Edit: Ideally this should be in the wiki section.
Paradoxes in Islam
By King Tut
Preface
Is Islam divinely inspired? If so, then one would raise the question if one finds contradictions and paradoxes within Islamic theology then surely one has to question the veracity of that particular claim, unfortunately Islam like all faiths is put on a pedestal and elevated to a position where criticism of it is seen as divisive, partisan, or agenda based. Which only helps to further permeate the ignorance many Muslims find themselves living under; where conspiracy theorists operate with impunity and the vast majority of Muslims happen to find themselves believing in conspiracy theories. There is an almost absolute lack of introspectiveness within the Islamic community, if Muslims refuse to look in the mirror then their plight will not change any-time soon. Following are three sets of paradoxes within Islamic theology I shall be presenting.
What is a paradox?A paradox (In logic) is a statement which contradicts itself for example according to Princeton:
"`I always lie' is a paradox because if it is true it must be false"[1]Divine pre-ordainment (
al-qada wa'l-qadar) in Islam is predestination; this is explained in Qur'anic verses such as "
Say: 'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector'?"(
Qur'an 9:51) - According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by Allah is written in
al-Lawh al-Mahfuz, the "Preserved Tablet"[
2]. There are a number of problems with predestination in theology, Allah already knows everything since he is omniscient, then why did he for example test Abraham's faith? by asking Abraham to sacrifice his son according to Qur'an 37:102? It makes testing Abraham's faith completely nonsensical.
Moreover, since Allah is omniscient we cannot have free will, so free will in Islam is really just an illusion this concept is not just stagnant to the Qu'ran alone it can also be found in the Hadith for example:
Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 77:Volume 8, Book 77, Number 594: Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet said, "Allah puts an angel in charge of the uterus and the angel says, 'O Lord, (it is) semen! O Lord, (it is now ) a clot! O Lord, (it is now) a piece of flesh.' And then, if Allah wishes to complete its creation, the angel asks, 'O Lord, (will it be) a male or a female? A wretched (an evil doer) or a blessed (doer of good)? How much will his provisions be? What will his age be?'
So all that is written while the creature is still in the mother's womb." Emphasis mine. This raises some points, Allah knowingly creates humans who will commit evil as this is what he has destined for the person; since I have shown free will in Islam is really an illusion. Allah decrees if a human being turns out to be 'good' or 'bad' and then Allah will punish or reward that human based on something the human had absolutely no control over. Since Allah decreed it, to turn out in a particular way the human has no power over his destiny.
Mercy & Justice"
Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate," beginning of every chapter except one, and in numerous other places. Name frequently used in chapter 55 of the Qu'ran. Allah also calls himself "
Al-Adl" which means: "
The Utterly Just" used in chapter 6 verse 115 of the Qu'ran. Below I will present to you a thought experiment which shows the paradox of Allah being both merciful and just.
Imagine two children, named Imran and Akmal; Imran comes from a very wealthy family while Akmal comes from an extremely poor family. Imran one day invites Akmal to his house, when Imran is not looking Akmal steals some jewellery which Akmal sells so that he can feed his poor family for the rest of their life. Imran's family are so wealthy they do not even notice the stolen jewellery.
In the above context, it would be impossible for Allah to be both merciful and just at the same time. If Allah is merciful towards Akmal then Akmal is not punished for his crime of stealing, if Allah is just then Akmal will be punished and most likely his family will starve to death. The above situation creates a paradox as mercy and justice as two distinct concepts, so when Allah applies both of these attributes to himself this leads to a logical contradiction.
Infinite and Existence Allah gives himself the attribute of infinite by claiming he is "
Al-'Azim" in the Qu'ran (
2:255, 42:4, 56:96) if the universe was 'created' by Allah then he could not have existed until he created the universe since there was no concept of time, and space. Since nothing can exist outside of existence by definition then Allah cannot be infinite, since he could not have existed outside of 'creation' in which everything exists. Moreover according to Aristotle, a completed infinity cannot exist even as an idea in the mind of a human. In mathematics and philosophy we find two concepts of infinity:
potential infinity, which is the infinity of a process which never stops, and
actual infinity which is supposed to be static and completed, so that it can be thought of as an object. Potential infinity can exist however actual (or completed) infinities do not exist, which is often applied to Allah, since Allah is claimed to be a completed infinite object.
Conclusion It is undeniable, that Islam is completely incompatible with logic, reason and rationality. This is why I do not believe in Islam, since it carries internal and external contradictions.
Topic: Paradoxes in Islam