I proceed with more challenges for Muhammadan Sheikh Umar: CHALLENGES FOR ONE MESSAGE FOUNDATION PT. 2.

CONTRADICTIONS IN THE QURAN

Muhammad made gross factual errors. Some examples include:

1. Which Came First: Heaven or Earth?

The Quran claims that the earth and everything in were created before the heavens:

It is He Who hath created for you ALL THINGS that are on earth; THEN (thumma) He turned to the heavens, and made them into seven firmaments; and of all things He hath perfect knowledge. S. 2:29

Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds. He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein its sustenance, in four Days, alike for (all) who ask. THEN (thumma) He turned to the sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: “Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly.” They said: “We do come (together), in willing obedience.” So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge. S. 41:9-12

Traditions attributed to Muhammad and his first followers claim that the Arabic word thumma refers to a sequential act, that the heavens came after the earth:

“Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger took hold of my hands and said: Allah the Exalted and Glorious, created the clay on Saturday and He created the mountains on Sunday and He created the trees on Monday and He created the things entailing labour on Tuesday and created light on Wednesday and He caused animals to spread on Thursday and created Adam after ‘Asr on Friday; the last creation at the last hour of the hours of Friday, i.e. Between afternoon and night.” (Sahih Muslim, Book 039, Number 6707 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=039&translator=2&start=0&number=6707)

This hadith places the creation of light on Wednesday, after the creation of the earth and its provisions. Light presumably refers to the sun. If so, this would be in clear contradiction with modern scientific theories on the origin of the universe which places the creation of the sun before vegetation.

The following traditions are taken from The History of al-Tabari: General Introduction and from the Creation to the Flood (translated by Franz Rosenthal, State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany NY 1989), Volume 1, pp. 187-193. All bold and capital emphasis mine:

“We have stated before that time is but hours of night and day and that the hours are but traversal by the sun and the moon of the degrees of the sphere. Now then, this being so, there is (also) a sound tradition from the Messenger of God told us by Hannad b. al-Sari, who also said that he read all of the hadith (to Abu Bakr) – Abu Bakr b. ‘Ayyash – Abu Sa’d al-Baqqal- ‘Ikrimah – IBN ABBAS: The Jews came to the Prophet and asked him about the creation of the heavens and the earth. He said: God created the earth on Sunday and Monday. He created the mountains and the uses they possess on Tuesday. On Wednesday, He created trees, water, cities and the cultivated barren land. These are four (days). He continued (citing the Qur’an): ‘Say: Do you really not believe in the One Who created the earth in two days, and set up others like Him? That is the Lord of the worlds. He made it firmly anchored (mountains) above it and blessed it and decreed that it contain the amount of food it provides, (all) in four days, equally for those asking’- for those who ask. On Thursday, He created heaven. On Friday, He created the stars, the sun, the moon, and the angels, until three hours remained. In the first of these three hours He created the terms (of human life), who would live and who would die. In the second, He cast harm upon everything that is useful for mankind. And in the third, (He created) Adam and had him dwell in Paradise. He commanded Iblis to prostrate himself before Adam, and He drove Adam out of Paradise at the end of the hour. When the Jews asked: What then, Muhammad? He said: ‘Then He sat straight upon the Throne.’ The Jews said: You are right, if you had finished, they said, with: Then He rested. Whereupon the Prophet got very angry, and it was revealed: ‘We have created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, and fatigue did not touch Us. Thus be patient with what you say.’”

And:

“According to al-Muthanna- al-Hajjaj- Hammad- ‘Ata’ b. al-Sa’ib- ‘Ikrimah: The Jews asked the Prophet: What about Sunday? The Messenger of God replied: On it, God created the earth and spread it out. They asked about Monday, and he replied: On it, He created Adam. They asked about Tuesday, and he replied: On it, He created the mountains, water, and so on. They asked about Wednesday, and he replied: Food. They asked about Thursday, and he replied: He created the heavens. They asked about Friday, and he replied: God created night and day. Then, when they asked about Saturday and mentioned God’s rest(ing on it), he exclaimed: God be praised! God then revealed: ‘We have created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, and fatigue did not touch Us.’”

