The Concept of Original Sin…

As regards the ‘original sin‘, Islam

does not admit this theme. Its main concern is the ‘Acquired Sin‘.

According to Islam ‘sin’ is neither

like a hereditary disease that is transferred from a father to his son through

reproductive system nor is sin like a rank or a title that can be passed from an

older to a younger person of the family. We can be said to have performed a

‘sin’ only when we ourselves accomplish the performance of some unlawful,

unclean, or prohibited act actually and physically; being in full control of our

mental capacity; without any external compulsion or pressure; with our free

will; and with our own independent guilty intention: or when we refrain from or

escape some lawful duty or obligation. It can also be interpreted as 

“disobedience to God’s Commandments”. There is a maxim of the legal parlance, ‘An

act does not make a man guilty unless there be guilty intention.‘ To

some extent it covers the theme.

Guiltless Birth of a Child According to Islam

A human being is born without any sin (guiltless or innocent) and he

remains such unless he intentionally commits a sin (i.e. disobeys God’s

commandments). The Prophet of Islam (sws)

is reported to have said, ‘Every child is born on “Fitrat“,

i.e. “nature” or “norm”.[1]

It is his parents that corrupt him‘ There is another tradition of the

Prophet of Islam (sws) in Musnad

Ahmad, 

Of course, my Sustainer says, No doubt I created My servants

“Hunafa’a” (i.e. men of pure faith), all of them, and then came to them the

Satans, so they put them astray from their pure faith, and they made upon them

unlawful which I had made lawful for them, and they ordered them to make

companions with Me for which there exists no logic or evidence.

The Qur’an says,

‘So set thy face to the religion, a man of pure faith[2]

ƒ¢¢â€š¬¢â‚¬ God’s original (Fitrat-Allah) upon which He

originated mankind[3].

There is no changing God’s creation.[4]

That is the right religion; but most men know it not’.[5]

A renowned commentator of the Qur’an

of the twentieth century, Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi, has well explained these

verses:

Almighty Allah has created humankind at best design and

best nature. He bestowed upon him the capacity of discriminating between vice

and virtue, and right and wrong. And endowed him with the passion for adopting

virtue and eschewing vice. But this human nature is not like unto the instinct

of the animals that a human being may not turn away from it. He rather has a

choice of his own. That’s why he sometimes becomes so blind in pursuit of his

materialistic ambitions and worldly attractions that in spite of having

complete sense of right and wrong, he not only follows the wrong but also

formulates theories in its favour.

What is then the rationale of the revealed guidance? It is

not because he had no sense of distinguishing between right and wrong. It is

rather because he was prone to some misconceptions due to his shortcomings.

Moreover, he did not have the capacity of understanding all the accessories

and repercussions of the basic principles of nature. So Almighty Allah

had to raise up messengers among them for their proper guidance. The teachings

of these messengers are based on the fundamentals that have been entrusted to

the human beings. So those who were of pure and undefiled nature, took the

teachings of the messengers as the voice of their own conscience [stress

added]. But those who had defiled their nature, stood against it. Of course,

in the heart of their hearts, they also conceded that the messengers were

true. It is due to this that the Qur’an

has been called ‘Reminder’, because it reminds us our these latent, innate,

and inherent data to which we willingly have turned a deaf ear.[6]

There is an in-built mechanism in the human beings to

discriminate and differentiate between right and wrong and to choose right or

wrong way of life for themselves. The Qur’an asserts,

Verily we have created man of the mingled seed of both

sexes, that we might prove [lit. test or tempt] him: and we have made him to

hear and to see. We have surely directed him in the way; whether he be

grateful or ungrateful.[7]

In its 91^st chapter named ‘The Sun’, the Qur’an

says that Allah has inspired the

human soul [the significance of] sin and godliness:

[I swear or put forward the evidence] By a soul and Him who

balanced it, And breathed into it its wickedness and piety, Blessed now is he

who hath kept it pure, And undone is he who hath corrupted it [the actual

Arabic word used here means ‘buried it in the ground]![8]

Similar theme has been asserted in chapter 90^th of

the Qur’an which is as follows:

And We have guided him the two paths? But he has not

attempted the steep! What has let thee know what is the steep? Setting free of

bondmen, Or feeding on a day of famine An orphan of kin, Or a destitute

(person) downtrodden. And then has become one of those who have believed and

who counsel each other to endurance and to compassion.[9]

Under the present heading we have so far seen that:

1. According to Islam

   every child is born free of sin.

