken in marriage, and no other form of sexual relations was permitted."<ref name=mmaslavesex />


Many Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that striking, where permitted, are not to be harsh<ref>], head of the ], says that "It is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury."{{cite web |url=http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID%3D7061 |title=Islam Online - Services (Fatwa) |access-date=5 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404235348/http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=7061 |archive-date=4 April 2005 }}{{cite web |url=http://memri.de/uebersetzungen_analysen/themen/liberal_voices/ges_beating_22_03_04.pdf |title=Islam Online - Services (Fatwa) |access-date=5 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404235348/http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=7061 |archive-date=4 April 2005 }}</ref><ref>Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqee records in his Tafsir Al-Quran Al-Azim that "Ibn `Abbas and several others said that the Ayah refers to a beating that is not violent. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that it means, a beating that is not severe."</ref><ref name="shaf">], '' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020327203120/http://www.islamicperspectives.com/Quran-4-34.htm|date=27 March 2002}}'', Islamic Perspectives. 10 August 2005</ref> or even that they should be "more or less symbolic."<ref>One such authority is the earliest ], ]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929153110/http://www.themodernreligion.com/women/w_abuse_badawi.htm|date=29 September 2017}}</ref> According to ] and ], the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light striking.<ref>"The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary", Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, 1989. {{ISBN|0-915957-03-5}}, passage was quoted from commentary on 4:34</ref><ref>Kathir, Ibn, "Tafsir of Ibn Kathir", Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50–53</ref>
Other scholars have generally responded by pointing out that while Islam regulates slavery, the good treatment and manumission of slaves are seen as ideals. ] points out that the "Qur'an command(s) the just and humane treatment of slaves, and regard(s) their emancipation as a meritorious act," referencing verses {{cite quran|16|71|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|90|13|style=nosup|expand=no}}, and {{cite quran|58|3|style=nosup|expand=no}}. He goes on to note that slave owners were encouraged to permit their slaves to earn their freedom, and states that forcing female slaves into prostitution was condemned.<ref>John Esposito, "Islam: The Straight Path", p. 79, 1998, ], ISBN 0-19-511234-2</ref> ] states that if some write that slavery is in practice today, "it is more like the slavery of sweatshops in China or the West today. In neither case is it a prevalent practice, nor are such practices condoned by religious authorities."<ref>Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Heart of Islam, p. 182</ref>


Some jurists argue that even when striking is acceptable under the Quran, it is still discountenanced.<ref>] comments that "Whenever the Prophet (peace be on him) permitted a man to administer corporal punishment to his wife, he did so with reluctance, and continued to express his distaste for it. And even in cases where it is necessary, the Prophet (peace be on him) directed men not to hit across the face, nor to beat severely nor to use anything that might leave marks on the body." "Towards Understanding the Quran" Translation by Zafar I. Ansari from "Tafheem Al-Quran" (specifically, commentary on 4:34) by Syed Abul-A'ala Mawdudi, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England.</ref><ref>The medieval jurist ash-], founder of one of the main schools of '']'', commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable."</ref><ref>"ome of the greatest Muslim scholars (e.g., Ash-Shafi'i) are of the opinion that it is just barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided: and they justify this opinion by the Prophet's personal feelings with regard to this problem." ], ''The Message of the Quran'' (his translation of the Quran).</ref>
==Christians and Jews in the Qur'an==
{{main|Islam and antisemitism|Islam and Anti-Christian sentiment}}
] owned by the United States ]]]


Shabbir Akhtar has argued that the Quran introduced prohibitions against "the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide" (, , ),<ref>{{cite book |author=Akhtar, Shabbir |title=The Quran and the secular mind: a philosophy of Islam |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=2008 |page=351 |isbn=978-0-415-43782-0 }}</ref> which is intended to provide a basis for the rights of women.
According to ], cowardice, greed, and chicanery are but a few of the characteristics that the Qur'an ascribes to the Jews. The Qur'an further associates Jews with interconfessional strife and rivalry ({{cite quran|2|113|style=ref}}). It claims that Jews believe that they alone are beloved of God ({{cite quran|5|18|style=ref}}), and that only they will achieve salvation ({{cite quran|2|111|style=ref}}). <ref>Gerber (1986), pp. 78&ndash;79 "Anti-Semitism and the Muslim World". In History and Hate: The Dimensions of Anti-Semitism, ed. ]. Jewish Publications Society. ISBN 0-8276-0267-7</ref> According to the ], the Qur'an contains many attacks on Jews and Christians for their refusal to recognize ] as a prophet.<ref>] (1997). "Anti-Semitism". '']'' (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed. ]. Keter Publishing House. ISBN 965-07-0665-8 </ref> In the Muslim view, the ] was an illusion, and thus the Jewish plots against him ended in failure.<ref>Lewis (1999), p. 120</ref> In numerous verses ({{cite quran|3|63|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|3|71|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|4|46|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|4|160|end=161|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|5|41|end=44|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|5|63|end=64|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|5|82|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|6|92|style=nosup|expand=no}})<ref>Gerber 91</ref> the Qur'an accuses Jews of ].<ref>Gerber 78</ref>


===Houris===
] states that the harsh criticisms were only addressed towards a particular group of Jews, as it is clear from the context of the Qur'anic verses, but the translations usually confuse this by using the general term "Jews". <ref name = "Tahir"> Abbas, pg.178-179 </ref>
{{Main|Houri}}
Max I. Dimont interprets that the houris described in the Quran are specifically dedicated to "male pleasure".<ref>The Indestructible Jews, by Max I. Dimont, p. 134</ref> Alternatively, ] says that the Quranic description of the houris should be viewed in a context of love; "every pious man who lives according to God's order will enter Paradise where rivers of milk and honey flow in cool, fragrant gardens and virgin beloveds await home..."<ref>Islam: An Introduction, by Annemarie Schimmel, p. 13, "Muhammad"</ref>


Under '']'' by ], the words translating to "Houris" or "Virgins of Paradise" are instead interpreted as "Fruits (grapes)" and "high climbing (wine) bowers... made into first fruits."<ref name="Luxenberg">Christoph Luxenberg, ''The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran'', Verlag Hans Schiler, 2007, {{ISBN|9783899300888}}, 349 pages, pp. 247–82 – The Huris or Virgins of Paradise</ref> Luxenberg offers alternate interpretations of these Quranic verses, including the idea that the Houris should be seen as having a specifically spiritual nature rather than a human nature; "these are all very sensual ideas; but there are also others of a different kind... what can be the object of cohabitation in Paradise as there can be no question of its purpose in the world, the preservation of the race. The solution of this difficulty is found by saying that, although heavenly food, women etc.., have the name in common with their earthly equivalents, it is only by way of metaphorical indication and comparison without actual identity... authors have spiritualized the Houris."<ref name="Luxenberg"/>
The Qur'an also contains some passages stating that certain Jews had been transformed into apes and pigs.<ref>, Internet ] Archive. (retrieved May 3, 2006)</ref><ref>, ], December 16, 2005. (retrieved May 3, 2006)</ref> Examples of such passages are:


==Christians and Jews in the Quran==
<blockquote>"And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected." ({{cite quran|2|65|style=nosup|expand=no}})</blockquote>
{{See also|Christianity and Islam|Islam and antisemitism|Islamic–Jewish relations|People of the Book}}
The Quran mentions more than 50 people ], which predates it by several centuries.


] claims that the Quran ascribes negative traits to Jews, such as cowardice, greed, and chicanery. She also alleges that the Quran associates Jews with interconfessional strife and rivalry (]),<ref>{{cite quran|2|113|style=ref}}</ref> the Jewish belief that they alone are beloved of God ({{cite quran|5|18|style=ref}}), and that only they will achieve salvation (]).<ref>Gerber (1986), pp. 78–79 "Anti-Semitism and the Muslim World". In History and Hate: The Dimensions of Anti-Semitism, ed. David Berger. Jewish Publications Society. {{ISBN|0-8276-0267-7}}</ref> According to the '']'', the Quran contains many attacks on Jews and Christians for their refusal to recognize ] as a prophet.<ref>] (1997). "Anti-Semitism". '']'' (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed. ]. Keter Publishing House. {{ISBN|965-07-0665-8}}</ref> In the Muslim view, the ] was an illusion, and thus the Jewish plots against him ended in failure.<ref>Lewis (1999), p. 120</ref> In numerous verses<ref>See, for example from Gerber 91, {{cite quran|3|63|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|3|71|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|4|46|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|4|160|end=161|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|5|41|end=44|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|5|63|end=64|style=nosup|expand=no}}, {{cite quran|5|82|style=nosup|expand=no}}; {{cite quran|6|92|style=nosup|expand=no}}</ref> the Quran accuses Jews of ].<ref>Gerber 78</ref> ] claims that there are "far more numerous passages in the Quran" which speak positively of the ]s and their great prophets, than those which were against the "rebellious Jewish tribes of Medina" (during Muhammad's time).<ref name=autogenerated2>{{Cite book|first=Sayyid Abul Ala|last=Maududi|title=]|year=1967}}</ref> ] believes the punishments were not meant for all Jews, and that they were only meant for the Jewish inhabitants that were sinning at the time.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> According to historian ], the Quran contains a verse which criticizes the Christian worship of ] as God, and also criticizes other practices and doctrines of both Judaism and Christianity. Despite this, the Quran has high praise for these religions, regarding them as the other two members of the Abrahamic triad.<ref>], Europe and the Islamic World, Part 1, Chapter 5, p. 97</ref>
<blockquote>"Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from Allah? those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!" ({{cite quran|5|60|end=61|style=nosup|expand=no}})</blockquote>


The Christian doctrine of the ] states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Islam, such ] is a denial of ] and thus a ] of ],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&q=shirk%2520Islam&pg=PA429|title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam|last1=Glassé|first1=Cyril|last2=Smith|first2=Huston|date=1 January 2003|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=9780759101906|page=429|language=en}}</ref> which is considered to be a major 'al-Kaba'ir' sin.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.islamicbookstore.com/b2448.html |title=The Major Sins : Arabic Text and English Translation of "Al Kaba'ir" (Muhammad Bin Uthman Adh Dhahabi) |work=Millat Book Centre |year=1993 |publisher=Kazi Publications |translator=Mohammad Moinuddin Siddiqui |editor=M. al Selek |isbn=1-56744-489-X |access-date=6 May 2017 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401010933/http://www.islamicbookstore.com/b2448.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.jannah.org/articles/sins.html |title=The Major Sins: Al-Kaba'r |work =Jannah.org}}</ref>
<blockquote>"When in their insolence they transgressed (all) prohibitions, We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected." ({{cite quran|7|166|style=nosup|expand=no}})</blockquote>


In the Quran, polytheism is considered the ] of ],<ref>''Encyclopedia of Islam'', volume 9, 2nd edition, s.v. shirk</ref> meaning that Jews and Christians, which the Quran calls polytheists (see below), will not be pardoned by God if they do not repent of shirk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.learnreligions.com/shirk-2004293|title=Shirk|website=Learn Religions}}</ref>
Muslim scholars disagree on the meanings of these verses. Some believe Jews were actually turned into apes and pigs, while others believe they began to act like animals.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sayyid Abul Ala|last=Maududi|title=]|year=1967}}</ref> ] believes this punishment was not meant for all Jews, and that they were only meant for the Jewish inhabitants that were sinning at the time.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sayyid Abul Ala|last=Maududi|title=]|year=1967}}</ref>
According to ], "many Muslim preachers use the verses in a manner that is totally wrong, demonizing all Jews."<ref>], , ], June 25, 2004. (retrieved May 3, 2006)</ref> ] charges that Saudi Arabia uses these verses to teach intolerance.<ref> (pdf), ], May 2006, pp.24-25.</ref>


The Quran states that Jews are exalting ] as a son of God and for taking their rabbis as "their lords in derogation of God",({{cite quran|9|30|style=ref}}) and should believe in Islam lest a punishment befalls them that turns them into “apes and pigs”.({{cite quran|5|60|style=ref}})({{cite quran|7|166|style=ref}})<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/muslim-clerics-jews-are-the-descendants-of-apes-pigs-and-other-animals|title=Muslim Clerics - Jews Are the Descendants of Apes, Pigs, And Other Animals|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref>
==See also==
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==Further reading== ==Hindu criticism==
Hindu Swami ] gave a brief analysis of the Quran in the 14th chapter of his 19th-century book ]. He calls the concept of Islam highly offensive, and doubted that there is any connection of Islam with God:
{{blockquote|Had the God of the Quran been the Lord of all creatures, and been Merciful and kind to all, he would never have commanded the Muhammedans to slaughter men of other faiths, and animals, etc. If he (God) is Merciful, won't he show mercy even to the sinners? If the answer be given in the affirmative, it (the Quran) cannot be true, because further on it is said in the Quran "Put infidels to sword," in other words, he that does not believe in the Quran, and Muhammad is an infidel (he should, therefore, be put to death). Since the Quran sanctions such cruelty to non-Muslims and innocent creatures such as cows it can never be the Word of God.<ref>{{cite journal|title = Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research |volume =19 |issue =1|publisher = ICPR| year = 2002|page = 73}}</ref>}}


