Short answer
Yes. Exodus says that after making the heavens and the earth, God (﷾) rested and was refreshed. Genesis tells of Jacob wrestling all night and being told he had prevailed with God (﷾). God (﷾) sets the rainbow in the sky so that He may remember His covenant (His solemn promise). One psalm (a prayer-song in the Bible) cries out to God (﷾) to wake up and asks why He sleeps. Another says He woke like a man shouting from wine. The Bible keeps these words as scripture. The Qur'an never describes God (﷾) as tired, asleep or needing to be reminded. It says no weariness touched Him in creating the heavens and the earth. No slumber or sleep can seize Him. He never forgets, and He never breaks His promise. There is nothing whatever like Him.
Full explanation
How Christians read these verses
Christians hold that these are human ways of speaking about God (﷾). They add that the Bible also says plainly that God (﷾) does not tire or sleep. Isaiah says the Creator does not faint and is not weary. A psalm says the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.”
“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
Rested and refreshed
Exodus gives the sabbath (the weekly day of rest) as a sign, in God's (﷾) own words. It also gives the reason. In six days He made heaven and earth, and on the seventh He rested and was refreshed. Only a being who has spent himself needs refreshing. The Qur'an answers this directly. God (﷾) created the heavens and the earth in six days, and no weariness touched Him.
“It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”
“We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in Six Days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us.”
Wrestled until daybreak
In Genesis a man wrestles Jacob until the day breaks and cannot beat him. He then renames Jacob Israel, because Jacob has had power with God (﷾) and has prevailed. Jacob names the place for having seen God (﷾) face to face. The problem is not a word like "face", which the Qur'an also uses of God (55:27). The problem is a match that a man wins. The Qur'an says there is nothing whatever like God (﷾), and none is equal to Him.
“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.”
“And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
“But will abide (for ever) the Face of thy Lord,- full of Majesty, Bounty and Honour.”
“(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).”
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
Reminded, asleep, forgetting
God (﷾) says He will look on the rainbow so that He may remember His covenant. A psalm calls on God (﷾) to awake and asks why He sleeps. Another psalm says He woke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man shouting because of wine. The Qur'an says the opposite. God (﷾) never errs nor forgets, and no slumber or sleep can seize Him. He is the Hearer of prayer, and He sees all that people do.
“And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”
“Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.”
“Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.”
“He replied: "The knowledge of that is with my Lord, duly recorded: my Lord never errs, nor forgets,-”
“(The angels say:) "We descend not but by command of thy Lord: to Him belongeth what is before us and what is behind us, and what is between: and thy Lord never doth forget,-”
“Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).”
“"Praise be to Allah, Who hath granted unto me in old age Isma'il and Isaac: for truly my Lord is He, the Hearer of Prayer!”
“"Verily Allah knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth: and Allah Sees well all that ye do."”
A prayer that says God (﷾) broke His word
In Psalm 89 God (﷾) says He will not break His covenant. Four verses later the psalm tells God (﷾) that He has made void the covenant of His servant. The Bible keeps that prayer as scripture without a word of correction. The Qur'an says Allah (﷾) never departs from His promise. It also tells sinners never to despair of His mercy.
“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”
“But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.”
“(It is) the promise of Allah. Never does Allah depart from His promise: but most men understand not.”
“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
| Question | The Bible | The Qur'an |
|---|---|---|
| Does God (﷾) tire? | After the six days He rested and was refreshed (Exodus 31:17). | No weariness touched Him in creating the heavens and the earth (Qur'an 50:38). |
| Can a man overcome God (﷾)? | Jacob is told he has had power with God (﷾) and has prevailed (Genesis 32:28). | There is nothing whatever like Him (Qur'an 42:11). |
| Does God (﷾) sleep? | A psalm asks Him to awake and why He sleeps (Psalm 44:23). Another says He woke like a man shouting from wine (Psalm 78:65). | No slumber or sleep can seize Him (Qur'an 2:255). |
| Does God (﷾) break His word? | A psalm tells Him He has made void the covenant of His servant (Psalm 89:39). | Allah (﷾) never departs from His promise (Qur'an 30:6). |
Christians call these human ways of speaking. But Exodus 31:17 is given as God's (﷾) own words, and Psalm 78:65 is not a prayer: it narrates that the Lord woke as one out of sleep.
A God who was tempted and did not know
For Christians, Jesus is God. Yet the New Testament Gospels say he was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The letter of James says God (﷾) cannot be tempted with evil. Jesus also said that the Son does not know the day or the hour, only the Father. The Hebrew scriptures had already said that God (﷾) is not a man.
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
“I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.”
Verse by verse
Qur'an 42:11 — Surat al-Shura (Consultation), verse 11
“(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).”
Cited for
These are only human ways of speaking about God. The Qur'an does the same when it speaks of God's Face and His hands.
The response
Islam agrees that God (﷾) is not like His creation. The Qur'an does speak of His Face (55:27) and His hands (38:75, 5:64). Muslims accept those words as they came, without comparing Him to any body, because He says there is nothing whatever like Him (42:11). The faults on this page are different. They are weakness and need: tiredness, sleep, forgetting, a promise made void. The Qur'an gives God (﷾) none of these.
