Quran Talk Blog, Community

Quran Talk BlogMuhammad’s Only MiracleThe Quran teaches that the only miracle given to Muhammad was the Quran itself, as verses 10:20, 17:59, and 29:49 to 51 show. Hadith collections nonetheless credit him with splitting the moon, stopping the sun, controlling rain, water flowing from his fingers, and multiplying food. Other hadith say he was given only revelation, so the Quran, being more binding, settles the question.April 17, 2023

Quran Talk BlogObey God and His messengerThe Quranic command to obey God and His messenger, and how believers can uphold it now that Muhammad has died. The article distinguishes Muhammad the fallible man from Muhammad the messenger, whose sole duty was delivering the message. It argues that obeying the messenger means obeying the Quran alone as the only preserved reminder and Hadith, citing the messenger's complaint that his people deserted this Quran.April 17, 2023

Quran Talk BlogObey The Messenger ≠ Obey HadithThe traditionalist claim that obeying the messenger means upholding Hadith is answered through a parent and child analogy showing a false equivalence. Hadith are shown to lack context, to vary even in the mass transmitted narrations, and to be mostly fabrications, while companions such as Abu Bakr, Umar, and Ibn Abbas turned away from them. The Quran stands as the only legitimate source of law.April 17, 2023

Quran Talk Blog19 Hadith Against SunnahNineteen hadiths from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are turned against traditionalists who hold that the Sunnah rules over the Quran. They show Muhammad as a fallible human who forbade writing anything from him but the Quran, warned against hadith narrators, and left nothing but the Quran. The article closes with verses 39:23 to 39:38 presenting the Quran as the best Hadith.April 14, 2023

Quran Talk BlogSingular YouCommandments in the Quran addressed with the singular you apply to all believers, not only to Muhammad, just as lessons are drawn from dialogues like Moses with Pharaoh or the advice to Qaroon. The article cites 2:149 on facing the Sacred Masjid, and treats verses opening with O you prophet, such as 66:1, as the exception, though they still offer wisdom.April 10, 2023

Quran Talk BlogIslamic Calendar vs. LunisolarA rebuttal of the modern claim that the Quran follows a lunisolar calendar, arguing from 9:36 and 9:37 that adding a thirteenth month would alter the Sacred Months. It cites the words sanah and ʿām for solar and lunar years, word counts tied to the Metonic cycle and the lunar year, and the etymology of Ramadan, concluding that fasting and Hajj follow a purely lunar calendar.April 9, 2023

Quran Talk BlogElevation (Part 1)Verse 6:125 likens the straitened chest of one sent astray to climbing toward the sky, and high altitude becomes a metaphor for growing closer to God through conditioning and perseverance. Moses is the example, from his patience lessons with his teacher and his watering for the women of Midyan to his fear before facing Pharaoh and his later confidence that his Lord would guide him.April 6, 2023

Quran Talk BlogElevation (Part 2)Spiritual elevation through Submission, drawn from 6:125 to 6:132, with the image of an eagle rising above birds that harass it. The article ties Submission and peace to a shared Arabic root that also gives ladder and stairway, and reads the straight path as the upright path to God. It warns that clinging to the ground and this world leaves one matched with the unrighteous.April 6, 2023

Quran Talk BlogWorship God or His hypothetical son?Verse 43:81 and whether its hypothetical son of the Most Gracious would make the speaker the foremost worshiper of God or of that son. Using 9:3 as a parallel case where grammar allows an absurd reading, the article argues that the Quran's devotion to God alone settles the meaning. It faults esteemed translators who render the verse as worship of the son, citing 6:162 and 12:106.April 5, 2023

Quran Talk BlogInvestigating the “99 Names of God”The traditional list of the 99 names of God, checked name by name against the Quran. Thirty six names appear only in another form or as a described quality, while nine, including The Just, The Patient, and The Light, are never applied to God at all. The article argues that fairness and patience are human values, and it weighs whether God as light in 24:35 is literal or figurative.April 3, 2023

Quran Talk BlogHadith Contradicts QuranHadith contradicts the Quran on matters of law, answering those who say the two agree. Verses are set beside Hadith on the four steps of ablution and what nullifies it, the four dietary prohibitions, lashing versus stoning for adultery, the prophet judging by the Quran alone, and God's preservation of the Quran against reports of lost verses on stoning and adult suckling.March 30, 2023

Quran Talk BlogTwo PathsBelief shapes how two people can witness the same event and move in opposite directions, one drawing closer to God and the other turning away. Starting from a scene in Pulp Fiction, the article draws on Quran verses about the two paths, appreciation versus unappreciation, and God augmenting guidance. Its examples include sunshine, a meal, the origin of life, Abraham and the idols, and how people respond to warnings.March 30, 2023

Quran Talk BlogUsing Hadith to argue against HadithHadith from Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari are cited against using Hadith besides the Quran as a source of law. The narrations show the prophet calling himself a fallible human, warning against additions to religion, and forbidding the writing of anything from him except the Quran. Verses such as 39:23, 6:114, and 4:87 are presented as echoing the point that God's book is the best Hadith.March 30, 2023

Quran Talk BlogWhen the Quran SpeaksPassages where the Quran addresses people in the first person, as a warner and bearer of good news, are read as the Quran itself speaking, not Muhammad, since his words would begin with say. Examples from 11:1 to 3, 51:50 to 51, 6:104, 65:10 to 11, and 41:2 to 4 support the case, and 41:21 answers how a book can speak: God causes everything to speak.March 30, 2023

Quran Talk BlogWho witnessed 9:128-129?Hadith accounts of how verses 9:128 and 9:129 entered the Quran, starting with Bukhari and Tirmidhi reports that only Khuzaima bore witness to them. Four other narrations cited as further witnesses name different compilers and caliphs and confuse the suhuf with the later mus'haf. The article argues that these accounts deepen the doubt that the two verses belong to Sura 9 or the original Quran.March 30, 2023

Quran Talk BlogHow did the messenger judge?Answering the argument that verses 4:65 and 33:36 require obeying Hadith, the article asks by what means the messenger judged. It contrasts Hadith reports of the prophet making or weighing laws with Quranic verses showing God alone is the Lawgiver and every messenger judges by the scripture he received. Muhammad therefore judged by the Quran, the Statute Book, the only source of law.March 29, 2023

Quran Talk BlogThe Great FeudThe feud in the High Society mentioned in 38:69 is traced through the Quran's verses on devils and jinns barred from listening in and chased by projectiles, and linked to the exile of Satan. Dr. Khalifa's explanation of the feud as the cause of the division among angels, jinns, animals, and humans is noted, along with parallel passages on a heavenly council in Psalms, Jeremiah, 1 Kings, Genesis, and John.March 7, 2023

Quran Talk BlogCritical Analysis of the Narrative on Abu Bakr’s Collection (9:128-129)The Hadith of Abu Bakr's collection of the Quran, with its claim that the last verses of Sura 9 (9:128-129) were found with only one man, is examined through Dr. Shehzad Saleem's video series. The case covers its single narrator chain, its absence from Malik's Muwatta, Sahih Muslim, and early histories, a possibly broken isnad, and charges of tadlis and idraj against al-Zuhri.March 1, 2023

Quran Talk BlogDay Mentioned 365 Times in QuranWord counts in the Quran that match the calendar: day in the singular occurs 365 times, days 30 times, and all forms 475 times, a multiple of 19. Sabbath occurs seven times, and month twelve. The two words for year, sanah and ʿām, point to solar and lunar years, illustrated by the 309 years of the sleepers of the cave and by the 19 year Metonic cycle.February 28, 2023