On the other hand, ], the moral leader of the 20th-century Indian independence movement, found the significance of non-violence in Quran, but the history of Muslims to be aggressive, which is criticized by Muslims themselves based on Quranic consultative concept of ],<ref>{{cite journal|title = American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences |author = Fazlur Rahman| date =Spring 1984}}</ref> while he claimed that Hindus have passed that stage of societal evolution:
*'']'' by ]. ] (May 2003) ISBN 1-59102-068-9
{{blockquote|Though, in my opinion, non-violence has a predominant place in the Quran, the thirteen hundred years of imperialistic expansion has made the Muslims fighters as a body. They are therefore aggressive. Bullying is the natural excrescence of an aggressive spirit. The Hindu has an ages old civilization. He is essentially non violent. His civilization has passed through the experiences that the two recent ones are still passing through. If Hinduism was ever imperialistic in the modern sense of the term, it has outlived its imperialism and has either deliberately or as a matter of course given it up. Predominance of the non-violent spirit has restricted the use of arms to a small minority which must always be subordinate to a civil power, highly spiritual, learned, and selfless.<ref>''The Gandhian Moment'', p. 117, by Ramin Jahanbegloo</ref><ref>''Gandhi's responses to Islam'', p. 110, by Sheila McDonough</ref>}}
*'']'' by ]. ] (hardcover), 1995, ISBN 0-87975-984-4
*'']'', by ], ] 2006 (] bestseller list )
*'']'', by ], Prometheus Books, 2005. ISBN 1-59102-249-5
*'']'', by ], Regnery Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-89526-013-1 (NYT bestseller list)
* '']'', by ], Regnery Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-89526-100-6
*'']'',by ], (with ]), Ascension Press, 2003. ISBN 0-9659228-5-5
*'']'', by ], (Foreword by ]), Encounter Books, 2002. ISBN 1-893554-58-9
*'']'' edited by William Dudley. ] (]) in 2004 as a 203-page hardcover (ISBN 0-7377-2238-X) and paperback (ISBN 0-7377-2239-8).
*''Against the Tides in the Middle East'', by ] International Academic Centre for Muslim Evangelism in ], 1997 (published under the name "Mustafa").
*'']'' by ]. 2002, ISBN 0-88419-884-7
*'']'' by ]. 2003, ISBN 0-88419-956-8
*''Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities'' by ]. 2004, ISBN 1-59185-291-9
*'']'' by ]. 2006, ISBN 1-59185-713-9
*Gerber, Jane S. (1986). "Anti-Semitism and the Muslim World". In ''History and Hate: The Dimensions of Anti-Semitism'', ed. David Berger. Jewish Publications Society. ISBN 0-8276-0267-7


==References== ==See also==
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==External links==
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==Notes==
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==References==
=====Critical sites=====
===Citations===
* - Answering-Islam.org
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* - articles on the Quran
* - commentary on the Quran
* - developed by
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=== Bibliography===
=====Muslim responses to criticism=====
* {{cite journal |author=Roslan Abdul-Rahim |title=Demythologizing the Qur'an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur'an |url=http://www.gjat.my/gjat122017/GJAT122017-2.pdf |journal=Global Journal Al-Thaqafah|date=December 2017 |volume=7 |issue=2 |issn=2232-0474 |pages=51–78 |doi=10.7187/GJAT122017-2 |ref=RARDtQ2017 |doi-access=free }}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Bannister |first1=Andrew G. |title=Retelling the Tale: A Computerised Oral-Formulaic Analysis of the Qur'an. Presented at the 2014 International Qur'an Studies Association Meeting in San Diego |url=https://www.academia.edu/9490706 |website=academia.edu |ref=AGBRtT2014}}
*
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |title=The Quran in its Historical Context |url=https://archive.org/details/quranitshistoric00reyn |url-access=limited |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=Recent Research on the Construction of the Quran|last1= Böwering |first1=Gerhard |pages=-87 |ref=GBRRCQ2008}}
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* {{Cite book | first1=John | last1=Burton | title=The Sources of Islamic Law: Islamic Theories of Abrogation | publisher=Edinburgh University Press | year=1990 | isbn=0-7486-0108-2 | url=http://www.almuslih.org/Library/Burton,%20J%20-%20The%20Sources%20of%20Islamic%20Law.pdf | accessdate=21 July 2018 | ref=JBSILITA1990 | archive-date=4 January 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104171116/http://www.almuslih.org/Library/Burton,%20J%20-%20The%20Sources%20of%20Islamic%20Law.pdf | url-status=dead }}
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* {{Cite book |last=Cook |first=David B. |author-link=David Cook (historian) |year=2005 |title=Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature |publisher=Syracuse University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uCtQhsrnwWQC&pg=PA205
*
|isbn=9780815630586}}
*
* {{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Michael|title=The Koran : A Very Short Introduction|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUEe1twiimUC|isbn=0192853449|ref=MCKaVSI2000}}
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*{{cite book |last1=Crone |first1=Patricia |title=Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam |year=1987 |publisher=Princeton University Press |url=http://www.almuslih.org/Library/Crone,%20P%20-%20Meccan%20Trade%20and%20the%20Rise%20of%20Islam.pdf |ref=PCMTatRoI1987 |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-date=28 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528221729/http://almuslih.org/Library/Crone,%20P%20-%20Meccan%20Trade%20and%20the%20Rise%20of%20Islam.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*
*{{cite book |last1=Crone |first1=Patricia | last2=Cook |first2=Michael |title=Hagarism, the Making of the Islamic World |year=1977 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=http://www.almuslih.org/Library/Crone,%20P;%20Cook,%20M%20-%20Hagarism.pdf |access-date=18 March 2020 |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last1=Dashti |first1=`Ali |title=Twenty Three Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad |year=1994 |url=https://1400years.org/books/twentythreeyearsEN.pdf |accessdate=10 April 2019 |ref=AD23Y1994 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |title=The Quran in its Historical Context |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=The Quran in Recent Scholarship |last1=Donner |first1=Fred M. |pages=29–50 |ref=FMDQiRS2008}}
*{{cite book|last1=Dundes|first1=Alan|title=Fables of the Ancients?: Folklore in the Qur'an|date=2003|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=9780585466774|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yfo2AgAAQBAJ|accessdate=2 May 2019|ref=ADFotA2003}}
*{{cite book |last1=Gibb |first1=H.A.R. |title=Mohammedanism : An Historical Survey |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1953 |orig-year=1949 |url=https://archive.org/details/mohammedanismanh027895mbp/page/n8 |ref=HARGM1953}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |title=The Quran in its Historical Context |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=Reconsidering the Authorship of the Quran. Is the Quran party the fruit of a progressive and collective work? |last1= Gillot |first1=Claude |pages=88–108 |ref=CGRtAotQ2008}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Glassé |first1=Cyril |last2=Smith |first2=Huston |title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=Rowman Altamira |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&q=%22the+eschatological+shadow+that+Alexander+casts%22&pg=PA38 |isbn=9780759101906}}
*{{cite book | last1=Guillaume |first1=Alfred |title=Islam |publisher=Penguin books |orig-year=1954 |date=1978 |ref=AGI1954}}
*{{cite book|last1=Holland|first1=Tom|title=In the Shadow of the Sword|date=2012|publisher=Doubleday|location=UK|isbn=978-0-385-53135-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1f_BR2DulRIC|accessdate=29 August 2019|ref=THItSotS2012}}
*{{cite book |authorlink1=Ibn al-Rawandi |editor1-last=Ibn Warraq |title=The Quest for the Historical Muhammad |date=2000 |publisher=Prometheus |chapter=2. Origins of Islam: A Critical Look at the Sources |pages=89–124 |ref=IWOoICLatS2000}}
*{{cite book |authorlink1=Ibn Warraq |editor1-last=Ibn Warraq |title=The Quest for the Historical Muhammad |date=2000 |publisher=Prometheus |pages=15–88 |chapter=1. Studies on Muhammad and the Rise of Islam |ref=IWSoMatRoI2000}}
*{{cite book|title=]: Language, Text & Commentary|publisher=Prometheus|year=2002|isbn=157392945X|editor-last=Ibn Warraq|author1=Ibn Warraq|authorlink1=Ibn Warraq|location=New York|url=|translator-last=Ibn Warraq|pages=23–106|ref=WtKRS-I-IW2002}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ibn Warraq |title=Why I Am Not a Muslim |publisher=Prometheus Books |year=1995 |url=http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/books/Ibn%20Warraq%20-%20Why%20I%20Am%20Not%20a%20Muslim.pdf |accessdate=25 April 2019 |ref=iWWINaM1995}}
*{{cite book|last=Leirvik|first=Oddbjørn|date=27 May 2010|title=Images of Jesus Christ in Islam|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEUdCgAAQBAJ|location=New York|publisher=]; 2nd edition|pages=33–66|isbn=978-1441181602|ref=OLIoJCiI2010}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lippman |first1=Thomas W. |title=Understanding Islam : An Introduction to the Moslem World |publisher=New American Library |year=1982 |ref=TWLUI1982}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lüling |first1=Günter |title=A Challenge to Islam for Reformation; Die Wiederentdeckung des Propheten Muhammad: eine Kritik am "christlichen" Abendland |date=1981 |publisher=Luling |location=Erlangen}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pinault |first=David |title=Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights |publisher=BRILL |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guHmLGJMbg4C&q=Story-Telling+Techniques+in+the+Arabian+Nights |isbn=978-9004095304}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |title=The Quran in its Historical Context |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |ref=GSRQiIHC2008}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |title=The Quran in its Historical Context |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=Introduction, Quranic studies and its controversies |last1=Reynolds |first1=Gabriel Said |pages=1–26 |ref=GSRQSaIC2008}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |title=The Quran in its Historical Context |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=Nascent Islam in the Seventh Century Syriac Sources|last1= Saadi |first1=Abdul-Massih |pages=217–222 |ref=AMSNIit7CSS2008}}
*{{cite book |first1=Maxime |last1=Rodinson|title=Muhammad |publisher=Tauris Parke |location= London |date= 2002 |isbn=1-86064-827-4 |ref=MRM2002}}
*{{cite book|last1=Rizvi|first1=Ali|title=The Atheist Muslim: A Journey from Religion to Reason|date=2016|publisher=Macmillan.|isbn=9781250094445|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ik4DQAAQBAJ|accessdate=16 October 2019|ref=AARAM2016}}
*{{cite book |first1=Maxime |last1=Rodinson|title=Muhammad |publisher=Tauris Parke |location= London |date= 2002 |isbn=1-86064-827-4 |ref=MRM2002}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Sadeghi |first1=Behnam |last2=Goudarzi |first2=Mohsen |year=2012 |title=Ṣan'ā' 1 and the Origins of the Qur'ān |url=http://pl.scribd.com/doc/110978941/Sanaa-1-and-the-Origins-of-the-Qur-An |journal=] |volume=87 |issue=1–2 |location=] |publisher=] |pages=1–129 |doi=10.1515/islam-2011-0025 |s2cid=164120434}}
*{{cite book |last1=Said |first1=Edward |title=Orientalism |publisher=Vintage |date=1978 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313360730 |accessdate=12 April 2019 |ref=ESO1978}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |title=The Quran in its Historical Context |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |chapter=The Alexander Legend in the Qur'an 18:83-102|last1=van Bladel |first1=Kevin |pages=175–203 |ref=KvBALitQ2008}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Van Donzel |first1=Emeri J. |last2=Schmidt |first2=Andrea Barbara |title=Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources |publisher=Brill |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtxOXRlPMA0C&q=%22Alexander+and+his+barrier+against+Gog+and+Magog+was+rooted+in+Syriac+tradition%22&pg=PA57 |isbn=978-9004174160}}
*{{cite book |last1=Wansbrough |first1=John |others=Foreword, Translations, and Expanded Notes by Andrew Rippin |title=Quranic Studies : Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation |date=2004 |publisher=Prometheus |location=Amherst, New York |isbn=1-59102-201-0 |url=http://www.almuslih.org/Library/Wansbrough,%20J%20-%20Quranic%20Studies.pdf |access-date=29 February 2020 |ref=JWQS2004 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729111233/http://www.almuslih.org/Library/Wansbrough,%20J%20-%20Quranic%20Studies.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Weiss |first1=Bernard |title=Reviewed Work: ''The Sources of Islamic Law: Islamic Theories of Abrogation'' by John Burton |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=April–June 1993 |volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=304–306 |jstor=603054 |ref=BWRWSIL1993|doi=10.2307/603054 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Wheeler|first=Brannon M.|title=Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9781136128905|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4uArBgAAQBAJ&q=%22Dhu+al-Qarnayn%27s+journey+to+the+ends+of+the+Earth%22&pg=PA96}}


{{Islam topics}}
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{{Criticism of religion}}
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Latest revision as of 08:02, 28 November 2024

Criticism of Islam's holy book This article is about criticism of the Quran. For other uses, see Quran (disambiguation).

Quran
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The Quran is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent down by God (Arabic: الله, romanizedAllah) and revealed to Muhammad by the angel Jabreel (Gabriel). The Quran has been subject to criticism both in the sense of being the subject of an interdisciplinary field of study where secular, (mostly) Western scholars set aside doctrines of its divinity, perfection, unchangeability, etc. accepted by Muslim Islamic scholars; but also in the sense of being found fault with by those — including Christian missionaries and other skeptics hoping to convert Muslims — who argue it is not divine, not perfect, and/or not particularly morally elevated.

In critical-historical study scholars (such as John Wansbrough, Joseph Schacht, Patricia Crone, Michael Cook) seek to investigate and verify the Quran's origin, text, composition, and history, examining questions, puzzles, difficult text, etc. as they would non-sacred ancient texts. The most common criticisms concern various pre-existing sources that Quran relies upon, internal consistency, clarity and ethical teachings. According to Toby Lester, many Muslims find not only the religious fault-finding but also Western scholarly investigation of textual evidence "disturbing and offensive".

