From: belal@yokohama.engin.umich.edu (belal  khalid)
Subject: Quran, Adam and Original Sin
Originator: zeeshan@occs.cs.oberlin.edu (Zeeshan Hasan -Moderator)
Organization: Oberlin College Computer Science
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 15:59:10 GMT
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NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

			BisMillahHirrahManNirraHeem

Dear readers!

In the last few weeks there has been considerable traffic in SRI about the 
original sin inherited by mankind from Adam. There are many islamic 
explainations regarding it, however I think the following is a very logical
explaination which is also supported by the mordern scientific discoveries.

EVOLUTION AND HYSTORY OF MANKIND FROM QURAN
Quran says that God desired to bring into existence a universe which 
should serve as a manifestation of His Majesty and His Light and that this 
was the cause of the creation of universe. It says that God created the 
heavens and the earth in six periods. Before that God ruled over water. God`s
object in creating the heavens and the earth out of water was to bring into 
existence a being endowed with the will to choose between good and evil.
These beings would pass through various trials and would seek to outstrip one
another in doing good and thus show which of them had attained to perfection
(11:8). This verse shows that before matter assumed its present form it 
existed in liquid shape. With regard to the prematerial stage the Quran says:

	"Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth 
	were a closed up mass, then We opened them out? And We made 
	from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?" 
	(21: 31)

The verse purports to say that the heavens and the earth were at first an 
amorphous mass and God then split them and formed them into a solar system 
and form the beginning He has always created life out of water.

STAGES OF UNIVERSE
According to the Quran the universe passed from stage to stage till the earth
assumed a shape and developed properties which could sustain human life. 

The Quran, contrary to the accounts given in the Old and the New Testaments, 
teaches that man was created through a gradual process. There is another 
verse in the Quran which shows that the creation of man was the culmination 
of a gradual process and that it is not correct to say that God formed man 
out of clay and breathed His spirit into him. The Quran says: 

	" And He has created you in different stages and different 
	forms" (71:15).

ADAM NOT THE FIRST MAN ON EARTH(TRUTH ABOUT JINNS)
In the same way man's intellectual development also proceeded gradually. The 
Quran shows that human beings were in existence before Adam but that they 
were not yet able to bear the responsiblity of revealed Law. They lived in 
caves and in mountain fastnesses. It is for this reason that the Quran has 
called them by the name of JINN, which means literally those that dwell out 
of sight. Some people have applied this word to the genii of tales and 
fables, but the Quran does not support this interpretation. 

ADAM WAS NOT IN PARADISE
It expressly states that when Adam and his people went out of the garden 
(which again, according to the Quran was a region of the earth and is not to 
be confused with Paradise). God warned them against Iblis "who was one of the
 JINN" and told them to be careful of him and his people as they would all 
have to live together upon the earth wherein they would spend their spans of 
existence and wherein they would die(7: 26, 28).

Again, adressing Adam and his people and Iblis and his people God admonishes 
all of them to accept His Prophets when they will appear from time to time
(2:39).All this shows that the Jinn of the time of Adam and their leader 
Iblis were of the human race.

The genii of the fables do not live in company with men nor are they in any 
other way connected with men. The Quran does not lend any support to the 
idea of the JINN of the fables. Those whom the Quran describes as JINN in 
connection with Adam were human beings who dwelt upon the earth but whose 
mental faculties were not yet fully developed. 

ADAM MOST PERFECT MAN OF HIS GENERATION
When the stage of the full develpment of the mental faculties of man was 
reached, God sent His revelation to the most perfect man of that generation, 
namely, Adam. This revelation was confined to a few social rules relating to 
the formation of a society and the provision of food and other means of 
maintenance for it. For the future God decreed that Prophets would continue 
to appear and those who believed in them would identify themselves with Adam 
and his people and those who rejected them would identify themselves with the
JINN who had opposed Adam. Each Prophet is raised to help forward the 
intellectual and spiritual evolution of man. Those, who are opposed to the 
next stage of evolution and are not willing to submit to the limtations and 
regulations which God seeks to impose through His Prophet to help forward the
process of evolution, reject the Prophet.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EVOLUTION
In short, the Quran teaches that man's physical creation and development are 
the result of a process of evolution and in the same way his intellectual 
development is also the result of a process of evolution. Adam was not the 
first human being but was the first human being whose intellect was capable 
of accepting and bearing the responsiblity of revelation. The Quran nowhere 
states that God desired to create man and therefore created Adam. The Quran 
expressly states that God decided to appoint a "vicegerent upon earth" and 
appointed Adam. This shows that at the time of appointment of Adam as Gods 
Vicegerent on earth there were human beings dwelling upon the earth but none 
of them had become recipient of divine revelation since their mental 
faculties were not yet fullly developed.

HUMAN BEINGS BEFORE ADAM
At another place the Quran says: "And We did create you and then We gave you 
shape: then said We to the angles, 'Submit to Adam" (7: 12). The verse means 
that God created man and then gave shape to his faculties and then commanded 
the angels to bow down to Adam. This verse also clearly shows that man had 
been in existence prior to the time of Adam. The develpments of man's 
intellectual faculties indicates that before the appearance of Adam man ahad 
already passed through several stages of evolution. The verse indicates that 
after man was created his faculties developed from stage to stage and assumed
 different shapes and he began to be distinguished from the other animal 
creations aroud him and when his intellect was developed to a cretain degree,
 Adam was created and God sent His revelation to him.

The above explaination from Quran helps us to have a very clear picture about
 the standing of Quran on the theory of evolution. All of this is also 
supported by the present research on the evolution of human beings. Thus we 
find that the Quran which was revealed fourteen hundred years ago infact 
supports all the modern scientifically proved theories about evolution.

THE ORIGINAL SIN
As Adam was not in paradise, so the phenomenon of the original sin is 
resolved very peacefully and amicably. Before Adam there was no Law on this 
earth from God and hence no one was supposed to pass through any trial and 
test. When Adam was given the law, only after that it was possible to test 
him and human beings. When Quran refers to the eating of a fruit of a 
forbidden tree by Adam, it means that Adam disobeyed one of the orders of the
God. So after that God warned human beings that now they were on earth meaning
that now they would be subjected to test and trial. All their deeds would be 
recorded and they would be held accountable for them. So no one inherited any 
sin from Adam, but the people after that time were held accountable for their 
deeds. This was the very cause of the creation of mankind as mentioned in the 
earlear text, and the Adam's disobeying was the turning point as it was after 
the fact that a Law had been enforced on this earth.

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Although its been a very long article, but I think it answers many important
questions that christians raise against Islam and about the original sin.
That's the reason I could not cut it short any further inspite of my best
efforts.

Most of the above given explaination was taken from 'INTRODUCTION TO THE 
STUDY OF THE HOLY QURAN' by AHMAD BASHIR-UD-DIN. It is available in most of 
the libraries.

In the end all praise to God, who is the creator of this universe and who is 
very benificient and kind to his human beings. May God give us the knowledge
and wisdom to understand Quran.

Belal











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