In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful
20 Arguments regarding the
doctrine of the original sin
THE FACTS ABOUT
THE ORIGINAL SIN
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BACKGROUND
According to the explanation of this
doctrine, Adam sinned when he
disobeyed Allah, the Exalted, by eating
from the forbid-den tree. According to
Christian theology,2 the following eight
doctrines branch off from the principle
of original sin:
01 All of Adam’s descendants
inherit his sin, which means
that all human beings (with the
exception of Mary) are born with
this original sin on their account.
02 For God’s justice to be achieved,
a price must be paid as a penalty
for every sin that has been
committed, in order for that
sin to be wiped out and for the
individual to be forgiven.
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03 The only way to wipe out sin is
to shed blood; according to Paul,
“without the shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness of sins.”
(Hebrews 9:22)
04 This blood must be perfect,
sinless, and incorruptible.
05 Jesus (pbuh) alone can pay the
infinite price of sin because his
blood is perfect, sinless, and
incorruptible, and he is the
(alleged) son of God, the infinite
God.
06 Jesus shed his holy sinless blood,
suffered indescribable agony,
and died to pay for the sins of
people. This concept is known as
‘atonement’.
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07 No one can be saved (attain
salvation) without accepting Jesus
Christ as his or her redeemer.
In other words, salvation is
restricted to those who believe
that Jesus was willingly crucified,
died on the cross, and shed
his blood as a price of that sin.
Acceptance of this doctrine is the
only way to attain ‘salvation’.
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08 Otherwise, everyone is
condemned to suffer eternally in
hell because of his or her sinful
nature and the sin originally
inherited from the father of
humankind, Adam.
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The doctrine of original sin can be
divided into six distinct parts:
01 The existence of original sin.
02 Humanity’s inheritance of the
original sin.
03 God’s justice requires a ‘blood
penalty’ for the original sin.
04 Jesus died on the cross to pay for
the sins of all humankind.
05 The rationality of the “God’s
sacrifice” dogma.
06 Salvation (from original and other
sins) is only for those who believe
in this vicarious sacrifice.
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ANALYSIS
Arguments against the six parts of the
dogma of original sin are as follows:
Argument against the first part: The
existence of original sin.
01 There is no conflict between the
Quranic verses and Christian
theology with reference to the fact
that Adam committed a sin when
he ate from the forbidden tree.
However, Allah has mentioned
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in the Quran that Prophet Adam
repented after that and submitted
himself completely to his Lord;
consequently, Allah forgave him
for the sin he had committed.
This is a tenet of Islamic belief
and has been mentioned in three
different chapters in the Quran (in
verses 2: 37, 7: 24 and 20: 122).
Based on Adam’s repentance
and Allah’s acceptance of his
repentance, the sin of Adam
(pbuh) was not inherited by his
children; hence, it did not require
the suffering and death of Jesus
Christ (or of anyone else) in order
to be forgiven.
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Argument against the second part:
Humanity’s inheritance of the original
sin.
02 The doctrine of inherited sin has
no support from the teachings of
Jesus.
03 The doctrine of inherited sin
has no support in the words of
the prophets who came either
before or after Jesus. If it was
required by God, then they would
have told their people about it
and taught them to believe in it,
because all prophets were sent
to guide people towards paradise
and ward them away from sins
and hellfire. If it were true, why
would they all have hidden this
important concept from their
people?
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04 Indeed, Jesus himself regarded
children as innocent and pure,
not born in sin. This is clear
from his reported saying: Let
the children come to me; do not
hinder them, for to such belongs
the kingdom of God. Truly, I say
to you, whoever does not receive
the kingdom of God like a child
shall not enter it. (Mark 10:14-15)
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05 The doctrine of inherited sin
implies that all the people who
came after Adam but before
Jesus were born with original sin
and died with it on their account;
hence, all of them will be cast into
hellfire because they did not even
know of this dogma, and thus
could not profess it! And if that
were true, what would have been
the purpose of all the prophets
who came before Jesus?
06 All the prophets taught that every
human being is accountable for
his or her own sins, so children
will not be punished for the sins of
their fathers. Allah has mentioned
in the Quran:{That no bearer of
burdens will bear the burden of
another.}(Quran 53: 38) {Every
soul, for what it has earned, will
be retained.} (Quran 74: 38)
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07 Sin is not inherited; it is
something that people acquire for
themselves by doing what they
should not do or by refraining
from doing what they should do.
