Comparison On The Story of Original Sin in Islam and Christianity .

Original sin or ancestral sin can be defined as sin and its guilt that we all possess in Gods eyes as a direct result of Adams sin in the Garden of Eden . This belongs to one of the important Roman Catholic doctrines in Christianity which claims that every human was born sinful . They are born with tendency to do wicked things and disobey the Almighty God . Christians believe that one will bear inherited sin from their head descendants ; Adam and Eve since they were born due to Adams and Eves fault in the heaven by eating forbidden fruit and put God in rage . In contrast , Islam totally rejected the idea of original sin . In Islam there is no such teaching as original sin . Islam strictly inclines the belief that the punishment of sins will only be faced by those who commit them. Sin is not a hereditary trait passed to one's progeny to another. All people will be responsible to what they committed in their life . 1) Accusation of Eve In this context , there was a huge difference from the perspective view from the Al-Quran and Bible . Firstly , we are going to see what Bible wrote about Adam and Eve and their disobedience .As mentioned in Genesis , God forbid both Adam and Eve from eating fruit from the forbidden tree . However , Eve was seduced by the serpent and in turn she seduced Adam to eat the forbidden fruit with her . When God knew their disobedience , God blamed Adam for what he did but in turn Adam blamed Eve , "The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." (Genesis,3: 12). Consequently , God said to Eve:

"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you." (Genesis, 3: 16). "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I forbidden you to eat, Cursed Is the ground because of you ; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life..." (Genesis, 3: 17). Meanwhile in Al-Quran , Allah mentioned in Surah al-Araf verse 19 until 23 ,

[19]"O Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. [20] Then Satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them and he said: 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever.'[21] And he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies.[22] And their Lord called unto them: 'Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?'[23] They said: 'Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost' " (7:19-23). If we take a look carefully between both of the stories stated in Al-Quran and Bible , Genesis mentioned that due to Eves fault , God put 9 curse on her . These nine curses made a huge negative impact on Eve and female descendants in the society in Judeo-Christian tradition . Due

to that curse , women was believed to be untrustworthy, morally inferior, and wicked. Menstruation, pregnancy, and childbearing were considered the just punishment for the eternal guilt of the cursed female sex . This lowered the status of women in society . St. Tertullian once said to his beloved sister while walking with her . The curse given to Eve here was mentioned in the Bible, To the woman He gives nine curses and death: the burden of the blood of menstruation and the blood of virginity; the burden of pregnancy; the burden of childbirth; the burden of bringing up the children; her head is covered as one in mourning; she pierces her hear like a permanent slave or slave girl who serves her master; she is not to be believed as a witness; and after everything death 1 St. Tertullian once said to his beloved sister while walking with her ,2 "Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours live sin this age : the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of the forbidden tree: You are the first deserter of the divine law: You are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image ,man. On account of your desert even the Son of God 3had to die." In the Judeo-Christian era , the status of woman in society was being denied . They claimed that all the women are sinner as they are female descendants of Eve . They claimed womens job only limited to childbirth . If they cannot bring child to this world especially boys , they are useless .

Leonard J. Swidler, Women in Judaism: The Status of Women in Formative Judaism (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1976), p. 115 2 For all the saying of the prominent Saints , see Karen Armstrong, The Gospels according to Woman (London, Elm Tree Books, 1986) pp. 5262 3 Son of God here means Jesus Christ who was being crucified in order to wash away the inherited sin

at that time , every female infant that born was considered as painful burden and shame on his father .

However , In Islam , Eve was not accused to be the main reason for their disobedience . The main reason was from Satan . Satan was the one who seduced Eve and put her in astray . Allah didnt blame Eve but put blame on Adam and Eve equally . Both share the responsibility and both receive blame equally . Both of them repent for their disobedience and Allah accepted their salvation . They didnt own any sin at all after that. Al-Quran already explained in surah alAraf, They said Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls:If You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be loss. [Quran 7:23] Since Adam and Eve both sincere for repentance and forgiveness from Allah , He the one who is the Most Merciful turned to both of them and accepted their salvation . Allah said in the Holy Quran , Thereupon Adam received words [of guidance] from his Sustainer, and He accepted his repentance: for, verily, He alone is the-Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace. (AlBaqarah 2:37)

Moreover , there is no such thing about nine curses in Islam teachings . Before Allah sent them down to the Earth , He didnt mentioned any curses on Eve . Allah sent down Adam and Eve to the Earth and this is the beginning point of human races where Adam and Eve shall live and die

among with their descendants . Allah appointed them to be vicegerent on the Earth .This was further explained in the Holy Quran in the next verse of Surah al-Araf : He said : Get forth , some of you , the enemies of the others , and there is for you in the Earth an abode and a provision for a time (Quran 7:23-24).

