Qur'an 5:21
Qur'an
يَٰقَوْمِ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْأَرْضَ ٱلْمُقَدَّسَةَ ٱلَّتِى كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَرْتَدُّوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَدْبَارِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُوا۟ خَٰسِرِينَ
O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back [from fighting in Allah 's cause] and [thus] become losers."
Sūrat al-Māʾidah
The Land
Authentic
Moses tells the Israelites to enter “the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you” (kataba Allāhu lakum). Islamic scripture itself records a divine grant of the land to the Children of Israel.
- the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you
Qur'an 17:104
Qur'an
وَقُلْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ لِبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱسْكُنُوا۟ ٱلْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًۭا
And We said after Pharaoh to the Children of Israel, "Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering."
Sūrat al-Isrāʾ
The Land
Authentic
Spoken to the Children of Israel: “Dwell in the land,” with a final “gathering” at the end of days. Read by some as affirming the Jewish presence and return.
Qur'an 5:32
Qur'an
مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًۭا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.
Sūrat al-Māʾidah
Mercy & Justice
Authentic
The famous “whoever saves a life saves all mankind.” Usually left out: it is addressed to the Children of Israel, and the next verse (5:33) prescribes execution or amputation for those who “wage war against Allah.”
- he had saved mankind entirely
Qur'an 5:8
Qur'an
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُونُوا۟ قَوَّٰمِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَآءَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَـَٔانُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا۟ ۚ ٱعْدِلُوا۟ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.
Sūrat al-Māʾidah
Mercy & Justice
Authentic
“Do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just.” A clear call to even-handedness.
- do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just
Qur'an 2:256
Qur'an
لَآ إِكْرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشْدُ مِنَ ٱلْغَىِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
Sūrat al-Baqarah
Mercy & Justice
Authentic
“No compulsion in religion.” Widely cited for tolerance; classical scholars debate whether later verses abrogate it.
Qur'an 109:6
Qur'an
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ
For you is your religion, and for me is my religion."
Sūrat al-Kāfirūn
Mercy & Justice
Authentic
“To you your religion, and to me mine.”
- For you is your religion, and for me is my religion
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 13
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Anas: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Faith
Mercy & Justice
Authentic
Empathy as the test of faith. (Note the wording “his Muslim brother.”)
- wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself
Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1924
Hadith
Sahih
The merciful are shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One above the heavens will be merciful to you.
Book of Virtue
Mercy & Justice
Authentic
Graded authentic; a foundational text on mercy.
- Be merciful to those on the earth
Qur'an 9:5
Qur'an
فَإِذَا ٱنسَلَخَ ٱلْأَشْهُرُ ٱلْحُرُمُ فَٱقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَٱحْصُرُوهُمْ وَٱقْعُدُوا۟ لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍۢ ۚ فَإِن تَابُوا۟ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ فَخَلُّوا۟ سَبِيلَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Sūrat al-Tawbah
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
The “Verse of the Sword.” Some scholars limit it to specific 7th-century treaty-breakers; others read it generally. Among the most-cited verses by jihadist movements.
- kill the polytheists wherever you find them
Qur'an 9:29
Qur'an
قَٰتِلُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَلَا بِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ ٱلْحَقِّ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ حَتَّىٰ يُعْطُوا۟ ٱلْجِزْيَةَ عَن يَدٍۢ وَهُمْ صَٰغِرُونَ
Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.
Sūrat al-Tawbah
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
Fight the “People of the Book” until they pay the jizya “while humbled.” The basis for the subordinate dhimmi status of Jews and Christians under classical Islamic rule.
- until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled
Qur'an 8:12
Qur'an
إِذْ يُوحِى رَبُّكَ إِلَى ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ أَنِّى مَعَكُمْ فَثَبِّتُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ۚ سَأُلْقِى فِى قُلُوبِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلرُّعْبَ فَٱضْرِبُوا۟ فَوْقَ ٱلْأَعْنَاقِ وَٱضْرِبُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍۢ
[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip."
Sūrat al-Anfāl
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
“Strike upon the necks…” Revealed about the Battle of Badr; quoted in modern extremist literature, defenders say it described that specific battle.
- strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip
Qur'an 8:39
Qur'an
وَقَٰتِلُوهُمْ حَتَّىٰ لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌۭ وَيَكُونَ ٱلدِّينُ كُلُّهُۥ لِلَّهِ ۚ فَإِنِ ٱنتَهَوْا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌۭ
And fight them until there is no fitnah and [until] the religion, all of it, is for Allah. And if they cease - then indeed, Allah is Seeing of what they do.
Sūrat al-Anfāl
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
“Fight them until there is no fitnah and the religion is entirely for Allah.” Defenders read “fitnah” as persecution and the command as defensive; critics read it as fighting until Islam prevails.