Quran Talk Blog21 Reasons Historians Are Skeptical of HadithHistorical objections to Hadith, drawn from Dr. Joshua Little's January 2022 interview with Dr. Javad Hashmi, with added commentary. The 21 points include late sources, contradictions, mass fabrication, late isnads, rapid growth in Hadith numbers, unreliable oral transmission, and conflict with the Quran. It concludes that Hadith should be presumed unreliable, while the Quran remains free of doubt and contradiction.February 8, 2023

Quran Talk BlogGuidelines for Understanding the Quran (Hermeneutics)Rules of thumb for interpreting the Quran, beginning with righteousness and a sincere effort at strict monotheism as the prerequisite for being guided. The guidelines include seeking refuge in God from Satan, reading through God's grace and mercy, letting straightforward verses govern multiple-meaning ones, rejecting interpretations that contradict other verses, and upholding the Quran as the only source of religious law, with patience and personal verification.February 5, 2023

Quran Talk BlogHarsh PunishmentsHarsh punishments in the Quran, the article argues, are set behind conditions that make them nearly impossible to enforce, much as Jesus did with the stoning of the adulterous woman. It traces this through polygamy, concubines and slavery, spousal abuse, the four witnesses required for adultery, and enemy combatants, alongside the non-aggression principle and the Quran's encouragement of forgiveness and patience.February 5, 2023

Quran Talk BlogTurn the Other CheekResponding to injustice, comparing the Gospel teaching to turn the other cheek with the Quran's fuller treatment of retaliation, self defense, and the sacredness of life. Tit for Tat is presented as the strategy the Quran reflects, with the advice to err on the side of forgiveness since our information is never perfect. Peace is the end objective, with Islam and Muslim sharing a root with the word for peace.February 5, 2023

Quran Talk BlogThe Sting OperationSatan's testing of humans is read as a sting operation, set against the FBI's Abscam case and the warrant and probable cause rules that govern real stings. Satan acts as prosecutor trying to prove humans unappreciative, with Job, Solomon, and David as Quranic examples. Believers are urged to seek refuge in God and choose Him as their wakil, or defense attorney.February 3, 2023

Quran Talk BlogBala vs. FitnaThe two Arabic words the Quran uses for a test, balā and fit'na, are compared through the verses where their roots occur. Balā is presented as the universal test of hardship and blessing that draws believers closer to God, while fit'na is a trial of temptation and deception that separates true believers from disbelievers. Their overlap and progression are also traced, with an appendix listing every verse using each root.February 2, 2023

Quran Talk BlogAbu HurayraAbu Hurayra, the companion credited with more Hadith than Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, or any other, despite only a few years with the prophet. The article sets the prophet's ban on writing anything but the Quran beside the caution of the early caliphs, then gathers reports of Aisha, Ali, and Umar rebuking him, his claim that he never forgets, and the strange narrations attributed to him.January 20, 2023

Quran Talk BlogFour Paradigms for Understanding QuranFour ways people read the Quran and settle disputes over it: traditionalism, which leans on Hadith and the first generation; leaderism, which defers to scholars, imams, or schools; mysticism, which allows open interpretation; and rationalism, which draws universal lessons from the Quran's own grammar and words. Multiple-meaning verses (3:7) are compared to the tree in Paradise, a test that calls for tolerance, since each person's reckoning is with God.January 19, 2023

Quran Talk BlogHow God Answers PrayersGod answers prayers in two ways: by intervening in His creation at times He chose from the start, and by building answers into creation before we ask. A chef analogy, the conception of Jesus through the word Be in 36:82, and the Arabic of God granting Moses his request for Aaron in 20:36 support the case that intervention does not imply God was unaware.January 12, 2023

Quran Talk BlogHadith, Lies, and Civil WarsThe Quraish, who fought the prophet until 630 CE, take over the caliphate within a generation through the First and Second Fitna, from Uthman's assassination through Karbala and the sieges of Mecca. The article sets this bloodshed against Quran 4:93 on killing a believer. It examines Hadith permitting lies in war and for unity, and Hadith commanding the killing of rival claimants to the caliph as fabrications serving political ends.January 11, 2023

