بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم


The Bible and the Quran tell the story of the creation of the first man, Adam. Although they are similar in a basic outline, but different on very important points. First, let us consider the basic outline. Adam and Eve were placed in a garden in a state of happiness. God instructed them to eat from any tree except one tree. Eventually, they were deceived into eating from the forbidden tree and, God then expelled them from the garden, and here were the similarities ends.


Now, the differences:

The name of the Tree


In the bible

Forbidden tree clearly identified as ‘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, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”?’ (Genesis 2:16–17)




In the Quran

The Qur'an does not call it such, but teaches that humans are already inspired with the knowledge of good and evil at creation in order to enable them to exercise choice between good and evil. This knowledge did not come as a result of eating from a forbidden tree.


Who was to blame for the sin?


In the bible

The Judeo-Christian tradition teaches that Satan appeared in the form of a serpent before Eve and tempted her to eat from the forbidden tree and that it was Eve who seduced Adam to eat with her.


According to the Genesis story, God reproached Adam for what he did, but the latter put all the blame on Eve:


[The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it] (Genesis 3:12).


Subsequently, God said to Eve:


[I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you] (Genesis 3:16).


To Adam He said:


[Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree … cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life] (Genesis 3:17)


In the Quran

The Quran says the deceiver was Satan.
The Islamic view of the matter is clear from the following verses :


{By deceit he [Satan] brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree, their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: “Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?” They said: “Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be lost.”} (Quran 7:22-23)


The Quran, contrary to the Bible, places equal blame on both Adam and Eve for their sin. They were both deceived. The Qur'an does not single out Eve for blame in any passage. Eve in the Quran is not a seducer or deceiver.


Before eating from the tree what were they told?



In the Bible

According to the Bible, God had said that when Adam eats from the tree he would surely die,


“but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die..” Genesis 2:17


and the serpent said they will not surely die. The serpent was right—they did not die.




” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die”. Genesis 3:4




In the Quran

God said that if Adam and Eve eat from the tree they will become wrongdoers.


“But come not near this tree or you both will be of the wrong doers." (Quran 2:35)


Satan, however, promised them that if they eat from the tree they will live forever. Satan was wrong—they did not live forever.


"He (Satan) said to them: "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals." He (Satan) swore by Allah to them both saying: ""Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors."." (Quran 7:20-21)


After eating from forbidden tree



In the bible

The Bible says that when the couple heard the sound of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hid from him among the trees. So God called out to Adam asking where he was, and asking if he ate from the forbidden tree. In Genesis 3:8-12


In the Quran

the Quran does not depict God in limited human form. The Qur'an and the Bible both teach that God knows everything always.


And when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?" They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." (Quran 7:22-23




The original sin



In the bible


Christianity alleges that God created humans to live eternally in Heaven, and that when Adam ate from the tree from which he had been forbidden, According to the Bible, they were driven out of the garden because God was afraid that they may eat from the tree of life and live forever.


“So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[a] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword *****ing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:23-24


According to the Bible, because of God's curse, serpents have to crawl and eat dust, women have to suffer in childbirth, and men have to sweat for a living.


In the Quran

The Quran teaches that God created Adam for Earth , the following verse make that clear


“He said to the angels, "I shall make a vicegerent on the earth." (God says in the Quran 2:30)


He did not say, "I shall make a vicegerent in Paradise." God knew that Adam and Eve would eat of the tree and descend to earth. According to the Qur'an, God's plan was to educate our first parents in paradise, then send them into the world for a limited time to resist Satan, the enemy. They were sent to earth as part of God's plan for them; not as a way of preventing them access to the tree of life, but as a test to distinguish those deserving of everlasting enjoyment in God's paradise.


God knew what was going to happen, as He always know the outcome of events before they take place. However God does not force things to happen. He grants free will to His human creatures. On that He bases His supreme wisdom in populating the earth, establishing the vicegerents, and so on.


Adam understood the lesson. He knew now in a practical way that satan was his enemy, the cause of his losing the blessing of living in Paradise, and the cause of his distress. Adam also understood that Allah punishes disobedience and that the way of Paradise has to be through submission to the will of God. And he learned from God Almighty to ask for forgiveness.


God accepted Adam's repentance and forgave him. He then sent him to the earth as His first messenger.


God, according to the Quran, punishes no one for another’s faults. Both Adam and Eve committed a sin and then asked God for forgiveness and He forgave them both. So there is no question of a hereditary sin called Original Sin in Islam.


In summary

The whole story of Adam and Eve in the Quran clearly teaches us the that humans have freedom of will, responsibility for their choice of action and the consequent accountability before God. God says in the Quran: “And no bearer of burdens shall bear another’s burden.” (Quran 35:18)