SECOND OBJECTION
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Contradictions Between The Quran And The Bible.
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First Discrepancy To Twenty-Fifth Discrepancy. |
The Qur’anic opposition to the Bible, as expressed by the Christian
theologians, is categorized as follows:
1.
The Qur’an
abrogates a number of injunctions contained in the Bible.
2.
The Qur’an
fails to mention some events that are described in the Old and New Testaments.
3.
Some events
described by the Holy Qur’an are different from the descriptions given in the
Bible.
There are no grounds for denying the truth of the Holy Qur’an on the
basis of the above three types of Qur’anic opposition to the Bible. Firstly,
abrogation is not unique to the Qur’an. We have cited specific examples of the
presence of abrogation in the laws prior to the Qur’an. The presence of
abrogation in any revelation is not contrary to reason. We have already seen
that the law of the Prophet Jesus abrogated all but nine injunctions of the
Torah including the Ten Commandments.
Secondly, there are many events described by the New Testament that do
not exist in the Old Testament. It would be quite in order to reproduce some
examples of such events. The following thirteen events out of a large number of
them should sufficiently prove our claim. The Old Testament cannot be
disbelieved only on these grounds.
1.We read in the Epistle of
Jude in verse 9:
No trace of the dispute of Michael with the devil mentioned above is
found in any book of the Old Testament
2.The same epistle contains
in verses 14-15 the following statement:
3.We find the following
description in Hebrews 12:21:
And so terrible was the
sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. [1]
The event to which the above statement has referred is described in
chapter 19 of the Book of Exodus. The above sentence of the Prophet Moses can be
found neither in Exodus nor in any other book of the Old Testament.
4.II Timothy 3:8 contains the following statement:
Now as Jannes and Jambers withstood Moses, so do these also resist the
truth.
The dispute referred to in the above passage is described in chapter 7 of
the Book of Exodus. The names Jannes and Jambers can be found neither in any
chapter of Exodus nor in any other book of the Old Testament.
5. I Corinthians 15:6 says:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom
the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
The number of five hundred people having seen Christ
[2]
after his resurrection cannot be found in any of the Gospels, nor even in
the book of Acts, in spite of Luke’s fondness of describing such events.
6.The book of Acts 20:35 says:
And to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more
blessed to give than to receive.
The above statement of the prophet Jesus cannot be traced in any of the
four gospels.
7.The genealogical description of Matthew in the first chapter contains
names after Zorobabel [3] that are not found
in any book of the Old Testament.
8.We find the following event described in the book of Acts 7:23- 28:
And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his
brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he
defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he
supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would
deliver them: but they understood not. And the next day he shewed himself unto
them as they strove, would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are
brethren: why do ye wrong one to another? But he that did his neighbour wrong
thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou
kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
This event also appears in the
Book of Exodus but we find that there are many additional things mentioned in
Acts which do not appear in the following description of the book of Exodus,
which goes:
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out
unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting
a Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he
saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And
when he went out the second day, behold, two men of Hebrews strove together: and
he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he
said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as
thou killedst the Egyptian? [4]
9.The Epistle of Jude verse
6 says:
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the
judgement of the great day.
10.The same statement also appears in the Second
Epistle of Peter 2:4:
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell,
and delivered them into chains of dark- ness, to be reserved unto judgement.
The above statements attributed to Jude and Peter do not exist in any
book of the Old Testament. In fact it seems to be a false statement, because the
imprisoned angels referred to in this statement are, it seems, devils while they
too are not in everlasting chains of imprisonment. This is evident from chapter
1 of the Book of Job, Mark 1:12, I Peter 5:8 [5]
and many other similar verses.
11.Psalm 105:18 says, with
regard to the imprisonment of the prophet Joseph:
Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron. Genesis also
describes this event in chapter 39, but there he is not reported as being
chained and laid in irons which was not always necessary for a prisoner.
12.The Book of Hosea 12:4 has:
Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he
wept and made supplication unto him.
