MAN'S CONDITION AS A SINNER
We have seen in the previous lesson how Allah had first created the world beautiful and perfect. We went on to see how Adam and disobeyed Allah's command and sinned and the terrible results of that sin. In this lesson we will go on to examine the nature of sin in more detail. We shall also look at the results of sin in mankind and in our own lives today.
Sin as Described in the Word of Allah
We saw already that sin is disobedience to the command of Allah. It has its outward manifestations in many ugly and disgusting forms. In the we find descriptions of many of these outward forms of sin.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of Allah. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no shariah. (Injil, Galatians 5:19-22)
He said, “That which proceeds out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile a man." (Injil, Mark 7:20-23)
Yet, sin is not limited to just such outward actions, but is also the inward disposition of the heart. This is an area where no man can see but where Allah the all-knowing still sees the ugliness of our sinful inner thoughts. Thus, for example, Prophet Isa said the following:
“You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;' and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.’ But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a reason shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fire of Jahannam.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;' but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:21,22,27,28)
We are all guilty of such hidden sins.
As Sons of Adam All Men are Sinners
One of the hardest concepts to understand in the Scriptures is that man is sinful and therefore he sins, rather than man sins and therefore he is sinful. This is an important point to clarify. When Adam chose to disobey the command of Allah he fell from his state of purity into one of sin. All mankind has descended from Adam. Just as we have inherited our physical and mental characteristics from our first forefather Adam, so we have all inherited our sinful nature from him. According to the ,
Sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
Perhaps an illustration will be helpful. Let us look at the common disease of influenza (the "flu"). As any doctor will say, the cause of influenza is a tiny living thing called a virus. When a person has this virus in him he has influenza until it is destroyed by proper treatment. The outward signs of this disease are fever, runny nose, bodily aches, etc. Yet, these outward signs are just revealing what has been going on inside him. He has the outward signs because he has influenza germs, rather than having influenza because he has the outward signs. As soon as he has the influenza germ in his body he has influenza, although it may be too early for the symptoms to be seen. Similarly, we all as children of Adam have inherited from him our sinful nature. This has outward signs such as selfishness, greed, murder, stealing, lying, etc. Yet, these are merely the outward sign of what we are already from birth as sons of Adam.
Thus, some people today may seem very religious and holy on the outside. However, if we could look on the inside as Allah does we would see the same ugly sinful nature. It is much like a pond or reservoir bound on all sides by high embankments. There is water in the pond. However, someone standing below the pond might never know it. If the embankment gives way, the water will immediately flow out for everyone to see.
Our lives are much like that pond. We all have a sinful nature but it is not always seen on the outside by others. We may be in a situation where it is impossible or not necessary to do outward sin. That does not mean we are not sinners, but only that our sinful nature is temporarily not revealing itself. Thus, a thief who suddenly inherits one million dollars might not steal anymore. That does not mean he is no longer a thief or will not steal in future, but only that he no longer needs to steal for the present.
's Testimony to the Universality of Sin
The fact that all men are sinners is made clear in , the Scriptures. We find in the Holy the following words of Prophet ,
Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. Against you, and you only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in your sight; That you may be proved right when you speak, And justified when you judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me. (Zabur 51:1-5)
The great prophet wrote,
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and does not sin. (Taurat, Ecclesiastes 7:20).
Such statements in the and the agree perfectly with what the holy says. The declares,
As it is written, “There is no one righteous. No, not one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, No, not, so much as one.“
...for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of Allah. (Romans 3:10-12,23)
According to , all men have sinned. Even prophets such as and admit their sin and ask Allah for forgiveness. From the least to the greatest, all men, as sons of Adam, are sinners. This same truth is also seen in the holy Quran where we find the prophets Adam, , , and repenting before Allah for their sin in the following verses--
They [Adam and ] said: "Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: if you forgive us not and bestow not upon us your mercy we shall certainly be lost." (Quran, Surah Al-Araf 7:23)
Nuh said: O my Lord, I seek refuge with you, lest I ask you for that of which I have no knowledge. And unless you forgive me and have mercy on me,I should indeed be lost. (Quran, Surah Hud 11:47)
And Who, I [] ardently hope, will forgive me my sin on the Day of Judgement. (Quran, Surah 26:82)
Dawud said: He has undoubtedly wronged you in demanding your single ewe to be added to his flock of ewes: truly many are the partners in business who wrong each other: not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they? And Dawud gathered that we had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down, bowing in prostration, and turned to Allah in repentance. (Quran, Surah Sad 38:24)
He [Sulayman] said, O my Lord forgive me, and grant me a kingdom which suits not another after me: for you are the grantor of bounties. (Quran, Surah Sad 38:35)
The Holiness of Allah
What a sharp contrast this sinfulness of man is with the holiness of Almighty Allah. For example, when the prophet (Isaiah) sees a vision of the glory and holiness of Allah, he immediately falls down on his face and says,
Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Allah, Lord of the universe!“ (Taurat, 6:5)
In contrast to his own sinfulness, the prophet hears angels giving praise to Allah and saying,
"Holy, holy, holy, is Allah, Lord of the universe! The whole earth is full of his glory! (Taurat, 6:3).