Yet the this next Surah contradicts the foregoing narrations since it asserts that the earth’s provisions, such as water, were created only AFTER the heavens:

“Are ye the harder to create, or is the heaven that He built? He raised the height thereof and ordered it; And He made dark the night thereof, and He brought forth the morn thereof. AND AFTER THAT (bad’a) He spread the earth, And produced therefrom the water thereof and the pasture thereof, And He made fast the hills, A provision for you and for your cattle.” S. 79:27-33

Al-Tabari writes in regards to the word ba’da that:

Someone might say: You realize that a number of interpreters have considered God’s word: “And it was the earth that He spread out thereafter,” to mean: “He spread out simultaneously” (attributing to the preposition ba’da “after” the meaning of ma’a “together [simultaneous] with”). Now, what is your evidence for the soundness of your statement that we have here the meaning of “after”, the opposite of “before”? The reply would be: The meaning of “after” generally known in Arabic speech, as we have said, is that of the opposite of “before,” and not “simultaneous with.” Now, word meanings considered applicable are those that are preponderant and generally known among speakers (of a language), and no others are. (Ibid., p. 216; bold emphasis mine)

Even the late Muslim translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali, while translating ba’da as “moreover” in Q. 79:30, candidly admitted that:

Moreover: or, more literally, AFTER THAT. See n. 4475 to xli. 11. (Ali, fn. 5937 https://www.alim.org/quran/translation/yusuf-ali/surah/79; bold italicized emphasis mine)

2. Night Journey

Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque (Masjid al-Aqsa), whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). S. 17:1

According to the Islamic traditions, Muhammad went to the Mosque in Jerusalem. The following is taken from Alfred Guillaume’s The Life of Muhammad (Oxford University Press Karachi, 1995 tenth impression), which is a translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasulullah:

Ziyad b. ‘Abdullah al-Bakka’i from Muhammad b. Ishaq told me the following: Then the apostle was carried by night from the mosque at Mecca to the Masjid al-Aqsa WHICH IS THE TEMPLE OF AELIA, when Islam had spread in Mecca among the Quraysh and all the tribes.

… His companion (Gabriel) went with him to see the wonders between heaven and earth, UNTIL HE CAME TO JERUSALEM’S TEMPLE…

In his story al-Hasan said: ‘The apostle and Gabriel went their way until they arrived AT THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM’… (Ibid., pp. 181, 182; bold and capital emphasis mine)

And from Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 309 (https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=001&translator=2&start=0&number=0309):

It is narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I was brought al-Buraq Who is an animal white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place his hoof a distance equal to the range of version. I mounted it and came to the Temple (Bait Maqdis in Jerusalem), then tethered it to the ring used by the prophets. I entered the mosque and prayed two rak’ahs in it, and then came out and Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk, and Gabriel said: You have chosen the natural thing. Then he took me to heaven…

The problem with all of this is that the first Jerusalem Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian armies in 587 BC. Furthermore, General Titus and his Roman soldiers levelled the Second Temple in AD. 70, more than five centuries before this alleged night journey to Jerusalem took place. In fact, the Temple that eventually became Masjid al-Aqsa did not come into existence until AD. 691 when Amir Abd-ul-Malik built it.

3. Number of earths

According to the Quran Allah created exactly seven heavens and seven earths:

“It is Allah Who has created seven heavens, and earths as many…” S. 65:12, F. Malik’s translation

The so-called sound reports confirm that Muhammad actually believed that there were seven earths:

Narrated Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Al-Harith:
from Abu Salama bin ‘Abdur-Rahman who had a dispute with some people on a piece of land, and so he went to ‘Aisha and told her about it. She said, “O Abu Salama, avoid the land, for Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Any person who takes even a span of land unjustly, his neck shall be encircled with it down seven earths.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 417 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=54&translator=1&start=0&number=417; See also Numbers 418, 420; Volume 3, Book 43, Numbers 632-634)

Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
While Allah’s Prophet and his companions were sitting clouds came over them and Allah’s Prophet asked, “Do you know what these are?” On their replying that Allah and His Messenger knew best, he said, “These are the clouds (anan), these are the water-carriers of the Earth, which Allah drives to people who do not thank Him or call upon him.” He then asked, “Do you know what is above you?” On their replying that Allah and His Messenger knew best, he said, “It is the firmament, a ceiling which is guarded and waves which are kept back.” He then asked, “Do you know what is between you and it?” On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, “Between you and it are five hundred years.” He then asked, “Do you knew what is above that?” On their replying that Allah and His Messenger best he said, “Two heavens with a distance of five hundred years between them.” He went on speaking like that till he counted seven heavens, the distance between each pair being like between Heaven and Earth. He then asked, “Do you know what is above that?” On their replying that Allah and His Messenger knew best, he said, “Above that is the Throne, and the distance between it and the (seventh) heaven is the same as that between each pair of heavens.” He then asked, “Do you know what is below you?” On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, “It is the earth.” He then asked, “Do you know what is under that?” On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, “Under it there is another Earth with a journey of five hundred years between them,” and so on till he had counted seven earths with a journey of five hundred years between each pair. He then said, “By Him in Whose hand Muhammad’s soul is, if you were to drop a rope to the lowest earth it would not pass out of Allah’s knowledge.” He then recited, “He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward, and He is omniscient.” (Tirmidhi commented that Allah’s Messenger’s recitation of the verse indicates that it would go down within Allah’s knowledge, power and authority, for Allah’s knowledge, power and authority are everywhere, while He is on the Throne, as He described Himself in His Book.)

Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it. (Al-Tirmidhi, Number 1513 https://www.alim.org/hadith/tirmidi/1513/)

The Muslim expositors provide further substantiation that this is what Muhammad erroneously believed, and further add that these earths are actually flat! Some of these exegetes include the following.

Ibn Abbas

(Allah it is Who hath created seven heavens) one above the other like a dome, (and of the earth the like thereof) seven earths BUT THEY ARE FLAT. (The commandment cometh down among them slowly) He says: He sends the angels down from heaven with revelation, Scripture and calamities, (that ye may know) and acknowledge (that Allah is Able to do all things) relating to the dwellers of the heavens and the earths, (and that Allah surroundeth all things in knowledge) and that His knowledge encompasses everything’. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=65&tAyahNo=12&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Al-Tabari

According to Muhammad b. Sahl b. ‘Askar-Isma’il b. ‘Abd al-Karim-Wahb, mentioning some of his majesty (as being described as follows): The heavens and the earth and the oceans are in the haykal, and the haykal is in the Footstool. God’s feet are upon the Footstool. He carries the Footstool. It became like a sandal on His feet. When Wahb was asked: What is the haykal? He replied: Something on the heavens’ extremities that surrounds the earth and the oceans like ropes that are used to fasten a tent. And when Wahb was asked how earths are (constituted), he replied: They are seven earths that are FLAT and islands. Between each two earths, there is an ocean. All that is surrounded by the (surrounding) ocean, and the haykal is behind the ocean. (History of Al-Tabari-General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, translated by Franz Rosenthal [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany, NY 1989], Volume 1, pp. 207-208; bold emphasis mine)

Ibn Kathir

<and of the earth the like thereof.> means, He created seven earths. In the Two Sahihs, there is a Hadith that states…

<<Whoever usurps the land of somebody unjustly, even if it was a mere hand span, then his neck will be encircled with it down to the seven earths.>>

And in Sahih Al-Bukhari the wording is…

<<…he will sink down to the seven earths.>>

In the beginning of my book, Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, I mentioned the various narrations for this Hadith when I narrated the story of the creation of the earth. All the thanks and praise is due to Allah.

Those who explained this Hadith to mean the seven continents have brought an implausible explanation that contradicts the letter of the Qur’an and the Hadith without having proof. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume 10 (Surat At-Tagabun to the end of the Qur’an), abridged by a group of scholars under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Houston, New York, London, Lahore; first edition, September 2000], pp. 55-56 https://www.alim.org/quran/tafsir/ibn-kathir/surah/65/12; bold emphasis mine)

4. The orbit and setting of the sun

The Quran and Muhammad’s Sunna teach that the sun descesnds into a muddy spring and then travels all the way to Allah’s throne where it prostrates and waits for permission to return to its course!

“and he followed a way until, WHEN HE REACHED THE SETTING OF THE SUN, HE FOUND IT SETTING IN A MUDDY SPRING, and he found nearby a people.” S. 18:86

One of the major signs of the Hour

91. Abu Dharr narrated, “Once I was with the Prophet (riding) a donkey on which there was a saddle or a (piece of) velvet. That was at sunset. He said to me, ‘O Abu Dharr, do you know where this (sun) sets?’ I said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know better.’ He said, ‘It sets in a spring of murky water, (then) it goes and prostrates before its Lord, the Exalted in Might and the Ever-Majestic, under the Throne. And when it is time to go out, Allah allows it to go out and thus it rises. But, when He wants to make it rise where it sets, He locks it up. The sun will then say, “O my Lord, I have a long distance to run.” Allah will say, “Rise where you have set.” That (will take place) when no (disbelieving) soul will get any good by believing then.’” (Ahmad) (The Translation of: The Meaning of the Fifty Hadith of Jame Al-uloom Wal-Hakim (“A Compilation of Knowledge and Wisdom”), compilation by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (736 H-795 H), translated and spotlights by Yaseen Ibrahim al-Sheikh (Vol. 1), A Selection of Authentic Qudsi (Sacred) Hadiths, translated by Muhammad M. ‘Abdul-Fattah, edited by Reima Youssif Shakeir (Vol. 2) [Dar Al-Manarrah for Translation, Publishing & Distribution], pp. 319-320)

