This corresponding section of the Bible lays out the primary need and provision for salvation, that which is of first importance to Christians. The Koran tells a very different story, for all that the summary seems similar. “The devil is in the details,” they say, and in this case that is pretty nearly literal.
Did Adam and Eve mean it?
The Koran makes it clear that Adam’s sin was entirely unintentional, placing the whole blame upon the devil. When they ate, “their evil inclinations became manifest to them,” and they had to leave this garden. According to the commentary, the Garden was an allegory of a state of inertia, containing no inclination towards good or evil. I really don’t think I can say that all Muslims see the Garden as an allegory based on this one commentary, especially since some Christians see it as an allegory and many do not. All that aside, however, there is an important difference here in viewing the state of the human being.
As Francis Schaeffer put it so well in his radio series, which I’ve been listening to lately, Christianity is not Romanticism in that it does not assume that man is inherently good and getting better. Even the Christians who do not believe that every baby is born already stained with Adam’s sin, there is no denying that every one ends up in dire need of God’s salvation. We are unable to fix ourselves, and so we need atonement before we can even hope to reconcile with God. The story of Adam and Eve in the Bible ends with what is widely considered the first prophetic mention of Jesus Christ.
The dampening down or eliminating of Adam’s sin is necessary to remove the need for a Savior. Islam, claiming to be one of ‘the three Abrahamic religions’, once again distinguishes itself from Christianity and Judaism and joins just about every other world religion in believing that good works and wisdom alone are sufficient to pave your way to Heaven. Now, some Christians might chime in and ask why I place Christianity and Judaism together in this light. Although the Jews are still waiting for their political savior, even though they no longer perform animal sacrifice on altars as in the Old Testament, nevertheless they believe that a genuine repentance and accompanying forgiveness from God is necessary to wipe out sin. This is a work done nearly entirely by God, separate from any good deeds that the Jew or Christian has committed. Amid the various web commentaries on this section of the Koran, I found the statement, “A good deed cancels a bad deed.” This is not found in Christianity or Judaism.
Eve and Women as Individuals
In another important point, the Bible claims that Eve was persuaded by the devil (in the form of a serpent) and then persuaded Adam. The Koran up to this point has only addressed Adam himself or Adam and “his wife”. Some claim that the Koran is therefore more “woman-friendly”, having not placed the blame of the First Sin on Eve. (Granted, as the First Sin is entirely the fault of the devil and his ability to place evil thoughts into man’s mind rather than the more subtle leading-astray in the Bible, man doesn’t really take the hit either.) I see it a different way.
Eve in the Bible was her own person, an individual, who thought for herself and had the power to convince her husband to follow. She discerned wrongly, but she did discern! Though Adam tried later to shift full blame to her, God gave him a separate punishment, underlying what Christians already know: Eve does not carry full blame for the Fall of Man. However, her existence as a separate and important human being has already been shown in the Bible, in the Naming of the Animals, an emphasis missing in the corresponding story in the Koran. In the Bible, Woman shares in sin and its consequences as an equal person to Adam, with intelligence and influence, and God addresses her separately. Interestingly, this difference was highlighted for me in how the first human couple in the Bible are sometimes addressed as “Adam and Eve”, sometimes as “Adam and his wife”, and sometimes as “Eve and her husband.” In the Koran, it is always “Adam” or “Adam/man and his wife”.
Consequences
Although Christianity and Judaism differ in the role of the Messiah, they both place the primary emphasis on forgiveness of sin being necessary for a right relationship with god. Islam places more importance on good deeds and revealed Divine knowledge, and we begin to see that here.
Man must now leave the garden. Why? Because “some of you are the enemies of others.” Man, though he supposedly had not deliberately sinned, has nevertheless given in to his “low desires” and is now more likely to war with each other. Though Adam is said to have “repented” by turning back to Allah, this appears to be a direct result of Allah revealing knowledge to him. My helpful commentary declares, “Man is found too weak to overcome the evil suggestions of the devil or the [pre-Fall] evil inclinations in him… He [Allah] sends down revelation which, strengthening his faith in God [Allah], gives him the strength to overcome the devil and reject his suggestions.” There we have it; man couldn’t have known he was giving in to evil, but now he does, so he won’t do it again! Though it is referred to by the commentary as ‘repentance’, nothing appears to need forgiving. “Allah is merciful.” Under such circumstances, I would hope so!
The section ends, not with the punishment of man and wife and the promise of Satan’s eventual defeat, but with the simple promise that prophets will come from time to time with new revealed knowledge of Allah. This total departure from the Bible is necessary for Mohammed to claim any new revelation after the coming of Jesus. When you believe that the Fall of Man is corrected by a work already done, what is there to add? As well, if you are still waiting for your prophesied Savior, what use have you for someone who claims that there will not be one?
dear friend, have you, by chance, read the chapter in 'the book of mirdad' called 'on sin and the shedding of the fig-leaf apron'? i recommend this for what seems to me a far deeper understanding of the creation story — or that part concerning the events in the garden in eden. the book is, apparently, an ancient, arabic scroll hat was translated by mikhail naimy. mysticism of the highest calibre!
ReplyDelete