The Most Absurd Contradiction (well…one of many) In The Qur’an
As you know, I have been reading the Qur’an for a few months now and have found it to be hate-filled and completely obsessed with disbelievers and the doom that shall befall them – doom doom doom. Interestingly, according to the Qur’an, Allah is the one who decides who disbelieves and who believes. If so, why is so much of the Qur’an focused on the disbelievers and how they are going to be tortured in hell for all time. Allah is the one who creates the disbelievers. If he is so infernally pissed off at them, why does he allow them to disbelieve??
1. Allah decides who disbelieves (belief and unbelief are up to Allah):
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YUSUFALI: As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.
PICKTHAL: As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not.
SHAKIR: Surely those who disbelieve, it being alike to them whether you warn them, or do not warn them, will not believe.
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YUSUFALI: Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur).
PICKTHAL: Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom.
SHAKIR: Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing and there is a covering over their eyes, and there is a great punishment for them.
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YUSUFALI: Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.
PICKTHAL: And whomsoever it is Allah’s will to guide, He expandeth his bosom unto the Surrender, and whomsoever it is His Will to send astray, He maketh his bosom close and narrow as if he were engaged in sheer ascent. Thus Allah layeth ignominy upon those who believe not.
SHAKIR: Therefore (for) whomsoever Allah intends that He would guide him aright, He expands his breast for Islam, and (for) whomsoever He intends that He should cause him to err, He makes his breast strait and narrow as though he were ascending upwards; thus does Allah lay uncleanness on those who do not believe.
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YUSUFALI: Nay, the wrong-doers (merely) follow their own lusts, being devoid of knowledge. But who will guide those whom Allah leaves astray? To them there will be no helpers.
PICKTHAL: Nay, but those who do wrong follow their own lusts without knowledge. Who is able to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray? For such there are no helpers.
SHAKIR: Nay! those who are unjust follow their low desires without any knowledge; so who can guide him whom Allah makes err? And they shall have no helpers.
And 2. Allah allows men to disbelieve and seems to enjoy the fact that He (“We” …royal we?) gets to send many humans to hell, to their painful doom:
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YUSUFALI: Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning).
PICKTHAL: Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle – nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.
SHAKIR: And certainly We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors; these are the heedless ones.
If Allah is all powerful he should just stop making disbelievers, right? Then he wouldn’t have had to waste so much of the Qur’an on them…
It was interesting reading from your point of view, I can understand now how It can be quite confusing to read the Quran out of context, or what I call the “googled Quran”.
There are reasons why we were created and admittedly we do not know all of the reasons yet, that does not mean our future generations also won’t know, they will know more than us and also understand many sections of the Quran better than we do.
The concept that the sex of the baby is determined by the sperm is related in the Quran, I am quite confident that this scientific fact was not known 1400 hundred years ago as it is now.
The Quran has been revealed for people of all times and its message is universal will become progressively apparent to the future generations, even in the areas that we do not understand at this time.
Thus it is frustrating for you to be stumped by the questions you have asked in your post.
I have found that reading the translation of the Quran does not give the complete understanding of the message in relationship to the subject and the circumstance, thus some understanding of arabic is important. You have illustrated that well with the three translations you have posted.
As for why the history of the past generations is unveiled and why the disobediences of the people of those times are recounted: it is a lesson for behavior modification. Just like we tell our children if you cross the street without looking both ways you will get run over……….”how do you know” your child asks, and what do you say? And thus speaks Allah to us in simplified form to enhance understanding by example.
If you read the tafseer of the Quran (explanation of the times, circumstances and the related hadith compiled by scholars of integrity) with each of the ayahs you have quoted you will find it much more meaningful and it will bring harmony into your life, inshallah.
Best Regards.