Qur'an 2:191
Qur'an
وَٱقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ ثَقِفْتُمُوهُمْ وَأَخْرِجُوهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ أَخْرَجُوكُمْ ۚ وَٱلْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ ٱلْقَتْلِ ۚ وَلَا تُقَٰتِلُوهُمْ عِندَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ حَتَّىٰ يُقَٰتِلُوكُمْ فِيهِ ۖ فَإِن قَٰتَلُوكُمْ فَٱقْتُلُوهُمْ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ جَزَآءُ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ
And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have expelled you, and fitnah is worse than killing. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al- Haram until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.
Sūrat al-Baqarah
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
“Kill them wherever you overtake them…” Paired in context with “do not transgress” (2:190); the scope (defensive vs general) is the disputed part.
- kill them wherever you overtake them
Qur'an 5:33
Qur'an
إِنَّمَا جَزَٰٓؤُا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُحَارِبُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا أَن يُقَتَّلُوٓا۟ أَوْ يُصَلَّبُوٓا۟ أَوْ تُقَطَّعَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُم مِّنْ خِلَٰفٍ أَوْ يُنفَوْا۟ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لَهُمْ خِزْىٌۭ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment,
Sūrat al-Māʾidah
Violence & Jihad
Authentic
Execution, crucifixion, cross-amputation, or exile for those who “wage war against Allah.” It sits immediately after the “save a life” verse.
- they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 25
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Book of Faith (Kitāb al-Īmān), ḥadīth 25
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
“I have been ordered to fight the people until they testify…” Defenders argue it addressed specific pagan Arabs who broke treaties; critics read it as a charter for fighting unbelief itself.
- until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3017
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated `Ikrima:`Ali burnt some people and this news reached Ibn `Abbas, who said, "Had I been in his place I would not have burnt them, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Don't punish (anybody) with Allah's Punishment.' No doubt, I would have killed them, for the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Jihad
Violence & Jihad
Authentic
The classical basis for the death penalty for apostasy. Many modern scholars dispute its application; several Muslim-majority states still criminalize apostasy.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 111
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Ash-Shu`bi:Abu Juhaifa said, "I asked `Ali, 'Have you got any book (which has been revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ) apart from the Qur'an)?' `Ali replied, 'No, except Allah's Book or the power of understanding which has been bestowed (by Allah) upon a Muslim or what is (written) in this sheet of paper (with me).' Abu Juhaifa said, "I asked, 'What is (written) in this sheet of paper?' `Ali replied, it deals with The Diyya (compensation (blood money) paid by the killer to the relatives of the victim), the ransom for the releasing of the captives from the hands of the enemies, and the law that no Muslim should be killed in Qisas (equality in punishment) for the killing of (a disbeliever)
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
Violence & Jihad
Authentic
From ʿAli's document: a Muslim is not to be executed for killing a non-Muslim. A basis for the unequal valuation of life in classical Islamic law.
- should be killed for killing a Kafir
- no Muslim
“The Greater Jihad” report
Hadith
Weak/fabricated
We have returned from the lesser jihad (battle) to the greater jihad (the struggle against the self).
attrib. al-Bayhaqī
Violence & Jihad
Fabricated
Often cited to argue jihad is mainly inner and peaceful. Its chain is graded weak to fabricated by hadith scholars (al-ʿIrāqī, Ibn Ḥajar). A case where the reassuring version is the inauthentic one.
- greater jihad (the struggle against the self)
Qur'an 47:4
Qur'an
فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَضَرْبَ ٱلرِّقَابِ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَثْخَنتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّوا۟ ٱلْوَثَاقَ فَإِمَّا مَنًّۢا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَآءً حَتَّىٰ تَضَعَ ٱلْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَآءُ ٱللَّهُ لَٱنتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَٰكِن لِّيَبْلُوَا۟ بَعْضَكُم بِبَعْضٍۢ ۗ وَٱلَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَلَن يُضِلَّ أَعْمَٰلَهُمْ
So when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds, and either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens. That [is the command]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah - never will He waste their deeds.
Sūrat Muḥammad
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
“When you meet those who disbelieve, strike [their] necks” until subdued, then bondage or ransom. A second “smite the necks” command beside 8:12, quoted in extremist material; defenders read it as a rule for the open battlefield.
Qur'an 8:60
Qur'an
وَأَعِدُّوا۟ لَهُم مَّا ٱسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍۢ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ ٱلْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِۦ عَدُوَّ ٱللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَءَاخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِن شَىْءٍۢ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ
And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.
Sūrat al-Anfāl
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
“Prepare against them whatever you can of power… to terrify (turhibūna) the enemy of Allah and your enemy.” The root r-h-b is the modern Arabic word for terrorism; defenders read it as lawful deterrence.