Genesis describes the above event of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel
in chapter 32, but it does not speak of his weeping and making supplication to
him.
13.The four gospels briefly describe Paradise, Hell, the Day of Judgement
and the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter, but in contrast to this we do
not find any of these things in the five books of the Pentateuch. The obedient
are promised worldly rewards and the disobedient threatened with only worldly
punishments. [6]This proves that the
fact that such descriptions or events are described in later books and not
mentioned in former books, does not necessarily prove the falsehood of the later
books. Otherwise it would demand that the gospels be declared false since they
contain material from the past that does not exist in any book of the Old
Testament. It is not therefore necessary for a later book to cover all past
events. For examples, the names of all the descendants of Adam, Seth and Jonah
and their accounts are not mentioned in the Torah.
The commentary of D’Oyly and
Richard Mant contains the following comments on II King 14:25:
The
name of the Prophet Jonah is not found mentioned anywhere except in this verse
and in the famous message to the people of Nineveh. There is no mention in any
book of any prophecy of Jonah with regard to Jeroboam’s invasion of Syria.
This is not because we have lost many books of the prophets, but simply because
the prophets did not speak of many events that took place.
Our claim is sufficiently affirmed by the above statement.
John 21:25 also has:
And there are many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they
should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not
contain the books that should be written.
Apart from being a metaphorical exaggeration the above statement
testifies to the fact that all the events of Jesus’ life could not be recorded
in the books.
Thirdly, their objection that, regarding many events, the Qur’anic
description is different from the one in the Bible is not valid because a
profusion of such differences is also present within the books of the Old
Testament, and similarly some of the Gospels differ concerning many events from
the others; and also the New Testament differs from the Old Testament. Though we
have produced specific examples of this at the beginning of this book, it is
quite in order to cite some more examples of such differences here to
eliminate any possible misunderstanding Created by the above objections.
It goes without saying that the three basic versions of the Pentateuch,
that is, the Hebrew, the Greek and the Samaritan are also different from each
other in the same way. A further prolongation of this exposition by producing
more examples of such discrepancies is necessary in view of their relevance to
the present subject.
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First Discrepancy To Twenty-Fifth Discrepancy. |
The period from Adam to the Flood of Noah is described differently in all
the three versions.
1.The Hebrew version:
1656 years
2.The Greek version:
2262 years
.
3.The Samaritan version
1307 years
Second
Discrepancy
The
period from the Flood to the birth of the prophet Abraham is described as
follows in the above three versions.
1 The Hebrew version:
292 years
2. The Greek version:
1072 years
3. The Samaritan version
942 years
Third
Discrepancy
Arphaxad
and Shelah are described by the Greek version as being separated by only one
generation from Canaan who is not mentioned in the Hebrew and Samaritan
versions. Similarly I Chronicles[7]
and the history of Josephus do not mention the name of Canaan. It may be noted
that Luke has followed the Greek version and has added the name of Canaan in the
genealogy of Jesus. This requires that the Christians should believe the truth
of the Greek[8]
version and reject the other two as being false in order to save the Gospel of
Luke from containing a falsehood.
Fourth
Discrepancy
The appointed place of the temple, as described by the Hebrew version, is
mount Ebal, while according to the Samaritan version it is mount Gerezim. We
have discussed this in great detail earlier and so no more comments are needed
here.
Fifth
Discrepancy
The period from Adam to Christ is differently described by the different
versions.
1.
The Hebrew
version:
4004 years
2.
The Greek
version:
5872 years
3.
The
Samaritan version
4700 years:
The following statement conceming this is found in the first vol- ume of
Henry and Scott’s commentary:
Hales having made corrections to the errors found in the history of
Josephus and in the Greek version has concluded as follows: the period from the
beginning of the creation to the birth of Christ is 5411 years, while the period
from the Flood to the birth of the Christ comes to 3155 years.
Charles Rogers has presented in his book a comparison of various English
translations, providing us with no less than fifty-five conflicting statements
from the historians with regard to the period from the Creation to the birth of
Christ.
Names
Years
1.