Quran Talk BlogModern Day SlaveryAnswers the criticism that the Quran does not ban slavery outright, arguing it gives a framework for gradual elimination that protects the enslaved. Draws parallels to the hardships of black Americans after the 13th Amendment and to cobalt mining in the Congo, where laborers work in slave conditions to supply lithium-ion batteries. Proposes awareness, shared sacrifice, and better opportunities as the path to justice.January 8, 2023

Quran Talk BlogSelfishnessSelfishness, the Quranic l-shuḥa, is traced through the verses that use its root and read as a human trait that only arises within society, which may be why God condemns hermitism. Verses 4:128, 64:15, 59:9, and 33:19 form a framework for setting aside one's own wants to preserve marriage, family, community, and nation, including choices about money and children and giving refuge to those in need.January 5, 2023

Quran Talk BlogThe Illusion of DifficultySatan makes the path to Hell look enticing and the path of submission look like hard work, yet the obligations of submission bring ease and purpose. Drawing on Pew data on religious happiness, the contact prayer, Ramadan fasting, and verses on choosing the difficult path, the article contrasts Joseph's trust in God with celebrity despair after Stephen tWitch Boss's suicide.December 15, 2022

Quran Talk BlogHadith Reprimanding Followers For Mimicking MuhammadNarrations from Bukhari and Muslim in which Muhammad discourages his followers from copying his extra night prayers, his continuous Al Wisal fast, and his personal opinion on grafting date palms. Further narrations limit obedience to commands that follow the Book of God and are maroof, matching Quran 60:12. The article offers these to people who uphold Hadith, while holding that the Quran alone is the source of religious law.December 14, 2022

Quran Talk BlogSome thoughts on 22:60-62Verses 22:60 through 22:62 and why the merging of night and day follows God's promise to support one who equitably avenges an injustice and is then persecuted. The night and day are read as a metaphor for alternating days of defeat and victory, which test whether believers call on God alone. Satan's permitted schemes, God's sovereignty in the Hereafter, and verses 3:140, 3:160 and 47:31 frame the reading.December 14, 2022

Quran Talk BlogThe Written QuranThe Quran's written form from the very first revelation, against the common claim that it was mainly oral and written down after the prophet's death. The argument draws on the meanings of kitab, Quran, and the pen, verses on pages and scribes, and the collection of the Quran during Muhammad's life. It also cites the consistent spelling of the earliest manuscripts and Arabic grammar.December 11, 2022

Quran Talk BlogNasakh and QuranThe doctrine of abrogation is refuted as a satanic scheme that leads Muslims to discard verses of the Quran, often in favor of Hadith. Ayah in 2:106 means a sign, miracle, or revelation, never a single verse. Verses 22:52 through 22:57 show God nullifying the devil's interference, perfecting His revelations, and promising a shameful retribution for those who reject them.December 10, 2022

Quran Talk BlogHead CoveringsWhether the Quran commands women to cover their hair, answered by examining the words hijab, khimar, and zīna in verses 33:53 and 24:31 alongside other verses on modesty. The article argues that head coverings came from culture and Islamic state decrees rather than from God, and that forcing any dress code violates the Quran's ban on compulsion, leaving only a guideline to cover the chest.December 9, 2022

Quran Talk BlogForbidding Writing HadithThe prophet's prohibition on writing anything from him except the Quran, and why the first Hadith compilation appeared some 150 years after his death. Using Quran verses and narrations from Muslim, al-Tirmidhi and al-Bukhari, the article shows that Hadith sources themselves record the ban, Abu Bakr burning his collection, companions' reluctance to narrate, and Ali's statement that only the Quran and one paper were written.December 4, 2022

Quran Talk BlogTashahhud & HadithThe Tashahhud, the testimony recited while sitting in the contact prayer, is examined against the Quran's command to mention God alone in Salat. The article sets sixteen Sahih Hadith versions side by side, notes their inconsistencies and a narration saying the wording changed after the prophet's death, and argues that Hadith is unreliable and the Quran is the only consistent source.December 4, 2022

