Clear Mathematical Error in the Quran

The Quran has a clear mathematical error in the verses about the law of inheritance:

Quran 4:11 - 4:12 - http://quran.com/4/11-12
 

4:11 - Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt. Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
 

4:12 - And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third, after any bequest which was made or debt, as long as there is no detriment [caused]. [This is] an ordinance from Allah , and Allah is Knowing and Forbearing.
 

What is clear from these verses is that if a man dies after leaving three daughters, according to Quran:
 

1) The daughters together get 2/3 of inheritance. (16/24)

2) The father gets 1/6. (4/24)

3) The mother gets 1/6. (4/24)

4) His wife gets 1/8. (3/24)

16/24 + 4/24 + 4/24 + 3/24 = 27/24.
 

The big question is: Who taught Allah mathematics?
 

To the Muslim readers: Before you simply comfort yourselves with some explanation you find in a Muslim website, read the verse carefully. And think how is it even possible to have any money leftover after spending all of it for daughters + father + mother (sum = 24/24). How is it mathematically possible to have 1/8th left for the man's wife?

 

The simplest and the most reasonable explanation is that the Quran was the work of a human.

Destroying Happiness - Islamic Prohibition of Freemixing of Men and Women

According to the authentic hadiths, Islam prohibits men and women from being alone - the only exception is for married partners and close blood relatives.

Proof from hadiths:

1) Sahih al Bukhari 4:52:250

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/56/215
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
That he heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "It is not permissible for a man to be alone with a woman, and no lady should travel except with a Muhram (i.e. her husband or a person whom she cannot marry in any case for ever; e.g. her father, brother, etc.)." Then a man got up and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I have enlisted in the army for such-and-such Ghazwa and my wife is proceeding for Hajj." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Go, and perform the Hajj with your wife."

2) Sahih Muslim 7:3112

http://sunnah.com/muslim/15/478
Ibn Juraij narrated this hadith with the same chain of transmitters, but he made no mention of it:
"No person (man) should be alone with a woman except when there is a Mahram with her."

This persuades the Muslims to prohibit their sons and daughters from even spending time alone with their friends of opposite sex. One of the most important things in life is getting to know your partner well enough before marriage. This teaching makes it very hard for people to do that. You cannot know your partner well enough by spending 30 minutes or 1 hour with him or her before marriage. To find the best partner, to find the most loving and matching companions, a person has to be let alone with people of the opposite sex. Again, apologist Muslims can act like there is no compulsion for this, but that is not how it works in the real world. In many Muslim majority areas, parents warn their daughters to never spend time alone with men. They are intimidated and most often have no courage to question this. Boys usually have more courage, but are still intimidated to a certain degree, and the Muslim girls do not accompany them due to fear. You have some Islamic countries like Saudi and Banda Aceh in Indonesia for example, where being alone with the opposite sex if proven will get you flogged publically. Sure, you have many Muslims who do not follow or implement these teachings, but most of them are in Muslim minority areas.

To say things like "Being alone with opposite sex leads to sex and unwanted pregnancies" etc is not a good reason to destroy the happiness and well-being of a society by prohibiting free-mixing of men and women. A good parent will educate his children and advise them, especially girls to not risk being alone with a total stranger. But, he should never prohibit her from being alone with a man whom she knows and trusts - eg: her classmate/colleague/neighbor. Total repression leads to sadness and frustration. A big hug, especially between the opposite sex helps to cures sadness and anxiety. This makes love flow between them. This is the sort of culture that we should be encouraging. And Islamic culture should be discouraged. To teach something like "you should not hug any woman other than your mother or sister" is too repressive. There is no need to limit ourselves like that. Besides, everyone cannot be with their mothers/sisters/father/brother when they need a hug the most.

The Quran does not prohibit this explicitly, but orders that women should not display their beauty to anyone other than close blood relatives/husbands.

http://www.islam101.com/quran/QTP/QTP024.htm
24:31 - And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.