Qur'an 9:111
Qur'an
۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ ٱلْجَنَّةَ ۚ يُقَٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ ۖ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّۭا فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ۚ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِعَهْدِهِۦ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَٱسْتَبْشِرُوا۟ بِبَيْعِكُمُ ٱلَّذِى بَايَعْتُم بِهِۦ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.
Sūrat al-Tawbah
Violence & Jihad
Authentic
Allah has “purchased from the believers their lives and properties for Paradise… they fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed.” The martyrdom-for-Paradise bargain cited by jihadist movements.
Qur'an 2:216
Qur'an
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّۭ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.
Sūrat al-Baqarah
Violence & Jihad
Authentic
“Fighting has been ordained for you, though you dislike it.” Read by the classical jurists as making jihad a standing communal obligation, not a mere inner struggle.
- Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you
Qur'an 4:89
Qur'an
وَدُّوا۟ لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ كَمَا كَفَرُوا۟ فَتَكُونُونَ سَوَآءًۭ ۖ فَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءَ حَتَّىٰ يُهَاجِرُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَخُذُوهُمْ وَٱقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ وَلِيًّۭا وَلَا نَصِيرًا
They wish you would disbelieve as they disbelieved so you would be alike. So do not take from among them allies until they emigrate for the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ
Violence & Jihad
Authentic · disputed
Of those who turn back, “seize them and kill them wherever you find them.” A Quranic root of the death penalty for apostasy; defenders tie it to wartime defectors rather than belief alone.
- seize them and kill them wherever you find them
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2922
Hadith
Sahih
The Hour will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jew hides behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree says: “O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him”, except the gharqad tree, for it is a tree of the Jews.
Book of Tribulations
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
Sound (sahih). Quoted in Article 7 of Hamas's 1988 charter. Defenders read it as end-times prophecy rather than a command; it is widely used to justify violence against Jews.
- there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1767
Hadith
Sahih
I will surely expel the Jews and the Christians from the Arabian Peninsula until I leave none but Muslims.
Book of Jihad
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
Sound. The basis for barring non-Muslims from permanent residence in the Hijaz.
- expel the Jews and the Christians from the Arabian Peninsula
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 437
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Huraira:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "May Allah's curse be on the Jews for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
A curse on “the Jews” for building places of worship at their prophets' graves. Parallel narrations (Bukhari 435–436), from the Prophet's deathbed, name “the Jews and the Christians.”
- May Allah's curse be on the Jews
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4037
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?" Thereupon Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Would you like that I kill him?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Yes," Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Ka`b). "The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You may say it." Then Muhammad bin Maslama went to Ka`b and said, "That man (i.e. Muhammad demands Sadaqa (i.e. Zakat) from us, and he has troubled us, and I have come to borrow something from you." On that, Ka`b said, "By Allah, you will get tired of him!" Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Now as we have followed him, we do not want to leave him unless and until we see how his end is going to be. Now we want you to lend us a camel load or two of food." (Some difference between narrators about a camel load or two.) Ka`b said, "Yes, (I will lend you), but you should mortgage something to me." Muhammad bin Mas-lama and his companion said, "What do you want?" Ka`b replied, "Mortgage your women to me." They said, "How can we mortgage our women to you and you are the most handsome of the 'Arabs?" Ka`b said, "Then mortgage your sons to me." They said, "How can we mortgage our sons to you? Later they would be abused by the people's saying that so-and-so has been mortgaged for a camel load of food. That would cause us great disgrace, but we will mortgage our arms to you." Muhammad bin Maslama and his companion promised Ka`b that Muhammad would return to him. He came to Ka`b at night along with Ka`b's foster brother, Abu Na'ila. Ka`b invited them to come into his fort, and then he went down to them. His wife asked him, "Where are you going at this time?" Ka`b replied, "None but Muhammad bin Maslama and my (foster) brother Abu Na'ila have come." His wife said, "I hear a voice as if dropping blood is from him, Ka`b said, "They are none but my brother Muhammad bin Maslama and my foster brother Abu Naila. A generous man should respond to a call at night even if invited to be killed." Muhammad bin Maslama went with two men. (Some narrators mention the men as 'Abu bin Jabr. Al Harith bin Aus and `Abbad bin Bishr). So Muhammad bin Maslama went in together with two men, and said to them, "When Ka`b comes, I will touch his hair and smell it, and when you see that I have got hold of his head, strike him. I will let you smell his head." Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf came down to them wrapped in his clothes, and diffusing perfume. Muhammad bin Maslama said, "I have never smelt a better scent than this." Ka`b replied, "I have got the best 'Arab women who know how to use the high class of perfume." Muhammad bin Maslama requested Ka`b "Will you allow me to smell your head?" Ka`b said, "Yes." Muhammad smelt it and made his companions smell it as well. Then he requested Ka`b again, "Will you let me (smell your head)?" Ka`b said, "Yes." When Muhammad got a strong hold of him, he said (to his companions), "Get at him!" So they killed him and went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and informed him. (Abu Rafi`) was killed after Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Maghāzī
