The Qur'an's Confused Description of Human Creation
Five Deeply Contradictory Answers to a Simple Question
One of the acid tests that the Qur’an sets for itself is that it is without contradictions and discrepancies: “Do they not consider the Qur’an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.” (Qur’an 4:82)
Therefore, if Muslims call us to Islam, one of their main tasks should be to show us that there are no contradictions in the Qur’an all. This would be a very tall order, to say the least, since there are many statements in the Qur’an that flatly contradict statements in other parts of the book. This is perhaps most evident in its answer to the question: How did Allah create humanity?
The Qur’an contains at least five contradictory statements about the materials used in the creation of humans. It should be noted that all these statements are stand-alone and occur in passages ‘revealed’ years apart. Claims that we are dealing with some kind of recipe, or process, are therefore quite absurd.
According to the Qur’an Allah variously used the following to create human beings:
Blood: Proclaim. (or read.) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created Proclaim. (or read.) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood. (Qur’an 96:1-2)
Water: It is He Who has created man from water: Then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things). (Qur’an 25:54)
Clay: We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape. (Qur’an 15:26)
Dust: Among His Signs is this, that He created you from dust; and then, behold, ye are men scattered (far and wide). (Qur’an 30:20)
Nothing: “Allah createth what He willeth: When He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it, “Be, and it is.” (Qur’an 3:47)
It should, again, be noted that these verses are widely separated in terms of their place in the Qur’an and their time of origin. There is no indication in any of these verses that they are describing a part of a process. Instead, all of them make stand-alone and contradictory statements about the way in which humanity was created. The standard Muslim answer that this is some kind of ‘recipe’ also does not solve the dilemma that Qur’an 3:47 states that Allah created ‘out of nothing’.
These statements on human creation are obviously deeply contradictory (thus causing the Qur’an to fail the test it sets for itself). They, furthermore, provide evidence of the bringing together of various Pre-Islamic traditions and contradict the Muslim belief of a perfect revelation given to a single prophetic figure.
For a thorough examination of the truth-claims of Islam, please see my book ‘Questioning Islam - Tough Questions and Honest Answers About the Muslim Religion’.
Kind regards,
Peter
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