This causes a lot of sexual repression in Muslim men and adds to the problems. It is no coincidence that refugees from Muslim majority nations are often unable to control their frustration when they see women dressed in modern ways.

We have these sort of problems in Hindu areas as well (to a lesser extent), but the Hindus are modernizing much faster than Muslims - Because there is no final messenger of Hinduism who gave these orders. Most educated Hindus have thrown away this culture too. However, a dangerously high percentage of Muslims still follow these teachings - after all they believe that this was the order of the final messenger of god.

Thus, I can say beyond doubt that Islam destroys the happiness of our society.

Quran and The Flat Earth

The Quran describes that the Earth is flat/spread out like a carpet. It is clear from it. Look at the Quranic verses described in this article. Seven different translations from Arabic scholars are provided for reference. The word by word grammar of the Quran and various Arabic dictionaries are provided as well which shows the meanings of the words used.

1) First, and foremost, I will show you that the common claim made by people such as Zakir Naik that the Quran describes earth as egg-shaped, is a clear lie. The base of his lie is that ‘dahaha’ can also mean "egg-shaped", which is wrong. 

2) Secondly, I will show you that Quran uses various words to describe the shape of the earth, all of which means spread out/flat/plane/stretched out etc. and none of them meaning egg-shaped or spherical.

1) Quran 79:30 describes the earth’s shape as dahaha. Dahaha is an Arabic word which means spread it out/stretched it out/flattened it.

Arabic transliteration: http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=79&verse=30#(79:30:1)

Waal-arda ba’Ada dhalika dahaha

Translation: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=79&verse=30

Sahih International: And after that He spread the earth.

Pickthall: And after that He spread the earth,

Yusuf Ali: And the earth, moreover, hath He extended (to a wide expanse);

Shakir: And the earth, He expanded it after that.

Muhammad Sarwar: After this, He spread out the earth,

Mohsin Khan: And after that He spread the earth;

Arberry: and the earth-after that He spread it out,

As you can see, NONE of the translations show a meaning “egg-shaped” for dahaha. Let us look some arabic dictionaries and see if ANY of them show such a meaning for dahaha.

http://www.arabdict.com/en/english-arabic/دحاها
http://en.bab.la/dictionary/arabic-english/دحاها
http://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/دحاها/
https://glosbe.com/ar/en/دحاها

As you can see, there is no meaning egg-shaped or spherical for Dahaha. Almost every dictionary translates it as flat/stretched out. Only one dictionary (glosbe) translates it as "round", as one of the meanings, apart from spread out. Keep in mind that round does not mean spherical. The shape of a plate is also round. The same goes with most flat-earth models – they also describe the earth as a round and flat disc.

Zakir claims that Dahaha is derived from arabic word Duhiya which means “egg of an ostrich”. Lie! Duhiya means “the place in desert where an ostrich lays egg”, because the ostrich spreads its feet wide when laying eggs. Dahaha is derived from the word Daha which means "spread out" or "flattened". "ha" is a suffix meaning "it", which is a refer-back to the object being spread out. Here is the proof from Edward William Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon:

Feel free to check it directly from Lane’s Lexicon if you know Arabic: http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/lane/

2) Let us look at other verses of the Quran that describe the shape of the Earth:

A) Quran 15:19 -

Arabic transliteration: http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=15&verse=19#(15:19:1)

Waal-arda madadnahawaalqayna feeha rawasiya waanbatnafeeha min kulli shay-in mawzoonin

Translation: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=15&verse=19

Pickthall: And the earth have We spread out, and placed therein firm hills, and caused each seemly thing to grow therein.

Here, the Arabic word used to describe the shape of the earth is Madad. Let us look the meaning of madad in Arabic dictionaries:

http://www.arabdict.com/en/english-arabic/مَدَدْ
http://en.bab.la/dictionary/arabic-english/مَدَدْ
http://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/مَدَدْ/
https://glosbe.com/ar/en/مَدَدْ

As you can see, the meaning of Madad is expand/extend/elongate/stretch which means nothing but flatten.

