The Concept of God Across The Abrahamic Religions - Chapter Six

THE CONCEPT OF GOD

Across 

The Abrahamic Religions

 

 

A Scriptural Comparative Study Based On 

The Islamic & Judeo-Christian Scriptures

 

 

 

By

Khaled Askar

(Abu Al-Qayyem)

Chapter Six: Is God Benevolent or Malevolent?

 

Is God Evil?

 

Judaism & Christianity

 

The Biblical God Is Malevolent (Evil)

 

It is of no surprise to any biblically literate Christian that the Judeo-Christian scripture attributes to God a profusion of malevolent qualities which contradict His incontestable omnibenevolent nature. The faith of every devout believer is based on the fundamental understanding that God Almighty is All-Good, possessing only benevolent attributes. Such a theological core belief acts as a concrete pillar that could never be uprooted from the hearts of true believers. However, the Bible challenges such deeply entrenched faith when it portrays God as partially benevolent and partially malevolent. God, exalted is He, is depicted as an evil, cruel, merciless, violent, oppressive, and unjust deity who actively practices favouritism, decrees systematic discrimination, and ordains indiscriminate punishment. It also depicts God as a deceitful God who cannot be trusted, a neglectful God who cannot be relied upon in times of need and trouble, and an immoral God who promotes immorality. Even the most sincere believer is left completely baffled and challenged by the obtrusive contradictory biblical portrayal of a deity with a professed benevolent nature who continues to behave malevolently. While the headlines of the Bible describe God as righteous, good, moral, and just, the fine print of the biblical narratives, manifested in His actions, portrays Him as purely evil, depicting Him as the complete opposite of what He is professed to be. What is even more baffling is that the Bible itself describes God as evil and attributes malevolence to Him. Let us examine some of the evidence before we delve into the comprehensive analysis of these biblical narratives, which will be presented under different categories across different sections throughout the chapter. 

 

The Bible Describes God’s Actions as Evil.

 

“And the Lord repented (changed His mind) of the evil which He thought to do unto His people.” (Exodus 32:14)

 

“I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.” (Jeremiah 18:8)

“That that I may repent of the evil which I intend to do to them because of their evil doings.” (Jeremiah 26:3) 

 

“And the Lord will repent of the evil which He has pronounced against you." 

(Jeremiah 26:13)

 

“For I repent of the evil that I have done unto you.” (Jeremiah 42:10)

 

“And God repented of the evil that He had said that He would do unto them” (Jonah 3:10)

 

Islam

 

The Quranic God Is Benevolent (Good)

 

According to Islam, God is Omnibenevolent; His essence, His attributes and His actions are all good. Malevolence is not an attribute of God, nor is it a description that is ascribed to His actions. One of God’s names is Al-Quddus, the absolutely Pure and Holy. It signifies that God is essentially free from any defects and imperfections, physically and morally. His absolutely holy, perfect, and pure nature transcends Him above any flaws that could be wrongly attributed to His essence, attributes, and actions. Therefore, evil cannot be attributed to Him or ascribed to His actions, for whatever decrees God ordains and whatever actions God takes stem from His absolutely benevolent nature and work invariably for the greater good of mankind, despite our limited perception that might suggest otherwise. Evil can only be attributed to the actions of human beings, which ultimately derives from a nature that is capable of malevolence in the same way it is capable of benevolence; courtesy to the gift of free will.

“Whatever good is bestowed upon you is from God, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.” (Holy Quran 4:79)

 

“Whatever calamity befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned, and (He) pardons much (of your evil actions).” (Holy Quran 42:30)

 

“God wants ease for you and does not want hardship for you.”

(Holy Quran 2:185)

“God does not want to impose any hardship on you, but wants to purify you, and to bestow upon you the full measure of His blessings, so that you may be grateful.” 

(Holy Quran 5:6)

 

As part of his daily supplications, the prophet Mohammad used to say, “All good is in your Hands, and Evil is not ascribed to You.” (Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1197)

 

Is God Unjust?

 

Judaism & Christianity

 

Biblical Prophets Questioning the Biblical God’s Justice

 

According to the Bible, even God’s own prophets have questioned His justice on various occasions. Let’s examine some of these verses.

 

“Does it please you to oppress?” (Job 10:3)

 

“Then know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me. Though I cry, I am wronged, I get no response. Though, I call for help. There is no justice.” (Job 19:67)

 

“Let God weigh me in honest scales and He will know that I am blameless.” (Job 31:6)

 

“How long will you judge unjustly.” (Psalms 82:2)

 

“You are always righteous O Lord when I bring a case before you, yet I would speak with you about your justice.” (Jeremiah 12:1)

 

Let’s examine the biblical narratives and see if these prophetic testimonies resemble the truth about the biblical God’s justice. Does God really wrong people and treat them unjustly?

 

The Biblical God Punishes the Children for the Sins of Their Fathers

 

“For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 20:5 & Deuteronomy 5:9)

“He (God) punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:7)

 

“He punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” 

(Numbers 14:18)

 

“Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors.” 

(Isaiah 14:21)

 

I think we could all agree that a perfectly just God would never punish someone for the sin of another, let alone punish the children for the sins of their parents and ancestors.

 

The Biblical God Punishes Unlawful Children for the Crime of Their Parents

 

“No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.” (Deuteronomy 23:2 - NIV)

         

“A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord, even to his tenth generation.” (Deuteronomy 23:2 - KJV)

 

The bible God punishes those who were born of a forbidden marriage for the sins of their parents. Was it their fault that they came to this world and found themselves born of an unlawful marriage? Was it their fault that their parents sinned? No one chooses their own parents; thus, it would be unjust to punish them.

 

The Biblical God Treats People with Disabilities Unfairly

 

According to the book of Leviticus 21:16-24, people with various forms of disabilities and defects are forbidden from making offerings to God by divine decree. Is it their fault that they were born that way? Why are people with disabilities deemed unfit and unworthy to make offerings to God? Wouldn’t it be unjust to treat them differently than those who were born without any defects? I think we should all agree that such laws could never be the laws of God, because the laws of God could never be unjust and discriminatory. This simply proves that the bible is from God, given that it contains many unjust laws.

The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: ‘For generations to come, none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; no man with a crippled foot or hand, or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.” (Leviticus 21:16-21)

 

The Biblical God Punishes His Prophet for Obeying His Commands

 

In the book of 2 Samuel 24, God instructs David to take a census of the fighting men of Israel and Judah, then after David obeyed God’s commands and ordered the fighting men to be counted, God became angry and decided to punish David and the entire population for absolutely no justifiable reason. God gave David three punishments to choose from.

 

“Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.’” (2 Samuel 24:1)

 

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I am giving you three options. Choose one of them to be carried out against you.’ So Gad (the prophet) went to David and said to him, ‘Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the One (God) who sent me.’” (2 Samuel 24:12-13)

 

“So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy-thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.” 

(2 Samuel 24:15)

 

The Biblical God Punishes the Doers of Good Deeds

 

In the book of 1 Chronicles 13:9-10, God killed Uzzah because he tried to save the Ark from falling instead of rewarding him. Instead of being praised for his act of goodness, the biblical God punishes Uzzah for holding the Arc to prevent it from falling.

“When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him 

down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.” 

(1 Chronicles 13:9-10)

 

A similar incident of cruelty and the disproportionate punishment was reported by 1 Samuel 6:19, but this time, God struck dead 50,070 people from Beth-Shemesh for looking inside the Arc out of curiosity after the Philistines returned the Arc to Israel. 

 

“Now He (God) fatally struck some of the men of Beth-Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.” (1 Samuel 6:19)

 

The Biblical God Punishes the Righteous with the Wicked: Collective Punishment

 

According to the Bible, the biblical God makes no distinction between the wicked and the righteous. Both are punished in an unjust act of collective punishment.

 

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.’” (Ezekiel 21:3)

 

In the book of 2 Samuel (24:1-3), God is claimed to have sent a plague to kill 70,000 men, then sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem and its people for absolutely no crime committed except for a census that David conducted to number the people of Israel and Judah, which God himself commanded him to do. After David obeyed God’s commands and conducted the census, God became angry and decided to punish all the people of Israel for an unknown reason that cannot be logically explained by Bible scholars and commentators. As a punishment, God gave David three options to choose from, each of which involved collective punishment for the entire population. After choosing one of the punishments, God sent a plaque that killed 70,000 men, then He sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem.

 

“Again the anger of the Lord was burned against Israel, and He incited David against them, saying, ‘Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.’ So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, ‘Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.’” (2 Samuel 24:1-2)

 

“So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and 70,000 of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, ‘Enough! Withdraw your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” (2 Samuel 24:15-16)

 

After David saw the devastation of God’s wrath, the destruction, and the death of 70,000 people, he questioned God’s collective punishment.

 

“When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.’” (2 Samuel 24:17)

 

The same exact story of David’s census of Israel was narrated for the second time in the book of 1 Chronicles 21. However, the two narratives from these two books gravely contradict one another. In 2 Samuel 24, it was God who commanded David to take the census, yet in 1 Chronicles 21, it was Satan who incited David to take the census. It is believed that the author of the book of 1 Chronicles altered the narrative to evade the embracement of the unjustifiable punishment that portrays God as an unjust, irrational, and cruel deity who is notorious for his collective punishments. Similarly, the reason for God’s anger in 1 Chronicles remains unclear, and His decision to punish the entire population is also unjustified. When David saw what had happened, he questioned God’s judgment as well, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hands fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plaque remain on your people.” (1 Chronicles 21:17). 

 

The Biblical God Punishes Solomon’s Son for Solomon’s Wrongdoing

 

In the book of 1 Kings 11:9-12, the Bible narrates another story of divine injustice where the biblical God punishes Solomon’s son instead of his father Solomon. Instead of tearing the kingdom during Solomon’s time for his infidelity, God postponed the punishment and executed it during the time of Solomon’s son.

 

“The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.” (1 Kings 11:9-12)

 

The Biblical God Punishes Saul’s Sons for Saul’s Wrongdoing

 

In the book of 2 Samuel 21, another example of divine injustice was reported. The biblical narrative shows that the biblical God inflicted the people of Israel with a famine for three consecutive years during the reign of David. When David asked God for the reason, God revealed that it was for the sin that the former king Saul had committed a decade or two earlier (21:1). Saul had attempted to annihilate the Gibeonites during his reign, yet for some strange reason, God decided not to punish Saul for his transgression during his lifetime. Instead, God chose to punish David and the nation of Israel long after Saul’s death. Furthermore, seven of Saul’s innocent sons and grandsons had to face execution as part of God’s punishment as retribution to the Gibeonites for a crime in which they had no part (21:3-9). Again, God punishes the children and the grandchildren for the sins of their father.

 

Canaan Was Unjustly Cursed for His Father Ham’s Wrongdoing

 

In the Book of Genesis 9:20-27, The Bible alleges that the prophet Noah got drunk one night and slept naked, then his son Ham entered the tent and saw his father naked so he went outside and informed his other two sons, Shem and Japheth. Upon hearing this, Shem and Japheth took a garment and walk into the tent backward and covered Noah without seeing the nakedness of their father. When Noah woke up and found out that Ham saw him naked, he decided to curse Canaan, the son of Ham instead of Ham. Noah prayed that Canaan fall into servitude and become the lowest of servants to his brothers.

 

“When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. So he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: ‘May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his brothers.’ Then Noah said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the servant of Shem! May God expand the territory of Japheth! May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.’” (Genesis 9:24-27)

 

No Jewish or Christian scholar or Bible commentator has been able to provide a valid justification to why Canaan was cursed instead of his father Ham. The outcome of this unjustifiable curse on Canaan resulted in an eternal curse upon his entire bloodline by means of inheritance, and this is what Jews and Christians claim despite the lack of biblical evidence. Israelites, Jews, and modern-day Israelis have used the “Curse of Canaan” to serve their political agendas and justify their genocidal wars against generations of Canaanites, alleging that they have inherited the curse of their father Canaan. They have used such absurd claims to legitimize their conquest, slaughter, and enslavement of all the Canaanite nations. In addition to that, Christian colonial countries followed in their footsteps and expanded the curse to reach all the descendants of Ham, the father of Canaan, despite the fact that the Bible was clear that Canaan was the one who was cursed instead of Ham. Colonial European settlers and traders exploited this false notion further and expanded the curse to include black people during the transatlantic slave trade to justify slavery. Scholars refer to this transition and expansion of the curse to include people of black skin color as the “Hamitic Hypothesis”. The theory claimed that the racial characteristics (dark skin color) of black people are evidence of the alleged Hamitic Curse, and for hundreds of years thereafter, white Christians enslaved, subjugated, and abused not only black people but people of color in general and discriminated against them, claiming that they are an inferior race that is only destined to serve. They based their claim on the notion that black people are the descendants of Ham, given that according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis (10:6), Africans descend from the bloodline of Ham; therefore, they inherited the alleged “Curse of Ham”. Oddly, the Table of Nations also suggests that the Canaanites, who are acknowledged for their Caucasian features and are known to be a Semitic people, linguistically, culturally, and geographically, descend from Ham as well and not Shem. This demonstrates that the entire biblical Table of Nations, which suggests the lineage of nations and which of Noah's three sons each nation descends from, is absurdly inaccurate and is based on mere biased speculations that are not supported by any anthropological evidence. Scholars argue that excluding the Canaanites from the bloodline of Shem was intentional and prejudicially driven, for it serves the political agenda of the Israelites to expand their territory, justifies their colonial and genocidal wars against the Canaanites, and religiously legitimizes their constant attempt to enslave and subjugate them.  

 

The Biblical God Practices Favoritism, Racism, and Discrimination

The pattern of divine injustice, racism, and favoritism seems to be consistent throughout the Bible. These models of discrimination that aim to favor a specific nation over all other nations, or a specific bloodline over all other lineages, or even a specific branch of the family tree over the rest of the branches of the same bloodline are either ordained, blessed, and approved by the biblical God himself, or simply enacted by the Israelites without any condemnation or criticism from the biblical God, thus showing endorsement. The entire Bible seems to evolve around favoring one group of people above all others, the Israelites. Only they are chosen to be blessed with God’s covenant and only they are graced with His guidance, providence, provision, compassion, and mercy. All other nations, however, are not worthy of such blessings and are referred to as non-covenant nations. According to the Bible, which was written by the same exact people who claim superiority and claim to be the chosen people of God, non-covenant nations are not even worthy to receive divine guidance from God the same way the Israelites did. The biblical God, or shall we say the authors of the Bible, ordained that these nations are insignificant and unworthy of saving. Compared to God’s remarkable and prolonged forbearance and unwavering love towards the Israelites, despite their constant defiance and rebellion, ongoing blatant wickedness, persisting idolatry, and recurring apostasy, God denies non-covenant nations the same courtesy. A completely different fate awaits these non-covenant nations. Not only were they deliberately deprived of divine guidance and excluded from God’s covenant, they were deemed deserving of God’s wrath and were unjustly punished for it by means of slaughter, annihilation, and destruction by the hands of the so called “chosen people of God”. 

 

This perpetual model of divine discrimination and favoritism that was deliberately fabricated and carefully woven into the Bible by its authors to legitimize their own ethnic supremacy, commenced very early in the story of Abraham and his prophetic bloodline. The same way 

the Israelites expelled the Canaanites from God’s grace by claiming that Canaan was cursed by God into servitude, extending this curse to include all of his descendants, then extending the curse to include Ham, the father of Canaan, and all of his descendants after him, the Israelites also succeeded in expelling many of the descendants of Abraham from God’s grace and covenant in an attempt to keep all the glory to themselves and depict themselves as God's only favourite people.

 

The Biblical God Excludes Ishmael from His Covenant and Lawful Inheritance

 

The earliest act of prejudice enacted by the Israelites and recorded in the Bible was the deliberate and unjust exclusion of Ishmael from God’s covenant and lawful inheritance. One of the biggest scams that the Israelites perpetrated throughout history to convince the world that they were the only chosen people of God was to highlight and venerate Isaac’s bloodline and marginalize and degrade Ishmael’s bloodline. To do so, the Israelites delegitimized Ishmael’s lawful status as the firstborn son of Abraham and deprived him of his Bakorah rights, the rights of the firstborn, and what better way to do so than to refer to him as the son of a slave woman (Hagar). Firstly, they degraded the noble status of Ishmael’s mother Hagar by concealing her noble bloodline and by claiming that she was nothing more than a slave woman that was gifted to Sarah by the King of Egypt. Secondly, they deprived Hagar and her son Ishmael of their lawful inheritance, claiming that they had no right to inherit Abraham given that they were nothing more than a slave woman and her undesirable son. Thirdly, they excluded Ishmael from God’s covenant, deeming him to be insignificant in the sight of God, in comparison to his brother Isaac who was born to Sarah. They did all this within the biblical framework of God’s blessings and approval.

 

This biblical story of bigotry and discrimination, which has been attributed to God as its master planner, began with a primitive form of jealousy from Abraham's first wife, Sarah, toward Abraham’s second wife, Hagar, and evolved into an endless tribal feud between the sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, and their descendants for generations to come, as we will demonstrate in this section. After God established His covenant with Abraham, Abraham expressed his sorrow to God for not having a son to inherit him, so God gave him the good news and promised to gift him with an heir from his flesh and blood to inherit him (Genesis 15:1-5). However, years passed and Sarah remained barren, so she advised Abraham to marry her Egyptian slave, Hagar, so that they might have a child through her (Genesis 16:1-2). Abraham took Hagar as his second wife and she conceived (Genesis 16:3-4). This caused Sarah to feel jealous of Hagar, which resulted in her abusing Hagar (Genesis 16:5-6). Hagar decided to run away, but on the road, God sent an angel to comfort her and give her the good news regarding her son and the prosperity of his descendants, and the angel instructed her to return to Sarah and submit to her (Genesis 16:7-12). Years later, Ishmael was born and God’s prophesy to gift Abraham a son from his flesh and blood to inherit him was fulfilled, and given that he was the firstborn son, he was entitled to all the privileges of the firstborn, as the “Bakorah” tradition ordains (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). However, the biblical God seems to have had other plans for Ishmael. Ishmael is to be excluded from God’s covenant and God is to establish his covenant with Isaac, a child who is yet to be born from Abraham’s ninety-year-old barren wife Sarah. Upon hearing this, Abraham laughed in astonishment that he would have a second child at the age of one hundred, then he pleaded with God to simply bless his firstborn son Ishmael instead of giving him another son but God refused and affirmed that His covenant would be established with Isaac, whom Sarah would bear. God did, however, bless Ishmael and promised to make him into a great nation and to become the father of twelve princes, meaning great rulers (Genesis 17:15-22). Then shortly thereafter, Sarah conceived a son and named him Isaac. Isaac was born thirteen years after Ishmael, thus making him Abraham's second son (Genesis 21:1-5). After Isaac was weaned, one day when Ishmael was playing with Isaac, Sarah looked upon Ishmael with jealousy and contempt and decided to cast him and his mother out. She incited Abraham to get rid of his wife Hagar and his firstborn son Ishmael (Genesis 21:8-10). Abraham was grieved and consulted with God, who commanded him to obey Sarah and get rid of Hagar and her son (Genesis 21:11-13). The next morning, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away with only bread and a skin of water. They wandered in the desert, and when the water ran out, Hagar placed Ishmael under a bush and sat down at a distance crying as she prepared to watch her son die. However, God sent an angel to Hagar to comfort her and reassure her that nothing wrong will happen to the child, and he reaffirmed God’s promise to her that Ishmael will be the father of a great nation. Then a well of water appeared out of nowhere and they drank, and the child grew in the wilderness of Paran and took a wife from the land of Egypt (Genesis 21:14-20). This was the last of the story of Hagar, the Egyptian princess who was demoted from her royal status into a slave woman by the Bible, and Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham who was intentionally marginalized in the Bible and deemed insignificant by the Israelites, who wrote the Bible with their own hands and made sure to exclude Ishmael from God's covenant and deprive him of his lawful inheritance, relegating him and his descendants to the footnotes of history. Let’s outline the story and present the biblical narrative in chronological order:

 

God Promises Abraham a Son, and Promises to Multiply His Descendants

 

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’ But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” 

(Genesis 15:1-5)

 

Sarah Remains Barren, Abraham Takes Hagar as a wife, and Hagar Conceives

 

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, ‘See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will have children through her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. And so after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived.” (Genesis 16:1-4)

 

Sarah Became Jealous, Mistreated Hagar, and Forced Her to Flee

 

“And when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight. So Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done to me be upon you! I put my slave woman into your hands, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was insignificant in her sight. May the Lord judge between you and me.’ But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Look, your slave woman is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.’ So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.” (Genesis 16:4-6)

 

Critical Analysis: According to the biblical narrative, Abraham the prophet seems to abdicate his responsibility. He gives Sarah carte blanche to abuse his pregnant wife Hagar, and the abuse must have been severe enough to cause her to flee into the wilderness while pregnant. The biblical God did not condemn such abuse either, nor intervene in any way to prevent it, which depicts a bad image concerning God’s justice and wisdom, and his beloved prophet who is supposed to be just and wise when dealing with his wives.

 

God Sends Hagar Back to Sarah, and Promises to Multiply Ishmael’s Descendants 

 

“The angel of the Lord told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ ... ‘I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.’ The angel also said, ‘You will give birth to a son and you shall call him Ishmael... He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.’” (Genesis 16:7-12)

 

Critical Analysis: Although the Bible was clear that Hagar was the wife of the great prophet Abraham, as affirmed in Genesis 16:3, she was never referred to as the wife again throughout the later chapters of Genesis. She was always referred to as the “Egyptian slave” or the “slave woman”, with the exception of one-time where she was only referred to as ‘Hagar.” Out of the ten times where Hagar was mentioned in the book of Genesis, nine times she was referred to as the “slave woman” or the “Egyptian slave” as a deliberate means to disrespect her and degrade her status. Even the biblical God refers to her as the "slave woman" in Genesis 21:12, and the angel of God refers to her as the "slave of Sarai" in Genesis 16:8. Ishmael was also referred to as the “son of the slave woman” several times (Genesis 21:10 & 21:13), or simply the “boy” seven times (Genesis 21:14, 21:15, 21:16, 21:17, 21:18, 21:19, 21:20). This repeated form of degradation serves as a deliberate attempt to delegitimize Hagar and her son Ishmael by constantly conditioning the reader’s mind that Hagar is a slave, who is unworthy to carry the honorable prophetic seed of Abraham, and that Ishmael is the son of a slave, who is unworthy to be part of God’s covenant and unworthy to inherit his father Abraham. The fact that Hagar was likely of royal and noble blood and an Egyptian princess, not a slave, has been completely erased from the biblical narrative of her story. The biblical authors deliberately demoted Hagar and her son Ishmael to serve their theological and political agenda, and spread the false notion that only Isaac is worthy of the honorable bloodline of Abraham; therefore, only the descendants of Isaac (the Israelites) are the chosen people of God, and only they are entitled to inherit the promised land. 

 

Nevertheless, it is imperative to note that the phrase “inherit the promised land” does not mean to own it, yet to live and prosper throughout the land in peace and under God’s providence and blessings. So when God Almighty promised Abraham the land of Canaan as an inheritance in Genesis 15:7, 17:8, and other biblical verses, God did not actually mean to own and possess, and this can easily be proven by the fact that Abraham himself died without owning or possessing any of the land of Canaan (Acts 7:5). Other than the cave of Machpelah near Mamre and the field of Ephron, which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite and designated as his burial site, the Bible does not record any other inheritance owned by Abraham at the time of his death. In fact, the Bible confirms that Abraham lived throughout the land of Canaan as a stranger and as a foreigner (Genesis 23:4). So despite the fact that God Almighty promised Abraham to inherit and possess the entire land of Canaan, as confirmed by Genesis 17:8, “ The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you," Abraham died without owning or possessing anything, as confirmed by Stephen in the book of Acts, “Yet He did not give him any inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground. But He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child" (Acts 7:5). The book of Hebrews confirms the same exact thing: Abraham, including his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, lived as strangers in the land and died without receiving God’s promise of inheriting anything, “By faith he (Abraham) made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. … All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth” (Hebrews 11:9-13). This proves that God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants is not a promise of possession and ownership of the land, yet a promise to live in peace and prosperity under God’s providence and blessings. However, the concept of living in peace and harmony with other nations who have lived and prospered throughout this land for centuries is not a concept acceptable by the Israelites, for they seek to live and prosper alone. This is why they designed the entire biblical framework to support their political agenda of conquest and extermination of other nations. The Israelites took God's promise of peace and prosperity and reinterpreted it as an exclusive right to own and possess the land by the sword and through genocidal war. 

 

Ishmael, The Firstborn Son of Abraham, Is Born

 

“So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.” (Genesis 16:15-16)

 

Critical Analysis: Isn’t it odd that there is no mention whatsoever to how Abraham received his new born son Ishmael, whom he has waited to have for eighty-six years? The chapter (Genesis 16) shows no signs of rejoicing or celebration. There is no prayer of thanks, no naming ceremony, no feast, no acknowledgment from Abraham, Sarah, or Hagar, and no words from God either. After waiting for nearly a century for a child, Abraham is completely silent. Can you imagine waiting for eighty-six years to have a child, yet when God finally blesses you with a son, you show no signs of happiness or gratitude? This conspicuous silence, or perhaps biblical omission, of Abraham’s reaction to the birth of his child, which he aguishly waited eighty-six years for, is undoubtedly a deliberate biblical attempt to marginalize Ishmael, diminish his significance, and prepare the reader for Ishmael's eventual expulsion from God’s covenant and grace. Contrarily, when Isaac was born, God announced His blessings upon Sarah (Genesis 21:1), Sarah rejoiced (Genesis 21:6), Abraham circumcised the child as commanded by God as a sign of the covenant (Genesis 21:4), and a great feast was held (Genesis 21:8). This clearly depicts God as an unjust deity who shows favoritism.

 

Abraham Receives the Good News About Having a Second Son from Sarah

 

“Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her by the name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’” 

(Genesis 17:15-16)

 

Abraham Requests That God Blesses Ishmael Instead of Giving Him a Second Son

 

“Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth to a child? And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your care and blessings!’” 

(Genesis 17:17-18)

 

Critical Analysis: The verses are explicitly clear that, upon hearing the good news from God that he was about to have a second son from Sarah, Abraham pleaded with God to bless Ishmael and have him live under his care and protection instead of giving him a second son, especially when he is at the age of a hundred and Sarah at the age of ninety. In other words, Abraham told God that he already has a son to inherit him, who was the fulfillment of God’s initial promise to bless Abraham with a son to inherit him (Genesis 15:2-4); thus, there is no need for another son.

 

God Denies Abraham’s Request and Excludes Ishmael from His Covenant

 

“But God said, ‘No, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.’” 

(Genesis 17:19-21)

 

Critical Analysis: It is imperative to note that while these verses (Genesis 17:19-21) have been used by the Jews and the Christians to claim that Ishmael was excluded from God’s covenant, and that only Isaac was included, Genesis 17:4-8 confirms the complete opposite. The Bible affirms that both the children of Abraham and all of their descendants are under God’s covenant and enjoy the same privileges and blessings that were promised to Abraham and his descendants. 

 

“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall you be named Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land where you live as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:4-8)

 

As we can see, these verses from Genesis 17:4-8 are explicitly clear and leave no room for doubt or debate that all the descendants of Abraham from both sons are included in God’s everlasting covenant for generations to come, all the nations from his bloodline will become fruitful, and all of these diverse nations will prosper throughout the land of Canaan. This profound biblical contradiction has led scholars and Bible commentators to believe that the Bible was intentionally manipulated and altered by the Israelites to marginalize Ishmael and his descendants and exclude them from God’s glory. Ironically, if we are to examine the phrase in Genesis 17:6 where God promises Abraham that he will be the “father of a multitude of (diverse) nations,” along with other supporting biblical verses where God promises Abraham and his wife Hagar that He will bless Ishmael (Genesis 17:20), multiply his descendants to become as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 16:10), and make them into great nations (Genesis 21:18), we will discover that it is Ishmael and his descendants who most manifestly fulfill these prophecies promised by God. While the Jews, who claim to be the descendants of the Israelites, do not exceed fifteen million people around the world today, the Ishmaelites, manifested in modern-day Muslims, have prospered and exceeded two billion Muslims around the world today.

 

Isaac, The Second Son of Abraham, Is Born

 

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said. ... Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the 

name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.” (Genesis 21:1-5)

 

Sarah Demands That Hagar and Ishmael Be Cast Out and Deprived of Inheritance

 

“The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But (one day) Sarah saw that the son, whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, was playing (with Isaac), and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’” (Genesis 21:8-10)

Critical Analysis: It is one thing to accuse Sarah, the righteous wife of prophet Abraham, of jealousy, but to accuse her of plotting against Hagar and her son Ishmael to deprive them of their inheritance is to accuse her of wickedness and immorality, and such does not befit the conduct of an honorable and righteous wife of a great prophet. 

 

The Biblical God Condones the Injustice Inflicted Upon Hagar and Ishmael

 

“The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son (Ishmael). But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’”

 (Genesis 21:11-13)

 

Critical Analysis: To accuse God of condoning Sarah's oppression and her desire to cast out Hagar and Ishmael and deprive them of their lawful inheritance is to accuse God of injustice, and this is exactly what the Bible did. By claiming that God commanded Abraham to obey his wife in oppressing Hagar and Ishmael is to approve of oppression by divine decree. This is precisely how the Israelites managed to marginalize Ishmael, discredit his lineage, and cast out all of his descendants from God’s covenant. This deliberate discrimination against Ishmael was also promoted in the New Testament through the teachings of Paul. In his letter to the Galatians (4:21-31), Paul demeans Ishmael and his mother Hagar by referring to them as the slave mother and her son. He discredits Ishmael’s right to his father’s inheritance by claiming that he was only the son of the flesh, while Isaac was the son of divine promise. He falsely accuses Ishmael of aggression toward Isaac to justify his expulsion (Galatians 4:29). 

 

“His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.” (Galatians 4:23)

 

“Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son.” (Galatians 4:30)

 

After Paul expressed contempt for Hagar and her son Ishmael, he used their story to figuratively compare those who are enslaved under the Law of Moses and those who are free. Paul argued that those who still observe the Law (Torah), which descended upon Moses on Mount Sinai, are under the covenant of slavery that same way Hagar and her son were. Paul spoke of two covenants, one that keeps its observers under slavery, and another that sets people free. What is baffling, however, is that Paul got lost in his own allegory and did not complete his thought regarding the second covenant. He also made an absurd geographical mistake by claiming that Mount Sinai was in Arabia, which is further evidence that he was but an ignorant imposter, not one who was inspired by God as he claims

 

“These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.” 

(Galatians 4:24-26)

 

Hagar and Ishmael are Cast Out and Left Abandoned in the Desert

 

“Early the next morning, Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to 

Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.” (Genesis 21:14)

 

Hagar and Ishmael Wander the Desert in Despair Until God Intervenes

 

“When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” (Genesis 21:15-19)

 

Ishmael Settles in Arabia Where He Prospers Under God’s Providence and Grace

 

“God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.”

 (Genesis 21:20-21)

Critical Analysis: This was the last of the story of Hagar and Ishmael in the Bible, and while the Bible fails to acknowledge God’s masterplan for Hagar and her blessed son Ishmael, and depicts the entire story as an act of divine cruelty and divine favouritism, the Holy Quran clearly illustrates God’s wisdom behind relocating Hagar and her son Ishmael to the desert of Paran, modern-day Mecca. Mecca was destined by God to be a sacred place by becoming the birthplace of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ. It was destined to be the city of light and the beacon of divine guidance to the world. For this reason, God ordained for Ishmael to relocate to Arabia so that he would be a prophet to the Arabs, and his great-grandson Mohammad ﷺ would emerge from Arabia as the seal of prophets and the final messenger of God to mankind.

 

The Biblical God Excludes Six Other Sons of Abraham from Their Lawful Inheritance

 

Ishmael was not the only son of Abraham who was marginalized and excluded from God’s covenant and grace in the Bible. The Bible deliberately marginalized six other sons of Abraham. According to the book of Genesis 25, Abraham had six sons from his third wife Keturah. These six sons of Abraham became fathers of many great nations who prospered throughout the eastern land (Mesopotamia and Arabia). 

 

“Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.” (Genesis 25:1-4)

 

The entire history of these six sons, along with their descendants, was completely marginalized and deemed insignificant by the authors of the Bible. Nothing of their story was told in the Bible except this brief mention. The Bible is explicit that these six sons did not inherit their father Abraham. They were simply given gifts during the life time of Abraham and then sent away to the land of the East (Arabia and Mesopotamia). Despite being born of a free woman (Keturah), they have been referred to as the children of Abraham’s concubines as well, as means of degradation, the same way the Bible denoted Hagar and her sons Ishmael.

“Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.” (Genesis 25:5-6)

 

As clearly shown from verse 5 of chapter 25 of the book of Genesis, Abraham gave all his inheritance to Isaac alone, affirming once again that Isaac is the only son favoured and destined to receive all the blessings of God in the Bible. This depicts Abraham as a terrible and unfair father, and the biblical God as an unjust deity who practices favoritism. So while Isaac is divinely favoured by God to receive God’s covenant and blessings, and to receive Abraham’s legacy and inheritance, Ishmael and the six other sons of Abraham receive nothing and are cast out from all of this. They were simply sent away, by the decree of God, to the land of the East as outcasts. Who in his right mind would attribute to God such blatant injustice and accuse the great prophet of God Abraham such wicked unfairness? Defiantly, this is precisely what the Bible does!

 

The Biblical God Excludes Esau from His Covenant and Lawful Inheritance

 

The same pattern of divine favoritism, discrimination, and exclusion from God’s covenant and grace was repeated again within the next generation of Abraham’s bloodline. Esau, the firstborn son of Isaac, seems to have been disfavoured by God as well for no justifiable reason. Instead of enjoying the divine blessing and the lawful privileges associated with his birthright, being Isaac’s firstborn son, he was tricked into forfeiting his “Bakorah” rights and privileges, mistreated without receiving justice from God, and even hated by God for no mentioned reason.

 

Exclusion and Favoritism by Divine Decree Before Birth

 

The marginalization of Esau began before he was born. There is no moral reason given. God simply decides that Esau is destined to be rejected and cast out.

 

“The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’" (Genesis 25:22-23)

Deprived of Birthright Privileges Through Exploitation

 

The first act of oppression in this story comes not from God directly, but from Jacob, who exploits his brother's physical weakness.

 

“Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ Esau said, ‘I am about to die; what good is the birthright to me?’ So Esau swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.” (Genesis 25:29-34)

 

Critical Analysis: This is a story of exploitation, not justice. Esau is hungry, impulsive, and naive. Jacob is calculating and manipulative. The text says Esau "despised" his birthright, but this is a theological judgment imposed on the narrative. A neutral reading shows Jacob taking advantage of his brother's physical weakness. The birthright was Esau's by law and custom. Jacob had no legal claim to it. He obtained it through manipulation, not through righteousness. Yet the biblical text presents this manipulation and wickedness as acceptable because it sets the stage for the marginalization of Esau and his bloodline in preparation for favouring Jacob and his bloodline, from which the Israelites descended from.

 

Esau Was Deprived of God’s Blessing Through Deceit

 

The second act of exploitation is even more fraudulent. Jacob, with his mother's help, lies to his blind father Isaac and steals the blessing meant for Esau.

 

“When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, ‘My son.’ ‘Here I am,’ he answered. Isaac said, ‘I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.’ ... Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. He went to his father and said, ‘My father.’ ‘Yes, my son,’ he answered. ‘Who is it?’ Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.’ ... So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him.” (Genesis 27:1-29)

 

Critical Analysis: This is premeditated fraud. Jacob lies directly to his father just so he would receive his father’s blessing, a blessing reserved to the firstborn son according to tradition. Rebekah, the mother of both Esau and Jacob, conspires against her own son Esau to trick Isaac into blessing the wrong child. Surprisingly, the biblical text does not condemn Jacob or his mother for deceiving Isaac and God. God himself does not even condemn such an act of fraud and wickedness, and does not reverse the blessing. The act of deceit and the wicked plot enacted by Jacob and his mother Rebekah seems to be approved by the biblical God.

 

Esau Discovers the Act of Deceit and is in Anguish, Yet Divine Justice is Absent

 

When Esau discovers the fraud, he cries out in anguish but the blessing cannot be reversed for a reason unspecified by the Bible, implying that once God has been deceived into blessing someone by mistake, He cannot undo His blessing, as absurd as this sounds.

 

“After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, ‘My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.’ His father Isaac asked him, ‘Who are you?’ He answered, ‘I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.’ Isaac trembled violently and said, ‘Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him and indeed he will be blessed!’ When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, ‘Bless me too, my father!’ But he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.’ Esau said, ‘Isn't he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!’ Then he asked, ‘Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?’ 

(Genesis 27:30-38)

 

Esau Requests a Blessing from His Father, Yet Receives A Curse and a Punishment Instead

 

Instead of correcting the wrong, and instead of blessing Esau the same way he blessed Jacob after he was deceived, Isaac bestows upon Esau what seems to be a curse and a punishment, not a blessing.

 

“His father Isaac answered, ‘Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.’" (Genesis 27:39-40)

 

Critical Analysis: The act of divine injustice gets worse. Not only was Esau deprived of his birthright privileges, his firstborn son blessing, and deprived of divine justice, he was also condemned to a life of hardship, violence, and servitude to Jacob. 

 

The Biblical God Ratifies the Deceitful Act and Blesses Jacob for His Fraud and Wickedness 

 

After Jacob flees from Esau's anger, God appears to him and reaffirms and amplifies the blessing obtained through fraud. 

 

“There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’" (Genesis 28:13-15)

 

Critical Analysis: Instead of condemning Jacob for lying, deceiving, and stealing, God bestows upon Jacob a blessing that exceeds the blessing of his grandfather Abraham himself, affirming once again that the biblical God approves of deceit, exploitation, and wickedness, and while the victim is deprived of divine justice, the wicked are rewarded for their wickedness.

 

The Prophetic Condemnation of Esau

 

The nonsense continues and Centuries later, the prophet Malachi declares that God hated Esau, affirming that the biblical God practices favoritism as He pleases without a just cause or a sin committed.

 

“’I have loved you,’ says the Lord. But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Was not Esau Jacob's brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’" (Malachi 1:2-3)

 

The New Testament Inherits the Old Testament's Hatred Toward Esau

 

The New Testament does not correct the injustice. It reinforces it and uses it as a cornerstone of divine election theology.

 

“Not only that, but Rebekah's children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 

(Romans 9:10-13)

 

“See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” (Hebrews 12:16-17)

 

Critical Analysis: Paul uses the Esau and Jacob narrative as the foundation of his doctrine of unconditional election. Paul seems to justify God's favoritism and divine injustice, and instead of condemning Jacob’s fraudulent and wicked actions, He blames his victim brother Esau instead and calls him godless for selling his birthright inheritance for the sake of a hot meal, which I believe to be another absurd and illogical biblical story, for who would abandon his entire inheritance and his birthright privileges for a single meal?

 

The Condemnation and Destruction of Esau's Bloodline

 

From this point forward, Esau and all of his descendants from among the Edomite clans are perceived as enemies of the Israelites and are destined to be destroyed, despite the fact that they are literally the cousins of the descendants of Jacob, the same way the Ishmaelites are perceived as enemies of the Israelites when they are literally their cousins. Such animosity toward Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, has been recorded throughout the Bible. The prophet Obadiah dedicated an entire book to Edom's destruction, declaring the Lord saying, “Everyone in Esau's mountains will be cut down in the slaughter… There will be no survivors from the House of Esau" (Obadiah 1:9, 18). Ezekiel declared God saying, “I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 25:13-14). Jeremiah proclaimed that the Lord declared, "I will bring disaster on Esau… I will strip Esau bare… His descendants will be destroyed, his brothers and his neighbors as well. He will be no more” (Jeremiah 49:7-10). Malachi the prophet attributes such animosity to divine selection, affirming that God simply hated Esau, “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals," declares the Lord (Malachi 1:2-3). 

 

This recurring depiction of God as a tribal deity who favours one brother over another, or favors one nation over another, or favors one bloodline over another, or favors one family branch over another simply for the sake of arbitrary divine selection instead of favoring them based on righteousness and piety defies God’s divine justice. This biblical portrayal of divine favoritism and discrimination reinforces the Islamic premise that the Bible did not come from God, but was written by the same people who have been discriminating against nations of the world for centuries, claiming that only they are the chosen people of God and that God is exclusive to them. These are the exact same people who never kept God’s covenant, worshiped idols, rebelled against Him and His prophets, slaughtered His prophets (including Jesus), corrupted His divine scriptures, altered His divine teachings, and invented a completely new religion that is based on corruption, hate, racism, discrimination, violence, and the oppression, enslavement, and exploitation of other nations.

The Biblical God Is Misogynistic: He Mistreats and Oppresses Women

 

All Women Are Punished for the Original Sin of Eve

 

Eve Is the Source of Evil: She Brought Sin to the World and Caused the Downfall of Humanity

 

According to the Bible, Eve (woman) is the source of evil. It was she who committed the first sin, and it was she who caused the downfall of humanity. Chapter 2 of the book of Genesis narrates the story of the original sin of Adam and Eve. The biblical narrative solely puts the blame on Eve, for she was the one who was easily tempted by the serpent (Satan), she was the one who ate first, and she was the one who enticed Adam to eat. For this reason, she was the cause of the downfall of humanity.

 

The serpent Tempts Eve

 

"Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?' The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die."' 'You will not certainly die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" (Genesis 3:1-5)

 

Eve Eats First

 

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it." (Genesis 3:6a)

 

Eve Entices Adam to Eat

 

"She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Genesis 3:6b)

 

After Being Confronted by God, Adam Blames Eve

 

"But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.' And he said, 'Who told you that you 

were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?' The man said, 'The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'" 

(Genesis 3:9-12)

 

God Blames Eve

 

"Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' (Genesis 3:13a)

 

Eve Admits Her Wrongdoing, and Blames the Serpent (Satan) for Deceiving Her

 

“The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'" (Genesis 3:13b)

 

God Curses the Serpent (Satan)

 

“So the Lord God said to the serpent (Satan), ‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.’” (Genesis 3:14)

 

God Decree Enmity Between Eve (and Her Offspring) and the Serpent (and His Offspring)

 

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; She (Vulgate’s version) will crush your head, and you will strike her (Vulgate’s version) heel.” 

(Genesis 3:14-15)

 

God Curses All Women with Pain and Subordination

 

“To the woman he said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’” 

(Genesis 3:16)

 

God Curses the Ground and Punishes Adam with Lifelong Labor

 

“To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’" 

(Genesis 3:17-19)

 

After analyzing the biblical narrative, it is clear that the Bible puts the blame on Eve. She was the one who was tempted first, she was the one who sinned first, and she was the one who enticed Adam to sin, and she confessed to that herself. When God confronted Adam, he blamed Eve, and when God confronted Eve, she blamed the serpent and confessed to being tempted and sinning first. Paul Affirms this premise.

 

"For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner." (1 Timothy 2:13)

 

Early famous church fathers have consistently blamed Eve for the downfall of humanity as well. Clement of Alexandria shames all women for simply being born women. Tertullian describes the woman as the devil’s gateway and the first deserter of God’s law. Ambrose of Milan accuses Eve of deceiving Adam. Cyprian of Carthage boldly describes woman as the instrument of the devil, the cause of the fall of man, and the curse of creation. Jerome also affirms that she was the first to sin and break God’s law. For this reason, women are forever to be regarded as inferior to men.

 

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215 CE):

 

Every woman should be filled with shame at the thought that she is a woman. (Clement of Alexandria, 1991, p. 210) 

 

Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258 CE):

 

Woman is the instrument of the devil, the cause of the fall of man, the curse of creation. (Cyprian of Carthage, 1869, p. 432) 

 

Ambrose of Milan (c. 339-397 CE):

 

Adam was deceived by Eve, not Eve by Adam. Therefore, it is just that the woman accepts as her master the man whom she led into sin. (Ambrose of Milan, 1950, p. 312) 

 

Tertullian (c. 155-240 CE):

 

Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil's gateway: you are the unsealer of that forbidden tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed 

so easily God's image, man. (Tertullian, 1956, p. 14) 

 

Jerome (c. 347-420 CE):

 

Eve was the first to break the law. She was the beginning of sin, the first deserter of the divine command. (Jerome, 1887, Vol. 6, p. 374) 

 

Women Inherited the Original Sin and Curse of Eve 

 

According to the Bible, every woman who has ever lived, or is yet to exist, is cursed because of what one woman did thousands of years ago. After Eve enticed Adam to eat from the forbidden tree, God did not only punish the guilty parties; He decided to punish every single woman that is yet to be born. The biblical God holds all women accountable for the sin of their ancient mother, and ordains that all women of the world must suffer the consequences of Eve’s sin (Genesis 3:16). The Doctrine of Original Sin, which teaches that the original sin of Adam and Eve was inherited by the entire human race, is a contradictory concept in the Bible. While some biblical verses affirm that God does not punish the children for the sins of their parents or ancestors, nor punish anyone for the sin of another (Deuteronomy 24:16; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chronicles 25:4; Ezekiel 18:1-4; Ezekiel 18:20; Jeremiah 31:29-30), other biblical verses affirm the complete opposite, stating that God will punish the children for the sins of their parents or ancestors till the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:6-7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9; Isaiah 14:21; Lamentations 5:7; Joshua 7:24-25). Nonetheless, none of these Old Testament verses explicitly state that the original sin of Adam and Eve was inherited by the entire human race. They simply imply that God may choose to punish the children for the sins of their ancestors. The New Testament, on the other hand, explicitly states that the original sin of Adam and Eve was inherited by mankind, as confirmed in various verses (Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Psalm 51:5; Genesis 8:21; Ephesians 2:3).

 

Early church fathers adopted the New Testament view and held that the original sin of Adam and Eve was inherited by mankind.

 

Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–202 AD):

 

In Adam, we all sinned. For as the human race fell under the power of death through the disobedience of one man, so it is necessary that through the obedience of one man, life should return to the human race. (Irenaeus, 1885, 3.18.7) 

 

Tertullian (c. 155–220 AD):

 

The corruption of original sin is transmitted by natural generation from Adam to all his posterity. The soul of the child is infected with the seed of sin from the parent. (Tertullian, 1956, 16.5) 

 

Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200–258 AD):

 

If an infant is not baptized, he remains with the contagion of the first death, having contracted the condemnation of Adam through natural generation. (Cyprian, 1886, 2.5) 

 

Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD):

 

The sin of Adam is transmitted to all men by natural generation. No one is born without that sin, which all have inherited from the first man. This is why even infants, though they have committed no actual sin, are still baptized for the remission of sins. (Augustine, 1887, 1.9.9) 

 

The church also affirmed the inheritance of the original sin and its transmission to humanity in several councils.

 

Council of Carthage (418 AD):

 

If anyone says that Adam's sin harmed only him and not his posterity, or that infants at birth have no need of baptism for the remission of sins, let him be anathema. (Council of Carthage, 1886, Canon 2) 

 

Council of Ephesus (431 AD):

 

If anyone denies that the sin of Adam has passed upon the whole human race, and that it is the cause of death and the reason why even infants need the grace of Christ for 

salvation, he goes against the rule of faith handed down from the apostles. (Council of 

Ephesus, 431/1990, Canon 1) 

 

Council of Florence (1442 AD):

 

The holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes, and preaches that no one conceived of man and woman was ever born without original sin, which is transmitted by propagation and not by imitation, and which must be cleansed by the sacrament of baptism. (Council of Florence, 1442/1990, Session 11) 

 

Council of Trent (1546 AD):

 

If anyone asserts that Adam's sin harmed him alone and not his descendants, and that the holiness and justice he had received from God, which he lost, he lost for himself alone and not for us also; or that, stained by the sin of disobedience, he transmitted to the whole human race only death and the sufferings of the body but not sin, which is the death of the soul: let him be anathema. (Council of Trent, 1546/1990, Session 5, Canon 2) 

 

The biblical God has created a system where the entire human race suffers the consequences of the original sin of Adam and Eve, and given than Eve was the one who was tempted first, the one who sinned first, and the one who enticed Adam to sin, she is to be blamed for it all. As a result, generations of men from Judaic-Christian societies, supported by the distorted biblical teachings, took advantage of such beliefs to oppress women and degrade them.

 

Women Are Punished with Severe Childbirth Pains as a Consequence of Eve’s Curse

 

By divine decree, all women are to experience severe pains in childbearing as a punishment for Eve’s sin.

 

"To the woman he said, 'I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'" (Genesis 3:16)

Women Must Be Submissive to Their Husbands as a Consequence of Eve’s Curse

 

By divine decree, all women must be submissive to their husbands, and their husband must rule over them as a punishment for Eve’s sin.

 

"To the woman he said, 'I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'" 

(Genesis 3:16)

 

This single verse has been used for millennia to justify the oppression of women by men from Judeo-Christian faith-based societies who sought to subjugate them, control them, abuse them, deprive them of their rights, and deny their significant and equally important role in society by simply claiming that their suffering is a divine punishment from God. Based on such absurd notion and oppressive biblical principle, women have been deliberately degraded, marginalized, and their significant role questioned in Judaic and Christian societies. Such degradation of women is deeply rooted in the teachings of both Judaism and Christianity. 

 

Paul, the man who shaped Christian theology, cites the original curse of Eve to justify female submission and subordination to man, and to deprive women of assuming any form of authoritative role in society, and to exclude them from participation in the process of teaching. He thus denies them the honorable role of preaching in the name of God or acting as a moral and spiritual guide, even to their children. She is simply to have no significant role in society except to bear children and remain silent. (Also see: 1 Corinthians 11:3-10; Ephesians 5:22-24; Colossians 3:18; Titus 2:4-5).

 

"A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety." 

(1 Timothy 2:11-15)

 

"Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." 

(1 Corinthians 14:34-35)

 

Early church fathers share the same view as Paul. Women are not to engage into priestly or church roles, nor are women allowed to teach and contribute to the enlightenment of society. 

 

Tertullian of Carthage (c. 155–220 AD):

 

It is not permitted to a woman to speak in church, nor to teach, nor to baptize, nor to offer sacrifice, nor to claim any masculine function, much less priestly office. (Tertullian, 1885, Chapter 17) 

 

Origen of Alexandria (c. 184-253 CE):

 

It is not right that a woman should pray with uncovered head, nor that she should teach in the church, because she is not the image of God as man is. (Origen of Alexandria, 1896, p. 287) 

 

John Chrysostom (c. 347-407 CE):

 

The woman taught once, and ruined all. On this account therefore he (Paul) says, 'Let her not teach.' But what is this to other women, that she who fell did so through teaching? Why, this is the very reason. For the sex is weak and fickle, and he is speaking of the sex collectively. For he did not say, 'Let not Eve teach,' but 'Let not a woman teach.' The whole sex, he says, is such. For she who was first and had so great an honor, having brought ruin on all, how shall the rest of the sex be restored? For that she ruined all, hear what he says: 'Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.' (Chrysostom, 1889, p. 436) 

 

Paul made it redundantly clear that women are to be submissive to their husbands the same way they are submissive to God.

 

"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." 

(Ephesians 5:22-24)

 

"Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." (Colossians 3:18)

 

"Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives." 

(1 Peter 3:1)

 

"For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master." (1 Peter 3:5-6)

 

"Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (Titus 2:4-5)

 

"But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3)

 

"Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." (Ephesians 5:24)

 

Early church fathers hold the same view as Paul.

 

John Chrysostom (c. 347-407 CE):

 

For the woman was the beginning of the transgression, and she drew the man into it. Therefore God said to her, 'Thy turning shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.' For this reason also Paul says, 'Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.' Do you see how the woman was the cause of the ruin of the man? Therefore, because she was the beginning of the transgression, she is justly subjected and ordered to be under the dominion of her husband. (Chrysostom, 1889, Homily 17, Section 8) 

 

Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329–390 CE):

 

The woman sinned, and so did the man. The serpent deceived them both. But the woman was the beginning of the transgression, and through her the man became a transgressor as well. For this reason she is placed under the authority of the man. (Gregory of Nazianzus, 1894, p. 339) 

 

Ambrosiaster (c. 366–384 AD):

 

Woman is inferior to man, for she was made from him and for his sake. Therefore, she ought to be subject to him, as to the head. For the head of the woman is the man. (Ambrosiaster, 380/2009, p. 165) 

 

Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE):

 

It is the natural order among human beings that women serve their husbands and children their parents, because it is just that the lesser serve the greater. (Augustine, 1887, p. 289) 

 

In Comparison to Islam 

 

In comparison to the oppressive teachings of the Bible, the Islamic God does not punish the entire human race for the original sin of Adam and Eve. No curse was inflicted upon all women like the Bible claims. The Quran explicitly states that each soul bears its own burden and that no soul is punished for the sin of another. This is an Islamic foundational principle that accurately portrays God’s divine and perfect justice.

 

"No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another." 

(Quran 35:18; Quran 6:164; Quran 17:15; Quran 39:7; Quran 53:38)

 

The Quran presents the story of Adam and Eve differently. According to the biblical narrative, the serpent deceives Eve and tempts her to eat from the tree, then Eve eats and tempts Adam to eat from the tree, and this puts the blame on Eve given that she sinned first and enticed Adam to sin. This is why Christian theology has historically blamed Eve for the fall of humanity. In the Holy Quran, however, Adam and Eve are both to be blamed. They were both tempted together, both sinned together, both repented together, and were both forgiven together. Only they were held accountable for their original sin. There is no curse upon Eve and there is no inherited sin that must be accounted for by the entire female race. According to Islam, the original sin of Adam and Eve were never inherited by mankind, because it simply goes against God’s divine justice. For an in-depth scriptural comparative analysis of the original sin across the Abrahamic religions, refer to my book The Original Sin and Rise of Humanity.

 

"Then Satan whispered to both of them to expose what was hidden from them of their nakedness. He said, 'Your Lord only forbade you from this tree lest you become angels or become immortal.' And he swore to them, 'I am to you a sincere advisor.' So he brought about their fall through deceit. And when they tasted the tree, their nakedness became exposed to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of Paradise to cover themselves. And their Lord called to them, 'Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is a clear enemy to you?' They said, 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.'" (Quran7:20-23)

 

Note the use of pronoun "they," which refers to both Adam and Eve. They both wronged themselves, both sought forgiveness, and both were forgiven. There is no curse and there is no punishment of future generations. 

 

Islam does not regard women’s submission to men as a punishment, as taught by the Bible. Men’s leadership over women is not a license for domination nor is it a proof of moral superiority. It is a sacred trust of guardianship wherein God assigned men the duty of taking care of women, protecting them, and securing their wellbeing, and He has ordained that this is the natural state of a well-designed social order. And to aid them in the honorable task, God has endowed men with the complementary design of the male sex, manifested in the physical, intellectual, emotional, and moral capacity to shoulder the burden of guardianship. The grand purpose of this design is to construct and cultivate a nurturing and protective society where women can grow and prosper into the fullness of their God-given potential. This will be discussed in the next section.

 

 

Women Are Deemed Inferior to Men and of a Lesser Value

 

As a punishment for Eve’s sin, the biblical God ordains that men are to rule over women (Genesis 3:16), and that women are to be completely submissive to their men. The Bible also suggests that women are inferior to men and are of a lesser value. It literally ordains that a woman’s monetary value is lesser than of a man (Leviticus 27:1-7). It also establishes that giving birth to a female child makes a woman more impure than giving birth to a male child. The biblical God ordains that a woman is regarded unclean for double the duration after giving birth to a female child, affirming once again that men and women are not equal (Leviticus 12:1-5) even when it comes to purity.

 

Such notion is suggested throughout Paul’s teachings.

 

"For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man." (1 Corinthians 11:8-9)

 

"A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man." (1 Corinthians 11:7)

 

"For Adam was formed first, then Eve." (1 Timothy 2:13)

 

Again, early church fathers hold the same view and regard woman as inferior to man, for they are not the image of God as man is.

 

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215 AD):

 

Man is the image of God. Woman is the image of man. Therefore she is not equal to man in dignity, but is subject to him as the body is subject to the head. (Clement of Alexandria, 1954, 3.12) 

 

Origen of Alexandria (c. 184–253 AD):

 

The image of God, which man is, is not in a woman. For as we said, 'the man is the image of God, but the woman is the glory of the man.' This is why it is not right for a woman to pray without a veil. She does not bear the image of God in the same way as the man, but becomes subject to the authority of the man. (Origen, 1969, on 1 Corinthians 11:7) 

If the woman is the glory of the man, how can she be the image of God? She is not the image of God, for the Apostle says that the man is the image of God. But the woman is the glory of the man, not the image of God. (Origen, 1982, 1.13) 

 

Ambrose of Milan (c. 340–397 AD):

 

The man is the head of the woman, because he is the image of God. But the woman is not the image of God, for she is the glory of the man. The man is the image of God in his full dignity; the woman is second, made from the man, and for the man. (Ambrose of Milan, 1963, on 1 Corinthians 11:7) 

 

John Chrysostom (c. 347–407 AD):

 

The woman is of secondary rank and is subject to the man. She is not the image of God as the man is. For the man is the image of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. This is why the woman is not permitted to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence and subjection. (John Chrysostom, 1986, Homily 9 on 1 Timothy) 

 

Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD):

 

The woman alone was not made in the image of God, but the man alone is the image of God. However, when the woman is joined with the man, she is the image of God, just as the man is, because she too is a human being. But when she is considered in herself, as a woman, she is not the image of God. (Augustine, 1887, 12.7.10) 

 

The woman is subject to the man as to her head, because the man is the image of God, but the woman is not. Therefore she must be ruled by the one who is the image of God. (Augustine, 1982, 11.42) 

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

According to Islam, women are not inferior to men, yet they both have different responsibilities and duties in life. Men are not dominators over women, they are guardians who are entrusted the responsibility of protecting them, providing for them, and caring for them. While the Bible presents man’s guardianship as a divine curse of dominance that is deliberately imposed by God as a punishment upon women, Islam perceives it as a natural social order and a biological reality that derives from the firm premise that men are women’s protectors, providers, and care givers. 

 

"Men are caretakers and protectors of women, because of the strength that God has given one (men) over the other (women), and because of the financial support they provide (to women)." 

(Holy Quran 4:34)

 

God affirmed that Eve (woman) was created from Adam (man), and is part of him, and that women are men’s mates and partners. They both complete one another, and they both act as “garments” to one another, a word that carries rich meanings. 

 

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women." (Holy Quran 4:1)

 

"And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them, and He placed between (both of) you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for people who reflect." (Holy Quran 30:21)

 

"They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them." (Holy Quran 2:187)

 

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also described women as men’s twin halves, confirming that there is no difference between a man and a woman in the sight of God.

 

"Women are the twin halves (counterparts) of men." 

(Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 236)

 

The Prophet ﷺ commanded Muslim men to take care of women, treat them with respect and fairness, and to be kind to them. He also declared that the best among men are those who are best to their women.

 

"Fear God concerning women, for you have taken them by the trust of God, and you have made their private parts lawful (through marriage) by the word of God." 

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1218)

 

"Treat women kindly." 

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5186; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1468)

 

"The best of you are those who are best to their women." 

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1977)

 

In Islam, women are not a curse, but a blessing. They are a blessing as daughters and sisters, a blessing as wives, and a blessing as mothers. God ordains that men who care for their daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers, and treat them well, will be rewarded Paradise. This privilege involves women only.

 

As daughters and sisters:

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whoever has three daughters or three sisters, and he treats them kindly, Allah will admit him to Paradise.'" (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2631)

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whoever has two daughters and he treats them well, they will be a shield for him from the Fire.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 141)

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whoever has a daughter and does not bury her alive, does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, Allah will admit him to Paradise.'" 

(Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 5146)

 

As wives:

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Three things bring happiness: a righteous wife, a good home, and a good means of transport.'" (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 1666)

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'The whole world is a provision, and the best provision of this world is a righteous wife.'" (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1467)

 

As mothers:

 

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers." 

(Sunan Al-Nasa’i, Hadith 3104)

 

Narrated by Abu Huraira, A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, who is most deserving of my good companionship?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked, "Then who?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked, "Then who?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked, "Then who?" The Prophet said, "Your father." 

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 597)1

 

Women Have No Independent Legal Authority or Will Aside from Their Men

 

A Woman’s Oath & Pledge Is Not Valid Unless Approved by Her Father or Husband

 

The biblical laws systematically deprive women of independent authority in every sphere of life: religious, civil, legal, and commercial, and force women to be subordinate to men. A woman’s will is subject to the will of the men in her life (Genesis 3:16b), and her word is not accounted for or valid independently unless approved by her father or husband, including her religious vows, civil oaths, and legal pledges (Numbers 30:3-15). The biblical God created a system where women are perpetual minors, always under the authority of a man, never autonomous, never fully independent in the eyes of the law.

 

The curse of Eve enacted the foundational biblical principle of a woman’s dependence and submission status. Man is to rule over her, and she is to be subjugated to his will.

 

"Your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Genesis 3:16b)

 

A woman’s oath, vow, pledge, or promise, whether religious, civil, legal, or commercial, where she is to offer a promise of some sort or attempt to conclude an agreement, is deemed pending until approved by her father, if she is not married yet, or her husband, if she is married. If her father or husband disapproves, then her vow, oath, pledge, or promise is null, and her agreement becomes invalid.

 

Unmarried Women:

 

"If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. If a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father's house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.” (Numbers 30:3-5)

 

Married Women:

 

"If she marries a husband while she is under a vow or any utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her on the day he hears about it, then her vows will stand and the pledges by which she has bound herself will stand. But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears about it, then he will nullify the vow or the utterance of her lips by which she bound herself, and the Lord will release her." (Numbers 30:6-8)

 

"If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or takes an oath under oath to bind herself, and her husband hears it but says nothing to her and does not overrule her, then all her vows will stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself will stand. But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears them, then whatever came out of her lips concerning her vows or her pledge will not stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her. Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to humble herself. But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows and pledges that are binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing on the day he hears them. If, however, he nullifies them after he hears them, then he bears her guilt." (Numbers 30:10-15)

 

A Woman’s Testimony Is Not Admissible

 

Even a woman’s testimony is inadmissible in the Judeo-Christian faith. There isn’t a single verse in the Bible that addresses the testimony of women or deem it admissible. The common and only interpretation that is acceptable by biblical scholars and commentators for Deuteronomy 19:15 has always assumed that the verse refers to male witnesses only, not women, especially when the original Hebrew text uses the masculine nouns and pronouns when referring to the witness.

"A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established." (Deuteronomy 19:15)

 

Rabbinic Evidence: Inadmissibility of Female Testimony

In rabbinic literature, the restriction on women giving independent civil or criminal testimony is treated as an established legal axiom.

 

The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1:8):

 

These are considered unfit (witnesses): gamblers with dice, those who lend on interest, pigeon racers, those who trade in the produce of the Sabbatical year, and slaves. This is the general principle: all evidence that a woman is not eligible to give, these also are not eligible to bring. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:8) 

 

The Babylonian Talmud (Shavuot 30a):

 

The verse states: 'Then both the men (hashenei ha-anashim) between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord...' (Deuteronomy 19:17). The instruction is for men, and not for women. The text uses 'two' here and 'two' there (in verse 15 regarding witnesses). Just as 'two' there refers to men, so too here, it refers to men. (Babylonian Talmud, Shavuot 30a) 

 

The Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Edut 5:1–2):

 

Women are disqualified from giving testimony by the laws of the Torah, as it is written: 'By the mouth of two witnesses.' The text uses the masculine form, implying men and not women. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Edut 5:1–2) 

 

Even when a woman is accused of adultery by her husband and is brought before the religious court to be investigated, her testimony is still not admissible or valid independently. Her own testimony cannot go against her husband’s testimony, despite the lack of evidence for her husband’s accusation. Instead, she is forced to go through a humiliating superstitious ordeal to prove her innocence, as we will investigate in a separate section. (Numbers 5:11-31). 

In Comparison to Islam

 

In comparison to the biblical laws that render women perpetual minors, stripping them of their independent authority and will, and nullifying their religious vows, legal oaths, or any other civil pledges unless approved by their fathers or husbands, in Islam the situation is contrarily different. Muslim women possess an independent will, and they enjoy full autonomy over their affairs in all the spheres of life. Their religious vows, legal oaths, and civil pledges are valid and binding, independently from their fathers and husbands. The Holy Quran addresses believing men and women alike and commands them to fulfill their vows, oaths, pledges, and agreements. 

 

"O you who have believed, honor the contracts." (Holy Quran 5:1)

 

"And fulfill the covenant of God. This He has instructed you that you may remember." 

(Holy Quran 6:152)

 

"And honor the vow that you have made in the name of God, and do not break your oaths after you have confirmed them, since you have made God your guarantor. Indeed, God knows what you do." (Holy Quran 16:91)

 

"And honor the pledge. Indeed, the pledge will be answered for." 

(Holy Quran 17:34)

 

"Allah will not hold you accountable for unintentional oaths, but He will hold you accountable for oaths you made in earnest... This is the expiation for your oaths when you have sworn. But guard your oaths." (Holy Quran 5:89)

 

The Prophet Mohammad ﷺ took the pledge of allegiance directly from women as independent agents, without requiring their fathers' or husbands' permission (Quran 60:12). These believing women took an oath before God and before His prophet to honor God’s covenant and to fulfill their religious duties as independent individuals that are fully accountable for their actions. 

 

"O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging allegiance to you that they will not associate anything with God, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor produce any slander they fabricate between their hands and legs, nor disobey you in what is right, then accept their pledge and ask God to forgive them. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful." 

(Holy Quran 60:12)

 

Although men are assigned the task of guardianship over women so that they would protect them, care for them, and cater to their needs, woman are also regarded as guardians and shepherds over their households and their children. The Prophet explicitly declared that a woman is a "shepherd" over her household. She is responsible before God for taking care of her household and children affairs and duties.

 

Abdullah ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of God ﷺ said, "Indeed, all of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. The ruler over the people is a shepherd and is responsible for them. A man is a shepherd over his household and is responsible for them. The woman is a shepherd over her husband's house and his children, and she is responsible for them. The slave is a shepherd over his master's property and is responsible for it. Indeed, all of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock." (Sahih al-Bukhari 853; Sahih Muslim 1829)

 

Unlike the Judeo-Christian tradition, which denies women independent legal standing as witnesses and regard their testimony as having no weight, Islam recognizes women as independent legal witnesses. Their testimonies are valid and admissible in every sphere of life. A woman’s father or husband does not need to "approve" her testimony. She is an independent legal person whose testimony is binding in all judicial proceedings.

 

“And bring two witnesses from among your men. If there are not two men, then a man and 

two women from those whom you accept as witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her." (Holy Quran 2:282)

 

A woman’s testimony is not only valid and recognizable in Islam, her plea is heard and approved by God Himself. The Holy Quran narrates a story of a woman named Khawlah bint Thalabah who came to dispute her family affair’s case before the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ. Based on her testimony and subtle argument, God established a new ruling that prohibited men from invoking Zihar upon their women. Zihar is a pre-Islamic practice in which a man would declare to his wife, "You are to me like my mother.” This declaration was understood to render the wife sexually forbidden to him, the same way his mother is, without actually divorcing her. The wife was then left in a state of legal limbo where she is neither married nor divorced. Upon Khawlah’s argument with the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ, God nullified her husband invocation of zihar.

 

"Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of the woman who disputes with you concerning her husband and complains to God. And Allah hears your dialogue. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing." (Holy Quran 58:1)

 

This was not the only time that a woman’s testimony contributes to the legislation of an Islamic ruling. The Prophet Mohammad ﷺ accepted the testimony of a woman to determine the invalidity of a marital relationship between a man and a woman who were breastfed from the same woman, thus rendering their marriage null (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2659). A woman’s testimony is as valid and admissible as a man’s testimony in Islam. In fact, a woman’s testimony can go against a man’s testimony in a religious court, without having to bring additional witnesses. According to the Bible, if a man accuses his wife of adultery, despite not having any evidence or witnesses, his wife must be brought before the priest to be investigated by going through a humiliating and disgraceful superstitious ordeal of drinking cursed bitter water mixed with the dust from the floor of the tabernacle. If she was innocent, it is believed that the contaminated and cursed bitter water would not harm her, but if she was guilty, then it is believed that her stomach will swell, her womb will miscarry, and she will be cursed among her people. Her testimony is simply not enough to refute the accusations of the husband. She is to be forced to go through such ordeal to prove her innocence. In Islam, a simple testimony from the woman before the judge is enough to refute the accusations. Both of them are brought before the judge and are asked to take a testimonial oath and swear five times that they are truthful or else God curse would be upon the husband if he was lying, and God’s wrath would be upon the woman if the husband was speaking the truth.

 

"And those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses except themselves, then let the testimony of him (who made the claim) be four testimonies by God that indeed he is of the truthful. And the fifth shall be that the curse of God be upon him if he was of the liars. But it will avert the punishment from the wife if she bears witness four times by God that indeed he is of the liars. And the fifth shall be that the wrath of God be upon her if he is of the truthful." (Holy Quran 24:6-9)

 

Besides having an independent will and an independent legal liability, woman have complete financial independence apart from their husbands (Holy Quran 4:4). They are allowed to own and run their own businesses, and whatever they earn is solely theirs to keep (Holy Quran 4:32). Khadijah bint Khwaylid, the first wife of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ was a successful businesswoman. She had her own trading business, and she hired many trustworthy men to manage her caravans of goods, including the Prophet Mohammad himself ﷺ, whom she hired for his honesty and virtue before she asked him to marry her (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4952; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3815). To illustrate women’s financial independence in Islam, Aisha reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to buy from women and did not ask their husbands for permission. (Sahih al-Bukhari 2097).

 

In the next sections, we will show that Muslim women have a complete independent will to consent to or refuse to marry someone. Unlike the oppressive biblical laws that force women to marry their rapists and sexual seducers. No Muslim woman is to be forced to marry anyone whom she does not wish to marry. Muslim women are treated with dignity and grace, and they are to be cared for, nurtured, respected, and honored, not treated like property that can be sold as sex slaves for a cheap price.

 

Women Have No Authority to Consent to Marriage or Request a Divorce

 

Women Have No Legal Right to Consent to Marriage or Refuse a Spouse

 

As we illustrated earlier throughout previous sections of this chapter, women are treated as property in the Bible. They have no legal authority independent from the men in their life (father and husband). Before marriage, she is the property of her father, and after marriage, she is the property of her husband. Therefore, the father is the only one authorized to offer her hand in marriage and negotiate terms. She has no legal authority or independent will to consent or refuse to get married. The Bible establishes this principle in several narratives where the father gets to choose whether to give her hand in marriage or not. He is also the one who is to receive compensation from the rapist and seducer if his daughter was raped or sexually violated (Deuteronomy 22:28-29; Exodus 22:16-17). He has absolute authority over his daughter, including the right to sell her as a slave if he wishes (Exodus 21:7).

 

"If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and rapes her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife." (Deuteronomy 22:28-29)

 

"If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and has sex with her, he shall pay the bride-price for her (to the father), and he shall make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride price for virgins (to the father)." (Exodus 22:16-17)

 

The New Testament gives the same authority to fathers over their daughters. A woman’s consent is absolutely insignificant. Her father gets to choose and decide who she marries. 

 

Paul said:

 

"If anyone (a father) thinks he is acting improperly toward his virgin (daughter), if she is past the bloom of youth and it must be so, let him do what he wishes. He is not sinning; they should get married." (1 Corinthians 7:36)

 

"But the man (father) who has settled the matter in his own heart, who has no obligation 

and has control over his own will, and has decided in his heart to keep his own virgin 

(daughter), he will do well." (1 Corinthians 7:37)

 

"So then, he who gives his virgin (daughter) in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better." (1 Corinthians 7:38)

 

What is more unnatural is that Paul encourages fathers not to give their virgin daughters in marriage when he said that if a father decides to keep his virgin daughter, “he did well” and when he said, “but he who does not give her in marriage does better.” Paul seems to favour celibacy, which is unnatural. This is also clear from Paul’s words from earlier in the chapter.

 

“Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.” (1 Corinthians 7:25-28)

 

Women Have No Legal Right to Divorce Their Husbands or Request a Divorce

 

The Old Testament has no law whatsoever that allows women to divorce their husband. Only men have that right. The biblical law establishes divorce as a strictly unilateral right belonging entirely to the husband. Only a husband can divorce his wife if he does not like her, or finds something in her that displeases him. However, if she is displeased with him, she cannot ask for a divorce. She is legally bound to him for life.

 

"When a man takes a wife and marries her, if she finds no favor in his eyes... he can write her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house." (Deuteronomy 24:1)

 

The New Testament, however, makes it clear that it is forbidden for a woman to get a divorce and remarry. Jesus condemns a woman who divorces her husband and marries another, and he calls her an adulteress.

 

"If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." (Mark 10:12)

 

Paul confirms the same thing:

 

"To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband. But if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband, and the husband should not divorce his wife." (1 Corinthians 7:10-11)

 

"A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives.” (1 Corinthians 7:39)

 

"A married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress." (Romans 7:2-3)

In Comparison to Islam 

 

A Woman’s Consent Is Required for Marriage

 

In Islam, a woman has an independent will, and she enjoys absolute freedom to approve or reject a marriage proposal. She has the right to say yes or no to any man who wishes to marry her. Unlike the Judeo-Christian tradition, a woman’s consent to marriage is required in Islam, whether she is a virgin or a non-virgin. Without her consent, the marriage would be null. No father is permitted to force his daughter to marry anyone, let alone marry the rapist who raped his daughter or the sexual abuser who seduced her into committing immorality, as is the case in the Bible.

 

The Messenger of Allah said, "A previously married woman (widow or divorced) shall not be married until she is consulted, and a virgin shall not be married until her permission is sought." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, how is her permission?" He said: "That she remains silent (as a sign of approval)." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6968; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1419)

 

Ibn Abbas narrated that A virgin woman came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned to him that her father had married her off while she was unwilling. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave her the choice between remaining with her husband or separating from him. 

(Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2101)

 

As previously noted, the Holy Quran forbade men to inherit women or treat them as property, including forcing them into a marital relationship.

 

"O you who have believed, it is not lawful for you to inherit women by compulsion." 

(Holy Quran 4:19)

 

A Woman Has the Right to Request a Divorce

 

The same way Islam gave women absolute freedom to consent to a marriage, it gave women the legal right to request a divorce for valid reasons. If a woman fears mistreatment or neglect from her husband, if her husband fails to satisfy her essential needs, or if she fears that she won’t be able to fulfill her responsibility toward her husband, the two may negotiate a settlement, and if reconciliation fails, separation is permitted. A woman may request the divorce from her husband, or may initiate the legal process, if he refuses to divorce her, referred to as “khul” (al-Nawawi, 1996, Vol. 10, p. 235; Ibn Qudamah, 1997, Vol. 10, p. 270). 

 

"And if a woman fears from her husband contempt or evasion, there is no sin upon both of them if they make terms of settlement between them. And settlement is best… And if they separate, God will enrich (provide in abundance) each of them from His abundance (abundant blessings). And God is ever All-Encompassing, Wise." (Holy Quran 4:128-130)

 

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the wife of Thabit ibn Qays came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I do not fault Thabit ibn Qays in character or religion, but I hate to be ungrateful after embracing Islam." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Will you return to him his garden (the dowry)?" She said, "Yes." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said to Thabit, "Accept the garden and divorce her with one pronouncement of divorce."  (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5273)

 

Women Are Treated as Property: They Are Sold, Bought and Sex Trafficked

 

The Bible treats women as property and allows the selling and buying of free women so that they would become slaves. According to Exodus 21:7, a father can sell his daughter as a slave to benefit financially. A father can simply sex traffic his daughter to another man.

“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed.” (Exodus 21:7)

 

The moment women are sold as slaves, they become the property of the man who bought them. He is free to exploit them, abuse them (physically, sexually, and morally), beat them, sell them to another, or bequeath them.

 

"When a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, he shall not be punished, for the slave is his property." (Exodus 21:20-21)

 

"As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you... You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them." 

(Leviticus 25:44-46)

 

Even when they are not sold as slaves, women are still regarded as possessions, and treated as such. The Bible lists wives as part of the list of possessions.

 

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” 

(Exodus 20:17)

 

 “And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male slave, or his female slave, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Deuteronomy 5:21)

 

The biblical degradation of women is not only limited to treating them as property, or regarding them as possessions, or selling them as slaves, or sex trafficking them, it spreads through every aspect of human life where these patterns of abuse are regarded as clear violations of modern-day women's rights. As established in other entries within this section, women are dispossessed of their independent will, deprived of any form of independent legal standing, and completely stripped of their legal authority and autonomous control over their affairs. Their religious vows and legal pledges are subject to male veto, their testimonies carry no weight in a religious or civil court of law, their consent to marriage is not required nor requested, their rights to seek divorce and liberate themselves from remaining married to the wrong men are abolished, and they have no control over their inheritance or financial affairs apart from their husbands.

In Comparison to Islam

 

While the Bible treats women as property that can be possessed, sold, bought, traded, inherited, beaten, and sex trafficked, Islam establishes women as full legal subjects with full legal rights similar to men. 

 

"And they (women) have rights similar to the rights ordained upon them, in fairness." 

(Holy Quran 2:228)

 

Unlike the biblical position, women are not treated as property in Islam. They are not to be treated as possessions of men that are to be sold, bought, traded, or inherited. God explicitly prohibited men from inheriting women as if they are property, or forcing them into a marital relationship that they do not approve of. 

 

"O you who have believed, it is not lawful for you to inherit women by compulsion." 

(Holy Quran 4:19)

 

"And do not keep them (in marriage by compulsion) with the intent of harming them to transgress. Whoever does that has wronged himself." (Holy Quran 2:231)

 

Similar to the biblical practices of inheriting a woman and her inheritance by the deceased man’s brother, or the closest kin to her husband in case the deceased had no brother, or a relative from her father’s clan (Genesis 38:8-10; Deuteronomy 25:5-6; Numbers 36:6-9; Ruth 4:10), pagan Arabs did the same thing during the pre-Islamic era. They would treat a widow as property, and they would abuse her rights.

 

Ibn Kathir commented: "In the pre-Islamic period of ignorance, if a man died, his heir would have the right to do whatever he wanted with the deceased's widow. He could marry her himself without a dowry, marry her off to someone else and take her dowry, or prevent her from marrying altogether. Allah forbade this practice." (Ibn Kathīr, 2000, Vol. 2, p. 214) 

 

Contrary to the Bible which permits a father to sell his daughter as a slave (Exodus 21:7) to benefit financially from sex trafficking her. In Islam, this abdominal act is prohibited. No Muslim father would ever sell his daughter as a slave. No Muslim would ever sell a free human being as a slave, for the consequences are severe. The Prophet explicitly condemned those who sell free people into slavery.

 

Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Among the worst of people is the one who sells a free person." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith 2222)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Three types of people are not accepted as witnesses: a man who sells a free person." (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 3603)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever sells a free person, his price is unlawful." 

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2273)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "He is not one of us who turns a woman against her husband or who enslaves a free person." (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2175)

 

The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah said: 'There are three types of people whom I will oppose on the Day of Resurrection: a man who gives a pledge in My name and then betrays it; a man who sells a free person and consumes the price; and a man who hires a laborer, receives the full work from him, but does not give him his wages.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2227) 

 

There was only one recorded incident where a man sold his daughter during the time of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ, and when the violation was reported to him (by the daughter herself), the Prophet ﷺ ordained that the sale was invalid. Her father was likely still one of the polytheists who had not embrace Islam yet.

 

Zaynab bint al-Harith reported that her father sold her. She came to the Prophet ﷺ, and he said: "Go back. The sale is not valid." (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2076)

 

Muslim scholars have unanimously condemned the malevolent act of selling one’s daughter into slavery.

 

Imam Al-Nawawi (Shafai School - 1277 CE) stated: 

 

The sale of a free person is void by scholarly consensus, regardless of whether they are young or old, and there is absolutely no validity to such a contract. (Al-Nawawi, 2005, Vol. 3, p. 345) 

 

Ibn Qudamah (Hanbali School - 1223 CE) wrote:

 

The scholars have unanimously agreed that the sale of a free person is void and impermissible, because a free person is not wealth (property) and cannot be owned. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Allah the Exalted said: I will be the opponent of three types of people on the Day of Resurrection... and a man who sells a free person and consumes its price.' (Ibn Qudamah, 1997, p. 132) 

 

Ibn Hazm (Zahiri School - 1064 CE) declared:

 

The sale of a free person is absolutely impermissible; it is void and permanently rescinded, because Allah the Exalted has not granted anyone ownership over a free person through a sales contract. (Ibn Hazm, 1988, p.340)

 

Imam Al-Sarakhsi (Hanafi School - 1090 CE) explained: 

 

As for a free person, it is impermissible to sell him because he is not a subject of ownership. The free human being is honored by Islamic law, and this honor contradicts the degradation of being bought and sold. (al-Sarkhasi, 1993, vol. 13) 

 

Even slave women are not to be mistreated or sexually exploited. The Quran condemns those who exploit their slave women by sex traffic them, which was a common practice among the pagan Arabs during the pre-Islamic era.

 

"Do not force your slave girls into prostitution if they desire to remain chaste, seeking the fleeting gains of this worldly life." (Holy Quran 24:33)

 

In his commentary on the Quranic verse, Al-Qurtubi stated: 

 

God forbade the forcing of slave women into fornication. Scholars said that It is not permissible for a master to force his female slave into fornication. If he does so, the sin is upon him, and she is not held accountable, because she is under compulsion. This is the mercy of God and His protection upon her. (al-Qurtubi, 1993, Vol. 12, p. 168) 

 

God safeguarded the rights of women in Islam and He established a system where women are cared for, nurtured, respected, protected, cherished, and treated well from the moment they were born until they mature as daughters, then wives, then mothers, and finally grandmothers. If men are the head of the family, women are the backbone of the family. They are men’s second halves (Sunan Abi Dawood, 236). As illustrated in a previous section, God and His Prophet ﷺ commanded Muslim men to treat their women with the utmost respect and dignity.  

 

To battle the pre-Islamic abominable violent crime of Wa’d, the burying of female babies alive, that the pagan Arabs used to practice, Islam condemned such atrocious crime and encouraged Arabs to have female daughters and treat them well. During the pre-Islamic era, pagan Arabs used to feel ashamed of giving birth to females for various cultural and social reasons, so when a man would give birth to a female, he would brutally bury her alive.

 

The Quran addressed the practice and condemned it.

 

"And when the female infant buried alive (al-Maw'udah) is asked for what sin she was killed." 

(Holy Quran 81:8-9)

 

"And do not kill your children for fear of poverty." (Holy Quran 6:151)

 

"And when one of them is informed of the birth of a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides from the people because of the bad news that he received. Should he keep her in humiliation or bury her in the dust?" (Holy Quran 16:58-59)

 

The Sunnah (teachings) of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ encourages men to have female daughters, and informed them that the reward of raising daughters and sisters, taking care of them, and treating them well will be reward it with Paradise.

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whosoever has a daughter and does not bury her alive, does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, Allah will admit him to Paradise.'" 

(Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 5146)

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whosoever has three daughters or three sisters, and he treats them kindly, Allah will admit him to Paradise.'" (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2631)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whosoever is tested with these daughters and treats them well, they will be a shield for him from the Fire." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5996)

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whosoever has two daughters and treats them well, they will be a shield for him from the Fire.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 141)

To battle wives abuse, Islam established clear commands, principles, and legal rulings that elevated the status of women, mandated kindness, prohibited harm, and held men accountable for their treatment of their wives.

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The best of you are those who are best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives." (Sunan al-Tirmizi, Hadith 3895)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in his Farewell Sermon, "Fear Allah concerning women. For indeed you have taken them by the trust of Allah, and you have made their private parts lawful by the word of Allah." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1218)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "A believing man should not hate a believing woman. If he dislikes one characteristic of her, he will be pleased with another." 

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1469)

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Three things bring happiness: a righteous wife, a good home, and a good means of transport.'" (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 1666)

 

"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'The whole world is a provision, and the best provision of this world is a righteous wife.'" (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1467)

 

To honor mothers and elevate their status in society, Islam regarded kindness to mothers as one of the highest acts of worship and placed it second to worshiping God. Islam enjoined Muslims to revere and honor mothers, and ordained that treating them with the utmost respect and kindness is a measure of faith. Islam declares that heaven is at the feet of mothers. She is a gateway to Paradise, and the way you treat her determines whether you are saved or doomed. Islam also proclaims that a son’s companionship to his mother is favored above his companionship to his father by three times 

 

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers." 

(Sunan al-Nasa’i, Hadith 3104)

 

Abu Hurairah reported: A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, who among people is most deserving of my good companionship?" He said, "Your mother." The man asked, "Then who?" He said, "Your mother." He asked, "Then who?" He said, "Your mother." He asked, "Then who?" He said, "Your father." 

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5971; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2548)

 

Jahimah came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of God, I wish to go on a military expedition, and I have come to seek your counsel.” The Prophet asked, “Do you have a mother?” He said, “Yes.” The Prophet said, “Stay with her, for Paradise is at her feet." 

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2549)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The pleasure of Allah is in the pleasure of the parents, and the displeasure of Allah is in the displeasure of the parents." 

(Sunan al-Tirmizi, Hadith 1899)

 

Women Cannot Inherit in the Presence of a Male Heir

 

A woman’s legal rights and privileges are limited in the presence of men. To begin with, she is denied inheritance if a male heir exists, and even if she inherits, her husband has to be responsible for managing her inheritance and her legal and financial affairs. Such profound control over women is all done under the umbrella of divine laws.

 

"If a man dies and has no son, then you shall allow his inheritance to pass to his daughter."

(Numbers 27:8)

 

Widows do not inherit their deceased husbands. The inheritance goes to the deceased man’s brother who is to marry her and perform his duties as his brother’s successor as confirmed by Deuteronomy 25:5 and reconfirmed by Numbers 36:6-8, which prohibits women from remarrying from outside of their tribe so that the inheritance would not be transmitted to another tribe. The inheritance must remain within the tribe. This leaves no room for doubt that a woman never truly inherits, especially when she has no control over her own inheritance. Her husband, and any subsequent husband after remarriage, is in control of everything. They are responsible for handling the property and the money, and for managing all the legal and financial affairs.

 

"If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband's brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her." (Deuteronomy 25:5)

 

"This is what the Lord commands for the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father's tribal clan. No inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father's tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors." (Numbers 36:6-8)

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

In comparison to the biblical laws of inheritance that systematically exclude women from inheriting in the presence of male heirs, or transfers a woman along with her inheritance to her new husband to manage and control (in case she inherits in the absence of a male heir), Islam grants women fixed and guaranteed shares of inheritance regardless of the presence of male heirs. In Islam, women are legal heirs. A daughter inherits her father alongside her brother, a wife inherits her deceased husband, a mother inherits her children, a grandmother inherits her grandchildren, a sister inherits her siblings, and even half-brothers, half-sister, and aunts inherit in some cases. These are legal entitlements ordained by God.

 

Women as Legal Heirs

 

"For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, whether it is little or much, a determined share." 

(Holy Quran 4:7)

 

Daughters Inherit Parents

 

"God instructs you concerning your children: for the male, a share equal to that of two females." (4:11a). If there are more than two females (daughters), then for them is two-thirds of what he leaves. (4:11b). If there is only one female (daughter), then for her is half." 

(Holy Quran 4:11c)

Mothers Inherit Children

 

"For his parents, each of them has a sixth of what he leaves if he has a child. (4:11d). If he has no child and his parents inherit from him, then for his mother is one-third. (4:11e). If he has brothers and sisters, then for his mother is one-sixth." (Holy Quran 4:11f)

 

Wives Inherit Husbands

 

"For them (wives) is a quarter of what you (husbands) leave if you have no child. (4:12c) If you have a child, then for them (wives) is an eighth of what you leave." (Holy Quran 4:12d)

 

Sisters Inherit Brothers

 

"If a man dies leaving no child and has a sister, then she has half of what he left. (4:176a) If there are two sisters, then they have two-thirds of what he left. (4:176c) If there are brothers and sisters (mixed), then for the male is a share equal to that of two females."

 (Holy Quran 4:176d)

 

Sisters Inherit Sisters

 

"And he (the brother) inherits from her (the sister) if she has no child. (4:176b) If there are two sisters, then they have two-thirds of what he left. (4:176c) If there are brothers and sisters (mixed), then for the male is a share equal to that of two females." 

(Holy Quran 4:176d)

 

Maternal Sisters Inherit Maternal Siblings

 

"If a man or a woman has no direct heir (no parents or children) and has a brother or a sister (maternal), then for each of them is one-sixth. (4:12e) If there are more than that (more than one maternal sibling), then they share in a third." (Holy Quran 4:12f)

 

Grandmothers Inherit Grandchildren

 

Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "For the grandmother is one-sixth." (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2896)

 

As established earlier in the previous section, a woman has an independent financial standing (Holy Quran 4:32). Once a woman inherits, she has full control over her inheritance, and she can do with it as she pleases. In addition to her inheritance, a woman is not obligated to spend her own money to sustain her household. Rather, her husband is the one obligated to do so, for he is commanded by God to provide for his family financially. If, however, she volunteers to spare a portion of her wealth to her husband and children, or chooses to spend her money on them, she can do so freely (Holy Quran 4:4).

 

Raped Women Are Forced to Marry Their Rapists and Remain Trapped for Life – The Rapist Is Not Punished for His Crime

 

The Rape of an Unbetrothed Virgin Woman – Rapists Receive No Punishment

 

If a man rapes an unbetrothed virgin woman, one who is not engaged to be married to any man yet, he is not to be punished. Instead, he is to pay her father fifty Shekels of silver (bride-price) as a fine, then she is forced to marry her rapist and remain trapped with him for life, without the possibility of divorce.

 

However, if a man rapes a virgin woman who is not pledged to get married (not engaged), he is to pay her father fifty Shekels of silver as a fine, then the man is forced to marry her and never divorce her (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). 

 

This law applies to underaged girls. Given that the Bible sets no minimum age for marriage, a child could be raped and she would still be forced to marry her rapist if her offers her father fifty shekels. The biblical God places no special protection on women or children. The Bible narrates an incident of rape where Shechem, a prince, rapes Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, then offers her father a bride-price. 

 

“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.” (Genesis 34:2)

 

 “Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” (Genesis 34:12)

 

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

In Islam, rape is a capital crime, regardless of the victim's marital status or virginity. The punishment for rape is execution. The victim women are to receive justice and the rapists are to be put to death for their heinous crime. Women are never to be forced to marry their rapists. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ judged a case of rape by sentencing the rapist to death by stoning, and he awarded the victim her full dowry as compensation (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 4379; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2610). The Islamic God commands justice, not forced marriage to a criminal rapist. If we are to abide by the absurd and unjust laws of the Bible then any man who wishes to marry a woman by force (who does not desire him) would rape her so that she would be handed to him on a silver platter after he pays her father a fine. 

 

Raped Women Are Punished by Death for Not Screaming for Help

 

The Rape of a Betrothed Virgin Woman – Rapists Are Not Punished for Rape

 

According to the Bible, if a man rapes a virgin woman who is pledged to get married (engaged), he shall be put to death for his crime (Deuteronomy 22:25). However, the man is not punished for rape, he is actually punished for violating another man’s future bride, treating women as property. In other words, rape is not the main concern of the biblical God, yet the act of violating another man’s future bride is (Deuteronomy 22:23-24).

  

But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 

(Deuteronomy 22:25)

 

If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her 

(or Rapes her), you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death; the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you. (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)

 

It is imperative to note that the Bible ordains that if a woman does not scream or call for help then the law assumes that she consented. In other words, a woman could be raped under the threat of being murdered if she struggles, and if she does not scream or call for help out of fear or shock, then the biblical law assumes that she consented to the act, and therefore is punished for adultery and put to death along with the man who raped her, which is clear from Deuteronomy 22:23-24. What kind of God commands that a woman be stoned for not screaming while she is being raped? What kind of divine justice punishes the victim because she was not able to scream loudly enough or call for help? 

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

In Islam, a woman who is raped is never punished. There is no "screaming test" where she is required to prove that she resisted and did not consent. Islamic law recognizes that rape always occurs under threat and physical violence, causing shock and fear. It would be groundlessly unjust to blame a woman who was unable to scream or resist. The rapist alone bears full criminal liability. The Quran explicitly condemns anyone who accuses chaste women without evidence (Quran 24:4), and by extension, a raped woman is considered a victim, not a criminal. The Islamic God does not ask, "Why did you not scream?" He asks, "Why did the rapist commit such monstrous crime?" The contrast between the unjust and absurd laws of the biblical God and the laws of the Islamic God could not be starker.

 

"And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses, lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient." (Holy Quran 24:4)

 

No Biblical Laws Against Raping Non-Virgin Women

 

The Rape of a Non-Virgin Woman – Rapists Receive No Punishment

 

There is not a single biblical verse that condemns the rape of a non-virgin woman, or ordains punishment on the rapist. If we are to examine the three types of rape: the rape of a betrothed virgin woman, the rape of an unbetrothed virgin woman, and the rape of a non-virgin woman, we will come to conclude that the rapist is punished by death only when he rapes a betrothed virgin woman, and this is because he was not punished for the criminal act of rape itself, yet for violating another man’s future bride. The criminal act of rape in itself is not taken seriously by the Bible or the biblical God. The fact that no punishment is enforced whatsoever upon the rapist who rapes a non-virgin woman is enough proof that validates my premise. As for the crime of raping an unbetrothed virgin woman, including an underaged girl, the rapist is also not punished. He is only required to pay a fine to her father, and then the woman is treated as property and handed over to her rapist once again so that he would continue violating her under the legal umbrella of “forced marriage,” a marriage that a woman cannot break free from. She is basically condemned to a life of misery with her rapist. This confirms once again that the criminal act of rape is insignificant in the sight of the biblical God.

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

As expressed earlier, in Islam, the marital status and virginity of the victim woman are completely irrelevant. A rapist is punished whether his victim is a virgin, a non-virgin, married, divorced, widowed, engaged, or single. Islamic law does not differentiate between women based on their marital status regarding the crime of rape committed against them. Islamic law ordains justice for all women, and enforces the death penalty upon the rapist. Although some Muslim scholars apply the Hadd (prescribed punishment) of Zina (adultery and fornication) upon the rapist, which prescribe the death penalty for married rapists and one-hundred lashes and exile for one year for non-married rapists, the majority of prominent medieval and contemporary scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qudamah, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Baz, and Saleh Uthaymeen, among others, classify the crime of rape under the crime of “Hirabah.” Hirabah refers to the crime of waging war against God and His Messenger and seeking to spread corruption on earth (Holy Quran 5:33). Under the classification of Hirabah, the rapist is treated as an outlaw who is dangerous to the peace and security of society, and he is to be punished accordingly. Depending on the severity of the crime, the judge is to decide whether to punish the rapist by sentencing him to death, which is the case in all rape incidents especially when the victim was violently and physically assaulted and her life was threatened if she was to resist, or to choose from the four punishment choices that God ordained in the Quran in the following verse:

 

“Indeed, the punishment for those who wage war against God and His Messenger and seek to spread corruption on earth is that they be killed or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off from opposite sides or be exiled from the land." (Holy Quran 5:33).

 

In most cases of rape, the rapist is punished by death if found to be guilty, and this is the punishment that the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ ordained upon the man who admitted to raping a woman during the life time of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 4379). In addition to this severe punishment, the rapist is required to compensate the victim and pay her the equivalency of a dowry, the same deserving dowry that her and her peers would receive if they were to get married (Imam Malik, Al-Muwatta 2/733; Ibn Qudamah, Al-Mughni 9/120). Unlike the laws of the Bible where the rapist walks free, except for raping a betrothed woman where he is punished for adultery, the rapist never walks free in Islam. There is also a unanimous scholarly consensus that the victim is never blamed, shamed, or punished, which is not the case when it comes to the biblical laws that punish the victim woman and regard her as an accomplice for not screaming or calling for help during the rape incident. 

 

Sexually Violated Women Are Forced to Marry Their Seducers

 

The Sexual Seduction of Women – No Punishment for the Sexual Seducer

 

However, if a man seduces a woman and sleeps with her, and they are discovered, he is also to pay her father a fine that is equivalent to a bride’s price, then the woman is also forced to be married to her sexual seducer, unless the father refuses. If the father refuses to let the man marry his daughter, he must still pay the bride’s price. Again, the woman is treated with no dignity, yet as a property that can be sold for a price.

 

If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. (Exodus 22:16-17)

 

This law applies to underaged girls. Given that the Bible sets no minimum age for marriage, a child could be sexually seduced and she would still be forced to marry her rapist because her father would receive the fifty shekels. The biblical God places no special protection on women or children.

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

As established throughout this section, Islam treats all forms of unlawful sexual relationships as an immoral violation, and those who were involved are to be punished according to Sharia Law. Unlawful sexual relationships are referred to as Zina in Islam, and it includes both Adultery and fornication. However, the punishments for Adultery and fornication are different. The punishment for adultery, which involves married men and women, is death by stoning (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1699). The punishment for fornication, which involves unmarried men and women, is one-hundred lashes (Holy Quran 24:2). While the punishment for adultery in Islam is similar to the Judeo-Christian faith, Islam does not force women to marry their seducers, or their rapists as we mentioned earlier. Women are not simply handed over from one man, the father, to another, the seducer or the rapist once they pay the price like some property. For any Muslim woman to get married, she must consent to this marriage, whether she is a virgin or a non-virgin woman, young or old. No woman is forced to marry a man that she does not desire in Islam.

 

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ explicitly established this principle:

 

"A previously married woman cannot be married without her consent, and a virgin cannot be married without her permission." (Sahih al-Bukhari, 5136; Sahih Muslim, 1419)

 

In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said:

 

"The virgin should not be given in marriage until her permission is sought." The companions asked, "O Messenger of Allah, how is her permission given?" He replied: "By her remaining silent (indicating consent)." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5138)

These clear prophetic commands establish that no woman can be married off without her explicit consent. This applies regardless of the circumstances.

 

Women Suspected of Adultery Are Shamed and Cursed Without Evidence

 

According to the Bible, if a jealous husband suspects his wife of adultery yet there is no evidence for such suspicion, he can force her to undergo a shaming and humiliating ordeal that would result in exposing her as an indecent woman in front of the entire society. If a woman is to be accused of adultery by her husband, and the husband has no evidence or witnesses, the woman is forced to present herself before a priest where she is put under oath while the priest invokes a curse upon her if she was lying about her innocence. She is to drink cursed bitter water mixed with dirt from the floor of the Tabernacle, and if she was innocent then the cursed water will not harm her, but if she was guilty then her belly will swell, her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse among her people. 

