Short answer
These commands are in the Bible, but Muslims hold that they did not come from God (﷾). The Bible has God (﷾) tell Saul to slay "man and woman, infant and suckling". Moses orders every male "among the little ones" of Midian killed. Deuteronomy says to leave alive nothing that breathes. Yet the same Bible tells Israel's judges, "the innocent and righteous slay thou not". The Qur'an teaches, in a law it says God (﷾) gave the Children of Israel, that killing one innocent person is like killing all mankind. The Prophet (ﷺ) fought real wars, and he forbade the deliberate killing of women and children. An order to kill babies and a law against killing the innocent cannot both come from one merciful God (﷾). Islam's answer is that these commands are the work of human writers, not God's (﷾). Jeremiah himself speaks of the false pen of the scribes.
Full explanation
What the Bible commands
These are not stories of God (﷾) destroying a people himself. They are orders given to men, in God's (﷾) name, to kill women, children and babies. Saul, the first king of Israel, is sent against Amalek, a people who had attacked Israel on its way out of Egypt. Midian was a people of the desert south-east of Canaan. Moses orders every male among its little ones killed, and every woman who had known a man. Deuteronomy tells Israel to show no mercy and to spare nothing that breathes. At Jericho, a city of Canaan, young and old are put to the sword.
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
“And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”
“And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:”
“But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:”
“And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.”
| Where | The order |
|---|---|
| Amalek | Saul is told to slay “man and woman, infant and suckling” (1 Samuel 15:3). |
| Midian | Moses orders every male “among the little ones” killed, and every woman who had known a man (Numbers 31:15-18). |
| The cities given to Israel | Leave alive nothing that breathes, and show no mercy (Deuteronomy 20:16; 7:2). |
| Jericho | Young and old are put to the sword (Joshua 6:21). |
Yet the same Law forbids Israel's own judges to slay the innocent, or to put a child to death for his father's sin (Exodus 23:7; Deuteronomy 24:16).
The Bible's own law cuts against it
The Law of Moses forbids Israel's own judges to slay the innocent. It also forbids putting a child to death for his father's sin. Yet soldiers are ordered to kill Amalek's infants. They are to pay for what Amalek did to Israel on the way out of Egypt, centuries before those children were born. A court may not execute a child for his father's crime. Here an army puts the child to the sword.
“Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.”
“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
Christians cannot set Jesus apart from these commands
Christians believe Jesus is God the Son, who was with the Father before he was born. The New Testament says he is the same yesterday, today and for ever. So a Christian must hold that the Jesus who blessed the children is the same Lord. The Bible says that Lord ordered the infants of Amalek killed. The Muslim has no such difficulty. Islam holds that Jesus was a prophet and a servant of God (﷾), and none of this is laid at his door.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
What the Qur'an and the Prophet (ﷺ) teach
The Qur'an also tells of nations God (﷾) destroyed for their crimes. And Islam also allows a lawful state to wage a just war. That is not the complaint. The complaint is that men are told, in God's (﷾) name, to put babies to the sword. The Qur'an records God's (﷾) law on killing. Whoever kills one person, except for murder or spreading corruption, is as if he killed all mankind. The Qur'an limits fighting to those who fight, and forbids going beyond the limits. In one of the Prophet's (ﷺ) campaigns, a woman was found killed. He then forbade the deliberate killing of women and children.
“On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.”
“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.”
Ibn Umar reports that a woman was found killed during one of the Prophet's (ﷺ) campaigns, and the Prophet forbade the killing of women and children.
Why Muslims say these verses were changed
The Qur'an holds that earlier scriptures were revealed by God (﷾), and later altered by men. The Bible itself, in Jeremiah, speaks of the false pen of the scribes. God (﷾) sent the Prophet (ﷺ) to forbid the deliberate killing of women and children. Such a God did not command the slaying of infants and sucklings.
“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.”
““ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie.”
Ibn Umar reports that a woman was found killed during one of the Prophet's (ﷺ) campaigns, and the Prophet forbade the killing of women and children.
Verse by verse
Deuteronomy 9:5 — Torah, Devarim, chapter 9, verse 5
“Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Cited for
God was judging these nations for their wickedness. He is the giver of life and may take it.
