Here are just few of the areas where
the Holy Bible is superior to the Quran:
Women
The
biblical view of women is that despite the fact that in regards to position they
remain subject to man within the family and church structure, they are of equal
value to God. This necessitates the fair and respectful treatment on the part of
husbands in relation to their spouses, which entails the point of laying down
their lives for them:
“Now for the matters you wrote
about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much
immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife
to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her
husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but
also to his wife.” 1 Corinthians 7:1-4
“Wives, submit to your own
husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also
Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore,
just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own
husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also
loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse
her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to
Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but
that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love
their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For
no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the
Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of
His bones. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This is a
great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let
each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the
wife see that she respects her husband." Ephesians 5:22-33 NKJV
Then God said, “Let Us make man in
Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and
over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in
His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them. Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV
“There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are
all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 NKJV
Muhammad in the Quran, however,
condones domestic violence in order to solve marital problems:
“Men are superior to women on
account of the qualities which God hath gifted the one above the other, and
on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them. Virtuous women
are obedient, careful, during the husband's absence, because God hath of them
been careful. But chide those for whose refractoriness ye have cause to fear;
remove them into beds apart, and SCOURGE THEM: but if they are obedient
to you then seek not occasion against them: verily, God is High, Great!” S.
4:34 Rodwell
The embarrassment of this passage has
led Muslim scholars to redefine scourging as a light tap which leaves no mark.
Some even appeal to Hadiths where it is reported that Muhammad disallowed wife
abuse. Yet, unfortunately, other traditions will not allow for such forced
interpretations:
“the above verse (i.e., 4:34) was
revealed in connection with a woman who complained to Mohammad that her
husband slapped her on the face (which was still marked by the slap). At first
the Prophet said to her: ‘Get even with him,’ but then added: ‘Wait
until I think about it.' Later on the above verse was revealed, after which
the Prophet said: 'We wanted one thing but Allah wanted another, and what
Allah wanted is best.'” (Razi, At-tafsir al-Kabir on Q. 4:34)
In Sahih Bukhari 7:715 we find another
woman who was beaten severely enough that a green bruise was found on her body:
Narrated Ikrima: Rifa'a divorced his
wife whereupon Abdur-Rahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. Aisha said
that the lady (came), wearing a green veil (and complained to her (Aisha) of
her husband and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by the beating.)
It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah's Apostle
came, Aisha said, “I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the
believing woman. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!” When
Abdur-Rahman heard that his wife had gone to the Prophet, he came with his two
sons from another wife. She said, “By Allah! I have done no wrong to him,
but he is impotent, and is useless to me as this,” holding and showing the
fringe of her garment. Abdur-Rahman said, “By Allah, O Allah's Apostle! She
told a lie! I am very strong and can satisfy her but she is disobedient and
wants to go back to Rifa'a.” Allah's Apostle said to her, “If that is your
intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifa'a unless
Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you.” Then the Prophet saw two
boys with Abdur-Rahman and asked (him), "Are these your sons?” On that
Abdur-Rahman said, “Yes.” The Prophet said, “you claim what you claim
(i.e., that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow
resembles a crow.”
We notice two things from this Hadith,
1) Aisha attests that Muslim women were suffering more so than any other women,
and 2) Muhammad never once corrected Abdur-Rahman for beating his wife so hard
as to leave a bruise on her body but focuses instead on his wife's allegations
and motives.
In Sunan of Abu Dawud, #2141 we read:
Iyas Dhubab reported the apostle of
Allah as saying:
“Do not beat Allah's hand maidens,”
but when Umar came to the apostle of Allah and said: “Women have become
emboldened towards their husbands,” he (the prophet), gave permission to
beat them. Then many women came round the family of the apostle of Allah
complaining against their husbands. So the apostle of Allah said, “Many women
have gone round Muhammad's family complaining against their husbands. They are
not the best among you.”
And, in #2142 Umar reported the prophet
as saying:
“A man will not be asked as to why
he beat his wife.” When Ash'ath Ibn al-Qays discovered Umar b. Khattab
beating his wife, Umar stated: “Memorise three things from me, which I
memorised from the prophet, who said: 'The man is not to be asked why he
beat his wife…’” (Ibn Kathir on Q. 4:34, taken from a Hadith
reported by Abu Dawood, al-Nisa'i and Ibn Magah)
In Sahih Bukhari 7:132 Muhammad said:
“… None of you should flog his
wife as he flogs his slave and then have sexual intercourse with her in
the last part of the day.”
