Adam’s and Eve’s Sin?

Biblical and Islamic scholars hold that Adam sinned in eating of the Tree of
Knowledge. Our reading of the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran, however,
suggests that Adam did not sin in eating of the Tree of Knowledge. Rather he
sinned in delaying the eating of the Tree of Knowledge. This was a minor sin for
which he repented and God forgave him for committing the same. We give the
verses from the Bible and Quran with our understanding of their import.
Adam| Tree of Knowledge| God| Garden of Eden| Genesis| Quran:
The Bible: “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care
for it and to maintain it” (Genesis 2:15).
The Quran: “Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive
authority’” (2:30).
We may assume that Adam knew of the Tree of Knowledge since he tended
the Garden according to the Bible; and he was made an authority upon the
earth according to the Quran.
The Prohibition| Fruit| Good and Evil| Tree of Knowledge:
Then God told Adam:
The Bible: “You may freely eat fruit from every Tree of Knowledge of the orchard, but
you must not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of the knowledge of good and evil, for
when you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).
The Quran: "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in
abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this Tree of Knowledge, lest
you be among the wrongdoers" (2:35).
Adam knew of the Tree of Knowledge. Yet, he did not eat these. Then God
prohibited Adam from eating of the Tree of Knowledge (Picture 1). And, Adam
continued the “not eating” by following the order.
Satan| Prompts to Eat| Die| Divine Beings| Angels| Serpent| Eyes Will Be
Opened:
The Bible: The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, for God knows
that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who
know good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).
The Quran: But Satan… said, "Your Lord did not forbid you this Tree of Knowledge
except that you become angels or become of the immortal" (Quran 7:20).
The Satan encouraged Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. He
assured them that they would not die as said by God. So Adam and Eve ate of
the Tree of Knowledge (Picture 2). But they did not die as Satan had assured
them.
Adam| Eve| Clothes| Evolution| Naked| Leaves| Paradise:
Adam and Eve appear to have evolved after eating of the Tree of Knowledge:
The Bible: “Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Genesis 3:7).
The Quran: “And when they tasted of the Tree of Knowledge, their private parts
became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over themselves from
the leaves of Paradise…” (7:22).
They started to make clothes for themselves (Picture 3).
Crop Cultivation| Expelled| Curse| Ground| Thorns and Thistles| Go Down|
Earth:
The Bible: God said to Adam ‘Because you… ate from the Tree of Knowledge… cursed
is the ground… in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce
thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field’ (Genesis 3:17-18).
The Quran: And we said, ‘Go down, [all of you], as enemies to one another, and you
will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time’ (7:24).
Adam was expelled from the Garden (Picture 4). He started cultivating crops
and eating of them. Anthropological studies indicate that man was earlier a
hunter gatherer. He used to gather fruits of the trees and live off them. Then
he started to cultivate crops. This was a step forward in the evolution of man.
The Bible and the Quran tell of this beginning of crop cultivation.
We do not know the mystery of the Bible and Quran portraying the beginning
of cultivation as a “curse.” Yet this was a step forward.
“Negative Suggestion”| Caretaker| Beneficent| Lethargic| Prodded:
Now we can recapitulate the story. Adam was the caretaker of the Garden and
had access to the Tree of Knowledge. However, he did not eat of it. Then, God
told him not to eat of it otherwise he would die. Yet Adam ate of it and did not
die. Instead his eyes were opened and he developed the capacity to clothe
himself with leaves and cultivate crops.
Adam was good before he ate of the Tree of Knowledge and he was better
after he ate of it. So what could be the meaning of God prohibiting him and
Eve from eating of the Tree of Knowledge that was so beneficent?
Adam was caretaker of the Garden. Perhaps he also knew that eating of the
Tree of Knowledge would be good in some way. But Adam did not eat of it.
Perhaps he was lethargic. Then, in order to prod him into eating of the Tree of
Knowledge, God could have given him a “negative suggestion.” A mother may
put some nourishing fruits before a child but he/she does not eat. Then the
mother may say, “Do not eat the fruit.” The curiosity of the child could thus be
aroused and he may eat the fruit. Similarly, God could have given a negative
suggestion to prod Adam to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. But Adam took the
“negative suggestion” literally and still did not eat of the Tree of Knowledge.
Then God encouraged the Satan to plod them into eating of the Tree of
Knowledge. Finally, Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge and were
benefitted as God wanted.
The sin of Adam, therefore, was not in eating of the Tree of Knowledge.
Rather, his sin was that he did not eat of it despite him being a caretaker and
knowing of its benefits.
Repentance| Garments| Skin| Wife| Forgiveness| Transgression:
The Bible: “The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and
clothed them. And the Lord God said, ‘Now that the man has become like one of us,
knowing good and evil…’” (Genesis 3:21-22).
The Quran: And… Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred. Then his Lord chose him and
turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him]” (20:121-122).
The Bible tells that God made garments for Adam. That means God forgave his
transgression. The Quran says that Adam sought forgiveness of the Lord and
the Lord forgave him (Picture 5).

Our interpretation suggests that Adam actually fulfilled God’s command in

eating of the Tree of Knowledge. He made no error here. So what was the sin
for which Adam sought forgiveness? A possibility is that Adam sought
forgiveness for not having eaten of the Tree of Knowledge when he was the
caretaker.
Adam’s Sin| Curse| Tree of Knowledge| Eyes Opened| Sin| Prophet| Forgave:
The conventional interpretation that Adam sinned in eating of the Tree of
Knowledge faces the following difficulties:
1 Why did God clothe them after they ate of the Tree of Knowledge?
2 Why did their eyes get “opened” if they made a sin?
3 Why would God curse the evolution from hunter-gatherer to crop
cultivation?
Adam was a Prophet. Bible says God placed him in the Garden. The Quran says
God made him an authority over earth. The humankind started to clothe itself
at his time, and it evolved from hunter-gatherer to crop cultivation. Adam’s sin
was not to have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge soon enough. He repented
and God forgave him for this sin.
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