And:

(3991) Abu Dharr said: I was sitting behind the Apostle of Allah who was riding a donkey while the sun was setting. He asked: Do you know where this sets? I replied: Allah and his Apostle know best. He said: IT SETS IN A SPRING OF WARM WATER (hamiyah).³⁴⁰⁸ (Prof. Ahmad Hasan, Sunan Abu Dawud – English Translation With Explanatory Notes [Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, Publishers, Lahore, 1984], Volume III. Chapters 1338-1890, XXV. Kitab Al-Ahruf Wa Al-Qira’at [Book of Dialects and Readings Of The Qur’an], Chapter 1498, p. 1120; bold and capital emphasis mine)

3408. Qur’an, xviii. 86. The word hami’ah in this verse has two readings. Abu Ja‘far, Abu ‘Amir, Hamzah, al-Kisa’i and Abu Bakr read it hamiyah with long vowel a. Hamiyah means warm water. The others read it hami’ah meaning musky water. (Ibid.)

Not only do we have a gross scientific error, we also have a variant reading. This shows that, contrary to Muslim propaganda, the Quran hasn’t been perfectly preserved since the extant manuscripts and the Islamic traditions show that it contains variant and conflicting readings.

And here’s a different translation of Abu Dawud’s report:

4002. It was narrated that Abu Dharr said: “I was riding behind the Messenger of Allah while he was on a donkey, and the sun was setting. He said: ‘Do you know where this (sun) sets?’ I said: ‘Allah and his Messenger know best.’ He said: ‘IT SETS IN A SPRING OF WATER (fa innaha taghrubu fi ‘ainin hamiyah).’” (SAHIH) (English Translation of Sunan Abu Dawud, Compiled by Imam Hafiz Abu Dawud Sulaiman bin Ash‘ath – From Hadith no. 3242 to 4350, ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), final review by Abu Khaliyl (USA) [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, First Edition: July, 2008], Volume 4, 29. The Book Of The Recitations And Readings Of The Qur’an, p. 375 https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4002; capital emphasis mine)

Now notice what the following verse states in respect to the Sun’s orbit:

And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. S. 36:38 Pickthall

And here’s how Muhammad explained it:

Narrated Abu Dharr:
The Prophet asked me at sunset, “Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of sunset)?” I replied, “Allah and His Apostle know better.” He said, “It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: ‘And the sun runs its fixed course for a term (decreed). That is The Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All-Knowing.’” (36.38) (Sahih al-Bukhari,Volume 4, Book 54, Number 421 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=54&translator=1&start=0&number=421)

5. The function of shooting stars

The Quran further claims that one of the purposes of the stars is to be hurled at satans or jinns:

And We have (from of old), adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have made such (lamps as) missiles to drive away Satans … S. 67:5

We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars, (for beauty) and for guard against all obstinate rebellious Satans. (So) they should not strain their ears in the direction of the Exalted Assembly but be cast away from every side. S. 37:6-8 – Cf. Q. 15:16-18; 55:33-35

One Muslim named Abu Qatada stated that,

“The creation of these stars is for three purposes, i.e. as decoration of the (nearest) heaven, as missiles to hit the devils, and as signs to guide travelers. So, if anybody tries to find a different interpretation, he is mistaken and just wastes his efforts, and troubles himself with what is beyond his limited knowledge.” (Dr. Muhammad Taq-i-ud-Din Al-Hillai, Ph.D. [Berlin] & Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Interpretation of the Meaning of the Noble Quran, pp. 214, 394-395; bold and italic emphasis ours)

It is quite possible that Muhammad believed that Satan was a material being since he also believed that Satan urinated on/in people:

Narrated ‘Abdullah:
A person was mentioned before the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and he was told that he had kept on sleeping till morning and had not got up for the prayer. The Prophet said, “Satan urinated in his ears.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 21, Number 245 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=21&translator=1&start=0&number=245 – see also Volume 4, Book 54, Number)

‘Abdullah (b. Mas’ud) reported that a mention was made of a man who slept the whole night till morning. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: That is a man in whose ears (or in whose ear) the devil urinated. (Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Number 1700 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=004&translator=2&start=0&number=1591)

Read the following articles for more errors and to see how Allah narrates the exact same event with major verbal contradictions and variations:

Parallel Passages of the Quranic Text: CONCILIATION OR CONFLICT?

 Ipsissima Verba or Ipsissima Vox?

The Quran’s Fables, Myths and Conflicting Tales

The Quran’s Contradictory Creation Accounts

We are now ready to proceed to the final section of my challenges: CHALLENGES FOR ONE MESSAGE FOUNDATION PT. 4.

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