When doubts come
In this path
- 1How was the Qur'an preserved?
- 2Was Muhammad (ﷺ) really a messenger of God?
- 3Does the Qur'an contain contradictions or errors?
- 4What must a Muslim believe about Adam and evolution?
- 5Why does God allow suffering?
- 6How old was Aisha when she married the Prophet (ﷺ)?
- 7Does Islam oppress women?
- 8What does it mean to love God in Islam?
Related questions
Qur'an
- Do the oldest Qur'an manuscripts match today's Qur'an?Yes. The oldest Qur'an manuscripts read as the Qur'an reads today. Two leaves at the University of Birmingham were carbon dated in 2015, most likely to between 568 and 645 CE.
- Why did Uthman burn copies of the Qur'an?To keep the recitation united, and to stop partial private copies being taken as the standard text.
- How is the Qur'an different from the Prophet's (ﷺ) own words (hadith)?The Qur'an is the word of God (﷾), recited exactly as the angel Gabriel brought it.
- Why does the Qur'an criticise Muhammad (ﷺ) if he wrote it?He did not write it, and these rebukes are part of the proof. A man making up a scripture to win followers has every reason to leave out any blame of himself.
- Could Muhammad (ﷺ) have learned the Qur'an's science from the Greeks or Persians?No. Greek science did exist in the region, but none of it was in Arabic in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
- Is the Qur'an still passed down by memory?Yes. The Qur'an was always first a book to be recited. Its very name means "the recitation".
- Does Qur'an 65:4 allow marriage to girls who have not reached puberty?No. The verse permits no marriage and names no age. It sets the waiting period after divorce for wives who have no monthly cycle to count.
- Does the Qur'an contain scientific miracles?It contains signs, not science lessons. The Qur'an is not a science textbook, and no single verse proves on its own that it came from God (﷾).
- Did Muhammad (ﷺ) copy the Qur'an from the Bible?No. No Arabic Bible is known to have been in circulation before the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
- Did Muhammad (ﷺ) write the Qur'an himself?No. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) could not read or write. The Qur'an said so to the people who had known him all his life, and none of them answered that he could read.
- Does the Qur'an ask for blind faith?No. The Qur'an asks to be tested, not taken on trust. It uses one word, ayat (signs), for its own verses and for the things of creation.
Islam
- What human rights does Islam protect?Islam protects life, property and honour, and it commands justice for everyone.
- Do Muslims worship Muhammad (ﷺ)?No. Muslims worship God (﷾) alone. Worshipping anyone beside Him, even the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), is the worst sin in Islam.
- How does Islam view daughters and widows?Islam treats a daughter as a blessing and a trust. In the Arabia where the Prophet (ﷺ) began, some fathers grieved when a girl was born.
- Who was the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)?Muhammad (ﷺ) was the last prophet God (﷾) sent to mankind. He was born in Makkah, in Arabia, in about 570.
- Which prophets are named in the Qur'an?The Qur'an names twenty-five prophets, in the list commonly taught. The first are Adam, Idris, Noah, Hud and Salih.
- What did the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) change in Arabia?The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) brought Arabia a whole way of life from God (﷾), and it replaced the cruelest customs with law.
The Bible
- How does the Bible treat women compared with the Qur'an?The Qur'an honours women far more than the Bible does. In the Bible's law, a mother is unclean twice as long after giving birth to a girl as after a boy.
- Does the Bible blame Eve, and women, for the first sin?Yes. In Genesis, God (﷾) tells the woman he will greatly multiply her sorrow in childbirth.
Comparative Religion
- Do women inherit in Islam and in the Bible?In Islam, yes. God (﷾) fixes a share for the daughter, the mother and the wife, and for the sister in some cases.
- Did Christian Europe and the Bible allow girls to marry young?Yes. For more than a thousand years, the law of Christian Europe let a girl be betrothed at seven and married at twelve.
- Are children born in sin? Does Islam believe in original sin?No. Islam teaches that every child is born pure. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that every child is born upon the fitra, the natural faith in one God (﷾).
Questions & Criticisms
- Does Islam believe in freedom of speech?Yes, within limits set by God (﷾). The Qur'an records its enemies' charges against it and answers them with argument.
- Did Muhammad (ﷺ) invent Islam for power, money or women?No. The life of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) rules it out. Once he began to preach, he met years of abuse, a boycott, exile and war.
- Why does Islam allow a man more than one wife?Islam allows a second wife to meet real needs, but few Muslims do it. Pew Research found about 5 in 100 Muslims living in a home with more than one wife, most often in Africa.
- Is it fair that Hell lasts for ever?Yes. Islam teaches that Paradise and Hell both last for ever. Hell is for ever for those who die rejecting faith after the message has reached them.
- Why would God's last message come to 7th-century Arabia?Any time and place would draw the same question. The Qur'an's answer is that God (﷾) knows best where to place His message.