Home -- English-1 -- English-2 -- BIK01 -- Step 142 - Addition Example 2 - Explanation: Possible source of these additions in the Koran
142 - ADDITION EXAMPLE 2: Explanation of this addition - From where did the Koran get this non-biblical content on Adam?
The Bible does not teach that Adam acknowledged his sin (Sura 7:23), rather we find him blaming his wife (Genesis 3:12), who in turn blamed the snake that tempted her to eat from the tree (Genesis 3:13). Also, the Bible does not teach that Adam was pardoned (Suras 2:37b and 20:122b), rather he had to carry the result of his sin, which is death. And the Bible also does not speak of an election or well-guidance by God after Adam sinned (Sura 20:122a+c). The only Koranic element where the Bible seems to teach something similar to the Koran, is that Adam received words from God (Sura 2:37a). However, in the Bible these were not words of revelation, but words of judgment: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) This seems to be the exact opposite of the undisclosed words that Allah gave Adam in the Koran just before pardoning him (Sura 2:37).
Since these koranic teachings about Adam are not rooted in the Bible, the most important question is: from where did the Koran get this non-biblical information about Adam? Muslims of course believe that these are true revelations from Allah to Muhammad through the Muslim angel Jibril. However, if you search in pre-Islamic literature, then you can find some of these Koranic elements pre-figured in the following way: