http://www.rim.org/muslim/quranproblems.htm

A Partial List of Problems and Contradictions in the Quran

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This is a partial list of problems found in the Quran, which to the
best of our knowledge remain unanswered. Your thoughts, comments, or
explanations of any of the below are welcomed.


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1. Creation: The biblical Genesis account says God created all in six
days (see Genesis 1:1 - 2:2). The Quran, however, has a real problem
here as Surah 41:9, 10, 12 have a total of eight days of creation
(4+2+2=8) Meanwhile, Surah 10:3 gives the total number of days of
creation as six. This is a problem of self-contradiction.

2. Pharaoh: According to the Quran (Surah 7:120-125) Pharaoh used
crucifixion in dealing with the sorcerers - a practice which
historical evidence gives no precedent to before the Babylonian
Empire. This is once again a problem of historical compression.

3. The Golden Calf: According to the Quran (Surah 20:90-100)a
Samaritan helped the Israelites build the golden calf, and it mooed
after coming out of the fire. In reality, Samaritans did not exist as
a people until at least 1000 years after the time of the Moses and the
Israelite exodus from Egypt. Again a problem of historical
compression.

4. Judaism: According to the Quran (Surah 9:30) the Jews believe that
Ezra is the Son of God - the Messiah. This never has been a tenet of
Judaism. This is a clear problem of distorted knowledge of other
religions and historical fact.

5. Alexander the Great: According to the Quran (Surah 18:89-98)
Alexander the Great was a devout Muslim and lived to a ripe old age.
Historical records however show that Alexander the Great died young at
33 years of age (b. 356 B.C. - d. 323 B.C.), and believed he was
divine, forcing others to recognize him as such. In India on the
Hyphasis River (now Beas) Alexander erected twelve altars to twelve
Olympian gods. Once again the Quran shows errors in historical and
religious fact.

6. The Trinity: According to the Quran (Surah 5:116, 5:73-75) the
Christians believe in "three Gods" - Father, Mother, and Son. This
shows the influence of heretical 'Christian' sects in central Arabia
at the time of Muhammad. In contrast, Christianity has always
distinctly stated that the Trinity is the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. The teaching of the Quran on the Trinity has undoubtedly led
to confusion among many Muslims on what the Bible (and thus
Christianity) teaches about the Triune God.

7. Mary: According to the Quran (Surah 19:28, 3:33-36), Mary, the
mother of Jesus, was the daughter of Imran or Amram, the father of
Moses and Aaron. Mary is also said to be the sister of Moses and
Aaron. Clearly Muhammad confused Mary with Miriam.
A second interesting point about Mary is the story of the date palm
speaking and offering its fruit to her (Surah 19:23). This legend is
easily traced to similar legends found in the apocryphal
"Protoevangelium of James" the "Pseudo-Matthew" and "the Gospel of the
Nativity of Mary" all of which have been dated to the fourth to sixth
centuries, and were again believed by the sects found in Arabia. (More
indepth information on Quranic sources may be found in Rev. W. St.
Clair Tisdall's The Religion of the Crescent).

8. Textual Variants in the Quran: Many Muslims claim that the Quran
today is identical to the revelations received by Muhammad. However,
there is overwhelming unanswered evidence to the contrary. This
includes evidence of variations both prior to, and after Uthman.


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How do we view and respond to these unresolved problems of logic,
history and religious knowledge? While they do not serve as the basis
for our belief that the Quran is not the revelation of God (as there
are issues of far greater consequence between the message of the Bible
and the message of the Quran), they do show us that there are
legitimate problems with the belief that the Quran is God's revelation
to man, as God who is all knowing and infallible could not give
statements of error, and then claim them as His Truth. As Christians
we find the answer in the Bible. Numbers 23 tells us, 

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should
repent. Has He said, and He will not do? Or has He spoken, and He will
not make it good? (vs.19)
God, who is all knowing and all powerful, cannot be errant in His
revelation to man. The problems in the Quran and differences between
the Bible and Quran are numerous, leaving an unresolved difficulty for
Islam which claims to be a fulfillment of the Bible. The following
link provides further, more indepth discussion of the above and
otherproblems in the Quran.
http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra


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