Quran Mistakes: How Many Mistakes Are There In The Quran? 

Some people try to attack Islam and disprove its divine source by alleging the existence of mistakes in the Quran. Still, the Blessed Quran sets a mind-blowing claim that it is error-free and contains nothing but pure truth from God. And it is a very logical claim since a Book that’s been revealed from God, the All-Wise, the All-Knowledgeable, is expected to bear no mistakes. 

In this article, we will be shedding light on some famous non-scientific alleged mistakes of the Quran and will be presenting short refutations for them.

It’s just worth mentioning that errors due to inaccurate translations are not our subject here. Our main focus in this article is discussing the Quran in its original Arabic language. 

Are you ready to have a quick overview!!!

What Is Considered A Mistake In The Quran?

Before taking off on such a dangerous mission proving the fallibility of the Quran, one should be setting a clear definition for the “Alleged Mistake”. (I call it dangerous since many have tried to find a mistake in the Quran, rather than prove it, but they ended up as Muslims! For instance, google Gary Miller and his lectures).

All books that’ve been authored by human beings, and whatsoever will be authored by any of them, are somehow imperfect. A history book may contain some assumptions or inaccurate details that contradict reality. A book in Physics or Chemistry may include theories that could be overridden by future research. A novel may contain linguistic or grammatical errors. You will usually find a request from the writer to be corrected for whatever mistake a reader may find in his text. That’s why you may find new modified editions for the same book.

Actually, no writer ever has had the nerves to claim that his book is a 100% true and perfect in all aspects, except for the Quran where you will be finding an Ayah at the very beginning of the second Surah of it stating:

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًۭى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

“This is the Book! There is no doubt about it ˹regarding its authenticity or consistency.˺ — a guide for those mindful of Allah”

[Quran 2:2] 

What Can Be Defined As A Mistake In The Quran?

Here are some examples:

1. Scientific Error/s: A verse that opposes established scientific fact. For example, the earth is 10000 years old or so. 
2. Inconsistency/Contradiction: A verse that opposes another in a way that cannot be reconciled. (for more about such claims, check these articles on Quran contradictions and abrogation )
3. Historical Error/s: A verse that opposes an established historical fact. For example: Marry, the mother of Jesus, lived in the time of Moses.

Read also:

 Scientific miracles of the Quran

Why is The Quran The Greatest Miracle?

What If The Quran Contradicts The Bible?

If the Quran contradicts the Bible in a certain point, does it mean that the Quran is wrong?

Of course not.

Since the authenticity of the Bible itself couldn’t be established, that’s why it cannot be a universal criterion we may use to judge other Books of Revelation (Check this article for more about Bible authenticity). For the same reason, if different details are found in Prophet Joseph’s biography between what’s been mentioned in the Quran and what’s been mentioned in the Old Testament, we cannot then conclude that the Quran contains a historical error.

How To Deal With Religious Texts?

It’s vital to treat discussions about religious texts and beliefs with respect and caution and out of an objective point of view. What one person may consider a mistake or inconsistency in a religious text, others may interpret it differently according to the context of their faith. The Quran, like other religious texts, has been subjected to scholars’ interpretations. For any alleged mistake in the Quran, a thoughtful reader may have a quick search through Islamic resources to correctly understand the debatable verse within its context to get to a final conclusion about it. Here, you can find useful tips on how to approach the Quran.

Quran Mistake No. 1: Is Mary The Sister Of Aaron?!

There is a whole interesting chapter in the Quran that’s called after the mother of Prophet Jesus: “Mariam” [Mary]. It mainly describes the events that has been valid before and after the miraculous birth of Prophet Jesus by his mother Mary and it states a clear truth about Jesus’ status (human or divine). After giving birth to Jesus, Mary has had to face the difficult criticism of Jews and their astonishment at seeing her baby. But of course, they wondered: how for a pious woman like Mary, that’s been descended from a righteous family, to give birth to a child without marriage committing such a grave sin as adultery? And then we find in the Quran:

فَأَتَتْ بِهِ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُهُ قَالُوا يَا مَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْئًا فَرِيًّا * يَا أُخْتَ هَارُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا

“Then she returned to her people, carrying him. They said ˹in shock˺, “O Mary! You have certainly done a horrible thing! O sister of Aaron, neither was your father an evil man nor was your mother a harlot.”

[Quran 19:27-28] 

Some readers find that it is a clear historical mistake in the Quran to say that Mary is the sister of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Obviously, there is a large span between Moses and Jesus. 

Actually, this objection is more than 1400 years old! Let’s read Prophet Muhammed’s refutation to this misconception:

Mughira Ibn Shu’ba reported:

“When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read “O sister of Aaron” in the Qur’an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: The (people of the old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them. [Hadith] 

So, it is clear now that the verse does not mean that Mary is the biological sister of Aaron. In the Arabic language, the word brother/sister does not necessarily mean they are biological brothers/sisters. It can also mean they are sharing certain traits. Here is an example:

إِنَّ ٱلْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوٓا۟ إِخْوَٰنَ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِرَبِّهِۦ كَفُورًۭا

“Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.”