The response
An infant has done no wickedness. The Law of Moses forbids Israel's own judges to put a child to death for his father's sin, or to slay the innocent. Yet soldiers were ordered to kill Amalek's babies for something Amalek did centuries before they were born. When God (﷾) destroys a people himself, that is his judgement. When men are ordered to put sucklings to the sword, the order goes against the Law's own words.
Where it lands — Judgement on the guilty does not explain an order to kill infants. The Law itself says a child is not to die for his father's sin.
1 Samuel 27:8 — Nevi'im, Shmuel I, chapter 27, verse 8
“And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.”
Cited for
"Utterly destroy" is exaggerated war language. The Amalekites are still there in David's time, so no one killed them all.
The response
The chapter itself treats the order as literal. Saul is condemned because he spared the king and the best of the spoil. At Midian, Moses is angry that the women were kept alive, and he orders the boys killed. An order that is punished when it is only partly carried out is not a figure of speech.
Where it lands — The Bible punishes those who did not kill everyone, so the command was meant to be obeyed.
Qur'an 18:71-77 — Surat al-Kahf (The Cave), verses 71-77
“So they both proceeded: until, when they were in the boat, he scuttled it. Said Moses: "Hast thou scuttled it in order to drown those in it? Truly a strange thing hast thou done!" He answered: "Did I not tell thee that thou canst have no patience with me?" Moses said: "Rebuke me not for forgetting, nor grieve me by raising difficulties in my case." Then they proceeded: until, when they met a young man, he slew him. Moses said: "Hast thou slain an innocent person who had slain none? Truly a foul (unheard of) thing hast thou done!" He answered: "Did I not tell thee that thou canst have no patience with me?" (Moses) said: "If ever I ask thee about anything after this, keep me not in thy company: then wouldst thou have received (full) excuse from my side." Then they proceeded: until, when they came to the inhabitants of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused them hospitality. They found there a wall on the point of falling down, but he set it up straight. (Moses) said: "If thou hadst wished, surely thou couldst have exacted some recompense for it!"”
Cited for
The Qur'an has a servant of God kill a boy, and Moses calls him innocent. So the Qur'an does the same.
The response
The servant of God (﷾), whom Muslims call al-Khidr, says he did none of it of his own accord. He acted on God's (﷾) command. The Qur'an gives the reason for this one boy only: he would have grieved his believing parents by rebellion and ingratitude. The reason is the boy's own, not a sin of his fathers. It is no order to an army, and it allows no one to harm others. The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the deliberate killing of women and children in war.
Where it lands — One act by God's (﷾) command, with its reason given, is not an order to an army to put a people's infants to the sword.
Perspectives
Christian
God judged these nations for their wickedness. As the giver of life, he has the right to take it. Some Christian scholars add that the words of total destruction are the overstated war talk of the time.
Deuteronomy says God drove out the nations of Canaan because of their wickedness, not because Israel was righteous.
Rebuttal
Deuteronomy does say this of the nations. But an infant has done no wickedness. The Law of Moses forbids putting a child to death for his father's sin. Yet Amalek's babies were to die for what Amalek did centuries before.
The commands to destroy every living thing are overstated ancient war language. We can tell, because the Amalekites appear again after Saul's campaign.
Rebuttal
The Amalekites do appear again later. But Saul is condemned for sparing the king and the best of the spoil, and Moses is angry that the Midianite women were kept alive. An order punished when it is only partly carried out was meant to be obeyed.
The Islamic perspective
God (﷾) does not order an army to put a people's women, infants and sucklings to the sword. The Qur'an holds every innocent life sacred. The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the deliberate killing of women and children in war. The Bible's commands to do so are the work of human writers.
The Bible has God (﷾) command Saul to kill the women, infants and sucklings of Amalek.
Moses gives an order about Midian. Every male "among the little ones" is to be killed, and every woman who had known a man.
Deuteronomy orders Israel to leave alive nothing that breathes in the cities given to it. It says to show no mercy.
The Law of Moses forbids Israel's judges to slay the innocent. It forbids putting a child to death for his father's sin.
The New Testament says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and for ever. So a Christian cannot separate him from these commands.
The Qur'an records God's (﷾) law, given to the Children of Israel, that killing one innocent person is like killing all mankind. It also forbids going beyond the limits in war.
The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the deliberate killing of women and children in war.
These commands are the work of human writers, as Jeremiah's complaint about the scribes' false pen allows.