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
“Who is willing to kill Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf?” The killing of a Jewish poet of Medina who had mocked the Prophet. Defenders frame Kaʿb as a political enemy who incited war.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3043
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:When the tribe of Bani Quraiza was ready to accept Sa`d's judgment, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent for Sa`d who was near to him. Sa`d came, riding a donkey and when he came near, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said (to the Ansar), "Stand up for your leader." Then Sa`d came and sat beside Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who said to him. "These people are ready to accept your judgment." Sa`d said, "I give the judgment that their warriors should be killed and their children and women should be taken as prisoners." The Prophet (ﷺ) then remarked, "O Sa`d! You have judged amongst them with (or similar to) the judgment of the King Allah
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Jihad
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic · disputed
After the Battle of the Trench, the Jewish tribe of Banū Qurayẓa surrender to Saʿd's judgment: the men be killed and the women and children enslaved; the Prophet approves. The narration is sound; the scale and historicity are debated by modern historians.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3305
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A group of Israelites were lost. Nobody knows what they did. But I do not see them except that they were cursed and changed into rats, for if you put the milk of a she-camel in front of a rat, it will not drink it, but if the milk of a sheep is put in front of it, it will drink it." I told this to Ka`b who asked me, "Did you hear it from the Prophet (ﷺ) ?" I said, "Yes." Ka`b asked me the same question several times.; I said to Ka`b. "Do I read the Torah? (i.e. I tell you this from the Prophet)
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Prophets
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic · disputed
Speaks of a past nation of Israelites “lost” and transformed. The text refers to one ancient group; its use to slander Jews as a people is the disputed part.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6257
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "When the Jews greet you, they usually say, 'As-Samu 'alaikum (Death be on you),' so you should say (in reply to them), 'Wa'alaikum (And on you)
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Greetings
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
Reply to a Jew's greeting with only “wa ʿalaykum” (and upon you), not the full “and peace upon you.” The text roots this in Jews saying “as-Sām” (death); the parallel 6258 extends the peace-omitting reply to the People of the Scripture generally.
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2167
Hadith
Sahih
Do not greet the Jews and the Christians with salām before they greet you, and when you meet one of them on a road, force him to its narrowest part.
Book of Greetings
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
Do not be the first to offer the greeting of peace (salām) to Jews and Christians, and crowd them to the edge of the road. Defenders tie it to the wartime hostilities of the era; graded sound (sahih).
- before they greet you
- force him to its narrowest part
Qur'an 5:51
Qur'an
۞ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلنَّصَٰرَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍۢ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.
Sūrat al-Māʾidah
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic · disputed
“Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies (awliyāʾ).” Cited to forbid loyalty to non-Muslims; reformers translate awliyāʾ as “protectors/patrons” in a specific wartime sense rather than ordinary friendship.
- do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies
Qur'an 5:82
Qur'an
۞ لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ ٱلنَّاسِ عَدَٰوَةًۭ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا۟ ۖ وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُم مَّوَدَّةًۭ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا نَصَٰرَىٰ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهْبَانًۭا وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant.
Sūrat al-Māʾidah
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
“You will surely find the most intense of people in hostility toward the believers [to be] the Jews and the polytheists.” Often paired with the “nearest in affection… the Christians” of the same verse.
- strongest in enmity toward the believers [are] the Jews
Qur'an 2:65
Qur'an
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱعْتَدَوْا۟ مِنكُمْ فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا۟ قِرَدَةً خَٰسِـِٔينَ
And you had already known about those who transgressed among you concerning the sabbath, and We said to them, "Be apes, despised."
Sūrat al-Baqarah
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic · disputed
Sabbath-breakers among the Israelites told “Be apes, despised.” With 5:60 and 7:166 it is the root of the “apes and pigs” slur aimed at Jews today; the text describes one ancient group, not Jews as such.
Qur'an 9:30
Qur'an
وَقَالَتِ ٱلْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ٱبْنُ ٱللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ ٱلنَّصَٰرَى ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ ٱللَّهِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَٰهِهِمْ ۖ يُضَٰهِـُٔونَ قَوْلَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ قَٰتَلَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ
The Jews say, "Ezra is the son of Allah "; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is the son of Allah." That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?
Sūrat al-Tawbah
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
“The Jews say ʿUzayr is the son of Allah… May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?” An imprecation against Jews and Christians over claimed theological errors.
Qur'an 98:6
Qur'an
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ فِى نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ ۚ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ ٱلْبَرِيَّةِ
Indeed, they who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures.
