Sunday, December 13, 2015

Cataloguing a Few of the Historical Anachronisms in the Qur'an

Muslim apologists often contend that the Qur’an is free, in its entirety, from contradiction, inconsistency or historical inaccuracy. I have seen many Muslims assert that the historical and scientific accuracy of the Qur’an was what impressed them about this book and convinced them that Islam is true. In this article, I am going to focus specifically on the historical accuracy of the Qur’an. As we shall see, the claim that the Qur’an is historically accurate — particularly when it describes events hundreds of years removed from its writing — is not a tenable position.

Dirham Coins in Joseph’s Day?
According to Surah 12:20,
“[Joseph’s] brethren sold him for a miserable price, for a few dirhams counted out: in such low estimation did they hold him!”
The problem with this claim is that dirham (derivative of the Greek drachma) did not exist prior to the twelfth century B.C. This means that the Qur’an makes the claim that Joseph was sold into slavery using a currency that had not yet been invented — and would not be invented until seven centuries later.
Did David Produce Chain Mail?
According to Surah 34:10-11,
“We bestowed Grace aforetime on David from ourselves: ‘O ye Mountains! Sing ye back the Praises of Allah with him! and ye birds also! And We made the iron soft for him;- Commanding, ‘Make thou coats of mail, balancing well the rings of chain armour, and work ye righteousness; for be sure I see clearly all that ye do.'”
The problem is that chain mail was first invented by the Celts in the fifth century B.C. But David lived in the tenth century B.C.
Was Crucifixion Practised in Ancient Egypt?
According to Surah 12:41 and Surah 20:71, the method of execution by crucifixion was practised, during the time of Joseph and Moses respectively, by the Egyptians. The former lived during the nineteenth century B.C., and the latter lived during the fifteenth century B.C. Unfortunately, however, this mode of execution was first invented by the Persians in the sixth century B.C., well after the time of both Moses and Joseph.
Moses and the Samaritans
We read in Surah 20:35-88, 95 that a Samaritan led the people of Israel to create the golden calf during the time of Moses, shortly following the Exodus out of Egypt. The problem is that the city of Samaria did not exist until several centuries following the Exodus. Furthermore, the people group who became known as the “Samaritans” did not come into existence until an even later stage when the Northern Kingdom was invaded by Assyria.
Confusing Mary and Miriam
In Surah 19:28, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is spoken of as being the sister of Moses and Aaron. Furthermore, Surah 66:12 states that the mother of Mary is Amram. It is abundantly clear from this that Muhammad is confusing Mary the mother of Jesus with Miriam (Moses’s sister), who lived centuries earlier.
Moses and Haman
According to Surah 28:5-8,
“And We wished to be gracious to those who were being depressed in the land, to make them leaders in faith and make them heirs, to establish a firm place for them in the land, and to show Pharaoh, Haman, and their hosts, at their hands, the very things against which they were taking precautions. So We sent this inspiration to the mother of Moses: ‘Suckle thy child, but when thou hast fears about him, cast him into the river, but fear not nor grieve: for We shall restore him to thee, and We shall make him one of Our apostles.’ Then the people of Pharaoh picked him up from the river: It was intended that Moses should be to them an adversary and a cause of sorrow: for Pharaoh and Haman and all their hosts were men of sin.”
The problem is that Haman lived approximately during the sixth century B.C. in Persia (not Egypt). He is a key character in the book of Esther. Why is it, then, that the Qur’an refers to Haman as having opposed Moses in Pharaoh’s court — nine centuries earlier?
Conclusion
I could continue in this vein for considerable time — and believe me I could. But the cumulative force of the above arguments combined seems to render implausible the Islamic view that the Qur’an is historically accurate in every respect. Even if there is wiggle room with respect to one or two of those cases (which I don’t think there is), there are enough instances of such historical anachronisms to render it immensely implausible that all of them will be shown to have plausible resolutions.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

On top of all that, any religious hack-job text can get a few things right. Obviously, it wouldn't be because Muhammad were truly inspired, but because he & others in his time would have known about such things anyway.

I like this series by Jonathan McLatchie - it sounds like stuff I've read before but I read and I find stuff I didn't know before. This is some great stuff, keep it up! God bless you!

Unknown said...

Thought that one was strange.
If they invented chain-mail armor why were the Crusaders the ones using it?

Dr. Laura said...

thank you very much for your work! I am familiar with Nabeel via RZIM and David Wood is his loyal friend...much like JR Tolkien was to CS Lewis :)...God bless you for staying the course! I have much to learn. sincerely, Laura Vest, Thd. CE

Unknown said...

Thank you for bringing out some of the errors in the Quran. If the book is 100% correct historically and perfectly preserved as the Muslims want us to believe, it's reliability and divine authorship will still be questionable.

Unknown said...

Of course we know know why Cain killed Abel - it was over a spat they had over a sister. Forget the type and shadow of the lamb of God - and, notwithstanding the birth of Seth or the flood that would save only Noah and his family, Cain is the progeny of transgressors -

"Volume 1, Parts 1.3.33

He (Ibn Sa`d) said: Abu Salamah Musá Ibn Ismà`il al-Tabudhaki informed us: Hammàd Ibn Salamah informed us on the authority of `Abd Allah Ibn 'Uthman Ibn Khuthaym, he on the authority of Sa'id Ibn Jubayr, he on the authority of Ibn `Abbas; he said:

Adam had four children comprising of two twins, one male and one female in each pair. The sister born with the agriculturist was pretty and the other born with the herdsman was ugly. So the agriculturist said: I have better claim on her. The herdsman said: I have better claim on her. The herdsman said: Woe to thee ! dost thou want preference over me because of her beauty. Come on! Let us each make an offering. If thy offering is accepted, thou wilt have better claim on her, and if my offering is accepted I shall have better claim on her. He (Ibn `Abbas) said: Both of them offered offerings and the herdsman offered a white ram with large eyes, strong horns, while the agriculturist brought forth some food. The ram was accepted and it was preserved in the heaven for forty autumns and the same ram was slaughtered by Ibrahim. Thereupon the agriculturist said (to the herdsman): I shall kill thee. The herdsman replied: "Even if thou stretch out thy hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand against thee to kill thee, Lo! I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Lo! I would rather thou shouldst bear the punishment of the sin against me and thine own sin and become of the owners of the fire. That is the reward of the evildoers." (Al-Qur'an 5:28-29) Then he kill him. The sinners among Adam's children are the progeny of this tansgressor. (Al-Tabari, Vol.I,p.70)"

Barbara said...

We need a reference guide which catalogs historical errors, anachronisms and poor quality sources used by Muhammad.

Janet Locane said...

Thanks for interesting details!