Historical authenticity

See also: Historical reliability of the Quran, History of the Quran, and Historicity of Muhammad

Traditional view

According to Islamic tradition, which criticism may question or contradict, the Quran followed a passage from heaven down to the angel Gabriel (Jabreel) who revealed it in the seventh century CE over 23 years to a Hejazi Arab trader, Muhammad, who became one of the Prophets of Islam. Muhammad shared these revelations – which brought uncompromising monotheism to humanity – with his companions who wrote them down and/or memorized them. From these memories and scraps, a standard edition was carefully compiled and edited under the supervision of Caliph Uthman not long after Muhammad's death. Copies of this codex or "Mus'haf" were sent to the major centers of what was by this time a rapidly expanding empire, and all other incomplete or "imperfect" variants of the Quranic revelation were ordered by Uthman to be destroyed. In the next few centuries, the religion and empire of Islam solidified, and an enormous body of religious literature and laws were developed, including commentaries/exegeses (Tafsir) to explain the Quran.

Thus, according to Islamic teaching, it was ensured that the wording of the Quranic text available today corresponds exactly to the literal, infallible, "perfect, timeless", "absolute" unadulterated word of God revealed to Muhammad. That revelation in turn is identical to an eternal “mother of the book” the archetype/prototype of the Quran. This was not created/written by God, but an attribute of Him, co-eternal and kept with Him in heaven.

Muslim views of criticism

For Muslims the contents of the Quran have been "a source of doctrine, law, poetic and spiritual inspiration, solace, zeal, knowledge, and mystical experience." "Millions and millions" of whom "refer to the Koran daily to explain their actions and to justify their aspirations", and in recent years many consider it the source of scientific knowledge. Revered by pious Muslims as "the holy of holies", whose sound moves some to "tears and esctasy", it is the physical symbol of the faith, the text often used as a charm on occasions of birth, death, marriage. The traditional Muslim understanding of the Quran is not that it is simply divinely inspired, but the literal word of God; the last and complete message from God, from his final messenger (Muhammad) superseding the Old and New Testament and purified of "accretions of Judaism and Christianity".

Muslims have developed their own Quranic studies or "Quranic sciences" (‘ulum al Qur’an) over the centuries, following the Quranic encouragement "Will they not contemplate the Quran?"(4:82). There are two types of exegesis to explain and interpret the Quran: tafsir (literal interpretation) and ta’wil (allegorical interpretation). Other issues studied are kalimat dakhila (the investigation of the foreign origin of some Quranic terms); naskh (studying contradictory verses to determine which should be abrogated in favor of the other), study of "occasions of revelation" (connecting Quranic verses with "episodes of Muhammad's career based on hadith and biographies of him -- which are known as sira), chronology of revelation, the division of quranic chapters (surahs) into "Meccan surah" (those believed to have been revealed in Mecca before the hijra) and "Medinan surah (revealed afterward in the city of Medina). According to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, these traditional religious sciences

"provide all the answers to questions posed by modern western orientalists about the structure and text of the Koran, except, of course, those questions that issue from the rejection of the Divine Origin of the Koran and its reduction to a work by the prophet. Once the revealed nature of the Koran is rejected, then problems arise. But these are problems of orientalist that arise not from scholarship but from a certain theological and philosophical position that is usually hidden under the guise of rationality and objective scholarship. For Muslims there has never been the need to address these 'problems' ..."

In contrast, many of the original non-Muslim scholars of the Quran worked "in the context of an openly declared hostility" between Christianity and Islam, with an eye to debunking Islam or proselytizing against it. The nineteenth-century orientalist and colonial administrator William Muir, wrote that the Quran was one of "the most stubborn enemies of Civilisation, Liberty, and the Truth which the world has yet known." In the twentieth century, scholars of the early Soviet Union working in the context of dialectical materialism and fighting the "opium of the people" went on about how Muhammad and the first Caliphs were "mythical figures" and that "the motive force" of early Islam was "the mercantile bourgeoisie of Mecca and Medina" and "slave-owning" Arab society.

At least in part in reaction, some Muslim opposition to "The Orientalist enterprise of Qur'anic studies" has been intense. In 1987 Muslim critic S. Parvez Manzoor, denounced it as conceived in "the polemical marshes of medieval Christianity".

At the greatest hour of his worldly-triumph, the Western man, coordinating the powers of the State, Church and Academia, launched his most determined assault on the citadel of Muslim faith. All the aberrant streaks of his arrogant personality—its reckless rationalism, its world-domineering phantasy and its sectarian fanaticism—joined in an unholy conspiracy to dislodge the Muslim Scripture from its firmly entrenched position as the epitome of historic authenticity and moral unassailability.

In the twenty-first century, some Muslim Islamic scholars have warned against lending "legitimacy to non-Muslim scholars’ understanding about Islam" by engaging with them, and that even a rigorously scholarly academic work on Islam such as the Brill Encyclopedia of Islam "is filled with insults and disparaging remarks about the Qur’an".

Textual criticism of the Quran, the structure and style of the surahs, has been opposed on grounds that it questions the divine origin of the Quran. Seyyed Hossein Nasr has denounced the “rationalist and agnostic methods of higher criticism” as similar to dissecting and subjecting Jesus to “modern medical techniques” to determine whether he was born miraculously or was the son of Joseph, In his influential Orientalism, Edward Said declared Western study of the Middle East — including the religion of Islam — inextricably tied to Western Imperialism, making the study inherently political and servile to power.

These complaints have been compared to those of other religious conservatives (Christian) against textual historical criticism of their own sacred text (the Bible). Non-Muslim scholar Patricia Crone acknowledges the call for humility towards the scared of other cultures — "who are you to tamper with their legacy?" — but defends challenging of orthodox views of Islamic history, saying "we Islamicists are not trying to destroy anyone's faith."

Not all Muslims oppose criticism; Roslan Abdul-Rahim writes that critical study of the Quran "will not hurt the Muslims; it will only help them" because "no amount of criticism can change that fact" that the "Quran is truly a divine piece of work as the Muslim theology stipulates and as the Muslims have so strongly defended". Some scholars have suffered for attempting to apply literary or philological techniques to the Quran, such as Egyptian "Dean of Arabic Literature" Taha Husain, who lost his post at Cairo University in 1931, Egyptian professor Mohammad Ahmad Khalafallah, whose dissertation was rejected, a non-Muslim German professor Günter Lüling (dismissed), and Egyptian professor Nasr Abu Zaid, who was forced to seek exile in Europe after being declared an apostate and threatened with death for violating a "right of God".

Non-Muslim views

Not all non-Muslim scholars of Islam are interested in critical examination/analysis. Patricia Crone and Ibn Rawandi argue that Western scholarship lost its critical attitude to the sources of the origins of Islam around the time of the First World War." Andrew Rippin has expressed surprise that

for students acquainted with approaches such as source criticism, oral-formulaic composition, literary analysis and structuralism, all quite commonly employed in the study of Judaism and Christianity, such naive historical study seems to suggest that Islam is being approached with less than academic candor.

Scholars have complained about "'dogmatic Islamophilia' of most Arabists" (Karl Binswanger); that in one western country (France as of 1983) "it is no longer acceptable to criticize Islam or the Arab countries" (Jacque Ellul); that among some historians ("like Norman Daniel") understanding of Islam "has given way to apologetics pure and simple" (Maxime Rodinson).

See also: Historiography of early Islam

However, in the 1970s, what has been described as a "wave of skeptical scholars" challenged a great deal of the received wisdom in Islamic studies. They argued that the Islamic historical tradition had been greatly corrupted in transmission, that there was a lack of supporting evidence consistent with the traditional narrative, such as the lack of archaeological evidence, and discrepancies with non-Muslim literary sources. They tried to correct or reconstruct the early history of Islam from other, presumably more reliable, sources such as coins, inscriptions, and non-Islamic sources.

Uniform Quran

Although there is some disagreement, the collection of verses for the compilation of a written Quran is said to have begun under Caliph Abu Bakr. The last recensions to make an official and uniform Quran in a single dialect were effected under Caliph Uthman (644–656) starting some twelve years after the Prophet's death and finishing twenty-four years after the effort began, with all other existing personal and individual copies and dialects of the Quran being burned:

When they had copied the sheets, Uthman sent a copy to each of the main centres of the empire with the command that all other Qur'an materials, whether in single sheet form, or in whole volumes, were to be burned.

It is traditionally believed the earliest writings had the advantage of being checked by people who already knew the text by heart, for they had learned it at the time of the revelation itself and had subsequently recited it constantly. Since the official compilation was completed two decades after Muhammad's death, the Uthman text has been scrupulously preserved. Bucaille believed that this did not give rise to any problems of this Quran's authenticity.

Qira'at and Ahruf

Main article: Qira'at
Evolution of early Arabic script (9th–11th century), with the Basmala as an example, from kufic Qur'ān manuscripts: (1) Early 9th century, script with no dots or diacritic marks;(2) and (3) 9th–10th century under the Abbasid dynasty, Abu al-Aswad's system established red dots with each arrangement or position indicating a different short vowel; later, a second black-dot system was used to differentiate between letters like fā’ and qāf; (4) 11th century, in al-Farāhidi's system (system used today) dots were changed into shapes resembling the letters to transcribe the corresponding long vowels.

Despite caliph Uthman's reported work to standardize the Quran, and the belief by many Muslims that it "exists exactly as it had been revealed to the Prophet; not a word - nay, not a dot of it - has been changed" (Abul A'la Maududi), there are not one but ten different recognized versions of the Quran, known as qiraʼat (meaning 'recitations or readings'). These exist because the Quran was originally spread and passed down orally, and though there was a written text, it did not include most vowels or distinguish between many consonants. Consequently, although the differences between the Qira'at are slight and only one version of the ten is in wide use, the differences between the "readings" go beyond pronunciation into consonants and meaning.

In addition to the Qira'at there are also Ahruf—both being readings of the Quran with "unbroken chain(s) of transmission going back to the Prophet", but all but one ahruf allegedly being forgotten after Uthman standardized the Quran. There are multiple views on the nature of the ahruf and how they relate to the qira'at, the general view being that caliph Uthman eliminated all of the ahruf except one during the 7th century CE. The ten qira'at were canonized by Islamic scholars in early centuries of Islam. Prior to this period, there is evidence that the unpointed text could be read in different ways, with different meanings.

Even after centuries of Islamic scholarship, the variants of the Qira'at have been said to continue "to astound and puzzle" Islamic scholars (Ammar Khatib and Nazir Khan), and make up "the most difficult topics" in Quranic studies (according to Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi). While in theory Qira'at include differences in consonantal diacritics (i‘jām), vowel marks (ḥarakāt), but not the consonantal skeleton (rasm) which should be uniform in all Qira'at, there are differences in (rasm). resulting in materially different readings (see examples).

Examples of differences between two Qira'at:

Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim and Warš ʿan Nāfiʿ for eight verses
Ḥafṣ (translation) Warš (translation) verse
يَعْمَلُونَ (you do) تَعْمَلُونَ (they do) Al-Baqara 2:85
مَا نُنَزِّلُ (We do not send down...) مَا تَنَزَّلُ (they do not come down...) Al-Ḥijr 15:8
لِأَهَبَ (that I may bestow) لِيَهَبَ (that He may bestow) Maryam 19:19
قَالَ (he said) قُل (Say!) Al-Anbiyā' 21:4
كَبِيرًا (mighty) كَثِيرًا (multitudinous) Al-Aḥzāb 33:68
فَبِمَا (then it is what) بِمَا (it is what) Al-Shura 42:30
يُدْخِلْهُ (He makes him enter) نُدْخِلْهُ (We make him enter) Al-Fatḥ 48:17
عِبَٰدُ (who are the slaves of the Beneficent) عِندَ (who are with the Beneficent) al-Zukhruf 43:19

While the change of voice or pronouns in these verse may seem confusing, it is very common in the Quran and found even in the same verse. (It is known as iltifāt.)

  • Q.2:85 the "you" in Hafs refers to the actions of more than one person and the "They" in Warsh is also referring to the actions of more than one person.
  • Q.15:8 "We" refers to God in Hafs and the "They" in Warsh refers to what is not being sent down by God (The Angels).
  • Q.19:19 (li-ʾahaba v. li-yahaba) is a well known difference, both for the theological interest in the alternative pronouns said to have been uttered by the angel, and for requiring unusual orthography.
  • Q.48:17, the "He" in Hafs is referring to God and the "We" in Warsh is also referring to God, this is due to the fact that God refers to Himself in both the singular form and plural form by using the royal "We".
  • Q.43:19 shows an example of a consonantal dotting difference that gives a different root word, in this case ʿibādu v. ʿinda.

The second set of examples below compares the other canonical readings with that of Ḥafs ʿan ʿĀṣim. These are not nearly as widely read today, though all are available in print and studied for recitation.

There is a hadith related by Tabarī minimizing confusion over Qira'at or Ahruf. Tabarī prefaces his early commentary on the Quran illustrating that the precise way to read the verses of the sacred text was not fixed even in the day of the Prophet. Two men disputing a verse in the text asked Ubay ibn Ka'b to mediate, and he disagreed with them, coming up with a third reading. To resolve the question, the three went to Muhammad. He asked first one-man to read out the verse, and announced it was correct. He made the same response when the second alternative reading was delivered. He then asked Ubay to provide his own recital, and, on hearing the third version, Muhammad also pronounced it 'Correct!'. Noting Ubay's perplexity and inner thoughts, Muhammad then told him, 'Pray to God for protection from the accursed Satan.'