In other words, it is all right to flog
women, only not as hard as slaves, or on the day a person decides to have
intercourse with them, exposing harsh treatment of both women and slaves. This
also shows that slaves could be abused.
Another time where a woman was beaten
occurred shortly after an incident involving Muhammad's youngest wife, Aisha.
According to the traditions, after the Muslims were returning to Medina from the
campaign of Banu al-Mustaliq, Aisha fell behind. Safwan Mu'attal ibn
al-Salami found her stranded and brought her back to the camp. A rumor began to
spread that Safwan and Aisha had committed adultery, causing Muhammad to
distrust his young wife.
In order to get to the heart of the
matter, Ali ibn Abu Talib decided to question Aisha's female servant in the
presence of Muhammad about the latter's wife. Haykal notes:
The notes to Sunan Abu Dawud Numbers
2141 and 2142 states:
“This shows that wives should obey
their husbands,” and, “This means that a man tries his best to correct his
wife, but if he fails to do so, he is allowed to beat her as a last resort.
This tradition never means that a husband should beat his wife without any
valid reason.”
Finally, the Arabic term for beat,
idreb,
is used a total of 12 times in the Quran, three in reference to sayings or
proverbs and eight for a physical sense such as S. 8:12:
[And he commanded the angels:] “And
give firmness unto those who have attained to faith [with these words from Me]:
‘I shall cast terror into the hearts of those who are bent on denying the
truth; strike, then, their necks, [O believers] and strike off every one of
their finger tips.’”
This verse also points that God has
made man superior to woman, not on the virtue of position, as is the case in the
Bible, but due to man's superior qualities. This idea is restated in S. 2:28:
“… Women have such honorable rights
as obligations, but their men have a degree above them.”
Ibn Kathir commented on (Q. 4:34)
states:
“Men are superior to women, and a man
is better than a woman.” (Ibn-Kathir, commenting on Q. 4:34)
Commentators such as Razi, Baidawi,
Zamakhshari, and Tabari concur with Ibn Kathir.
Razi, commenting on Q. 4:11, said:
“(The males share is that of two
females). Man is more perfect than the woman in creation, and intelligence,
and in the religious sphere, such as the suitability to be a judge, and a
leader in worship. Also, the testimony of the man is twice that of the woman.
So that whoever is given great responsibilities must be given correspondingly
great privileges. As the woman is deficient in intelligence and of great
lust, if she is given much money, much corruption will be the
result." (Razi on the Q. 4:11).
He continues to say:
“The male is mentioned first in Q.
4:11 because the male is better than the female.” (Ibid.)
The great Muslim scholar and
philosopher Ghazali said:
“The most satisfying and final word
on the matter is that marriage is a form of slavery (riq). The
woman is man's slave and her duty therefore is absolute obedience to the
husband in all that he asks of her person. As Mohammad himself said: ‘A
woman, who at the moment of death enjoys the full approval of her husband, will
find her place in Paradise’.” (Ihya 'Uloum ed-Din by Ghazali, Dar
al-Kotob al-'Elmeyah, Beirut, vol. II, Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p. 64
emphasis ours)
In fact, according to Sahih Muslim,
“Amongst the inmates of Paradise the women would form the minority.”
(Sahih Muslim, English translation, Kitab Al-Riqaq, chapter MCXL
Hadith No. 6600 emphasis ours)
Commenting on the Qur'anic verse Q.
30:21 which states “And of His signs is that He created for you, of
yourselves, spouses, that you may repose in them” Razi said:
“His saying ‘created for you’
is
a proof that women were created like animals and plants and other useful
things, just as the Most High has said ‘He created for you what is on
earth’ and that necessitates the woman not to be created for worship and
carrying the Divine commands. We say creating the women is one of the graces
bestowed upon us and charging them with Divine commands to complete the graces
bestowed upon us, not that they are charged as we men are charged. For women
are not charged with many commands as we are charged, because the woman is
weak, silly, in one sense she is like a child, and no commands are laid upon a
child, but for the grace of Allah upon us to be complete, women had to be
charged so that they may fear the torment of punishment and so follow her
husband, and keep away from what is forbidden, otherwise corruption would
be rampant." (At-Tafsir al-Kabir, Razi, commenting on Q. 30:21)
Sahih Bukhari reported the following
Hadith:
“The woman is like a rib; if you try
to straighten her, she will break. So if you want to get benefit from her, do so
while she still has some crookedness.” 7:113 This Hadith is classed as agreed
upon.