B) Quran 20:53 –

Arabic transliteration: http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=20&verse=53

Allathee ja’Aala lakumu al-ardamahdan wasalaka lakum feeha subulan waanzala mina alssama-imaan faakhrajna bihi azwajan min nabatinshatta

Translation: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=20&verse=53

Pickthall: Who hath appointed the earth as a bed and hath threaded roads for you therein and hath sent down water from the sky and thereby We have brought forth divers kinds of vegetation,

Here, the Arabic word used to describe the earth is mahdan. Let us look the meaning of mahdan in Arabic dictionaries:

http://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/مَهْدًا/
https://glosbe.com/ar/en/مَهْدًا
http://en.bab.la/dictionary/arabic-english/مَهْدًا
http://www.arabdict.com/en/english-arabic/مَهْدًا

As you can see, Mahdan means bed/cradle when used as noun and quitened/calm when used as adjective.

C) Quran 78:6 –

Arabic transliteration - http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=78&verse=6

Alam naj’Aali al-arda mihadan.

Translation: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=78&verse=6
Pickthall: Have We not made the earth an expanse,

Here, the Arabic word used is mihadan. Let us look the meaning of mihadan.

http://www.arabdict.com/en/english-arabic/مهاد
http://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/مهاد/
https://glosbe.com/ar/en/مهاد
http://en.bab.la/dictionary/arabic-english/مهاد

As you can see, Mihadan means flat land/bed.

Feel free the check out verses 71:19, 51:48, 50:7 and 43:10 as well, which describe the shape of the earth using various words, all of which mean what we saw – flatten, spread out, stretch out, like a bed, like a carpet etc.

Thus, it is clear that the Quran describes earth as flat, which was the common notion with Arabs in the seventh century. For those who claim that the Quran is describing only the land in these verses (instead of the earth as a whole), the land itself is considerable curved when you take the continent of Eurasia (Europe + Asia) of which Arabia is a part of. Some argue that the quran is only talking about landmass over a small area as flat/spread out, then they have to realize that there are many areas that are not level, such as hills and mountains. A clear scientific error, whichever way you look at it.

Death Penalty for Leaving Islam

Even in the 21st century, a dangerously high percentage of Muslims support death penalty for those who leave Islam (apostates). We have Saudi, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Yemen, Qatar, Brunei, Mauritania and Somalia which have laws punishing apostasy with death (typically after giving time to "repent" and return to Islam). In many other countries, there are laws nullifying the inheritance, marriage and child custody rights of apostates. Here is a detailed article explaining the apostasy laws in various Muslim majority nations: http://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/

It is important to note that the percentage of Muslims who support death for apostasy generally increases in nations with higher and higher percentages of Muslim population. According a poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre (an unbiased research institute), 78% of all Muslims in Afghanistan support death for apostasy. The percentage is 64 in Pakistan as well as Egypt, 59 in Palestine, 58 in Jordan, 53 in Malaysia, 36 in Bangladesh, 21 in Thailand, 13 in Indonesia. Read more: http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-beliefs-about-sharia/

In Muslim majority countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh where there is no law punishing apostasy with death, people go around killing apostates and critics of Islam in broad daylight. Even in countries like India, there are many muslim majority areas such as parts of Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh where leaving Islam puts the apostate at a big risk of death or expulsion from the community. Hell, even in many Muslim minority areas, apostates are at the risk of rift with their own families in case their disbelief gets public. Has this anything to do with Islam? Ofcourse yes. Death for apostasy is clearly prescribed in atleast 23 authentic (sahih) hadiths. Not one or two. Not four or five. Atleast twenty-three sahih hadiths! This is what a sensible person would call a mountain of proof.

