The Islamic Dilemma - Or Why Islam is Definitely a False Religion

I think this is the knock down, ultimate argument that utterly destroys any credibility that Islam might have. It’s called the ‘Islamic Dilemma’, made famous by David Wood.

I will only be using the Qur'an for this, although Wood has been known to support it with hadiths as well. The reason I will be leaving aside the hadiths, is that using the Qur'an is a stronger case. The Qur'an is essentially the Muslim equivalent to our Bible. It’s the Holy Scripture from God himself. The hadiths are commentaries on it and biographies of Muhammad. Some Muslims treat them as authoritative like the Scripture, but not all do, and even those who do might try to wriggle out of the conclusion by suggesting that the particular hadith you are referring to isn’t trustworthy. So it’s best to stick to the Qur'an, because a Muslim can never say that you can’t trust Allah’s own book.

The Islamic Dilemma itself is very straight forward, but it takes a little bit of ground work to get to it, so let’s start with that.

Muslims are commanded in the Qur'an to say:

“We have believed in God and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims” -- Surah 3: Ali Imran: 84

 And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, “We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” -- Surah 29: al-Ankabut: 46

 So these very clear passages tell us that Muslims believe that Islam is an extension of Judaism and Christianity. But even though the Qur'an says this, many Muslims are taught that the Bible and Torah are corrupt and untrustworthy, and that anyone who believes them are not true believers.

God - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. He has sent down upon you [O Muhammad] the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel. -- Surah 3: Ali Imran: 2-3

 This verse affirms the fact that the Bible was originally sent from God and is meant to be trusted. Here ‘the Book’ refers to the Qur'an, and it is said to be a confirmation of the Bible. 

There is no changer of His words -- Surah 18: al-Kahf: 27

O People of the Scripture, you are standing on nothing until you uphold the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord. -- Surah 5: al Ma’idah: 68

 The Qur'an tells us that nobody can change the message of God. It can not be corrupted. Notice the phrasing too. It doesn’t refer specifically to the Qur'an, it says God’s words, and we have already seen that the Qur'an tells us that the Bible is also God’s word. But just in case there is any confusion, the Qur'an helps us out even more.

 “Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light… whoever does not judge by what God has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers… whoever does not judge by what God has revealed - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.
And We sent,… Jesus the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah: and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.

And let the People of the Gospel judge by what God has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what God has revealed - then it is those who are defiantly disobedient.” -- Surah 5: al Ma’idah: 44-47

 So pretty clear from that. The Torah is again confirmed as being God’s book. Generations later, Jesus is sent by God, and confirms that the Torah is from God, and he adds the Gospel to it. Although, we know that the Gospel was not actually written until after the ascension, so that’s inaccurate. And finally, the Qur'an tells readers that Christians - the people of the Gospel - can trust their book to make judgements. So in this passage we see the Torah can not have been corrupted at least until Jesus came, because Jesus confirms it, and that the Gospel can not have been corrupted until Muhammad’s time, because this passage confirms it is trustworthy and Christians are disobedient if they don’t use it. It would make no sense at all for God to command us to obey a book that had been corrupted. And if it’s the case, as some Muslims say, that we should only trust the parts that agree with the Qur'an, then we should be told to avoid the Gospel altogether, as we have no way of knowing which parts agree without checking them against the Qur'an. But if we do that, we may as well just read the Qur'an.

Now, it’s perfectly possible, in fact it’s very likely, that there were groups of Jews and Christians who were preaching things that did not match what the Bible says, just like there are lots of groups today who do that, so it would be fair to say that there was a corrupted message among the people, but the Qur'an specifically says that the Bible itself can be trusted.

In another passage of the Qur'an, God has some interesting advice for Muhammad.

 So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters. -- Surah 10: Yunus: 94

 If Muhammad ever doubted his Qur'an, he was to ask Christians and Jews for their advice. That would not be a wise idea if the Jews and Christians were working with corrupted Scripture.

So that’s the groundwork done. We’ve seen that the Qur'an tells us that the Bible - the Gospel and the Torah - were delivered from God, confirmed by the prophets, and preserved to be used and trusted in Muhammad’s time as inspired Scripture. So, now the dilemma.

The main message of the Gospel is that God is a trinity, the Son became flesh, the Son (Jesus) died on the cross for our sins, and then he rose from the dead.

The Qur'an says the opposite of all of this.

In the Torah, we’re all familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac. In the Qur'an, this same story is about Abraham and Ishmael.

The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of God and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in God and His messengers. And do not say “Three”; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, God is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. --Surah 4: an-Nisa: 171

They have certainly disbelieved who say, “God is the Messiah, the son of Mary” -- Surah 5: al-Ma’idah: 72

And for their saying “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of God.” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but another was made to resemble him to them. -- Surah 4: an-Nisa: 157

Surah 37:as-Saffat: 83-113 is the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son, which ends with the birth of Isaac. As Isaac had not yet been born, Ishmael must have been the boy in the story.

We have very clear, and important contradictions between the Bible and the Qur'an.

So the Dilemma is this:

If the Qur'an is right and the Bible is the inspired word of God, that means that the Qur'an is false, because it contradicts the inspired word of God.

If the Qur'an is wrong, and the Bible is not the inspired word of God, that means the Qur'an is false, because God would not tell us to trust Scripture that is untrustworthy.

Either way, if the Bible is truly God’s book or it isn’t, both options mean that the Qur'an is false.
So there we are, took a little while to get to it, but the Islamic Dilemma is probably the clearest reason why Islam is a false religion.