Yesterday I was asked, “How is it that you don’t believe the Quran is from God?”
I said “I see inconsistencies and holes in the stories, in the science, and in other things.”
To which my friend said, “How can you disbelieve in the book of God based on your limited logic?”
I was further asked, “How is it you can disbelieve in Prophet Muhammad who was KNOWN to be truthful?”
My answer? Simple, the Quran fails the checksum. The integrity check failed. A book from God does not have inconsistencies and errors. Even if Prophet Muhammad was the most truthful person, if the book he brought fails the litmus test, we have to admit that it cannot be from God.
As a Muslim, I used to tell this quote to everyone. To non Muslims especially:
أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah , they would have found within it much contradiction. (4:82)
Because I truly believed it, with all my heart and soul!!
And my other favorite verse, which is usually used to defend how is it that Allah makes rulings that we may not understand.. Things like why it’s okay to hit your wife…
أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted? (67:14)
God knows everything. He knows how the universe started. He knows how the universe looked, even 1400 years ago. He knows the inner workings of our body (Embryology anyone?) Unfortunately the Quran over and over repeatedly describes the world according to how someone might think it worked in the 7th century, not how we know it works now.
When my friend says, “The Quran tells us to ponder the creation and contemplate on how it could be that this all came about, ” I will say, Yes. Maybe there is a creator. That doesn’t make Islam true though.
The stories in the Quran suffer similar issues to the science.
To me, I did not leave Islam because I hated God, or because I was angry at the injustice in the world, or because I thought it wasn’t compatible with modern society or fair to women. Nothing like that. In fact I would accept ALL of that if it was from God. I would accept whatever he said, no matter how stupid and ridiculous it looked because God makes the rules, not us.
Now that I have realized it cannot be from God, I cannot in good conscience defend the harmful laws that shariah brings to humanity. Things like apostasy laws. Laws against homosexuality. Laws against freedom of expression and religion. Laws against free speech. Laws unfair to women, that they cannot divorce, or they must receive half a share of a man in most cases.
Excellent article, Abdullah. Next time anyone says , “How can you disbelieve in the book of God based on your limited logic?” Give them this reply: , “How can you believe the book is from God based on your limited logic?”
O yes, it would be a very logical answer…