Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
General Christian
Education and Religion
The Quran and the Torah: Two Incredible Blunders from Allah

The Quran and the Torah: Two Incredible Blunders from Allah

Last updated on: June 18, 2026 at 6:34 pm by Todd Weller

0 Comments

The Quran and the Torah: Two Incredible Blunders from Allah 2026-06-18T18:34:26-05:00 Todd Weller

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Recap

In our previous article, we explored what is known as the Islamic Dilemma. In case you do not remember, the Islamic Dilemma goes as follows:

If the Torah and Injil are preserved, then Islam is false because they contradict the Quran. (Note: The Quran over and over again confirms the Scriptures that came before it.)
On the other hand, if the Injil and the Torah are corrupted, then Islam is false because this would mean that Allah would not only be sending his prophet to corrupted Scripture in order to clear up any doubt (see Surah 10:94) but both Muhammad and Allah would constantly promote corrupted scripture to their audience.

Muslims will try to split the 2 horns of the dilemma by saying either:

The Quran is a “general confirmation” of the previous Scriptures,

The Quran is referring to Scriptures before corruption took place.

The problem with eiher of these 2 responses is 2-fold:

First, Allah is adamant that no one can change his words (6:115)
Second, The Torah and Injil were in the hands of the People of Book (Surah 2:89.)

To put it frankly, this dilemma is unbreakable if Muslims are honest with the text in front of them.

Listing Key Differences

In the last article, I also presented a list of contradictions between the Torah and Injil and the Quran. If these contradictions hold up, then this would mean that, again, Islam is false because it would go against Scripture that it claims to confirm.

Here is the list from the previous article.

In the Gospels, Jesus dies and resurrects from the dead. The Quran teaches that he did neither of those things.
In the Gospels, Jesus claims to be the Son of God. The Quran does not teach this.
In the Gospels, Jesus teaches a multi-personal God. The Quran rejects this and teaches Unitarianism.
In the Gospels, Jesus teaches that God is Spirit. In the Quran Allah is described as having a multitude of attributes but doesn’t clarify the ontology of Allah himself.
The Torah teaches that Gideon brought his soldiers to a river to test them according to God’s commands. The Quran claims this to be Saul.
The Torah shows Pharaoh chasing the Israelites down and drowning in the Red Sea with no repentance. The Quran teaches that he repented

Let’s look at 2 of these stories more closely, beginning with the apparent repentance of Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s Last Breath

In the 13th century B.C, the Israelites had been enslaved in the land of Egypt and were made to build 2 cities, Pi-Ramesses and Pithom. Moses and Aaron, were then sent by the Lord, Yahweh, to free the people of Israel from their enslavement and then to bring them to the promised land of Canaan.

According to the Torah, Yahweh sent 10 plagues that would directly challenge the Egyptian deities. Plagues of frogs and flies, locusts and boils were imminent. Fire and Ice fell from heaven. Livestock died. The River and all of the water sources turned to blood. And finally, as an act of justice for the killing of the Hebrew children when they were enslaved, Yahweh enacted the most terrifying of the 10 plagues: the killing of the 1st born male of all the Egyptian and Jewish families whose doorposts were not covered by the blood of the Passover Lamb.

Pharaoh, after hardening his heart and after Yahweh handed him over to his sin (denoted by Yahweh hardening his heart) relented and allowed the Israelites to leave their bonds of slavery.

Of course, those familiar with the story are aware that Pharaoh chases the Israelites; then, he is swept away into the Red Sea with his army of charioteers. Thus, ends the story of Pharaoh, whose rule would, of course, be replaced by a successor.

The Biblical Account of Pharaoh Attacking the Israelites

In the Biblical account of Pharaoh’s drowning, found in Exodus 12:31-15:19, we see that the people of Israel were frightened by the sight of Pharaoh’s forces. Moses, being corrected by God, used his staff to split the Red Sea so that the Israelites could walk safely across.

This is where we see a key difference. Let’s compare the 2 accounts.

In Exodus, 14:23-30, we read:

The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed[b] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

What We See in the Account and An Interesting Contrast

Notice, there is no repentance that comes from Pharaoh. While he does cry aloud that “the LORD” is fighting for Israel, bear in mind that it was customary for scribes to write “The Lord” instead of “Adonai” or “Yahweh” in Israelite texts. This was done as a sign of reverence and ultimate respect for the name of God. Thus, this cannot be taken as a form of repentance because he would simply be stating that another god (in his eyes) was fighting for his people, just as Egyptian gods would be attributed to bless the Egyptians from time to time.

Also, bear in mind that no sacrifice is made nor does Pharaoh ask for forgiveness from Adonai. No regret is shown either.