 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him so that another man has sexual relations with her, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband, and he suspects his wife, then he is to take his wife to the priest. The priest shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. The priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, 'If no other man has had sexual relations with you, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. But if you have gone astray, may the Lord cause you to become a curse among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.' Then the woman is to say, 'Amen. So be it.' The priest shall write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water. He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse. If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, when she is made to drink the water, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse among her people. If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children." (Numbers 5:11-31)

 

The absurdity of this humiliating ritual is self-evident. A woman’s dignity and honor are at stake yet her innocence is solely based on superstition not evidence. Instead of presuming her innocent until proven otherwise, she is to go through such a profoundly humiliating experience that would shame her for the rest of her life even if she passed the superstitious test. On the other hand, who wouldn’t feel sick after drinking such filthy and contaminated water? Are we to ordain that a woman is guilty of adultery and is to be put to death because she felt nauseous, her belly swelled, her stomach cramped, and her womb miscarried after drinking polluted cursed water mixed with filthy dirt from the floor? Is this divine justice, or is it merely superstition?

 

Christianity’s Adoption and Implementation of These biblical Laws

 

Christianity, on the other hand, took these oppressive and disgraceful laws of the Bible to a whole new level. During medieval times, no Christian woman (betrothed or married) escaped rape or sexual abuse, and most women did not dare file a claim to bring their rapists to justice because they would be shamed and disgraced publicly, their chasteness, honor, and reputation questioned and investigated by the church, and they would risk losing their own lives to the oppressive judicial system of the church which applied the Deuteronomic biblical law literally. Deuteronomy 22:23-24 established the legal terms upon which the judicial proceedings are based when it comes to dealing with a betrothed or married woman who was raped in the city. The rape victim's innocence and credibility depend entirely on whether she was able to scream and call for help during the sexual assault or not. If she fails to prove that she screamed, resisted, and called for help, which cannot be proven unless someone had heard her, then she was to be punished for adultery and stoned to death, a punishment that was replaced by the church with slow burning at the stake. The English Legal Treatise Britton (c. 1300) states that a woman who fails to prove her rape claim "shall lose her suit and be punished by fire" (Nichols, 1865, p. 45). The English Legal Treatise Fleta (c. 1290) outlined the requirement for filing a rape claim, "A woman who wishes to appeal a man of rape must immediately go to the nearest vill and show the injury to trustworthy men and the bloodstained clothing. She must raise a hue and cry. If she fails to do these things immediately, her claim is null and she shall be punished." (Richardson & Sayles, 1955, p. 56). In his book Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe, legal historian James A. Brundage illustrated the depravity of the oppressive legal system of the medieval church. 

 

On the rarity of convicting the rapist, Brundage expressed:

 

Convictions for rape were exceptionally rare in church courts. The procedural requirements were so demanding that successful prosecutions were almost unknown. Women who came forward faced not only the trauma of reliving the assault but also the very real risk of being punished themselves for bringing a false accusation. (Brundage, 1987, p. 312)

 

On the burden of proof:

 

The burden of proof fell almost entirely on the woman. She was required to demonstrate that she had resisted her attacker with all her strength, that she had raised an immediate hue and cry, and that she had suffered visible physical injuries. If she failed to meet any of these requirements, her claim was dismissed and she was subject to penalties for defamation." (Brundage, 1987, p. 315)

 

On the depravity of the legal system:

 

The legal system was designed not to protect women from rape, but to protect men from false accusations, and the burden of proof was placed so high that successful prosecutions were almost unknown (Brundage, 1987, p. 245). 

 

So for centuries, the church burned alive countless woman who couldn't prove that they screamed or called for help during their rape incidents. The Grandes Chroniques de France (13th-15th centuries) recorded many cases of women being burned at the stake after losing rape trials. By the mid 9^th century, the church introduced a more violent alternative. The Council of Valence (855 AD) approved the use of judicial ordeals to resolve disputes that lacked evidence, and at the Council of Worms (868 AD), trial by combat was sanctioned. This allowed the victim woman’s husband to face the man accused of raping his wife in a duel to the death. The church believed that God will protect the innocent and the outcome of the combat will reveal the truth, as suggested by the Council of Worms (868 AD). By 1210, Pope Innocent III regarded trial by combat as a legitimate form of divine judgment in his Decretals, provided that these trials and ordeals were conducted under the supervision of the church. One of the famous cases that was reported by the Register of the Parlement of Paris (1386) where a combat duel ordeal was ordained to determine the truth about a rape claim was the famous case of Marguerite de Carrouges that was the basis for the movie The Last Duel. In the case of Marguerite de Carrouges, the court ordained that "If Jean de Carrouges is defeated in the duel, he shall be hanged, and his wife Marguerite shall be burned at the stake as a false accuser" (Jager, 2004, p. 112). Fortunately, Jean de Carrouges won the duel and his wife’s innocence was determined based on the outcome of this combat ordeal, yet I doubt that her honor was restored after such shaming and humiliating process that left her traumatized for life.

 

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

Under Islamic Sharia Law, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Jealousy, rumor, and suspicion carry no weight in Islamic Law. God explicitly commands believers in the Holy Quran to avoid suspicion and protect the integrity of fellow Muslims.

 

"O you who have believed, avoid much suspicion. Indeed, some suspicion is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other." (Holy Quran 49:12)

 

Islam safeguards the honor and reputation of Muslim men and women. It even safeguards the dignity, honor, and reputation of women far more. No one would ever dare accuse a Muslim woman of adultery or fornication in an Islamic court without firm evidence. The God of Islam made it impossible to accuse any Muslim woman of adultery and fornication by legislating that four witnesses must witness the sexual act in progress and witness the actual penetration process, or else the accusers would be all punished in an Islamic court. 

 

"And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses, flog them with eighty lashes and never accept their testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient." (Holy Quran 24:4)

 

If the accuser(s) fails to produce four witnesses, he is to receive eighty lashes publicly, and his testimony will never be accepted in any Islamic court again. No Muslim woman would ever be publicly shamed, humiliated, or forced to prove her innocence in such a dishonorable way, as is the case with the biblical treatment. In fact, if a Muslim husband wishes to accuse his wife of adultery without evidence, he is the one who is required to take an oath before a Muslim judge and swear four times that he speaks the truth, and the fifth time invokes the curse of God upon himself if he was a liar. In return, and to revoke his claim, a woman is to swear four times that he is a liar, and the fifth time invokes the wrath of God upon her if he speaks the truth. 

 

"And those who accuse their wives (of adultery) and have no witnesses except themselves, the testimony of one of them is four testimonies [swearing] by Allah that he is indeed truthful. And the fifth [oath] is that the curse of Allah be upon him if he should be among the liars. And it will prevent the punishment from her if she gives four testimonies [swearing] by Allah that he is indeed among the liars. And the fifth [oath] is that the wrath of Allah be upon her if he should be among the truthful." (Holy Quran 24:6-9)

 

This dignified process, which usually takes place privately before a Muslim judge, is referred to as “Lian.” The matter is then left to God to judge between them on the Day of Judgment, 

and the two are declared divorced by the Muslim judge, and they can never remarry each other again, and this was the ruling of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ regarding an incident of “Lian” that occurred during his lifetime (Sahih Muslim, 1496).

 

"When Lian is completed between the husband and wife, they are separated forever. It is not permissible for him to ever remarry her." (al-Mughni 9/140)

 

Beyond the legal procedure and the punishment concerning the crime of Qathf (accusing chaste women (or men) of indecency), Islam establishes an even higher moral principle that aims to safeguard the integrity, honor, and reputation of all Muslims. The teachings of Islam enjoin believers to protect the honor and dignity of their fellow Muslims by refraining from exposing their shortcomings publicly. If by any chance you happen to witness an act of immorality or a violation of some sort, you are enjoined by Islam to conceal it and not expose it by telling others what you witnessed. You are encouraged to advise your fellow Muslim in private, instead of exposing him or her in public, unless a crime has been committed against another fellow Muslim, which you are obligated to report it. This moral principle is referred to as “Satr,” meaning to conceal or hide for the sake of preserving the dignity, honor, and reputation of your fellow Muslims. To cause public exposure and humiliation for your fellow Muslims is a grievous sin in itself. God vowed to expose the shortcomings of those who expose the shortcomings of others.

 

The Prophet ﷺ said:

 

"Whoever conceals the fault of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his fault on the Day of Judgment." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2590; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2442)

 

In another narration:

 

"Whoever conceals the private matter of his brother, Allah will conceal his private matter in this world and the Hereafter." (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2546)

The same principle applies to ourselves. If a Muslim man or woman commits a sin, the preferred path is for the sinner to repent privately between himself and God, without exposing themselves to public shame or legal punishment. This principle of concealment (Satr) is God’s graceful gift to the believers.

 

The Prophet ﷺ said:

 

"All of my nation will be forgiven except those who sin openly." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6069; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2990)

 

The most powerful example of how this principle was implemented during the lifetime of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ was manifested in the story of a woman who came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and voluntarily admitted that she had committed adultery, asking him to purify her by carrying out the legal punishment. The Prophet's response was not to immediately punish her. Instead, he turned away from her, not once, not twice, but three times, hoping that she would leave and repent privately to Allah without exposing herself to public punishment. When the woman insisted, the Prophet instructed her to return after she had given birth to the child she was pregnant with, hoping that she would not return and repent privately. After a year, the woman returned with the child, so the Prophet instructed her to return in two years after she had breastfed and weaned the child, hoping that she would not return and repent privately. Two years later, the woman returned with her child after he was weaned, requesting to receive the legal punishment for her sin. This time, the Prophet had no other choice but to enforce the legal punishment upon her. After she was stoned, the Prophet prayed over her grave (asked for her forgiveness) and announced to his companions that her repentance was so sincere to the point that if it was to be divided among seventy people, it would have sufficed them.

 

A woman came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have committed adultery, so purify me." He turned away from her. She came around to where he was facing and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have committed adultery, so purify me." He turned away from her again. She came around a third time and said the same. On the fourth occasion, he asked her, "How much?" She said, "I am pregnant." He said, "Go and do not return until you give birth." She left and gave birth. Then she returned with the child and said, "Here, I have given birth. Purify me." He said, "Go and breastfeed him until he is weaned." She left and breastfed the child until he was weaned. Then she returned with the child holding a piece of bread in his hand and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have weaned him. He now eats food." The Prophet ﷺ then gave orders concerning her, and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (the funeral prayer). Umar said to him, "O Messenger of Allah, you pray over her when she committed adultery?" He replied, "She has repented a repentance that, if it were to be divided among seventy people of Medina, it would suffice them. Have you found a better repentance than that she gave her life for the sake of Allah?"

 (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1695; Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 4429)

 

Women Are Stoned for Failing to Prove Their Virginity

 

According to the Bible, if a husband dislikes his wife after he has consummated the marriage and enjoyed her sexually, he can accuse her of not being a virgin, file a claim against her before the elders, and shame her publicly. Without any evidence beyond his words of accusation and suspicion, he can accuse his wife of indecency and it is the duty of her parents to prove otherwise by producing a bloodstained bedsheet or cloth from the wedding night as proof of her virginity. They are to present this evidence to the town elders (leaders). If they cannot produce this cloth, the woman is dragged to the door of her father's house and stoned to death by the men of her town. If the parents were able to present the evidence, her husband faces no punishment except a fine, and the wife is to remain married to the man who accused her of indecency for life. 

 

"If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, 'I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,' then the young woman's father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin... If the charge is true and no proof of the young woman's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death." (Deuteronomy 22:13-21)

 

Words cannot describe how oppressive these biblical laws are, how absurd this humiliating ordeal is, and how shaming and demeaning this abhorrent practice is to women. This disgraceful ancient practice is still exercised today in many Christian societies with tribal mentalities. These societies encourage the public shaming of women through what is referred to as a “Virginity Blood Test.” While many might think that this is an easy process, it is far from it. On the night of the wedding, parents, family members, and members of the society gather in front of the room door where the marriage is being consummated, and where the husband is to have sex with his wife for the first time in a rushed manner. While the crowd is waiting outside, the husband is to provide evidence for his wife's virginity by staining a white piece of cloth with the blood that is caused by the tearing of the hymen. Given the stressful, daunting, embarrassing, and terrifying nature of this ordeal, the husband is unable to have sex with his wife while a crowd of people is waiting by the door for the results. Instead, the husband resorts to using his finger to pop the cherry (tear the hymen) in a distressing, humiliating, traumatizing, and extremely painful way. The bloodstained cloth is then shared with the crowd as proof of a woman’s virginity and virtue. If no blood appears, or if the stain color is deemed insufficient, the woman is publicly shamed, humiliated, accused of indecency, and in some cases, killed for bringing disgrace upon her family in a barbaric act that is referred to as “Honor Killing”. In a more civil experience, a husband gets to have sex with his wife on the night of the wedding, or even for a couple of days, then the bloodstained bedsheets are to be acquired by the parents and kept for evidence. During this time, if there are no signs of blood, or if the husband simply does not like his wife, he can file for a claim and accuse her of indecency, as clearly stated in Deuteronomy 22:13-21. This biblical law clearly gives the husbands an excuse to accuse their wives of indecency after having sex with them and disliking them, and as a result, these women face the death penalty by public stoning. This is how the biblical God, the biblical laws, and the biblical society dishonors, disrespects, and degrades their own women. 

 

Given that the husband can accuse his wife of indecency at any given time after the marriage has been consummated, even after weeks or months, the parents are encouraged to preserve the evidence for their daughter’s virginity (bloodstained cloth) forever, so that if the husband accuses his wife of indecency, they can present the evidence and spare their daughter the punishment of being publicly stoned to death. A woman's life depends entirely on a bloodstained piece of cloth. Imagine if the sheet was lost, destroyed, or simply washed, the wife could face the death penalty if accused at any time, and this is how absurd and unjust this biblical law is. Not to forget to mention that it has been proven medically that not all 

women bleed during their first sexual intercourse. The hymen can tear through sports, exercise, horse riding, heavy lifting, injury, through medical examination, or fifty other valid reasons long before marriage. Some women are born with stretchable hymens that barely bleed at all. Yet the biblical God shows no awareness of basic human biology, which can only prove that the laws ordained in the Bible do not come from God.

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

In contrast to the profound mistreatment of women by the biblical God, Muslim women are not required to prove their virginity, nor to prove that their virtue is intact. The dignity, honor, and reputation of Muslim women are safeguarded by the ethical, moral, and protective teachings of Islam. No barbaric virginity blood test is required on the night of the wedding or after. No husband is to accuse his wife of indecency without evidence, and a non-bleeding hymen is not evidence. And even if a woman is suspected of losing her virginity in an act of indecency prior to marriage, no woman is to be accused, shamed, humiliated, or exposed publicly. Instead, Islam invokes the principle of Satr (concealment), and encourages the Muslim society, including the wronged husband, to not expose his wife. And if he decides to divorce his wife, which is his legal right according to Sharia Law, he is not permitted to accuse her of indecency without evidence, or else he could face the punishment of Qathf (false accusation). As ordained earlier, if a man accuses a woman of any sexual impropriety, including questioning her virginity, without producing four witnesses who actually saw the act of penetration, he faces being flogged with eighty lashes and his testimony permanently rejected in any court (Quran24:4). 

 

Islam

 

God Is All-Just

 

According to Islamic theology, Justice is an eternal and inherent attribute that is inseparable from God’s sublime divine nature. There was never a time when God was unjust, for injustice is ontologically impossible for His eternally omnibenevolent essence. Consequently, every divine decree and action is an unembellished manifestation of this inherent, absolute, and unwavering justice. The Holy Quan attributes to God perfect and infallible justice, thereby negating the slightest possibility of injustice being imputed to Him. The Holy Scripture has repeatedly and emphatically emphasized that God would never oppress people, affirming that His divine decrees and actions are all just. 

 

“And God does not wish injustice to the worlds (entire creation).” (Holy Quran 3:108)

 

“God is never unjust to His servants.” (Holy Quran 3:182)

 

“Surely! God oppresses not even as the weight of an atom but if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and grants a great reward.” (Holy Quran 4:40)

 

“And they will not be wronged (dealt with unjustly) even as tiny as a fatila (the tiny thread in the slit of a date seed).” (Holy Quran 4:49)

 

“Truly! God does not wrong people at all. It is they who wrong themselves.” 

(Holy Quran 10:44)

 

“He (God) is the Best of Judges.” (Holy Quran 10:109)

 

“And your Lord treats no one with injustice.” (Holy Quran 18:49)

 

“And your Lord is not ever unjust to (His) servants.” (Holy Quran 41:46)

“And We set up the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be wronged at all. And if there is (even) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as a reckoner (accountant).” (Holy Quran 21:47)

 

Besides being fundamentally impossible for God to be unjust, God Almighty has also forbidden oppression and injustice upon Himself by divine decree. This fundamental divine principle is explicitly and decisively confirmed in a Hadith Qudsi, wherein the prophet Mohammad ﷺ narrated God’s decree, “Verily, I have made oppression forbidden upon Myself and upon My servants, so do not oppress” (Sahih Muslim, 6247). God’s absolute justice conforms to another fundamental divine principle ordained by God in another sacred Hadith Qudsi, wherein He decrees that “My mercy has prevailed over My wrath” (Bukhari 3194 & Muslim 2751), thereby confirming that God’s governance is never a mere impulse driven by His wrath or motivated by desire for revenge, yet rather based on wisdom, mercy, and resolute desire to pardon and forgive. Stemming from these fundamental principles, believers are enjoined by God to uphold justice, and they are warned from the grave consequences of oppressing one another.

 

“Verily, God commands justice, excellence in conduct, and giving (charity) to relatives, and He forbids indecency, wrongdoing, and oppression, He advises you so that you may remember.” (Holy Quran 16:90)

 

“Verily! God commands you to give back the trusts to those whom they are due, and when you judge between men, you shall judge with justice.” (Holy Quran 4:58)

 

In a sacred Hadith narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah, the Prophet ﷺ said, 

 

“Beware of oppression, for it is darkness on the Day of Judgement.” 

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 6248)

 

Therefore, to attribute oppression or injustice to God by suggesting that He punishes the sinless children for the sins of their ancestors, or that He punishes the righteous instead of rewarding them, or that He practices collective punishment without distinction between the good and the wicked, or that He discriminates against a certain group of people and treats them unfairly because of their disability, or that He favours a specific race, ethnicity, skin color, or a specific people over another is a contradiction to His eternally perfect justice. 

 

Sins Are Not Inherited -– No One Bears the Burden of Another

 

The Holy Quran has affirmed that sin is not inherited, and that no human being would ever be punished for a sin that they did not commit.

 

“And every soul bears not except what it earns, and none will bear the burden of another.” (Holy Quran 6:164, 17:15, 35:18, 39:7, 53:38)

 

“Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned. (Holy Quran 74:38)”

 

“That Day (Day of Judgment), every soul will be recompensed for what it earned. No injustice today! Indeed, Allah is swift in account.” (Holy Quran 40:17)

 

“And every soul will be fully compensated for what it did, and He is most knowing of what they do.” (Holy Quran 39:70)

 

“O mankind, fear your Lord and fear a Day when no father will avail his son, nor will a son avail his father at all. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you.” 

(Holy Quran 31:33)

 

The Righteous Are Rewarded, Not Punished

 

The Holy Quran announces that the righteous are to be rewarded not punished.

 

“Is the reward for goodness anything but goodness?” 

(Holy Quran 55:60)

 

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, We shall not waste the reward of those who have done good.” (Holy Quran 18:30)

 

“And be patient. God will not waste the reward of the virtuous.” 

(Holy Quran 11:115)

 

“God would never let your faith be in vain. (Holy Quran 2:143)

 

Collective Punishment Contradicts Divine Justice

 

The Holy Quran ordains that collective punishment goes against God’s eternal justice. God Almighty would never treat people unfairly or equate between the wicked and the righteous.

 

“Shall We treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like those who cause corruption on earth? Or shall We treat the righteous like the wicked?” (Holy Quran 38:28)

 

“Or do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds, equal in their life and their death? How evil is what they judge!” 

(Holy Quran 45:21)

 

“And your Lord is not one to destroy cities unjustly while their people are righteous.” 

(Holy Quran 11:117)

 

The Holy Quran has expressed repeatedly that whenever God Almighty ordains that punishment should befall the wicked nations, He spares the righteous and grants them safe passages to safety.

 

“So We saved him (Noah) and those with him in the laden ark. Then We drowned thereafter those who remained (the wicked).” (Holy Quran 26:119-120; 21:76)

 

“And when Our command came, We saved Hud and those who believed with him by Our mercy, and We saved them from a harsh punishment.” (Holy Quran 11:58; 7:72)

 

“And when Our command came, We saved Salih and those who believed with him by Our mercy, and from the disgrace of that day. Indeed, your Lord is the Powerful, the Exalted in Might.” 

(Holy Quran 11:66)

 

“So We saved him (Lot) and his family, except his wife; she was of those who remained behind (She was from among the wicked).” (Holy Quran 7:83; 26:170-171; 15:59-60) 

 

“And when Our command came, We saved Shu'ayb and those who believed with him by Our mercy. And the blast seized those who wronged, and they became lifeless (on their knees) in their homes.” (Holy Quran 11:94)

 

“And We saved Moses and those with him all together. Then We drowned the others.” 

(Holy Quran 26:65-66)

 

“Then We saved Our messengers and those who believed. Thus, it is an obligation upon Us to save the believers.” (Holy Quran 10:103)

 

“Indeed, We will support Our messengers and those who believe during the life of this world and on the Day when the witnesses will stand.” (Holy Quran 40:51)

 

“And We saved those who believed and feared Allah.” 

(Holy Quran 41:18)

 

 Favoritism Contradicts God’s Justice 

 

All People Are Created Equal: Only Righteousness Determines One’s Worth

 

Unlike the Bible which depicts God as a racist and discriminatory deity who differentiates between nations and favors one specific nation over all others, the Holy Quran affirms that all nations are equal in the sight of God, and He treats all nations equally and fairly based on righteousness, not ethnicity.

 

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women." (Holy Quran 4:1)

 

“O mankind, We have created you from (a single pair of) male and female and We have made you into (diverse) nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble among you in the sight of Allah are those who are most righteous.” 

(Holy Quran 49:13)

 

All Nations Are Included in God’s Covenant

 

Unlike the teachings of the Old Testament which claim that God is exclusive to one group of people, the Israelites, and tend to deprive all peoples of God’s Lordship, guidance, and providence, the Holy Quran affirms that God Almighty is the Lord of all people, and that the entire human race is but one nation under God.

 

"All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds." (Holy Quran 1:2)

“Verily, this nation of yours is but one nation, and I am your Lord so worship Me alone.” 

(Holy Quran 21:92)

 

The Quran asserts that God has sent divine guidance to all nations so that all people would be guided and invited to be part of God’s covenant, for we are all God’s creation and we all enjoy His everlasting providence.

 

"Mankind was but one nation, so God sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed." (Holy Quran 2:213)

 

“And for every nation there is a messenger. So when their messenger comes, the matter is judged between them with justice, and they are not wronged.” 

(Holy Quran 10:47)

 

“And verily, We have sent into every nation a messenger, proclaiming, ‘worship God alone and avoid false gods.’” (Holy Quran 16:36)

 

“Verily, We have sent you (Mohammad) with the truth, as a bearer of good tidings, and a warner! And surely, there was never a nation that came to pass without having a warner (a messenger) come among them.” (Holy Quran 35:24)

 

God also decreed that He shall never punish a nation unless divine guidance was sent to it. 

 

“Whosoever is guided is guided for their own sake, and whosoever goes astray, it is his own loss, and no one bears the burden (sin) of another, and We would never punish until We have sent a messenger.” (Holy Quran 17:15)

 

“And your Lord would never destroy a city until a messenger was sent to it to recite our revelations (message), and We shall never destroy a city unless its people were wrongdoers.” 

(Holy Quran 28:59). 

 

Finally, God informed us that He sent His final messenger Mohammad ﷺ to all mankind to renew His covenant with the entire human race.

 

"Say, 'O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of God to you all.'" 

(Holy Quran 7:158)

 

"And We have not sent you, (O Muhammad), except as a mercy to all the worlds." 

(Holy Quran 21:107)

 

"Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion (Quran) upon His Servant so that he may be a warner to all the worlds." (Holy Quran 25:1)

 

"And We have not sent you except to all of mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner, but most of the people do not know." (Holy Quran 34:28)

It is absolutely imperative to note that the word “Alameen,” which is translated as “all worlds” in the Quranic verses 21:107 and 25:1 has a significant meaning. Many translators have rendered the word “Alameen” as meaning “the entire world’ or to “all mankind,” but such a translation is lacking the rich meaning that God intended. The world “Alameen” literally means “all worlds,” because the prophet was not only sent to the seen world of mankind but also the unseen world of jinn. His message and the mercy he was sent with encompassed all of God’s creation, including mankind, jinn, angels, animals, inanimate creation, and anything else that God has created that is unknown to us. He was sent with the spiritual light of God’s divine guidance so that the entire universe would be blessed with God’s mercy.

