CHAPTER 6 : CRITERION : [4] CONTAINS NEITHER DISCREPANCY NOR INACCURACY .....

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God is perfect in His Wisdom and cannot be the author of discrepancies and / or inaccuracies. Discrepancy and inaccuracy would falsify its claim to being Divinely revealed.

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THE CASE FOR AL-QUR’AN

For a man (Muhammad s.a.w.) who is unlettered (a fact which even his bitterest enemies of his time had to admit[1] ) and who therefore had to depend entirely upon memory, to have compiled something which came to him over a period of 23 years; and he had to expound and teach them while at the same time continue to collate or re-arrange them in a certain order as new revelations came to him until the compilation became completed; and the while he had to manage so much trials and tribulations and even had to face wars – surely, whatever he can put forth as a book would not be free from discrepancy and inaccuracy. Try to find them!

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Thus the Book challenges:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ‌ۚ وَلَوۡ كَانَ مِنۡ عِندِ

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غَيۡرِ ٱللَّهِ

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لَوَجَدُواْ فِيهِ ٱخۡتِلَـٰفً۬ا ڪَثِيرً۬ا

“Will they not, then, try to understand this Qur’an? Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many inner contradictions!”

(Qur’an: an-Nisa’ : 4: 82)

This challenge still stands. So if none has been able to detect any discrepancy or inconsistency, then either one may think that Muhammad would have been such a fantastic genius (but which Muhammad never claimed to be), nay a uniquely fantastic genius (because no other genius could possibly produce another like it), or you must accept his claim that this book is indeed of Divine origin.


Provides principle as guideline for its interpretations

Even today, there are some people who try to take up criticism of the Qur’an, by applying their own selective interpretations of words and verses, mostly by picking them out of its context and then subjecting it to scrutiny. They do not realise that by them doing this, whatever purported ‘inconsistencies or inaccuracies’ would be on their own interpretations (or rather misinterpretations) of them – not that of the Qur’an. In fact, because that this book is consistent and must be taken as a whole, it even forewarned its readers of such possible misdeeds and has presented the principles and guideline for the interpretations of certain of its verses to maintain consistency. From this, the Islamic science of Tafsir (Interpretation and commentary) grew and continued to be developed ever since Muhammad’s time. The verse clearly warns:

هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَيۡكَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ مِنۡهُ

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ءَايَـٰتٌ۬ مُّحۡكَمَـٰتٌ

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هُنَّ أُمُّ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَـٰبِهَـٰتٌ۬‌ۖ

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فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمۡ زَيۡغٌ۬ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَـٰبَهَ

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مِنۡهُ ٱبۡتِغَآءَ ٱلۡفِتۡنَةِ وَٱبۡتِغَآءَ تَأۡوِيلِهِۦ‌ۗ

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وَمَا يَعۡلَمُ تَأۡوِيلَهُ ۥۤ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ‌ۗ

“He (God) it is Who has bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ, containing messages that are clear in and by themselves (ayat muhkamat) -these are the essence of the divine writ – as well as others that are allegorical (ayat mutashaabihat). Now those whose hearts are given to swerving from the truth go after that part of the divine writ which has been expressed in allegory, seeking out [what is bound to create] confusion, and seeking [to arrive at] its final meaning [in arbitrary manner]: but none save God knows its final meaning.”

(Qur’an: aali ‘Imran: 3: 7)

Unanimity of Muslims acceptance of the Qur’an

Another important consideration is the unanimity of Muslims acceptance of the Qur’an and they have never conceded that it contains discrepancy or inconsistency. This consensus regarding absence of inconsistency or inaccuracy in the Qur’an can be discerned from the fact that for Muslims, despite the proliferations of the various schools of thought (madzaahib), there has always been one and the same Qur’an which all acknowledges and authoritatively refers to. Differences in their understanding and application of its teachings amongst them are always attributed to their own respective human interpretations (and not inconsistency or inaccuracy of the Qur’an), and the Qur’an even prophesized that this (difference in the opinions amongst subsequent followers of Islam) may occur and thus it has even provided the solution to resolve such future differences in the verse which confidently indicate presence of universal principles with timeless relevance in the Qur’an as well as the Sunnah (traditions) of the Prophet s.a.w. :

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يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَطِيعُواْ ٱللَّهَ

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وَأَطِيعُواْ ٱلرَّسُولَ

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وَأُوْلِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِ مِنكُمۡ‌ۖ

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فَإِن تَنَـٰزَعۡتُمۡ فِى شَىۡءٍ۬

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فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ

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إِن كُنتُمۡ تُؤۡمِنُونَ

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بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ‌ۚ

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ذَٲلِكَ خَيۡرٌ۬ وَأَحۡسَنُ تَأۡوِيلاً

“O you who have attained to faith! Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle and unto those from among you who have been entrusted with authority; and if you are at variance over any matter, refer it unto God and the Apostle, if you [truly] believe in God and the Last Day. This is the best [for you], and best in the end.”

(Qur’an: al-Nisa’ : 4: 59)

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Footnote:

[1] This point is important because today there may be those Orientalists and academicians who attempt to raise doubts concerning the illiteracy of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. To still belabour on this surely is futile and irrelevant because if he was indeed not illiterate, his contemporaries surely would have taken him to task about this claim. And they, of all people were the most vigorous in disputing and challenging the prophet but yet this point was untenable and totally abandoned.

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