79.40 – But as for the one who . . . restrained himself from (vain) desire

In this verse the soul, or “self” (nafs), needs to be restrained from “desire.” Here desire, or lust (hawā), is something outside of the self that attracts it. Also, in 114.4–5 a “slinking one” whispers to the human heart. In other verses, the soul itself seems to be the problem: Cain’s soul, or “self,” compels him to kill his brother (5.30); “the self is an instigator of evil,” says Joseph (12.53); and Allah knows what the soul “whispers” to a person (50.16). In 25.43 a man chooses “his own desire” as his god.

Some scholars and polemicists declare that Islam has no concept of “original sin.” However, this claim may cause the reader to miss what the Quran actually says about the soul and human nature. It is true that Islamic doctrine does not clearly connect the sin of Adam with a predisposition to sin in Adam’s descendants. But in the Quran, at the time of Adam’s creation the angels say that the human “will foment corruption” on the earth “and shed blood” (2.30). The Quran also says that humans were created weak (4.28) and anxious (70.19), fretful (70.20) and grudging (70.21), alone (74.11) and “out of haste” (21.37). They are despairing (11.9), unjust (14.34), rebellious (96.6), ungrateful (80.17; 100.6), “in loss” (103.2), and ignorant (33.72).

More than anything, according to the Quran, humans are “contentious” (18.54; 16.4). This reminds the reader that in almost all of the Quran’s many punishment stories, the audiences of past messengers resist the message (e.g., 6.4–6; 35.42; 36.46). This is also the case in most of the disputation scenes involving the Quran’s messenger. In all of these passages, most humans show themselves impervious to preaching. “Most of the people refuse (everything) but disbelief” (25.50). Those who “believe and do good works” seem to be an exception – sometimes almost an afterthought. And yet nowhere does the Quran propose a solution for human incorrigibility other than Allah’s destruction of sinful peoples (e.g., 17.58; 20.128–29).

Another dimension to this theme is the Quran’s assertion that Allah, at the beginning of human history, forecasts that he will fill hell with all those whom Satan will beguile (7.18; 38.85). Twice Allah promises to “fill Gehenna with jinn and people – all (of them)!” (11.119; 32.13), and at 50.30 Allah asks hell, “Are you filled?” The Quran even seems to say that everyone will initially go to hell (19.71). Why would hell be filled with humanity if human nature is basically good?

For a Bible reader, this analysis might bring to mind verses like 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance,” and 1 Timothy 2.4: “[God our Savior] wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

In two verses the Quran says, “If Allah were to take the people to task for what they have earned, He would not leave on it [earth] any living creature” (35.45; 16.61: “for their evildoing”). This seems to suggest a concept of a holy God and the seriousness of human sin that is deeply biblical. In these verses Allah reprieves humanity “until an appointed time,” which is a sign of his mercy. But if this reprieve lasts until the Day of Judgment, the Quran offers no treatment of human sin before then. A reader could reasonably conclude from many quranic passages that the symptoms of human sinfulness are visible, but that there is no deeper diagnosis or proposed cure.

The theological points here are significant. Does God create humanity, give his law, and then on the Day of Resurrection judge a “weak” and “contentious” humanity strictly on the basis of human deeds, as the Quran suggests? Or does God in grace and love arrange for a way of salvation that takes human sinfulness in its full measure and conquers it, as the Bible presents?

An excellent resource that takes this analysis and response much further is “Different Diagnoses of the Human Condition” by Dudley Woodberry in Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road.

79.40 – But as for the one who . . . restrained himself from (vain) desire

In this verse the soul, or “self” (nafs), needs to be restrained from “desire.” Here desire, or lust (hawā), is something outside of the self that attracts it. Also, in 114.4–5 a “slinking one” whispers to the human heart. In other verses, the soul itself seems to be the problem: Cain’s soul, or “self,” compels him to kill his brother (5.30); “the self is an instigator of evil,” says Joseph (12.53); and Allah knows what the soul “whispers” to a person (50.16). In 25.43 a man chooses “his own desire” as his god.

Some scholars and polemicists declare that Islam has no concept of “original sin.” However, this claim may cause the reader to miss what the Quran actually says about the soul and human nature. It is true that Islamic doctrine does not clearly connect the sin of Adam with a predisposition to sin in Adam’s descendants. But in the Quran, at the time of Adam’s creation the angels say that the human “will foment corruption” on the earth “and shed blood” (2.30). The Quran also says that humans were created weak (4.28) and anxious (70.19), fretful (70.20) and grudging (70.21), alone (74.11) and “out of haste” (21.37). They are despairing (11.9), unjust (14.34), rebellious (96.6), ungrateful (80.17; 100.6), “in loss” (103.2), and ignorant (33.72).

More than anything, according to the Quran, humans are “contentious” (18.54; 16.4). This reminds the reader that in almost all of the Quran’s many punishment stories, the audiences of past messengers resist the message (e.g., 6.4–6; 35.42; 36.46). This is also the case in most of the disputation scenes involving the Quran’s messenger. In all of these passages, most humans show themselves impervious to preaching. “Most of the people refuse (everything) but disbelief” (25.50). Those who “believe and do good works” seem to be an exception – sometimes almost an afterthought. And yet nowhere does the Quran propose a solution for human incorrigibility other than Allah’s destruction of sinful peoples (e.g., 17.58; 20.128–29).

Another dimension to this theme is the Quran’s assertion that Allah, at the beginning of human history, forecasts that he will fill hell with all those whom Satan will beguile (7.18; 38.85). Twice Allah promises to “fill Gehenna with jinn and people – all (of them)!” (11.119; 32.13), and at 50.30 Allah asks hell, “Are you filled?” The Quran even seems to say that everyone will initially go to hell (19.71). Why would hell be filled with humanity if human nature is basically good?