 

Disability Does Not Diminish One's Standing Before God

 

Unlike the biblical God who is portrayed as a deity who is disgusted and repelled by the disability of people, whom He has created that way, the Holy Quran accommodates people with disability and pardons them for their inability to perform certain religious rituals and acts of worship. Instead, God facilitates ease for them and ordains that they are not to be blamed for their inability, but excused.

 

"Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear." (Holy Quran, 2:286)

 

"There is not upon the blind any guilt or upon the lame any guilt or upon the sick any guilt." 

(Holy Quran 24:61)

 

The Prophet Mohammed affirmed that God Almighty is not concerned with one’s appearance or wealth, yet He is only concerned with the purity and righteousness of our hearts and the good deeds that we perform.

 

"Allah does not look at your appearance or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2564)

 

The Prophet ﷺ also emphasized that the disabled will be compensated generously on the Day of Judgment and rewarded with heaven for their patience and perseverance:

 

Allah says, 'If I afflict My servant with blindness in this world, and he is patient, I will compensate him with Paradise.' (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith 5652)

“The poor, the needy, and those with special needs among the Muslims will enter Paradise before the healthy and able, and they will say, 'O Lord, grant us entrance into Paradise before those who were healthy and able.' It will be said: 'You have been forgiven.'” 

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 8973)

 

One day when the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ was busy inviting elite members from among the Quraysh Tribe of Mecca to Islam, a blind man came to ask him some questions, so the Prophet ﷺ unintentionally turned his head away from the blind man and frowned because he was occupied inviting the crowd, then God Almighty revealed an entire Quranic chapter to reprimand the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ, expressing that the blind man was the one who is more worthy of the prophet’s attention.

 

He (the prophet) frowned and turned away (his head) when the blind man came to him. But what do you know (O Mohammad)? He might have (actually) come to be purified, or came seeking a reminder so that he would benefit from (your) reminder. For he who is not interested (in your reminder), you are so keen on inviting (and pay full attention to), although you are not accountable for his failure to be purified (embrace Islam), yet for he who has come to you striving earnestly (to learn) and is fearful (of God), you are distracted from him. (Holy Quran 80:1-3)

 

IS GOD CRUEL, VIOLENT, AND MERCILESS?

 

Judaism & Christianity

 

The Biblical God Is Driven by Anger Not Mercy or Compassion 

 

Throughout the Old Testament, the Bible overwhelmingly portrays God as a cruel and merciless God who is driven by anger and consumed by rage, showing no pity or compassion toward mankind. It portrays God as a non-forgiving deity who is driven by revenge and is inclined to punish instead of pardon and forgive. The Bible unapologetically refers to God as “destroying fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24).

 

“The Lord will never be willing to forgive them; His wrath and zeal will burn against them.” (Deuteronomy 29:20)

“He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.” (Joshua 24:19)

 

 “And the Lord was not willing to forgive.” (2 Kings 24:4)

 

“Why do you not pardon my transgression and forgive my sins?” (Job 7:21)

 

“Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He in anger withheld his compassion?” 

(Psalm 77:9)

 

“How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?” (Psalm 79:5)

 

“Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations?” 

(Psalm 85:5)

 

“How long, Lord, will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?”

(Psalm 89:46)

 

“For we are consumed by Your anger, and we are terrified by Your wrath.” 

(Psalm 90:7)

 

“By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be burned and the people will be fuel for the fire; they will not spare one another.” (Isaiah 9:19)

 

“’Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 22:14)

 

“Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.'” (Jeremiah 11:11)

 

“I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them.” 

(Jeremiah 13:14)

 

“Although they fast (and pray), I will not listen to their cries for help (prayers), and though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine, and plague.” (Jeremiah 14:12)

 

“Your mercy was hidden by your anger. Slaying without pity.” (Lamentations 3:42)

 

Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. (Lamentations 3:8)

 

“You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.” 

(Lamentations 3:44)

 

“I will cut you off (destroy you). I will show no mercy or pity.” (Ezekiel 5:11)

 

“I will not spare you or show you any mercy.” (Ezekiel 7:4)

 

“I will not show any mercy or compassion.” (Ezekiel 7:9)

 

“Therefore. I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” (Ezekiel 8:18)

 

“Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.” (Micah 3:4)

 

“Then the Angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?’” (Zechariah 1:12)

 

“For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land.” (Zachariah 11:6)

 

“In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth.” (Zephaniah 1:18)

 

The Biblical God Wipes Out the Entire Human Race for Their Wickedness

 

As discussed in a previous section of this book, the Bible suggests that God had no foreknowledge of mankind’s future transgression prior to the creation, and this is why when mankind became evil and wicked on earth, God was outraged, regretted creating mankind, and decided to obliterate the entire human race and all the living creatures along with it with a global flood. As reported by the book of Genesis (chapter 6), the outcome of the Great Flood was a total annihilation of the entire human race, except for Noah and his family who were saved in the Arc that God commanded Noah to build.

 

“I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created, and with them the animals, the birds, and the creatures that move along the ground, for I regret that I have made them.” 

(Genesis 6:7)

 

“God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on earth. And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. I will destroy them with the earth.’” (Genesis 6:12-13)

 

“For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” (Genesis 6:17)

 

The Flood of Noah – Biblical Narrative vs Quranic Narrative

 

The story of the Great Flood is one of colossal significance to the primal history of the human race. It manifests the ancient and ongoing battle between good and evil, light and darkness, monotheism and paganism, ultimately affirming the prevalence of truth over falsehood. Noah’s Flood marks the survival of the faith that was bestowed upon humanity through divine guidance, and was entrusted to a handful of righteous believers from one single blessed prophetic bloodline so that it would be preserved and passed down from one generation to another. The Flood stands as an enduring reminder, echoing throughout the ages, of the grave consequences of disbelief and the punishment awaiting those who reject God’s divine teachings. This existential event did not merely purge the world of a wicked and corrupt human race that persistently refused to abandon idolatry and paganism; it gave birth to another that was worthy of God’s providence.

 

Unlike the vague biblical narrative, which offers little depth to the story of the Great Flood and provides no valid justification for the severe divine punishment that resulted in the obliteration of the entire human race (Genesis 6:7-17), the Holy Quran meticulously conveys the precise reasons behind God’s wrath and persuasively demonstrates why Noah’s people deserved to be purged in such a seemingly merciless way (Holy Quran 71:25-27). While the Bible suggests that God’s harsh punishment was merely a response to mankind’s trivial wickedness and inherently sinful nature (Genesis 6:5), resulting in divine regret (Genesis 6:6), which implies that God had no prior knowledge of mankind’s innate capacity for wickedness, the Holy Quran confirms that it was a justifiable act of divine justice because of centuries of persistent infidelity, entrenched idolatry, and tenacious rejection of God’s divine guidance (Holy Quran 71:7, 23). Unlike the Holy Quran, the Bible fails to communicate that Noah invited his people to believe in God, day and night, for a staggering long duration of nine hundred and fifty years (Holy Quran 29:14), after which they still refused to repent and change their idolatrous practices (Holy Quran 71:21-24). Therefore, God’s punishment was neither sudden nor irrational, as implied by the Bible; it was ordained only after centuries of divine patience and forbearance, when all avenues of moral salvation had been exhausted (Holy Quran 71:2-20). Crucially, God’s judgement to rid the world from these ungodly idolaters, who constituted the majority of the inhabitants of earth during the time of Noah, was not an act of divine regret, as claimed by the Bible (Genesis 6:6-7), but a deliberate execution of justice foreseen by a God whose foreknowledge of human corruption preceded creation itself, as clearly expressed throughout the Holy Quran, and confirmed by the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ  in various Hadiths (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2653b; Sunan Al-Tirmizi, Hadith 2155; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 72). To allow these pagans and idolaters to live, multiply, and prosper on earth, would pose an imminent threat to the faith and the future of the human race, especially when the believers were only a handful.

 

Although the Great Flood was the only time God actually wiped out the entire human race, the bible reports several subsequent occasions in which He threatens to do so again. These recurring threats to annihilate mankind every time they behave wickedly depict God as an irrational deity whose actions are driven by anger and an urge for revenge instead of mercy and compassion.

 

“¹ The Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate… ³ The earth shall utterly be empty and utterly plundered. … ⁶ Therefore, a curse has devoured the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt. The inhabitants of the earth are burned, and only a few remained alive.” (Isaiah 24:1-6)

 

“The whole earth shall be a desolation, but I will not finish it off.” (Jeremiah 4:27)

 

“I will sweep away (wipe out) everything from the face of the earth. I will sweep away humans and animals. I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea… I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth.” (Zephaniah 1:2-3)

 

The Biblical God Is Violent and Genocidal 

 

The Biblical God Commands the Annihilation of Nations, the Destruction of Their Cities, and the Massacre of Men, Women, and Children. 

 

The Bible portrays God as a genocidal, ruthless, and violent deity who is fond of ethnic cleansing. He commands the annihilation of prosperous nations, the destruction and burning of thriving cities and towns to the ground, the killing of innocent men, helpless women, and sinless children, and the slaying of blameless livestock.

 

Conquering Nations Outside the Promised Land 

 

In the book of Deuteronomy 20, the biblical God sets the standard for violence against non-covenant nations whom the Israelites are encouraged to regard as enemies and are commanded to conquer and destroy (Deuteronomy 7). For non-covenant nations who live outside the territory of the promised land, which God is claimed to have promised the Israelites as an inheritance, an offer of peace is to be presented to them at first. If they agree to open the gates of their cities without fighting and agree to be subject to forced labor and enslavement (Deuteronomy 20:10-11), then their lives would be spared, as long as they live a life of absolute servitude to the Israelites. If they refuse, they are to be conquered and completely destroyed. Their men are to be killed, and their women, children, livestock, and all their possessions are to be taken as plunders.

 

“When u march to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace, if they accept and open their gates; all the people in it shall be subjected to forced labor (enslavement) and shall work for you (as slaves). If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city, when the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. ¹⁵ This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.” (Deuteronomy 20:10-15)

 

Conquering Nations Inside the Promised Land 

 

As for non-covenant nations who live within the territory of the promised land, which God is claimed to have promised the Israelites as an inheritance, no peace offering should be proposed, and no one is to be spared. Everyone and everything that breathes, including men, women, and children, are to be slaughtered without mercy or pity. 

 

“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance (promised land territory), do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them all; the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded you.” (Deuteronomy 20:16-17)

 

The Jewish Ideology of Herem

 

This violent ritual of conquering and exterminating non-covenant nations, which is incited by the biblical God, is referred to as Herem in the Jewish religion. The linguistic meaning of the word Herem (Kherem) is to “devote” or “sacrifice” to God as an offering. So ideologically, these non-covenant nations are to be sacrificed to God by means of slaughter, annihilation, and utter destruction, and such is perceived as an act of worship. While the doctrinal justification is to purge the world from these idolatrous nations, the systematic eradication of entire populations of men, women, and children, the total destruction of their cities and towns, and the seizure or burning of their possessions can only be defined as an act of genocide. Consequently, the concept of Herem has extended beyond its biblical context. The deliberate act of ethnic cleansing has been ongoing for thousands of years, and it has stretched to include covenant nations as well. The fanatic and genocidal ideology of Herem was enacted against the Ishmaelites (Ishmael’s descendants), a covenant nation that was blessed by God and protected under His divine promise. It was enacted against other covenant nations; such as the Edomites (Esau’s descendants), Amalekites (Esau’s descendants), the Moabites (Lot’s descendants), the Ammonites (Lot’s descendants), and the Midianites (Midian’s descendants). The same violence was also enacted against the Israelite tribes themselves. When the twelve tribes of Israel clashed and fought with one another, the same violent and merciless practice of extermination was carried out against each other, as we will examine in the next section. The following biblical accounts illustrate the pattern of recurring violence enacted by the Israelites against other nations under the command and blessing of the biblical God.

 

In the book of Numbers 31:1-18, God commands Moses to attack the Midianites to take vengeance from them (31:1-2), so Moses commands the Israelites to go to war against the Midianites (31:3-6). The Israelites killed all the Midianite men (31:7), captured all Midianite women and children, took all the livestock as plunders (31:8), and burned all their towns and camps (31:10). When the army officers returned and Moses found out that they kept the women alive, he became angry and commanded them to kill all the women who had slept with men (none virgins), kill all the boys, and only keep the virgin girls for themselves (31:14-18). The Israelites operated under the commands of Moses, and Moses operated according to the commands of God (Numbers 25:16; 31:1, 7). 

 

In the book of Joshua 6, the Israelites carried out the same exact violence when they conquered Jericho. They put to the sword everything that breathed: men, women, children, cattle, sheep, and donkeys. Then, they burned the entire city to the ground. 

 

“And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, and they put to the sword both men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys… And they burned the whole city and everything that was in it.” (Joshua 6:21-24)

 

In the Book of Joshua 8, God commands Joshua to do to Ai the same thing they did to Jericho: kill everyone, plunder everything, and utterly destroy and burn the entire city.

 

“Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai… You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king…” (Joshua 8:1-2).

 

“When you take the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded…” 

(Joshua 8:8).

 

“When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day, all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.” (Joshua 8:24-27)

 

In the Book of Joshua 10, the annihilation of neighboring nations continued, and Joshua was commanded by God to utterly destroy these nations, kill their kings, slaughter their men, women, and children, and burn their cities the same way the Israelites did with Jericho and Ai. Five kingdoms with their nations, and seven (or nine) cities were utterly destroyed during this chapter alone. 

 

In the Book of Joshua 11, God commands Joshua and the Israelites to conquer the entire northern region of Canaan, annihilate its people, and utterly destroy their cities the same way they did to other nations. No one was spared. They killed and destroyed everything. Overall, chapter 12 of the book of Joshua reports that thirty-one (31) kingdoms were destroyed during this campaign of ethnic cleansing by Joshua, who was only following God’s commands. First, he conquered the central part of Canaan, then the southern part, then he completed his campaign by conquering and destroying nations from the northern part, thus seizing control of the entire so-called promised land (Joshua 11:23).

 

In the book of 1 Samuel 15, the slaughter of nations continues. God orders Saul to mercilessly smite the entire population of the Amalekites

 

“Now go and smite the Amalekites and utterly destroy all that they have. Do not spare anyone; slay men and woman, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camel and donkeys.” 

(1 Samuel 15:2-3)

 

However, Saul did not destroy and kill everything. He spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the sheep, cattle, lambs and all that was good. This made the biblical God angry and He regretted making Saul king (1 Samuel 15:10).

 

The Biblical God Enacts the Same Violence Against His Own People

 

Although the biblical God has blessed Israel with His love, mercy, patience, and providence, their persistent defiance and relentless infidelity led Him to punish them like other non-covenant nations. They were inflicted with severe punishment, slaughter, destruction, obliteration, and were ultimately uprooted and exiled from the promised land for eternity for failing to keep the covenant that was solely conditional on fidelity (Deuteronomy 28:63, Joshua 23:16, Hosea 9:17). It did not take the Israelites long before they returned to their idolatry (Exodus 32:8). Shortly after the Exodus from Egypt, while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites constructed a golden calf and began worshipping it during his absence. They even attributed their successful Exodus to the idol that they have built with their own hands, chanting “This is your god, Israel, the one who brought you up out of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4). This made God angry, and He intended to destroy the entire nation (Exodus 32:10), but Moses pleaded with God to spare them (Exodus 32:11-13), and upon his intercession, God changed His mind (Exodus 32:14). 

 

Nevertheless, when Moses returned and saw the calf that they had built and witnessed the extent of idolatry and wickedness of the Israelites, he summoned the Levites, who probably did not participate in idolatry with the rest, and commanded them to execute God’s punishment upon the Israelites. Moses instructed the Levites to strap on their swords, go through the camp, and slaughter as many Israelites as they can. Three-thousand Israelites were killed that day (Exodus 32:28-29). Afterwards, God struck them with a plague as a further punishment (Exodus 32:36). This was the first time the Israelites experienced God’s wrath and raging anger for their infidelity. However, this would not be the last time they would fall into idolatry and face God’s punishment. Israel was a nation prone to infidelity and idolatry throughout the entire biblical narrative, and they were often punished for their wickedness without mercy or pity. During these episodes of divine judgment, no one was spared: young and old, men and women, children and infants, the righteous and the wicked, and even livestock and animals were killed. Their cities and towns were burnt and utterly destroyed, their lands laid waste, their possessions seized, and they were brutally uprooted, whether by divinely ordained calamities or by the swords of their enemies. When the biblical God is angry, he shows no pity or mercy even for His once-chosen people. 

 

“I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will fall in the slaughter.” 

(Isaiah 65:12)

 

“Pour out my anger on the children playing in the streets and on the gathering of young men together. Husbands and wives will be caught in this anger, even the elders and the very old will not be spared. Their homes will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land.” 

(Jeremiah 6:11-12)

“My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the crops of your land, and it will burn and not be quenched.” (Jeremiah 7:20)

 

“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like dung lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.” (Jeremiah 16:4)

 

“I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.” 

(Jeremiah 19:9)

 

“kill without mercy or pity. Kill them all! Utterly slay old and young men, old and young women (virgins), and children.” (Ezekiel 9:5-6)

 

“I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be burned by it.” 

(Ezekiel 20:47)

 

“I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn his sword from its sheath; it will not return again.” 

(Ezekiel 21:3-5)

 

“Strike the tops of the pillars so that the foundations shake. Cut off everyone’s head. I will kill the rest with the sword. None of them will be able to get away. None of them will be able to escape.” (Amos 9:1)

 

“Without mercy, the Lord has destroyed every home in Israel… He consumes the whole land like raging fire… He has destroyed Israel like an enemy.” (Lamentations 2:2-5)

 

“The Lord has finally done what he threatened to do. He has destroyed us without mercy, as he warned us long ago.” (Lamentations 2:17)

 

The Biblical God Promotes Slavery

 

Slavery is legislated by Divine Decree 

 

Despite being an abominable practice, slavery is not merely permitted and regulated in the Bible, it is divinely legislated and promoted by the biblical God. The biblical God established foundational laws upon which the Israelites would enslave human beings, whether fellow Israelites or foreigners from surrounding nations. These laws were delivered at the very beginning of the Mosaic legal code. Immediately after the Ten Commandments were revealed, God turned to Moses and began legislating the buying, selling, trading, and inheritance of human beings. Surprisingly, these laws preceded the laws of conquest, the machinery of slaves, and this only shows that slavery was not a by-product of war. War was the supply chain for an institution that had already legislated slavery and established the guideline of how to acquire slaves. The biblical God put in place the legal framework for slavery at Sinai before the Israelites ever captured a single captive. The first laws of slavery were introduced in the book of Exodus, chapter 21.

 

"Now these are the rules that you shall set before them." (Exodus 21:1)

 

The very first set of laws that the biblical God issued governed the rules pertaining to a Hebrew slave.

 

"When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single. If he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall be his slave forever." (Exodus 21:2–6)

 

As shameful and horrific as it sounds, the next set of laws established the legal rights of a father to sell his own daughter into slavery. 

 

"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If 

she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt with her deceitfully. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment." 

(Exodus 21:7–11)

 

The next set of laws establishes the principle that slaves are the property of their masters, and this gives the right to their masters to beat them and physically punish them. The laws also establish some form of legal consequences as a result of severe physical abuse or loss of life. The laws ordain that the life of a slave is worth thirty shekels.

 

"When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall surely be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his property." (Exodus 21:20–21)

 

"When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth." (Exodus 21:26–27)

 

"If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned." (Exodus 21:32)

 

In Exodus 22:3, the biblical God also ordains that whosoever steals must make restitution. If however, they cannot afford it, they must be sold as slaves as a punishment for their theft.

 

“Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft.” (Exodus 22:3) 

 

After Moses delivered all the laws, including the slave laws, the people accepted them without reservation as the binding divine laws of God (Exodus 24:3).

 

The next set of slavery laws was introduced in the book of Leviticus, chapter 19. The laws ordained that the punishment of adultery with a betrothed slave woman is not the same as the punishment of adultery with a free woman. If a man sleeps with a slave woman, he is simply to present a ram as a guilt offering to God. They are not to receive the death penalty the same way adulterers do if they were free people, as decreed in Deuteronomy 22:23–24.

 

"If a man has sex with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free. But he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed." (Leviticus 19:20–22)

 

Chapter 22 of the book of Leviticus refers briefly to another law pertaining to slavery. If a priest owns a slave, this slave is allowed to eat from the holy offerings.

 

"But if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food." (Leviticus 22:11)

 

The next set of laws was introduced in Leviticus, chapter 25. This set of laws governed the rules pertaining to both Israelite slaves and foreign slaves (non-Israelite), and established the distinction in treatment between them. It also established that a poor Israelite who is in debt can sell himself as a slave to one of his fellow Israelites. He is to serve his master until the year of Jubilee, which comes once every 50 years. This is a clear contradiction to the ruling in Exodus 21:2-6, which states that an Israelite slave is to only serve for six years, then he is to be freed unless he decides to abandon his freedom to remain with his wife and children. The laws also ordain that foreign slaves may be bequeathed (inherited). The laws also state that if an Israelite sells himself to a foreigner, one of his relatives has the right to redeem him. If not, he (the Israelite) has the right to redeem himself when he can afford it; thus, he has the right to settle the matter with his new master. In either case, the Israelite slave and his family are to be released once the Jubilee year arrives (every fifty years).

 

"If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave. He shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God." (Leviticus 25:39–43)

 

"As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their families who are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make them work; but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, ruthlessly." (Leviticus 25:44–46)

 

“If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them: An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves… Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee.” (Leviticus 25:47-54) 

 

Forty years later, Moses addresses a new generation on the plains of Moab and repeats the same laws of the biblical God, which he had introduced to their ancestors in Sinai. 

 

"And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, 'Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.'" 

(Deuteronomy 5:1)

 

"If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore, I command you this thing today. But if he says to you, 'I will not go out from you,' because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same." (Deuteronomy 15:12–17)

 

The biblical God, through Moses, also introduced new laws pertaining the mass enslavement of nations whom the Israelites are expected to conquer. All the people of conquered cities who agrees to open the doors to their cities without a fight are to be subject to a life of servitude to the Israelites. However, they are referred to as forced labor in the biblical verses of chapter 20 of the book of Deuteronomy.

 

"When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you." (Deuteronomy 20:10–11)

 

The biblical God decrees a different fate for nations who fought against the Israelites. He ordained that all men are to be killed, and all women, children, and livestock are to be taken as plunder. This ruling is for distant nations that live outside the promised land territory.

 

“If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as 

plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.” (Deuteronomy 20:12-15)

 

As for nations who live within the promised land territory, the biblical God decreed that the Israelites must kill everyone and everything that breathes.

 

“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.” (Deuteronomy 20:16)

In Deuteronomy 21, the biblical God introduces another law pertaining to the captivity of women. This law established the legal right by divine decree for an Israelite soldier to take and own a woman from among the captives and force her to be his wife. This will be discussed in details in the next section.

 

"When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire her, you may take her to be your wife." (Deuteronomy 21:10–11)

 

In Deuteronomy 23, the biblical law also ordains that a runaway slave is not to be returned to his foreign master, yet he is to be kept by the Israelite whom he escaped to.

 

"You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him." (Deuteronomy 23:15–16)

 

Slaves Are Treated as Property: They Have No Legal Rights

 

The biblical laws do not treat slaves as legal subjects with full legal rights as any other human beings. Slaves are treated as property, and they are bought, sold, traded, and passed down as inheritance just as any commodity.

 

Foreign Slaves Are Permanent Property, Inherited Across Generations

 

"As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their families who are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever." (Leviticus 25:44–46)

 

A Slave's Life Is Valued at a Fixed Price: Thirty Shekels of Silver

 

"If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned." (Exodus 21:32)

 

Master Can Physically Punish Their Slaves Because They Are Regarded as Property

 

"When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be punished, for the slave is his property." (Exodus 21:20–21)

 

A Hebrew Slave's Wife and Children Remain the Master's Property Even When the Slave Is Freed

 

"If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone." (Exodus 21:4)

 

A Daughter Sold by Her Father Becomes the Property of Her Purchaser Forever

 

"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do." 

(Exodus 21:7)

 

Surrendered Cities Are Subjected to Mass Forced Labor. Entire Populations Become State Property.

 

"When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you." (Deuteronomy 20:10–11)

 

Defeated Cities Are Plundered; Women and Children Are Taken as Property Forever

 

"As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves." (Deuteronomy 20:14)

 

A Captive Woman Who Is Forced into Marriage Remains a Property Until Discarded by Her Master

 

"When you go out to war against your enemies... and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire her, you may take her to be your wife... But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants." (Deuteronomy 21:10–14)

 

Slaves Are Mistreated and Abused by Divine Decree. 

