Shining God’s Light on the Koran

This article is part of an on-going series contrasting the Judeo-Christian Bible with the Koran on a variety of topics. Previous articles include: "Was Abraham a Jew or a Christian?", Idolatry 101, 102, 103, Oneness, Unbelievers, God's Character, The Resurrection, The Proclamation, The Judgment, The Creation of Man, The Creation of Woman, and The Fall of Man: Part 1-The Command.

The Fall of Man - Part 2 - The Disobedience

Both the Holy Bible and the Koran address the disobedience to God by Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit.

The Koran teaches, “But Satan tempted them, so that he might reveal to them their shameful parts, which they had never seen before. He said, “Your Lord has forbidden you to approach this tree only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.” Then he swore to them that he would give to them friendly counsel.

Thus did he cunningly seduce them. And when they had eaten of the tree, their shame became visible to them, and they both covered themselves with the leaves of the garden. (1).”

But Satan whispered to him (Adam), saying, “Adam, shall I show you the Tree of Immortality and the imperishable kingdom? They both ate of its fruit so that they saw their shameful parts and began to cover themselves with leaves of the Garden. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord and stray from the right path (2).”

The Holy Bible, on the other hand, states that the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. He said unto the woman. Yes, hath God said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden.’ The woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat of it, neither touch it lest you die. The serpent said unto the woman, you shall not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (3).

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate it. She gave also to her husband and he did eat. Their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sowed fig leaves together making themselves aprons (3).

Both the Koran and the Holy Scriptures state that Adam and Eve sowed leaves together to make a covering for themselves.

The Koran states that Satan tempted Adam and Eve to reveal to themselves their secret parts. After eating the fruit their shameful parts became visible. Holy Scripture says they were both naked yet they were not ashamed (5). Nowhere in the Bible does God state that any part of man is shameful. Instead the Apostle Paul writes that God has bestowed more abundant honor to that part which lacked. That there be no division in the body but that each member of the body should have the same care for each other (6)

Holy Scripture does not say that Satan tempted Adam and Eve to reveal to them their shameful parts. Nor is any explanation given as to why Adam and Even were tempted. However, Satan told Jesus that he had the power of all the kingdoms delivered to him and he could give it to whomsoever he wiled to give it (7). Satan took this power away from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by getting them to disobey God. It could be that control of the world was the reason Satan tempted Adam and Eve rather than getting them to see their nakedness, while the Koran reports it as shameful.

The Koran says Adam and Eve were both seduced. Holy Scripture says that Adam was not deceived but the woman was (8). Regardless mankind as a whole is fallen as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin. Prior to this misbehavior, Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God and they were immortal, which is contrary to what the Koran teaches. The Koran holds that Adam and Eve were mortal before they disobeyed God by eating the fruit. However, that relationship was broken by their refusal to follow God’s clear instruction. Therefore all human beings have been tainted by this original sin and are now mortal.

The Koran and the Holy Bible agree that Adam and Eve disobeyed God. This then brought about a conscious awareness of their separation from God which they did not have before eating.

Friend, have you acknowledged your personal estrangement from Almighty God? Have you allowed God, through Jesus Christ, to reconcile yourself to God? If not, you can do so by first admitting that you are a sinner just like Adam and Eve were. Then you must personally invite Jesus into your inner being, your life. You can pray this simple prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ forgive me of my sins and come into my heart.” This act will allow you to have a personal relationship with God.

References:

(1) Koran p. 110, paragraph 7:20, 21
(2) Koran p. 226, paragraph 20:118, 119
(3) The Holy Bible, Genesis 3:1-5
(4) The Holy Bible, Genesis 3:6, 7
(5) The Holy Bible, Genesis 2:25
(6) The Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians 12:14-26
(7) The Holy Bible, Luke 4:5-7

(8) The Holy Bible, 1 Timothy 2:14