According to the Bible
The Bible is clear about what sin is. God spelled it out in the Ten Commandments. Jesus came and summarised God’s law in the command of love, to which reference has been made. The command of love is to love God above all, and to love your neighbour as yourself. This means that a person has to love if he/she wants to fulfil the law of God. Lawlessness, or not keeping the law of God, is sin.
“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4) (NKJ)
Transgression of the command to love God and man is lawlessness, which is sin. In other words, sin is a lack of love or unloving behaviour. Everything that one does that is not to the honour of God, and any behaviour that is to the detriment of one's neighbour is viewed as unloving behaviour, and therefore, sin according to the Bible, and that means death. Romans 6:23 says:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NKJ) This death means eternal separation from God.
By now, the reader should know that God loves man. He wanted to redeem him (man) from this eternal death. That is why He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins, to redeem those who believe and so enable them to be with Him for eternity. Jesus not only saves man from the penalty of sin but also from the power of sin, according to Matthew 1:21:
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (NKJ)
John confirms this when he writes in 1 John 3:5:
"And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin" (NKJ)
When one is saved from sin, you belong to the One who saved you from sin and then He pours His love into your heart according to Romans 5:5:
"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (NKJ)
If His love is in people’s hearts, then His law is also in their hearts. He enables them to fulfil His law and to act with benevolence in all circumstances through His Spirit and His law in their hearts.
God is just, and therefore, He must punish sin. It is a well-known fact that punishment for transgressions of the law is required to maintain law and order. Numbers 14:18 says:
"The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;" (NIV)
Sin must be punished. God’s love for humankind compelled him to provide the Offer in Jesus Christ to bear the punishment for our sins. Jesus, as the perfect offering, bore the punishment for the sins of all who believe and accept it. Being a just God, He does not punish sin more than once. The (true) Christian is forgiven on the basis that Jesus was punished for his sins. This person has turned in repentance from a life of sin, to a life fully dedicated to God. Pain and suffering on earth are usually not God's punishment for sin, but merely the result of sin.
According to the books of Islam
A clear indication of what sin is cannot be found anywhere in the Quran or the Hadith. There is no definition of sin. In Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998(Vol.3):121,124). A description of various sins and virtues is found under the heading Sins and Virtues. It states that good deeds can cancel bad deeds (sins):
“In many places in the Quran and Hadis, it has been stated that sins are forgiven if particular acts of virtue are done in a particular manner.”
One of these 'places' is in Surah 23:102-103 where it says:
"Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, they will attain salvation. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in Hell will they abide."
This is, of course, not even possible in a worldly legal system, due to its unfairness. Imagine the following scenario: a murderer tries to convince the judge that after committing a murder, he found himself in a similar situation but this time he did not commit another murder. What if, in another situation, he saved the life of a person who was in similar circumstances as his victim when he murdered him? Would that be sufficient to acquit him, or to waive his punishment? No court of law will ever do that, and any person with any sense of justice knows that justice is not done in such a way. How much more will a just God see that justice prevails?
In Islam, however, one can be forgiven without punishment. A mere ritual prayer like the Salat referred to in chapter 3 above can earn the forgiveness of sins. According to Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:34:466w (Vol.3):168) the Prophet Mohammed, on enquiry, answered as follows:
"A Muslim servant says prayer hoping thereby the pleasure of Allah and then his sins drop down from him just as these leaves drop down from this tree (sic)."
Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987:504(Vol.1):300) confirms that sins are forgiven by saying prayers. When somebody enquired about his sins, the Prophet, as part of his council to him, recited Surah 11:114:
"Allah revealed: 'And offer prayers perfectly at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night. Verily! Good deeds remove (annul) the evil deeds.'"
It is understandable that a Muslim is in doubt concerning his relationship with Allah. How must he know if his prayers, fasts and other good deeds are sufficient for the remittal of his sins? The cause for and even more serious concern is the fact that it is virtually impossible to know what sin is and what constitutes serious sin, because it is never clearly defined in the Quran.
Karim, in his Al-Hadis (1998(Vol.3):128) lists 53 sins under the sub-title: “The following have been enumerated by the jurists to be the great sins:” Some examples are: no. 1: “To set up a partner with Allah”, no. 12: “Rebellion without just cause”, no. 20: “To have friendship with the unbelievers to the detriment of Islam”, no. 49: “to address a Muslim as ‘Kafir’ (Kafir means unbeliever in Arabic)", no. 52: “to cohabit with a menstruating woman”. Lack of love or unloving behaviour is not mentioned as a sin.
Some of these sins are apparently unforgivable, while it is never sure what, or how many, good deeds are required for the forgiveness of different sins.
In some places, mention is made that Allah does forgive sins when asked, but there is more in the Quran to the effect that Allah does not easily forgive. It is uncertain when one can expect pardon for sins.
