In one of his articles1 Mr. Jochen Katz has pointed out a contradiction in Al-Ankaboot 29: 27 and Al-Nah’l 16: 36.
The relevant part of Al-Ankaboot 29: 27 reads as:
وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِ النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْكِتَابَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ
And we gave him [i.e. Abraham] Isaac and Jacob and made prophethood in his progeny.
While the relevant part of Al-Nah’l 16: 36 reads as:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا
And We have sent a messenger among all peoples.
Explaining the contents of these verses, Mr. Katz writes:
Surah 29:27 states that all prophets came [from] Abraham’s seed. But 16:36 claims that Allah raised messengers from among every people.
Though I really wonder if this objection is really intended seriously by Mr. Katz or is it just included in the list to, somehow, complete the half-century of ‘contradictions’ in the Qur’an, yet I present below the obvious:
The former verse does not say: “all prophets came [from] Abraham’s seed”, on the contrary, it only states that God made prophets from among the progeny of Abraham (pbuh). In fact, according to the Qur’an, initially God sent his messengers among all the various peoples in the world. However, after Abraham (pbuh), prophethood was restricted among the progeny of Abraham (pbuh).
This brief explanation should adequately clarify the two referred verses and their mutual relationship.
© Copyright April 2001. All Rights Reserved with the Author
- The complete article may be accessed at: http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/qi038.html [↩]