<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-headline_area"><h1 class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-headline">Creation of Man in Islam and Christianity</h1>
<span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-post_author"><a href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/author/derya-little" target="_blank">Derya Little</a><br></span></div><div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-headline_area"><a href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity" target="_blank">https://www.crisismagazine.<wbr>com/2017/creation-man-islam-<wbr>christianity</a><br><span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-post_author"></span>
</div>
<img src="https://3m7ajlsrzj92lfd1hu16hu7vc-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Quran-660x350-1505371745.jpg" class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-attachment-post-featured gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-size-post-featured gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="188" height="100"> <div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-post_content">
<p><b>It has been much harder</b> than I expected to explain
to Westerners why Muslims, even the moderate ones, behave the way they
do. How does one describe the trees to a kid who only ever saw the
desert? Even though it is fading,<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> Christianity has been</b></span> in the very
fabric of the West, <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>making all the wonderful things about Western
culture possible, like</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>critical thinking, respect for human rights and
selflessness. </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>None of these are fundamental in an Islamic culture</b></span>. A
Muslim child grows up in a world where sin and salvation mean something
completely different, a world where the concept of grace is hollow and
confusing. If we do not understand the culture, all our dealings with
Muslims, either during daily encounters or engaging in dialogue, will
remain shallow and fruitless.</p>
<p>I believe the most crucial difference between Christianity and Islam is how each system views the human person.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Memorizing prayers and learning to recite the Quran were crucial
parts of my summers as a dutiful little Muslim girl.</b></span> From an early age,<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b> I
was filled with fear and awe of Allah, who demanded absolute submission
without a smidgen of doubt or disrespect. </b></span>However, in my child’s heart,
occasionally I had the audacity to try to picture this supreme being.
These irreverent falls of mine usually <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>lasted mere seconds as an image
of a pure bright being with rainbow eyes hovered in my mind. These
moments of light-hearted imagination were followed by crippling fear.
How dare I try to fit the all-knowing and all-powerful Allah into my
measly human mind? </b></span>After that, for days, I would struggle with this
fear, waiting to be struck down or to be turned into stone.</p>
<p>Given that<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b> trying to picture Allah is forbidden</b></span>, is it really hard to
understand why <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Incarnation </b></span>is not a good place to start a conversation
with a Muslim friend? <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>The most fundamental belief of Christianity is
that God himself became man to bring us eternal life.</b></span> But, <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the mere
suggestion of God-man </b></span>is <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>enough for many Muslims to tear off their
clothes and cry out blasphemy. </b></span>Why does the thought of Incarnation
incite such strong emotions? There are many reasons for this outrage,
but one needs to first understand how man was created in the beginning
and where Allah stands concerning this imperfect creation of his.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>In Genesis, Scripture tells us that God created man and woman in his
own image.<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> </span></b><b>Before <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">sin severed</span> their connection, God and man were in
perfect union, for man was a creation of love as a result of Triune
perfection:</b></span></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px">The divine image is present in every man.
It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the
unity of the divine persons among themselves. (CCC 1702)</p>
<p>This image alone paves the way to <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>God lowering himself to become man
in order to bring salvation. Creation of man is first and foremost an
act of love, a reflection of the perfect divine love among the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. From the beginning, Incarnation was God’s
design.</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>The story of man’s creation and the relationship between Allah and
man </b></span>could not have been more different <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>in Islam.</b></span> To begin with, <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>we
cannot talk about love as the cause of man’s origin.</b></span> Without the
Trinity, there is nothing for Allah to express, for he does not know
love, neither is he love.<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b> A consistent view of why the man was created
in the first place is lacking in Islamic thinking; </b></span>however, these verses
in the Quran reveal that <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>it was not as a result of a relationship or an
act of love Adam and Eve came to be:</b></span></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px"><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Ve<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)">rily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him. (76:2)</span></b></span></p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>
</b></span><p style="padding-left:30px"><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>I did not create the jinn [the demons] and the humans except to worship me. (51:56)</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>The idea that Allah the all-powerful</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> would desire a relationship with
us</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>is laughable without </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the existence of a prior relationship among the
Three Persons of the Trinity. </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Therefore, even before Adam was created,
his place was set. He would be nothing but a slave who feared his
master. His fate was to be tried over and over again until he pleased
his master with obedience and <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)">worship so that the gates of heaven will
one day be opened before him.</span></b></span></p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>
</b></span><p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Thus, the first man was fashioned from dirt, and then life was
breathed into him. Then, his descendants were created through a
sperm-drop (nutfah):</b></span></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px"><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>It is He Who has created you from dust
then from a sperm-drop, then from a leech-like clot; then does he get
you out (into the light) as a child: then lets you (grow and) reach your
age of full strength; then lets you become old, —though of you there
are some who die before; —and lets you reach a term appointed; in order
that you may learn wisdom. (40:67)</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>The nutfah, semen, is a despicable fluid that is produced by shameful
parts of man, only to be washed off and discarded. It is inherently
dirty and something to be hidden, ashamed of.</b></span></p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>
</b></span><p style="padding-left:30px"><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Have We not created you from a fluid (held) despicable? (77:20)</b></span></p>
<p>Even though there are verses that proclaim everything Allah has
created is good,<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b> there are a number of verses that keep reminding man of
his beginning, lest he forget his place:</b></span></p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>
</b></span><p style="padding-left:30px"><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Now let man but think from what he is
created. He is created from a drop emitted. Proceeding from between the
backbone and the ribs. (86:5-7)</b></span></p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>
</b></span><p style="padding-left:30px"><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Who made all things good which God
created, and he began the creation of man from clay; And made his
progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised. (32:7-8)</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>In other verses man’s origins are mentioned as sticky clay (37:11) or
black mud (15:28) to emphasize his infinite lowliness compared to
Allah. </b><b>The Quran establishes an uncrossable chasm between Allah and man,</b></span>
a chasm, in fact, that cannot be compensated even by an omnipotent
creator. Not because Allah is not able, but because it is unthinkable
that the maker of the universe would lower himself to bestow his own
image upon men, let alone become one of those utterly inferior
creations. This is not to say that man is the least among others.