The exclusive nature of Allah’s love is also proven by the fact that, according to the Quran, one can earn eternal life by being a Muslim and doing good deeds. This is never a surety, because the Quran makes it clear that Allah forgives whom he wants to forgive:
Surah 2:82: “And those who believe (Muslims) and do good works, such are rightful owners of the Garden. They will abide the rein.” (Pickthall, 1997:11)
Surah 4:48: “Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth (all) save that to whom He will” (Pickthall, 1997:59).
Yusuf Ali’s translation says:
“He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases.”
The phrase 'partner ascribed to Allah' means to worship another God, and according to the above verse, this is an unforgivable sin. Evidently, this means that, should a Christian convert to Islam or someone else convert from any other religion to Islam, Allah cannot forgive that person. What sense will such a conversion to Islam have if your new God cannot forgive you?
There is only one certain way to get into the Muslim-heaven, called ‘Paradise’, and that is to fight for Allah (to take part in Jihad or Holy War). Allah’s promise is read in: Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:23:39(Vol.2):356):
“Fight in the way of Allah. Whoso fights in the way of Allah even for an interval between two milkings of a she-camel, Paradise is sure for him.”
There is, however, the exception of debt. Not even Jihad will get you into paradise if you are in debt: Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:23:20(Vol.2):350):
“the Holy Prophet said: Fighting in the way of Allah atones for everything except debt.”
However, other sins are not a problem. No matter how sinful your life, if you partake in Jihad, you will enter into paradise. According to Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:23:324w (Vol.2):369) Mohammed was present at a funeral prayer of a man when the following conversation took place:
“O Messenger of Allah, don’t pray for him, as he was a transgressing person. Then the Holy Prophet looked towards the people and asked: Has anybody among you seen him in any action of Islam? ‘Yes’ reported one man, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he was a guard for one night in the way of Allah.’ Then the Messenger of Allah led prayer over him and scattered dust over him. He said: Your companions have thought that you are in Hell. I bear witness that you are one of the inmates of Paradise.”
In this passage, nothing is said about this man’s possible debt, or that Mohammed enquired about it before he gave his verdict about the man’s salvation. In Islam, the only certainty is that qualification for paradise is uncertain. The following quotations from the Quran do not really bring more clarity:
Surah 4:17: “Forgiveness is only incumbent on Allah towards those who do evil in ignorance (and) then turn quickly (in repentance) to Allah.” (Pickthall, 1997:56)
Surah 57:21: “Race one with another for forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden whereof the breadth is as the breadth of the heavens and the earth, which is in store for those who believe in Allah and His Messengers. Such is the bounty of Allah, which He bestoweth upon whom He will” (Pickthall, 1997:396) (Emphasis added)
Repentance sounds like an acceptable reason for forgiveness, but is it sufficient without punishment? Will anyone guilty of theft, assault, murder or any crime be pardoned; and his punishment be waived purely on account of his repentance? Certainly not! It will be unjust. How just is a God who forgives only based on his will without any valid reason? One can argue that God can do whatever He wants to do, and that is true. If what he does is unjust, then there is no love because love includes justice. A god who works on this premise cannot be Yahweh, the God of the Bible.
Allah, however, punishes all those he does not forgive; and they are severely punished here on earth as well as in the hereafter. Allah's warning to non-Muslims in this regard in the Quran in Surah 3:56 is:
“As to those who reject Faith (Islam), I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help.” (Ali, 2000:137) (Emphasis added)
This study will mainly focus on punishment meted out by Islam here on earth. The nature of punishment in Islam will contribute to the question whether Islam is the peace-loving religion it claims to be. The next quotation from Al-Bukhari’s Hadith (Khan, 1987:173(Vol.2):100) is not only an indication of the prescribed punishment for disrespect for Allah, but also of the fate of unbelievers (non-Muslims):
“The Prophet recited Surat-an-Najm (specific prayer where the forehead must get dirty as proof of prostration before Allah) at Mecca and prostrated while reciting it and those who were with him did the same except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to his forehead and said, ‘this is sufficient for me.’ Later on, I saw him killed as a non-believer.”
Apostasy from Islam is a very serious sin for a Muslim, and punishment on earth, as well as in the life hereafter, is severe. It appears that punishment of apostates is not only entrusted to Allah. The death penalty is applied to apostates here on earth and sometimes in very cruel ways. This is understandable in view of the above quoted Surah 3:56:
“As to those who reject Faith (Islam), I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help.”
This presents serious problems for non-Muslims, and not only for Muslim apostates. Karim (1998(Vol.2):523) says:
“It appears, ..., that the jurists prescribed death sentence for the apostates in accordance with the verse – 5:33 Q.”
The verse referred to is Surah 5:33, and it reads as follows in Pickthall’s translation of the Quran:
“The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His Messenger and strife after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom.”
