The writer
of the Qur’an amends and adds to certain sections of the first six chapters of
Genesis to make Islam more appealing to Christians and Jews.
The writer of the Qur’an knew it
would be difficult for non-believers to convert to Islam. As we talked about in
class, the repetition of God’s all-powerful and all-knowing nature shows this.
Countless times, the Qur’an speaks of God as “ha[ving] knowledge of all things”
(Sura 2:29). In order to make those of a Judeo-Christian background more
comfortable with Islam, the Qur’an stresses the similarities between itself and
Genesis. For example, in Sura 2 verse 117, the author writes “He is the
Originator of the heavens and the earth, and when He decrees something, He says
only, ‘Be,’ and it is.” This directly mirrors Genesis 1 verse 3 where the
author writes, “God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.” The
writer of the Qur’an purposefully shows this similarity so Jews and Christians
would be more comfortable should they convert.
However,
it is also clear that the Qur’an makes amendments to the Bible. The biggest
amendment in the reading was the inclusion of Iblis. In the Qur’an, God has a
conversation with Iblis in the garden in which God says “‘Get out! You are
disgraced and banished!” This shows that God knows there is evil lurking in the
garden, which is not the case in Genesis. The Satan figure in Genesis is the
serpent, who “was [the] most cunning of all the beasts of the field,” but who God
does not label as evil (Genesis 3:1). There are two possible reasons for the
inclusion of Iblis. Firstly, Christians would be familiar with and could easily
acclimate to Satan, and they may already see the serpent as an incarnation of
Satan. Another reason is that the writer uses Satan to help God look more
forgiving and righteous by comparison. The God of Genesis takes responsibility
for both the good and bad he causes. He is the one in the sixth chapter who
sets out to destroy humankind with a flood. However, the Qur’an reminds the
reader of all the good things God has made like “the sky that He buil[t],
raising it high and perfecting it...and the earth, too, He spread out...for you
and your animals to enjoy” (Sura 79:27-32). This is in direct juxtaposition to Iblis
who God warns not to let “seduce you, as he did your parents, causing them to
leave the Garden” (Sura 7:27). The use of Iblis allows the God of the Qur’an to
look more merciful than the Judeo-Christian God. This, in addition to the
Christian’s familiarity with Satan, contributes to making Islam more appealing
to Jews and Christians.
Emma's analysis on the reason why the Qu'ran amends the story of Genesis to include Iblis is very interesting. I do agree with her statement on that it gives God a more righteous and merciful image to appeal to the Jews and Christians for conversion. In Genesis, God does not either recognize that Satan is in the garden or even warns Adam of Satan's purpose to ruin humanity. In the Qur'an, God warns Adam saying "[Iblis] is your enemy... do not let him drive you out of the garden and make you miserable" (Sura 20:117). Then God later forgives Adam and Eve for sinning even though he already warned them and "accepted his repentance, and guided him" (Sura 20:122). This part of the text makes God more alluring as he is illustrated as merciful and forgiving God. Like Emma mentions, this illustration of God in the Qu'ran with the improvements of the accounts of Genesis brings more appeal to the Jews and Christians that it is trying to convert.
ReplyDeleteAssuming it would be hard for people to convert to Islam, presenting similarities between the gods might make the transition easier. I too noticed similarities forming in the readings. For example, Sura 35 verse 45 states "If God were to punish people [at once] for the wrong they have done, there would not be a single creature left on the surface of the earth." I found this to parallel Genesis 6:7 where God says, "I will wipe out the human race I created from the face of the earth, from human to cattle to crawling thing to the fowl of the heavens." These similarities in the powers of God possibly could have made a hesitant person convert more easily because they felt a familiarity with the character of God due to the similarities between the God of the Qur'an and the God of Genesis.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to what Emma, Liezel, and Iska have all stated, the inclusion of Iblis seems to be a very significant addition, as it adds to the appeal of Islam.
ReplyDeleteIblis, or Satan of the Qur'an is much more realistic than the serpent in Genesis. When he defies God's orders to bow down to Adam, he has a very reasonable response, saying "I am better than him: You created me from fire, and him from clay" (Sura 7:12). Iblis feels he is being wronged, and acts out of anger - a response well known to the human beings. After telling the humans to eat of the tree, he says "I am giving you sincere advice," further showing human characteristics.
The main difference between the two counts of original sin is that the reader is able to relate to Iblis' humanlike character, and how he drags Adam into sin. Because readers can sympathize with this situation, they can further appreciate how merciful the God of Islam must be.
The differences regarding Iblis and the serpent brought up in Emma's post show what I think is one of the fundamental differences between the Qur'an and Genesis. Genesis is written as a narrative there is more ambiguity in regards to the moral code in presents. In Genesis, the serpent described as "cunning" (3:1) which lends itself to various different interpretations. However, in the Qur'an God tells Adam that Iblis is his "sworn enemy" (7:22). God's explicit warning against the influence of Satan clearly establishes a dichotomy between God and Satan, and between good and evil. This relationship is not as clear in Genesis.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with everyone else, that there are definitive similarities between the Qu'ran and the Bible. Many of which Emma and other blog writers have pointed out. The suggestion that the text was written to allow for conversion would be controversial to the book purpose of being the unadulterated truth from God. In his omniscience that process may have occurred but there are definitely more parts where the Islamic texts separates itself from the books of Judaism and texts of Christianity. For example i would argue that the inclusion of Ibliss, replacing the snake, implies that as a higher creation of God, God may feel no need to exert control over that creations actions (as with humans) thus allowing action and meting punishment as a response. This rather than making it easier for conversion just adds greater depth to the story, rather than a snake, an actual individual with knowledge perverted humanity not a cunning snake. At the very least that sounds much more believable to me. I think the similarities are a result of the fact the Qu'ran is an amendment rather than a definitively new text and that differentiation is the primary focus of the text rather than its similarities.
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