Sūrat al-Bayyinah
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
“The disbelievers among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell… they are the worst of creatures.” Sharr al-bariyya, the worst of created beings, applied to disbelieving Jews and Christians.
Qur'an 62:5
Qur'an
مَثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا۟ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ ٱلْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًۢا ۚ بِئْسَ مَثَلُ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah and then did not take it on is like that of a donkey who carries volumes [of books]. Wretched is the example of the people who deny the signs of Allah. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.
Sūrat al-Jumuʿah
Jews & Non-Muslims
Authentic
Those given the Torah who do not uphold it are “like a donkey carrying books.” A standing simile of contempt for the Jews of the Book.
- like that of a donkey which carries volumes [of books]
Qur'an 4:34
Qur'an
ٱلرِّجَالُ قَوَّٰمُونَ عَلَى ٱلنِّسَآءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ وَبِمَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ ۚ فَٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتُ قَٰنِتَٰتٌ حَٰفِظَٰتٌۭ لِّلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَٱلَّٰتِى تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَٱهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِى ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ وَٱضْرِبُوهُنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا۟ عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّۭا كَبِيرًۭا
Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ
Women & Marriage
Authentic · disputed
Admonish, then forsake in bed, then strike (waḍribūhunna) a wife feared “disobedient.” The Farewell Sermon adds “a beating that leaves no mark.” A rule requiring the beating to leave no mark is itself the admission that beating is authorized. The debate among scholars is about degree, not about whether striking a wife is sanctioned.
Qur'an 2:282
Qur'an
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم بِدَيْنٍ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍۢ مُّسَمًّۭى فَٱكْتُبُوهُ ۚ وَلْيَكْتُب بَّيْنَكُمْ كَاتِبٌۢ بِٱلْعَدْلِ ۚ وَلَا يَأْبَ كَاتِبٌ أَن يَكْتُبَ كَمَا عَلَّمَهُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ فَلْيَكْتُبْ وَلْيُمْلِلِ ٱلَّذِى عَلَيْهِ ٱلْحَقُّ وَلْيَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ رَبَّهُۥ وَلَا يَبْخَسْ مِنْهُ شَيْـًۭٔا ۚ فَإِن كَانَ ٱلَّذِى عَلَيْهِ ٱلْحَقُّ سَفِيهًا أَوْ ضَعِيفًا أَوْ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَن يُمِلَّ هُوَ فَلْيُمْلِلْ وَلِيُّهُۥ بِٱلْعَدْلِ ۚ وَٱسْتَشْهِدُوا۟ شَهِيدَيْنِ مِن رِّجَالِكُمْ ۖ فَإِن لَّمْ يَكُونَا رَجُلَيْنِ فَرَجُلٌۭ وَٱمْرَأَتَانِ مِمَّن تَرْضَوْنَ مِنَ ٱلشُّهَدَآءِ أَن تَضِلَّ إِحْدَىٰهُمَا فَتُذَكِّرَ إِحْدَىٰهُمَا ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ ۚ وَلَا يَأْبَ ٱلشُّهَدَآءُ إِذَا مَا دُعُوا۟ ۚ وَلَا تَسْـَٔمُوٓا۟ أَن تَكْتُبُوهُ صَغِيرًا أَوْ كَبِيرًا إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلِهِۦ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَأَقْوَمُ لِلشَّهَٰدَةِ وَأَدْنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَرْتَابُوٓا۟ ۖ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً حَاضِرَةًۭ تُدِيرُونَهَا بَيْنَكُمْ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَلَّا تَكْتُبُوهَا ۗ وَأَشْهِدُوٓا۟ إِذَا تَبَايَعْتُمْ ۚ وَلَا يُضَآرَّ كَاتِبٌۭ وَلَا شَهِيدٌۭ ۚ وَإِن تَفْعَلُوا۟ فَإِنَّهُۥ فُسُوقٌۢ بِكُمْ ۗ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ
O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down. And let a scribe write [it] between you in justice. Let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one who has the obligation dictate. And let him fear Allah, his Lord, and not leave anything out of it. But if the one who has the obligation is of limited understanding or weak or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses - so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her. And let not the witnesses refuse when they are called upon. And do not be [too] weary to write it, whether it is small or large, for its [specified] term. That is more just in the sight of Allah and stronger as evidence and more likely to prevent doubt between you, except when it is an immediate transaction which you conduct among yourselves. For [then] there is no blame upon you if you do not write it. And take witnesses when you conclude a contract. Let no scribe be harmed or any witness. For if you do so, indeed, it is [grave] disobedience in you. And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things.
Sūrat al-Baqarah
Women & Marriage
Authentic
On financial contracts: two male witnesses, or “a man and two women… so that if one errs, the other can remind her.” The basis for a woman's testimony counting as half.
