THE QUR’AN

A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

2006
(Jay Smith)

2/20/2006
 THE PRINCIPLE MODERN REVISIONISTS:
ƒ John Wansbrough (1977-1978):
(Qur’anic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation 1977)
(The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History
1978)
ƒ Took Schacht’s thesis even further, believing that both the
Qur’an and the later Hadith came about as a result of
Jewish & Christian Sectarian controversies, borrowed from
outside the Hijaz, then redacted back “onto an Arabian
point of origin”, so that the Qur’an was a composite, which
evolved into its canonical form at the end of the 2nd Muslim
century (Wansbrough-Qur’anic Studies 1977:20,44,49,51,79)
ƒ Looked at the Sira/Maghazi literature and noticed that Islam
developed after the Arab conquests of the Holy Land in the
mid-7th century and so on, and emerged by means of
intense debates over religion between Christians and Jews

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 Find out what they claim about the
Qur’an
ƒ It is Inimitable (Therefore above criticism):
ƒ It is Superior to all other revelations
ƒ It is Stylistically perfect
ƒ It is Grammatically perfect
ƒ It is Linguistically perfect (pure Arabic)
ƒ It is Universally unique
ƒ It is Compiled perfectly
ƒ It has no Contradictions
ƒ It has no Errors
ƒ It has no History (uniquely preserved)
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INIMITABLE CLAIMS:
Muslim’s claim the Qur’an is UNIQUE:
• The Qur’an is the greatest wonder among the
wonders of the world . . . This book is second
to none in the world according to the
unanimous decision of the learned men in
points of diction, style, rhetoric, thoughts and
soundness of laws and regulations to shape
the destinies of mankind.
Hadith (Mishkat III, pg. 664)
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Muslim
Muslim’s’s claim the Qur ’an is SUPERIOR to
Qur’an
all other pieces of literature
literature::
• Will they say, ‘Muhammad hath forged
it?’ Answer: ‘Bring therefore a chapter
like unto it, and call whom ye to your
assistance, besides Allah, if ye speak
truth.’
(Suras 10:37-38; 2:23; 17:88)
• “Mother of Books” (Sura 43:3)
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Muslim
Muslim’s’s claim the Qur’an has perfect
Qur’an
literary style …yet, Compare:
style…yet,
• a) sura 76:29-30 (or sura • a) I Timothy 2:4, Luke 15:3-4,
16:93) John 10:14,18.
• b) sura 111 • b) Francis of Assisi's prayer
(see Nehls, Christians Ask
Muslims, 1987, pg.75, no.11)
• c) suras 4:74,84; 5:33; 48:16- • c) Matthew 5:3-12
17

• d) sura 109 • d) Psalm 23

• e) sura 24:2 • e) John 8:3-12

• f) suras 2:222-223; • f) Ephesians 5:22-25

4:11,24,34,176
• g) sura 9:29 • g) I Corinthians 13:4-7
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It has many Literary defects:
• Not chronological
• Endless repetitions
• Jumps from one topic to the next
• Inconsistencies in grammar, law, and
theology
• Verbs left out

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However, Al-Kindi, a Christian polemicist employed
in the Caliphal court (830 A.D.) said:

“The result of all of this [process by which the

Qur’an came into being] is patent to you who have
read the scriptures and see how, in your book,
histories are all jumbled together and
intermingled; an evidence that many different
hands have been at work therein, and caused
discrepancies, adding, cutting out whatever they
like or disliked. Are such, now, the conditions of a
revelation sent down from heaven?” (Muir
1882:18-19, 28)
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WHAT DO THE EXPERTS TODAY
SAY?
German secular scholar Salmon Reinach states
that:
• “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 the million of men are still
wasting time in absorbing it.”
(2/20/2006
Reinach 1932:176)
Theodore Nöldeke:
• “Chaotic Confusion...prosaic...stiff in
style...tedious sermonizing...rhetorical...never
metrical...and the rhyme on the whole a
burdensome yoke...superfluous
verbiage...syntax betrays great
awkwardness...tiresome effect of its endless
iterations...[so that dogma] turns a defective
literary production into an unrivalled
masterpiece in the eyes of the believers”
(Nöldeke 1998:36,44-47)
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Muslim’s claim the Qur
Muslim’s ’an is
Qur’an
Grammatically perfect, yet:
1)2:177, the word Sabireen should be
Sabiroon;
2)3:59, the words Kun feekunu should be
written, Kun fakaana;
3)5:69, the title al Sabioon, should be written
al Sabieen (see also sura 2:62 & sura
22:17)
4)7:160, Uthnati (feminine) Ashrat (feminine)
Asbaataan. should be Uthnaiy (masculine)
Ashara
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Sibtaan.
Muslim’s claim the Qur’an contains only Perfect
Arabic (Suras 12:2; 13:37; 41:41,44):
• Yet uses Egyptian, Hebrew, Syriac, Christian Aramaic, &
Ethiopic words.
• -Accadian (No.Iraq) words: Adam and Eden repeated 24
times. A more correct term for “Adam” in Arabic would be
basharan or insan, meaning “mankind.” “Eden” would be
the word janna in Arabic, which means “garden.”
• -Assyrian words: Abraham (sometimes recorded as Ibrahim).
The correct Arabic equivalent would be Abu Raheem.
• -Persian words: Sirat meaning “the path” has the Arabic
equivalent, Altareeq. Hoor meaning “disciple” has the Arabic
equivalent, Tilmeeth. Firdaus meaning “the highest or
seventh heaven" has the Arabic equivalent, Jannah.
• -Greek words: Injil, which means “gospel” was borrowed, yet
it has the Arabic equivalent, Bisharah
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Muslim’s claim the Qur
Muslim’s ’an is UNIVERSAL:
Qur’an
Case 1: Women’s Position: ((Suras
1:Women’s Suras 2:224-230; 4:11,24
2:224-230;
4:11,24-25,34,176; 55:56; 56:36;
• Polygamy: S 4:3 1 husband/ 4 wives and
what right hand possesses
(slaves/concubines)
• Wife Beating: S 4:34, men may beat
wives
• Inheritance: S 4:11 ”inheritance to the
male, equal to that of two females.”
• Testimony: S 2:282, Bukhar1:301
Muhammad replied, “Is not the
testimony of a woman equivalent to
half the testimony of a man?
• Tilth: S 2:223 “Your women are a tilth
for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as
ye will”
• Slaves/Concubines: S 33:50 “We have
made lawful unto thee whom you have
paid dowries (contract), those whom thy
right had possesses (Slaves) of those
whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of
war...
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-25,34,176; 55:56;
56:36; 78:33)
78:33)
• Polygamy...Genesis 2:24, Mt. 19:5, 1
Tim 3:2, perfect marriage relationship
between 1 man and 1 woman.
• Love one’s wife: 1 Pet. 3:7, Col. 3:19
“husbands must love your wives & NEVER
treat them harshly.”
• Testimony: Matthew 28:9 “The first
people to see Jesus and be His witnesses
were women”
• Equality: Galations 3:28 “all believers are
equal in Christ”
-Hebrews 4:14-16 “both can approach
God directly.
-1 Peter 3:7 “you are equal together in
the grace of life.”
-1 Corinthians 7:1-40, husbands and
wives fulfil each other emotionally and
sexually. Their bodies belong to each
other. Not one is above the other.
Paradise In the Qur’an:
A Beautiful Garden:
• Surah 55 :26 two gardens
• Surah 56:12 Garden of delights
• Surah 56: 31 water flowing constantly, fruit in plenty
With Female and Male Servants:
• Surah 55: 56 chaste females whom no man has been with
• Surah 55: 70 fair and beautiful women
• Surah 55: 72 - 74 Hûr - beautiful, fair females, guarded in
pavilions - virgins
• Surah 56:22 Hûr, with wide, lovely eyes
• Surah 55: 76 reclining on green cushions and beautiful
mattresses
• Surah 56 : 34-38 on couches or thrones raised high, a
special creation, and made them virgins, loving...
• Surah 56:17 immortal boys will go around, serving with
cups...flowing wine
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Muslim’s claim the Qur’an is UNIVERSAL:
Case 2: Violence vs. Peace

• Violence:
• Suras 4:74,84; 5:33; 8:39; 9:5,29; 33:49;
47:4; 48:16-17
• vs. Bible: Matthew 5:38-44; 26:52….

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Starting with the ‘Peace’ Verses:

Sura 2:190-193 = “Those who fight you,

Do not transgress limits, /
….and slay them wherever ye catch them,
and fight them, until there prevail faith in
Allah” (is this peaceful?)

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The most common verse on Peace:
Sura 2:256 = “Law of Abrogation”
(Suras 2:106,
“For there is no 16:101)
compulsion in
religion” (Revealed between
622-624 AD, so
revealed early, thus
abrogated by over
100 Medinan Sword
verses)
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A further Peace Verse?
A Moderate Interpretation:
Sura 5:32 (raven, and blood of Abel)
“we ordained for the Children of
Israel that if anyone slew a
person…it would be as if he slew
the whole people; and if anyone
saved a life, it would be as if he
saved the life of the whole
people...”
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A Radical Interpretation:

Sura 5:32 “we ordained for the

Children of Israel that if anyone
slew a MUSLIM…it would be as if
he slew ALL MUSLIMS; and if
anyone saved A MUSLIM, it
would be as if he saved the life of
ALL MUSLIMS...”