Therefore, two things are clear - Firstly, there is a huge problem for apostates in the Muslim majority world. Secondly, this has got everything to do with the books of Islam. However, what normally happens when people point out this lack of freedom of religion in the Muslim world is that many Muslim apologetics jump in and show some verses of the quran such as "no compulsion in religion", "to you your religion and to me my religion" etc. ignoring that these verses actually came earlier than the later, violent verses that partially override the earlier verses. They evade and ignore the issue of lack of religious freedom in the Muslim world or try to make it seem that it is some power hungry folks in Saudi and Iran who are responsible for these laws. The real cause of the problem is thus hidden from many and it is made to appear that this has got nothing to do with Islam. The result? The very same books supporting these laws are preached widely, both online and offline and most Muslims do nothing against this.

To state it in very simple words - Death for apostasy is commanded MANY times in books that are regarded as authentic by a majority of Muslims. These books are very popular and is used widely for preaching by Muslim preachers. When an attempt is made to establish Islamic Law in Muslim majority nations, noone will even bother surveying the personal opinions of Muslims. Islam is essentially a religion that considers the words of Muhammad far above the social consensus.

As we look through this article, we will first see the authentic hadiths that outline death for apostasy. And next we will see the common arguments made by moderate Muslims to make it seem that there is no punishment for apostasy in Islam. What is a better way to increase the popularity of Islam in countries like USA where most sane people wont accept these laws? Many of them are waiting to change colours once the percentage of Muslims increase.


I) Death for Apostasy - Proof from Authentic Hadiths

1) Sahih al-Bukhari 9:84:57

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/88/5

Narrated `Ikrima:

Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to `Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn `Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"

2) Sahih al-Bukhari 9:83:17

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/87/17

Narrated `Abdullah:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims."

3) Muwatta of Imam Malik 36:15

http://sunnah.com/urn/414650

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If someone changes his deen - strike his neck!" 

The meaning of the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in our opinion and Allah knows best, is that "if someone changes his deen, strike his neck!" refers to those who leave Islam for other than it - like the heretics and their like, about whom it is known. They are killed without being called to tawba (repentence) because their tawba is not recognised. They were hiding their kufr and publishing their Islam, so I do not think that one calls such people to tawba, and one does not accept their word. As for the one who goes out of Islam to something else and divulges it, one calls him to tawba (repentance). If he does not turn in tawba, he is killed. If there are people in that situation, I think that one should call them to Islam and call them to tawba. If they turn in tawba, that is accepted from them. If they do not turn in tawba, they are killed. That does not refer as we see it, and Allah knows best, to those who come out of Judaism to Christianity or from Christianity to Judaism, nor to someone who changes his deen from the various forms of deen except for Islam. Whoever comes out of Islam to other than it and divulges that, that is the one who is referred to, and Allah knows best!

4) Sahih al Bukhari 4:52:260

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/56/226

Narrated `Ikrima:

`Ali burnt some people and this news reached Ibn `Abbas, who said, "Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Don't punish (anybody) with Allah's Punishment.' No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.' "

5) Sahih Muslim 16:4152

http://sunnah.com/muslim/28/34

'Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
It is not permissible to take the life of a Muslim who bears testimony (to the fact that there is no god but Allah, and I am the Messenger of Allah, but in one of the three cases: the married adulterer, a life for life, and the deserter of his Din (Islam), abandoning the community.

6) Sahih al-Bukhari 9:89:27

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/93/21

Narrated Abu Musa:
A man embraced Islam and then reverted back to Judaism. Mu`adh bin Jabal came and saw the man with Abu Musa. Mu`adh asked, "What is wrong with this (man)?" Abu Musa replied, "He embraced Islam and then reverted back to Judaism." Mu`adh said, "I will not sit down unless you kill him (as it is) the verdict of Allah and His Apostle.