Qur'an 4:11
Qur'an
يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِىٓ أَوْلَٰدِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۚ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَآءًۭ فَوْقَ ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ ۖ وَإِن كَانَتْ وَٰحِدَةًۭ فَلَهَا ٱلنِّصْفُ ۚ وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍۢ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَانَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ وَوَرِثَهُۥٓ أَبَوَاهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلثُّلُثُ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُۥٓ إِخْوَةٌۭ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصِى بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۗ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ لَكُمْ نَفْعًۭا ۚ فَرِيضَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا
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 he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt. Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ
Women & Marriage
Authentic
“For the male, what is equal to the share of two females.” The basis for a son inheriting twice a daughter's share.
Qur'an 4:3
Qur'an
وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا۟ فِى ٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ فَٱنكِحُوا۟ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَٰثَ وَرُبَٰعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا۟ فَوَٰحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُوا۟
And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ
Women & Marriage
Authentic
Permits marrying “two, three or four” women. Classical law took this as sanctioning polygamy up to four wives.
Qur'an 2:223
Qur'an
نِسَآؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌۭ لَّكُمْ فَأْتُوا۟ حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ ۖ وَقَدِّمُوا۟ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُم مُّلَٰقُوهُ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves. And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good tidings to the believers.
Sūrat al-Baqarah
Women & Marriage
Authentic · disputed
“Your wives are a tilth (field) for you, so come to your tilth as you wish.” Read by classical jurists about conjugal rights; the metaphor is much debated.
- come to your place of cultivation however you wish
- so come to your tilth as you wish
Qur'an 23:6
Qur'an
إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ
Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed -
Sūrat al-Muʾminūn
Women & Marriage
Authentic
Lawful partners are “their wives or those their right hands possess.” “What the right hand possesses” means captives and slaves: scripture permits sexual relations with female captives. Echoed at 70:30.
- those their right hands possess
Qur'an 4:24
Qur'an
۞ وَٱلْمُحْصَنَٰتُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ إِلَّا مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ ۖ كِتَٰبَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَأُحِلَّ لَكُم مَّا وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَن تَبْتَغُوا۟ بِأَمْوَٰلِكُم مُّحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَٰفِحِينَ ۚ فَمَا ٱسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهِۦ مِنْهُنَّ فَـَٔاتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةًۭ ۚ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَٰضَيْتُم بِهِۦ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ٱلْفَرِيضَةِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا
And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess. [This is] the decree of Allah upon you. And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these, [provided] that you seek them [in marriage] with [gifts from] your property, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse. So for whatever you enjoy [of marriage] from them, give them their due compensation as an obligation. And there is no blame upon you for what you mutually agree to beyond the obligation. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ
Women & Marriage
Authentic
Married women are forbidden “except those your right hands possess”, female captives, whose existing marriage is treated as dissolved by capture. The clearest basis for sexual relations with captured women: concubinage, outside marriage and apart from the four-wife limit. No consent of the captive is required, which is why critics call it rape; defenders call it concubinage and cite 7th-century war norms.
- except those your right hands possess
Qur'an 70:30
Qur'an
إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ
Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they are not to be blamed -
Sūrat al-Maʿārij
Women & Marriage
Authentic
The permission restated: lawful partners are “their wives or those their right hands possess.” The captive/slave clause recurs across the Qur'an (also 23:6), not a one-off.
- those their right hands possess
Qur'an 33:50
Qur'an
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِنَّآ أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَٰجَكَ ٱلَّٰتِىٓ ءَاتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّآ أَفَآءَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّٰتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَٰلَٰتِكَ ٱلَّٰتِى هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ وَٱمْرَأَةًۭ مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِىِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ ٱلنَّبِىُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةًۭ لَّكَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۗ قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِىٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌۭ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا
O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their due compensation and those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you [of captives] and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] only for you, excluding the [other] believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those their right hands possess, [but this is for you] in order that there will be upon you no discomfort. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
Sūrat al-Aḥzāb
Women & Marriage
Authentic
Lists as lawful for the Prophet “those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you of captives.” Captured women as lawful partners, stated for Muhammad himself.