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The Sword Verses:

Sura 9:5: = “But when the

forbidden months are past, then
fight and slay those who join other
gods with Allah wherever you find
them; besiege them, seize them,
lay in wait for them with every
kind of ambush..”
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Sword Verse against Christians, Jews:

Sura 9:29 = “...Make war upon such of

those to whom the scriptures have been
given as believe not in Allah, or in the last
day, and who forbid not what Allah and
his apostle have forbidden...until they pay
tribute...”

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Methodology of Sword Verses:

Sura 47:4 = ”When you encounter the

unbelievers, strike off their heads, until ye
have made a great slaughter among
them...”

Sura 8:39 = “And fight them on until there

is no more Tumult or oppression, and
there prevail Justice and faith in Allah”
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Recompense for those who die in Jihad:

Sura 4:74 = “Let those who fight in the

cause of Allah who sell the life of this world
for the hereafter. To him who fighteth in the
cause of Allah, whether he is slain or gets
victory, Soon shall we give him a reward of
great value”

Sura 47:4-6 = “…But those who are killed in

the way of Allah, He will never let their
deeds be lost…and admit them to Paradise”
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 The Qur’an’s 149 Sword Verses:
1. 2:178 2. 2:179 3. 2:190 4. 2:191 5. 2:193 6. 2:194
7. 2:216 8. 2:217 9. 2:218 10. 2:244 11. 3:121 12. 3:122
13. 3:123 14. 3:124 15. 3:125 16. 3:126 17. 3:140 18. 3:141
19. 3:146 20. 3:152 21. 3:153 22. 3:154 23. 3:155 24. 3:156
25. 3:157 26. 3:165 27. 3:166 28. 3:167 29. 3:169 30. 3:172
31. 3:173 32. 3:195 33. 4:071 34. 4:072 35. 4:074 36. 4:075
37. 4:076 38. 4:077 39. 4:084 40. 4:089 41. 4:090 42. 4:091
43. 4:094 44. 4:095 45. 4:100 46. 4:102 47. 4:104 48. 5:033
49. 5:035 50. 5:082 51. 8:001 52. 8:005 53. 8:007 54. 8:009
55. 8:012 56. 8:015 57. 8:016 58. 8:017 59. 8:039 60. 8:040
61. 8:041 62. 8:042 63. 8:043 64. 8:044 65. 8:045 66. 8:046
67. 8:047 68. 8:048 69. 8:057 70. 8:058 71. 8:059 72. 8:060
73. 8:065 74. 8:066 75. 8:067 76. 8:068 77. 8:069 78. 8:070
79. 8:071 80. 8:072 81. 8:073 82. 8:074 83. 8:075 84. 9:005
85. 9:012 86. 9:013 87. 9:014 88. 9:016 89. 9:019 90. 9:020
91. 9:024 92. 9:025 93. 9:026 94. 9:029 95. 9:036 96. 9:038
97. 9:039 98. 9:041 99. 9:044 100. 9:052 101. 9:073 102. 9:081
103. 9:083 104. 9:086 105. 9:088 106. 9:092 107. 9:111
108. 9:120 109. 9:122 110. 9:123 111. 16:110 112. 22:039
113. 22:058 114. 22:078 115. 24:053 116. 24:055 117. 25:052
118. 29:006 119. 29:069 120. 33:015 121. 33:018 122. 33:020
123. 33:025 124. 33:026 125. 33:027 126. 33:050 127. 47:004
128. 47:020 129. 48:015 130. 48:016 131. 48:017 132. 48:022
133. 48:024 134. 49:015 135. 59:002 136. 59:005 137. 59:006
138. 59:007 139. 59:008 140. 59:014 141. 60:009 142. 61:004
143. 61:011 144. 61:013 145. 63:004 146. 64:014 147. 66:009
148. 73:020 149. 76:008
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 Muslim’s claim the Qur’an was COLLATED
Perfectly and Completely
Yet, according to Arthur Jefferies, 16
Codices are noted by 9th c. compilers:

Zaid ibn Thabit (Medina)

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (Kufa - no Fatiha, nor
S.113-114, differences in S.3:19, 39 & S.9-
Bismillah, Shi’ite readings)
Abu Musa (Basra,116 Suras)
Ubayy ibn Ka'b (Damascus,116 Suras)
Missing Vss = 24:32 (stoning), 33:23
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SUMMARY:
• .Some Qur’anic verses were lost.
Many (of the passages) of the Qur’an that were sent down were
known by those who died on the day of Yamama...but they
were not known (by those who) survived them, nor were they
written down, nor had Abu Bakr, Umar, or Uthman (by that time)
collected the Qur’an, nor were they found with even one
(person) after them. (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif p.23).

• .Much of the Qur’an has disappeared.

It is reported from Ismail ibn Ibrahim from Ayyub from Naafi from
Ibn Umar who said: “Let none of you say ‘I have acquired the
whole of the Qur’an’. How does he know what all of it is
when much of the Qur’an has disappeared? Rather let him
say ‘I have acquired what has survived.’ (as-Suyuti, [d.
1500sAD] Al-Itqan fii Ulum al-Qur’an, p.524).

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• .Parts of the Qur’an have been forgotten.
We used to recite a surah which resembled in length and
severity to (Surah) Bara’at. I have, however, forgotten it
with the exception of this which I remember out of it:
“If there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he
would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach
of the son of Adam but dust”. (Sahih Muslim, [d. 875 AD] Vol.
2:2286, p.501).

• .Parts have been canceled.

We used to read a verse of the Qur’an revealed in their
connection, but later the verse was canceled. It was:
“convey to our people on our behalf the information that we
have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and has made us
pleased”. (Sahih al-Bukhari, [d. 870AD] Vol. 5:416, pg.288).

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• While others are now missing.
Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to
him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam
(the stoning of married persons, male and female, who commit adultery)
and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it.
Allah’s Apostle (saw) did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we
after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will
say, ‘By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah’s Book’,
and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has
revealed. (Sahih al-Bukhari, [d. 870AD] Vol. 8:817, pg.539).

• .There are some verses which have been overlooked.

Khuzaimah ibn Thabit said: “I see you have overlooked (two) verses
and have not written them”. They said “And which are they?” He replied
“I had it directly (tilqiyya - ‘automatically, spontaneously’) from the
messenger of Allah (saw) (Surah 9, ayah 128): ‘There has come to you a
messenger from yourselves. It grieves him that you should perish, he is very
concerned about you: to the believers he is kind and merciful’, to the end of
the surah”. Uthman said “I bear witness that these verses are from Allah”.
(Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif p.11).

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• Some verses which have been changed.
Abu Yunus, freedman of Aishah, Mother of Believers, reported:
Aishah ordered me to transcribe the Holy Qur’an and asked
me to let her know when I should arrive at the verse Haftdhuu
alaas-salaati waas-salaatiil-wustaa wa quumuu lillaahi qaanitiin
(2.238). When I arrived at the verse I informed her and she
ordered: Write it in this way, Hafidhuu alaas-salaati waas-
salaatiil-wustaa wa salaatil ‘asri wa quumuu lillaahi qaanitiin.
She added that she had heard it so from the Apostle of
Allah (may peace be upon him). (Muwatta Imam Malik, [d.795
AD] p.64).

• .And others which have been modified.

Altogether al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf made eleven modifications
in the reading of the Uthmanic text. ... In al-Baqarah
(Surah 2.259) it originally read Lam yatasanna waandhur, but it
was altered to Lam yatasannah ... In al-Ma’ida (Surah 5.48) it
read Shari ya’atan wa minhaajaan but it was altered to shir
‘atawwa
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minhaajaan. (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif p.117).
• Lost
• Disappeared
• Forgotten
• Cancelled
• Missing
• Overlooked
• Changed
• Modified

• Does this sound like a book which was

COLLATED Perfectly and Completely?
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TALMUDIC SOURCES:

*Abraham Sura 21:51-71: (smashed idols,fiery pit)

= Midrash Rabah - Jewish Folktales & UR
= "fire" =Jonathan Ben Uziel (2nd c.)

• Mt. Sinai Sura 7:171 of God lifting up Mount

Sinai and holding it over the heads of the Jews
= Hails from a second century apocryphal
Jewish book, The Abodah Sarah (2nd c.)