Extant copies prior to Uthman version

Sanaa manuscript

Main article: Sanaa manuscript
Manuscripts found in Sana'a. The "subtexts" revealed using UV light are very different from today's Qur'an. Gerd R. Puin believed this to mean an 'evolving' text. A similar phrase is used by Lawrence Conrad for biography of Muhammad. Because, according to his studies, Islamic scientific view on the date of birth of the Prophet until the second century A.H. had exhibited a diversity of 85 years.

In 1972, a cache of 12,000 ancient Quranic parchment fragments was discovered in a mosque in Sana'a, Yemen – commonly known as the Sana'a manuscripts. Of the fragments, all except 1500–2000 were assigned to 926 distinct Quranic manuscripts as of 1997.

The manuscript is a palimpsest and comprises two layers of text, both of which are written in the Hijazi script. The upper text largely conforms to the standard 'Uthmanic' Quran in text and in the standard order of chapters (suwar, singular sūrah), whereas the lower text (the original text that was erased and written over by the upper text, but can still be read with the help of ultraviolet light and computer processing) contains many variations from the standard Uthmani text, and the sequence of its chapters corresponds to no known Quranic order.

For example, in sura 2, verse 87, the lower text has wa-qaffaynā 'alā āthārihi whereas the standard text has wa-qaffaynā min ba'dihi. The Sana'a manuscript has exactly the same verses and the same order of verses as the standard Quran. The order of the suras in the Sana'a codex is different from the order in the standard Quran. Such variants are similar to the ones reported for the Quran codices of Companions such as Ibn Masud and Ubay ibn Ka'b. However, variants occur much more frequently in the Sana'a codex, which contains "by a rough estimate perhaps twenty-five times as many ".

On the basis of studies of the trove of Quranic manuscripts discovered in Sana'a, Gerd R. Puin concluded that the Quran as we have it is a 'cocktail of texts', some perhaps preceding Muhammad's day, and that the text as we have it evolved. However, other scholars, such as Asma Hilali presumed that the San'aa palimpsest seems to be written down by a learning scribe as a form of "exercise" in the context of a "school exercise", which explains a potential reason of variations in this text from the standard Quran Mushafs available today. Another way to explain these variations is that San'aa manuscript may have been part of a surviving copy of Quranic Mus'haf which escaped the 3rd caliph Uthman's attempt to destroy all the dialects (Ahruf) of Quran except the Quraishi one (in order to unite the Muslims of that time).

Birmingham/Paris manuscript

See also: Sana'a manuscript and BnF Arabe 328(c)

The early Arabic script transcribed 28 consonants, of which only 6 can be readily distinguished, the remaining 22 having formal similarities which means that what specific consonant is intended can only be determined by context. It was only with the introduction of Arabic diacritics some centuries later, that an authorized vocalization of the text, and how it was to be read, was established and became canonical. In 2015, the University of Birmingham disclosed that scientific tests may show a Quran manuscript in its collection as one of the oldest known and believe it was written close to the time of Muhammad. The findings in 2015 of the Birmingham Manuscripts lead Joseph E. B. Lumbard, Assistant Professor of Classical Islam, Brandeis University, to comment:

These recent empirical findings are of fundamental importance. They establish that as regards the broad outlines of the history of the compilation and codification of the Quranic text, the classical Islamic sources are far more reliable than had hitherto been assumed. Such findings thus render the vast majority of Western revisionist theories regarding the historical origins of the Quran untenable.

Tests by the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit indicated with a probability of more than 94 percent that the parchment dated from 568 to 645. Dr Saud al-Sarhan, Director of Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, questions whether the parchment might have been reused as a palimpsest, and also noted that the writing had chapter separators and dotted verse endings – features in Arabic scripts which are believed not to have been introduced to the Quran until later. Al-Sarhan's criticisms were supported by several Saudi-based experts in Quranic history, who said that the Birmingham/Paris Quran could not have been written during the lifetime of Muhammad. They said that while Muhammad was alive, Quranic texts were written without chapter decoration, marked verse endings or use of coloured inks; and did not follow any standard sequence of surahs. They said that those features were introduced into Quranic practice in the time of the Caliph Uthman, and so the Birmingham leaves could have been written later, but not earlier.

Professor Süleyman Berk of the faculty of Islamic studies at Yalova University said there is a strong similarity between the script of the Birmingham leaves and those of a number of Hijazi Qurans in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, which were brought to Istanbul from the Great Mosque of Damascus following a fire in 1893. Berk said that these manuscripts had been intensively researched in association with an exhibition on the history of the Quran, The Quran in its 1,400th Year held in Istanbul in 2010, and the findings published by François Déroche as Qur'ans of the Umayyads in 2013. In that study, the Paris Quran, BnF Arabe 328(c), is compared with Qurans in Istanbul, and concluded as having been written "around the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth century."

In December 2015 François Déroche of the Collège de France said the two Birmingham leaves were those of the Paris Qur'an BnF Arabe 328(c), as had been proposed by Alba Fedeli. Deroche expressed reservations about the reliability of the radiocarbon dates proposed for the Birmingham leaves, noting instances elsewhere in which radiocarbon dating had proved inaccurate in testing Qurans with an explicit endowment date; and also that none of the counterpart Paris leaves had yet been carbon-dated. Jamal bin Huwaireb, managing director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, has proposed that, were the radiocarbon dates to be confirmed, the Birmingham/Paris Qur'an might be identified with the text known to have been assembled by the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, between 632 and 634 CE.

Further research and findings

Critical research of historic events and timeliness of eyewitness accounts reveal the effort of later traditionalists to consciously promote, for nationalistic purposes, the centrist concept of Mecca and prophetic descent from Ismail, in order to grant a Hijazi orientation to the emerging religious identity of Islam:

For, our attempt to date the relevant traditional material confirms on the whole the conclusions which Schacht arrived at from another field, specifically the tendency of isnads to grow backwards.

In their book 1977 Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World, written before more recent discoveries of early Quranic material, Patricia Crone and Michael Cook challenge the traditional account of how the Quran was compiled, writing that "there is no hard evidence for the existence of the Koran in any form before the last decade of the seventh century." Crone, Wansbrough, and Nevo argued, that all the primary sources which exist are from 150 to 300 years after the events which they describe, and thus are chronologically far removed from those events.

Quran from the 9th century. It was alleged to be a 7th-century original from Uthman era.

It is generally acknowledged that the work of Crone and Cook was a fresh approach in its reconstruction of early Islamic history, but the theory has been almost universally rejected. Van Ess has dismissed it stating that "a refutation is perhaps unnecessary since the authors make no effort to prove it in detail ... Where they are only giving a new interpretation of well-known facts, this is not decisive. But where the accepted facts are consciously put upside down, their approach is disastrous." R. B. Serjeant states that "... is not only bitterly anti-Islamic in tone, but anti-Arabian. Its superficial fancies are so ridiculous that at first one wonders if it is just a 'leg pull', pure 'spoof'." Francis Edward Peters states that "Few have failed to be convinced that what is in our copy of the Quran is, in fact, what Muhammad taught, and is expressed in his own words".

In 2006, legal scholar Liaquat Ali Khan claimed that Crone and Cook later explicitly disavowed their earlier book. Patricia Crone in an article published in 2006 provided an update on the evolution of her conceptions since the printing of the thesis in 1976. In the article she acknowledges that Muhammad existed as a historical figure and that the Quran represents "utterances" of his that he believed to be revelations. However she states that the Quran may not be the complete record of the revelations. She also accepts that oral histories and Muslim historical accounts cannot be totally discounted, but remains skeptical about the traditional account of the Hijrah and the standard view that Muhammad and his tribe were based in Mecca. She describes the difficulty in the handling of the hadith because of their "amorphous nature" and purpose as documentary evidence for deriving religious law rather than as historical narratives.

The author of the Apology of al-Kindy Abd al-Masih ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (not the famed philosopher al-Kindi) claimed that the narratives in the Quran were "all jumbled together and intermingled" and that this was "an evidence that many different hands have been at work therein, and caused discrepancies, adding or cutting out whatever they liked or disliked". Bell and Watt suggested that the variation in writing style throughout the Quran, which sometimes involves the use of rhyming, may have indicated revisions to the text during its compilation. They claimed that there were "abrupt changes in the length of verses; sudden changes of the dramatic situation, with changes of pronoun from singular to plural, from second to third person, and so on". At the same time, however, they noted that "f any great changes by way of addition, suppression or alteration had been made, controversy would almost certainly have arisen; but of that there is little trace." They also note that "Modern study of the Quran has not in fact raised any serious question of its authenticity. The style varies, but is almost unmistakable."

Questions about history and origins

See also: Wahy, Quran and miracles, and Legends and the Quran

Questions about the text

The Quran itself states that its revelations are themselves "miraculous 'signs'"—inimitable (I'jaz) in their eloquence and perfection and proof of the authenticity of Muhammad's prophethood. (For example 2:2, 17:88-89, 29:47, 28:49) Several verses remark on how the verses of the book set clear or make things clear, and are in "pure and clear" Arabic language At the same time, (most Muslims believe) some verses of the Quran have been abrogated (naskh) by others and these and other verses have sometimes been revealed in response or answer to questions by followers or opponents.

Not all early Muslims agreed with this consensus. Muslim-turned-skeptic Ibn al-Rawandi (d.911) dismissed the Quran as "not the speech of someone with wisdom, contain contradictions, errors and absurdities". In response to claims that the Quran is a miracle, 10th-century physician and polymath Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi wrote (according to his opponent Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi),

You claim that the evidentiary miracle is present and available, namely, the Koran. You say: "Whoever denies it, let him produce a similar one." Indeed, we shall produce a thousand similar, from the works of rhetoricians, eloquent speakers and valiant poets, which are more appropriately phrased and state the issues more succinctly. They convey the meaning better and their rhymed prose is in better meter. ... By God what you say astonishes us! You are talking about a work which recounts ancient myths, and which at the same time is full of contradictions and does not contain any useful information or explanation. Then you say: "Produce something like it"?!

Early Western scholars also often attacked the literary merit of the Quran. Orientalist Thomas Carlyle, called the Quran "toilsome reading and a wearisome confused jumble, crude, incondite" with "endless iterations, long-windedness, entanglement" and "insupportable stupidity". Salomon Reinach wrote that this book warrants "little merit ... from a literary point of view".

More specifically, "peculiarities" in the text have been alleged. Iranian rationalist and scholar Ali Dashti points out that before its perfection became an issue of Islamic doctrine, early Muslim scholar Ibrahim an-Nazzam "openly acknowledged that the arrangement and syntax" of the Quran was less than "miraculous".

Ali Dashti states that "more than one hundred" aberrations from "the normal rules and structure of Arabic have been noted" in the Quran.

sentences which are incomplete and not fully intelligible without the aid or commentaries; foreign words, unfamiliar Arabic words, and words used with other than the normal meaning; adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of the concords of gender and number; illogically and ungrammatically applied pronouns which sometimes have no referent; and predicates which in rhymed passages are often remote from the subjects.

Scholar Gerd R. Puin puts the number of unclear verses much higher:

The Koran claims for itself that it is 'mubeen,' or 'clear,' but if you look at it, you will notice that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn't make sense. Many Muslims—and Orientalists—will tell you otherwise, of course, but the fact is that a fifth of the Koranic text is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Koran is not comprehensible—if it can't even be understood in Arabic—then it's not translatable. People fear that. And since the Koran claims repeatedly to be clear but obviously is not—as even speakers of Arabic will tell you—there is a contradiction. Something else must be going on.

Scholar of the Semitic languages Theodor Noldeke collected a large quantity of morphological and syntactic grammatical forms in the Quran that "do not enter into the general linguistic system of Arabic". Alan Dundes points out the Quran itself denies that there can be errors within it, "If it were from other than Allah, they would surely have found in it many contradictions". (Q.4:82)

Obscure words and phrases

The Quran "sometimes makes dramatic shifts in style, voice, and subject matter from verse to verse, and it assumes a familiarity with language, stories, and events that seem to have been lost even to the earliest of Muslim exegetes", according to journalist and scholar Toby Lester.

The Quran is known to contain a number of words the meaning of which is not clear and for which Muslim commentators (and Western scholars) have created "a welter of competing guesses".

  • qaḍb (8:28) possible meaning "green herbs" of some kind.
  • ʿābb (8:31), possible meaning "pasture"
  • Jibt (4:51), "no explanation has been found" guesses include "idol or priest or sorcerer, or sorcery, or satan, or what not".
  • Ghislīn (69:36), unknown. guess: "what exudes from the bodies of the inmates" of Hell.
  • Iram (89:7), unknown. foreign word, possibly a name of city or country.
  • Qurbān (46:28), evidently means "sacrifice", but maybe "favorites of a prince" or then again "a means of access to God"
  • ṣābiʿīn (2:62), literally "the baptizers", but does not make sense in that context.
  • abābīl (105:3)
  • sijjīl (105:4)
  • samad (112:2)
  • kalāla (4:11-12, 4:176)
  • an yadin (9:29) usually translated as "out of hand" as a means of payment, but what this means has not been agreed upon.
  • ar-raqim (18:9) guesses by exegetes include "books", "inscription", "tablet", "rock", "numbers", or "building", or a proper name for "a village, or a valley, a mountain, or even a dog".

