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Christian Hamartiology and the Islamic Doctrine of Sin: A Comparative Analysis
INTRODUCTION
The following paper compares Christian and Islamic perspectives on the concept of sin by analyzing passages from the Bible and the Qur’an. Section 1 approximates a definition of sin and what types of sin each text recognizes. Section 2 contains a comparison between different notions of repentance/reparation for sins committed. Section 3 discusses how Christian and Muslim interpretations of their respective sacred texts account for the problem of evil. A conclusion is then offered, based on the analysis made in the three prior sections.
DISCUSSION
Types of Sin. A sufficiently adequate definition for the concept of sin is in order, before an attempt is made at supplying any typology of sins. Now, since this is a comparative analysis, the concept will be provided from the Christian and Muslim views respectively. Thereby, it will be possible to notice similarities and differences between both traditions.
The Bible offers several sources for understanding sin. If one turns to 1 John 3:4, one finds that “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” So, trespassing by breaking the divine law is at least one way in which Christianity understands sin. In other words, “God gave humanity His laws to show us His way of love. Those laws define how we demonstrate love to God and our fellowman” (Ashley). It is then to be inferred that love of God and our fellow human beings are best expressed through the obedience to God’s laws.

It further implies that motivation for obeying divine commands is love rather than fear or convenience. Indeed, 1 John 3:11 clearly states: “For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” It is noteworthy, however, that love does not entirely preclude fear, for “the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” (The Holy Bible: New International Version, Exodus 20:20, Emphasis added).
However, there is yet another connotation for sin in the Bible. Matthew’s gospel (5:21-22) offers the following words attributed to Jesus Christ: “anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” Other translations make it explicit that this anger is “without a cause.” therefore we are talking about injustice, and the Bible further establishes this claim by stating (New International Version 1 John 5:17): “all wrongdoing is sin,” where “wrongdoing” has been variously translated as “unrighteousness” or “iniquity”. Let us be reminded that Cain murdered his brother Abel in a fit of rage and that we have been instructed to love one another, as well as God above all else. The Bible, thus, provides us with a concept of sin that includes not only overt behavior as sinful but thoughts and feelings as well.
While Islamic belief concurs that sin involves “disobedience to the law of God” (Adamec, 290-291), there is an important difference with the Christian view insofar as the wrongdoing is not so much against Allah as it is against mankind. Some examples include:“They said (Adam and Eve, that is): ‘Our Lord, we have wronged our own souls’” (The Holy Quran, Surah 7:23). “And [recall] when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by your taking of the calf [for worship]’” (Surah 2:54).
“And they wronged Us not – but they were [only] wronging themselves” (Surah 2:57). This last example alludes to wrongdoing on behalf of the people of Israel. Also, not all sins are equal to Muslims. The Quran describes different types of sin, the punishment for which varies in severity. This will be covered in Section 2.
Original Sin. The Christian doctrine of original sin has its biblical roots in the book of Genesis, where it is told that Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise as part of the punishment for having disobeyed God. As Genesis 2:17 reads, God instructed Man not to “eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die.” Genesis 3 describes the so-called “Fall of Man,” where Eve is tempted by the Serpent to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, then also gave some fruit to Adam, which he ate.
Original sin starts a cycle of wrongdoing and retribution, not only for Adam and Eve but every human being as well. God brought down unavoidable punishments on Adam, Eve, the Serpent, and even the land itself, upon which he cast a terrible curse (“Cursed is the ground because of you,” Genesis 3:17). Even mortality itself seems to be a further consequence of this transgression, for in Genesis 3, a tree of life is mentioned, the fruits of which would if eaten, allegedly enable humans to “live forever” (:21).
Notice in this connection that Adam and Eve are judged and punished as sinners, even though they had no prior knowledge of right and wrong, and so they could not have had any awareness of the implications of disobeying God’s will. This means that, according to the Old Testament, sinning is about damaging one’s relation to God (or your fellow men), regardless of one’s being conscious of the offense or even able to act otherwise. This doctrine has been the subject of heated controversy since, as McFarland (Preface, ix) explains, “The idea that we are all guilty because of an ancestor’s misdeed is viewed as morally outrageous and historically incredible, summing up for many everything that is wrong with Christianity.”
By contrast, original sin is non-existent in Islam, even though the Qur’an does include a story about Adam and Eve. The Quranic version, however, differs on crucial points. First, in Surah 7, Aya 24, Allah said unto them, “Descend, being to one another enemies. And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment for a time.” On the other hand, Surah 2:37 reads, “Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.” This means that man was, thus, cleansed through Allah’s forgiveness, so his offspring could not have been born sinners.
