The Muslim circumvents the potential negative impact
of self contradictory verses in the Koran by insisting that
Allah simply does not have to be consistent. In fact,
consistency would be a limitation of His absolute freedom
and power. A Muslim will say, ‘‘Allah is Divine, and can
say and do whatever He likes. It does not matter that what
He says seems not to make sense to us: we are only human
and He is God. If Allah wishes to nullify what He said at an
earlier time, He has every right to do so. He can deny His
previous word in order to improve or change whatever He
pleases. Even on a whim, Allah can change His mind, and
say something completely opposite to His earlier word!’’
The Koran even declares that the author of some of the
abrogated verses is none other than the Prince of Darkness:
‘‘Never have We sent a single prophet or apostle before you
with whose wishes Satan did not tamper. But Allah
abrogates the interjections of Satan and confirms His own
revelations. Allah is all knowing and wise’’ (Sura 22:52).
Some of these interjections of Satan seem to appear in
the Koran itself. Take, for example, the Koran’s varying
injunctions about alcohol. In Sura 2:219, Allah says to
Muhammad, ‘‘They ask you about drinking and gambling.
Say: ‘There is great harm in both, although they have some
benefit for men; but their harm is greater than their benefit.’’
Yet another verse makes it questionable in the extreme
that there could be ‘‘some benefit for men’’ in alcohol, for it
is one of Satan’s tricks: ‘‘Believers, wine and games of
chance . . . are abominations devised by Satan’’ (Sura 5:90).