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*Cain and Abel (Sura 5:31):
• Sura 5:31
Then Allah sent a raven, who
scratched the ground, to
show him how to hide the
shame of his brother. `Woe
is me!' said he; `Was I not
even able to be as this raven,
and to hide the shame of my
brother?' Then he became
full of regrets.
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• Targum of Jonathan-ben-
Uzziah (150-200 A.D.)
Adam and Eve, sitting by the
corpse, wept not knowing
what to do, for they had as
yet no knowledge of burial.
A raven came up, took the
dead body of its fellow, and
having scratched at the
earth, buried it thus before
their eyes. Adam said, `Let
us follow the example of the
raven,' so taking up Abel's
body, buried it at once.
Cain & Abel (Sura 5:32)
• Qur'an- sura 5:32 • Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 (5th c.)
• We find it said in the case of Cain
• On that account: We who murdered his brother, `the
ordained for the voice of thy brother's blood crieth
Children of Israel that if out' [this latter is a quote from the
Bible, Genesis 4:10], and he says,
anyone slew a person - `it does not sayeth he hath blood
unless it be for murder in the singular, but bloods in the
plural.'
or for spreading • Thou was created single in order
mischief in the land- it to show that to him who kills a
would be as if he slew single individual, it should be
reckoned that he has slain the
the whole people: and if whole race. But to him who has
anyone saved a life, it preserved the life of a single
would be as if he saved individual, it is counted that he has
preserved the whole race.
the life of the whole
people...
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Solomon & Sheba - sura 27:17-44
• Qur'an-
Qur'an- sura 27:17-
27:17-44
• (aya 17) And before Solomon were marshalled his hosts-hosts-of
Jinns and men, and birds, and they were all kept in order and
ranks.
• (aya 20) And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said:
`Why is it I see not the Hoopoe? Or is he among the
absentees?
• (aya 21) I will certainly punish him with a severe penalty, or
execute him, unless he bring me a clear reason (for
absence).
• (aya 22) But the Hoopoe tarried not far: he (came up and)
said: `I have compassed (territory) which thou hast not
compassed, and I have come to thee from Saba with tidings
true.
• (aya 23) I found (there) a woman ruling over them and
provided with every requisite; and she has a magnificent
throne...
• (aya 27) (Solomon) said: `Soon shall we see whether thou
hast told the truth or lied!
• (aya 28) Go thou, with this letter of mine, and deliver it to
them: then draw back from them, and (wait to) see what
answer they return."
• (aya 29) (The queen) said: "Ye chiefs! Here is-is-delivered to
me-
me-a letter worthy of respect.
• (aya 30) It is from Solomon, and is (as follows): `In the
name of Allah, most Gracious, Most Merciful: Be ye not
arrogant against me, but come to me in submission (to the
true Religion).'"
• (aya 32) She said: "Ye chiefs! Advise me in (this) my affair:
no affair have I decided except in your presence."
• (aya 33) They said: "We are endued with strength, and given
to vehement war: but the command is with thee; so consider
what thou wilt command."
• (aya 35) She said..."But I am going to send him a present,
and (wait) to see with what (answer) return (my)
ambassadors."
• (aya 42) So when she arrived, (aya
(aya 44) she was asked to
enter the lofty Palace: but when she saw it, she thought it
was a lake of water, and she (tucked up her skirts),
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uncovering her legs. He said: "This is but a palace paved
smooth with slabs of glass "
• II Targum of Esther (2nd c.)
• "Solomon...gave orders...I will send King and armies
against thee...(of) Genii [jinn] beasts of the land the birds
of the air.
• Just then the Red-
Red-cock (a bird), enjoying itself, could not
be found; King Solomon said that they should seize it and
bring it by force, and indeed he sought to kill it.
• But just then, the cock appeared in the presence of the
King and said, "I had seen the whole world (and) know
the city and kingdom (of Sheba) which is not subject to
thee, My Lord King. They are ruled by a woman called the
Queen of Sheba. Then I found the fortified city in the
Eastlands (Sheba) and around it are stones of gold and
silver in the streets." By chance the Queen of Sheba
was out in the morning worshipping the sea, the scribes
prepared a letter, which was placed under the bird's wing
and away it flew and (it) reached the Fort of Sheba.
Seeing the letter under its wing (Sheba) opened it and
read it.
• "King Solomon sends to you his Salaams. Now if it
please thee to come and ask after my welfare, I will set
thee high above all. But if it please thee not, I will send
kings and armies against thee."
• The Queen of Sheba heard it, she tore her garments,
and sending for her Nobles asked their advice. They knew
not Solomon, but advised her to send vessels by the sea,
full of beautiful ornaments and gems...also to send a letter
to him.
• When at last she came, Solomon sent a messenger...to
meet her...Solomon, hearing she had come, arose and sat
down in the palace of glass. When the Queen of Sheba