Marianus
Scotus: [9]
4192
2.
Larntios
Codemus:
4141
3.
Thoms
Lithet.
4103
4.
Michaelus
Mastlinus
4079
5.
G.Baptist
Rickulus
4062
6.
Jacob
Salianus
4053
7.
Henry Kus
pemdens [10]
4051
8.
William Link
4041
9.
Erasmus
Reinholt
4021
10.
Jacobus
Kipalus
4005
11.
Archbishop
Ussher
4003
12.
Dionicius
Petavius
3983
13.
Bishop Burke
(Book)
3974
14.
Kirogian
3971
15.
Ellius
Rusnileus
3970
16.
Johnias
Cleverius
3968
17.
Christanis
Logomentenas
3966
18.
Philip Malla
Nagtuj
3964
19.
Jacobin Lins
3963
20.
Alphonso
Salmeron
3958
21.
Johi Liker[11]
394
22.
Matthews
Burundius
3927
23.
Andrians
Hull
3836
24.
The Jewish
view
3760
25.
The
Christian view
4004
None of the above statements seems to be the same as any
other. This great variety of views on the matter is highly confusing. The main
reason for the great inconsistency found in historical descriptions is the
indifferent and neglectful attitude of the historians towards the systematic
preservation of their history. It makes it absolutely impossible for anyone now
to arrive at the correct number of years from Adam to Christ. Charles Roger has
admitted that the number of years estimated by the ancient historians are based
on nothing but their conjectures and inferences from defective documentation.
Moreover we find that the period commonly acknowledgcd by the Jews is different
from the common belief of the Christians.
Now resuming our course of discussion, we should state that the
deliberate opposition of the Qur’an to any or some descriptions of the Bible,
especially in the presence of such a profusion of contradictions and
inconsistencies, is certainly no reason to cast doubt on the Qur’anic
revelation. We must repeat our claim that the elders of the Christians included
in their books erroneous, and sometimes unbelievable, material that seemed to
suit their whims at the time. This is why the periods described by the Bible are
not considered to have any historical value.
The
great scholar Taqiuddin al-Maqrizi quoted Ibn Hazm in the first volume of his
book:
We Muslims do not believe in any definite number of years. Those who have
claimed it to be around seven thousand years, have claimed something about which
we find no indication made by the Holy Prophet in his traditions. We believe
that the definite period of the creation of the universe is known to none but
Allah. Allah, our Lord, says in the Holy Qur’an:[12]
I did not make them witness to the creation of the heavens and the earth,
nor to their own creation.
The Holy Prophet said that in comparison with the past people we are not
more than a single white fibre on the body of a white ox, or a black fibre on
the body of a white ox. The above and all other circumstantial evidence point to
the fact that the definite period since the Creation is known to none but Allah.
Sixth
Discrepancy
In addition to the ten commandments of Moses an eleventh commandment is
present in the Samaritan version which does not exist in the Hebrew version.
Seventh
Discrepancy
Genesis 4:8 of the Hebrew version has:
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they
were in the field.....
The same statement appears differently in the Greek and Samaritan version
in these words:
Cain spoke to his brother Abel, let us go to the field; and it came to
pass when they were in the field.
The
theologians have preferred the Greek and the Samaritan versions.
Eighth
Discrepancy
Genesis
7:17 of the Hebrew version says, “And the flood was forty days upon the
earth.” The Greek version has, “The flood was forty days and nights upon the
earth.”
The Greek version is obviously correct.
Genesis 29:8 of the Hebrew version contains:
Until all the flocks be gathered together.
The Greek and the Samaritan versions and the Arabic translation of
Houbigant and Kennicott contain a different statement:
Until all the herdsmen gather together.
Genesis 35:22 of the Hebrew version says:
That Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s
concubine: and Israel heard it.
The Greek version has:
He went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine and Israel heard it
and he fell low in his estimation.
The Greek version seems to be correct.
Eleventh
Discrepancy
The
Greek version of Genesis 44:5 has this sentence:
Why did you steal my measures?