Considered rationally, it would
be the height of injustice to
condemn the entire human race
for a sin committed thousands
of years ago by the first parents.
Sin is a wilful transgression of the
law of Allah. The responsibility or
blame for it must lie only with the
person committing it, not with
his or her descendants. It is the
height of misanthropy to even
consider such a thing. Imagine
how unreasonable and hardhearted
a person could become
by believing that every baby is
sinful at birth!
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08 Saying that the original sin
committed by our father, Adam
(pbuh), was inherited by all of
humanity goes against the quality
of mercy which Allah attributes to
Himself. It is clear that the creed
of the inheritance of original
sin has no place whatsoever in
Islamic teachings.
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Argument against the third part:
God’s justice requires a ‘blood
penalty’ for the original sin.
The third part of the original sin doctrine
says that God’s justice requires that a
price be paid for the sins of humankind
(original sin and otherwise) and that if
God were to pardon (forgive) a sinner
without punishment, it would be a
denial of His justice.
The response to that has two points:
09 This view reflects complete
ignorance of two of Allah’s
attributes, namely mercy and
forgiveness. To elaborate, if Allah
finds some real good in you
and sees that you are sincerely
repentant, having a genuine urge
to conquer the evil within you,
then Almighty Allah will forgive
your failings and sins, out of His
loving mercy and forgiveness.
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10 The God Whom we worship
(Allah) is the Most Strong and
Most Rich; no one can harm Him.
Consequently, if He prescribes
a law and demands obedience,
then it is not for His own benefit
that we abide by it; it is for the
benefit of humankind. If we
disobey Him, we are the losers,
not Allah. If He punishes a person
before death for his or her faults
and sins, it is not for His own
satisfaction or compensation but
in order to keep evil in check and
to purify/reform the sinner, out of
His mercy. Bearing these facts in
mind, it is not valid to claim that
Allah’s justice requires that a price
be paid for the sins of others.
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Argument against the fourth part:
Jesus died on the cross to pay for the
sins of all humankind.
The fourth part of the original sin
doctrine says that Jesus (pbuh) paid
the penalty for all sins (original sin and
any others) by sacrificing his blood on
the cross of Calvary. The response to
this proposition has ten points (11-20):
11 The Christian concept of salvation
has no basis in the words of Jesus
(pbuh). It is not historically correct
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to say that Jesus (pbuh) had come
to die willingly and deliberately
for the sins of all humanity. In
reality, the present form of the
Bible testifies that he did not wish
to die on the cross.1
12 Indeed, the Bible points to the
fact that God (Allah), not Jesus
(pbuh), is the ultimate saviour:
...That you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he. Before
me no god was formed, nor shall there
be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and
besides Me there is no savior. (Isaiah
43:10-11)
13 To punish an innocent man (Jesus)
for the sins of others is the height
of injustice, harshness, and lack
of mercy, and these traits cannot
be attributed to the Almighty.
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14 Rationally, we cannot accept
that the suffering and death of
one man can wipe out the sins
of others (because there is no
logical connection or relationship
between them). It is similar to a
father, for example, removing
one of his good teeth to relieve
the pain of his child’s bad tooth.
Hence, the idea of the crucifixion
is false and illogical.
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15 Jesus (like all the other prophets)
was sent to convey a message and
to be an example for his followers
during his time on the earth. He
was not sent to deliberately die
for them on the cross or to offer
his blood to absolve their sins.
16 Allah has mentioned in the Quran
that He is the Most Merciful and
Most Compassionate; He forgives
sinners, no matter how many
and how evil their sins, once
they repent. According to His
will, mercy, and favour, He may
even forgive sinners who do not
repent.
17 The concept of atonement is false
because it indirectly encourages
people to sin, assuming that their
sins will be wiped out through
someone else once they believe
in him! Furthermore, if someone
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dies for another person’s sins,
what is the point of adhering to
good and forbidding evil?
Reading through the crucifixion story
dispassionately, an unbiased reader will
surely feel in his or her heart that it is
hard to understand ̶ and consequently
difficult to believe!
Was there no way for Jesus to
achieve salvation for human beings
(assuming that salvation was actually
needed) other than this severe way?