The famous commentator al-Qurtubi said:
“The woman was created so that man
can rest in her ... for by her he gets rid of his sexual storm. The female
sexual organ was created for men. For when Allah the most high said '(You)
leave what your Lord has created for you of your wives?' Allah made it
known that that place of the woman was created from man for man's sake. So
the woman must yield it whenever the husband calls her. If she refuses
then she is an oppressor and in a grave position. Sufficient proof of this was
reported from Sahih Muslim in the Hadith that says 'When a man calls
his wife to his bed, and she refuses, the One Who is in the heaven will be
angry with her until he [her husband] is pleased with her.” (Qortobi,
commenting on Q. 30:21)
Muhammad said:
“Had I ordered anybody to prostrate
before any one, I would have ordered women to prostrate before their
husbands on account of men's rights over the women ordained by Allah.” (Mishkat
al-Masabih, English translation, Section'Duties of husband and wife',
Hadith No. 70. Reported by Abu Dawood, Ahmad, Tirmizi, Ibn Magah and Ibn Haban)
Modern Muslim writer, Ahmad Zaky
Tuffaha, quotes the following Hadith:
“If a woman offered one of her
breasts to be cooked and the other to be roasted, she still will fall short
of fulfilling her obligations to her husband. And besides that if she
disobeys her husband even for a twinkling of an eye, she would be thrown in
the lowest part of Hell, except she repents and turns back.” (Tuffaha,
Ahmad Zaky, Al-Mar'ah wal- Islam, Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnani, Beirut,
first edition, 1985, p. 176. It is also quoted in Al-Musanaf by Abu
Bakr Ahmad Ibn 'Abd Allah Ibn Mousa Al-Kanadi who lived 557H., vol. 1 part 2,
p. 255)
In fact, the rights of the husband are
so vast that “If blood, suppuration, and pus, were to pour from the husband's
nose and the wife licked it with her tongue, she would still never be able to
fulfill his rights over her.” (Suyuti, commenting on Q. 4:34)
The Bible is also superior in that it
mentions women whom God appointed as prophets and leaders on his behalf:
“Then Miriam the prophetess,
Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her,
with tambourines and dancing.” Exodus 15:20
“Deborah, a prophetess, the
wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.
“ Judges 4:4
“Hilkiah and those the king had
sent with him went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife
of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She
lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.’” 2 Chronicles 34:22
“Then I went to the prophetess,
and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said to me, ‘Name
him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’” Isaiah 8:3
“I brought you up out of Egypt and
redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron
and Miriam.” Micah 6:4
“There was also a prophetess,
Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old;
she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage…” Luke 2:36
“Leaving the next day, we reached
Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven.
He
had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.” Acts 21:8-9
“I commend to you our sister
Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cen'chre-ae…” Romans 16:1
“Every man who prays or prophesies
with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or
prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head-it is just as though
her head were shaved.” 1 Corinthians 11:4-5
The Quran on the other hand does not
even mention any women by name with the exception of Mary, Jesus’ mother.
Slavery
Both
the Holy Bible and the Quran allow the possession of slaves. Both, the Holy
Bible and the Quran also allow the manumission of slaves:
“Each one should remain in the
situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were
called? Don't let it trouble you-although if you can gain your freedom,
do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's
freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's
slave.” 1 Corinthians 7:20-22
The difference being that the New
Testament condemns slave trading, a practice still acceptable to Islam:
“We also know that law is made not
for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the
unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for
murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and
perjurers-and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine…” 1
Timothy 1:9-10
Compare:
Sahih Muslim, Book 9, Number 3901:
There came a slave and pledged
allegiance to Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) on migration; he (the
Prophet) did not know that he was a slave. Then there came his master and
demanded him back, whereupon Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: Sell
him to me. And he bought him for two black slaves, and he did not
afterwards take allegiance from anyone until he had asked him whether he was a
slave (or a free man).