 

The biblical slave laws do not only degrade human beings to property, they create the legal conditions under which systematic mistreatment and abuse are inevitable, permitted, and condoned by the biblical God. Under these laws, a master may beat his slave male or female to death without having to face any punishment (if the slave remains alive for a day or two before he dies), for the slave is his property (Exodus 21:20–21). If a slave dies, his or her life is only valued at thirty shekels of silver anyways, a price that could be easily paid by the master as a punishment (Exodus 21:32). If a Hebrew slave is about to be freed, after he has completed his term of slavery, he must abandon his wife and children to go free because they belong to his master, not to him. If he desires to remain with his wife and children, he must forfeit his freedom and vow to remain a slave for life (Exodus 21:2-6). A father may sell his own daughter into a life of servitude where she is to be enslaved and sexually exploited forever, or until her master tires of her and decides to sell her, trade her to another master, or gift her to his son. She does not have the same privilege to redeem herself after six years like a male Israelite who sold himself out of poverty. She will be regarded as property with no legal rights until her master decides to let her go (Exodus 21:7-11). If a betrothed slave woman is raped, she has no legal protection as a free woman, whose rapist faces death. The sexual violation of a slave girl is only settled with a guilt offering of a ram (Leviticus 19:20–22). Entire populations of men, women, and children from cities that surrender willingly to the Israelites are subjected to forced labor for life. They are deprived of their God-given right to live as free human beings, simply because they chose peace over war and surrendered to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 20:10–11). On the other hand, neighbouring nations that resisted were completely obliterated and wiped out (Deuteronomy 20:16). As for distant nations, all the men were killed, and all the women and children were taken as plunder to serve as slaves for the rest of their lives, without any human rights (Deuteronomy 20:13–14). A captive woman who was forced into becoming a wife may be set free only if she is discarded by her captor who no longer delights in her. She has no means to redeem herself or free herself from slavery (Deuteronomy 21:10–14). These are merely a few examples of how slaves are mistreated and abused by the abominably oppressive laws of the biblical God who legislated slavery and permitted cruelty.

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

Islam Abolished Slavery

 

Contrary to the biblical teachings which claim that God legislated slavery and encouraged it, there isn’t a single shred of evidence in the teachings of Islam that could support such a notion. In fact, Islam established the jurisprudential framework to abolish it under Sharia Law. The Quran did not issue a single command ordering the enslavement of any human being. It issued commands ordering the liberation of slaves, the kind treatment of those who fell into slavery and captivity, and the protection of their human rights like no other religious or legal system. 

 

God declared the freeing of slaves to be one of the highest acts of righteousness and the path to salvation from the Hellfire.

 

"And what will make you know the steep path? It is the freeing of a neck." 

(Quran 90:12–13)

 

The Prophet Mohammad ﷺ also encouraged the freeing of slaves by declaring it as an act of good conduct that is rewarded by the salvation from the Hellfire.

 

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever frees a Muslim slave, God will free every limb of his body from the Hellfire in return for every limb of the slave's body, even his private parts for the slave's private parts." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2517; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1509)

"Whoever has a female slave, teaches her well, treats her kindly, frees her, and marries her, will have a double reward." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 97)

 

God commanded that the slaves who sought their freedom should be granted it, and should also be given from the wealth that God has bestowed upon those who own these slaves so that they would support them in starting a new life.

 

"And those who seek a contract of emancipation from among those whom your right hands possess (slaves), give them the contract if you know there is good in them. And give them from the wealth of God which He has given you." (Quran 24:33)

 

God also allocated Zakat funds (the obligatory charity of Islam) specifically for the emancipation of slaves.

 

"Zakat expenditures are only for the poor, for the needy, for those employed to collect it, for those whose hearts are to be softened, for freeing slaves, for those in debt, for God’s cause, and for the stranded traveler. Such is an obligation imposed by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise." 

(Holy Quran 9:60)

 

To encourage people to emancipate slaves, God prescribed manumission as expiation for breaking an oath. 

 

“God does not hold you accountable for your inadvertent oaths, yet He holds you accountable for your deliberate oaths. The expiation (for breaking an oath) is to feed ten poor people with the equivalent of what you would normally feed your own families, or to clothe them, or to set free a slave. If, however, a person cannot find the means, he should fast for three days. This is the expiation for breaking your oaths if you make them. Honor your oaths. This is how God makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be thankful." (Holy Quran 5:89)

 

God also prescribed manumission as expiation for accidental killing.

 

"Never should a believer kill a believer, except by mistake. And whoever kills a believer by mistake, it is ordained that he should free a believing slave and pay compensation to the family of the deceased, unless they remit it freely." (Quran 4:92)

 

The liberation of slaves is also an expiation that God prescribed for those who wish to return to their wives after they have declared them unlawful through Zihar. Zihar is a pre-Islamic practice in which a husband declares his wife unlawful by saying, “You are to me like the back of my mother.” Saying this renders the marriage temporarily suspended until he expiates for his action by freeing a slave. 

 

"And those who declare their wives unlawful (by Zihar), then wish to renounce what they said, must free a slave before they may touch one another." (Quran 58:3)

 

The emancipation of slaves was prescribed by God and by the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ as a means of expiation to many violations in Islam. It was prescribed for the violation of having marital sexual intercourse while fasting during the fasting hours of the day in Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1936; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1111). It was also prescribed for the violation of slapping a slave on the face. The Prophet said, “Whoever strikes his slave, the expiation for it is to free this slave” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1657; Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 5168). In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever beats his slave for a sin he did not commit, or slaps him, the expiation for it is to free him" (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1658). This is how Islam dealt with the abominable practice of slavery. It established a practical system to abolish it by means of spiritual awareness, and by inspiring humanity to act. The trajectory of Islamic law was not toward the perpetual regulation of slavery, but toward its elimination. No other religion or legal system was able to free as many slaves as Islam did, nor combat slavery legally, socially, morally, and spiritually. This is not only evident from the teachings of Islam, it is also clear from the consistent practice of the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ, his companions, and Muslims after them. The Prophet Mohammad ﷺ did not merely preach emancipation. He practiced it. He personally freed every slave he ever owned. Among them were Zayd ibn Ḥarithah, whom he adopted as a son, and Safiyyah bint Huyayy, whom he married and elevated to the status of Mother of the Believers. His companions followed his example as well. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, spent his wealth purchasing slaves from their masters and setting them free. Among those he freed was Bilal ibn Rabaḥ, who became one of the most honored companions of the Prophet and the first muezzin of Islam. The rest of the companions freed tens of thousands of slaves collectively. This proves that Islam sought to abolish slavery over 1300 years before any modern-day human rights declaration. 

 

Islam Gave Equal Legal Rights to Slaves and Free Men

 

Islam Regard Slaves as Humans Not Property

 

The Prophet Mohammad ﷺ did not regard slaves as property. He called them brothers, and he commanded that they be treated with the same dignity as free people. The prophet ﷺ also forbade slave owners to call them slaves.

 

"They are your brothers whom God has placed under your authority. So whoever has his 

brother under his authority, let him feed him from what he eats, clothe him from what he wears, and not burden him with work beyond his capacity. And if he burdens him with work beyond his capacity, let him help him." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 30; Sahih Muslim, 

Hadith 1661)

 

"None of you should say, 'My slave' or 'My slave girl.' All of you are slaves of God. Rather, say, 'My young man' and 'My young woman.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2552; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2249)

 

Islam Granted Slaves the Right to Emancipate Themselves

 

Before any modern declaration of human rights, the Prophet ﷺ declared the natural freedom of every human being.

 

"Since when have you enslaved people, when their mothers gave birth to them as free men?" 

(Sahih al-Jami, Hadith 5715)

 

Every child is born free. No one is born a slave. Enslavement is an imposition that contradicts the original dignity God bestowed upon human beings. This principle stands in direct contrast to the biblical law, which legislated that foreign slaves may be "inherited as a possession forever" (Leviticus 25:46) and that children born to slaves belong to the master. Slaves were granted the right to earn their own wealth and purchase their freedom through a legally binding contract of emancipation, which the master was obligated to honor.

 

"And those who seek a contract of emancipation from among those whom your right hands possess (slaves), give them the contract if you know there is good in them. And give them from the wealth of God which He has given you." (Holy Quran 24:33)

 

Islam Ordains That All Men Are Created Equal

 

There is no difference between a free man and a Slave in the sight of God. Islam ordains that all men are created equal. Islam affirms that social status, wealth, race, and lineage are insignificant in the sight of God. The only criterion that elevates human beings in the sight of God is righteousness. The nobility of a human being is not acquired through race, ethnicity, skin color, or family bloodline. It is acquired through piety. 

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer." 

(Holy Quran 4:1)

 

"O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." 

(Holy Quran 49:13)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in his final sermon, "O people, indeed your Lord is one, and your father (Adam) is one. There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, nor of a non-Arab over an Arab, nor of a white person over a black person, nor of a black person over a white person, except through righteousness." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23489; al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami, Hadith 2332)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Indeed, Allah does not look at your appearances or your 

wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2564)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Your lineages are not a source of shame upon anyone. All of you are the children of Adam. No one has superiority over another except through religion and righteousness." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 17351; al-Albani in Sahih al-Targhib, Hadith 3635)

 

Islam Prohibited the Mistreatment and Abuse of Slaves

 

Islam Prohibits Overworking Slaves

 

The Prophet ﷺ commanded that slaves not be burdened with work beyond their capacity, and that if they were given difficult tasks, the master must help them with his own hands.

 

"They are your brothers whom God has placed under your authority. So whoever has his brother under his authority, let him feed him from what he eats, clothe him from what he wears, and not burden him with work beyond his capacity. And if he burdens him with work beyond his capacity, let him help him." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 30)

The Prophet Mohammad ﷺ led by example. He treated his servants with the utmost respect, kindness, and dignity. Anas ibn Malik, who served the Prophet ﷺ for ten years, bore witness to his character.

 

"I served the Prophet ﷺ for ten years, and he never said to me, 'Uff' (a word of annoyance), nor did he ever say about anything I did, 'Why did you do that?' or about anything I did not do, 'Why did you not do that?'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6038; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2309)

 

The Prophet of the Almighty God, the head of the Islamic state, the commander of the armies, and the judge of the community, never once scolded his servant in a decade of service. He never criticized his work, or expressed any frustration. This was not the behavior of a master who owned property. This was the behavior of a man who saw his servant as a human being deserving of patience, dignity, and respect.

 

Islam Prohibits Verbal Insults and Degradations

 

The Prophet ﷺ forbade masters from using degrading language toward their slaves. He instructed Muslims to refrain from referring to their slaves as "my slave" and "my slave girl."

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "None of you should say, 'My slave' or 'My slave girl.' All of you are slaves of God. Rather, say, 'My young man' and 'My young woman.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2552; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2249)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whoever falsely accuses his slave of something, he will be flogged on the Day of Resurrection, unless it is as he said." And in another narration, "Whoever curses his slave, the expiation for it is to free him." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1659)

 

Islam Prohibits the Physical Abuse and Beating of Slaves

 

Unlike the biblical laws which allows a master to beat his slave to death without facing punishment (Exodus 21:20–21), the teachings of Islam forbid the beating and physical harming of slaves. The Prophet ﷺ did not merely forbid the beating of slaves. He made it a sin that could only be expiated by setting the slave free.

"Do not strike the servants of God." (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 5165)

 

"Whoever strikes his slave, the expiation for it is to free him." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1657)

 

"Whoever beats his slave for a sin he did not commit, or slaps him, the expiation for it is to free him." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1658)

 

Islam Ordains That A Life of a Slave Is Worth the Life of His Master

 

Unlike the biblical laws that ordain if a master beats his slave to death faces no punishment if the slave survives a day or two after the beating (Exodus 21:20–21), or that the life of a slave is only worth thirty shekels (Exodus 21:32), Islam ordains that the killing of a slave is an act of murder that is punishable by the death penalty.

 

"Whoever kills his slave, we will kill him. Whoever mutilates his slave, we will mutilate him." (Sunan al-Tirmizi, Hadith 1441; Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 4515)

 

Islam Prohibits the Oppressions and Separation of Slave Families

 

Unlike the biblical laws which separate the slave from his wife and children if he wishes to be free (Exodus 21:4), Islamic laws ordain that separating family members from each other is a grievous sin that invokes divine punishment in the Hereafter.

 

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever separates a mother from her child, Allah will separate him from his loved ones on the Day of Resurrection." (Sunan al-Tirmizi, Hadith 1566)

"Whoever separates two siblings, Allah will separate him from his loved ones on the Day of Resurrection." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 387)

 

"Whoever separates a mother from her child in the sale, Allah will separate him from his loved ones on the Day of Resurrection." (al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim, Hadith 2297)

 

Islam Prohibits the Sexual Exploitation of Slave Women

 

Unlike the biblical laws that allow a father to sell his daughter into sexual servitude (Exodus 21:7–11), and a soldier to take a captive woman and force her to become his wife then discard her when he tires of her (Deuteronomy 21:10–14), Islamic laws prohibit forcing slave woman into sexual immorality.

 

"And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, seeking thereby the temporary interests of worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed Allah is, after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful." (Holy Quran 24:33)

 

In his commentary, Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273 CE) writes:

 

"God forbade the forcing of slave women into fornication. This is from the mercy of God toward her and His protection of her." (al-Qurtubi, 1993, Vol. 12, p. 168)

 

Islam Elevated the Status of Slaves in Society

 

Islam Sought to Elevate the Educational, Intellectual, and Social Standing of Slaves

 

The Prophet ﷺ promised a double reward for the master who educates his female slave, treats her with kindness, frees her, and marries her, elevating her from bondage to the status of an educated wife.

 

"Whoever has a female slave, teaches her well, treats her kindly, frees her, and marries her, will have a double reward." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 97)

 

Islamic law ordains that if a salve woman bears a child to her masters, her social status is elevated from a slave to “the mother of a child.” This status grants her freedom upon the death of her master. She is not to be sold, traded, hired, or inherited anymore.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "If a man's female slave bears him a child, she becomes free upon his death." (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2516)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "She is not to be sold, and she is not to be given away. When her master dies, she is free." (Sunan al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, Hadith 21776)

 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Any female slave who bears a child to her master is not to be sold, not to be given away, and not to be inherited. She is free when her master dies."(Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith 2843)

 

As established earlier, Islam ordains that slaves and free men are equal in the sight of God. Whether slaves or free men, they all pray side by side in the same congregation, they all participate in the same religious rituals, they all adhere to the same religious commands, and they all receive the same rewards in the Hereafter, based on their acts of good conduct and righteousness. However, the ranking of an individual is based on their level of righteousness and closeness to God. Islam ordains that the most noble among Muslims are those who are most righteous. So while social status granted humans nobility among people, righteousness granted humans nobility in the sight of God. Based on this principle, a slave could be higher in ranking than his master. Whoever is more knowledgeable of God’s teachings leads the Muslim community, even if he was a slave. If a slave is more knowledgeable of the Holy Quran, he leads the congregational prayer that included his own master. Islam granted slaves the opportunity to become respectable religious scholars and men of God. They were given the opportunity to preach, teach, and become religious leaders in their community. Bilal ibn Rabah, for example, was a slave before he became the first muezzin in Islam. He was from among the companions who were given the glad tidings from Prophet Mohammad ﷺ that they are the dwellers of heaven. The bottom line is, Islam gave the opportunity to slaves to elevate their status in society and hold prestigious positions in Islam. They were also granted the opportunity to hold positions of authority. 

 

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Listen and obey, even if an Abyssinian slave is placed in authority over you, whose head is like a raisin." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7142)

 

In his commentary on this hadith, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, the most authoritative commentator on Sahih al-Bukhari, said:

 

This hadith proves that slaves may validly be appointed to positions of authority, and 

that enslavement does not prevent the validity of holding office. It refutes those who claim that authority is only valid for a free person. It commands obedience to those in authority, even if they are slaves. (Ibn Hajar, Vol. 13, p. 131) 

 

In his commentary on Sahih Muslim, Al-Nawawi, a prominent scholar of Islam, stated:

 

This hadith proves the validity of a slave holding authority, and that freedom is not a condition for holding office. It commands obedience to leaders and rulers as long as they do not command disobedience to God. It abolishes the pre-Islamic practice of disregarding slaves and treating them with contempt. (al-Nawawi, Vol. 12, p. 225) 

 

The Biblical God Condones Violence Against Women and Children

 

As clearly illustrated from the biblical accounts that we have examined in previous sections, the Bible portrays God as the orchestrator of violence against women and children. In some narratives, He commands the utter slaughter of men, women, children, and everything that breathes. In other narratives, He commands the Israelites to kill the men and non-virgin women while keeping virgin women, children, and livestock as plunder. The children are forced into a life of slavery, and the virgin women, including under-aged girls, are forced into a life of sexual servitude and sexual exploitation. They are taken against their will, transported to foreign households, and made to serve as slaves.

 

Women and Children Are Forced into Captivity and Enslavement by Divine Decree:

 

“When the Lord your God delivers it (the city) into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves.” (Deuteronomy 20:13-14)

 

"Now kill all the boys and kill every woman who has slept with a man, but keep for yourselves every young girl who has never slept with a man."  (Numbers 31:17-18)

 

"The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 (virgin) women who had never slept with a man." (Numbers 31:32-35)

 

"And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh. As 

for the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies." (Judges 21:12-14) 

 

"Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated." (Isaiah 13:16)

 

"The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys, everything in the city and everything in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in their houses." (Genesis 34:27-29)

 

Women Are Forced into Sexual Servitude and Exploitation by Divine Decree

 

The biblical God does not merely permit the taking of women as captives and slaves. He legislates their sexual exploitation. The captive woman is not a person with rights. She is a body to be claimed, a spoil of war to be used. The procedure is laid out in detail, and it carries the weight of divine command.

 

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire her, you may take her to be your wife, and you shall bring her into your house. She shall shave her head and trim her nails. And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may have sex with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.” (Deuteronomy 21:10-14)

 

As clearly legislated in the biblical verses above, the Israelite soldiers are instructed by the biblical God Himself to take virgin women captive and force them into sexual servitude where they are to be sexually exploited forever by their new masters. After these soldiers slaughtered these women’s family, they are taken captive, transported to their captor’s homes, only allowed one month to grieve the killing of their family members, and then they are to serve their new masters as sex slaves. If later on these men tire of them, they may discard them as unwanted property so that they would be sexually exploited and abused by other men who will find use of them.

 

The Bible does not merely record these practices. It celebrates them. In the Song of Deborah, a victory hymn sung in praise of God's deliverance, a mother is imagined waiting for her son to return from battle with captured women as spoils of war.

 

"Are they not finding and dividing the spoil? A womb or two for every man; spoil of dyed fabrics for Sisera." (Judges 5:30)

 

The phrase "a womb or two for every man" is the biblical celebration of sexual slavery. Women are reduced to their reproductive organs, distributed among soldiers as the reward of victory. This is not a narrative of human sin. It is a song of praise to God, and it includes the sexual enslavement of women among the blessings He has bestowed.

 

As discussed earlier, the biblical God even encourages fathers to sell their own daughters as slaves so that they would be sexually exploited, simply for financial gain.

 

"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt with her deceitfully. If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment." (Exodus 21:7-11)

 

Here is an even more distressing narrative. The biblical God threatens his prophet David that He will take his wives and force them into captivity where they will be sexually violated in front of everyone in broad daylight. Are we truly to believe that a moral and benevolent God would threaten his beloved prophet David, whom He calls His “begotten son” with such punishment?

 

"This is what the Lord says, 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.'" (2 Samuel 12:11)

 

Here is another prophetic vision of divine judgment where God threatens women with rape and sexual exploitation, as a punishment.

 

“I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it. The city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped." (Zechariah 14:1-2)

 

It does not require a genius to conclude that the Bible, with all of its profoundly violent, extremely misogynistic, and morally corrupt narratives, did not come from God.

 

Women Are Kidnapped and Forced into Marriage Under Divine Condonation:

 

The Bible even encourages the mass kidnapping of women as an acceptable solution to a marital shortage, and it is all done without any divine condemnation. God does not forbid the abduction of these women, yet He remains silent while His people seize young women by force. No consent is sought. No marriage contract is negotiated. Women are simply kidnapped, taken home, and made wives against their will.

 

"So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, 'Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to dance, each of you should seize (kidnap) a wife from among them...' So the Benjamites did this and took (kidnapped) the wives they needed from the dancers." (Judges 21:20-23)

 

These are the same Benjaminites who, in Judges 19, demanded to gang rape a Levite priest while visiting one of their towns. However, the priest offered them his concubine instead, and they raped her all night until she collapsed dead at the doorstep. The Levite then dismembered her body and mailed the pieces across Israel to shame the rest of the Israelite tribes and call them to action. When the tribes received the dismembered pieces, they assembled for war against the Benjaminites, slaughtered tens of thousands of them, and swore not to offer their daughters to the tribe of Benjamin as wives again. Realizing that the tribe of Benjamin will face extinction, they encouraged the surviving men to kidnap women from Shiloh to take as wives. The Bible records these horrific stories of rape, sexual exploitation, and violence against women without any apology, condemnation, or mention of divine intervention. The biblical God does not condemn any of these stories nor provide a moral to why these stories are told in the so-called book of God. (Judges 19:1-30; Judges 20:1-48).

 

Women Forced to Eat the Flesh of Their Children by Divine Decree

 

Not only did the biblical God command the conquering, destruction, and annihilation of nations, He also vowed that parents would eat the flesh of their own children during such profoundly devastating times. While they were being besieged, slaughtered, and taken captive, the biblical God threatened to starve them to the point of consuming the flesh of their sons and daughters.

 

“Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.” 

(Deuteronomy 28:53)

 

“I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.” 

(Jeremiah 19:9)

 

“You will eat the flesh of your sons and daughters.” (Leviticus 26:29)

 

“Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents.” 

(Ezekiel 5:10)

 

“Behold, O LORD, why are you punishing us like this? Women are eating the bodies of the children they loved! Priests and prophets are being killed in the Temple itself! Young men” 

(Lamentations 2:20)

 

“And old men lie on the ground in the streets of the city. My young women and young men have been killed by the sword. You killed them on the day of your anger. You slaughtered them without mercy!” (Lamentations 2:20-21)

 

“With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.” (Lamentations 4:10)

 

In Comparison to Islam

 

It is one thing to narrate examples of violence, abuse, and mistreatment of women and children throughout history in the Bible, but to accuse God of orchestrating such violence against women and children, and to claim that God commands the captivity, enslavement, and sexual exploitation of these women and children is a completely different story. All sorts of violence are being practiced against women and children, and it is all done in the name of the biblical God or by His divine decree. Non-virgin women and children are instructed to be slaughtered (Numbers 31:17-18), Virgin women and children are instructed to be taken as plunder and forced into captivity and sexual servitude (Deuteronomy 20:10-14; Deuteronomy 21:10-14; Numbers 31:17-18), while others are being kidnapped and forced into undesirable marriages with their kidnappers (Judges 19-21), and the biblical God seems to condone this recurring violence against women and children. The Bible even celebrates the capture of women as sexual spoils in a victory hymn (Judges 5:30). Are we to believe that a just, merciful, and compassionate God is the inciter of such atrocities?  Such a false depiction of God that is portrayed by the Bible is merely the scandalous misrepresentation of the same immoral and rebellious people who never kept God’s covenant and altered and corrupted His divine teachings.

 

The logical conclusion is not that God is cruel, unjust, or misogynistic. The logical conclusion is that the Bible does not accurately represent God. The men who wrote these texts projected their own tribal violence, misogyny, and moral corruption onto their conception of God. They created a God in their own image; a genocidal, cruel, and misogynistic God who commands the slaughter of innocent men, women, and children, and the captivity, enslavement, and sexual exploitation of virgin women. And to justify their crimes, they claimed that God commanded them to do so, and such is the biggest scandal committed by humans against God. This is precisely why the teachings of Islam continue to expose their lies and corruption. The Holy Quran has repeatedly condemned their allegations and accusations against God. 

 

"And do not say concerning what your tongues falsely describe, 'This is lawful and this is forbidden,' so that you invent lies about God. Indeed, those who invent lies about Allah will not succeed." 

(Holy Quran 16:116)

 

"And when they commit an immorality, they say, 'We found our fathers doing it, and God has commanded us to do it.' Say, ‘God does not command immorality.' Do you say about God what you do not know?" (Holy Quran 7:28)

 

"Indeed, God commands justice, goodness, and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality, evil, and tyranny. He admonishes you so that you may take heed." 

(Holy Quran 16:90)

 

While the Bible continues to claim that God commands the killing of conquered men, women, and children, Islam affirms that God forbids it.

 

"And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by justice." (Holy Quran 6:151)

 

"And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by justice." 

(Holy Quran 17:33)

 

"Whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul (as a punishment for killing another soul) or for causing corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as if he had saved all mankind." (Holy Quran 5:32)

 

The prophet Mohammad ﷺ gave clear instructions to the armies not to kill elderly men, women, and children. He forbade the killing of all non-combatants, including priests, monks, religious clerics, or worshippers.

 

The Messenger of God ﷺ sent out an army, saying, "Go in the name of God. Do not kill an elderly person, nor a child, nor a woman." (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2614)

 

"Do not kill a woman or a child." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3015)

 

"No child shall be killed." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1744)

 

"Do not kill a monk in his monastery." (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2739)

 

"Whoever kills a covenanted non-Muslim will not smell the fragrance of Paradise." 