Allah is completely and absolutely holy. However, he is also righteous and just. In the it says of Allah the following,
He is the Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he. (Taurat, Deuteronomy 32:4)
Allah is both holy and just.
Allah Hates and Judges Sin
Because Allah is holy and just, he hates sin. In the book of the prophet (Zechariah) it is written,
"and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbour, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,“ says Allah. (Taurat, 8:17).
Similarly, Allah is not pleased by those who do wrong and then try to keep Allah from being angry by being religious and doing good works. In the book of the prophet Amos it is written,
They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks blamelessly. Forasmuch therefore as you trample on the poor, And take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of hewn stone, But you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many your offenses, And how great are your sins–You who afflict the just, Who take a bribe, And who turn aside the needy in the courts. Therefore he who is prudent shall keep silence in such a time; For it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, That you may live; And so Allah, the Lord God of the universe, will be with you, As you say. (Taurat, Amos 5:10-14)
Allah is perfectly holy. He is not satisfied when man sins and then tries to cover it by doing good. On the contrary, Allah commands,
For I am Allah your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. (Taurat, Leviticus 11:44)
Thus we see that Allah who is perfectly just and holy hates sin. As He judged Adam and , so he will judge us if we sin. When we try to hide our sins by doing good it only makes Allah angry at our attempted deception.
Man's Sin Spoils His Relationship with Allah
Let us look next at the results of sin in our lives. First of all, as we saw in the lives of Adam and , sin spoils our relationship with Allah. The holy and righteous Allah is simply not able to continue in close fellowship with sinful men. Thus, in the book of the prophet it is written,
Behold, Allah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness. None sues in righteousness, and none pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. (Taurat, 59:1-4)
We see that sin creates a separation between us and Allah.
Man's Sin Spoils His Relationship with Other Men
Sin also creates a separation between men. As we have seen in the books of prophets Amos and , sinful men are busy trying to become rich and influential. To do that they are willing to cheat others, lie, oppress the poor, or do anything else required to become rich and satisfy their greed. From such greed comes strife and hatred between men. Each is concerned only about himself and is willing to destroy others to get what he wants. Thus, in the it is written,
Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Do not they come from your pleasures that war in your members? You lust, and do not have. You kill, covet, and cannot obtain. You fight and make war. You do not have, because you do not ask. (Injil, James 4:1,2)
Thus, we see that quarrels, fighting and wars between men are all the direct result of sin.
Man's Sin Spoils His Relationship with Himself
Sin also destroys a man's relation to himself. Selfishness and greed give him no peace. He always wants more and is never satisfied. In fact, man becomes so bound to his sin that according to the he becomes a slave to sin. It is written,
‘Isa therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.“ They answered him, “We are Ibrahim’s seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, ‘You will be made free?’“ ‘Isa answered them, “Most assuredly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin." (Injil, John 8:31-34)
Man's Sin Dooms Him to Spend Eternity in Hell
We see then that the results of sin are a separation from Allah, an alienation of man from man and a lack of peace. It produces guilt and shame and gives rise to anger, jealousy, fighting and wars. Sin has driven Allah's peace from men's lives. Yet, all this is only one part of the results of sin. The most terrible result of sin is eternal separation from Allah in hell after death. In the it is written,
He will punish those who do not know Allah and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Isa. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9)
We can thus see the results of sin everywhere around us and even in our own lives. In fact, sin will eventually destroy us. Allah told Adam and that if they disobeyed His Word they would die. They disobeyed and died. Had they obeyed they would have continued to live in Paradise forever without disease, suffering or death. In the same way we also disobey Allah and sin. We too therefore experience pain, suffering and death. In fact, in the it is specifically stated that results of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
Like Adam and , we also disobey Allah and sin. Because of that sin, we experience pain and sorrow in this life leading eventually to death. As sinners, we deserve eternal separation from Allah in hell after death. Truly, sin is a terrible thing. In the next lesson, we will see how Allah took action to save man from his terrible situation.