Because <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Allah breathes life into Adam from his own spirit, man is
elevated above the angels, who were created from light as opposed to
dirt. However, even Allah’s own breath of life is not sufficient to
bridge the eternal gap that remains between master and slave.</b></span></p>
<p>Even from the creation of man,<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b> gnostic elements in Islam are visible,</b></span>
and they get more pronounced in the daily life of a Muslim. For
instance, <span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)">ritual cleansing is a crucial aspect of religious life. One
cannot enter the mosque if one has not been ritually cleansed
beforehand. If any natural urges were satisfied, such as passing gas,
the cleansing must be repeated. Following sexual intercourse, both man
and woman need to be cleansed before praying, touching the Quran or
entering a mosque. A woman on her period is banned from all religious
activities.<span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><u><b> This idea that things related to the human body are unclean
and in constant need of restoration start with the creation of man who
came from despicable fluid and black mud. </b></u></span></span>This infinite inferiority of
man not only puts too much emphasis on man, but projects<u><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b> a deity who is
capricious, incapable of love and in constant need of admiration and
worship.</b></span></u></p>
<p><u><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>Without love being the most essential part of this divine equation,
there is no room for<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> incarnation.</span></b></span></u> Without <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>God’s love first expressed in
the Trinity,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>man</b></span> cannot be <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>created out of love.</b><b> The invulnerable baby
who needs the attention and protection of Mary and Joseph</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> is
unimaginable to </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(249,203,156)"><b>a Muslim mind,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>for Christ’s miraculous entry to our
world is only possible with love.</b></span></p>
</div>
<p class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-post_tags">
<span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-post_tags_intro">Tagged as</span>
<a href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/allah" rel="tag" target="_blank">Allah</a>,
<a href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/incarnation" rel="tag" target="_blank">Incarnation</a>,
<a href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/islam" rel="tag" target="_blank">Islam</a>,
<a href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/tags/koran" rel="tag" target="_blank">Koran</a>
</p>
<div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-single_share">
<div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-fb-like gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-fb_iframe_widget"><span style="vertical-align:bottom;width:108px;height:20px"></span></div>
<div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_toolbox gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_default_style gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_32x32_style">
<a class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_facebook gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_preferred_1 gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at300b" title="Facebook" href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity#" target="_blank"><span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="background-color:rgb(59,89,152);line-height:32px;height:32px;width:32px"></span></a>
<a class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_twitter gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_preferred_2 gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at300b" title="Twitter" href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity#" target="_blank"><span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="background-color:rgb(29,161,242);line-height:32px;height:32px;width:32px"></span></a>
<a class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_print gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_preferred_3 gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at300b" title="Print" href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity#" target="_blank"><span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="background-color:rgb(115,138,141);line-height:32px;height:32px;width:32px"></span></a>
<a class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_email gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_preferred_4 gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at300b" title="Email" href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity#" target="_blank"><span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="background-color:rgb(132,132,132);line-height:32px;height:32px;width:32px"></span></a>
<a class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_compact gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at300m" href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity#" target="_blank"><span class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-at-icon-wrapper" style="background-color:rgb(255,101,80);line-height:32px;height:32px;width:32px"></span></a>
<a class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_counter gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_bubble_style" style="display:inline-block" href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity#" target="_blank"></a><a class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-addthis_button_expanded" title="More" href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/2017/creation-man-islam-christianity#" target="_blank">310</a>
<div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-atclear"></div></div>
</div> <div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-cus_code">
</div>
<div id="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-tl-author-box">
<div class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-tl-author-info">
<img alt="Derya Little" src="http://3m7ajlsrzj92lfd1hu16hu7vc-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Derya-Little_avatar_1505358999-75x75.jpg" class="gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-avatar gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-avatar-75 gmail-m_2804693261091509377gmail-photo" width="75" height="75"><h4>By <a href="https://www.crisismagazine.com/author/derya-little" title="Posts by Derya Little" rel="author" target="_blank">Derya Little</a></h4>
<p>Derya Little has a Ph.D. in politics from Durham University in
England. Her articles on foreign affairs have appeared in academic
journals and Catholic World Report. She is the author of <i>From Islam to Christ,</i> published by Ignatius Press (2017).</p></div></div>
<br></div>