saw it, she thought the glass floor was water, and so in
crossing over lifted up her garments. When Solomon
seeing the hair about her legs, (He) cried out to her..."
The Palm Tree: (Sura 19:22-26)
• Qur'an- sura 19:22-26
• So she conceived him [Jesus], and
she retired with him to a remote
place.
• And the pains of childbirth drove
her to the trunk of a palm tree:
She cried (in her anguish): `Ah!
would that I had died before this!
would that I had been a thing
forgotten and out of sight'!
• Then [the babe ‘Isa (Jesus)] cried
unto her from below her, saying:
`Grieve not! for thy Lord hath
provided a rivulet beneath thee:
• And shake towards thyself the
trunk of the palm tree; it will let
fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.
• So eat and drink and cool (thine)
eye.
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• The Lost Books of the Bible
(2nd c.)
• Now on the third day after Mary
was wearied in the desert by the
heat, she asked Joseph to rest for
a little under the shade of a Palm
Tree. Then Mary looking up and
seeing its branches laden with fruit
(dates) said, `I desire if it were
possible to have some fruit.' Just
then the child Jesus looked up
(from below) with a cheerful smile,
and said to the Palm Tree, `Send
down some fruit.' Immediately the
tree bent itself (toward her) and so
they ate. Then Jesus said, `O
Palm Tree, arise; be one of my
Father's trees in Paradise, but with
thy roots open the fountain
(rivulet) beneath thee and bring
water flowing from that fount.'
*Jesus's Childhood:
-Baby Jesus talking- S.19:29-33
= The first Gospel of the Infancy of
Jesus Christ (2nd c.)
-Creating birds from clay- S.3:49
= Thomas' Gospel of the Infancy of
Jesus Christ (2nd c.)
---------------------------------------
• Poetry in the Qur’an (Meccan Suras)
=Gunther Lűling: traced the poetry to
pre-Islamic Christian Syriac hymns,
written in the 6th c., with Arab themes added
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CONTRADICTIONS:
1) If Allah’s words cannot be changed (6:34,115; 10:6), then how does Allah “substitute one
revelation for another” (2:106, 16:101)?
2) How can the Qur’an confirm the Bible (S. 4:136; 5:47-52,68; 10:95; 21:7; 29:46), yet
contradict it (S. 5:73-75,116; 19:7; 28:9)?
3) Does Allah's day equal to 1,000 human years (22:47, 32:5) or 50,000 human years (70:4)?
4) Was the earth created in 6 days (7:54; 25:59) or 8 days (41:9-12)?
5) If Bible is authoritative (4:136; 5:47-52,68; 10:95; 21:7; 29:46), then why contradicted by
Qur’an (5:73-75,116; 19:7; 28:9, etc...)?
6) Is the punishment for adulteresses life imprisonment (4:15) or 100 strokes by flogging
(24:2)?
7) Why are Homosexuals let off if they repent (4:16), but heterosexuals are not (24:2; 4:15)?
8) Did Abraham smash the idols (21:51-59), or simply shut up and leave the area once he
confronted the people (19:41-49, 6:74-83)?
9) Were there 9 plagues, or signs (17:101), or only 5 plagues, or signs (7:133)?
10) If Jesus is raised to Allah, (4:158), and stationed near to him (3:45), but worshiped by
millions of Christians, will he not burn in hell, since “the (false) gods that ye worship
besides Allah are (but) fuel for Hell!” (21:98)?
11) Did Jesus only rise (4:157-158) or did he die and rise again (19:33)? [note:sura 19:15,
repeats the same words for Yahya]
12) If wine is Satan's handiwork. (5:90; 2:219); then why are rivers of wine, Satan's
handiwork, in paradise (47:15; 83:25)?
 ERRORS:
(Historical Anachronisms and Scientific problems)
1) Cross: S.7:124 = Moses’s Pharaoh -1447BC,
12:41 = Joseph’s Baker - 1800BC:
1st crucifixions = Darius = 519BC (900 & 1,300
yrs later).
2) (Sura 19:7) Yahya is a name unique to John the
Baptist; what about (2Kings 25:23)?
3) (S.19:28; 66:12; 20:25-30) How was Mary, Jesus’
mother, Aaron’s sister and Imran’s daughter,
as she lived 1,570 years later?
4) (S.20:85-87, 95-97) Samaritan built ‘golden calf’
in 1447 BC, Samaritans began in 722 BC, or 725
years later.
5) (S.28:38; 29:38; 40:25,38) Can Haman be an
Egyptian who builds a tower to God, as this name
is Babylonian, & the tower was built 750 years
earlier.
• 6) (S.18:96) Where is Alexander the Great’s iron and brass
wall between two mountains, in 330 BC? No Record!
• 7) Mountains (S.16:15; 21:31; 31:10; 78:6-7; 88:19) are not
tent-pegs to keep earth from shaking, due to volcanoes
& tectonic plates
• 8) Bad Math (S.4:11-12) Inheritance for widow =1/8 + 3
daughter =2/3 +2 parents =1/3, totalling 1&1/8 or
112.5%!?
Or (S.4:11-12 & 176) My mother = 1/3, my wife = 1/3, my
two sisters = 2/3 totalling: 4/3rds, or 133%!!
• 9) (S.86:5-7) Does Semen really originate in the back or the
kidney or is this simply borrowing from 5th century B.C.
Hippocrates?
• 10) Dirham (S.12:20) ‘a few dirham counted out’ for Joseph,
yet coins created in 7th cent. BC by Lydians. Drachmas
from 590-650 AD, but Dirhams not minted till 642 AD, by
Caliph Umar; vs. Gen.37:28 = Shekels = 0.2 kgs. of
silver!
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20th-21st Century Polemics:
Revisionists
• The Revisionist’s Prime Concern:
• To Reassess the Classical Model
• Their principle Conclusions:
• Islam, as we know it, did not exist in the 7th century,
but evolved over a period of 200-300 years.
(Humphreys 1991:71,83-89)