Where it lands — A word like "Face" or "hand" is not a fault. Tiredness, sleep and forgetting are, and the Qur'an says God (﷾) has none of them.
Exodus 31:17 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 31, verse 17
“It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”
Cited for
"Rested" means God stopped creating, and "refreshed" is a human way of describing His delight in finished work.
The response
The verse is not a psalmist's cry. It is given as God's (﷾) own words, setting out the sign of the sabbath. The Hebrew verb for "refreshed" is vayinafash, from the same root as nefesh (breath). It is the verb used when David and his men arrive weary and refresh themselves there. The Qur'an, speaking of the same six days, rules the idea out: no weariness touched Him.
Where it lands — God's (﷾) own words in Exodus give Him a need the Qur'an says He never had.
Psalms 44:23 — Ketuvim, Tehillim, chapter 44, verse 23
“Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.”
Cited for
The psalms are prayers of people in distress. When they ask God to wake up, they are voicing how it felt, not teaching that God sleeps.
The response
Then the Bible keeps as scripture prayers that say false things about God (﷾). When the Qur'an reports a false saying about God (﷾), it rejects it on the spot, as in 5:64. The psalms are kept as prayers to be sung, not corrected. And Psalm 78:65 is not a prayer at all. It tells that the Lord woke as one out of sleep, like a man shouting from wine. The Qur'an also records the prayers of prophets in trouble, and none of them speaks of God (﷾) like this.
Where it lands — Calling the verses human feeling admits they are not a true description of God (﷾), yet they stand in the book called His word.
Genesis 32:28 — Torah, Bereshit, chapter 32, verse 28
“And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Cited for
Jacob wrestled with an angel, or with God in human form, who let Jacob hold on so that He could bless him.
The response
Hosea later calls the wrestler an angel (Hosea 12:4). But Genesis itself tells Jacob he has had power with God (﷾) and has prevailed. It also has Jacob say he saw God (﷾) face to face. Those are the words Genesis keeps as scripture. The Qur'an never places God (﷾), or anyone standing for Him, in a wrestling match that a man wins.
Where it lands — However the wrestler is explained, Genesis says a man prevailed with God (﷾), and the Qur'an says nothing is like Him.
Qur'an 9:67 — Surat al-Tawba (The Repentance), verse 67
“The Hypocrites, men and women, (have an understanding) with each other: They enjoin evil, and forbid what is just, and are close with their hands. They have forgotten Allah; so He hath forgotten them. Verily the Hypocrites are rebellious and perverse.”
Cited for
The Qur'an itself says Allah forgot the hypocrites, so it too has God forgetting.
The response
The verse gives a recompense in the same terms as the sin. They neglected Allah (﷾), so He leaves them to their neglect. Qur'an 45:34 says the same of the Day of Judgement: as they forgot that Day, they are left forgotten in it. Neither verse speaks of a lapse of memory. The same Qur'an says in plain statements, "my Lord never errs, nor forgets" and "thy Lord never doth forget".
Where it lands — Being left as a punishment is not forgetting. The Qur'an denies forgetting of God (﷾) outright.
Qur'an 2:152 — Surat al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 152
“Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith.”
Cited for
The Qur'an also says Allah will remember people, so remembering is not a flaw.
The response
In 2:152 Allah's (﷾) remembering is His reward for those who remember Him. In Genesis God (﷾) sets a sign in the sky so that, when He sees it, He will remember His covenant. The first is a promise. The second is a reminder. The Qur'an says, "my Lord never errs, nor forgets" (20:52).
Where it lands — Remembering as a reward is not the same as needing a sign in order to remember.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
God does not tire, sleep or forget. Scripture sometimes speaks of Him in human terms, and the psalms are honest prayers from people in distress.
The Bible says elsewhere that God does not faint or grow weary.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that God (﷾) never grows weary. But Exodus 31:17 gives God's (﷾) own words that He rested and was refreshed, and Isaiah does not take them back. The Qur'an removes the doubt by saying outright that no weariness touched Him (50:38).
The Bible says elsewhere that the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that God (﷾) neither slumbers nor sleeps (2:255). But Psalm 78:65 says the Lord woke "as one out of sleep", and it reports what He did, not a prayer. Calling it a figure of speech still leaves a picture of a God who seemed to sleep, and the Qur'an never pictures Him so.
The Islamic perspective
God (﷾) is perfect, and nothing is like Him. A scripture from God (﷾) does not put tiredness, sleep, forgetting or broken promises on Him, even in prayer.
Exodus 31:17 says God (﷾) rested and was refreshed after the six days of creation.
The Qur'an says no weariness touched God (﷾) in creating the heavens and the earth in six days.
Genesis 32 says Jacob wrestled until daybreak and was told he had power with God (﷾) and had prevailed.
The Bible's own verses speak of God (﷾) needing to remember, sleeping, and waking as from wine.
The Bible says the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. Yet it narrates that the Lord awaked as one out of sleep.
Psalm 89 has God (﷾) swear He will not break His covenant. Four verses later it keeps as scripture a prayer telling Him He has made it void.
The Christian belief that Jesus is God puts temptation and ignorance on God (﷾). That goes against the Bible's own statement that God (﷾) cannot be tempted.
The Qur'an teaches that God (﷾) never sleeps, never forgets, hears every prayer and never breaks His promise. Nothing is like Him.