The Islamic Dilemma
Table of contents
The Islamic dilemma refers to any and all of the many dilemmas that occur because Islam is so full of contradictions.
The classic Islamic dilemma
The classic Islamic dilemma is based on the fact that the Quran both affirms and contradicts the Bible. The Quran says that God gave the Bible before Islam and that it is from God and can’t be changed. But the Bible says Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, and is God. The Quran says those things are not true.
This leads to the following dilemma:
If the Bible is true, the Quran is false. If the Bible is false, the Quran is false. Either way the Quran is false.
Here are the basic premises:
Premise 1: The Quran affirms the Bible.
Surah 2:4, 2:40-41, 2:89, 2:91, 2:97, 2:101, 2:111, 2:113, 2:121, 3:3-4, 3:23, 3:58, 3:78-79, 3:81, 3:93, 3:184, 4:47, 5:44, 5:48, 5:66, 5:68, 5:84, 6:91-92, 10:37, 10:94, 12:111, 16:43, 20:133, 21:7, 21:48, 21:105, 26:196, 28:48-49, 29:27, 35:25, 35:31, 37:37, 40:53, 46:12, 46:30, 87:18-19 affirms the authority, preservation, and inspiration of the previous scriptures, i.e. the Bible. It’s saying that the Bible is the Word of Allah, that the Bible is preserved and uncorrupted, and that both Jews, Christians, and Muslims must follow it.
Furthermore Surah 6:115 says that no one can change the word of Allah, meaning that both the text of the Quran and the Bible are immutable. Any claim that “the Bible has been corrupted” is therefore a rejection of Islam.
Premise 2: The Quran contradicts the Bible.
The Quran contradicts the Bible on many points. The most important points are that the Bible says that Jesus was crucified, died, resurrected, and that he is our divine Lord. (Matthew 26:64; Matthew 27:35, 50; Matthew 28:5, 6; Mark 1:2, 3; 14:62; Mark 15:25, 37; Mark 16:6; Luke 21:27; Luke 23:33, 46; Luke 24:5-7; John 1:1-3, 14; John 8;58; John 19:18, John 30;20:28; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:2, 3, 8; Revelation 1:8 etc.)
The Quran vehemently denies these fundamental doctrines of the Bible. (Surah 3:55; 4:157,171; 5:72,73,117;112:3)
Premise 3 (auxiliary): The Bible denies future contradictory revelation.
Furthermore the Bible denies any further revelation beyond the Bible, especially if it’s contradicting the message it has already brought. (Gal 1:8; Rev 22:18)
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So there are only two possible options:
Option 1: The Bible is true
If the Bible is true then the Quran is contradicting a true revelation from God. Therefore the Quran must be false.
Option 2: The Bible is false or corrupted
If the Bible is false or corrupted, then the Quran is telling us to trust a false and corrupted book. Therefore the Quran must be false.
Conclusion
Whether the Bible is true or false, in every case the Quran is false
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Muslim responses (lost gospels, partial confirmation, original-only texts, etc.) are neutralized by the Clear Quran dilemma below.
The Christian Islamic dilemma (or trilemma)
Surah 5:47 commands Christians to judge by the gospels. This leads to the following dilemma:
According to Surah 5:47, Christians must either obey Allah by rejecting Islam, or they are forced to disobey Allah by accepting Islam. There is no way that Christians can obey Islam.
Premise 1: Allah commands Christians to judge by the Gospel.
In Surah 5:47, Allah commands Christians to judge by what Allah has revealed in the gospel accounts. If they do not, they are rebellious against Allah.
“Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed in it. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—then it is those who are the rebellious.”
Premise 2: The Gospel Christians possess teaches:
As previously mentioned the Gospels teaches:
- Jesus died by crucifixion
- Jesus rose from the dead
- Jesus is Lord / divine
Those teachings contradict Islam.
As previously mentioned the Gospels contradict the Quran on many topics, especially the death, resurrection, and divine lordship of Jesus Christ.
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Therefore there are 3 options:
Option 1
If I obey Allah and judge by the Gospel I must conclude Islam is false.
Option 2
If I refuse to judge by the Gospel Allah calls me rebellious.
Option 3
If the Gospel is corrupted, Allah is commanding me to judge by something unreliable or unusable.
Conclusion:
No matter which option I choose, both obedience and disobedience to Surah 5:47 results in rejecting Islam.
The clear Quran dilemma
The Quran claims to be clear and understandable, but that leads to the following dilemma:
Either the Quran is not clear, or it is clear. If it is not clear, Islam is false. If it is clear, Islam is false.
Premise 1: The Quran claims to be clear, fully explained, detailed, and a guide to all humanity
Therefore, if the Quran requires later scholars or apologists to explain what it really means, then it contradicts its own claims. A self-proclaimed “clear and fully explained” revelation that needs external clarification is false by its own standard.
Premise 2: A clear, fully explained, detailed guide to all humanity does not need any humans adding any qualification or explanations to make it understandable.
The Quran gives clear guidance to Jews and Christians:
- It says the Torah and Gospel were revealed by God
- It says they contain guidance and light
- It commands Christians to judge by the Gospel
- It says Christians have “nothing to stand on” unless they observe the Torah and Gospel
It also tells Muslims:
- To believe in all scriptures, not just parts
- That Muhammad should confirm his revelation by consulting those who read earlier scriptures
From this, the guidance is supposedly clear and fully explained. Adding explanations means the Quran is not clear.
Option 1: The Quran is NOT clear
If the Quran claims to be clear but is not clear then Islam is false.
Option 2: The Quran IS clear
If the Quran is clear, then it leads back to the classic Islamic dilemma and the Christian Islamic Dilemma, and leaves no room for clarification by Muslim apologists to escape these dilemmas.
- If the Torah and Gospel Christians possess are uncorrupted, then judging by them leads to rejecting Islam (because they contradict the Quran).
- If the Torah and Gospel are corrupted, then Allah is commanding people to judge by and believe corrupted scriptures — without warning them.
Muslim responses (like lost gospels, partial confirmation, original-only texts, etc.) all fail, according to the argument, because none of these qualifications are clearly stated or fully explained in the Quran, but they must be added later by Muslim apologists.
Adding such explanations means the Quran is not clear after all. Which means its claim of clarity is false, which means Islam is false.
Final conclusion of the argument
Any attempt to escape the classic Islamic dilemma or the christian Islamic dilemma proves the Quran is not clear. And if the Quran is not clear, Islam is false.
The Clear Quran dilemma acts as a guardian, or muhaymin, over the classic and Christian Islamic dilemmas, neutralising any and all attempts at solving, clarifying, or explaining them away. If the Quran needs explanation by Muslims then it is not clear and thus false.