Responses

Answering criticisms of Islam · One standard for every scripture

This site takes the criticisms most often made of Islam and of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and answers them directly, with the exact sources: the Quran verse, the hadith with its collection, number and grading, and the scholars and historians who explain them.

Each page states the criticism fairly, gives the answer, and then, where it is relevant, sets beside it what the critic's own scripture says on the same subject. The aim is one standard for every scripture, not a change of subject.

1

Aisha's age at marriage

The most repeated charge today, and what the sources and history actually show.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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2

Quran 9:5 and "spread by the sword"

The 'verse of the sword' read with the verses around it, and how Islam actually spread.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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3

Quran 4:34 and the treatment of wives

What the verse permits, the limits the Sunnah placed on it, and how it was lived.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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4

Slavery

An institution found in every civilization, and what the Quran and Sunnah did to it.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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5

Apostasy

What the classical law said, what the Quran says, and how the early community acted.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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6

The "Satanic verses" story

A story about praise for three idols: its chains, its context, and the scholars who rejected it.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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7

Banu Qurayza

A treaty broken during a siege, an arbiter they chose, and the law they themselves held.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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8

Zaynab bint Jahsh and plural marriage

The marriage the Quran itself explains, and the late story that grew up around it.
The claimThe answerThe comparison
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How these pages work.

The claim is stated as critics make it, in its strongest form. The answer comes first and stands on its own, from the Quran, authenticated hadith and the explanations of Muslim scholars, classical and modern. Where scholars disagree, both views are given, and where the classical position is difficult it is stated plainly.

The comparison comes last. It is offered only where a critic's own scripture contains the same thing, or a stronger form of it, and it is never a substitute for the answer. The Quran commands fairness even toward opponents (Quran 5:8) and forbids insulting what others hold sacred (Quran 6:108), so the comparisons quote the Bible exactly and describe Jewish and Christian readings fairly.

Hadith gradings are those shown on sunnah.com; reports in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are graded authentic by Muslim scholarship. Bible quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain modern translation.

8 responses. More will be added over time.