Shaykh Abu Ja’far has said that imprudent people have contributed to conflicts and contradictions to some Verses in the Qur’an, to which. In reality, there was no such imperfection in the book of God. We have cited below to exemplify such Verses.

الْيَوْمَ نَنْسَاهُمْ كَمَا نَسُوا لِقَاءَ يَوْمِهِمْ هَٰذَا وَمَا كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ

“So today We forsake them, as they neglected the meeting of this day of theirs and as they denied Our communications” (7:51).

…نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ…

“…They have forsaken Allah, so He has forsaken them…” (9:67).

وَقِيلَ الْيَوْمَ نَنسَاكُمْ كَمَا نَسِيتُمْ لِقَاءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَٰذَا وَمَأْوَاكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّاصِرِينَ

“And it shall be said: Today We forsake you as you neglected the meeting of this day of yours and your abode is the fire, and there are not for you any helpers” (45:34).

قَالَ عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّي فِي كِتَابٍ لَّا يَضِلُّ رَبِّي وَلَا يَنسَى

“He said: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a book, my Lord errs not, nor does He forget” (20:52).

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا

“The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent Allah permits and who speaks the right thing” (78:38).

وَقَالَ إِنَّمَا اتَّخَذْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْثَانًا مَّوَدَّةَ بَيْنِكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُ بَعْضُكُم بِبَعْضٍ وَيَلْعَنُ بَعْضُكُم بَعْضًا وَمَأْوَاكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّاصِرِينَ

“And he said: You have only taken for yourselves idols besides Allah by way of friendship between you in this world's life, then on the resurrection day some of you shall deny others, and some of you shall curse others, and your abode is the fire, and you shall not have any helpers” (29:25).

إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَحَقٌّ تَخَاصُمُ أَهْلِ النَّارِ

“Lo! that is very truth: the wrangling of the dwellers in the Fire” (38:64).

قَالَ لَا تَخْتَصِمُوا لَدَيَّ وَقَدْ قَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْكُم بِالْوَعِيدِ

“He will say: "Dispute not with each other in My Presence: I had already in advance sent you Warning” (50:28).

الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

“On that Day We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness of what they earned” (36:65).

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاضِرَةٌ

“(Some) faces on that day shall be bright” (75:22).

إِلَىٰ رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ

“Looking to their Lord…” (75:23).

لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ

“Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware” (6:103).

وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولًا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ

“And it is not for any mortal that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger and revealing by His permission what He pleases; surely He is High, Wise” (42:51).

وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا

“...And to Musa, Allah addressed His Word, speaking (to him)” (4:164).

وَنَادَاهُمَا رَبُّهُمَا أَلَمْ أَنْهَكُمَا عَن تِلْكُمَا الشَّجَرَةِ

“And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that tree...” (7:22).

وَمَا يَعْزُبُ عَن رَّبِّكَ مِن مِّثْقَالِ ذَرَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَلَا أَصْغَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَا أَكْبَرَ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ ‎

“… And there does not lie concealed from your Lord the weight of an atom in the earth or in the heaven, nor any thing less than that nor greater, but it is in a clear book” (10:61).

وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَا يَنظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“… and Allah will not speak to them, nor will He look upon them on the day of resurrection nor will He purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement” (3:77).

أَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِي السَّمَاءِ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورُ

“Do you feel secure that He Who is in heaven will not cause you to be swallowed up by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake)?” (67:16).

الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىٰ

“The Beneficent One, Who is established on the Throne” (20:5).

وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ ۖ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ

“And He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth; He knows your secret (thoughts) and your open (words), and He knows what you earn” (6:3).

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَىٰ ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَا أَدْنَىٰ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُواٌ

“Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth? Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them, nor less than that nor more but He is with them wheresoever they are...” (58:7).

وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

“We are closer to them than their Jugular vein” (50:16).

هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ

“They do not wait aught but that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the signs of your Lord should come” (6:158).

قُلْ يَتَوَفَّاكُم مَّلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ

“Say: The angel of death who is given charge of you shall cause you to die, then to your Lord you shall be brought back” (32:11).

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ

“...At length, when death approaches one of you, Our messengers (angels) take his soul, and they never fail in their duty” (6:61).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنفُسِهِمْ

“Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls…” (4:97).

اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا

“Allah takes the souls at the time of their death” (39:42).

Therefore, the people who claimed some kind of inconsistency in Qur’an were lacking in pure intellect. The people made such a claim in the past and failed miserably to demonstrate it. We have quoted an example.

During the time of Imam Ali An-Naqi (‘a), a heretic who was fully conversant with many avenues of knowledge decided to write a book to highlight the inconsistencies in the Qur’an. When Imam came to know of this, he asked one of his disciples to become a student of that heretic and develop a good rapport to become his confidante.

Imam (‘a) advised that when the student was satisfied that he had gained the confidence of the heretic, he should ask him whether it was possible that whatever meanings of the Qur’an he had understood, might be incorrect, and God’s point of view might be different from his thinking. The heretic being a philosopher, would certainly give the desired answer.

If, the heretic confirmed that possibility of his own understanding might be flawed, then he should be asked as to why he was wasting his time by writing a book on the inconsistencies of the Qur’an, when it was strongly possible that his understanding of the Qur’an is possibly different from that of God?

This companion of Imam followed the instructions to the last letter, and when he asked the final question of the heretic, he started reflecting. After some time got up and destroyed everything that he had written thus far. The heretic then asked the student to tell him, how he had arrived at this question. He replied after some reservations that he got this argument from Imam Ali An-Naqi (‘a).

The Holy Qur’an had several such Verses, which were apparently in conflict with another, but required careful consideration to understand the consistency of message. It remains a wonder how the people, who were not able to interpret a few couplets of Iqbal and Ghalib’s poetry, claimed to comprehend the intrinsic meanings of the Qur’anic Verses!