• The Qur’an probably was not revealed to one man in 22

years, but likely evolved over a period of 100-200 years
(Rippin 1985:155;1990:3,25,60; Lester 99:44-45;
Wansbrough 1977:160-163)

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THE PRINCIPLE MODERN REVISIONISTS:
• John Wansbrough (1977-1978):
(Qur’anic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation 1977)
(The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation
History 1978)
• Took Schacht’s thesis even further, believing that both
the Qur’an and the later Hadith came about as a result
of Jewish & Christian Sectarian controversies, borrowed
from outside the Hijaz, then redacted back “onto an
Arabian point of origin”, so that the Qur’an was a
composite, which evolved into its canonical form at the
end of the 2nd Muslim century (Wansbrough-Qur’anic
Studies 1977:20,44,49,51,79)
• Looked at the Sira/Maghazi literature and noticed that
Islam developed after the Arab conquests of the Holy
Land in the mid-7th century and so on, and emerged by
means of intense debates over religion between
Christians
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• Michael Cook (1975, 1983):
(Muhammad, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1983)
(Hagarism, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977)
• Took an even more radical approach, rejecting
the traditional view on early Islamic history
almost entirely (i.e. that of the Sira, Hadith,
Tafsir, Ta’rikh), due to their late compilation:

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• Thus, “if knowledge of the life of Muhammad was
transmitted orally for a century before it was reduced
to writing, then the chances are that the material will
have undergone considerable alteration in the process”
(Cook 1983:65)
• So, he went to Greek, Syriac, and Armenian sources
from the 7th-8th c. & found a contrasting picture to the
Islamic Traditions.
• Along with Patricia Cröne, they sought to step outside
the Islamic Traditions and start again, piecing together
an original account from non-Islamic sources of
Muhammad’s time. The two together wrote
“Hagarism”…a sort of “What if” in 26 pages, supported
by 226 notes in a further 27 pages (Robinson 1996:47)
• Conclusion: suggested that the history of Islam, at
least to the time of the caliph Abd al-Malik (685-
704AD), is a later fabrication.
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Qibla (Archaeological Evidence)
• Creswell & Fehervari on ancient mosques
in the Middle East
Umayyad mosques in Iraq (670-680)
™Wassit mosque
™‘Kufa’ mosque
™Fustat (outside Cairo)

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 Asia Minor Middle East

Baghdad
Jerusalem
Kufa
Cairo
Egypt

Medina

Arabia
Mecca

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• Qibla (Documentary Evidence)

Christian writer: Jacob of Edessa (705 AD)

He refers to the ‘Mahgraye,’ saying, “So from all
this it is clear that it is not to the south that the
Jews and the Mahgraye here in the regions of
Syria pray, but towards Jerusalem or the Ka’ba,
the patriarchal places of their races.”

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 Dome of the Rock
• Built by ‘Abd al-Malik in 691 AD, and rebuilt by al
Zaher Li-L’zaz in 1022 after an earthquake
• Third most holy site after Mecca & Medina
• Built to commemorate the night when Muhammad went
up to heaven to speak with Moses and Allah concerning
the number of prayers required of the believers (known
as the Mi’raj)

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•But, no Qibla (Suras 17:1 & 2:145-149)
•Inner Ambulatories have Qur’anic
inscriptions which do not parallel the Qur’an

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• Patricia Cröne (1975, 1987):
(Slaves on Horses, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1980)
(Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Princeton University Press,
1987)
(“The First-Century Concept of Higra”, Arabica, XLI, E.J.Brill,
Leiden, 1994)

Hijra: 56 References, but none from Mecca to

Medina, almost all from the Hijaz to the north.
• Often to the Promised Land
Abu Dawud, “there will be ‘hijra’ after ‘hijra,’
but the best of men are to follow the ‘hijra’ of
Abraham.”

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• Mecca
1. “Mecca is the center of Islam,
and the center of history.”
2. “The first sanctuary appointed
for mankind was that at Bakkah
(Mecca)” Sura 3:96
3. Mecca is the “mother of all
settlements.”
Sura 6:92 & 42:5
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2/20/2006
• Earliest reference to Mecca’s existence:
Apocalypse of pseudo-Methodius
Continuatio Byzantia Arabica
Early reign of caliph Hisham (724-743 AD)
• Cröne in her work points out that the Greek
trading documents refer to the towns of Ta’if
(which is close to present-day Mecca), and to
Yathrib (later Medina), as well as Kaybar in the
north, but no mention of Mecca.

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• “Muslim” & “Islam”
™ Magaritai (Greek papyri 642), Mahgre or
Mahgraye (Syriac letters 640)
-Athanasius in 684 AD termed Mahgrayes
™ Jacob of Edessa in 705 AD mentions them as
Hagarenes (descendants of Abraham &
Hagar)
™ ‘Muhajirun’ (those who took part in the hijra
or exodus)
™ ‘Islam’ doesn’t appear until late 7th century -
sense of ‘submission to God’, now ‘peace’

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 Yehuda D. Nevo (1994)
“Towards a Prehistory of Islam,” Jerusalem Studies in Arabic
and Islam, vol.17, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1994

