Analyzing Islam
A systematic, filterable review of textual, moral, historical, and logical problems in the Quran (Saheeh International English translation) and the Hadiths.
What this is
Every entry cites a specific passage — either a Quranic verse or a hadith from one of the six canonical Sunni collections (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah) — explains what it says in plain language, and builds a philosophical, historical, or moral argument for why it presents a problem. Where relevant, entries also provide the standard Muslim response and push back on it.
Quranic verses are quoted from the Saheeh International English translation, the Saudi-sanctioned mainstream Sunni edition. Hadiths are quoted from widely published English translations of the same collections Sunni jurisprudence itself treats as authoritative. Using Muslim-approved sources removes the easy dismissal of "hostile translation" or "fringe report."
The goal is not hostility or contempt. The goal is careful, serious analysis of two of the most influential bodies of text in human history — the kind of analysis any scripture deserves if it claims to be the eternal word of God, or the reliably transmitted teaching of His final messenger.
Browse by category
Abrogation
Verses that cancel or override earlier verses. The doctrine of naskh and its philosophical problems.
38 entriesScripture Integrity
"Lost" verses, abrogated-in-text material, Uthman's variant-burning, preservation claims vs tahrif.
35 entriesContradictions
Verses and hadiths that directly contradict other verses and hadiths. The Quran's own self-test (4:82) fails.
222 entriesLogical Inconsistency
Internal logical problems. The Islamic Dilemma. Claims of clarity that require extensive interpretation.
221 entriesMoral Problems
Fatalism vs responsibility, collective punishment, eternal disproportion, the fitra paradox, pre-Islamic damnation.
72 entriesAllah's Character
Anthropomorphism (foot, throne, descent), "best of deceivers," sealed hearts, mercy in 100 parts.
41 entriesCosmology
Sun prostrating under the Throne, seven heavens, flat-earth imagery, 60-cubit Adam, moon split.
80 entriesPre-Islamic Borrowings
Dajjal from Christian apocalyptic, Buraq, Sleepers of Ephesus, Abraham in fire, camel through needle's eye.
44 entriesMagic & Occult
Evil eye, ruqya, jinn possession, Satan, tattoos cursed, the Prophet bewitched by a Jewish sorcerer.
82 entriesRitual Absurdities
Dog-saliva seven washes, left/right-hand rules, yawn from Satan, Zamzam standing vs sitting, spit three times.
86 entriesProphetic Character
Muhammad's conduct — marriages, warfare, personal dealings, unremorseful violence, immoral actions.
355 entriesProphetic Privileges
More than four wives, hiba women, Zaynab authorization, honey affair, revelation-on-demand patterns.
35 entriesJesus / Christology
The Quran's denial of the crucifixion, its portrait of Mary, misunderstanding of the Trinity, apocryphal borrowings.
57 entriesWomen
Inheritance, testimony, veiling, beating, polygamy, mahram, "deficient in intellect and religion."
363 entriesSexual Issues
Mut'ah, adult breastfeeding, azl with captives, thighing, "virgin's silence is consent," 9-wives-in-one-night.
86 entriesChild Marriage
Aisha at six and nine, "father may marry off a daughter not fully grown," Quran 65:4, dolls and playmates.
21 entriesLGBTQ / Gender
"Kill the active and passive partner," Lot verses, men-imitating-women cursed, mukhannath exile, eunuchs.
18 entriesSlavery & Captives
"Right hand possesses," Safiyya, Mariyah, Awtas, 8 Abu Dawud chapters on captives, pregnant-slave rules.
58 entriesHudud
Stoning, hand amputation, 40 or 80 lashes for wine, alternate-side amputation, the pit for stoning, Ma'iz, Ghamid.
59 entriesWarfare & Jihad
Banu Qurayza massacre, night raids, Ka'b assassination, "strike the necks," Khaybar, "victorious with terror."
88 entriesApostasy & Blasphemy
"Kill whoever changes his religion," blood-in-three-cases, Ali burning apostates, death for insulting the Prophet.
29 entriesGovernance
Twelve Quraysh caliphs, dhimmi rules, jizya humiliation, "land belongs to Allah and His Messenger."
70 entriesDisbelievers
Polemic, exclusion, hostility toward non-Muslims broadly — curses, unclean status, the Sword Verse logic.
202 entriesAntisemitism
Gharqad hadith, Jews as apes and pigs, Ezra slander, expel-the-Jews, Isfahan Jews follow the Dajjal.
38 entriesParadise
Houris, hollow-pearl tents 60 miles wide, rivers of wine, food becomes musk sweat, no excretion.
51 entriesHell
Skin roasted and replaced, molar the size of Mount Uhud, 999-out-of-1000 damned, women's hell-majority.
44 entriesEschatology
Dajjal, Gog and Magog, end-times signs, sun rising from the west, Ka'ba destroyed by an Abyssinian.
67 entriesStrange / Obscure
Talking ants, sleepers for 300 years, worm eats Solomon's staff, apes and pigs, genuinely bizarre passages.
665 entriesThe strongest arguments
Start here. These are the entries where the apologetic replies themselves generate deeper problems, or where answering the critique requires abandoning a core Islamic claim.
The Islamic Dilemma
The Quran affirms the Torah and Gospel, contradicts them, and claims Allah's words cannot be changed. All three cannot hold. Every escape route breaks at least one.
StrongThe Abrogation Verse (2:106)
Allah replaces some verses with "better" ones. But an omniscient God's first draft should already be optimal. The doctrine of naskh is a philosophical landmine.
StrongDenial of the crucifixion (4:157)
The Quran says Jesus was not crucified. Every contemporary historical source — Christian, Jewish, Roman, pagan — affirms he was. No serious historian denies the crucifixion.
StrongThe Zaynab affair (33:37)
Allah revelation specifically authorizes Muhammad's marriage to his adopted son's divorced wife — after Muhammad had admired her. Aisha's own hadith observation is damaging.
Strong"No contradiction" claim (4:82)
The Quran claims its lack of contradictions proves divine origin. The book contains dozens. The self-test fails by its own terms.
StrongThe Sword Verse (9:5)
"Kill the polytheists wherever you find them." Classical commentators say this abrogates over 100 peaceful verses. The plain meaning has driven Islamic expansion for 1,400 years.
Strong