Michael Cook argues that there may be more obscure words than has been recognized.

  • Quran 106:1–2: "For the accustomed security of the Quraysh - Their accustomed security the caravan of winter and summer",

Contains the word ilaf—interpreted to mean arrangements with local tribes for protection ("accustomed security"); and the word rihla—thought to mean the caravan journey. According to hadith, the foundation of Mecca's trade were two annual commercial caravans by the Quraysh tribe from Mecca to Yemen and back in the winter and another to Syria in the summer. But the Arabic word rihla simply means journey, not commercial travel or caravan; and there was uncertainty among commentators as to how to read the vowels in ilaf or how the term was defined. Consequently Cook wonders if Quran 106:1–2 is brief mention of Mecca's basic commerce or if the hadith about the two caravans (many hadith being known to be fabricated) was made up to explain Quranic passages whose meaning was otherwise unclear.

Explanations include that God is "making the point that He knows something we don't" (for example qāriʿah in Q:101), or that in some cases the words are used to rhyme a verse.("The use of many rare words and new forms may be traced to the same cause (comp. especially Q.9:8-9, 11, 16)."

Arabic words

Several verse—Q.16:103, 12:2, and 42:7 -- state the Quran is revealed in Arabic, pure and clear. However the scholar al-Suyuti (1445–1505 CE) enumerated 107 foreign words in the Quran, and Arthur Jeffery found about 275 words that are of Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Ethiopic, Persian, and Greek origin according to Ibn Warraq. Andrew Rippin states that not only Orientalists but medieval Arabs admitted the Quran contained foreign words. Al-Jawālīqī (Abu Mansur Mauhub al-Jawaliqi), a 12-century Arab grammarian, spoke of "'foreign words found in the speech of the ancient Arabs and employed in the Quran' without any cautious restrictions." Defending against these charges, Ansar Al 'Adl of "call to monotheism" states that "pure arabic" actually really refers to the "clarity and eloquence" of the arabic language in the Quran, and that the foreign words "had actually been naturalized and become regular Arabic words before they came to be used in the Qur'an"

"Mystery letters"

Another mystery is why about one quarter of surahs of the Quran begin with a group of between one and five letters that do not form words. These are known as Muqattaʿat ('disconnected letters'):

  • Alif Lam Ra – Q. 10, 11, 12, 14, 15.
  • Alif Lam Mim – Q. 2, 3, 29, 30, 31, 32.
  • Alif Lam Mim Ra – Q. 13.
  • Alif Lam Mim Sad – Q. 7.
  • Ha Mim – Q. 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46.
  • Ha Mim ‘Ain Sin Qaf – Q. 42.
  • Sad – Q. 38.
  • Ta Sin – Q. 27.
  • Ta Sin Mim – Q. 26, 28.
  • Ta Ha – Q. 20.
  • Qaf – Q. 50.
  • Ka Ha Ya 'Ain Sad – Q. 19.
  • Nun – Q. 68.
  • Ya Sin – Q. 36.

According to the Muslim translator and expositor Muhammad Asad:

"The significance of these letter-symbols has perplexed the commentators from the earliest times. There is no evidence of the Prophet's having ever referred to them in any of his recorded utterances, nor any of his Companions having ever asked him for an explanation. None the less, it is established beyond any possibility of doubt that all the Companions - obviously following the example of the Prophet - regarded the muqatta'at as integral parts of the suras to which they are prefixed, and used to recite them accordingly: a fact which disposes effectively of the suggestion advanced by some Western orientalists that these letters may be no more than the initials of the scribes who wrote down the individual revelations at the Prophet's dictation, or of the Companions who recorded them at the time of the final codification of the Qur'an during the reign of the first three Caliphs.

"Some of the Companions as well as some of their immediate successors and later Qur'anic commentators were convinced that these letters are abbreviations of certain words or even phrases relating to God and His attributes, and tried to 'reconstruct' them with much ingenuity; but since the possible combinations are practically unlimited, all such interpretations are highly arbitrary and, therefore, devoid of any real usefulness …"

Asad quotes Abu Bakr as saying : ‘In every divine writ (kitab) there is mystery - and the mystery of the Qur'an is in the openings of the suras.’"

Mystery religion

The Quran mentions the "Jews, Christians, and Ṣābiʼūn" three times (2:62, 5:69, 22:17). But while the identity of the first two religions is/was widely known among Muslims and non-Muslims, the Ṣābiʼūn (usually Romanized as Sabians) was not even among the earliest Quranic commentators of the 7th and 8th century.

Narrative voice: Mohammed or God as speakers

Since the Quran is God's revelation to humanity, critics have wondered why in many verses, God is being addressed by humans, instead of Him addressing human beings. Or as scholars Richard Bell and W. Montgomery Watt point out, while it is not unheard of for someone (especially someone very powerful) to speak of himself in the third person, "the extent to which we find the Prophet apparently being addressed and told about God as a third person, is unusual", as is where "God is made to swear by himself".)

Folklorist Alan Dundes notes how one "formula" or phrase ("... acquit thou/you/them/him of us/your/their/his evil deeds") is repeated with a variety of voices both divine and human, singular and plural:

  • `Our Lord, forgive Thou our sins and acquit us of our evil deeds` 3:193;
  • `We will acquit you of your evil deeds`, 4:31;
  • `I will acquit you of your evil deeds`, 5:12;
  • `He will acquit them of their evil deeds`, 47:2;
  • `Allah will acquit him of his evil deeds`, 64:9;

The point-of-view of God changes from third person ("He" and "His" in Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa), to first person ("We" and "Our" in We have blessed, to show him of Our signs), and back again to third ("He" in Indeed, He is the Hearing) all in the same verse. (In Arabic there is no capitalization to indicate divinity.) Q.33:37 also starts by referring to God in the third person, is followed by a sentence with God speaking in first person (we gave her in marriage ...) before returning to third person (and God's commandment must be performed). Again in 48:1 48:2 God is both first (We) and third person (God, His) within one sentence.

The Jewish Encyclopedia, for example, writes: "For example, critics note that a sentence in which something is said concerning Allah is sometimes followed immediately by another in which Allah is the speaker (examples of this are Q.16.81, 27:61, 31:9, 43:10) Many peculiarities in the positions of words are due to the necessities of rhyme (lxix. 31, lxxiv. 3)." The verse 6:114 starts out with Muhammad talking in first person (I) and switches to third (you).

  • 6:114 Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when He it is Who hath revealed unto you (this) Scripture, fully explained? Those unto whom We gave the Scripture (aforetime) know that it is revealed from thy Lord in truth. So be not thou (O Muhammad) of the waverers.

While some (Muhammad Abdel Haleem) have argued that "such grammatical shifts are a traditional aspect of Arabic rhetorical style", Ali Dashti (also quoted by critic Ibn Warraq) notes that in many verses "the speaker cannot have been God". The opening surah Al-Fatiha which contains such lines as

Praise to God, the Lord of the Worlds, ...
You (alone) we worship and from You (alone) we seek help. ...

is "clearly addressed to God, in the form of a prayer." Other verses (the beginning of 27:91, "I have been commanded to serve the Lord of this city ..."; 19:64, "We come not down save by commandment of thy Lord") also makes no sense as a statement of an all-powerful God.

Many (in fact 350) verses in the Quran where God is addressed in the third person are preceded by the imperative "say/recite!" (qul) -- but it does not occur in Al-Fatiha and many other similar verses. Sometimes the problem is resolved in translations of the Quran by the translators adding "Say!" in front of the verse (Marmaduke Pickthall and N. J. Dawood for Q.27.91, Abdullah Yusuf Ali for Q.6:114).

Dashti notes that in at least one verse

  • 17:1 -- Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

This feature did not escape the notice of some early Muslims. Ibn Masud — one of the companions of Muhammad who served as a scribe for divine revelations received by Muhammad and is considered a reliable transmitter of ahadith — did not believe that Surah Fatihah (or two other surah — 113 and 114 — that contained the phrase "I take refuge in the Lord") to be a genuine part of the Quran. He was not alone, other companions of Muhammad disagreed over which surahs were part of the Quran and which not. A verse of the Quran itself (15:87) seems to distinguish between Fatihah and the Quran:

  • 15:87 -- And we have given you seven often repeated verses and the great Quran. (Al-Quran 15:87)

Al-Suyuti, the noted medieval philologist and commentator of the Quran thought five verses had questionable "attribution to God" and were likely spoken by either Muhammad or Gabriel.

Cases where the speaker is swearing an oath by God, such as surahs 75:1–2 and 90:1, have been made a point of criticism. But according to Richard Bell, this was probably a traditional formula, and Montgomery Watt compared such verses to Hebrews 6:13. It is also widely acknowledged that the first-person plural pronoun in Surah 19:64 refers to angels, describing their being sent by God down to Earth. Bell and Watt suggest that this attribution to angels can be extended to interpret certain verses where the speaker is not clear.

Spelling, syntax and grammar

In 2020, a Saudi news website published an article claiming that while most Muslims believe the text established by third caliph 'Uthman bin 'Affan "is sacred and must not be amended", there are some 2500 "errors of spelling, syntax and grammar" within it. The author (Ahmad Hashem) argues that while the recitation of the Quran is divine, the Quranic script established by Uthman's "is a human invention" subject to error and correction. Examples of some of the errors he gives are:

  • Surah 68, verse 6, بِأَيِّيكُمُ appears, instead of بأيكم. In other words, an extra ي was added.
  • Surah 25, verse 4, جَآءُو appears, instead of جَاءُوا or جاؤوا. In other words, the alif in the plural masculine suffix وا is missing.
  • Surah 28, verse 9, the word امرأت appears, instead of امرأة.
Phrases, sentences or verse that seem out of place and were likely to have been transposed.

An example of an out-of-place verse fragment is found in Surah 24 where the beginning of a verse — (Q.24:61) "There is not upon the blind constraint nor upon the lame constraint nor upon the ill constraint ..." — is located in the midst of a section describing proper behavior for visiting relations and modesty for women and children ("when you eat from your houses or the houses of your fathers or the houses of your mothers or the houses of your brothers or the houses of your sisters or ..."). While it makes little sense here, the exact same phrases appears in another surah section (Q.48:11-17) where it does fit in as list of those exempt from blame and hellfire if they do not fight in a jihad military campaign.

Theodor Nöldeke complains that "many sentences begin with a 'when' or 'on the day when' which seems to hover in the air, so that commentators are driven to supply a 'think of this' or some such ellipsis." Similarly, describing a "rough edge" of the Quran, Michael Cook notes that verse Q.33:37 starts out with a "long and quite complicated subordinate clause" ("when thou wast saying to him ..."), "but we never learn what the clause is subordinate to."

Reply

A common reply to questions about difficulties or obscurities in the Quran is verse 3:7 which unlike other verses that simply state that the Quran is clear (mubeen) states that some verses are clear but others are "ambiguous" (mutashabihat).

  • 3:7 It is He who sent down upon thee the Book, wherein are verses clear that are the Essence of the Book, and others ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is swerving, they follow the ambiguous part, desiring dissension, and desiring its interpretation; and none knows its interpretation, save only God. And those firmly rooted in knowledge say, 'We believe in it; all is from our Lord'; yet none remembers, but men possessed of minds.

In regards to questions about the narrative voice, Al-Zarkashi asserts that "moving from one style to another serves to make speech flow more smoothly", but also that by mixing up pronouns the Quran prevents the "boredom" that a more logical, straight forward narrative induces; it keeps the reader on their toes, helping "the listener to focus, renew his interest", providing "freshness and variety". "Muslim specialists" refer to the practice as iltifāt, ("literally 'conversion', or 'turning one's face to'"). Western scholar Neal Robinson provides a more detailed reasons as to why these are not "imperfections", but instead should be "prized": changing the voice from "they" to "we" provides a "shock effect", third person ("Him") makes God "seem distant and transcendent", first person plural ("we") "emphasizes His majesty and power", first person singular ("I") "introduces a note of intimacy or immediacy", and so on. (Critics like Hassan Radwan suggest these explanations are rationalizations.)

Preexisting sources

Mary shaking the palm tree for dates is a legend derived from the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew.
Main article: Biblical and Quranic narratives

Similarities with Jewish and Christian Narratives

In dealing with the question of the origins of the Quran, non-Muslim historians have often focused on Christian and Jewish sources.

The Quran contains references to more than fifty people and events also found in the Bible (including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Lot, Moses, Saul, David and Goliath, Jonah, Jesus, Mary. Moses, is mentioned 135 times Moses is mentioned in 502 verses in 36 surahs, Abraham in 245 verses, Noah in 131.

Further information: List of legends in the Quran

Legends, parables or pieces of folklore that appear in the Quran, with similar motifs to Jewish traditions include Cain and Abel, Abraham destroying idols, Solomon conversing with a talking ant. Christian traditions include the Seven Sleepers, the naming of Mary, mother of Jesus, the selection of Mary's guardian by lottery, how a palm tree obeyed the commands of the child Jesus.

The Quran and Bible differ on a number of narrative and theological issues. There is no original sin in the Quran; it specifically and repeatedly denies the Christian Trinity of three persons in one God, and denies that Jesus is the son of God (9:30) was crucified (4:157) and died, or rose from the dead. It holds that the Holy Spirit is actually the angel Gabriel (2:97; 16:102). The Devil, Satan (Shaitan), is regarded as a jinn not a fallen angel, in most contemporary scholarship (2:34; 7:12; 15:27; 55:15).

