Click here for part 1
Introduction
After briefly clarifying how the Quran is not a work of deciphering that is only available for Muslim scholars (as if it is one of the most difficult things to do), we can now continue with the second part of this series and dive deeper. In part 1, we discussed the second Chapter Al-Baqara verse 29 about its logical and chronological error in the creation of the Earth by also referring to Chapter 41 Fussilat to show that the Quran repeats scientific mistakes. In this part, we will continue with Chapter 41 Fussilat for a more comprehensive analysis of why God chose the Arabic language to deliver His message, a question that the Muslim community has overlooked.
If you have read part 1, you can skip the titles 'A brief difference between science and Islam' and 'Before starting: the essentials' and go to the title 'Why is the Quran in Arabic?'.
A brief difference between science and Islam
Active and progressive versus passive and conservative
Science works in different ways to actively try to get an answer to a question. If after 15 years the given answer needs an update or a complete change because of new findings, as science is a progressive field that is not worried about admitting or removing wrong approaches, it will not hesitate to do so. What the Quran and the Muslim community do is have a book full of statements and wait passively for outside active work, to put like a sticker one of the answers of, for example, science, onto a statement in their book to make the specific verse valid, less complicated, or miraculous.
Before starting: the essentials
While reading my arguments about why I left Islam, I would like the reader to keep the following questions in mind, which were inspired by Efe Aydal's video on 'Understanding atheists', to be conscious of the bare minimum form of questioning for trusting a source or labelling it as a reliable source:
Even if verses are controversial because they are 'mistranslated', they do not affect the idea that the perfect God created humans to worship Him and would burn them in the fire if they don't worship Him.
Controversial verses create a vicious circle:
if verses can be controversial because of translation problems or a wrong interpretation, why does God repeat in a lot of verses that He revealed the verses clearly?
if you read the Quran in your own language other than Arabic, and it is said to be 'insufficient' as a translation, why are the translations into other languages all the same and have the same message?
if all these translations are wrong and only specific ones are correct, why are the verses that are supposed to be revealed 'so clearly by God', so susceptible to wrong translation?
if the verses are perfect words of God, but our minds are unable to understand them, why are they written in a way that the majority cannot understand? Why are people who are not able to understand a magnificent Book being held responsible for it?
and if we say that every verse that contradicts science and ethics is a 'wrong translation', instead of saying that it is a wrong and problematic verse, then do we really derive our morality from the verses or do we attribute our own morality to the verses?
With these questions in mind, we can start looking at verses in the Quran by reading its translation and understanding the meaning of certain words that are manipulated and adapted by Muslim scholars. We will then see that controversies and mistakes are openly covered up and any Muslim that understands this will only realize for how long he has been fooled. After that, we can ask ourselves the most important question: can God make mistakes in the Book He revealed?
Why is the Quran in Arabic?
Introducing Chapter 41 Fussilat: the first 12 verses
Hâ-Mĩm.
This is a revelation from the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.
It is a Book whose verses are perfectly explained—a Quran in Arabic for people who know,
delivering good news and warning. Yet most of them turn away, so they do not hear.
They say, “Our hearts are veiled against what you are calling us to, there is deafness in our ears, and there is a barrier between us and you. So do whatever you want and so shall we!”
Say, O Prophet, “I am only a man like you, but it has been revealed to me that your God is only One God. So take the Straight Way towards Him, and seek His forgiveness. And woe to the polytheists—
those who do not pay alms-tax and are in denial of the Hereafter.
But those who believe and do good will certainly have a never-ending reward.
Ask them, O Prophet, “How can you disbelieve in the One Who created the earth in two Days? And how can you set up equals with Him? That is the Lord of all worlds.
He placed on the earth firm mountains, standing high, showered His blessings upon it, and ordained all its means of sustenance—totaling four Days exactly1—for all who ask.
Then He turned towards the heaven when it was smoke, saying to it and to the earth, ‘Submit, willingly or unwillingly.’ They both responded, ‘We submit willingly.’
So He formed the heaven into seven heavens in two Days, assigning to each its mandate. And We adorned the lowest heaven with stars like lamps for beauty and for protection. That is the design of the Almighty, All-Knowing.”