Moreover , Islam does not lowered the status of women in society . In contrast to Bible , every female infant that was born onto the Earth was considered blessing bestowed by Allah . Islam made no distinction in the status of men and women . Al-Quran explained ,

To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills (and plans). He bestows (children) male or female according to His Will (and Plan), (Quran 42:49)

Women carry huge responsibilities in life . They bear a task as a child , a mother and a wife . In the eye of Allah , women placed third after Allah and His apostle ; The Last Prophet . This has been narrated by Prophet Muhammad in his Hadith ,

{5971}. Narrated Ab Hurairah , A man came to Allah's Messenger, and said, "0 Allah's Messenger! Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?" The Prophet ; said, "Your mother." The man said ,"Who is next?" The Prophet said ,"Your mother." The man further said,"Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked (for the fourth time), "Who is next?" The Prophet said, Your Father .4

Prophet Muhammad repeated three times for a mother who is the one most prior to treated with companionship . This is how Islam honoured women as a mother . Islam also honoured women
4

Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan , The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari Arabic English Volume 8 , Hadith 5971

as a wife instead being a factory producing infants as mentioned in the Bible and being treated badly . Christianity denied womens right . However , Islam urges the husband to treat his wife in a good and kind manner, and says that the wife has rights over the husband like his rights over her, except that he has a degree over her, because of his responsibility of spending and taking care of the familys affairs . This was further explained by Allah in the Holy Quran ,

O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may Take away part of the dower ye have given them,-except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good. ( Quran 4:19 )

Therefore , Eve must not being blamed . Every female descendants of Eve does not carry sins of here since Allah accepted both Adams and Eves repentance . They were not being punished without any reason but Allah had made a plan for all of us human kind .

2) Repentance vs Crucifixion Christianitys dogma stated penalty of blood must be paid for sin in order to gain Gods justice . Christianity believes human cannot cure the original sin but only the Son of God was able to do so . In order to cure to the sin of Adam and Eve , Jesus was being crucified . Jesus was willingly sacrificing himself on the cross in order to redeem the ancestral sin inherited from Adam and Eve on behalf of their descendants . Due to the guilt bear by Christians after causing the Son of God being crucified , they baptized themselves in order to cleanse themselves from the sin . After being ritualized and baptized , they believed that they were born again in this world without any sins .

However , there are teachings in Christianity which rejects the idea of crucifixion . The theory of original sin created by St.Augustine denies that people have ability to repent or possesses free will . It made a person felt that they were originally a sinner until the end of their lives . As a result , they felt useless for them to repent since they were sinners .

However in Islam , punishment of sin was not being put on a person only as what Jesus had done for the Christians . Islam strongly promotes that the punishment of sins will only be faced by those who committed sinful doings . Sin in Islam is not considered as a hereditary trait . Instead , all people will be responsible for their action . Even though in Al-Quran mentioned the sin of Adam and Eve but there is no verse mentioning their sins are inherited . For every sinners , they are encouraged to repent instantly and sincerely with Taubah Al-Nasuha after committed the sin

. They must realize their wrong doing , repent for forgiveness and restrain themselves from repeating the same act of sin . This is the concept of salvation in Islam . As what mentioned in Al-Quran

Allah described Himself in His one of the 99 attributes ; The Most Merciful , he accept all his servants repentance except shirk . He would not put a burden for his servants since He knows the limit of them to bear with . Allah mentioned in His Kalam :

Therefore , the theory of original sin surely put a negative view for human to the God . How can God is considered as cruel since He is the one who provide many bounties for His Servants ? Why God created all human kind if they were originally marked as a sinner ? What is the purpose of He created heaven then since all the sinners were surely go to hell ?