Muslims believe the Quran refers to figures, prophets, and events in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament because these books are predecessors of the Quran, also revealed by the one true omnipotent God. The differences between two books and the Quran can be explained (Muslims believed) by the flawed processes of transmission and interpretation of the Bible and New Testament, distorting revelation that the Quran provides free from any distortions and corruptions.

Non-Muslim historians – secular but also Jewish and Christian – in keeping with Occam's razor, have looked for simpler, non-divine/non-supernatural explanations for the connection (In Islamic language, dealing only with shahada, i.e. what can be perceived, described, and studied; and not with the unseen al-Ghaib, made known only by divine revelation). Many stories of the Muhammad hearing about Christianity from Christians and Judaism from Jews come from Muslim sources.

Western academic scholars who have studied "the relationship between the Quran and the Judaeo-Christian scriptural tradition" include Abraham Geiger, Tor Andræ, Richard Bell, and Charles Cutler Torrey.

Jewish influence

In the 19th century, Abraham Geiger argued for Jewish influence on the formation of the Quran, as did C. C. Torrey even more forcefully in the early 20th Century. Micheal Cook believes Muhammad "owed more to Judiasm than to Christianity", and mentions a "fusion" of Jewish-based "monotheism with Arab identity" in Palestine prior to Islam. According to a fifth-century Christian writer — Sozomen — some "Saracen" (Arab) tribes rediscovered their "Ishmaelite descent" after coming into contact with Jews and had adopted Jewish laws and customs. Although there is no evidence to show "a direct link" between these Arabs and Muhammad, it is a milieu where Quranic material could "have come into existence" before Muhammad.

Several narratives rely on Jewish Midrash Tanhuma legends, like the narrative of Cain learning to bury the body of Abel in Surah 5:31. Critics, like Norman Geisler argue that the dependence of the Quran on preexisting sources is one evidence of a purely human origin.

In their book Hagarism, Michael Cook and Patricia Crone postulate that a number of features of Islam may have been borrowed from the Jewish breakaway sect of Samaritanism: "the idea of a scripture limited to the Pentateuch, a prophet like Moses (i.e. Muhammad), a holy book revealed like the Torah (the Quran), a sacred city (Mecca) with a nearby mountain (Jabal an-Nour -- the Samaratan mountain being Mount Gerizim) and shrine (the Kaaba) of an appropriate patriarch (Abraham), plus a caliphate modeled on an Aaronid priesthood." Ibn Warraq compares the similarities of Muhammad of Islam and Moses of the Jews. Both bearers of revelation (Pentateuch v. Quran), both receiving revelation on a mountain (Mount Sinai v. Mt. Hira), leading their people to escape persecution (Exodus vs. Hijra).

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, "The dependence of Mohammed upon his Jewish teachers or upon what he heard of the Jewish Haggadah and Jewish practices is now generally conceded." Early jurists and theologians of Islam mentioned some Jewish influence but they also say where it is seen and recognized as such, it is perceived as a debasement or a dilution of the authentic message. Bernard Lewis describes this as "something like what in Christian history was called a Judaizing heresy." According to Professor Moshe Sharon, specialist in Arabic epigraphy, the legends about Muhammad having ten Jewish teachers developed in the 10th century CE:

"In most versions of the legends, ten Jewish wise men or dignitaries appear, who joined Muhammad and converted to Islam for different reasons. In reading all the Jewish texts one senses the danger of extinction of the Jewish people; and it was this ominous threat that induced these Sages to convert..."

Christian

Tor Andræ, saw Christian "Nestorians of Yemen, monophysites of Ethiopia and especially ... Syrian pietism" influencing Islam". Richard Carrier regards the reliance on pre-Islamic Christian sources as evidence that Islam derived from a heretical sect of Christianity.

Scholar Oddbjørn Leirvik states "The Qur'an and Hadith have been clearly influenced by the non-canonical ('heretical') Christianity that prevailed in the Arab peninsula and further in Abyssinia" prior to Islam. H.A.R. Gibb states that many of the details in the description of Judgement Day, Heaven, and Hell and some vocabulary "are closely paralleled in the writings of the Syriac Christian fathers and monks."

British author Tom Holland thinks it notable that some doctrines that the Quran mentions in association with Christianity - e.g. that Jesus did not die on the cross (which is referenced in the Gospel of Basilides) that he was a mortal man and not divine (held by the Ebionites) and that the mother of Jesus is divine - come not only from minority Christian sects, but ones that had not enjoyed prominence for some time by the 7th century CE, when the Quran was revealed.

Influence of heretical Christian sects

See also: Historicity of Jesus and Collyridianism

Death of Jesus

Further information: Jesus in Islam

The Quran maintains that Jesus was not actually crucified and did not die on the cross. The general Islamic view supporting the denial of crucifixion may have been influenced by Manichaeism (Docetism), which holds that someone else was crucified instead of Jesus, while concluding that Jesus will return during the end-times. However the general consensus is that Manichaeism was not prevalent in Mecca in the 6th- & 7th centuries, when Islam developed.

That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-

— Qur'an 4:157–158

Despite these views and no eyewitness accounts, most modern scholars have maintained that the Crucifixion of Jesus is indisputable.

The view that Jesus only appeared to be crucified and did not actually die predates Islam, and is found in several apocryphal gospels.

Irenaeus in his book Against Heresies describes Gnostic beliefs that bear remarkable resemblance with the Islamic view:

He did not himself suffer death, but Simon, a certain man of Cyrene, being compelled, bore the cross in his stead; so that this latter being transfigured by him, that he might be thought to be Jesus, was crucified, through ignorance and error, while Jesus himself received the form of Simon, and, standing by, laughed at them. For since he was an incorporeal power, and the Nous (mind) of the unborn father, he transfigured himself as he pleased, and thus ascended to him who had sent him, deriding them, inasmuch as he could not be laid hold of, and was invisible to all.-

— Against Heresies, Book I, Chapter 24, Section 40

A Gnostic writing, found in the Nag Hammadi library, Second Treatise of the Great Seth has a similar view of Jesus' death:

I was not afflicted at all, yet I did not die in solid reality but in what appears, in order that I not be put to shame by them

and also:

Another, their father, was the one who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. Another was the one who lifted up the cross on his shoulder, who was Simon. Another was the one on whom they put the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over all the riches of the archons and the offspring of their error and their conceit, and I was laughing at their ignorance

Coptic Apocalypse of Peter, likewise, reveals the same views of Jesus' death:

I saw him (Jesus) seemingly being seized by them. And I said 'What do I see, O Lord? That it is you yourself whom they take, and that you are grasping me? Or who is this one, glad and laughing on the tree? And is it another one whose feet and hands they are striking?' The Savior said to me, 'He whom you saw on the tree, glad and laughing, this is the living Jesus. But this one into whose hands and feet they drive the nails is his fleshly part, which is the substitute being put to shame, the one who came into being in his likeness. But look at him and me.' But I, when I had looked, said 'Lord, no one is looking at you. Let us flee this place.' But he said to me, 'I have told you, 'Leave the blind alone!'. And you, see how they do not know what they are saying. For the son of their glory instead of my servant, they have put to shame.' And I saw someone about to approach us resembling him, even him who was laughing on the tree. And he was with a Holy Spirit, and he is the Savior. And there was a great, ineffable light around them, and the multitude of ineffable and invisible angels blessing them. And when I looked at him, the one who gives praise was revealed.

Mother Mary

Further information: Mary in Islam

The Collyridians, early Christian heretical sect in pre-Islamic Arabia, whose adherents apparently worshipped the Mary, mother of Jesus, as a goddess, have become of interest in some recent Christian–Muslim religious discussions in reference to the Islamic concept of the Christian Trinity. The debate hinges on some verses in the Qur'an, primarily 5:73, 5:75, and 5:116 in the sura Al-Ma'ida, which have been taken to imply that Muhammad believed that Christians considered Mary to be part of the Trinity. That idea has never been part of mainstream Christian doctrine and is not clearly and unambiguously attested among any ancient Christian group, including the Collyridians.

Contradictions and abrogation

The Quran contains divine commands or policies that are ignored in Islamic law (sharia), including Q24:2, which prescribes a penalty of "100 lashes" for zina (sex outside of marriage), while sharia law—based on hadith of Muhammad—orders adulterers to be stoned to death, not lashed. This seeming disregard of the founding work of revelation of Islam has been explained by the concept of abrogation (naskh), whereby God sometimes abrogates one (sometimes more) revelation(s) with another—not only in the Quran but also among hadith. Naskh also holds that are Islamic laws based on verses once part of the Quran but no longer found in present-day Mus'haf (written copies of the Quran), which is the case with the stoning penalty for adultery. A number of verses mention the issue of abrogation, the central one being:

  • Quran 2:106: "We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?"

Besides 24:2, some other examples of naskh cited by scholars are:

  • 2:219, which allows but discourages Muslims from drinking alcohol; 4:43, which forbids Muslims from praying while drunk, and 5:90 which commands Muslims not to drink alcohol. These seeming contradictory commands are explained by the first verse being abrogated by the second, and the second by the last, as part of a gradual process of weaning early Muslims from alcohol consumption.
  • The revelation of a verse criticizing Muslim slackers in the waging of jihad, prompted a blind Muslim ('Abd Allah ibn Umm Maktum) to protest that his lack of vision prevented him from fighting. "Almost instantaneously" a revelation (4:95) was sent down partially abrogating the earlier one by adding the qualifier "except the disabled".
  • 8:65 tells Muslim warriors, "If there be of you twenty patient believers, they will overcome two hundred" enemy. It is thought to be abrogated by 8:66 which lowers the number of enemies each Muslim warrior is expected to overcome in battle from ten to only two: "Now God has alleviated your burden, knowing that there is weakness in you. If there should be of you one hundred, they will overcome two hundred;.
  • Verses such as 43:89 urging followers to "turn away" from mocking unbelievers "and say, 'Peace'", when Muslims were few in number, were replaced with the "Sword verse" 9:29 commanding "Fight those who (do) not believe in Allah and not in the Day the Last ... ", as Muhammad's followers grew stronger.

Among the criticisms made of the concept of abrogation is that it was developed to "remove" contradictions found in the Quran, which "abounds in repetitions and contradictions, which are not removed by the convenient theory of abrogation" (Philip Schaff); that it "poses a difficult theological problem" because it seems to suggest God was changing His mind, or has realized something He was unaware of when revealing the original verse, which is logically absurd for an eternally all-knowing deity (David S. Powers and John Burton); and that it is suspiciously similar to the human process of "revising ... past decisions or plans" after "learning from experience and recognising mistakes" (Ali Dashti).

Muslim scholars such as Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei argue abrogation in Quranic verses is not an indication of contradiction but of addition and supplementation. An example of the mention of impermanent commands in the Quran is Q.2:109 where — according to Tabatabaei — it clearly states the forgiveness is not permanent and soon there will be another command (through another verse) on this subject that completes the matter. Verse Q.4:15 also indicates its temporariness.

The question of why a perfect and unchangeable divine revelation would need to be abrogated, however, has led other scholars to interpret verse Q.2:106 differently than the mainstream. Ghulam Ahmed Parwez in his Exposition of the Quran writes that the abrogation Q.2:106 refers to is of the Bible/Torah, not the Quran:

The Ahl-ul-Kitab (People of the Book) also question the need for a new revelation (Qur'an) when previous revelations from Allah exist. They further ask why the Qur'an contains injunctions contrary to the earlier Revelation (the Torah) if it is from Allah? Tell them that Our way of sending Revelation to successive anbiya (prophets) is that: Injunctions given in earlier revelations, which were meant only for a particular time, are replaced by other injunctions, and injunctions which were to remain in force permanently but were abandoned, forgotten or adulterated by the followers of previous anbiya are given again in their original form (22:52). And all this happens in accordance with Our laid down standards, over which We have complete control. Now this last code of life which contains the truth of all previous revelations (5:48), is complete in every respect (6:116), and will always be preserved (15:9), has been given .

Satanic verses

Main article: Satanic Verses

Some criticism of the Quran has revolved around two verses known as the "Satanic Verses". Some early Islamic histories recount that as Muhammad was reciting Sūra Al-Najm (Q.53), as revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, Satan deceived him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20: "Have you thought of Al-lāt and al-'Uzzā and Manāt the third, the other; These are the exalted Gharaniq, whose intercession is hoped for." The Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshiped by the Meccans. These histories then say that these 'Satanic Verses' were repudiated shortly afterward by Muhammad at the behest of Gabriel.

There are numerous accounts reporting the alleged incident, which differ in the construction and detail of the narrative, but they may be broadly collated to produce a basic account.

The different versions of the story are all traceable to one single narrator Muhammad ibn Ka'b, who was two generations removed from biographer Ibn Ishaq. In its essential form, the story reports that Muhammad longed to convert his kinsmen and neighbors of Mecca to Islam. As he was reciting Sūra an-Najm, considered a revelation by the angel Gabriel, Satan tempted him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20:

Have ye thought upon Al-Lat and Al-'Uzzá
and Manāt, the third, the other?
These are the exalted gharāniq, whose intercession is hoped for.

Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshipped by the Meccans. Discerning the meaning of "gharāniq" is difficult, as it is a hapax legomenon (i.e. used only once in the text). Commentators wrote that it meant the cranes. The Arabic word does generally mean a "crane" – appearing in the singular as ghirnīq, ghurnūq, ghirnawq and ghurnayq, and the word has cousin forms in other words for birds, including "raven, crow" and "eagle".