- those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you
Qur'an 4:25
Qur'an
وَمَن لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنكُمْ طَوْلًا أَن يَنكِحَ ٱلْمُحْصَنَٰتِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ فَمِن مَّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُم مِّن فَتَيَٰتِكُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَٰنِكُم ۚ بَعْضُكُم مِّنۢ بَعْضٍۢ ۚ فَٱنكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ وَءَاتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ مُحْصَنَٰتٍ غَيْرَ مُسَٰفِحَٰتٍۢ وَلَا مُتَّخِذَٰتِ أَخْدَانٍۢ ۚ فَإِذَآ أُحْصِنَّ فَإِنْ أَتَيْنَ بِفَٰحِشَةٍۢ فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى ٱلْمُحْصَنَٰتِ مِنَ ٱلْعَذَابِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِىَ ٱلْعَنَتَ مِنكُمْ ۚ وَأَن تَصْبِرُوا۟ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
And whoever among you cannot [find] the means to marry free, believing women, then [he may marry] from those whom your right hands possess of believing slave girls. And Allah is most knowing about your faith. You [believers] are of one another. So marry them with the permission of their people and give them their due compensation according to what is acceptable. [They should be] chaste, neither [of] those who commit unlawful intercourse randomly nor those who take [secret] lovers. But once they are sheltered in marriage, if they should commit adultery, then for them is half the punishment for free [unmarried] women. This [allowance] is for him among you who fears sin, but to be patient is better for you. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ
Women & Marriage
Authentic
A man who cannot afford free women may marry “believing slave girls.” This concerns marriage to a slave, distinct from the concubinage permitted in 4:24 and 23:6.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 304
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:Once Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) of `Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Menstruation
Women & Marriage
Authentic
Women described as “deficient in intelligence and religion,” with a woman's testimony as half a man's given as a reason.
- deficient in intelligence and religion
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5193
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If a man Invites his wife to sleep with him and she refuses to come to him, then the angels send their curses on her till morning
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Marriage
Women & Marriage
Authentic
If a husband calls his wife to bed and she refuses, “the angels curse her till morning.” Cited in debates over consent within marriage.
- the angels send their curses on her till morning
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4425
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Bakra:During the days (of the battle) of Al-Jamal, Allah benefited me with a word I had heard from Allah's Apostle after I had been about to join the Companions of Al-Jamal (i.e. the camel) and fight along with them. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was informed that the Persians had crowned the daughter of Khosrau as their ruler, he said, "Such people as ruled by a lady will never be successful
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Maghāzī
Women & Marriage
Authentic
“Such people as ruled by a lady will never be successful.” Cited in debates over women in leadership.
- ruled by a lady will never be successful
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5134
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated `Aisha:that the Prophet (ﷺ) married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old. Hisham said: I have been informed that `Aisha remained with the Prophet (ﷺ) for nine years (i.e. till his death)
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Marriage
Women & Marriage
Authentic
“Married ʿĀʾisha when she was six and consummated the marriage when she was nine.” This is ʿĀʾisha’s own testimony, and not a lone report: the same age is recorded in Bukhārī 3894, 5133 and 5158, and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1422, multiple independent chains across the two most authoritative Sunni collections. The modern claim that she was “eighteen or nineteen” is a recent apologetic, inferred indirectly from her sister Asmāʾ’s age; it contradicts ʿĀʾisha’s explicit words and was held by no classical scholar for fourteen centuries. The dispute is not over what the canon says. It is over rewriting it.
- consummated his marriage when she was nine
- when she was nine
Qur'an 18:86
Qur'an
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍۢ وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوْمًۭا ۗ قُلْنَا يَٰذَا ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّآ أَن تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّآ أَن تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْنًۭا
Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it [as if] setting in a spring of dark mud, and he found near it a people. Allah said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish [them] or else adopt among them [a way of] goodness."
Sūrat al-Kahf
Cosmos & Claims
Authentic · disputed
Dhū al-Qarnayn finds the sun “setting in a spring of murky water.” Commentators today read it figuratively. A 7th-century Arabic listener, with no concept of a spherical earth's horizon, would have heard exactly what the words say: the sun setting into mud.
- setting in a spring of dark mud
- setting in a spring of murky water
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3199
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Dhar:The Prophet (ﷺ) asked me at sunset, "Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of sunset)?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He said, "It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: "And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed). that is The Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All- Knowing
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Creation
Cosmos & Claims
Authentic
The sun, at sunset, “prostrates beneath the Throne” and asks permission to rise. A pre-modern cosmology stated as fact.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3320
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said "If a house fly falls in the drink of anyone of you, he should dip it (in the drink) and take it out, for one of its wings has a disease and the other has the cure for the disease
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Medicine
Cosmos & Claims
Authentic
If a fly falls in your drink, dip it fully in, “for one of its wings carries disease and the other the cure.” Cited against the texts' reliability on medicine.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5688
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Abu Huraira:I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "There is healing in black cumin for all diseases except death
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Medicine
Cosmos & Claims
Authentic
Black seed (nigella) is “a healing for all diseases except death.” A sweeping medical claim taken literally by some.
- healing in black cumin for all diseases except death
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5445
Hadith
Sahih
Narrated Sa`d:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "He who eats seven 'Ajwa dates every morning, will not be affected by poison or magic on the day he eats them
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Medicine
Cosmos & Claims
Authentic
Eating seven ʿajwa dates in the morning protects from poison and sorcery that day.