• Arabic Inscriptions
• Caliphal Protocals (Sufyani and Marwanid Periods, upto
‘Abd al-Malik – 691)
• -no ”Muhammad Formula”
-----------------------------------------------------------------
• G.R. Hawting (SOAS)
The First Dynasty of Islam, The Umayyad Caliphate AD
661-750, London, Groom Helm, 1986
• Andrew Rippin
Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, vol. 1,
London, Routledge, 2003
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Critique of the Manuscripts
Manuscript Evidence for the Qur’an
• 1. ‘Ma'il’ 7th-9th century (Medina and Mecca),
or ‘Hijazi’. (2165 Brit.Lib. & Sanaa
Manuscript)
• 2. ‘Mashq’ 7th century onwards.
• 3. ‘Kufic’/Abbasid (Eastern) 8th-11th
century, begins with Abbasid dynasty in 749
AD, see coins for chronological script evolution
(needs landscape format).
• 4. Naskh 11th century till today
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Topkapi Manuscript
(Topkapi Palace,
Istanbul, Turkey)

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Ma’il Qur’an
(2165)

British Library
(Ridblatt Gallery)

Hijazi Script,
dated 8th c.

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 Jam’ al-Qur’an & Islamic Coins
Quran Manuscripts in the Early Almail Script

al-Ma’il script Qur’an (790 AD)

Umayyad coins
Abdul Mallek (Mashq script? 697-700 AD)

(British Museum)

7.1

7.2

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(Kuwait National Museum)
Topkapi MS

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Samarqand Kufic Codex (9th century)
Early Abbasid coins (Kufic script 750 AD)

11.2
11.1

11.3

Abbasid gold Dinars (Kufic script 837 AD)

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(Preserved in Tashkent, former Soviet Union)
Sana’a Manuscript (705 Æ):
Karl-Heinz Ohlig (1981-Present):
•Qur’an began to be compiled
in the last two decades of the
7th century, with other versions
continuing until the 9th century

Dr. Gerd Puin (1981-Present):

•“Oldest parchments & papers
of any Qur’anic Ms.”
•Yet, more than half of the text is ambiguous letters
which need diacritical marks for understanding.
•Adding vowels helped correct mistakes. Changes
in orthography found in geographical tradition
schools.
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•Many deviations not
mentioned in later
literature.

•Different numeration,
and sura
arrangements found
i.e. suras 19-22 ----->
26-37-36-38...67-
71-72-51
•Difference in scripts,
showing evolution in
text.
(Puin 1996:111)

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•“Difference is even
meaningful in a
theological sense”
i.e. ‘Qalu’ to ‘Qul’ ->
• Sometimes
Abraham (S.2),
sometimes Ibrahim
• ‘Qalu’ 50% with
alif b/w Qaf-Lam,

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Palimpsests

Using Ultra-Violet light, we

find a ‘Qur’anic’ script written
and washed below that of the
existing script. This is the
first evidence we have of an
evolution in the Qur’anic text
in one manuscript

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Manuscript Variants
(extant mss. available to Western researchers)

• Difficulty finding complete early MSS.

• Keith Small:
– (Sura 14:35-41 – Abraham in Mecca)
– Acts 7:1-8 (Stephen on Abraham, Isaac & UR)
– 150 available MSS in the 1st 300 yrs.
– Only 13 with these vss.
– Suras 82-114, only 3 in late 8th c.
– Suras 108-114, none exist
– Conclusions: Possible standardization of vss by late
7th c., but no extant MS. to support it, just a guess.
– Canonized text only in Abbasid period -post 749 AD?
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CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Hijra was more-than-likely not
towards Medina, but towards Palestine or
places in the north & ongoing, till 800->.
2. The Qibla was not fixed towards Mecca
until the eighth century, but to an area
much further north, and possibly
Jerusalem.
3. The Jews still retained a relationship
with the Arabs until at least 640 AD.

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4. Mecca was not only unknown as a
viable city until the end of the seventh
century, but was not even on the
international trade route
5. The Dome of the Rock was likely
used as a sanctuary.

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6. Muhammad was not known as God’s
universal prophet until the late
seventh century.
7. The terms ‘Muslim’/‘Islam’ were not
used until the end of the 7th C.;
terms used instead Saracen,
Mahgraye, Muhajirun, Hagarene
8. The five daily prayers as well as the
Hajj were not standardized until
after 717 A.D.; and not named until
9th century.

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9. The earliest we even hear of any
Qur’an is not until the late seventh
century, though fragments exist in
th
the late 7 c.
10. The earliest Qur’anic writings do
not coincide exactly with the
current Qur’anic text.

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 From what we have seen here, w hat
what
Conclusions can we use in our polemics
today?
•The many claims Muslims make for the
‘inimitability’ of the Qur’an do not stand up under
critical scrutiny.
•The Qur’an does not have the historical
authority most Muslims desire.
•It has a history, evolving over 100-200yrs.,
much of it borrowed from other sources
•This has serious ramifications for the Radical
Muslims today, those who go to this book as the
authority for most of their theology, and practice
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