[Quran 17:27] 

Here, those who spend their money wastefully are described as being brothers of the devil since they share the same evil trait of transgression with him.

Quran Mistake No. 2: People Talk Or Do Not Talk On The Day Of Judgement!

In the Quran, the reader can find a large number of verses talking about the details of the Day of Judgment. In some verses, we read that the people are not given permission to talk and in some, we find them talking and debating with others.

هَـٰذَا يَوْمُ لَا يَنطِقُونَ * وَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ 

“On that Day they will not ˹be in a position to˺ speak, nor are they allowed to apologize.”

[Quran 77:35-36] 

وَنُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ * قَالُوا۟ يَـٰوَيْلَنَا مَنۢ بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ هَـٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَصَدَقَ ٱلْمُرْسَلُونَ

“The Trumpet will be blown ˹a second time˺, then—behold! —they will rush from the graves to their Lord. They will cry, “Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of rest? This must be what the Most Compassionate warned us of; the messengers told the truth!””

[Quran 36:51-52] 

Is not that a clear contradiction, O Muslims?!

Simply explained, the Day of Judgment according to Islamic belief is a very long day (fifty thousand years in length), and a large number of events will be taking place in it. Thus, there is no surprise that on some certain occasions, people will be allowed to talk together, to their Lord, or to angels, while in other circumstances, they will be allowed talk.

Quran Mistake No. 3: God’s Words Change Or Do Not!

A famous objection has been risen that the Quran has mentioned in many occasions that God’s words can never be changed, as in the following verse:

وَلَقَدْ كُذِّبَتْ رُسُلٌۭ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَصَبَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا كُذِّبُوا۟ وَأُوذُوا۟ حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَىٰهُمْ نَصْرُنَا ۚ وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَكَ مِن نَّبَإِى۟ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ

“Indeed, messengers before you were rejected but patiently endured rejection and persecution until Our help came to them. And Allah’s words are never broken. And you have already received some of the narratives of these messengers.”

[Quran 6:34] 

And in other verses, we see that the Quran talks about people of the scripture who made changes to their books:

فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـٰذَا مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا۟ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًۭا ۖ فَوَيْلٌۭ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌۭ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

“So, woe to those who distort the Scripture with their own hands then say, “This is from Allah”—seeking a fleeting gain! So, woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned.”

[Quran 2:79] 

The answer is: In the context of the Quran, the words of God do not necessarily mean His revelations to His prophets (and the same concept has also been used in the Bible as well). It may refer to other meanings as well like His decree or His promise, which is never changeable. It is the context of the verse that decides. In the first verse, “Allah’s words” means his promise to grant victory to His prophets over their enemies, the same meaning as stated in the following verse:

وَلَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ كَلِمَتُنَا لِعِبَادِنَا ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ إِنَّهُمْ لَهُمُ ٱلْمَنصُورُونَ وَإِنَّ جُندَنَا لَهُمُ ٱلْغَـٰلِبُونَ

“Our Word has already gone forth to Our servants, the messengers, that they would surely be helped, and that Our forces will certainly prevail.”

[Quran 37:171-173] 

It’s not been mentioned, not in a single verse of the whole Quran, that God has promised to preserve the previous revelations as he mentioned regarding the Quran. 

In conclusion, and to refute such misconceptions we state that the Quran has mentioned the Scriptures of Abraham [87:19], but where are they today? They do not exist, and it’s clear proof that God’s previous revelations have not been and would not have necessarily been preserved.

Quran Mistake No. 4: What Was The Number Of Angels In The Battle Of Badr; 1,000, 3,000 Or 5,000?!

In the Battle of Badr, God promised to support the Muslims, who were less in number and weapons than their enemies, by angels. It’s been shown in the following verse of chapter 9:

إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّى مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ

“Recall: you are crying for help from your Lord, so He responded to you, “I am surely reinforcing you with one thousand angels in succession.”

[Quran 8:9] 

So, we understand that God sent 1000 Angels in succession to reinforce the Muslims in the Battle of Badr.

Now, in Chapter 3, we read about another bunch of angels:

إِذْ تَقُولُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَلَن يَكْفِيَكُمْ أَن يُمِدَّكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِثَلَـٰثَةِ ءَالَـٰفٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُنزَلِينَ * بَلَىٰٓ ۚ إِن تَصْبِرُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ وَيَأْتُوكُم مِّن فَوْرِهِمْ هَـٰذَا يُمْدِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِخَمْسَةِ ءَالَـٰفٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُسَوِّمِينَ

˹Remember, O Prophet, ˺ when you said to the believers, “Is it not enough that your Lord will send down a reinforcement of three thousand angels for your aid?” Most certainly, if you ˹believers˺ are firm and mindful ˹of Allah˺ and the enemy launches a sudden attack on you, Allah will reinforce you with five thousand angels designated ˹for battle˺.

[Quran 3:124-125] 

Are the battles that’ve been mentioned in verses [Quran 3:124-125] and 8:9 the same?