The subtext to the event is that Muhammad was backing away from his otherwise uncompromising monotheism by saying that these goddesses were real and their intercession effective. The Meccans were overjoyed to hear this and joined Muhammad in ritual prostration at the end of the sūrah. The Meccan refugees who had fled to Abyssinia heard of the end of persecution and started to return home. Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel chastised Muhammad for adulterating the revelation, at which point is revealed to comfort him,

Never sent We a messenger or a prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise.

Muhammad took back his words and the persecution of the Meccans resumed. Verses 53:21-23 were given, in which the goddesses are belittled. The passage in question, from 53:19, reads:

Have ye thought upon Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza


And Manat, the third, the other?
Are yours the males and His the females?
That indeed were an unfair division!


They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant. They follow but a guess and that which (they) themselves desire. And now the guidance from their Lord hath come unto them.

The incident of the Satanic Verses is put forward by some critics as evidence of the Quran's origins as a human work of Muhammad. Maxime Rodinson describes this as a conscious attempt to achieve a consensus with pagan Arabs, which was then consciously rejected as incompatible with Muhammad's attempts to answer the criticism of contemporary Arab Jews and Christians, linking it with the moment at which Muhammad felt able to adopt a "hostile attitude" towards the pagan Arabs. Rodinson writes that the story of the Satanic Verses is unlikely to be false because it was "one incident, in fact, which may be reasonably accepted as true because the makers of Muslim tradition would not have invented a story with such damaging implications for the revelation as a whole". In a caveat to his acceptance of the incident, William Montgomery Watt, states: "Thus it was not for any worldly motive that Muhammad eventually turned down the offer of the Meccans, but for a genuinely religious reason; not for example, because he could not trust these men nor because any personal ambition would remain unsatisfied, but because acknowledgment of the goddesses would lead to the failure of the cause, of the mission he had been given by God." Academic scholars such as William Montgomery Watt and Alfred Guillaume argued for its authenticity based upon the implausibility of Muslims fabricating a story so unflattering to their prophet. Watt says that "the story is so strange that it must be true in essentials." On the other hand, John Burton rejected the tradition.

In an inverted culmination of Watt's approach, Burton argued the narrative of the "satanic verses" was forged, based upon a demonstration of its actual utility to certain elements of the Muslim community – namely, those elite sections of society seeking an "occasion of revelation" for eradicatory modes of abrogation. Burton's argument is that such stories served the vested interests of the status-quo, allowing them to dilute the radical messages of the Quran. The rulers used such narratives to build their own set of laws which contradicted the Quran, and justified it by arguing that not all of the Quran is binding on Muslims. Burton also sides with Leone Caetani, who wrote that the story of the "satanic verses" should be rejected not only on the basis of isnad, but because "had these hadiths even a degree of historical basis, Muhammad's reported conduct on this occasion would have given the lie to the whole of his previous prophetic activity." Eerik Dickinson also pointed out that the Quran's challenge to its opponents to prove any inconsistency in its content was pronounced in a hostile environment, also indicating that such an incident did not occur or it would have greatly damaged the Muslims.

Intended audience

Some verses of the Quran are assumed to be directed towards all of Muhammad's followers while other verses are directed more specifically towards Muhammad and his wives, yet others are directed towards the whole of humanity. (33:28, 33:50, 49:2, 58:1, 58:9 66:3).

Other scholars argue that variances in the Quran's explicit intended audiences are irrelevant to claims of divine origin – and for example that Muhammad's wives "specific divine guidance, occasioned by their proximity to the Prophet (Muhammad)" where "Numerous divine reprimands addressed to Muhammad's wives in the Quran establish their special responsibility to overcome their human frailties and ensure their individual worthiness", or argue that the Quran must be interpreted on more than one level. (See:).

Jurisprudence

British-German professor of Arabic and Islam Joseph Schacht, in his work The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (1950) regarding the subject of law derived from the Quran, wrote:

Muhammadan law did not derive directly from the Koran but developed... out of popular and administrative practice under the Umaiyads, and this practice often diverged from the intentions and even the explicit wording of the Koran... Norms derived from the Koran were introduced into Muhammadan law almost invariably at a secondary stage.

Schacht further states that every legal tradition from Muhammad must be taken as an inauthentic and fictitious expression of a legal doctrine formulated at a later date:

... We shall not meet any legal tradition from the Prophet which can positively be considered authentic.

What is evident regarding the compilation of the Quran is the disagreement between the companions of Muhammad (earliest supporters of Muhammad), as evidenced with their several disagreements regarding interpretation and particular versions of the Quran and their interpretative Hadith and Sunna, namely the mutawatir mushaf having come into present form after Muhammad's death. John Burton's work The Collection of the Quran further explores how certain Quranic texts were altered to adjust interpretation, in regards to controversy between fiqh (human understanding of Sharia) and madhahib.

Science in the Quran

See also: Islamic attitudes towards science and Islamic views on evolution

Some scientists among Muslim commentators, notably al-Biruni, assigned to the Quran a separate and autonomous realm of its own and held that the Quran "does not interfere in the business of science nor does it infringe on the realm of science." These medieval scholars argued for the possibility of multiple scientific explanations of the natural phenomena, and refused to subordinate the Quran to an ever-changing science. However, there are factual contradictions between the Quran and contemporary science as shown below.

Miracles

Muslims and non-Muslims have disputed the presence of scientific miracles in the Quran. According to author Ziauddin Sardar, "popular literature known as ijaz" (miracle) has created a "global craze in Muslim societies", starting the 1970s and 1980s and now found in Muslim bookstores, spread by websites and television preachers.

An example is the verse: "So verily I swear by the stars that run and hide ..." (Q81:15–16), which proponents claim demonstrates the Quran's knowledge of the existence of black holes; or: " the Moon in her fullness that ye shall journey on from stage to stage" (Q84:18–19) refers, according to proponents, to human flight into outer space.

Critics argue that verses which allegedly explain modern scientific facts about subjects such as biology, the history of Earth, and evolution of human life, contain fallacies and are unscientific.

Astronomy

Ijaz literature tends to follow a pattern of finding some possible agreement between a scientific result and a verse in the Quran. "So verily I swear by the stars that run and hide ..." (Q.81:15-16) or "So, I swear by the setting places of the stars, and this, if only you knew, is indeed a great oath".(Quran, 56:75-76) is declared to refer to black holes; " the Moon in her fullness; that ye shall journey on from stage to stage" (Q.84:18-19) refers to space travel, and thus evidence the Quran has miraculously predicted this phenomenon centuries before scientists.

While it is generally agreed the Quran contains many verses proclaiming the wonders of nature — "Travel throughout the earth and see how He brings life into being" (Q.29:20) "Behold in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding ..." (Q.3:190) — it is strongly doubted by Ziauddin Sardar that "everything, from relativity, quantum mechanics, Big Bang theory, black holes and pulsars, genetics, embryology, modern geology, thermodynamics, even the laser and hydrogen fuel cells, have been 'found' in the Quran".

Creation and evolution

Further information: Islamic_mythology § Creation_narrative

Like the Bible, the Quran talks about God creating the universe in six days. and like the Bible many modern believers have argued for a non-literal interpretation (for example The Holy Quran: Arabic Text and English translation by Maulvi Sher Ali).

Quranic verses related to the origin of mankind created from dust or mud are not logically compatible with modern evolutionary theory. Although some Muslims try to reconcile evolution with the Quran by the argument from intelligent design, the Quran (and the hadiths) can be interpreted to support the idea of creationism. This led to a contribution by Muslims to the creation vs. evolution debate, (Some with some high profile Muslim preachers (Zakir Naik, Adnan Oktar, Yasir Qadhi) advocating creationism and/or maintaining that the idea that humans evolved is against the Quran. According to opinion polls, most Muslims do not accept the theory of evolution, the percentage varying among countries (from <10% acceptance in Egypt to about 40% in Kazakhstan). Some Muslims point to a verse Q.71:14 -- “when He truly created you in stages ˹of development˺?” -- as evidence for Evolution.

Ethics

Title page of Riccoldo da Monte di Croce's polemical and apologetic work critiquing Koran and Islam. Published in Seville c. 1500. It shows a Christian friar preaching to Muslims.
Main article: Islamic ethics

Some critics claim that the morality of the Quran appears to be a moral regression, by the standards of the moral traditions of Judaism and Christianity it says that it builds upon. The Catholic Encyclopedia, for example, states that "the ethics of Islam are far inferior to those of Judaism and even more inferior to those of the New Testament" and "that in the ethics of Islam there is a great deal to admire and to approve, is beyond dispute; but of originality or superiority, there is none." William Montgomery Watt however finds Muhammad's changes an improvement for his time and place: "In his day and generation Muhammad was a social reformer, indeed a reformer even in the sphere of morals. He created a new system of social security and a new family structure, both of which were a vast improvement on what went before. By taking what was best in the morality of the nomad and adapting it for settled communities, he established a religious and social framework for the life of many races of men."

The Sword verse:-

Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the zakat, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

According to the E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 4, the term first applied in the Quran to unbelieving Meccans, who endeavoured "to refute and revile the Prophet". A waiting attitude towards the kafir was recommended at first for Muslims; later, Muslims were ordered to keep apart from unbelievers and defend themselves against their attacks and even take the offensive. Most passages in the Quran referring to unbelievers in general talk about their fate on the day of judgement and destination in hell.

"Lo! those who disbelieve (Kafir), among the People of the Scripture and the idolaters, will abide in fire of hell. They are the worst of created beings."

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859), a French political thinker and historian, observed:

I studied the Quran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammad. As far as I can see, it is the principal cause of the decadence so visible today in the Muslim world and, though less absurd than the polytheism of old, its social and political tendencies are in my opinion more to be feared, and I therefore regard it as a form of decadence rather than a form of progress in relation to paganism.

War and peace

Main article: Violence in the Quran

The Quran's teachings on matters of war and peace are topics that are widely debated. On the one hand, some critics, such as Sam Harris, interpret that certain verses of the Quran sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after. Harris argues that Muslim extremism is simply a consequence of taking the Quran literally, and is skeptical about significant reform toward a "moderate Islam" in the future. On the other hand, other scholars argue that such verses of the Quran are interpreted out of context, and Muslims of the Ahmadiyya movement argue that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Quran prohibits aggression, and allows fighting only in self-defense.

The author Syed Kamran Mirza has argued that a concept of 'Jihad', defined as 'struggle', has been introduced by the Quran. He wrote that while Muhammad was in Mecca, he "did not have many supporters and was very weak compared to the Pagans", and "it was at this time he added some 'soft', peaceful verses", whereas "almost all the hateful, coercive and intimidating verses later in the Quran were made with respect to Jihad" when Muhammad was in Medina .

Micheline R. Ishay has argued that "the Quran justifies wars for self-defense to protect Islamic communities against internal or external aggression by non-Islamic populations, and wars waged against those who 'violate their oaths' by breaking a treaty". Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed has also argued that the Quran encourages people to fight in self-defense. He has also argued that the Quran has been used to direct Muslims to make all possible preparations to defend themselves against enemies.

Shin Chiba and Thomas J. Schoenbaum argue that Islam "does not allow Muslims to fight against those who disagree with them regardless of belief system", but instead "urges its followers to treat such people kindly". Yohanan Friedmann has argued that the Quran does not promote fighting for the purposes of religious coercion, although the war as described is "religious" in the sense that the enemies of the Muslims are described as "enemies of God".

Rodrigue Tremblay has argued that the Quran commands that non-Muslims under a Muslim regime, should "feel themselves subdued" in "a political state of subservience" . He also argues that the Quran may assert freedom within religion. Nisrine Abiad has argued that the Quran incorporates the offence (and due punishment) of "rebellion" into the offence of "highway or armed robbery".

George W. Braswell has argued that the Quran asserts an idea of Jihad to deal with "a sphere of disobedience, ignorance and war".

Michael David Bonner has argued that the "deal between God and those who fight is portrayed as a commercial transaction, either as a loan with interest, or else as a profitable sale of the life of this world in return for the life of the next", where "how much one gains depends on what happens during the transaction", either "paradise if slain in battle, or victory if one survives". Critics have argued that the Quran "glorified Jihad in many of the Medinese suras" and "criticized those who fail(ed) to participate in it".

Ali Ünal has claimed that the Quran praises the companions of Muhammad, for being stern and implacable against the said unbelievers, where in that "period of ignorance and savagery, triumphing over these people was possible by being strong and unyielding."

Solomon Nigosian concludes that the "Quranic statement is clear" on the issue of fighting in defense of Islam as "a duty that is to be carried out at all costs", where "God grants security to those Muslims who fight in order to halt or repel aggression".

Shaikh M. Ghazanfar argues that the Quran has been used to teach its followers that "the path to human salvation does not require withdrawal from the world but rather encourages moderation in worldly affairs", including fighting. Shabbir Akhtar has argued that the Quran asserts that if a people "fear Muhammad more than they fear God, 'they are a people lacking in sense'" rather than a fear being imposed upon them by God directly.

Various calls to arms were identified in the Quran by Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, all of which were cited as "most relevant to my actions on March 3, 2006," after he committed a terrorist attack that injured 9 people.

Violence against women

Main articles: Islam and Domestic violence and An-Nisa, 34

Verse 4:34 of the Quran as translated by Ali Quli Qara'i reads:

Men are the managers of women, because of the advantage Allah has granted some of them over others, and by virtue of their spending out of their wealth. So righteous women are obedient, care-taking in the absence of what Allah has enjoined to guard. As for those whose misconduct you fear, advise them, and keep away from them in the bed, and strike them. Then if they obey you, do not seek any course against them. Indeed, Allah is all-exalted, all-great.