This
sentence does not exist in the Hebrew.version.The Greek text is correct.
Twelfth
Discrepancy
The
Hebrew version of Genesis 50:25 says:
And ye shall carry up my bones from hence. [13]
The Greek and Samaritan versions have:
Ye shall carry up my bones from hence with you. [14]
Thirteenth
Discrepancy
The Greek version of the Book of Exodus contains the following statement
at 2:22:
The verse is not found in the Hebrew text. [15]The
Greek version seems to be correct as the Arabic translators have included it in
their translation.
Fourteenth
Discrepancy
The Hebrew version of
Exodus 6:20 says:
And she [16]
bare him Aaron and Moses.
The Greek and Samaritan versions have:
And she bare him Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.
The Greek and Samaritan versions are correct. [17]
Fifteenth
Discrepancy
The Book of Numbers in the Greek version contains the following verse at
10:6:
And on the third sound the western camp, and on the fourth the northern
camps shall be raised for a march. [18]
The above verse is also not found in the Hebrew version, and the Greek
version is correct.
Sixteenth
Discrepancy
The Book of Numbers in the Samaritan version contains the following
passage between verses 10 and 11 of chapter 10:
The Lord our God spake unto Moses, ye have dwelt long enough in this
mount, turn you and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites and
unto all places nigh thereunto in the plain, in the hills and in the vales, and
unto the south; and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites. Behold, I
have given the land to you, go and possess the land which the Lord sware unto
your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed
after them.
The above passage does not exist in the Hebrew version. Horsley said in
his commentary, vol. 1, page 161:
The description that is found in Numbers between verses 10 and 11 of the
Samaritan version can be found in Deuteronomy 1:6,7 and 8.[19]
It was discovered in the time of Procobius.
Seventeenth
Discrepancy
We find the following verses in Deuteronomy
10:6-8 of the Hebrew version:
And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the
children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and
Eleazar, his son ministered in the priest’s office in his stead. From thence
they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers and
waters. At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of
the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to
bless in his name, unto this day.
The above passage is different from the description of Numbers 33:30-42,
where the route of their journey is described very differently. It is there
described as follows:
And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at
Moseroth. And they departed from Moseroth and pitched in Bene-jaakan. And they
removed from Bene-jaakan and encamped at Hor-hagidgad. And they went from
Hor-hagidgad and pitched in Jotbathah. And they removed from Jothathah and
encamped at Ebronah. And they departed from Ebronah and encamped at Ezion-gaber.
And they removed from Ezion-gaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which
is Kadesh. And they removed ’from Kadesh and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge
of the land of Edom.
And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the
Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were
come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron
was a hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.
And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of
Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
And they departed from Mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. And they departed from Zalmonah and pitched in Punon.
Adam
Clarke quoted a long passage by Kennicott under his comments on the tenth
chapter of Deuteronomy in the first volume of his book on pages 779 and 780. The
sum and substance of what he says is that the Samaritan text in this respect is
correct while the text of the Hebrew version is erroneous. He also concluded
that four verses, that is from 6 to 9, are strange and irrelevant at this place.
Their exclusion from the text does not in any way lessen the text. The copier
seems to have inserted these verses here by mistake. Further he suggested that
this proposition should not be rejected in a hurry.[20]
He said that these verses originally belonged to the second chapter of
Deuteronomy. We may add here that the sentence which is found at the end of
versc 8 is enough evidence of the fact that these verses are a later addition.
[21]
Eighteenth
Discrepancy
Deuteronomy 32:5 in the Hebrew version contains:
They
have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children; they are
a perverse and crooked generation.
This verse appears differently in the Greek and Samaritan versions. It
reads:
They have corrupted themselves, it was not proper for them: they are
children illegitimate and with spot.
Henry and Scott’s commentary remarks that this version seems to be
closer to the original. Horsley says on page 215 of vol. 1 of his commentary:
This verse should be read according to the Greek and Samaritan versions. [2
Contrary to the above, the translations of Houbigant and Kennicott and
the Arabic translations have distorted this verse. The Arabic translations of
1844 and 1848 contain this verse in these words:
Take measures against them. They are distinct from the children of evil.