2. It has been endowed with the capacity to distinguish

   between right and wrong.

3. Allah has

   managed to strengthen this capacity (conscience) externally through His

   messengers and the scriptures. It is to afford him exact, unambiguous, and

   indubious guidance.

4. Even then if someone chooses to commit a sin of his own

   free will, he himself is answerable for that. (As the Bible says, ‘God will

   require it of him.’)

Natural Justice Demands That Everyone Be Answerable For

It is recorded in Jeremiah that everyone will have to be meted out

retribution for his own sins. It simply means that nobody can bear the burden of

others’ crimes.

When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The

parents ate the sour grapes, But the children got the sour taste.’ Instead

whoever eats sour grapes will have his own teeth set on edge; and everyone

will die because of his own sin. (…) I will forgive their sins and I will no

longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.[10]

The book of Deuteronomy asserts that father shall not be held

responsible for the son’s sins and vice versa:

Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor

children for their fathers; only for his own guilt shall a man be put to

death.[11]

Isaiah also reiterates the theme in the following words,

Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.

Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of

their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back

for what their hands have done.[12]

2Kings, XIV: 6, while reproducing this verse, changes the

last clause as, ‘each one shall die of his own sin.‘[13]

The same theme has been asserted by Ezekiel in a fair detail.

I have inserted some brief footnotes to it on the spot. It would be advisable

that they be studied carefully side by side with the text to understand the

theme properly.

The Lord spoke to me and said, “What is this proverb people

keep repeating in the land of Israel? ‘The parents ate the sour grapes, But

the children got the sour taste [stress added].’ “As surely as I am the

living God,” says the Sovereign Lord, “You will not repeat the proverb in

Israel any more.[14]

The life of every person belongs to me, the life of the parent as well as that

of the child. The person who sins is the one who will die[stress

added].[15]

“Suppose there is a truly good man, righteous and honest.

He doesn’t worship the idols of the Israelites or eat the sacrifices offered

at forbidden shrines. He doesn’t seduce another man’s wife or have intercourse

with a woman during her period. He doesn’t cheat or rob anyone. He returns

what a borrower gives him as security; he feeds the hungry and gives clothing

to the naked. He doesn’t lend money for profit. He refuses to do evil and

gives an honest decision in any dispute. Such a man obeys my commands and

carefully keeps my laws. He is righteous, and he will live,” says the

Sovereign Lord.[16]

“Then suppose this man has a son who robs and kills, who

does any of these things that the father never did. He eats sacrifices offered

at forbidden shrines and seduces other men’s wives. He cheats the poor, he

robs, he keeps what a borrower gives him as security. He goes to pagan

shrines, worships disgusting idols, and lends money for profit.  Will he live?

No, he will not. He has done all these disgusting things, and so he will die.

He will be to blame for his own death.[17]

 “Now suppose this second man has a son. He sees all the

things his father practised, but does not follow his example. He doesn’t

worship the idols of the Israelites or eat the sacrifices offered at forbidden

shrines. He doesn’t seduce another man’s wife or oppress any one or rob any

one. He returns what a borrower gives him as security. He feeds the hungry and

gives clothing to the naked. He refuses to do evil and doesn’t lend money for

profit. He keeps my laws and obeys my commands. He will not die because of

his father’s sins [stress added], but he will certainly live.[18]

His father, on the other hand, cheated and robbed, and always did evil to

every one. And so he died because of the sins he himself had committed

[stress added].