He could have prayed to Allah to
forgive the people from the sin they
inherited (assuming that the notion
of inherited sin was true). God is the
Most Compassionate; surely if Jesus
was His son, He would have forgiven
them in reply to His son’s prayers! And
if Jesus himself was God, he could have
absolved them himself.
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In fact, it is not appropriate for God to
be crucified. The Old Testament, and
thus the law of Moses, says that a man
who is crucified is “cursed by God”;
it forbids leaving his body overnight
because it would “defile” the land.
How can God be cursed? How can he
curse Himself?
And if a man has committed a crime
punishable by death and he is put to
death, and you hang him on a tree, his
body shall not remain all night on the
tree, but you shall bury him the same
day, for a hanged man is cursed by
God. You shall not defile your land that
the LORD your God is giving you for an
inheritance. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)1
Paul confirmed this curse but claimed
that Jesus (pbuh) had to be crucified –
and had to bear the curse of God – in
order to redeem human beings from
such a punishment.
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Christ redeemed us from the curse of
the law by becoming a curse for us-for
it is written, “Cursed is everyone who
is hanged on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)2
In other words, the only way justice
could be carried out was for Jesus to
substitute himself for human beings,
to give his life and be cursed… as if
God could not bring about justice by
any means other than this severe and
harsh way.
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Argument against the fifth part: The
rationality of the “God’s sacrifice”
dogma.
18 Christian doctrine states that
Jesus (pbuh) was crucified by
the administration of the Roman
governor of Jerusalem, Pontius
Pilate, with the cooperation of
certain Jewish leaders.1 However,
the Quran has explained that
Jesus did not die; rather, Allah
raised him when they attempted
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to kill him. Allah replaced him
with another person who
resembled him, and it was this
other person who was killed. To
this day, Christians believe that
Jesus himself was the one who
was killed on the cross, but Allah
has mentioned in the Quran:
{And [for] their saying: Indeed, we
have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the
son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.
And they did not kill him, nor did they
crucify him; but [another] was made
to resemble him to them. And indeed,
those who differ over it are in doubt
about it. They have no knowledge of
it except the following of assumption.
And they did not kill him, for certain.
Rather, Allah raised him to Himself.
And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and
Wise.} (Quran 4: 157-158)
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19 Here is another proof that Jesus
was not killed. Islamic teachings
clearly foretell the second coming
of Jesus before the final hour; this
is an additional and final miracle
for Jesus. He will return not as
God, as the Christians believe,
but as Jesus, Allah’s messenger
and slave, as he has always
been. One of the purposes of
his coming will be to correct the
misconceptions surrounding his
message and mission. Prophet
Muhammad (bpuh) said that he
will stay forty years, and these
will be the happiest years of life
on this earth. During that time,
those who had misconceptions
about him will correct their
understanding and believe in him
as a messenger, not as the son of
God (Allah).
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«It was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may
Allah be pleased with him) that the
Messenger of Allah (bpuh) said:
By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, it
will not be long before the son of Mary
descends amongst you, a just judge and
ruler. He will break the cross, kill the
swine, and abolish the tax paid by Jews
and Christians. Money will be so plentiful
that no one will accept it. At that time, a
single prostration will be better than this
world and everything in it.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him) then said: Read if you wish
(the following verse of the Quran):
{And there is none from the People of
the Scripture but that he will surely
believe in Jesus before his death. And
on the Day of Resurrection he will be
against them a witness.} (Quran 4:
159)» (Recorded by Bukhari)
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This ends the answer of the fifth part
of the doctrine.
Argument against the sixth part:
Salvation (from original and other
sins) is only for those who believe in
this vicarious sacrifice.
20 The Bible itself contradicts the
notion of original sin. In this
regard, the Bible says about the
dispute concerning original sin:
He who plants and he who waters are
one, and each will receive his wages
according to his labor. (I Corinthians 3:8)
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It also says:
The son shall not suffer for the
iniquity of the father, nor the father
suffer for the iniquity of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous shall
be upon himself, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon himself.
(Ezekiel 18:20)
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To download and read the complete book,
click on the cover picture here.
This is an excerpt
of a larger book titled
“IS ORIGINAL SIN A FACT?”
by Majed S. Al-Rassi.
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