Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama anna al-Quran mutanaqid

Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama anna al-Quran mutanaqid (Arabic: حكم الإسلام فيمن زعم أن القرآن متناقض, lit. 'The Ruling of Islam Concerning Whosoever Claims that the Quran Is Contradictory') is a theological and legal treatise by the Saudi scholar Ibn Baz (1330–1420 AH / 1910–1999 CE) addressing claims of internal contradictions and superstitions in the Quran and derogatory statements regarding the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1.

Background and Context

The treatise was written in 1394 AH (1974 CE) while Ibn Baz served as president of the Islamic University of Madinah Majmu Fatawa wa Maqalat M…+1. It was prompted by reports published in the Lebanese newspaper al-Shihab on 23 Rabi al-Awwal 1394 AH (1 April 1974 CE), and the Tunisian daily al-Sabah, covering a speech delivered by the President of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba, at an educational colloquium Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1. The speech allegedly accused the Quran of containing rational contradictions and superstitions, described the Prophet ﷺ as a simple desert traveler who incorporated local legends into scripture, criticized the Islamic division of inheritance, and defended the prohibition of polygamy through ruler-directed legal modification (ijtihad) Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1.

Prior to composing the full treatise, Ibn Baz sent an urgent telegram on 7 Rabi al-Thani 1394 AH demanding an official public retraction or repentance Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…. On 16 Rabi al-Thani 1394 AH, a joint telegram was dispatched by Ibn Baz alongside several international scholars: Hasanayn Muhammad Makhluf (former Grand Mufti of Egypt), Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Hasani al-Nadwi (secretary-general of Nadwat al-Ulama in Lucknow), Abu Bakr Mahmud Gumi (Grand Qadi of Northern Nigeria), and Dr. Muhammad Amin al-Misri Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1. On 1 Jumada al-Ula 1394 AH, the Tunisian ambassador to Saudi Arabia delivered a written reply from the Director of the Presidential Cabinet, Chedli Klibi (al-Shadhili al-Qulaybi), asserting Bourguiba's defense of Islam and denying intentional insult Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…. Ibn Baz replied that private reassurances were insufficient and that a public denial was religiously obligatory, appending this detailed treatise to his correspondence Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1.

Content and Arguments

The work establishes the legal verdict concerning such statements and systematically refutes six specific claims:

1. The Ruling on Slandering the Quran and the Prophet ﷺ: Ibn Baz argues on the basis of the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus (ijma') that alleging contradictions or falsehood in the Quran, or disparaging the Prophet ﷺ, constitutes major disbelief (kufr akbar) and apostasy (riddah) from Islam Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama….
2. Refutation of Quranic Contradiction: Addressing the claim of contradiction between verses on divine predestination ( قُلْ لَنْ يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا , "Say, 'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us'") and verses on human agency ( إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ , "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves"), the author demonstrates their harmony in Islamic theology, where divine decree encompasses both causes and effects Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1.
3. Defense of Quranic Narratives: He refutes the characterization of miracles—such as the staff of Moses and the narrative of the Companions of the Cave—as myths incompatible with modern science, affirming their literal reality as divine signs Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama….
4. Defense of Prophetic Revelation: He rejects the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as a desert traveler absorbing folklore, establishing his divine inspiration and infallibility in transmitting revelation Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1.
5. Fixed Rulings on Inheritance and Polygamy: He responds to objections against the female inheritance share and the restriction of polygamy, maintaining that explicit Quranic legal texts (nusus) are immutable and that ijtihad is restricted to subsidiary matters lacking definitive textual evidence, rather than altering established divine statutes under the guise of societal evolution Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama…+1.
6. Supplication and Veneration: He addresses the claim that invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ amounts to deification, explaining that asking God to bestow peace and blessings upon His Messenger is an act of obedience commanded in the Quran rather than worship of a created being Hukm al-Islam fiman zaama….

Publication

The treatise was originally published as an official bulletin (no. 9) by the Islamic University of Madinah Majmu Fatawa wa Maqalat M…. It was also published in the scholarly journal Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah and subsequently incorporated into the first volume of Ibn Baz's collected writings, Majmu' Fatawa wa-Maqalat Mutanawwi'ah Majmu Fatawa wa Maqalat M…+1.