Quran Talk BlogNo Partners (Shirk)Shirk, or idolatry, is defined through the Quran as associating anything with God, including believing anything independent of Him can harm or benefit. The article lists idols from Jesus and saints to ego, property, and scholars, rebuts the traditional reading of 4:59 and 4:65, and argues that upholding Hadith or mentioning the prophet beside God in the Shahadah and the contact prayer sets up partners.November 30, 2022

Quran Talk Blog19th English TranslationWikipedia's list of English translations of the Quran places Dr. Rashad Khalifa's translation 23rd, and the article argues it is actually the 19th. It drops Alexander Ross's version as a translation from French, corrects Khalifa's first edition date to 1981, and removes M.H. Shakir's translation over its uncertain authorship and dates and its near total plagiarism of Maulana Muhammad Ali's 1917 translation.November 28, 2022

Quran Talk BlogThree Big Lies Regarding the Compilation of QuranThree traditional Hadith claims about how the Quran was compiled are weighed against the Quran itself: that it came in seven modes and many recitations, that Muhammad was illiterate and had others write it, and that it was collected only after his death. Citing verses on the single Quran, the word ummy meaning gentile, and 75:16 to 19, the article argues Muhammad wrote the Quran and saw it completed.November 28, 2022

Quran Talk Blog22:40 Monasteris, Churches, SynagoguesDefends Dr. Rashad Khalifa's rendering of four words in verse 22:40 as monasteries, churches, synagogues, and masjids, against the alternatives in the Monotheist Group and Edip Yüksel translations. Each word is traced through its Arabic root, dictionary meanings, and possible Syriac and Greek connections, showing why the verse names houses of worship where the name of God is commemorated.November 26, 2022

Quran Talk BlogChange in QiblaThe change in the Qiblah, the direction faced during the contact prayer, is read through 2:142 to 2:150 as a test of whether believers would follow the messenger over tribal bias. The article links it to impartiality between Jews and Christians and the religion of Abraham, cites Psalm 84 and Bakka, and uses Dr. Khalifa's footnote to argue the Qiblah moved from the Ka'aba to Jerusalem and back.November 14, 2022

Quran Talk BlogBackbiting IdiomBackbiting in the Quran is read through a Classical Arabic idiom from a poem by Hassan ibn Thabit, where hungering for the flesh of the unaware means to backbite. Verse 49:12, on eating the flesh of a dead brother, is understood in the same idiomatic sense. Two examples from the story of Joseph show people speaking against someone in his absence.November 9, 2022

Quran Talk BlogThe Problem with Calling Hadith RevelationsTreating Hadith as divine revelation creates problems its upholders cannot resolve: it contradicts the Quran as the only book and complete source of law, and even Hadith reports say the prophet left no revelation besides the Quran. Hadith lack God's promise of preservation, conflict even in the most authenticated narrations, and leave believers risking Hell by rejecting true revelation or accepting false ones.November 9, 2022

Quran Talk BlogHow Hadith and Sunnism Destroyed Islam and RationalityThe decline of Baghdad's Islamic Golden Age is traced to the rise of Sunni Islam and the placing of Hadith above the Quran and reason. The article contrasts House of Wisdom scholars such as al-Khwarizmi and al-Kindi under the Quran-first Mu'tazila caliphs with al-Mutawakkil's turn, the schools of Shafi'i and Hanbal, and Hadith and tafsir claims like the earth resting on a whale.November 7, 2022

Quran Talk BlogTidal LockingTidal locking is read as the scenario behind 25:45 and 25:46, where God says He could have made the shadow stationary. A locked Earth would bring perpetual day and night, boiling oceans, frozen darkness and violent storms, recalling 28:71 and 28:72. Also covered are the palindrome in each floating in its own orbit and the Arabic words dalīlan and qabḍan.October 30, 2022

Languages

With each verse

Quran Talk Blog