Yesterday we looked at what Muslims believe about sin according to the Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies. We continue with three more facts today. The response of what Christians believe is my personal understanding.

4. Muslims believe that eventually every man will sin. One Islamic scholar explains, “Every child is born in a state of fitrah, and social environment causes the individual to deviate from this state.”  Surah 16:61, “If Allah were to punish men for their wrong-doing, He would not leave, on the (earth), a single living creature..”

Christians also believe that all human beings will at some point become sinners. This is most likely to occur when the human is able to tell the difference between obeying and disobeying God.

5. Allah’s law is non-negotiable and what he says is sin when he says it is, but may not be sin if he changes it. Nothing is right or wrong in and of itself. Allah decrees if it is sin or not.

Christians believe that God in his written word and his Word in the flesh have made known to the people of earth what  God expects them to do and not to do. Beyond that, God has made provision for man, knowing that man cannot keep God’s law perfectly. There is no such provision in Islam.

6. Allah allows small sins. They can be dismissed by prayers and purifying cleansing.

Christians believe that to God sin is sin. Some sin has greater consequences in this life and are more damaging to self and society. The quality of sin is of no importance to God since the blood of Jesus Christ removes it, whatever it is, large or small. Contrary to Muslim belief, God does not close his eyes to sins in the dark while noticing sins in the daylight. God abhors all sin regardless of when or where they were committed.

The major question raised here is whether man does or does not need a redeemer. The Qur’an does not mention the need for atonement and thus a redeemer who will make the sacrifice for man is not required. The Bible on the other hand outlines the plan for a redeemer as soon as man first sins. From the earliest pages of the Old Testament, atonement for sins was a requirement of man. God knew that ultimately a redeemer would be needed because man could not keep the law and the blood of animals was not sufficient to remove the sins of humanity. God came to earth in the form of Jesus and shed his own blood on the cross to redeem man. This is the major difference in what the Qur’an teaches and what the Bible teaches.