If the Qur’an is Perfect, Why Are Some Verses Morally Repugnant?

Islam claims that the Qur’an is the final, perfect, and complete word of God — a “clear book” that’s meant to guide humanity for all time. Muslims are taught to believe that it’s not just historically accurate or scientifically sound, but also morally flawless:

“This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah.”
— Qur’an 2:2

But here’s the glaring problem:
The Qur’an contains verses that, by modern ethical standards, are not just outdated — they’re downright repugnant. Let’s cut through the apologetics and face the moral problem directly.

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⚡ The Troubling Verses

Consider these examples:

✅ Sanctioned wife-beating:

“But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance — advise them; forsake them in bed; and strike them.”
— Qur’an 4:34

✅ Permission for sex slavery:

“And those who guard their private parts except from their wives or those their right hands possess…”
— Qur’an 23:5-6

✅ Divine support for polygamy:

“Marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four…”
— Qur’an 4:3

✅ Brutal corporal punishments:

“As for the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands…”
— Qur’an 5:38

✅ Calls for fighting non-Muslims:

“Fight those who do not believe in Allah…”
— Qur’an 9:29

In the 7th century, these verses were part of a tribal, patriarchal society. But today, they collide head-on with universal human rights and the moral conscience of humanity.

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🧠 The Big Contradiction

If the Qur’an is truly perfect and complete, then why does it preserve these practices?
If it’s eternally valid and “the best of guidance,” why does it permit violence, inequality, and dehumanization?

Muslim reformers today face an impossible dilemma:

• If they defend these verses as timeless, they justify moral practices that the entire world now condemns.

• If they reinterpret or discard these verses, they effectively admit that the Qur’an isn’t timeless or morally perfect after all.

You can’t have it both ways.

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💡 The Cop-outs — And Why They Fail

Modern Islamic thinkers try to dodge this moral wreckage with excuses:

🔸 “Those verses were for that time!”
➡️ But the Qur’an says it’s guidance for all people, for all time. If parts of it are obsolete, then it’s not perfect — it’s a product of history.

🔸 “We have to understand the context.”
➡️ Context can explain why a verse was revealed, but it doesn’t erase what the verse literally says — or how it was implemented for centuries.

🔸 “Islam is about mercy and justice!”
➡️ Abstract slogans can’t erase clear legal and moral commands. If Allah’s justice includes slavery and corporal punishment, then either divine justice itself is flawed — or these verses aren’t truly divine.

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⚔️ The Real Clash — Timeless Text vs. Evolving Morality

Here’s the core of the problem:
If a book is supposed to be eternal truth, then it must be morally defensible in every era.
If it fails that test — if it clashes with basic human decency — then it’s either:

✅ Not from a perfect, all-knowing God, or
✅ Hopelessly locked in the 7th century

Either way, the claim of divine perfection collapses.

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🎯 Final Word

This is the question that shatters the facade of Islamic apologetics:
How can a book that includes morally repugnant verses be the final, perfect word of God?

It can’t.

And that’s why every attempt to “update” Islam — or to claim it’s morally superior to secular ethics — inevitably crashes against the hard rock of the Qur’an’s own text.

👉 When the verses themselves betray our moral conscience, no amount of reinterpretation can save them.
👉 That’s not moral progress — it’s a silent admission that the Qur’an is a flawed product of its time, not an eternal guide for all humanity.