How Did Islam Deal With the Sin of Adam, Peace Be Upon Him
Islam dealt with the sin without crucifixion or killing, and without daring to say that the Creator, glory be to Him, was incarnated to taste the torment and pain while hanging on the cross. Yes, my brother, this is what the church says. If you were to ask the followers of the church, saying: If the divinity did not die on the cross and the one who died was the humanity, then what was the role of the divinity while hanging on the cross? The answer would be that the divinity was hung on the cross to taste the torment and pain, and that God’s tasting of pain and torment on the cross is an atonement for us (Exalted be God above what the wrongdoers say, far above).
The Protestants say that God has judged sin (in any of its forms) to be deserving of death, and the reason for that is the absolute and unlimited holiness of God, so that no sin can appear in His presence. Because the requirements of His holiness, majesty, divine position, and exalted consideration require the immediate and inevitable elimination of every sin. We say: If this is the case with you, then how did you believe in his incarnation, his hanging on the cross, and his endurance of torment and pain on that cross on which only the cursed are hung, as the Book of Deuteronomy says? What sins are greater than these against the position of the supreme God, his holiness and his majesty?! Or does his absolute holiness require that the mistake be treated with another mistake against him?!
Islam was as clear as the sun at high noon in what happened to Adam, peace be upon him. Satan tempted Adam before God bestowed upon him prophethood, so he and his wife ate from the tree that God had forbidden them to eat from. Allah the Almighty said: And We said, “O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat from it in abundance as you wish, but do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.” But Satan caused them both to slip therefrom and removed them from that in which they had been. And We said, “Descend, one of you an enemy to the other. And for you upon the earth is a place of settlement and provision for a time.” So Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and he repented. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Yes, Adam disobeyed his Lord before he became a prophet, but then what? Then his Lord chose him, so He accepted his repentance and guided him: ((Then his Lord chose him and accepted his repentance and guided him. Taha / 122
This is how Allah, the Almighty, dealt with the sin. Adam regretted it, so he repented, so Allah forgave him that sin, and this sin ended with repentance.
All the prophets did not mention the inheritance of sin:
None of the previous prophets mentioned Adam’s sin and its inheritance, and no prophet asked Allah, the Almighty, to forgive him for this sin that he inherited from Adam, so why did Paul of Tarsus single him out for it?!
Answer: Because it is not a belief from God, but rather came from pagan beliefs. “Everything that was said and heard about Christ, sin, crucifixion, salvation, and redemption, everything that was said is found in the ancient Indian religions. The Indians said it about “Vishnu,” “Brahma,” and “Krishna.” The Buddhists said it about “Buddha,” and the Egyptians, Persians, and Greeks said it about their ancient gods as well. The Indians believe that “Krishna,” the born one, who is the same god “Vishnu,” who has no beginning or end, moved out of compassion to save man by offering himself as a sacrifice on his behalf. This is the text of an Indian prayer that they implore:“I am guilty and a sinner, and my nature is evil, and my mother bore me in sin. Save me, O you with the piercing eye, O Savior of sinners from sins and transgressions.”
The ancient paganisms are the origin of this belief among Christians, and therefore we find that the conversion of many followers of pagan religions to Christianity was easy due to the great similarity between the origins of those beliefs and the Christian beliefs.
As for the Islamic beliefs, they did not go along with the false Christian beliefs, but the Qur’an clearly defined the positions where it categorically denied the saying of crucifixion, saying about it: And their saying, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the Messenger of God.” But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them. And those who differ therein are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumptions. And they killed him not, for certain. * Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
If the Qur’an was not from Allah, it would have been better and easier for its call to spread to say that Christ was crucified, considering that this rumor was spread by the writers of the Gospels after the ascension of Christ for a time and spread among the people. In that case, it would attract Christians to it and reduce the problems and obstacles that stand in the way of their acceptance of Islam, but none of that happened. The Qur’an says: “He narrates the truth, and He is the best of judges.” Al-An’am: 57