Major Sins. Although the Catholic Church has advocated a doctrine of seven “deadly” sins, this is not found anywhere in the Bible. The Qur’an, on the other hand, does make distinctions between minor and major sins. In that regard, the text in Surah 53:32 is clear: “Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness.” Among the major sins, most scholars agree that the gravest of them all is shirk or giving partners –that is, other deities– to God. Other grave sins include: murder, adultery, homosexuality, despoiling orphans, usury, wine-drinking, false accusations of unchastity (adultery), magic, and fleeing from a battle (Adamec, 290-291; see also Zwemer).
Interestingly, some scholars seem to agree that telling major and minor sins apart is not straightforward. According to Schirrmacher, for instance, “There is, however, no clear indication which is which. Surat 4:31, for example, speaks of grave sin, but does not explain which offenses are meant.” Along the same lines, Castor is thus led to believe that the divine law in Islam is arbitrary:
“Nothing is right or wrong by nature but becomes such by the fiat of the Almighty. What Allah forbids is a sin, even should He forbid what seems to the human conscious right and lawful. What Allah allows is not sin and cannot be a sin at the time he allows it, though it may have been before or after.” (Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies)
Consequently, what counts as a major sin, a minor sin, or even a sin at all is not that easy to see. Adamec (291), in fact, affirms “A minor sin, committed intentionally, can become a major sin.”
Repentance and Atonement. Both religions proclaim the deity as being most merciful and compassionate, therefore a forgiver of sins. The Bible’s Old Testament provides context for repentance as a requisite to be forgiven one’s sins by God. So, for example, “the Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 59:20). Likewise, Jeremiah 18:8 states “and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” Repentance thus appears essential for salvation, since all men are sinful by their very nature (original/hereditary sin) and risk eternal death away from God if not forgiven.
Also in the Old Testament, the word “atonement” is mentioned several times (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, etc.). In the Old Testament, it is used to refer to offerings of food or money, usually before a consecrated altar. This is a place where God would meet with His people. With regard to salvation, this notion of atonement does not seem quite interesting, save for certain illuminating passages such as Exodus 32:30, where Moses says: “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” This passage seems to suggest that God’s vengeful wrath as retribution for the sins of men may be placated through an offering. It probably helps, moreover, that the person making the offering is a spiritual leader, chosen by God himself. The idea of a selected intermediary, mostly a priest, is supported by passages found in Leviticus, such as 4:31, where one finds the following: “In this way, the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.”
However, in the New Testament, the concept of atonement evolves into a fully-fledged doctrine concerning the death of Jesus Christ. There are very few instances of the word in the New Testament, yet one particular place deserves to be quoted in its entirety:
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (The Holy Bible: New International Version, Hebr. 2:14-18. Emphasis added).
Again, the concept of a (high) priest as a mediator appears. Now, however, what counts as atonement is radically different from a bull. Not only is humanity’s own flesh and blood, but God incarnates himself who sacrifices himself “for the sins of the people.” Jesus Christ, the ultimate sacrificial lamb, removes previous sins in general (Romans 3:25) and Original Sin in particular from the world –at least for believers.
Muslims, on the other hand, reject the doctrine of atonement. To start with, there is no original sin, therefore no need to wash it away. Also, Islamic belief is certainly not in agreement with the claim that death entered the world through sin, or for that matter, that the Devil is he “who holds the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14). Rather, death has always been a part of Allah’s divine plan, as illustrated in the following excerpt:
14 Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.15 Then indeed, after that, you are to die. 16 Then indeed you, on the Day of Resurrection, will be resurrected. (The Noble Qur’an, Surah 23, ayaat 14-16).
So, in Islam, every person is born pure since there is no sin passed on to them from Adam nor anybody else, which would be unfair, since each person is responsible for their own sins. Muslim theologians contend that every person is born into a state of fitrah, a state of purity, worthy of being saved. However, the Devil (Iblees) is the perpetual enemy of man. He will constantly seek to tempt humans, so they sin and risk not being saved from the Fire. This means that evil, while not inherent in human nature, nonetheless presents itself in the form of external influences.
As for how powerful repentance can be for purposes of salvation, interpreters have provided conflicting accounts. On the one hand, Adamec (290-91) claims that “Disbelief and giving partners to God are great sins that cannot be forgiven and deserve eternal hellfire.” He finds textual support for this claim in Surah 47, Aya 34: “Indeed, those who disbelieved and averted [people] from the path of Allah and then died while they were disbelievers – never will Allah forgive them.” Rahman (14), for his part, asserts that “there is no ‘point of no return’ for human behavior: genuine repentance (tauba) can turn an apparently wholly evil man into a paragon of virtue.” Surah 4:19, where is written “But if they repent and correct themselves, leave them alone. Indeed, Allah is ever Accepting of repentance and Merciful.”Also, there seems to be disagreement on whether the punishment in hell is eternal or is proportional to the seriousness of the offense committed.
