Every Day Straight Talk on Islam

The Qur’an’s Own Test

How It Disproves Its Own Divinity

Introduction: The Qur’an’s Self-Imposed Standard

The Qur’an explicitly sets a criterion for its authenticity in Surah 4:82:

“Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? Had it been from anyone other than Allah, they would surely have found in it many inconsistencies.”¹

This is not a casual statement. It is a self-imposed, falsifiable claim. According to the Qur’an itself, a single contradiction would disqualify it from divine authorship. If Islam claims the Qur’an is the unaltered word of God, it must pass this test perfectly. This provides an opportunity to apply a strictly logical, evidence-based analysis, exactly the standard the Qur’an demands of itself.

Logical Framework

We can formalize the Qur’an’s own test into a syllogism:

Premise 1: Any text containing contradictions is not from Allah (Qur’an 4:82).
Premise 2: The Qur’an contains contradictions (demonstrated below).
Conclusion: Therefore, the Qur’an is not from Allah.

This is a valid deductive argument: if both premises are true, the conclusion necessarily follows. The following sections examine multiple categories of contradictions.

Section 1: Contradictions in Creation

1.1 Creation Order

Surah 2:29: “It is He who created for you all that is on the earth…” implying the earth was created first.
Surah 79:27–30: “Are you a more difficult creation or is the heaven? He constructed it. He raised its ceiling…” implying the heavens were created first.

Tafsir al-Tabari notes both interpretations,² yet the contradiction remains unresolved. Ibn Kathir attempts to harmonize by invoking stages of creation,³ but the text itself provides no explicit clarification.

1.2 Creation Timeline

Surah 7:54, 10:3, 11:7, 25:59 indicate creation took six days.
Surah 41:9–12 implies eight days.

Classical exegetes, including al-Qurtubi, argue that “days” (ayyam) may be figurative,⁴ yet a literal reading reveals a contradiction in duration.

1.3 Accountability vs. Intercession

Surah 2:123: “And fear a Day when no soul will avail another…”
Surah 2:255 and 16:93 suggest intercession is possible with Allah’s permission.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir interprets intercession as conditional,⁵ but the Qur’an’s literal statements are inconsistent.

1.4 Free Will vs. Predestination

Surah 18:29: “Let him who will believe, and let him who will disbelieve…” — humans have agency.
Surah 16:93: “Allah misguides whom He wills and guides whom He wills…” — implying predestination.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn attempts philosophical reconciliation,⁶ yet the literal text conflicts.

1.5 Abrogation Contradictions

Surah 2:106: Any abrogated verse will be replaced by a better or similar one.
Stoning and adult breastfeeding rules appear in hadith without Qur’anic replacement.⁷

This violates the Qur’an’s claim of textual completeness.

1.6 Historical Anachronisms

Surah 20:85 refers to a “Samaritan” during Moses’ era,⁸ though historical evidence shows Samaritans did not exist then.

Even tafsir allegories cannot resolve this plain-text historical contradiction.

Section 2: Legal Contradictions

2.1 Stoning vs. Flogging

Surah 24:2 prescribes 100 lashes for adultery.
Hadith (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim) reports Muhammad enforced stoning for married adulterers.⁹

Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi rely on Sunnah to reconcile, but the Qur’an itself prescribes a different punishment.

2.2 Inheritance Laws

Surah 4:11 allocates males double the share of females.
Surah 4:12 appears to contradict in certain scenarios, such as siblings or stepchildren.¹⁰

Literal reading is inconsistent, despite tafsir attempts at differentiation.

2.3 Adult Breastfeeding Exception

Surah 2:233 allows breastfeeding up to two years.
Hadith (Abu Dawud) documents an adult “breastfeeding” exception for marriage purposes.¹¹

This is a literal and moral contradiction.

Section 3: Numerical Contradictions

3.1 Days of Creation

Six days vs. eight days (see Section 1.2). Tafsirs invoke allegory,¹² yet literal inconsistency remains.

3.2 Punishment Numbers

Surah 2:65: 70–100 men punished for Sabbath violations.
Surah 7:166: “Only a few” punished.¹³

Numerical contradictions persist, with no textual resolution.

3.3 Noah’s Flood

Preaching: 950 years (Surah 29:14).
Flood: 40 days and nights (Surah 11:36–44).

Literal reconciliation fails, creating chronological tension.¹⁴

Section 4: Moral Contradictions

4.1 Treatment of Non-Muslims

Surah 60:8: Justice toward peaceful non-Muslims.
Surah 9:5: Fight non-believers until submission.¹⁵

Tafsir appeals to context, yet literal reading cannot satisfy both commands simultaneously.

4.2 Slavery and Concubinage

Surah 4:24 permits relations with female slaves.
Surah 23:5–6 commands marital fidelity.¹⁶

Tafsir explanations (al-Jalalayn) attempt context, but the text is internally contradictory.

Section 5: Theological Contradictions

5.1 Free Will vs. Predestination

Humans have choice (Surah 18:29) vs. Allah determines outcomes (Surah 16:93).¹⁷

5.2 Divine Mercy vs. Misguidance

Allah as merciful (Surah 2:255) vs. selectively misguiding (Surah 4:78).

Both cannot be simultaneously literal truths.

Section 6: Laws of War Contradictions

6.1 Fighting Non-Believers

Peace vs. aggression (Surah 60:8 vs. 9:5).

6.2 Treatment of Prisoners

Execution/ransom (Surah 47:4) vs. feeding and humane treatment (Surah 76:8–9).¹⁸

Section 7: Manuscript and Textual History Issues

Ṣan‘ā’1 manuscript (7th c.) shows variant readings.¹⁹
Early compilation notes (Ibn Abi Dawud, al-Tabari) indicate disparate sources,²⁰ raising questions about textual consistency.

Section 8: Implications and Logical Conclusion

8.1 Applying Qur’an’s Own Test

Premise 1: Contradictions disqualify divine authorship (4:82).
Premise 2: Contradictions exist across creation, law, morality, numerics, chronology, and theology.
Conclusion: The Qur’an cannot be from Allah.

8.2 Reconciliation Attempts Fail

Abrogation, allegory, context, and Sunnah require external reasoning.
Literal reading — Qur’an’s own standard — fails.

Conclusion

The Qur’an, by its own criteria, contains contradictions:

Creation order and timeline conflicts.
Moral and legal contradictions.
Numerical and chronological discrepancies.
Theological inconsistencies.
Manuscript variants and posthumous compilation issues.

Attempts at reconciliation do not satisfy the Qur’an’s literal standard. Therefore, the Qur’an fails its own test and cannot be from Allah, a conclusion deduced purely from internal evidence, logic, and historical context.

Full References

The Qur’an, Surah 4:82.
Al-Tabari, Jami’ al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, vols. 1–4.
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim, vols. 1–4.
Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur’an, vols. 1–5.
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, vol. 1, pp. 226.
Al-Jalalayn, Tafsir al-Jalalayn, vols. 1–3.
Abu Dawud, Book 38, Hadith 4441–4442; Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 6829; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1695.
Finkelstein, Israel, Archaeology of the Levant, p. 118.
Ṣan‘ā’1 Qur’anic Manuscript, 7th century.
Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masa’il, vol. 1.