Apparent Inconsistencies

[ronmurp]

I'm a non-Muslim. I see many discussions online that say there are inconsistencies in the Quran, which wouldn't be there if it was the revealed word of God. I'd be grateful if anyone could explain why these apparent inconsistencies are there, and how they are explained to avoid inconsistency.

Thank you

Here are some examples:
(Koran 96:2)
Created man, out of a mere clot of congealed blood.
Or was man created from water as Mohammed has stated in the verses below?
(Koran 21:30)
...WE made EVERY (including man) living thing
from water...
(Koran 25:54)
It is He who has created man from water...
Or was man created from "sounding" clay?
(Koran 15:26)
He created man from sounding clay, from mud
moulded into shape...
Or was man created from dust?
(Koran 3:59)
...He created him from dust, then said to him
Be and he was.

 

[*Hana*]

Peace to you, ronmurp:

Please try going to the refutations section HERE I'm sure you find all the information you request, plus some.

Peace,
Hana

 

[Insaanah]

Welcome to the forum, ronmurp.

I'm a non-Muslim. I see many discussions online that say there are inconsistencies in the Quran, which wouldn't be there if it was the revealed word of God.

I agree that there shouldn't be any inconsistencies in the Qur'an, if it is the revealed word of God. Indeed, Allah Himself states in the Qur'an:

"Will they not then ponder on the Qur'an? If it had been from other than Allah they would have found therein much incongruity." (4:82)

Or was man created from water as Mohammed has stated in the verses below?

Just to clarify, the Qur'an is 100% Allah's word; it is not Prophet Muhammads (peace be upon him) word. Allah alone is the Creator, not Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) nor anyone else.

As to the verses you've enquired about:

"And I created every living thing from water" 21:30

"And He it is who created the human being from water.” 25:54

"And, indeed, I have created the human being out of sounding clay, out of dark, smooth mud transmuted." 15:26

"Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was" 3:59

“Was he not a drop of fluid that gushed forth?" 75:37

“Read in the name of your Lord who has created—created the human being from a clinging substance 96:1-2 (The Arabic word ‘‘alaq’ in the verse is more accurately translated as ‘a clinging thing’ rather than ‘a blood clot’ in this context)

The perception of contradiction here is a result of confusion between metaphysics, chemistry and biology, and between different stages of the process of biological creation.

The first three verses state that all living creatures, including human beings, are created from water. This is a biological fact that no one denies. All living creatures have water-based physiologies.

The next set of verses state that the human being was created from dust and clay and was brought forth from the earth.

These verses may have a double meaning. They may refer to Prophet Adam (peace be upon him), the ancestor of mankind, as well as referring to the chemical composition of every human being. The elements of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc. are present in the earth. Through photosynthesis these elements are transformed into vegetable matter, which human beings consume directly or by eating the flesh of animals that have consumed plants. The source of all living creatures is thus, ultimately, the earth, or, by another expression, the dust of the earth, which when combined with water is called ‘clay.’

The rest of the verses refer to the biological aspects of human creation. The Arabic word nutfah (75:37) is commonly used to refer to male seminal fluid, but it is also linguistically possible to use it to refer to the female reproductive fluids. The fertilized zygote is referred to in the Qur’aan as nutfah amshaaj, that is, ‘a mingled fluid’. In a hadeeth (saying of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him), the word nutfah is explicitly used to refer to the fluid of the woman as well as man. It was reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked from what the human being was created, and that he replied, “He is created from both the nutfah of the man and the nutfah of the woman.” (Ahmad 4206)

After fertilization, the embryo implants itself in the uterine wall. It is at this stage that it is called an ‘alaq (clinging thing/substance) in Arabic. (96:2) Therefore, there is no contradiction between any of these verses.

Source: Usool at Tafseer, by Dr Bilal Phillips

Allah has described things from different perspectives (biological, chemical, physical), and used terminology for each perspective such as fluid, clinging thing, dust, clay, to describe it in simple language.

Peace.

 

[ronmurp]

Thank you both for your help.

 

[*Hana*]

Peace to you, ronmurp:

You're very welcome. Please feel free to ask any questions you like. We have some very knowledgeable brothers and sisters here that would, I'm sure, be able to provide answers for you.

Take care and peace,
Hana

 

[peaceandlove]

I'm a non-Muslim. I see many discussions online that say there are inconsistencies in the Quran, which wouldn't be there if it was the revealed word of God. I'd be grateful if anyone could explain why these apparent inconsistencies are there, and how they are explained to avoid inconsistency.

Thank you

Here are some examples:
(Koran 96:2)
Created man, out of a mere clot of congealed blood.
Or was man created from water as Mohammed has stated in the verses below?
(Koran 21:30)
...WE made EVERY (including man) living thing
from water...
(Koran 25:54)
It is He who has created man from water...
Or was man created from "sounding" clay?
(Koran 15:26)
He created man from sounding clay, from mud
moulded into shape...
Or was man created from dust?
(Koran 3:59)
...He created him from dust, then said to him
Be and he was.

Brother

Well , if you read it with little bit of thinking you will know that these versed are supporting each other and there is no contradiction in these.

Just take an example , Let say some one asked "How do you made a tea"

I say " I made tea with milk"
You said "I made tea with water"
Another person say " I made tea with green/brown dust(tea powder)"

Are they contradiction , not not all all , tea is made of milk , water (some person wont use it) , tea poweder etc , so where did you see contradiction, all are right statmentst and supporting each other.

 

[*Hana*]

Peace to you Ronmurp:

I should have also clarified something. You said "...as Muhammed stated in the verse below..." When you are quoting verses from the Qur'an they do not come from Muhammed, pbuh. All verses in the Qur'an came from God and were simply revealed to Muhammed, pbuh. Statements made by Muhammed, pbuh, can be found in the Hadith (a book of the traditions/examples of Prophet Muhammed, pbuh).

With peace,
Hana