Differences
Analysis · argument tier
Questions raised about the text
Linguistic, historical, scientific and internal-consistency questions, verse by verse. Each item is an argument, with the sources it cites and a place for the responses.
Browse by category
All categoriesInternal contradiction · old site “Quranic Contradiction”
Verses set against other verses.
60
Open question
31% of items
60 original · 0 proposed · old “Question”
39
Linguistic
20% of items
39 original · 0 proposed
24
Internal contradiction
13% of items
24 original · 0 proposed · old “Quranic Contradiction”
24
Historical background
13% of items
24 original · 0 proposed · old “Historical Background”
21
Historical
11% of items
21 original · 0 proposed
15
Ambiguity
8% of items
15 original · 0 proposed
5
Parallels with earlier sources
3% of items
5 original · 0 proposed · old “Copied from other sources”
3
Scientific
2% of items
3 original · 0 proposed
0
Geographical
0% of items
0 original · 0 proposed
Each item is filed under one category from the old site's list (its most specific one); the other categories it carries still show as tags.
- 2:972 verses Internal contradiction Open question Argument This verse states that the angel Gabriel (Jibrīl) is the one who transmitted the Qur’ān to Muhammad. However, another Qur’ānic text states that the Holy Spirit is the one who carried out this task: “Say, ‘The Holy Spirit brought …
- 2:1062 verses Internal contradiction Open question Argument In the midst of the doctrinal controversy between Muhammad and the Jews in Medina, the Jews noticed that Muhammad was annulling, time and again, rulings that he had enacted. This issue became a subject of their criticism. They sa…
- 2:221 Internal contradiction Open question Argument In this verse, the Qur’ān forbids Muslim men and women from marrying “unbelievers”: “Wed not with idolatrous women…And wed not to idolatrous men….” Because the Qur’ān accuses the Christians of being unbelievers (idolaters), marri…
- 3:7 Internal contradiction Argument This verse states that some of the verses of the Qur’ān are muhkamāt (“decisive”) and others are mutashābihāt (“similar, allegorical, or ambiguous”). The muhkamāt verses are of established meaning, without a need for interpretati…
- 3:424 verses Internal contradiction Argument This verse states that angels brought glad tidings to Mary about the birth of Jesus. But another verse states that only one angel came to her (Q 19.17-21). The scholars ignored this contradiction. However, the commentary Tafsīr a…
- 3:133 Internal contradiction Argument This verse identifies the width of paradise, “a Garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth….” (Yusuf Ali trans. Q 3.133) Yet another verse mentions that the width of paradise is the width of one hea…
- 4:49 Internal contradiction Historical backgroundOpen question Argument The reports state that the Jews and Christians used to boast, saying, “We are the sons of God and His beloved...” (Q 5.18). So Muammad answered them by saying that it was not permitted for people to praise themselves, and that pr…
- 4:782 verses Internal contradiction Argument Contradictions in the Qur’ān usually occur in verses that are apart from each other in the same sūra or in verses from different sūras. However, in this passage, the contradiction occurs in two consecutive verses. Q 4.78 teaches …
- 4:157 Internal contradiction Historical backgroundOpen question Argument This verse recounts a discussion where the Jews said that they were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. But Muhammad twisted this declaration in order to enforce his own teachings that Jesus was not crucified. Therefore, he…
- 4:158 Internal contradiction Historical backgroundOpen question Argument This verse recounts a discussion where the Jews said that they were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. But Muhammad twisted this declaration in order to enforce his own teachings that Jesus was not crucified. Therefore, he…
- 6:23 Internal contradiction Open question Argument The verse states that those who worship many gods will deny their polytheism on the Day of Judgment: “By God our Lord, we did not associate (others with thee)!” (Q 6.23). Yet, in another part of the same sūra, it reads that they …
- 6:130 Internal contradiction Open question Argument The verse says that “messengers” came to mankind and also to the jinn (ginn), who are believed to be invisible beings that coexist with humans. According to the way the verse reads in the Arabic text, Allah sent these messengers …
- 6:164 Internal contradiction Argument This verse mentions that every human who is an evildoer will endure the consequences of his own deeds and that no person will be punished on another’s behalf: “...but no soul shall earn aught save against itself; nor shall one be…
- 7:1177 verses Internal contradiction Historical Argument This story recounts a competition arranged by Pharaoh between Moses and a band of sorcerers that ends in Moses’ victory. As a result, the sorcerers declare their belief in “the Lord of Moses and Aaron” (Q 7.117-122; Q 20.69-73; Q…
- 7:127 Internal contradiction HistoricalHistorical background Argument This verse says that some Egyptian leaders asked Pharaoh if he would take any action against Moses and the Israelites. The passage does not clearly state what Moses and the Israelites had done, referring only to their spreading “…
- 9:55 Internal contradiction Argument How could wealth and children be instruments of torture in life, according to this verse, while the Qur’ān itself mentions in another verse (Q 18.46), “Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world”? Interpreters…
- 10:28 Internal contradiction Open question Argument The verse states that Allah speaks to people on the Day of Judgment. This matter is confirmed by another verse: “But, by thy Lord! we will question them, one and all…” (Q 15.92). Conversely, another verse states that Allah does n…
- 10:64 Internal contradiction Argument The Qur’ān declares in Q 10.64 that Allah does not change his words. Islamic commentators explain “words” as “sayings and promises". Al-Zamakhsharī explains that the phrase “‘there is no changing the words of God’” as “no changin…
- 16:843 verses Internal contradiction Argument Verse 84 states that “those who misbelieve not be allowed (to excuse themselves).” But, two verses later (Q 16.86) the Qur’ān states that they (misbelievers) will speak: “And when those who join their partners with God say, ‘Our …
- 20:38 Internal contradiction Argument It is clear from this text that Pharaoh ordered the killing of children when Moses was young. Yet the Qur’ān also states that the command to kill was given when Moses was a prophet and spoke the truth (Q 40.23-25). (This contradi…
- 20:39 Internal contradiction Argument It is clear from this text that Pharaoh ordered the killing of children when Moses was young. Yet the Qur’ān also states that the command to kill was given when Moses was a prophet and spoke the truth (Q 40.23-25). (This contradi…
- 21:30 Internal contradiction Argument The verse contains two statements regarding the natural world that contradict other verses on the same topic. Heavens and earth The verse states that “that the heavens and the earth were both solid,” meaning that they were one bo…
- 23:101 Internal contradiction Argument In Arabic, the verse states that on the Day of Judgment people will not question each other. (The closest English translation is found in Arberry: “For when the Trumpet is blown, that day there shall be no kinship any more betwee…
- 24:42 verses Internal contradiction Argument The text declares that people who accuse “chaste women” without presenting evidence for the accusation are transgressors, but Allah will forgive them if they repent. This declaration contradicts another verse, Q 24.23, which stat…