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3166)

The Holy Quran gave clear instructions to Muslim to only fight those who fought against them, and if they are forced to fight then they are commanded not to transgress against their enemies. This restricts the Muslim army from committing any form of transgression against the people who are fighting against them.

 

"Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like the transgressors." (Holy Quran 2:190)

 

Muslims are encouraged to seek peace, whether by presenting their enemies with an offer of peace, or by accepting a peace offering (Quran 8:61), or by strictly honouring peace treaties (Quran 9:4). Once they agree to a peace treaty, they are commanded to uphold it and never behave treacherously or betray their word, even if their enemies are notorious at breaking their agreements (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1731; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3166). However, if war is eminent and necessary, the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ, and his caliphs after him, gave clear instructions to the army to adhere to the principles of war and the ethical code of conduct of the teachings of Islam. The instructions prohibited the killing of all non-combatant men, women, and children (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3014; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1744; Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2613; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2739), the captivity of non-combatants who were not involved in the war or were not present within the war zone (al-Shafi, 1990, Vol. 4, p. 176; al-Mawardi, 1996, p. 142), the torture and mutilation of enemies (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1731; Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2667), the aggression against civilians and captives, including any form of humiliation (Quran2:190; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3166; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 30; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1661), the separation of mothers from their children (Sunan al-Tirmizi, Hadith 1566; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23565) and the separation of siblings from one another (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 387). The instructions also prohibited the killing of livestock, the destruction of homes and houses of worship, the burning of crops, and the cutting of trees (Muwatta Malik, Book 21, Hadith 10; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2739), looting and stealing (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2474; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3073; Quran 3:161), and all forms of oppression ((Quran 16:90; Quran 42:42; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2577; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1496; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2582; Ibn Hisham, Vol. 4, p. 245; al-Tabari, Vol. 3, p. 132).

 

As for the sexual servitude of women, while the Bible commands the captivity and sexual exploitation of virgin women, the Holy Quran does not command or encourage it, nor does it celebrate their capture in victory hymns either. Instead, it categorically prohibits it. As established earlier, the Holy Quran prohibits the sexual exploitation of slave women, who were mostly brought into slavery through captivity during wars. God commanded their protection and care, the preservation of their chastity and integrity, and ultimately their liberation (Quran 24:33). The Prophetic model, which is the living embodiment of the divine Quranic teachings, demonstrates that when women and children fell into captivity under Muslim authority in times of war, they were not harmed, humiliated, abused, or mistreated in any way. They were sheltered, fed, clothed, cared for, honored, and the overwhelming majority of these women were freed with dignity (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 97; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 30; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1661). Instead of abandoning these women and children after their husbands and fathers were killed in battle or taken as prisoners of war, Muslims took them in, welcomed them into their communities, and cared for them as they would care for their own family members. These captives were given the opportunity to live and prosper under the just laws of Islamic Sharia, and they were given the chance to learn more about the teachings of Islam so that they would decide for themselves whether to embrace the faith without compulsion or remain in their religion. However, taking women and children as captives was not the standard or prevailing practice. Nowhere in the teachings of the Quran or the Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ is there a single command that instructs or encourages Muslims to take women and children as captives. The decision is left solely to the Muslim ruler, and the practice is enacted only if deemed necessary. At times, women and children were taken captive so that their lives would be preserved amidst the chaos of war. At other times, it was for the purpose of exchanging them for Muslim captives held by the enemy. In all cases, Islamic law differentiated between combatants, who could be taken captive as prisoners of war, and non-combatants, for whom captivity was only enacted under strict conditions and as means of absolute necessity.

 

The Prophet Mohammad’s humane and dignified treatment of captives, including combatant captives, modeled the perfect example of how prisoners of war should be treated. The Prophetic model, which was characterized by justice, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, and humane treatment, demonstrates beyond any doubt that Islam came from a Merciful, Kind, Gracious, and Forgiving God who has compassion for humanity and the utmost regard for the preservation of human life and dignity.

 

When the Prophet ﷺ conquered Mecca, he did not kill any of the pagan Arabs who fought against him and evicted him, his family, and followers from their homes and plundered their possessions. He pardoned everyone and simply said to them, "You are free to go." He declared a general amnesty guaranteeing the safety of every, man, women, and child, and ordained that no one shall be killed.

 

Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on the day of the conquest of Mecca, "Go, you are the free ones." (Sunan al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, Hadith 18080)

 

Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to the tribe of Quraysh on the day of the conquest of Mecca, "O people of Quraysh, what do you think I will do to you?" They said, "Good. You are a noble brother and the son of a noble brother." He said: "Go, you are free." (Sunan al-Tirmizi, Hadith 3144)

 

Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on the day of the conquest of Mecca, "Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan is safe. Whoever enters his own house is safe. Whoever enters the Sacred Mosque is safe. Whoever closes his door is safe." (Sunan al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra, Hadith 18081)

 

Rabah ibn Rabi' reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on the day of the conquest of Mecca, "No free person shall be killed after this day." (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith 2685)

 

After the Battle of Hunayn, the defeated Hawazin tribe fled, leaving behind their women and children. Six thousand captives fell into Muslim hands. This was the largest single instance of captivity during the Prophet's lifetime. What happened next is the definitive demonstration of the Islamic model. A delegation from Hawazin came to the Prophet after they had embraced Islam. They pleaded for the return of their families. They said, "O Messenger of God, we are your people and your tribe. We have been afflicted with a calamity. Grant us your favor, and may God grant you His favor." The Prophet ﷺ gave them a choice, "I will give you the choice between your families or your property." They replied, "Return our women and children to us. As for our property, we can bear its loss" (Ibn Hisham, 2009, Vol. 4, p. 134; al-Bukhari, 2011, Hadith 2602). The Prophet ﷺ returned every single woman and child, all six-thousand of them, to their families. He then turned to his companions and asked them to do the same thing voluntarily. Every companion who held a captive released them without ransom, without condition, and without hesitation. This is the Prophetic model. Six thousand women and children taken captive in war. Six thousand women and children freed. Not a single woman forced into marriage. Not a single woman kept as sexual property. Not a single woman exploited. The Prophet did not command his companions to take virgin women for themselves. He commanded them to return women to their families. This is what the mercy of God looks like when it is lived, not merely preached.

 

When the Banu al-Mustaliq (tribe) were defeated after planning an attack on Medina, captives were taken. Among them was Juwayriyyah bint al-Harith, the daughter of their chief. She came to the Prophet ﷺ seeking help to pay her ransom. She did not come as a slave. She came as a noblewoman negotiating her freedom. The Prophet ﷺ offered to pay for her ransom himself and marry her, if she consents. He said to her, "Shall I do what is better for you than this? I will pay your ransom and marry you." She accepted right away because she understood how honorable it would be for her to marry the Prophet of Allah. Upon learning that the Prophet ﷺ had married Juwayriyyah, the companions said to one another, "The in-laws of the Messenger of God shall not be held captive." They freed every captive of the Banu al-Mustaliq tribe. The marriage of the Prophet to a captive woman did not result in her degradation. It resulted in the liberation of her entire people. This is how Islam treated captives under the authority of the Prophet Mohammad ﷺ. It transforms captivity into a tool of emancipation (Abi Dawood, Hadith 3931; Ibn Hisham, 2009, Vol. 3, p. 307).

 

At the Khaybar battle, Safiyyah bint Huyayy, the daughter of a Jewish chief, was among those taken captive. She was a woman of noble lineage. The Prophet did not distribute her as property. He did not force her into a relationship. He offered her marriage and gave her the choice to accept or refuse. She accepted, and upon her marriage, she became one of the Mothers of the Believers (wives of the Prophet), a title of the highest honor in Islam, carrying with it the respect and reverence of the entire Muslim community until the end of time. Later on, Safiyyah herself recounted the stark difference between what she expected from conquest and what she received. She said, "Of all the people, I hated the Messenger of God the most, for he had killed my father and my husband. But he continued to treat me with such kindness and gentleness that by the time we reached Medina, there was no one I loved more than him" (Ibn Hisham, 2009, Vol. 3, p. 352). This pattern of kindness and good treatment was bestowed upon all captives during all the military conquests that Muslims were engaged in during the lifetime Prophet Mohammad ﷺ, and the same humane model was implemented during Muslim conquests after the death of the Prophet ﷺ.

 

The Biblical God Kills 70,000 People and Destroys Jerusalem Without Cause

 

Another unjustifiable act of divine cruelty was attributed to God by the Bible in the book of 2 Samuel (24:1-3). God is claimed to have sent a plague to kill 70,000 men, then sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem and its people for absolutely no crime committed except for a census that David conducted to number the people of Israel and Judah, which God himself incited him to do. After David conducted the census, God became angry and decided to punish all the people in Israel for a reason that cannot be logically explained by Bible scholars and commentators. As a punishment, God gave David three options to choose from, each of which involved collective punishment for the entire population. After choosing one of the punishments, God sent a plaque that killed 70,000 men, then He sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 24:11-16)

 

“Again the anger of the Lord was burned against Israel, and He incited David against them, saying, ‘Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.’ So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, ‘Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.’” (2 Samuel 24:1-2)

 

“So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and 70,000 of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, ‘Enough! Withdraw your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 

(2 Samuel 24:15-16)

 

After David saw the devastation of God’s wrath, the destruction, and the death of 70,000 people, he questioned God’s collective punishment.

 

“When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.’” (2 Samuel 24:17)

 

The same exact story of David’s census of Israel was narrated for the second time in the book of 1 Chronicles 21. However, the two narratives from these two books contradict one another. In 2 Samuel 24, it was God who commanded David to take the census, yet in 1 Chronicles 21, it was Satan who incited David to take the census. It is believed that the author of the book of 1 Chronicles altered the narrative to evade the embracement of the unjustified divine punishment that portrays God as an unjust, irrational, and cruel deity who is notorious for his collective punishments. Similarly, the reason for God’s anger in 1 Chronicles remains unclear, and when David saw what had happened, he questioned God’s judgment as well, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hands fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plaque remain on your people.” (1 Chronicles 21:17). 

 

The Biblical God Kills Forty-Two Children for Mocking Elisha’s Bold Head

 

In the book of 2 Kings (2:23-24), another striking absurdity was reported by the Bible. The Bible claims that God sent two bears to horrifically mauled and kill forty-two boys because they made fun of Elisha’s bold head. Are we as believers expected to believe that the Most Merciful and Compassionate God would be so cruel and merciless to commit such a brutal and ruthless act of violence against children just for being children?

 

“From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and mocked him. ‘Get out of here, bald head!’ they said. He turned around, looked at them and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two boys to pieces.” (2 Kings 2:23-24)

 

These recurring biblical narratives that continue to depict God as a cruel, violent, and merciless deity who is driven by anger and revenge, who is swift in ordaining collective punishment against the wicked and the righteous without distinction, including women and children, and who holds no value for the human life that He has created—taking every chance He gets to wipe out the human race—portray a false image about God Almighty and His divine qualities, an image that is completely contradicting to the Holy Quran which affirms that God is the Most-Merciful, the Most-Kind, and the Most-Compassionate. 

 

The Biblical God Strikes Miriam with Leprosy for Arguing with Moses

 

In Numbers 12:1-15, Miriam and Aaron, the sister and brother of Moses, argued with him and criticized his marriage to a Cushite woman. They questioned his unique prophetic authority, asking, "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn't He also spoken through us?" After hearing them, God became angry and summoned all three to the tent of meeting. He reprimanded Aaron and Miriam, spoke highly of His faithful servant Moses who speaks with Him face to face, and decided to punish Miriam with leprosy instantly. Aaron, however, was not punished at all. Moses begged God to heal her, but God refused immediate healing, commanding that she be confined outside the camp for seven days in disgrace.

 

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 'Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?' they asked. 'Hasn't he also spoken through us?' And the Lord heard this.” (Numbers 12:1-2)

 

He said, 'Listen to my words: When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (Numbers 12:6-8)

 

‘The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam's skin was leprous—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned 

toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease.” 

(Numbers 12:9-10)

 

“So Moses cried out to the Lord, 'Please, God, heal her!' The Lord replied to Moses, 'If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.' So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.” (Numbers 12:13-15)

 

As usual, the biblical narrative is ambiguous regarding the definitive cause for God's punishment. One could only speculate that it was because Miriam and her brother Aaron simply argued with Moses and objected to his marriage to a Cushite woman, or perhaps because they questioned Moses' authority and prophethood out of envy, despite being prophets themselves. What is clear, however, is that the biblical God’s punishment was swift, irrational, disproportionate, and unjust, especially when Aaron was not punished at all. This recurring biblical depiction of divine cruelty and injustice contradicts the true nature of an All-Wise, All-Just, and All-Merciful God.

 

In addition to the false image that the Bible continues to portray about God, the Bible seems to also accuse God’s prophets of wickedness and lack of wisdom. If Aaron and Miriam were prophets, as confirmed by the Bible, then accusing them of speaking against Moses, questioning his decisions and authority, thus questioning God’s will for choosing him as one of the greatest prophets who has ever lived, would be absurd and nonsensical. Prophets of God do not behave in such an irrational, unwise, envious, and wicked way.

 

Islam

 

God Is Merciful, Kind, And Loving

 

According to Islam, God’s mercy, compassion, and kindness are absolute and limitless. These commiserating qualities are intrinsic to God’s omnibenevolent nature. The Holy Quran has described God Almighty as the Most-Merciful, the Most-kind, and the Most-Compassionate hundreds of times. In all of these verses, God keeps reminding mankind that He is merciful, kind, compassionate, oft pardoning, and oft forgiving, so that they would not lose hope in seeking repentance and forgiveness. As mentioned earlier, God Almighty is driven by the sublime and benevolent qualities of His mercy, compassion, kindness, and unwavering desire to forgive and pardon humanity for their sins, not by wrath and revenge, as confirmed by the Hadith Qudsi, whereby God Himself affirms “My mercy has prevailed over My wrath” (Bukhari 3194 & Muslim 2751). The Holy Quran has repeatedly expressed that God’s mercy is boundless, "My mercy encompasses all things" (Holy Quran, 7:156), and that there is nothing that He cannot forgive, "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves (by sinning), do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful.'" (Holy Quran, 39:53). Let’s examine some Quranic verses about God’s absolute mercy and compassion.

 

“And whosoever does evil or wrongs himself but then seeks Allah’s forgiveness will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” (Holy Quran, 4:110)

 

“Truly, Allah (God) is full of kindness and Mercy towards mankind.” 

(Holy Quran, 2:143)

 

“Truly, your Lord is full of Kindness, Most Merciful.” (Holy Quran, 16:7)

 

And He is Oft-forgiving, Full of Love. (Holy Quran, 85:14)

 

“When those who believe in Our signs come to you, say to them, ‘peace be upon you, for your Lord has ordained Mercy upon Himself, so that whosoever does evil in ignorance and thereafter repents and does righteous deeds, then surely, He (God) is Oft-­Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Holy Quran, 6:54)

 

“Declare (O Mohammad) unto My servants, that I am the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful.” 

(Holy Quran, 15:49)

 

“But verily, your Lord is full of forgiveness for mankind in spite of their wrong-doing.” 

(Holy Quran, 13:6)

 

The Hadith literature is also replete with powerful examples of God's boundless mercy and forgiveness, often presented through vivid parables that intend to instill hope in God’s mercy or direct divine declarations that assure mankind that God is oft-forgiving. God ordains that His mercy prevails over His wrath. 

 

Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said: 

 

When Allah decreed the creation, He inscribed in His book, which is with Him above the Throne: 'Verily, My mercy prevails over My wrath.' (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2751)

 

God Is More Merciful Than a Loving and Protective Mother. 

 

In an authentic Hadith narrated by Umar bin Al-khattab, he said: 

 

From among the captives who were brought to the prophet Mohammad ﷺ, there was a woman searching for someone. When she found an infant, she took him and hugged him and breast fed him. So when the prophet Mohammad ﷺ saw this, he said to his companions, ‘Do you think that this woman would ever throw her child in the hellfire?’ The companions replied, ‘Never.’ So the prophet said, ‘Allah is more merciful to his servants than this woman to her child. 

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Haith 5999).

 

God Is Oft-Forgiving and Oft-Pardoning No Matter How Sinful Humans Are

 

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 

 

Allah Almighty said, 'O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I will forgive you despite what you have done, and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you sought My forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you were to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.' (al-Tirmizi, Hadith 3540)

 

Abu Saeed Al-Khudri reported that the prophet Mohammad ﷺ said, 

 

There was a man from among a nation before you who killed ninety-nine people. He asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a monk. He came to him and confessed that he had killed ninety-nine people, and asked if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. The monk said no, so the man killed him, completing one hundred. Then he asked again about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was directed to a scholar. He told the scholar that he had killed one hundred people and asked if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. The scholar said, 'Yes, who can stand between you and repentance? Go to such and such land, for therein are people who worship Allah. Go and worship with them, and do not return to your own land, for it is a land of evil.' So the man set out, but when he had reached halfway, death came to him. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him. The angel of mercy said, 'He came repenting, turning to Allah with his heart.' The angel of punishment said, 'He never did a good deed.' Then an angel came in the form of a man and they made him an arbiter. He said, 'Measure the distance between the two lands. Whichever land he is closer to, he belongs to it.' They measured and found him closer to the land he was heading to, so the angels of mercy took him. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3470)

 

Abu Huraira reported that the prophet Mohammad ﷺ said: 

 

There was a man who had never done any good deed. He instructed his family that when he died, they should burn him, then place half of his ashes on land and half in the sea. He said: 'By Allah, if Allah has power over me, He will surely punish me with a punishment He has never inflicted upon anyone in all the worlds.' When he died, they did this to him. Then Allah commanded the land to gather whatever it had taken, and He commanded the sea to gather whatever it had taken. Then He said to him: 'Why did you do this?' He replied: 'Out of fear of You, O my Lord, and You know best.' So Allah forgave him. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7506, Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2756)

 

In another Hadith that was narrated by Abu Huraira also, the Prophet ﷺ said: 

 

A prostitute was forgiven by Allah when she passed by a dog at a well, panting and about to die from thirst. She took off her shoe, tied it with her headcover, and drew out some water for it. So Allah forgave her for that. (Al-Bukhari, Hadith 3467; Muslim, Hadith 2245)

 

God Encourages Repentance, Welcomes Sinners, and Assures Forgiveness 

 

Abu Huraira reported that the prophet Mohammad ﷺ said: 

 

“Our Lord, blessed and exalted, descends every night to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night and says: 'Who is calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me, that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?'” 

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 758)

Anas ibn Malik reported that the prophet Mohammad ﷺ said:

 

Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than one of you who finds his camel after losing it in a barren land. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2747)

 

Abu Musa Al-Ashaari reported that the prophet ﷺ said: 

 

“Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, stretches out His Hand during the night so that those who sin by day may repent, and He stretches out His Hand during the day so that those who sin by night may repent, until the sun rises from the west.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2759)

 

God’s Mercy is Boundless.

 

Abu Huraira also reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

 

“Allah has one hundred mercies. He sent down one of them between jinn, mankind, animals, and insects, through which they show affection and mercy to one another, and through which a wild beast (animals) shows compassion to its offspring. And Allah has reserved ninety-nine mercies with which he will show mercy to His servants on the Day of Resurrection.” 

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6000)

 

Is God Neglectful? 

 

Judaism & Christianity

 

According to the bible, God is neglectful to the prayers of mankind during times of need and trouble. He forsakes his people no matter how desperate they call upon Him to aid them. This clearly contradicts God’s absolute mercy and kindness.

 

The Biblical God Is Uncompassionate: He Ignores the Prayers of Mankind

 

“Though I cry, ‘I am wronged’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness. He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree. His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies.” 

(Job 19:7-11)

“I cry out to you O God but you do not answer. I stand up but you merely look at me.”

 (Job 30:20)

 

“Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” 

(Psalms 10:1)

 

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalms 13:1)

 

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not Deaf to my weeping.” 

(Psalm 39:12)

 

“Why do You hide Your face and forget our misery and oppression?” (Psalms 44:24)

 

“I cried out to God for help. I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord… Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” (Psalm 77:1-9)

 

“O Lord God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?” (Psalm 80:4)

 

“And when I cry and call for help, He shuts out my prayer.” (Lamentations 3:8)

 

“You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can get through.” 

(Lamentations 3:44)

 

“Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?” (Lamentations 5:20)

 

“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2)

 

These biblical verses are from among the many that depict God as a merciless and negligent deity who ignores the prayers and cries of mankind, and turns a blind eye to their sufferings.

 

Islam

 

God Answers All Prayers

 

One of God’s names in Islam is “Al-Mujeeb,” meaning the responsive, the One who answers the prayers of mankind. Another name for God is “As-Sami,” meaning the All-Hearing, and this name has two meanings. The first meaning is that God hears every little tiny sound or voice in the universe no matter how soft it is or difficult to hear. He hears the sound that each leaf makes when it falls from the tree, He hears the footsteps of every insect in its dwelling underground, He hears the wiggling sounds of the tales and fins of every sea creature deep in the ocean, and He hears the heartbeat of every living being that exists in the universe simultaneously. He even hears the whispers of every soul, the conversation of every heart, and the thoughts of every mind. The second meaning is that He Almighty hears our prayers and answers them. When the prophet was asked if God was near so that worshippers should pray to him in a low voice or was He far so that worshippers should pray to Him in a loud voice? God Almighty answered them back by revealing these Quranic verses, “And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, say, ‘I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.’” (Holy Quran 2:186). In another incident, the prophet Mohammad ﷺ heard some worshippers pray to God in a loud voice, so he told them, “You people are not praying to a deaf or absent God; you are praying to a God who is All-Hearing and Ever-Near” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4028 & Sunan Al-Tirmizi, Hadith 3605). 

 

God Is Compassionate with His Creation

 

Unlike the biblical God who is neglectful and irresponsive to the prayers of mankind, according to Islam, Allah is a merciful and loving God who always hears and answers our prayers, and He is always there for us in times of need, stress, and hardship. Such premise has been communicated all throughout the Holy Quran.

 

“Certainly, my Lord is Near, Responsive (to your prayers).” (Holy Quran 11:61)

 

“And your Lord said, ‘Call upon Me and I will respond to you (answer your prayers).’” 

(Holy Quran 40:60)

 

“Is it not He (God) who responds to the distressed one when he calls upon Him, and removes the evil and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations? Is there another God besides Allah? How Little you reflect!” (Holy Quran 27:62)

 

“And He gave you of all that you have asked, and if you count the Blessings of God, never will you be able to count them.” (Holy Quran 14:34)

 

“Say (O Muhammad), ‘Who rescues you from the darkness of the land and the sea when you call upon Him in humility and in secret, “If He (God) saves us from this, we shall truly be grateful”’? Say (O Muhammad), ‘God rescues you from it and from all distresses, and yet you worship others besides God.’” (Holy Quran 6:63-64)

 

“And (remember) Noah, when he called out to Us before. So We responded to him (answered his prayer) and saved him and his family from the great distress.” 

(Holy Quran 21:76)

 

“And (remember) Job, when he called out to his Lord, ‘Indeed, distress has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.’ So We responded to him (answered his 

prayer) and removed what afflicted him of distress, and We restored to him his family and the like thereof with them as a mercy from Ourselves and a reminder for the worshippers.” 

(Holy Quran 21:83-84)

 

“And (remember) Jonah, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree anything upon him. Then he cried out in the darkness, ‘There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.’ So We responded to him (answered his prayer) and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.” 

(Holy Quran 21:87-88)

 

“And (remember) Zechariah, when he called out to his Lord, ‘My Lord, do not leave me alone (childless), though You are the Best of the inheritors.’ So We responded to him (answered his prayer) and bestowed upon him John, and We made his wife fit for him. Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and call upon Us in hope and fear, and they were humbly submissive to Us.” (Holy Quran 21:89-90)

 

“All praise is due to God, who has bestowed upon me in my old age Ishmael and Isaac! Indeed, my Lord hears all prayers.” (Holy Quran 14:39)

 

The Prophet Mohammad ﷺ said:

 

“There is no Muslim who calls upon Allah with a supplication in which there is no sin or cutting of family ties, but Allah will give him one of three things: either He will answer his prayer quickly, or He will store it up for him in the Hereafter, or He will avert an equivalent evil from him. The Companions said, ‘Then we will make many supplications.’ The Prophet replied, ‘Allah is even more generous (than you expect).’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6303)

 

The Prophet ﷺ reported God saying: 

 

“I am as My servant thinks of Me. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself. If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a better gathering. If he draws near to Me by a handspan, I draw near to him by an arm's length. If he draws near to Me by an arm's length, I draw near to him by a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7405)

 

The Prophet ﷺ said that God said: 

 

“O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I will forgive you despite what you have done, and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you sought My forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you were to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.

 (Sunan al-Tirmizi, Hadith 3540)