In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful
What Does Islam Say about Original Sin?
Our knowledge about Prophet Adam and his wife Eve, unlike our knowledge about other prophets, is very little. There are so many books written and so many films made about different prophets, but when it comes to Adam and Eve, we usually face a bunch of jokes about them; most common is that they were lucky not have any in laws! And after all the jokes we end up blaming them for having sinned and having brought the human generation on earth in this miserable sinful world.
It is a shame that we usually speak less about the status of Adam and Eve and there is not much information about them, available for the public, to show their status.
In this article I would like to study the status of Adam and Eve and compare the Christian view on the concept of original sin with the Islamic view point on the same topic.
Christian’s opinion on the concept of original sin
In Christianity original sin is the rebellion of Adam and Eve in Eden, mainly in consuming from the forbidden tree, which resulted in the fall of man (from the state of innocent obedience to the state of guilty disobedience).
After huge discussions on the topic of original sin which was first raised by St. Augustine who stated “the deliberate sin of the first man is the cause of original sin”, Christian theology accepted two main ideas about human condition in this world, believing in the fact that human were supposed to live eternally in Eden;
1- Adam by his sin caused the fall of human generation on earth and therefore as a result of this worldly life, he caused death for human generations.
2- Adam by his fault transmitted sin to human generation.
According to Christian opinion, death and sin are transmitted in human race by generation, "for as by the disobedience of one man many [i.e., all men] were made sinners" (Romans 5:19). [1]
Now, let’s see how the story of Adam and Eve is explained in the Quran.
Prophet Adam in the Quran
There are four major parts of story of Adam and Eve described in the Quran:
1- The creation of Adam, ordering the angels to prostrate before him and Satan’s disobedience.
2- Adam and Eve’s settlement in paradise, their temptation by Satan, tasting from the forbidden tree.
3- Adam, Eve and Satan’s fall on earth where “In it you will live, and in it you will die; and from it you will be raised [from the dead].” (7: 25)
4- Adam and Eve’s repentance and choosing Adam by God.
Where does the story start?
“When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed I am going to set a viceroy on the earth,” (2:30) then He thought “the Names” to Adam and old the angels to prostrate for Adam, “they prostrated, but not Iblis: he refused and acted arrogantly, and he was one of the faithless.” (2: 34) Then God said: “O Adam, dwell with your mate in paradise and eat thereof freely whence so ever you wish, but do not approach this tree, lest you should be among the wrongdoers.” (2: 35) Then Satan tempted them as he had sworn to tempt human generation, “Then Satan caused them to stumble from it, and he dislodged them from what [state] they were in”. (2: 36) Adam and Eve returned to God and asked for forgiveness based on their divine nature and “Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him clemently, and guided him.” (20: 122)
The Islamic view on the concept of original sin
Unlike Christianity that discusses the concept of original sin from a theological aspect, almost all Muslim scholars discuss the issue based on exegesis of the Quranic verses. It is also important to keep in mind that Muslims believe in infallibility of prophets, and to find out how the concept of original sin comes along with Prophet Adam’s infallibility.
Most important points about the concept of original sin from Muslim scholars’ view point are as follows:
1- Were Human supposed to remain eternally in heaven?
“Indeed I am going to set a viceroy on the earth,” (2:30)
Based on the above verse and other similar verses, Fakhr-e Razi claims that Adam’s rejection from paradise was not because he sinned. Since God’s order to prevent them from tasting from the tree was not an obligatory, but He said “do not approach this tree, lest you should be among the wrongdoers.” (7: 19) and therefore they did not do a forbidden act. In reply to those who admit the repentance of Adam shows that he committed a sin and therefore he cannot be infallible, Fakhr-e Razi says that “prophets not only do not commit any sins, but if they make a mistake they would repent from it as they know that these little mistakes would make the way broader for real sins.” [2]
2- Staying on earth after God accepted their repentance
“Then Adam received certain words from his Lord, and He turned to him clemently. Indeed He is the All-clement, the All-merciful.” (2:37)
As mentioned before, Allah (SWT) Accepted Adam and Eve’s repentance and turned to them. As Tabatabaei puts it, the necessity of an accepted repentance is that the person would return to his/her previous situation, while Adam and Eve instead of returning to paradise stayed on earth and Adam was chosen and guided to be the a guidance for his generation. [3] Therefore according to Jawadi -Amoli tasting from the forbidden tree has been part of the plan for Adam and Eve to be treated and prepared for living on earth where they have enemies and they should not trust everyone as they trusted Satan; “He said, ‘Get down both of you from it, all together, being enemies of one another! Yet, should any guidance come to you from Me, those who follow My guidance will not go astray, nor will they be miserable.” (20: 123) [4]
Did Adam’s sin make his generation sinful?
Tabataei strongly disagrees with those who claim that the original sin made committing sin a necessity for human generation. He states that the lordliness of God makes a space to order the right and forbid from wrong. Therefore there will be punishment for wrongdoers and reward for righteous people. He can also, based on His lordliness, bless those who commit a sin and repent from it. He continues that it is not logical to accept that human sin will go through generations and one’s sin will make others sinful as well. [5] As it is also mentioned in the Quran “No soul does evil except against itself, and no bearer shall bear another’s burden”. (6: 164)
Conclusion
The story of Adam and Eve is not for us to find out if Adam was sinful or not. It is rather a symbolic story that should teach us lessons for having a successful life in this world. Our story from birth to death has a lot in common with the story of our father, Adam. We were born innocent. We grew up and started tasting from different forbidden fruits. We gradually descended from our human status, instead of ascending towards God; “We certainly created man in the best of forms; then We relegated him to the lowest of the low, except those who have faith and do righteous deeds. There will be an everlasting reward for them.” (95: 4- 6)
Every day is the time for us to repent from our sins and to beware of not being deceived by Satan.
‘O Children of Adam! Do not let Satan tempt you, like he expelled your parents from paradise, stripping them of their garments to expose to them their nakedness. Indeed he sees you—he and his hosts—whence you do not see them. We have indeed made the devils friends of those who have no faith.’ (7:27)
References
[1] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm
[2] Fakhr-e Razi, Muhammad ibn Amr, Mafatih al-Ghayb, p. 17
[3] Tabatabaei, Muahmmad Hossein, Al-Mizan, vol. 8. P.46
[4] Jawadi – Amoli, Abdullah, Tasneem, vol. 3, p. 328
[5] Tabatabaei, Muahmmad Hossein, Al-Mizan, vol. 1. Pp.133-137