Through Force or Faith? — Page 261
Chapter 7 — Novelty in the Teachings of Muhammad 261 both have stated that, like every other religion, their objective is to bring man close to God, that man should imbue in his person the attributes of God. However, when we study the Bible, it seems as if the God of the Bible is scared lest man becomes like God. Thus first He forbade man to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge about good and evil (Genesis 2:17) while this knowledge was essential to get nearness to God. When He saw that man has started dif- ferentiating between good and evil, God expelled him from the Paradise for the fear that he might become very much like God (Genesis 3:22). If God wants man to become His image by adopt- ing His attributes, then why did He prevent him to become like Him? In contrast, Islam does not ascribe any such irrational act to God. Islam gave the command that man should adopt God’s colours and ways ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:139) and should endeavour to become like Him. Concerning the creation of man, the Old Testament taught that as a result of sin of Adam, the birth of every man was in sorrow (Genesis 3:16), and the earth was cursed on account of this (Genesis 3:17). The New Testament went a step further, and declared that every man was sinful and accursed (Romans, 5:12, 18). This is the view the Bible presents about man’s birth and his status. In contrast, the concept that Islam has presented about nature of man and man’s creation is that every human being is born innocent and sinless, and is created in the nature of God. ( S u rah ar-R ū m, 30:31; Bukh ā r ī , Kit a bul Jan a’ iz, Chapter: When a boy becomes a Muslim and then dies, Tradition No. 1270) Which teachings are more sensible and better according to human conscience? Any intelligent person can easily make a clear