The following verses continue with how God will punish people if they turn away from His message, so I will keep our analysis until verse 12. The bold parts in black are verses that I think are problematic. I will discuss them in this part by focusing on the verse where God expresses that the Quran is in Arabic for people who know. The bold parts in colours (9-12) are verses about the famous scientific mistake of Earth and the heavens' creation in six days, which will be discussed in the next part (3) of this series.
Chapter 41:1-4
Hâ-Mĩm.
This is a revelation from the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.
It is a Book whose verses are perfectly explained—a Quran in Arabic for people who know,
delivering good news and warning. Yet most of them turn away, so they do not hear.
(41:3) There are many things that we can get out of this verse, like approaching it historically with the fact that the Quran is in Arabic and when Islam spread more and more (with war), believers naturally had to learn Arabic to be Muslim, because God chose to deliver His message in Arabic. Or we can question why God used Arabic specifically and doesn't clarify once in the whole Quran, thus in this chapter (41 Fussilat) too, that future Muslims should learn Arabic. (41:4) In the next verse, Allah says that most of them turn away and they don't hear, He does not emphasise any language difference. Who can God refer to when talking about people who turn away and don't hear His message from a book that is Arabic, for people who know, while not clarifying anything about the language barrier?
If humans don't only live in Saudi Arabia and the Quran is a message of God to all humans, can this verse imply that God chose the option where all humans who want to believe in Him have to learn Arabic to understand His message? Or is prophecy a Middle Eastern cultural phenomenon where the masses believed they had to learn a specific language to have access to God's message? Why are there no Japanese, Brazilian or Icelandic universal prophets? Would it make sense that the whole of humanity had to learn Japanese, Brazilian or Icelandic to understand a universal God? If your answer is more like doubting or close to 'no', then what makes Arabic so special for us to believe God would have chosen that language to deliver His message to the world and advise old Arab morals and ethics for all humanity, without a progressive approach, thus the same morals as the period where the Quran has been revealed?
The emphasis of a Quran ‘in Arabic’ can be seen in Chapter 43, verse 3 too:
(43:3) “Certainly, We have made it a Quran in Arabic so perhaps you will understand.”
Who else does God expect to understand a Quran in Arabic other than the Arab people?
How universal is the God in the Quran?
Mohamed offered a new approach to laws, ethics and morality for the society of what is now Saudi Arabia, during the rise of Islam, like organizing an overpowering political establishment for the people who lived separately and spread into different clans (Tema, YouTube series about Mohamed) that defined their level of power, such as Mohamed being from the Quraysh clan.
In a society where Jews, Christians and pagans lived together, with probable tension because of their differences, Mohamed also established an overwhelming hatred towards Jews that is clearly expressed in many verses in the Quran and his own acts. If this book, the Quran, which is claimed to be the word of God, is so universal, then why is God so focused on events and people in the region where the monotheistic religions made surface and where the cultural phenomenon of a Messenger is largely spread with stories such as Noah's Arc, Mozes' split of the sea, Pharaoh's arrogancy to be like God, and references to animals such as a camel, that is not found in many different regions around the world? Why is God talking so much about the tension between Jews and Muslims? Why is He not talking about many other events that took place in different regions around the world as if humanity was only centred in the circle of countries that include Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia...?
The Quran is said to be a book of guidance, which is the argument for answering the question of why God doesn't talk about other animals, events or fruits from around the world. How can the Quran be a book of guidance when it has a focus on societal issues of one specific region? The ethics and morals in the Quran clash with other cultures and traditions, as humans and communities differ from each other around the world for many reasons, so it is a big question of whether Allah and the Quran can be universal. If God wanted his preferred ethics and morals to be practised everywhere, I immediately remember another verse that contradicts Islam's universality, such as verse 13 from Chapter 49 Al-Hujurat. In this verse, Allah claims to have created us and made us into peoples and tribes so that we could get to know one another, which implies 'learning from one another and living together', right?
(49:13) "O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware."
If God made us into peoples and tribes, He acknowledges the fact that humanity has communities with many different aspects, such as culturally, ethically, morally and much more, like their belief or disbelief in a God or multiple Gods. Why would He create us and make us into peoples and tribes, as He claims in the above verse, if His end goal is for all of us to have the same laws, morals and ethics? Allah clarifies in many chapters that those who do not follow the Quranic orders, thus Arab morals and ethics, deserve endless hellfire. Why does a verse in one chapter contradict other verses in other chapters? There is an inconsistency in Allah's claims and orders and one can not decipher His intention equally throughout the Quran. Muslim scholars might look like they understand the message of the Quran but that understanding is supported by their opinion and commentary on verses, which is a personal approach and without it, they would be confused too. Understanding the Quran neutrally only leads to confusion. Muslims should be very concerned if they have to understand the word of God through human filters. What does that say about their God?