From the Hadith’s handling of this verse it can be deduced that apostasy from Islam, and even non-acceptance of Islam as a religion, are seen as equal to war against Allah against which Islam is forced to defend itself. This is probably the reason why the Hadith leaves no doubt as to what should happen to apostates. Its clear instructions are: Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:25:74(Vol.2):524):
“Akramah reported that some heretics were brought before Ali. He burnt them. This reached Ibn Abbas who said: Had I been (there), I would not have burnt them owing to the prohibition of the Messenger of Allah: Don’t inflict Allah’s punishment on anyone. I would have certainly killed them owing to the saying of the Prophet: Kill one who changes his religion.”
The problem was not the killing of the apostates but rather the way in which it was carried out. According to the Prophet, burning is Allah’s way of killing, and man was not supposed to use the same method.
Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987:57(Vol.9):45) also leaves no doubt as to what the punishment for apostasy should be:
“Allah’s Messenger said, ‘Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him’.”
According to Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:25:75(Vol.2):524), to kill an apostate is a good deed that Allah rewards:
“the Messenger of Allah said: “They will flee away from the religion as an arrow runs from a quiver (sic). Wherever you meet them, kill them, because there will be reward for their murder on Resurrection Day for those who kill them.” (Emphasis added)
Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987:64(Vol.9):50) confirms this:
“So, where-ever you find them, kill them, for who-ever kills them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection.”
A group of the ‘Ukl’ tribe accepted Islam and went to Mohammed in connection with a health problem they had. The following then happened, according to Al-Hadis (Karim, 1998:25:77(Vol.2):524):
“He (Mohammed) ordered them to bring the camels of Zakat (Islam's obligatory charity offer) and drink their urine and milk. They did so and became cured. Afterwards they turned retrogades (sic), killed their herdsmen and drove away the camels (they probably felt that the contribution - Zakat - was too high) he sent to trace their steps and so they were brought. He had their hands and feet cut off and eyes plucked out... Then they did not medically treat them till they died.”
One must admit that the punishment was probably not only for apostasy, but also for the killing of the herdsmen and the stealing of the camels. It is, however, treated under the heading Murder of rebels and apostates.
Sahih Al-Bukhari’s Hadith (Khan, 1987:796(Vol.8):521) also gives some examples of the way in which the Prophet Mohammed punished apostates. The reader should bear in mind that the Prophet’s traditions are seen as the standard that should be followed by all Muslims. Al-Bukhari ends his rendering of the above story with the following caption:
“the Prophet ordered for some iron pieces to be made red hot, and their eyes were branded with them and their hands and feet were cut off and were not cauterized. Then they were put at a place called Al-Harra, and when they asked for water to drink they were not given till they died.”
Before he gave the above and other examples of Mohammed’s way of killing people, Al-Bukhari (Khan, 1987(Vol.8):520) wrote:
“The Prophet did not cauterize (the amputated limbs of) those who fought (against Allah and His Messenger) and of those who were renegades (reverted from Islam) (therefore they bled) till they died.”
The refusal of medical treatment is an indication that the Prophet’s intention was to kill them. The question is: Was such a cruel method of killing necessary? Would the punishment for their crimes in the Hereafter not have been sufficient? This is, of course, in accordance with Allah’s warning in Surah 3:56:
“As to those who reject Faith (Islam), I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help.” (Ali, 2000:137)
Islam’s sacred books describe these events in detail, without any indication that there is anything wrong with them. There is, on the contrary, an admiration of Mohammed despite all these cruel deeds.
Theft is another sin or offence that is severely punished in Islam. The prescription in the Quran is:
Surah 5:38, 39: “As to the thief. Male or female, cut off his or her hands, a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is exalted in power. But if the thief repents after his crime, and amends his conduct, Allah turns to him in forgiveness;” (Ali, 2000:88) Note that in the same author’s earlier translation, (Ali, 1946:254) these two verses are numbers 41 and 42.
This is a clear command from Allah, according to Islamic teaching, which all Muslims are obliged to obey. However, it is somewhat differently applied in the Hadith (Karim, 1998:25:351w (Vol. 2):560):
“the Messenger of Allah said about a thief: If he steals, cut off his hand. If he steals again, cut off his foot. If he steals again, cut off his (other) hand. If he steals again, cut off his (other) foot.”
It was already shown that the Bible is clear about what sin is, the penalty for sin, and how to get pardon from God for your sins. It is true that many ‘Christians’ are ignorant about these truths, but this is because they are not serious enough about the Bible and their relationship with God in Christ. The true Christian knows that he/she has eternal life; 1 John 5:11-13:
"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of he Son of God."
In Islam, it is an uncertain matter, as the Muslim will only know in the hereafter if his good deeds were sufficient to qualify for paradise.