Islam Imploding

Math Errors in the Qur’an

Divine Revelation or Human Miscalculation?

One of the repeated claims made by Muslim apologists is that the Qur’an is a flawless, divine revelation — free from contradiction, error, or inconsistency. In Surah 4:82, the Qur’an even challenges skeptics:

“Do they not consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found in it much contradiction.” (Q 4:82)

Yet, what happens when the very text that boasts of its perfection stumbles on something as basic and verifiable as mathematics?

In this article, we will examine one of the most blatant contradictions in the Qur’an: its miscalculation in inheritance laws, as found in Surah an-Nisa (Chapter 4). We will also address how early Islamic scholars noticed and tried to rationalize these inconsistencies — often with acrobatic logic that unintentionally exposes the Qur’an’s human fingerprints.

1. The Inheritance Problem in Surah an-Nisa

Let’s look at this example of Qur’anic inheritance law:

“Allah commands you regarding your children: for the male, a share equal to that of two females. If there are only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance. If only one, her share is half...” (Q 4:11)

“If a man or woman dies leaving neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, each one of them receives a sixth; but if they are more than two, they share a third.” (Q 4:12)

“They ask you for a legal verdict. Say: Allah directs (thus) about those who leave no descendants or ascendants as heirs. If it is a man that dies, leaving a sister but no child, she shall have half the inheritance: if a woman dies, and he is her brother, he shall inherit her entirely...” (Q 4:176)

So far, these verses appear detailed. But the problem becomes apparent when one applies them mathematically to real-life scenarios.

2. The Case That Exposes the Contradiction

Let’s use a commonly cited example, which Muslim scholars themselves acknowledge and try to explain away.

Suppose a woman dies and is survived by:

Her husband
Her mother
Her two sisters

According to the Qur’an:

The husband gets 1/2 (Q 4:12)
The mother gets 1/3 (Q 4:11)
The two sisters share 2/3 (Q 4:176)

Now do the math:

1/2 + 1/3 + 2/3 = 1.5 (or 3/2) → 150% of the estate!

This is mathematically impossible. The Qur’an, in its divine precision, has apportioned more than 100% of the inheritance, violating the basic rule that you cannot distribute more than the whole.

This isn't merely a technicality — it's a direct contradiction of arithmetic logic, in a supposedly divine revelation.

3. Tafsir Attempts to "Fix" the Error

Early Muslim scholars were not blind to this problem. Rather than admitting error, they developed the doctrine of “awl” (العَول) — an adjustment technique that reduces everyone’s share proportionally so the total equals 100%.

Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE) on Q 4:11

“When the total of the shares exceeds the estate, the shares are reduced proportionally. This is known as 'awl. For example, if the shares add to 13 parts, each share is calculated out of 13 rather than 12...”
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir, commentary on Q 4:11)

In other words, rather than questioning the divine author’s math, they modified the interpretation to fit reality — a tactic that would be considered unacceptable in any logical or legal system.

Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273 CE)

Al-Qurtubi openly admits the difficulty:

“There is no escaping from ‘awl when the shares exceed the inheritance. It is agreed upon by the scholars of Medina. This is a concession made necessary by the apparent contradiction in the division.”
(Tafsir al-Qurtubi, on Q 4:11)

Here we see the concession: the "divine" apportionment contradicts itself, and so scholars were forced to invent a solution.

4. Contradiction in Proportions: Not a Rare Case

Other examples further illustrate the problem:

If a man leaves 2 daughters (Q 4:11), both get 2/3.
If he leaves both parents alive, they get 1/3 (mother) + 1/6 (father) = 1/2 (Q 4:11)
Now suppose a wife survives too, she gets 1/8 (Q 4:12)

2/3 + 1/2 + 1/8 = 1.291... (or 129%)

Again, the inheritance exceeds 100%.

This forces scholars to always “adjust” the numbers with ‘awl, essentially rewriting what the Qur’an should have said.

5. Arbitrary Solutions: Divine Revelation or Human Patchwork?

The very existence of such contradictions—and the need for scholars to fix them using human logic—undermines the Qur’an’s claim of divine authorship. The supposed omniscient author of the universe is unable to assign fractions correctly?

Even if one accepts the "awl" method, it still raises serious theological problems:

Why would a perfect God give incorrect math that requires correction?
Why didn’t the Qur’an mention ‘awl’ at all if it was part of the solution?
Why was Allah unable to foresee how multiple heirs could create an overallocated estate?

If Allah knows the unseen, would He not anticipate these scenarios and design His law accordingly?

6. Conclusion: A Divine Book Shouldn’t Need a Calculator

For a book that claims to be perfect, eternal, and clear, the Qur’an’s mathematical missteps in inheritance law reveal a troubling flaw. Muslim scholars were forced to apply human reasoning and patchwork jurisprudence to “fix” the divine text.

Instead of divine perfection, we see the fingerprints of a human author, limited by the cultural, social, and mathematical constraints of 7th-century Arabia.

As always, if this book were truly “from Allah,” one would not expect to find even a single contradiction—let alone systematic miscalculations that require entire legal schools to fix them.

Sources:

Qur’an 4:11, 4:12, 4:176
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Darussalam, abridged edition, vol. 1, pp. 399–404)
Tafsir al-Qurtubi (Vol. 5, under Q 4:11–12)
Jonathan A. C. Brown, Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (2017)
Joseph Schacht, Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (1950)