A further elucidation is in order before moving on to the next Section. As explained in Oxford Islamic Studies Online, “Repentance and forgiveness are a direct matter between the individual and God, requiring no intercession.” In other words, a Muslim who has sinned needs not confess, not to his fellow men, not to any spiritual leader, but only to Allah Himself.
Sin and the problem of Evil. We have finally arrived to one of the most difficult and controversial aspects of the doctrines of both Islam and Christianity. Why is there so much sin and suffering in the world, and why would a compassionate, merciful God/Allah allow it to exist? This problem takes the form of two arguments. The first argument is deductive, meaning that its conclusion must be true if one accepts the truth of the premises. The second argument is inductive, meaning its conclusion is only probable and not necessarily true.
On the other hand, in its deductive (logical) form, the problem of evil looks like this:
i. By definition, the existing God is all-powerful, all-good, and all-knowing.
ii. If God is all-powerful, then He can stop evil from happening (for instance, by instead recreating the world in which free agents never choose sin over righteousness).
iii. If God is all-good, then He would want to stop evil from happening.
iv. If God is all-knowing, then He is aware of evil.
v. Yet, evil keeps on happening. (Which is inconsistent with the definition in “i”).
vi. Therefore, an all-powerful, all-good, all-knowing God is nonexistent.
Let us start with the Islamic approach. In the previous Section, we explained how death was never thought of as a punishment, but rather part of creation and thus an Act of God. Consequently, death in Islam is not to be seen as evil, which goes a long way towards relieving Islamic scholars from having to offer a moral justification for it. Things such as disease and natural disasters are not evil, but rather only a part of God’s design.
On the other hand, murder, as we have seen earlier, is indeed considered a grave sin in Islam. Thus it would seem that either God is missing one of the “all-” attributes, or He simply does not stop evil because he is not a real being, to begin with. It must be reminded that, to Muslims, Allah is also a righteous avenger. See for example Surah 32:22: “And who is more unjust than he who is reminded of the signs of his Lord, after that veers away from them? Surely We will be the Avengers against the criminals.”
It is part of God’s benevolent character that He should want to ensure justice in the world. An analogous case could be made for man as well, since “whoever avenges himself after having been wronged – those have not upon them any cause [for blame].” One could then argue that, in order for complete justice to exist in Creation, room must be made for retributive justice; and so, sins cannot be removed from the world, given their inextricable bond to retribution.
Incidentally, the God of the Old Testament is also a vengeful God who razed Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground and likewise caused a great deluge. Both acts, the Bible tells us, were acts of divine retribution for the sins of humanity. Likewise, both the Quran and the Bible assert the free will of humans. A possible response to the problem would, therefore, hold that since free will is good, and since the genuine exercise of free will requires the real possibility that free agents can choose to do wrong, God would be producing an inferior version of the world were He to remove this real possibility for wrongdoing.
CONCLUSION
The Quran and the Bible offer us accounts of sin which, while similar, differ on crucial points, such as the ontology of sin (its nature and types) as well as diverging soteriologies (doctrines of salvation). Crucially, both texts and interpretations thereof have to come to grips with the so-called Problem of Evil, since said the problem is cause for a debate on the very existence of their respective deities, and therefore, is a direct attack on the assertion after that the whole system of faith hinges. Though some answers to this problem have been put forward, every answer so far has raised further questions, rendering them not entirely convincing and allowing the theism-atheism debate to rage on.
Works Cited
1. The Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission, www.biblegateway.com. Accessed 30/12/2016.
2. The Noble Quran. © 2016, www.quran.com. Accessed 30/12/2016.
3. Adamec, Ludwig. Historical Dictionary of Islam. 2nd. ed. The Scarecrow Press, 2009.
4. McFarland, Ian. In Adam’s Fall: A Meditation on the Christian Doctrine of Original Sin. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
5. Rahman, Fazlur. Major Themes of the Qur’an. Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980.
6. Ashley, Scott. “How does the Bible Define Sin?”, Beyond Today. United Church of God, www.ucg.org/the-good-news/how-does-the-bible-define-sin. Accessed 31/12/2016.
7. Castor, Trevor. “Sin According to Islam”. Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies, http://www.zwemercenter.com/guide/sin-according-to-muslims/. Accessed 31/12/2016.
8. Oxford Islamic Studies Online.http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com. Accessed 31/12/2016.