Title: Is There a Contradiction Between Taahaa 20:65-70 and Ash-shuraa 26:32-48? Question: A critic has pointed out that the qur'aan repeats the same incident in variant form and that is a possibility that the Qur'aan is a work of multiple authors. Going back to the contradiction the critic says that "the Magicians throw and Moses is struck with fear until God tells him to throw his own stick. In the version in ash-Shu'araa, Moses throws his stick BEFORE Pharaoh ever calls his magicians, and is already confident of what he can do come crunch time (thus there is no mention of him being afraid). So did Moses throw his stick for the first time when he met the magicians, or had he done it before? " He mentions in his article that the version mentioned of the same incident in surah al-araf does not have Musa (pbuh) being AFRAID as is the case with 20:67-70... Moses conceived a fear in himself. We said: "Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand.. He goes on to say that in Soorat Yoonus 10:79-83 there is no mention of the Egyptians converting but all the other 3 versions have the Egyptians magicians converting and believing in "Lord of Moses and Aaron". In your opinion how do you resolve this? Answer: You wrote: Is there a contradiction between Taahaa 20:65-70 and as-shuraa 26:32-48? A critic has pointed out that the qur'aan repeats the same incident in variant form and that is a possibility that the Qur'aan is a work of multiple authors. I would rather say that the fact that the Qur'an recounts the same events from various angles to suit the particular message that it is expounding in each case and to suit the context in which it is placed, indicates strongly that the Qur'an is a well knit and coherent Book. If as seems to be the case for the "critic", the person beholds the Book as though it were intending to give a detailed step by step historic account of the incident, then the flaw is only in the reader for not understanding the purpose of the citation which should be quite clear when looked at from the correct perspective (i.e. within its context). As I go on to explain your particular query, you shall Inshallah be in a better position to realize this. You wrote: Going back to the contradiction the critic says that " the Magicians throw and Moses is struck with fear until God tells him to throw his own stick. In the version in ash-Shu'araa, Moses throws his stick BEFORE Pharaoh ever calls his magicians, and is already confident of what he can do come crunch time (thus there is no mention of him being afraid). So did Moses throw his stick for the first time when he met the magicians, or had he done it before? A more attentive look at the verses in Surah Ta' Ha' would reveal that it does actually make reference to the incident that occurred before the summoning of the magicians, albeit, in less detail. For instance, it states: He (i.e. Pharaoh) said: Have you come to drive us out from our land by your magic, O Moses? But we surely can produce magic the like thereof; so appoint an appointed time between us and you, which neither we nor you shall fail to keep at a place convenient (to us both). Surah Ta' Ha' 20:57-58) The "magic" that is here referred to is obviously what is also referred to in the other Surahs (i.e. like the "throwing of his stick"). You wrote: He mentions in his article that the version mentioned of the same incident in surah al-araf does not have Musa (pbuh) being AFRAID as is the case with 20:67-70... Moses conceived a fear in himself. We said: "Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand... Things can only be considered contradictory if they cannot possibly stand together. Leaving this detail out in Surah Al Aa'raaf doesn't make it contradictory. Remember, it is not declared anywhere that the Qur'an is intending to give the full account of what happened in each or even any of the Surahs in which reference to it is made. You wrote: He goes on to say that in Soorat Yoonus 10:79-83 there is no mention of the Egyptians converting but all the other 3 versions have the Egyptians magicians converting and believing in "Lord of Moses and Aaron". In your opinion how do you resolve this? The Surah makes short references to Messengers who were rejected by the majority of their addressees. It explains that they were saved and their enemies were defeated. Obviously, this is supposed to be a warning for the addressees of Muhammad (p), who knowing that he claims to be a Messenger should also then be aware that their denying him would put them in the same boat as the former deniers of the truth. Thus, when it is said: "But none believed in Moses except a group of his people, because of the fear of Pharaoh and their chiefs, lest he should persecute them; and most surely Pharaoh was lofty in the land; and most surely he was of the extravagant." (Surah Yunus 10:83) Those among the Children of Israel who accepted him along with the magicians and the wife of the Pharaoh are actually included among the "group of his people" who believed in him. In my view, "his people" is referring to all those that he came to address. This is substantiated by the fact that the purpose of mentioning these stories of the Prophets (p) was to show what happened when they were sent to "their people" and how the Messengers along with the few that accepted them were saved while the rest were punished. Thus, a few verses prior to the above verse, it is said: "Then after him (i.e. Noah) We sent (many) messengers to their peoples: they brought them Clear Signs, but they would not believe what they had already rejected beforehand. Thus do We seal the hearts of the transgressors." (Surah Yunus 10:74) Here, the words "their peoples" is clearly referring to those whom the Messengers were addressing. Lastly, I will provide a set of "examples", all concerning a sad incident that recently occurred. I will explain it in various ways and you shall see that I'll do it without contradicting myself. In other words, all the various ways will be true. Example 1: My Grandmother recently passed away. We were all surprised to hear this as she was a strong and healthy woman. It was also very disappointing especially since she was shortly going to visit us and see us after such a long time. Example 2: My Grandmother recently passed away. She was well until a cable got cut which left her without electricity. She couldn't cook her food, had to use cold water and was left in the dark. She rarely had anyone coming over to help her. One day she took food from the fridge which wasn't edible anymore and this made her seriously ill. Though her health improved for a while, she died two months later. Example 3: My Grandmother recently died. There was no electricity and she ended up eating food which had already been rendered uneatable. She was all on her own. My Father rushed over to help her and took her to the hospital. This enabled her to live for two more months until she eventually passed away. She was complaining that she felt extreme pain in her heart. My Father got a car and rushed to the hospital with her but sadly she died in the car. They tried to resuscitate her but to no avail. To Allah (Swt) we belong and to Him we shall return. All three examples overall refer to the same thing; the unfortunate loss of someone dear to me; my grandmother. However, they are of differing length and from various angles. In the last example I point out that she was all on her own, while in the second example I state that there was hardly ever anyone coming over to help her. This may at first appear to be a contradiction but if you examine both, you may be able to reach the correct conclusion which is that she was indeed on her own but occasionally was given a little help by someone who came over. Thus, by looking at the various ways in which I explained this, which in each case, I might have mentioned in a particular context and to a particular scenario; then you will be able to put the puzzle together and get more of the story. Now coming to the point; a person who is ignorant of what I'm doing may conclude that I'm making a bad job of recounting the incident exactly how it happened. A proper look at it though, would reveal that I'm not even interested in giving a detailed word for word account of what happened in each or even any of the examples. I trust you now can see the error in the "critic's" approach and subsequent conclusion on this issue. In the first example I merely mention that she passed away and that we were very upset whilst also mentioning her plan to visit us. In the second and third example I make no mention of this plan. Now, this in no way nullifies the existence of the plan, that I forgot or that I was contradicting myself. I was very aware of it, but didn't feel the need to mention it in the other two occasions. Had I said in another occasion that "She was to remain in Pakistan to her death and thus we were going to visit her", then I would have been contradicting myself because she cannot be on her way to visit us whilst also remaining in her home, waiting for us to visit her. The two examples would then have been mutually contradictory since they cannot both work together. You'll appreciate the difference between keeping out some information and having contradictory information. Leaving something out at one point while adding more at another does not necessarily make the two accounts contradictory. It is perfectly possible for both to be true. In the second example I state that the electricity went off because a cable got cut and this was not mentioned in the first example. Although I mentioned that there was no electricity in the third example, I did not mention that this was because the cable got cut. Nonetheless, this again does not mean that I am contradicting myself or that I am unaware of it. In the last example I mention that my Father came over and that she died on her way to the hospital after my Father tried his best to prevent it. This all finds absolutely no mention whatsoever in the first two examples. Again, I was fully aware of this when I cited the earlier examples, only I didn't feel the need to give that extra detail. It would have been contradictory, had I, on another occasion, stated that "he remained at home and regrets not having went over to see her once more". As it happens; I only left out the detail of where she died and about my Father and this does not make it contradictory. Hope this helps, Please keep my Grandmother in your prayers, Hischam Khan January 5, 2005