He dies during his evil attack on the Israelites, whom he had just freed. Contrast this with the Quranic account of Pharaoh moments before he died.

We brought the Children of Israel across the sea. Then Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them unjustly and oppressively. But as Pharaoh was drowning, he cried out, “I believe that there is no god except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am ˹now˺ one of those who submit.” – Surah 10:90

Pharaoh, according to the Quran, is not only the first Muslim (which is an issue since a number of individuals are called the “First” Muslim in the Quran), but this contradicts the Old Testament text. In the Torah, there is no repentance. Yet, in the Quran, there is repentance. If I’m a Jew in 8th-century Arabia, and I’m told to check the Torah that I have in my hands to see if the Revelation of Muhammad is correct, then I have clear grounds to reject him.

The Story of Gideon

Gideon was a well-known Judge of Israel, a military and political leader raised up by Yahweh to free his people from captivity. We can read about his story in the book of Judges, along with many other Judges of Israel. When the Israelites sinned and did evil in the Lord’s sight, they were handed over to the Midianites as a form of judgment. Gideon was raised up by Yahweh to fight back and to lead the people of Israel to repentance and victory. You may read the full account in Judges 6-8.

The focus of this article is the test that God gave to Gideon in order to decide who would be in his army.

In chapter 7 of Judges, Gideon started with 32,000 soldiers. The 2 tests included the following:

See who is afraid
Watch how they drink water

Once the Gideon’s army was asked to leave they were afraid, 22,000 soldiers left, leaving 10,000.

The second test is where we must now focus.

In Judges 7: 4-8, we read:

But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

So, Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” So, Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

Notice the following:

It was Gideon who was called to fight the Midianites
Gideon was one to challenge his soldiers causing 22,000 to leave.
Gideon brought his soldiers to the water to have them drink from it as a test by Yahweh.

Keep in mind, that this is Gideon’s test. Who does the Quran say was given this test?

Is it Gideon?

Let’s take a look at whom the Quran attributes the test.

The Quran’s Version

When Saul marched forth with his army, he cautioned: “Allah will test you with a river. So, whoever drinks ˹his fill˺ from it is not with me, and whoever does not taste it—except a sip from the hollow of his hands—is definitely with me.” They all drank ˹their fill˺ except for a few!

When he and the ˹remaining˺ faithful with him crossed the river, they said, “Now we are no match for Goliath and his warriors.” But those ˹believers˺ who were certain they would meet Allah reasoned, “How many times has a small force vanquished a mighty army by the Will of Allah! And Allah is ˹always˺ with the steadfast.” – Surah 2:249

Notice 2 key differences:

According to the Quran, Saul brought his soldiers to the River to drink from it; Not Gideon.
In the Quran, the soldiers who were frightened were not sent home. They were encouraged to stay! In the Torah, Gideon’s frightened forces were encouraged to leave.

Did Saul have a test with a river before facing the Philistines?

Let’s look at the Old Testament account and see.

Saul and the Philistines

The interaction between Saul’s forces and the Philistine army takes place in 1 Samuel 17. Feel free to go to the link in order to read it in full.

Notice a few things:

The Quran presents that there were soldiers who were confident in God. The account in 1 Samuel 17 (which is way closer to the event itself) presents the Israelites has being terrified of the taunts of Goliath.
The Quranic account presents an ordeal of a river being given to Saul and his army. In 1 Samuel 17, we see no ordeal of a river.
In 1 Samuel 17, David speaks up and presses Saul to kill the Philistine champion. In the Quran, David is, seemingly, silent.

If I were a Jew in the 8th century being told to check the Scripture that is in my hands to verify Muhammad’s message, I would reject it.

What is Happening Here?

I’m sure there are many responses that those engaged in Dawah would give to these differences. I would love to see the responses below.

In the meantime, let’s explore three explanations:

The Quran corrects both the Saul account and, presumably, the account of Gideon. But, keep in mind that the Jews and Christians are constantly pushed to the books in their hands and the previous Scriptures by Allah and his prophet. When they go back to the accounts in their books, they can conclude that Islam is false.
Muhammad has no idea what is in the Torah. It, of course, is well-known that Muhammad was a 7th-century caravan raider. Therefore, because of this occupation, it’s highly plausible that Muhammad would come across these stories, and, perhaps, put his Islamic twist on them. Of course, this makes Islam false because he would not be reciting from Allah. He would instead be reciting from memory and, even worse, misremembering important details, then presenting them as if they were from God.
The biblical accounts are correct, making the Quran false. If the Quran is false, then this means that Islam is false.