7) Sahih Muslim 16:4154

http://sunnah.com/muslim/28/36

Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood up and said: By Him besides Whom there is no god but He, the blood of a Muslim who bears the testimony that there is no god but Allah, and I am His Messenger, may be lawfully shed only in case of three persons: the one who abandons Islam, and deserts the community [Ahmad, one of the narrators, is doubtful whether the Prophet (ﷺ) used the word li'l-jama'ah or al-jama'ah), and the married adulterer, and life for life.

8) Sunan Ibn Majah 3:20:2535

http://sunnah.com/urn/1268520

It was narrated from Ibn`Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Whoever changes his religion, execute him.”

9) Sunan Ibn Majah 3:20:2534

http://sunnah.com/urn/1268510

It was narrated from 'Abdullah, who is Ibn Mas`ud, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“It is not lawful to shed the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah (SWT), and that I am the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), except in one of three cases: a soul for a soul; a married person who commits adultery, and one who leaves his religion and splits from the Jama`ah.”


10) Sunan Abu Dawud 39:4341

http://sunnah.com/abudawud/40/5

Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal:
AbuMusa said: Mu'adh came to me when I was in the Yemen. A man who was Jew embraced Islam and then retreated from Islam. When Mu'adh came, he said: I will not come down from my mount until he is killed. He was then killed. One of them said: He was asked to repent before that.

11) Sahih al Bukhari 5:59:630 

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/64/370

12) Sahih al-Bukhari 5:59:632

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/64/372

13) Sahih al-Bukhari 9:84:58

http://sunnah.com/bukhari/88/6

14) Sahih Muslim 20:4490

http://sunnah.com/muslim/33/18

15) Sunan Abu Dawud 40:4487

http://sunnah.com/abudawud/41/9

16) Sunan an-Nasai 5:37:4069

http://sunnah.com/nasai/37/99

17) Sunan an-Nasai 5:37:4070

http://sunnah.com/nasai/37/100

18) Jami at-Tirmidhi 3:15:1458

http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/17/42

19) Sunan an-Nasai 5:37:4065

http://sunnah.com/nasai/37/95

20) Sunan an-Nasai 5:37:4024

http://sunnah.com/nasai/37/54

21) Sunan Ibn Majah 3:20:2533

http://sunnah.com/urn/1268500

22) Sunan an-Nasai 5:45:4725
http://sunnah.com/nasai/45/16

23) Jami at-Tirmidhi 3:14:1402
http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/16/18

II) Common apologetic arguments

Here are some common arguments made by modern Muslim apologetics to make it seem that there is no penalty for apostasy in Islam, and thus whitewash its face.

1) That the Quran guarantees freedom of religion:

Answer: Only under certain conditions! All the verses (except verse 2:256) that grant religious freedom are from the Meccan period when Muhammad was weak and powerless. The verse 2:256 is from the early Medinan period when he was somewhat powerful. However, this was partially abrogated by verse 9:29 which imposes a religious tax and humiliation on all non Muslims unwilling to accept Islam. At this point, Muhammad probably considered the partially abrogated verse 2:256 no hindrance to kill apostates, instead of letting them pay a religious tax. For those who are unaware of the concept of abrogation in Quran, do read verses 16:101 and 2:106. Besides, verse 48:29 calls for harsh treatment of unbelievers and this is significant because it came after 2:256, and also after a peace treaty was signed between Muslims and non Muslims (The treaty of Hudaibiyyah).

Now, let us examine the verses that are commonly cited by modern Muslims to claim that Quran grants religious freedom.

a) Quran 2:256 - http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=2&verse=256

Pickthall's translation: There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.

Analysis: In one look, it seems like the Quran guarantees from of religion. Well, then let us look at the verse 9:29 of the Quran - "Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture and believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low." 

So, if we take 2:256 as a general rule, then 9:29 is a general rule as well. This begs the question - Which verse came later? The answer is 9:29. That implies that there is compulsion in religion unless the non-Muslim is willing to pay a special religious tax (Jizya). Another problem is that when we look at the context of verse 2:256 as per the Islamic tradition, we see that the verse was given to stop forced conversion of a Jew to Islam. This was not on an occasion where anyone wanted to leave Islam.

Sunan Abu Dawud 14:2676
https://sunnah.com/abudawud/15/206

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:
When the children of a woman (in pre-Islamic days) did not survive, she took a vow on herself that if her child survives, she would convert it a Jew. When Banu an-Nadir were expelled (from Arabia), there were some children of the Ansar (Helpers) among them. They said: We shall not leave our children. So Allah the Exalted revealed; "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error."

b) Quran 109:1-6

Pickthall's translation: http://www.islam101.com/quran/QTP/QTP109.htm
Say: O disbelievers!
I worship not that which ye worship;
Nor worship ye that which I worship.
And I shall not worship that which ye worship.
Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.

c) Quran 10:99

Pickthall's translation: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=10&verse=99
And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou (Muhammad) compel men until they are believers?

These are both verses from Mecca, when Muhammad was rather weak, without much followers. You will see that Muhammad's teachings took a rather violent turn once he migrated to Medina and started picking strength.

d) Quran 4:137

Pickthall's translation: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=4&verse=137

Lo! those who believe, then disbelieve and then (again) believe, then disbelieve, and then increase in disbelief, Allah will never pardon them, nor will He guide them unto a way.

While this is infact a Medinan verse and Muhammad was powerful by this time, this verse in no way grants religious freedom. Apologists ask - "How is it possible for a person to believe and disbelieve and then again believe if the punishment for apostasy is death?" It should be noted that Muhammad probably did not issue his apostate-killing law yet by the time of issuing 4:137, but gave it after the verse 9:29 (ie, once the "no compulsion" was abrogated). Even ignoring that, this verse could merely be talking about disbelief in secret. Also be reminded that apostates are typically given a chance to return to Islam. Thus it is possible that death for apostasy is valid even in context of this verse.

2) That the hadiths about death for apostasy were specific to a time of war and only those who fought against Muhammad were killed:

You can scroll through the list of 23 sahih hadiths I wrote above, and you will see that these were all general punishments gave by Muhammad. There is no indication in any of these hadiths that death for apostasy is specific to times of war. You can also see that even atheists were killed for leaving Islam, as per the order of Muhammad. They did not even have an organized community in Arabia during Muhammad's time to put up any sort of revolt. Even the Jew who turned to Islam and back to Judaism had no other charge against him.

Conclusion: It wont help if we pretend that Islam guarantees freedom to leave it, when that is clearly not true according to the Islamic books. And worse, there is very less freedom to leave Islam in most Muslim-majority regions, both due to the Law and due to the threats/emotional responses by the community/family.

Quran - Sun Having a Setting Place and a Rising Place on the Earth

The Quran states that the Sun has a setting place and a rising place on the Earth. Listen to Quran 18:86 -

Word by word grammar: http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=18&verse=86
Translation: http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=18&verse=86

Pickthall: Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness.

Pickthall gives the correct translation of this verse. Some others have tried to twist the words to make it seem like "he reached the setting of the sun" instead of the correct translation "he reached the setting place of the sun"...

I will clearly explain how. Please refer to the word by word grammar of the quran i linked above as you follow my explanation.

The verse 18:86 in arabic: "hattaa idhaa balagha maghriba al-shamsi wajadahaa taghrubu fee 'aynin hami-atin wawajada 'indahaa qawman qulnaa yaadha al-qarnayni imma an tu'adhiba wa imma an tattakhidha feehim husnan"

Lets look at this part by part: The verse 18:85 states that he (Dhul Qarnayn) followed a way... Now 18:86 - "hattaa idhaa" meaning "until when"...

