No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity

by Nabeel Qureshi

Since Islam teaches that every person must bear their own sin, Muslims often question the doctrine of original sin: How does Adam have anything to do with our standing before God? Thankfully there is a bridge of understanding between Muslims and Christians here, as Muslims do believe that Adam was cast out of the garden when he sinned. Also, it is helpful to note that there are different views of original sin in Christian thought. The view that I found most helpful when I was still a Muslim points out that, when the dust settles, Muslims and Christians do not disagree on much here. According to this view, the Bible teaches that no man is responsible for the sin of his father (Deut. 24:16; Ezek. 18:20), which means that people are not guilty of Adam’s sin itself. When we are judged, we will be judged for our sins alone, but Adam’s sin is where it all started. Remembering the Christian view of the destructiveness of sin, when Adam sinned, it was as if his soul was pulverized. Even though Adam was created in the image of God, it was the shattered, irreparably distorted image of God that Adam’s progeny inherited (Gen. 5:3). Since mankind inherited the broken image from Adam, all humans are broken and prone to sin. They are not judged for his sin, but because of his sin, we, his progeny, have all been born broken. Because of his sin, we all ultimately sin. No matter our view of original sin, though, Christians believe that everybody does sin, and their own sin is enough to brin...