Many translations do not necessarily imply a chronological sequence, for example, Marmaduke Pickthall's, Muhammad Muhsin Khan's, or Arthur John Arberry's. Arberry's translation reads "admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them."

The Dutch film Submission, which rose to fame outside the Netherlands after the assassination of its director Theo van Gogh by Muslim extremist Mohammed Bouyeri, critiqued this and similar verses of the Quran by displaying them painted on the bodies of abused Muslim women. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the film's writer, said "it is written in the Koran a woman may be slapped if she is disobedient. This is one of the evils I wish to point out in the film".

Scholars of Islam have a variety of responses to these criticisms. (See An-Nisa, 34 for a fuller exegesis on the meaning of the text.) Some Muslim scholars say that the "striking" allowed is limited to no more than a light touch by siwak, or toothbrush. Some Muslims argue that striking is only appropriate if a woman has done "an unrighteous, wicked and rebellious act" beyond mere disobedience. In many modern interpretations of the Quran, the actions prescribed in 4:34 are to be taken in sequence, and striking is only to be used as a last resort.

Many Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that striking, where permitted, are not to be harsh or even that they should be "more or less symbolic." According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Ibn Kathir, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light striking.

Some jurists argue that even when striking is acceptable under the Quran, it is still discountenanced.

Shabbir Akhtar has argued that the Quran introduced prohibitions against "the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide" (16:58, 17:31, 81:8), which is intended to provide a basis for the rights of women.

Houris

Main article: Houri

Max I. Dimont interprets that the houris described in the Quran are specifically dedicated to "male pleasure". Alternatively, Annemarie Schimmel says that the Quranic description of the houris should be viewed in a context of love; "every pious man who lives according to God's order will enter Paradise where rivers of milk and honey flow in cool, fragrant gardens and virgin beloveds await home..."

Under the Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Quran by Christoph Luxenberg, the words translating to "Houris" or "Virgins of Paradise" are instead interpreted as "Fruits (grapes)" and "high climbing (wine) bowers... made into first fruits." Luxenberg offers alternate interpretations of these Quranic verses, including the idea that the Houris should be seen as having a specifically spiritual nature rather than a human nature; "these are all very sensual ideas; but there are also others of a different kind... what can be the object of cohabitation in Paradise as there can be no question of its purpose in the world, the preservation of the race. The solution of this difficulty is found by saying that, although heavenly food, women etc.., have the name in common with their earthly equivalents, it is only by way of metaphorical indication and comparison without actual identity... authors have spiritualized the Houris."

Christians and Jews in the Quran

See also: Christianity and Islam, Islam and antisemitism, Islamic–Jewish relations, and People of the Book

The Quran mentions more than 50 people previously mentioned in the Bible, which predates it by several centuries.

Jane Gerber claims that the Quran ascribes negative traits to Jews, such as cowardice, greed, and chicanery. She also alleges that the Quran associates Jews with interconfessional strife and rivalry (Quran 2:113), the Jewish belief that they alone are beloved of God (Quran 5:18), and that only they will achieve salvation (Quran 2:111). According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Quran contains many attacks on Jews and Christians for their refusal to recognize Muhammad as a prophet. In the Muslim view, the crucifixion of Jesus was an illusion, and thus the Jewish plots against him ended in failure. In numerous verses the Quran accuses Jews of altering the Scripture. Karen Armstrong claims that there are "far more numerous passages in the Quran" which speak positively of the Jews and their great prophets, than those which were against the "rebellious Jewish tribes of Medina" (during Muhammad's time). Sayyid Abul Ala believes the punishments were not meant for all Jews, and that they were only meant for the Jewish inhabitants that were sinning at the time. According to historian John Tolan, the Quran contains a verse which criticizes the Christian worship of Jesus Christ as God, and also criticizes other practices and doctrines of both Judaism and Christianity. Despite this, the Quran has high praise for these religions, regarding them as the other two members of the Abrahamic triad.

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Islam, such plurality in God is a denial of monotheism and thus a sin of shirk, which is considered to be a major 'al-Kaba'ir' sin.

In the Quran, polytheism is considered the eternal sin of shirk, meaning that Jews and Christians, which the Quran calls polytheists (see below), will not be pardoned by God if they do not repent of shirk.

The Quran states that Jews are exalting Ezra as a son of God and for taking their rabbis as "their lords in derogation of God",(Quran 9:30) and should believe in Islam lest a punishment befalls them that turns them into “apes and pigs”.(Quran 5:60)(Quran 7:166)

Hindu criticism

Hindu Swami Dayanand Saraswati gave a brief analysis of the Quran in the 14th chapter of his 19th-century book Satyarth Prakash. He calls the concept of Islam highly offensive, and doubted that there is any connection of Islam with God:

Had the God of the Quran been the Lord of all creatures, and been Merciful and kind to all, he would never have commanded the Muhammedans to slaughter men of other faiths, and animals, etc. If he (God) is Merciful, won't he show mercy even to the sinners? If the answer be given in the affirmative, it (the Quran) cannot be true, because further on it is said in the Quran "Put infidels to sword," in other words, he that does not believe in the Quran, and Muhammad is an infidel (he should, therefore, be put to death). Since the Quran sanctions such cruelty to non-Muslims and innocent creatures such as cows it can never be the Word of God.

On the other hand, Mahatma Gandhi, the moral leader of the 20th-century Indian independence movement, found the significance of non-violence in Quran, but the history of Muslims to be aggressive, which is criticized by Muslims themselves based on Quranic consultative concept of Shura, while he claimed that Hindus have passed that stage of societal evolution:

Though, in my opinion, non-violence has a predominant place in the Quran, the thirteen hundred years of imperialistic expansion has made the Muslims fighters as a body. They are therefore aggressive. Bullying is the natural excrescence of an aggressive spirit. The Hindu has an ages old civilization. He is essentially non violent. His civilization has passed through the experiences that the two recent ones are still passing through. If Hinduism was ever imperialistic in the modern sense of the term, it has outlived its imperialism and has either deliberately or as a matter of course given it up. Predominance of the non-violent spirit has restricted the use of arms to a small minority which must always be subordinate to a civil power, highly spiritual, learned, and selfless.

See also

Notes

  1. Muhammad relayed God's revelation to the early Muslims, and many of his contemporary nonbelievers/opponents maintained he (Muhammad) was the true origin of the Quran. Numerous verses of the Quran (Q.6:50, 7:203, 10:15, 10:37, 10:109, 13:38 and 33:2) vehemently deny that the Qur’an was Muhammad's own work, or that he was doing anything other than following what was revealed to him by God.
  2. (umm al-kitab','43:4 and 13:3), also “well-guarded tablet” (lawh mahfuz verse 85:22) and “concealed book” (kitab maknun 56:78)
  3. As God's speech, the Quran was not created or written by God but is an "uncreated" attribute of God
  4. professor emeritus of Islamic thought at the University of Paris, Algerian Mohammed Arkoun.
  5. naskh applies also to contradictory hadith, and to Quranic verses and hadith that contradict each other
  6. Biblical scholar John William Burgon: "The Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth upon the Throne! Every Book of it, every Chapter of it, every Verse of it, every word of it, every syllable of it ... every letter of it, is the direct utterance of the Most High!"
  7. who was "charged with blasphemy, forced to withdraw his book, and lost from his university post" after publishing a book questioning the historical veracity of the Quran (Fi'ish-Shi-r al-Jahili)
  8. "... when the Arab scholar Suliman Bashear argued that Islam developed as a religion gradually rather than emerging fully formed from the mouth of the Prophet, he was injured after being thrown from a second-story window by his students at the University of Nablus in the West Bank.
  9. For example: Zaid b. Thabit said: It is reported... from Ibn Buraidah who said:

    The first of those to collect the Qur'an into a mushaf (codex) was Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifah.

  10. The Prophet died and the Qur'an had not been assembled into a single place.


    It is reported... from Ali who said:

    May the mercy of Allah be upon Abu Bakr, the foremost of men to be rewarded with the collection of the manuscripts, for he was the first to collect (the text) between (two) covers.

  11. although Qiraʼat should not be confused with Tajwid—the rules of pronunciation, intonation, and caesuras of the Quran.
  12. Qiraʼat now each have their own text in modern Arabic script. Most of the varieties are not commonly used but can be found on pdf with English translation at quranflash.com -- https://app.quranflash.com/?en
  13. The maṣḥaf Quran that is in "general use" throughout almost all the Muslim world today (about 95% according to Muslimprophets website), is a 1924 Egyptian edition based on the Qira'at "reading of Ḥafṣ on the authority of `Asim" (Ḥafṣ being the Rawi, or "transmitter", and `Asim being the Qari or "reader").
  14. Several verses in the Quran -- such as the one below -- challenged unbelievers to produce something like the Qur'an:
    • "If men and Jin banded together to produce the like of this Qur'an they would never produce its like not though they backed one another."(17:88)
  15. 11:1, 6:114, 16:89, 41:3. Though they also state that some verses are not entirely clear and that "none knows its hidden meanings save Allah".(Q.3:7)
  16. Quran 16:101–103 
  17. though considering Muhammad a man of real vision and self-conviction (according to Edward Said),
  18. "From the literary point of view, the Koran has little merit. Declamation, repetition, puerility, a lack of logic and coherence strike the unprepared reader at every turn. It is humiliating to the human intellect to think that this mediocre literature has been the subject of innumerable commentaries, and that millions of men are still wasting time absorbing it."
  19. Because the Sabians were Ahl al-Kitāb (people of the book) but unknown, they are said to have been used as a "loop hole" in Islamic law by a religious group threatened with either conversion to Islam or death. According to Abu Yusuf Absha al-Qadi, Caliph al-Ma'mun of Baghdad in 830 CE stood with his army at the gates of Harran and questioned the Harranians about what protected religion they belonged to. As they were neither Muslim, Christian, Jewish or Magian, the caliph told them they were non-believers. He said they would have to become Muslims, or adherents of one of the other religions recognized by the Qur'an by the time he returned from his campaign against the Byzantines or he would kill them. The Harranians consulted with a lawyer, who suggested that they find their answer in the Qur'an II.59, which said that Sabians were tolerated. It was unknown what the sacred text intended by "Sabian" and so they took the name.
  20. quote is Dundes referring to Muhammad Abdel Haleem
  21. In the words of atheist author Richard Dawkins rephrasing David Hume: "Which is more likely -- that a man should be used as a transmitter by God to deliver some already existing revelations, or that he should utter some already existing revelations and believe himself to be, or claim to be, ordered by God to do so?"
  22. Roslan Abdul-Rahim describes the reports of the asbab or circumstances of the naskh as having "the potential to be even embarrassing for the Muslims".

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  254. Harris makes a similar argument about hadith, saying "ccording to a literalist reading of the hadith (the literature that recounts the sayings and the actions of the Prophet) if a Muslim decides that he no longer wants to be a Muslim, he should be put to death. If anyone ventures the opinion that the Koran is a mediocre book of religious fiction or that Muhammad was a schizophrenic, he should also be killed. It should go without saying that a desire to kill people for imaginary crimes like apostasy and blasphemy is not an expression of religious moderation." "Who Are the Moderate Muslims?," The Huffington Post, 16 February 2006 (accessed 16 November 2013)
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  256. Khaleel Muhammad, professor of religious studies at San Diego State University, states, regarding his discussion with the critic Robert Spencer, that "when I am told ... that Jihad only means war, or that I have to accept interpretations of the Quran that non-Muslims (with no good intentions or knowledge of Islam) seek to force upon me, I see a certain agendum developing: one that is based on hate, and I refuse to be part of such an intellectual crime." "Khaleel Mohammed- San Diego State University - Religious Studies Department". Archived from the original on 8 July 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
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  285. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that "If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts."Islam Online - Services (Fatwa)". Archived from the original on 4 April 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2007.."Islam Online - Services (Fatwa)". Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  286. Ibn Kathir writes that in case of rebellious behavior, the husband is asked to urge his wife to mend her ways, then to refuse to share their beds, and as the last resort, husbands are allowed to admonish their wives by beating. Ibn Kathir, "Tafsir of Ibn Kathir", Al-Firdous Ltd., London, 2000, 50–53
  287. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that "It is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury.""Islam Online - Services (Fatwa)". Archived from the original on 4 April 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2007."Islam Online - Services (Fatwa)". Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  288. Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqee records in his Tafsir Al-Quran Al-Azim that "Ibn `Abbas and several others said that the Ayah refers to a beating that is not violent. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that it means, a beating that is not severe."
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  293. Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi comments that "Whenever the Prophet (peace be on him) permitted a man to administer corporal punishment to his wife, he did so with reluctance, and continued to express his distaste for it. And even in cases where it is necessary, the Prophet (peace be on him) directed men not to hit across the face, nor to beat severely nor to use anything that might leave marks on the body." "Towards Understanding the Quran" Translation by Zafar I. Ansari from "Tafheem Al-Quran" (specifically, commentary on 4:34) by Syed Abul-A'ala Mawdudi, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England.
  294. The medieval jurist ash-Shafi'i, founder of one of the main schools of fiqh, commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable."
  295. "ome of the greatest Muslim scholars (e.g., Ash-Shafi'i) are of the opinion that it is just barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided: and they justify this opinion by the Prophet's personal feelings with regard to this problem." Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran (his translation of the Quran).
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