101 Reasons Why We Left Islam – Chapter 3: Islam and Science – Reason 19
You do not need a PhD in Mathematics to figure out two blatant mathematical errors in the Quran. In fact, most 4th or 5th grade primary school children can figure out this one. But clearly, the desert dweller of that time, who rightly proclaimed to be illiterate, made some very silly mistakes. Where every other scenario, the numbers do add up, there are two scenarios that it does not. But one thing you can bet on is that Islamists will apply all the mental gymnastics they have to try to fix it.
In Reason #10 for leaving Islam, we discussed inheritance and that a male will always get at least two shares of the females, if not more. That was the first ruling and this is not disputed by all mainstream Islamic scholars of all dominations because it is clearly stated in the Quran. However, as the author of the Quran was too obsessed with the notion of making males heirs get more than females, they made primary school mathematical errors if there are no male heirs should the husband or wife die. We have highlighted the relevant verses below.
Quran 4:11
Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. *But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one’s estate.* And if there is only one, for her is half. *And for one’s parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children.* But if you are childless and your parents are the only heirs, then your mother will receive one-third. But if you leave siblings, then your mother will receive one-sixth—after the fulfilment of bequests and debts. ˹Be fair to˺ your parents and children, as you do not ˹fully˺ know who is more beneficial to you. ˹This is˺ an obligation from Allah. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Quran 4:12
And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. *But if you leave a child, then for them (your wife) is an eighth of what you leave,* —after the fulfilment of bequests and debts. And if a man or a woman leaves neither parents nor children but only a brother or a sister ˹from their mother’s side˺, they will each inherit one-sixth, but if they are more than one, they ˹all˺ will share one-third of the estate—after the fulfilment of bequests and debts without harm ˹to the heirs˺. ˹This is˺ a commandment from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, Most Forbearing.
If the husband dies and he has only daughters, their share is two third. Two third 2/3rd that is 66.7%. Let us say the husband has $100, then his daughters however many they are will share $66.7. And for the parents, they will get each 1/6th. One sixth, using any calculator, is 16.7%. If both, each gets 16.7%. Together they add up to 33.3%, or $33.3. Yes, we reached a total of 100% or $100.0. But wait, what happens to the wife? Where is her share? The next verse clearly state that should the husband die, 1/8th of left to his wife. 1/8th is 12.5%, or $12.5. Now, this does not add up anymore. If a husband dies leaving $100 with two or more daughters:
- Wife gets $12.5.
- Daughters get $66.7.
- Parents get $33.3.
- The total is $112.5, Subhan Allah it is a miracle!
I told you it is elementary math that a 9 year old would not do. As we said, this is not the only time. In scenario 2, the wife or husband dies and she has no children we find verse 4:12 was left hanging. We have scenarios of the husband or wife having brothers AND sisters. But what if they only have brothers OR sisters? The Prophet was pressed to address such scenario that was completely missed some 160 verses earlier (Opps, Allah forgot!). So, the instructions comes appended as the very last verse in this chapter 4 as if to say ‘oh yeah and also’. Again, we highlighted here the key parts but feel free to read it all.
Quran 4:176
They ask you ˹for a ruling, O Prophet˺. Say, “Allah gives you a ruling regarding those who die without children or parents.” If a man dies childless and leaves behind a sister, she will inherit one-half of his estate, whereas her brother will inherit all of her estate if she dies childless. *If this person leaves behind two sisters, they together will inherit two-thirds of the estate*. But if the deceased leaves male and female siblings, a male’s share will be equal to that of two females. Allah makes ˹this˺ clear to you so you do not go astray. And Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.
In the scenario 2 of the wife dying with no children or parents but only two sisters, the sisters’ share is 2/3rd or 66.7%. What is the share of the husband? The verse does not say. So, we need to go back to the first point in verse 4:12 that has a ruling on wife dying without children.
Quran 4:12
*And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child*.
Again, let us take a scenario. The wife dies leaving $100.00. She has no parents, just a husband and two sisters. According to the Quran:
- Two sisters get $66.7
- Husband gets $50.0
- Total= $116.7, another miracle of Allah!