“But you ask: Why shouldn’t the son suffer because of his

father’s sins? The answer is that the son did what was right and good. He kept

my laws and followed them carefully, and so he will certainly live. It is

the one who sins who will die. A son is not to suffer because of his father’s

sins, nor a father because of the sins of his son [stress added]. A good

man will be rewarded for doing good, and an evil man will suffer for the evil

he does.

[19]

“If an evil man stops sinning and keeps my laws, if he does

what is right and good, he will not die; he will certainly live. All his sins

will be forgiven,[20]

and he will live, because he did what is right. Do you think I enjoy seeing an

evil man die? ” asks the Sovereign Lord. “No, I would rather see him repent[21]

and live.

[22]

“But if a righteous man stops doing good and starts doing

all the evil, disgusting things that evil men do, will he go on living? No!

None of the good he did will be remembered. He will die because of his

unfaithfulness and his sins.[23]

“But you say, ‘What the lord does isn’t right.’ Listen to

me, you Israelites. You think my way of doing things[24]

isn’t right? It is your way that isn’t right. When a righteous man stops doing

good and stops doing evil and then dies, he dies because of the evil he has

done. When an evil man stops sinning and does what is right and good, he saves

his life[25].

He realizes what he is doing and stops sinning, so he will certainly not die,

but go on living. (…).

“Now I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you Israelites that

I will judge each of you by what he has done.

[26] Turn away from all the

evil you are doing, and don’t let your sin destroy you. Give up all the evil

you have been doing, and get yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you

Israelites want to die? I do not want anyone to die[27]

[stress added], ” says the Sovereign Lord.  “Turn away from your sins and

live.”

[28]

Jesus did not come to change the ‘Law’ Nor anyone else

As regards the NT, first of all it is to be noticed that Jesus never and

nowhere claimed to change, cancel, or abrogate the OT. He rather exclusively and

unequivocally asserted, quite contrary to it as recorded in the Gospel according

to Matthew:

“Do not think that I

came to abolish the Law or the Prophets[29];

I did not come to abolish, but to fulfil. “For truly I say to you, until

heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke[30]

shall pass away from the Law; until all is accomplished. Whoever then

annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others

[stress added],[31]

shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches

them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.[32]

Similar words have been repeated in the Gospel According to

Luke as well:

“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since

then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his

way into it. “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one

stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.[33]

It is incumbent on everyone to follow the ‘Law’.

It is recorded in the Gospel according to Mark that people should follow

the Law of God and not the man-made rules:

‘ (…). Vainly they worship me, when teaching human

regulations as doctrines.’ You let go of God’s commandments to cling to human

tradition.” He added, “How well you frustrate the Law of God to observe your

own tradition.

[34]

Matthew has noted the similar theme in his gospel in these

words:

Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your

tradition? (…). Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by

your tradition. Ye hypocrites, Well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This

people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their

lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching

for doctrines the commandments of men.[35]

Moses has cursed those who do not act according to the “Law”,

as is reproduced below:

‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by

doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’[36]

Man is Born Free of Sin (and not with Some

It is recorded in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus believed the children to be

born free of sin and it is they to whom belongs the Kingdom of God:

Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his

hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. When Jesus noticed this,

he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do

not stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I

assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will

never enter it [stress added].” Then he took the children in his arms,

placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.[37] 

Matthew has also recorded similar theme in his gospel at two

different places. One of them is:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, “Who is

the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” So Jesus called a child, made him

stand in front of them, and said, I assure you that unless you change and

become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. The greatest

in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like

this child [stress added]. And whoever welcomes in my name one such child

as this, welcomes me.[38]

Luke has recorded a similar event in his gospel:

People even brought babies to him, for him to touch them;

but when the disciples saw this they scolded them. But Jesus called the

children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop

them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs. In truth I

tell you, anyone who does not welcome the Kingdom of God like a little child

will never enter it.[39]

The above evidence makes it abundantly clear that according

to Jesus children are innocent and free from sin.