Malik's Muwatta, Book 21, Number
21.13.25:
Yahya related to me from Malik from
Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili from Abu'l-Ghayth Salim, the mawla of ibn Muti that Abu
Hurayra said, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, in the yearof Khaybar. We did not capture any gold or
silver except for personal effects, clothes, and baggage. Rifaa ibn Zayd
presented a black slave boy to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, whose name was Midam. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, made for Wadi'l-Qura, and when he arrived
there, Midam was unsaddling the camel of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, when a stray arrow struck and killed him. The
people said, 'Good luck to him! The Garden!' The Messenger of Allah said, 'No!
By He in whose hand my self is! The cloak which he took from the spoils on the
Day of Khaybar before they were distributed will blaze with fire on him.' When
the people heard that, a man brought a sandal-strap or two sandal-straps to
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'A sandal-strap or
two sandal-straps of fire!'"
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 91,
Number 368:
I came and behold, Allah's Apostle
was staying on a Mashroba (attic room) and a black slave of Allah's Apostle
was at the top if its stairs. I said to him, "(Tell the Prophet)
that here is 'Umar bin Al-Khattab (asking for permission to enter)." Then
he admitted me. ... (cf. Bukhari 3.648, 6.435, 7.119)
Note: It does not say “the black
slave of Muhammad” it says “a black slave” which is an indication there
were more than one.
Finally, Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Book
15, Number 103:
On the days of Mina, (11th, 12th, and
13th of Dhul-Hijjah) Abu Bakr came to her while two young girls were beating
the tambourine and the Prophet was lying covered with his clothes. Abu Bakr
scolded them and the Prophet uncovered his face and said to Abu Bakr,
"Leave them, for these days are the days of 'Id and the days of
Mina." 'Aisha further said, "Once the Prophet was screening me and
I was watching the display of black slaves in the Mosque and ('Umar)
scolded them. The Prophet said, 'Leave them. O Bani Arfida! (carry on), you
are safe (protected)’.”
Display of black slaves in the Mosque
suggests that there was slave-trading going on at the Kaba.
The Holy Bible also condemns harsh
treatment of slaves, whereas Islam allows it:
“Masters, provide your slaves
with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master
in heaven.” Colossians 4:1
In fact, Israel had been commanded to
never abuse or mistreat the aliens living amongst them, unlike Islam:
“Do not mistreat an alien or
oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.” Exodus 22:21
“Do not oppress an alien; you
yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”
Exodus 23:9
“Six days do your work, but on the
seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the
slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.”
Exodus 23:12
“At the end of every three years,
bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that
the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the
aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and
eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the
work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 14:28-29
“There will always be poor people in
the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and
toward the poor and needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 16:11
“When you are harvesting in your
field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the
alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you
in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not
go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the
fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do
not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless
and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command
you to do this.” Deuteronomy 24:19-22
Compare:
Sahih Bukhari Volume 7, Number 132:
“… None of you should flog his
wife as he flogs his slave and then have sexual intercourse with her in
the last part of the day.”
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in his book,
Zad
al-Ma'ad (part 1, pp. 114-116, gives the names of Muhmmad’s slaves:
“These are the names of Muhammad's
male slaves: Yakan Abu Sharh, Aflah, 'Ubayd, Dhakwan, Tahman, Mirwan, Hunayn,
Sanad, Fadala Yamamin, Anjasha al-Hadi, Mad'am, Karkara, Abu Rafi', Thawban,
Ab Kabsha, Salih, Rabah, Yara Nubyan, Fadila, Waqid, Mabur, Abu Waqid, Kasam,
Abu 'Ayb, Abu Muwayhiba, Zayd Ibn Haritha, and also a black slave called
Mahran, who was re-named (by Muhammad) Safina (`ship').
Ibn Qayyim quotes Muhammad’s slave,
Mahran:
“The apostle of God and his
companions went on a trip. (When) their belongings became too heavy for them
to carry, Muhammad told me, `Spread your garment.' They filled it with their
belongings, then they put it on me. The apostle of God told me, `Carry
(it), for you are a ship.' Even if I was carrying the load of six or seven
donkeys while we were on a journey, anyone who felt weak would throw his
clothes or his shield or his sword on me so I would carry that, a heavy load.
The prophet told me, `You are a ship’” (Ibn Qayyim, pp.
115-116; al-Hulya, Vol. 1, p. 369, quoted from Ahmad 5:222).
Hence, the revelation given through the
Lord Jesus is vastly superior to the Quran.