"balagha" means "he reached"

"maghriba al-shamsi"... this is where the translators are causing confusion. This actually can mean "setting place of the sun" or "time of sunset".... but it is very clear from the context that here, it means "setting place of the sun". Dont believe? Try putting the other meaning here. Then it would read - "He followed a way until when he reached the time of sunset".... This is absurd. Why would anyone say "he reached the time of sunset"?

If that was what "allah" wanted to tell us, he could have simply said "he followed a way until the sun set". Why the use of the word "balagha" (he reached)? Because he actually meant "he reached the place of sunset". It is clear....

There is no use trying to mistranslate it as "he reached the place at the time of sunset" etc... because that requires insertion of new words absent in the Quran.

Now some people also try to translate maghriba  as "west" or "far west". While it is true that maghrib can also mean "west", the words "maghriba al-shamsi" would then translate to "west of the sun" which is another clear absurdity. When maghrib is used along with "al-shamsi", that means the setting place (or time) of the sun.

Infact, the Quran repeats a similar mistake in verse 18:90 (http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=18&verse=90) -

Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom.

Word by word grammar: http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=18&verse=90#(18:90:1)

The Arabic words used are "matli'Aa al-shamsi" which invariably means "Rising place of the sun" (again it is a place, not time because Dhul Qarnayn is said to have reached there). Why? Because "matli'Aa" cannot be translated as "east". East is always referred to as "mashriq" in the Quran.

In this context, the meaning "time of sunrise" for "matli'Aa al-shamsi" can be ruled out similar to how I explained above, the meaning of "maghriba al-shamsi".

Another defense by Muslim apologetics is - "Where does it say that the setting place of the sun is on the earth?" The answer is simple. It says that Dhul-Qarnayn followed a way until he reached the setting place of the sun. If the author of Quran knew that the sun does not have a setting place on the earth, then why would he say that Dhul-Qarnayn reached that place? Similarly, the Quran states that he reached the place of sunrise.

So it is clear, the Quran says that sun has a setting place on the earth - More specifically, a muddy spring. Also, it says that the sun has a rising place on the earth.

Now people like Zakir Naik have also tried mistranslating the latter part of the verse as "it appeared to Dhul Qarnayn" that sun set in a muddy spring. He claims that meaning of "wajada" is "appeared to".... but the actual meaning is "found"... ie, the verse states that he found the sun setting in a muddy spring. Want further proof? See the same word "wajada" used in the latter part of the verse.... if Zakir is correct, it would be like this - "It appeared to Dhul-Qarnayn that there were people at the place".... this is nonsense.. this nonsense is due to Zakir's mistranslation of the word "wajada". Wajada means found.

And here is the final blow - Muddy springs are too small to cause the illusion of sun setting in them. So, to say that "it appeared to him that sun set in a muddy spring" is highly improbable. It would take the sea or atleast a very large lake for this illusion to happen. Even if it did appear to someone that the sun is hitting the horizon on the surface of a muddy spring, all the person needs to do is to take a few steps forwards or sideways and then the land, trees or hills on the other side of the spring would be easily visible to him.

Just take a look at a typical muddy spring...

So, the Quran states clearly that the sun has a setting place and rising place on the earth. More specifically, a spring of dark mud. For those who believe in authentic hadiths, lets go further. Read this hadith (classified as sahih or authentic by famous Muslim scholar Al-Albani who is reputed for his investigation into the authenticity/chains of transmission of hadiths).

Sunan Abu Dawud 31:3991

http://sunnah.com/abudawud/32/34
Narrated Abu Dharr:
I was sitting behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who was riding a donkey while the sun was setting. He asked: Do you know where this sets ? I replied: Allah and his Apostle know best. He said: It sets in a spring of warm water (Hamiyah).

Here, Muhammad affirms his follower Abu Dharr without a shade of doubt that the sun sets in hamiyah (A spring of dark mud or warm water depending on translation).

After knowing this, it is absurd to think that Quran is the word of god or that Muhammad is a messenger of god.