Does the Quran know the Sun doesn't shine the same way around the world?
The Quran lacks the consideration of different time zones because of its focus on the Arab region, which is the reason why in some countries, Muslims fast up to sixteen hours while in other countries Ramadan is almost impossible. In countries that fit in the Arctic Circle like certain parts of Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland or Alaska, the Sun never sets which is a problem for Muslims, as they have to consider the rise and set of the Sun to start and break their fast, but also for praying. Allah doesn't consider a specific hour for fasting but only the Sun, which clearly shows that the Quran thinks the Sun might have the same effect around the globe as it has on the Arab region. Or, another reason for this could be that Quran was meant for the Arab people. If that is not the case and the Quran is meant for humankind, this means Allah lacked serious consideration for His own creation of 'time'. This is just an example that comes to my mind while I reason on God's decision to spread a universal religion starting from a specific region instead of Him considering different groups of people and tribes to let them learn from each other, which is the reason why all Muslim nations become each other's copy with a great loss of tradition, history and cultural identity.
Reflections
Reasoning and reflecting on these questions, my opinion is that the Quran and Islam can be a way of living for the Arab culture of the time. It is a way of living that has more benefits for men than it has for women because of Mohamed's sexist acts and expressions, that form the basis of Islamic societies. I am not sure if it is the best thing that happened to the Arab culture, as I lack knowledge of their history but I can say that in regions where it spread, it took away local cultural practices and identity and replaced them with Mohamed's wanted ethics and morals, such as Iranian people being seen as Arab when they are Persian. The reason for this is the way their history and culture were turned upside down after a radical overtake of Islam in political power. Another example would be Türkiye's Islamisation during the past 20 years with Erdogan's Islamic propaganda that is causing people's mindsets to fall centuries back and cause automatically an enormous lack of democracy that we can see in every Islamised nation because of its repressive, one-sided and conservative approach to questions. To clarify this: Türkiye is a secular country, but Islamisation has caused people to focus on discussions such as a woman's way of dressing, a journalist's nail polish, or the fact that someone who speaks up against Sharia laws can be sued and even threatened to be killed. These are surface-level examples but they are deeply rooted in what Islam wants: objectifying women, taking away identity and replacing it with a global Muslim identity (ummah), turning society into a playground for men in the name of God.
Conclusion
To me, without disrespecting Muslims, the fact that the Quran is written in a specific language is the clearest sign that it is the work of a human (or a group of humans). Why would God speak a specific language? I hope it has been clear that I do not have a problem with the Arabic language itself. I even think the success of their storytelling is because it is an audibly pleasing language. Whenever I had a headache, I would listen to Chapter 36 Yaseen from YouTube and instantly manipulate myself to feel better. So, the question in this post is not the choice of the Arabic language itself, but God's specific choice of one language to deliver His message to the whole world. The question of an Arabic-speaking God is one of the first things I asked my grandmother about Islam when I learned that I had to memorise Arabic verses to practise my faith. I also remember that when I was 5 or 6 years old, I wanted to say sorry to God for slapping my little brother, but I started to cry to my grandmother because God didn't understand Turkish and I couldn't speak Arabic.
It didn't make sense even when I was a child, but it was a long road of self-manipulation where I told myself God understood all languages, except He chose Arabic to communicate with humankind, which makes the language very special. I believed in this until my ratio took over to not believe in these stories anymore. Sometimes a child can be more intelligent for thinking purely and sincerely about things, while adults have been through a lot of processes that they might not be aware about their filtered perception when believing in something. Constantly comparing verses with each other shows that Allah's inconsistency is so human and that the Quran is far from being perfect, which for me, can not be a work of God. If it is so, then I must accept a God that makes mistakes, writes and communicates poorly and centres his thinking in a very specific region, which raises more questions than it gives satisfactory answers. Having realized this, I follow my instinct to talk about the manipulation of a religion in which I have 25 years of experience. I hope to give satisfactory answers that are not manipulated, at least less than the Muslim scholars, and that are logical to any Muslim who is in a phase of questioning his or her religion.
Thank you
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