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Islam – Part 6
Introduction:
There are major differences between the Quran and the Bible
concerning creation, the fall, the flood, and the origin of
languages. I am thankful to David Catchpoole and
Creation Magazine for this information.
Table 1 – The Creation
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The Bible Says: |
The Koran Says: |
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Man was created on Earth, in the Garden of Eden (Genesis
2:8) |
Man was created in Paradise (‘janna’), not on Earth
(first couple later banished to Earth, e.g.
Koran 2:36). |
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The Bible describes clearly what was made on each day of
Creation Week. |
No clear details of each creation day. Some vague
clustering of the days in
Koran 41:9-12. |
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Creation was done in six days which are Earth-rotation
days (c. 24 hours). |
Creation was also in six days but could easily be
interpreted as ‘millions of years.” |
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Man and the animals were created vegetarian (Genesis
1:29-30).
There was no death and suffering in the original
creation. |
Carnivory (and thus death and suffering) apparently
integral to life on the created Earth from the first.
The
Koran
(6:142,
16:5,
40:79)
says that cattle were created for man to eat. |
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Man was created naked (but not ashamed). (Genesis
2:25) |
The
Koran speaks of Adam’s (and his wife’s) nakedness
becoming apparent to them after they sinned (20:121;
also implied by
7:22),
yet also implies that they were wearing some kind of
raiment prior to the Fall. (Koran
7:27) |
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All things were created through Christ and for Christ.
He was pre-existent to Creation. (e.g.
Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; Micah 5:2; John 1:1-3, 10;
3:13; 6:62; 8:35; 17:5, 24; Romans 11:36; I
Corinthians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2). |
Jesus Christ was a created being. (Koran
3:59)
‘The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of
Adam; he created him from dust.
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Table 2 – Corruption
(The Fall of Man)
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The Bible Says: |
The Koran Says: |
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Prior to sin, Adam and Eve were given free access to the
fruit of the ‘Tree of Life.’ (Genesis
2:9, 16-17).
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The ‘Tree of Eternity’ (equated with giving eternal life
in
7:20,
hence comparable to the Biblical Tree of Life) was the
Forbidden Tree. (20:120) |
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The forbidden tree was clearly identified as the ‘Tree
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.’ ‘And the Lord God
commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in
the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, or when you eat of it you
will surely die.” (Genesis
2:16-17) |
There is no mention of the name ‘Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil.’
Koran 7:19
“O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and
enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: But approach
not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.” (2:34) |
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The
snake/serpent was in Eden. (Genesis
3) |
There is no mention of a snake in the Koran (except for a reference to Moses’
stick-to-snake transformation). |
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The
serpent enticed Eve, denying she would
die. (Genesis
3:1-5)
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the
woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil.” |
Satan enticed Adam and his wife, (Koran
20:120)
“But Satan whispered evil to him: He
said, ‘O Adam! Shall I lead thee to the
Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never
decays?” (Koran
7:20-21)
“Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them.
He said: “Your Lord only forbade you
this tree, lest, ye should become angels or such beings as
live forever.” |
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“The
Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve, and
clothed them.” (Genesis
3:21)
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‘Raiment’ mentioned, but no mention of skin. (Koran
7:26) |
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After the Fall, Adam and Eve still lived on Earth, but
were barred from Eden. (Genesis
3:23-24) |
Adam and Eve were shifted from Paradise
(not on Earth) down to
Earth. (Koran
7:24, 2:36) |
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After the Fall, man will now eat ‘through painful toil’
and (as a result of the Curse on the land) ‘by the sweat
of your brow.’ (Genesis
3:17, 19) |
Toil and sweat were an integral part of
the original created Earth. (Koran
90:4)
‘Verily We have created
man to toil and struggle.’ |
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Death is an ‘enemy’, that entered after Adam
sinned. (Genesis
2:17; 3:19;
Romans 5:12, 17;
I
Corinthians 15:21-22, 26) |
There is no reference in the Koran
to death being an ‘enemy,’ or
anything other than an integral part of the
original created Earth. |
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The
ground is now ‘cursed’; the whole creation is now
‘groaning,’ in ‘bondage to decay.’ (Genesis
3:17;
Rom. 8:20-22;
Rev. 22:3) |
Apparently, the ‘bad things’ are not a consequence
of the Fall, but an integral to the original Creation. |
Table 3 – Catastrophe
(Noah’s Flood)
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The
Bible Says: |
The
Koran Says:
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Noah
was the tenth generation from Adam. Genesis
5:3-32;
Luke 3:36-38)
Other Biblical genealogies allow us to date
the flood to around 4,300 years ago. |
No
clear genealogies are given. |
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The
ark was sealed with ‘pitch’ (possibly tree resin). (Genesis
6:14)
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The
ark was caulked with palm fiber. (Koran
54:13-14) |
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The
Bible gives the dimensions of the ark. (Genesis
6:14-16) |
There is no mention of the size of the ark. |
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The
duration of rain (40 days/nights), time afloat (150 days), total duration (370 days) of
Flood. (Genesis
7:12, 24; 8:4, 14) |
There is no mention of any time periods for the Flood. |
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Eight people survived the Flood. (I
Peter 3:20),
i.e. all of Noah’s family. (Genesis
7:1, 7)
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The number on board is not mentioned.
The Koran claims
one of Noah’s sons was drowned.
(Koran
11:42-43),
and puts a
question mark over whether Noah’s wife survived.
(Koran
66:10, 11:40) |
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Man
was granted permission to eat meat after the Flood. (Genesis
9:3)
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Man
ate meat on Earth from the beginning. (6:142,
16:5, 40:79) |
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“I
have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it
will be the sign of the covenant between me
and the earth…Never again will the
waters become a flood to destroy all life.” (Genesis
9:11-17) |
There is no mention of the rainbow, or its significance,
anywhere in the Koran. |
Table 4 – Confusion
(Origin of Languages)
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The
Bible Says: |
The Koran Says: |
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Before God confused the tongues at Babel, the
whole world had one language and a
common speech. (Genesis
11:1-9) |
No mention of there ever being a single common language, or of
the Tower of Babel. |
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After being scattered from Babel, people congregated
into clans and nations, each with
their own languages. (Genesis
10:5, 20, 31) |
Regarding the different languages, the Koran (30:22)
says: “And among
His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your
colors … |
Information on the Four Tables is from David Catchpoole,
Creation Magazine.
Conclusion:
Obviously, the Bible and the Quran cannot both be true. The
differences are vast on the foundational history of the world. The
Bible teaches that Jehovah created this world without sin; but that
man brought it into this world. Because of sin, Jesus’ death on the
cross was necessary.
Bobby Stafford
July 8, 2012
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