According to Ibn Abbas, the companion who the Prophet has called as the Interpreter of the Quran, the answer is No. 

Chapter 3 indicates the Battle of Uhud where God promised to send the angels under the three previously mentioned conditions. And since these conditions were not fulfilled, such angels have not been therein. If the reader is not conscious about which battle the verse is talking about, he would certainly get confused.

Quran Mistake No. 5: God Does Not Know The Exact Number Of Prophet Jonah’s People!

In Chapter 37 verse 147, one reads:

وَأَرْسَلْنَـٰهُ إِلَىٰ مِا۟ئَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ

“Then We sent him to a hundred thousand or more.”   

[Quran 37:147]

After God’s saved Prophet Jonah (Yunus in Arabic) out of the whale belly, He’s sent him to call some people whose number was 100 thousand to worship God, and only.

The question is: Did not God know the exact number of Jonah’s people? 

In Islamic belief, God is considered all-knowing, and the Quran emphasizes the omniscience (complete knowledge) of Allah. The Quran describes God as having perfect knowledge of all things, including the details of past, present, and future events. One way to understand the verse is to say, the Arabic word          (Aw – أو) which is translated as “or” means here rather, as Ibn Abbas said. So, the verse emphasizes the large number of Jonah’s people without exactly specifying their number, just by saying that they exceeded 100 thousand. This is in accordance with the norm of the Quran in not mentioning unnecessary details in its stories. Another way to interpret the verse is to say that: when people look at them, they hesitate and say: “They are a hundred thousand or more”.

Quran Mistake No. 6: Will The Disbelievers Be Questioned Or Not On The Day Of Judgment?!

Some critics, who are unaware of the Quranic style, say the Quran is clearly contradicting itself regarding questioning the disbelievers on the Day of Judgment. Here are the verses that they presume their contradiction:

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْـَٔلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ * عَمَّا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ  

“So, by your Lord! We will certainly question them all about what they used to do.”

[Quran 15:92-93]

 وَلَا يُسْـَٔلُ عَن ذُنُوبِهِمُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ

“On that Day there will be no need for any human or jinn to be asked about their sins.”  

[Quran 55:39]

To solve this apparent contradiction, we ask: Do all questions have the same objective?

In the Arabic language, like other languages, the questioning style can be real or figurative. You can ask your child when coming home from a school trip, “What have you done?”. You ask to get knowledge about something you do not know.  You can also ask your child when breaking a precious antique, “What have you done?” and your objective is to rebuke him. The types, and accordingly, the answers to the two questions are different. In this situation, the first one is a real question to get knowledge, while the second is a figurative one.

Now, let’s apply this concept to the mentioned verses. In the first verse, God questions the disbelievers about what they used to do as a way of rebuking and blaming them for their sins. That’s a figurative question.

In the second verse, the negated question is a real question. i.e., there is no need to ask them about their sins because God already knows them. 

To sum up, wherever the affirmation of questioning in the Day of Judgement is mentioned in the Quran, it is in the sense of accountability and rebuking. And wherever its negation is mentioned, it is in the context of inquiry and identification.

Are There Mistakes In The Quran?

There is no such author who writes a book and then challenges others that this book is error-free. As for the Noble Qur’an, it is the other way around. It just informs its reader from the very beginnig that there is no single error in this book.  Actually, any reader of a book who needs to judge its divinity may be using the validity test in the following verse:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟ فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًۭا كَثِيرًۭا

“Do they not then reflect on the Quran? Had it been from anyone other than Allah, they would have certainly found many inconsistencies in it.”

[Quran 4:82]

Despite being revealed more than 1400 years ago, mentioning a great number of topics, we can not find a single irrefutable mistake in the Noble Quran.

The question now is: Can that be under human capabilities?

What are you waiting for? Pick up a copy of the Quran or refer to the Quran category to discover and enjoy more of its divine beautiness.

It is now clear that the arguments of the Quran regarding being pure and with no mistakes. 

The Quran confirms our conclusion:

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًۭى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

“This is the Book! There is no doubt about it ˹regarding its authenticity or consistency. ˺ —a guide for those mindful of Allah”

[Quran 2:2] 

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَاۜ

“All praise be to Allah, Who has revealed the Book to His servant, Mohammad, allowed no crookedness in it.”

[Quran 18:1]  

لَّا يَأْتِيهِ ٱلْبَـٰطِلُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِۦ ۖ تَنزِيلٌۭ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍۢ

“It cannot be proven false from any angle. ˹It is˺ a revelation from the ˹One Who is˺ All-Wise, Praiseworthy.”

[Quran 41:42] 

In the above verses, 

That’s why anyone who wishes to prove the falseness of Islam religion should simply start by searching for a non-refutable mistake in the Quran. It is an everlasting challenge that’s been stated in the Quran itself for its readers – if they have doubts about its source:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟ فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًۭا كَثِيرًۭا

“Do they not then reflect on the Quran? Had it been from anyone other than Allah, they would have certainly found many inconsistencies in it.”

[Quran 4:82]