⚡ Miscellaneous Islamic Topics — Quick Reference
Use this when: a specific Islamic topic comes up that does not fit neatly into a larger category, or when making a quick point about the internal contradictions, odd rulings, or historical curiosities in the Islamic corpus.
22.1 — Food Laws
| Claim | Source | Note |
|---|
| The food of "People of the Book" (Christians and Jews) is permitted to Muslims — and their women are permitted for marriage | Quran 5:5 | Includes pork? Classical scholars debated this |
| Dogs are ritually impure — if a dog drinks from a vessel, wash it seven times with dirt | Muslim 279 | |
| Eating with the left hand is from Satan | Muslim 2019a | |
Note on Quran 5:5: The classical interpretation allows intermarriage with Christian and Jewish women and eating their food (which technically could include pork under their own food laws). This is an internal tension within Islamic halal jurisprudence.
22.2 — Oaths
| Claim | Source | Note |
|---|
| "Whoever swears by anything other than Allah has committed polytheism (shirk)" | Abu Dawud 3251 / Tirmidhi 1535 | Muslims routinely swear by their prophet, the Quran, etc. |
Apologetic note: Muslims commonly say "I swear by the Prophet" or "By the Quran" in daily speech. According to this hadith, this is shirk — the gravest sin in Islam, the only one not forgiven. The practice contradicts the very canon that condemns it.
22.3 — The Hadith Writing Ban
| Claim | Source | Note |
|---|
| Muhammad said: "Do not write down anything I say except the Quran" | Muslim 3004 | |
Apologetic note: This hadith in Sahih Muslim directly contradicts the entire basis of the hadith tradition. Muhammad himself, if this is authentic, commanded that his sayings not be written down. This creates a foundational problem: the hadith that tells us not to write hadiths is itself a hadith. If authentic, it undermines the authority of all other hadiths. If inauthentic, it raises questions about what else might be inauthentic.
22.4 — The Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad)
| Claim | Source | Note |
|---|
| The Black Stone came down from paradise, whiter than milk; it turned black from the sins of men | Tirmidhi 961 / Ibn Majah 2944 | |
| The Black Stone has a tongue and lips and will speak on the Day of Resurrection | Tirmidhi 961 | A living, speaking stone |
Apologetic note: The Black Stone is a meteorite embedded in the Ka'aba. Muslims kiss it during the Hajj pilgrimage. The hadith above describes it as originally alive and pure, now discoloured by human sin, and as a being with a tongue and lips that will testify on Judgment Day. Umar ibn al-Khattab (the second Caliph) is on record saying: "I know you are just a stone; you can neither benefit nor harm. If I had not seen the Prophet kissing you, I would not kiss you" (Bukhari 1597). This reflects the theological tension between monotheism and object veneration.
22.5 — Unusual Punishments and Sayings
| Claim | Source |
|---|
| Killed with sugar and fire (unusual corporal punishment) | Al-Shamela source |
| "Do not ask about things that would distress you if you knew them" (Muhammad to questioners) | Quran 5:101 |
22.6 — Derogatory Religious Terms and Origins
| Claim | Note |
|---|
| "Nasara" (the Quranic term for Christians) may derive from Hebrew "Notzrim" (Nazarenes) — not from the word for "helpers" as Muslim etymology claims | Some scholars connect it to the Hebrew term for Nazareth / Nazarenes |
| "Nasara" in the lexical range of Arabic may carry a connotation of "poor in knowledge" in some Arabic uses | Linguistic argument; contested |
22.7 — Waraka ibn Nawfal and the Bible
| Claim | Source | Note |
|---|
| Waraka was Khadijah's (Muhammad's first wife) cousin, a Nazarene Christian who had converted from paganism, and who had translated the Bible into Arabic | Bukhari 1/1 | |
| Waraka was the first to confirm Muhammad's experience as "the same revelation that came to Moses" | Bukhari 1/1 | |
Apologetic significance of Waraka: Waraka is not incidental. He was the first human being to validate Muhammad's experience as prophetic. He was a Christian. He had written the Bible in Arabic. Muhammad had access to Khadijah's household — and through it, to Christian material — from before the revelation began. This does not prove Muhammad fabricated the Quran, but it does provide a natural, non-supernatural explanation for some of the Quranic material's similarities to and differences from biblical texts. When Muslims say "how could an illiterate man know these things?" — the answer in the text is: he knew Waraka.
See Also