O perverse and crooked generation! [23]
Nineteenth
Discrepancy
The Hebrew version of the Book of Genesis 20:2 has:
And Abraham said of
Sarah, his wife, She is my sister: And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took
Sarah.
According
to the commentary of Henry and Scott, the above verse appears in the Greek
version in the following words:
And he said of
his wife Sarah, she is my sister; for he was afraid to call her his wife,
fearing lest the citizens might kill him for her; for, Abimelech, king of
Palestine sent his men and took Sarah.
The sentence, “...he was afraid to call her his wife fearing lest the
citizens might kill him for her,” is not present in the Hebrew version.
Twentieth
Discrepancy
Genesis 30:36 in the Samaritan version contains:
The messenger of the Lord cried, Jacob, he replied, Yes, I am here; the
messenger said, Raise up thy eyes and behold the goats and sheep going to
she-goats and ewes. Again they are white spotted, and moteley. For what Laban
has done to you, is witnessed by you. I am the God of Beth-el, in where you
erected the stone and poured oil and took a vow.
The
above passage is not found in the Hebrew version.
Twenty-first
Discrepancy
The following description, found after the first sentence of Exodus 11:3
of the Samaritan version, is not found in the Hebrew version:
And
Moses told Pharaoh, The Lord said, Israel is my first-born. I said to you
release my children that they may worship me, you refused to set them free. Know
that I will kill your first-born son.
Twenty-second
Discrepancy
The
Book of Numbers, 24:7 in the Hebrew version has: [24]
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many
waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be
exalted.
The Greek version contains this description in
these words:
And a man will be born of
him who will govern many tribes, his kingdom shall be greater than Agag, and his
kingdom shall be exalted. [25]
Twenty-third
Discrepancy
Leviticus 9:21 in the Hebrew version contains:
As Moses commanded.
The Greek and Samaritan versions have the following
words instead:
As the Lord commanded Moses
Twenty-fourth
Discrepancy
The Book of Numbers 26:10 in the Hebrew’ version has:
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up
together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two
hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.
The Samaritan version contains:
And
the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that
company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they
became a sign. [26]
The commentary of Henry and Scott have said 1hat the above verse is
closely related to the context and is in accordance with Psalm No. 106:17.
Twenty-fifth
Discrepancy
The celebrated Christian theologian Leclerc divided all the differences
found between the Hebrew and the Samaritan versions into six categories:
(1)
The passages of the Samaritan version that are more
correct than the Hebrew version. There are eleven such passages.
(2)
The passages
in the Hebrew version that seem to be more correct by their context. Such
differences are seven.
(3)
The passages
of the Samaritan version that contain later additions which are thirteen.
(4)
The passages
of the Samaritan version that have been distorted which are seventeen.
(5)
The passages
of the Samaritan version which look more reasonable than the Hebrew version are
ten.
(6) The
passages that are defective in the Samaritan version are two.
The references to all the above passages are as follows according to the
numbers given above
(1) GENESIS:
4:2, 7:3, 19:19, 20:2, 23:16, 34:14, 49:10,11, 50:26.
(9)
EXODUS:
1:2, 4:2
(2)
(2) GENESIS:
31:49, 35:17,35, 41:34,37,41, 47:3
(6)
DEUTERONOMY: 32:5
(1)
(3)
GENESIS: 29:15,
30:36, 14:16 (3)
EXODUS: 7:18,
8:23, 9:5, 21:20, 22:5, 23:10, 32:9 (7)
LEVITICUS: 1:10, 17:4
(2)
DEUTERONOMY: 5:21
(1)
(4)
GENESIS: 2:2, 4:10, 9:5,
10:19, 11:21, 18:3, 19:12, 20:16 24:55, 35:7, 36:6, 41:50
(13)
EXODUS:
1:5, 13:6, 15:5
(3)