What is more shocking is the extent Islamic scholars went to in order to fix the Quran. Sunni, Shia, and other Islamic domination went through huge mental gymnastics to fix these two issues. Culturally, Islamists made the topic of talking about inheritance a taboo. Discussing inheritance is considered sinister and tempting death to yourself or to your family. Inheritance is not discussed, not addressed, or spoken about in Islamic classes – except in quick passing comments. Maybe because they realised there are some questionable issues and they do not want to ‘confuse’ people. But also because of how ridiculous it is presented. We were told that only Islamic scholar deal with these verses. You think not every Islamic scholar has come across this problem? Of course they did. But the combination of mental gymnastics and defending Islam at any cost meant they were able to “reinvent new ways” to recalculate it.
Typical responses from Islamic pages and Dawah are listed below:
“It is not a mistake, both you and the missionary are confused. The details of the Qur’aan are in the hadeeth and the hadeeth has been expounded by the fuqahaa. Hence, they have explained that this is not a mathematical mistake of the Qur’aan. Instead in such a situation the estate will be divided into 27 shares. Such a situation is referred to as `oul by the fuqahaa. What the Qur’aan has mentioned is just the principal issues…”
“This problem that this atheist presented to you is not a problem in reality. The scholars have responded to it. This problem is not limited to the scenario that he mentioned. Rather there are many other similar scenarios. The scholars call this type of issue ‘awl. What it means according to the scholars of inheritance is a case where the sum of the prescribed shares is greater than the inheritance. The way to resolve this kind of issue is to reduce the share of each of the heirs proportionately in each case of ‘awl. This is what is fair, so that no one heir will bear the entire shortfall whilst others lose nothing [that is, they will all be affected equally].”
Issue 19.1. How can the Quran make such an elementary mistake? This proves that the Quran is invented by a fallible human who is illiterate who failed to add the numbers up. What is more, the fundamental rule that males get twice the share of females was clearly broken in multiple places, proving the math turned out to be too much for the author of the Quran.
Apologist response:
Issue 19.1. The Quran was not referring to a whole when it was giving fractional numbers of the inheritance. When the Quran says, husband gets half of what the wife leaves it was not talking about actual half or 50% of the inheritance but a numerical share but rather 50 shares. It is about adding up share fractions or shares of all the inheritance and then dividing the inheritance over the shares. Let me explain:
In scenario 1:
- Wife gets 12.5 shares
- Daughters get 66.7 shares
- Parents get 33.3 shares
- Total 112.5 shares
The husband who leaves $100, will divide it over 112.5 shares. So, it works out as follows
- Wife gets $11.1
- Daughters get $59.3
- Parents get $29.6
- Total: $100
The same process is applied for scenario 2 but divided over a share of 116.7.
- Two sisters get $57.2
- Husband gets $42.8
- Total= $100.
See, it all adds up.
>> Our response: Yet again, we rely on humans to fix the Quran. In all the original scenarios, the number of fractions did added up to 1 or 100%. And to accept your argument, it means when Allah says to a husband in Quran 4:12
“And for you is HALF of what your wives leave if they have no child…”
Allah did not mean half. Allah meant 42.8% or 50 shares out of 112 5 shares if she has two sisters! Allah does not know what half is! Because as much as you try to square a circle, it does not work. Also, 42.8% violates the golden rule whereby a male gets twice as much as females. The same applies to scenario 1. If you look at verse 4:11 that says daughters will get 2/3rd of the inheritance of their dad’s inheritance yet they end up getting less than 60%.
Final Thoughts:
The theme we will see throughout this chapter is the utter desperation of Islamic scholars and Islamists to fix the eternal words of Allah – even though the Quran was supposed to be perfect message that anyone should be able to read and understand. It is very evident in the first scenario where the Prophet simply forgot the share of the wife. If you add up the share of the daughters and the parents, it adds up to 100%. In the second scenario, it is evident from the location of the verse, appended in the last minute as the very last verse, the Prophet may have been trying to address scenarios of a wife or a husband dying with just sisters or brothers. But even then, it is very odd verse. It mentions one sister, and two sisters. What about many sisters? What would happen if there are three four or five sisters. Why two? It does not make sense. But when a person is trying to patch something in the last minute, they make mistakes and, in this scenario, he forgot that in verse 4:12 he had promised the husband half his wife’s estate! As a mere human, I could have fixed these verses better:
- Scenario 1: If the husband dies with no sons: The wives and daughters get 2/3rd split equally. Wives were always going to get a smaller share anyways. The parents get 1/3rd split equally. Adds up to 1 or 100%.
- Scenario 2: If the wife dies with no parents or children and has only sisters: All sisters get half and husband gets half. Not only does this add up to 100% but also maintains the equilibrium of male getting at least twice as much as females.