- seven 'Ajwa dates
- Ajwa dates
Qur'an 86:7
Qur'an
يَخْرُجُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ ٱلصُّلْبِ وَٱلتَّرَآئِبِ
Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.
Sūrat al-Ṭāriq
Cosmos & Claims
Authentic · disputed
Man is created from a fluid “emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.” Critics say this conflicts with reproductive biology; commentators offer figurative readings.
- between the backbone and the ribs
Qur'an 3:28
Qur'an
لَّا يَتَّخِذِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ فِى شَىْءٍ إِلَّآ أَن تَتَّقُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ تُقَىٰةًۭ ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسَهُۥ ۗ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever [of you] does that has nothing with Allah, except when taking precaution against them in prudence. And Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the [final] destination.
Sūrat Āl ʿImrān
Taqiyya & Deception
Authentic · disputed
Believers should not take disbelievers as allies “except when guarding yourselves against them as a precaution (tuqātan).” The classical proof-text for taqiyya, concealing one's faith or intent under threat. Reformers limit it to genuine danger; it is widely cited to argue that deceiving non-Muslims can be sanctioned.
- except when taking precaution against them in prudence
Qur'an 16:106
Qur'an
مَن كَفَرَ بِٱللَّهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ إِيمَٰنِهِۦٓ إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُۥ مُطْمَئِنٌّۢ بِٱلْإِيمَٰنِ وَلَٰكِن مَّن شَرَحَ بِٱلْكُفْرِ صَدْرًۭا فَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief... except for one who is forced [to renounce his religion] while his heart is secure in faith. But those who [willingly] open their breasts to disbelief, upon them is wrath from Allah, and for them is a great punishment;
Sūrat al-Naḥl
Taqiyya & Deception
Authentic · disputed
No blame on “one who is compelled [to utter disbelief] while his heart is content with faith.” Read with 3:28 as licence to outwardly deny or misrepresent one's beliefs under coercion, the scriptural anchor of taqiyya.
- except for one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith
Qur'an 2:225
Qur'an
لَّا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَٰنِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا كَسَبَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌۭ
Allah does not impose blame upon you for what is unintentional in your oaths, but He imposes blame upon you for what your hearts have earned. And Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing.
Sūrat al-Baqarah
Taqiyya & Deception
Authentic
“Allah will not call you to account for unintentional oaths.” With 66:2 (the freeing from oaths) it is cited to argue that some oaths can be set aside, fuelling claims that promises to non-Muslims are not binding. Defenders restrict it to careless or expiable oaths, not deliberate treachery.
Qur'an 8:30
Qur'an
وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ ۚ وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلْمَٰكِرِينَ
And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.
Sūrat al-Anfāl
Taqiyya & Deception
Authentic
“They plan, and Allah plans, and Allah is the best of planners (khayr al-mākirīn).” The word makr is scheming or stratagem; critics note God is described with it, and it is invoked to dignify deception in conflict.
- Allah is the best of planners
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3030
Hadith
Sahih
The Prophet said: War is deceit.
Kitāb al-Jihād · also Muslim 1739
Taqiyya & Deception
Authentic
Al-ḥarb khudʿah, “war is deceit.” The licence for deception in conflict, and the engine behind any “only in war” limit: once classical doctrine casts the non-Muslim world as dar al-harb (war by default until it submits), sanctioned deceit has no natural edge. Defenders confine it to the battlefield, but that containment only holds if the battlefield has a border. Classical doctrine draws none.
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2605
Hadith
Sahih
I did not hear him permit anything of what people call lying except in three cases: in war, in reconciling between people, and a man's talk with his wife and a woman's talk with her husband.
Book of Virtue & Good Manners
Taqiyya & Deception
Authentic
The textual root that lying is permitted at all, in three named cases. “War” is the load-bearing one; read with dar al-harb it stops being narrow. Defenders stress the reconciliation and marriage cases, but once the non-Muslim world is classified as dar al-harb, standing war by default until it submits, the “only in war” exception has no edge left to hold it back.
- except in three cases: in war
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3357
Hadith
Sahih
Abraham did not tell a lie except on three occasions: twice for the sake of Allah, when he said “I am sick” (37:89) and “rather, the biggest of them did it” (21:63); and once when he said of Sarah, “She is my sister.”
Kitāb al-Anbiyāʾ · also Muslim 2371
Taqiyya & Deception
Authentic
The classical basis for tawriya (sanctioned double meaning). Scholars (al-Nawawī, Ibn al-Qayyim) explain Abraham's statements as maʿārīḍ, words inwardly true but framed to mislead the hearer, the model for a sentence that deceives while staying technically true.
- did not tell a lie except on three occasions
