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Study 4: 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.
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I
did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of Allah. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness " (Galatians
5:19-22)
"What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For
from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual
immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness,
envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from
inside and make a man 'unclean.'" (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 people long ago,
'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.'
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will
be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother,
'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says,
'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has
already committed adultery with her 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
,
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,
and death through sin, and in this way death came 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 the following words of Prophet
(pbuh),
Have mercy on me, O Allah, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know
my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you,
you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when
you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time
my mother conceived me. ( 51:1-5)
The prophet (pbuh) writes, "There is not
a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins."
(Ecclesiastes 7:20). Such statements in the and the
agree perfectly with what the holy says. The declares,
"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no
one who understands, no one who seeks Allah. All have turned
away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who
does good, not even 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 (peace be on them all) repenting before Allah for their sin
in the following ayats-
They [Adam and ] said: "our Lord! We have wronged
our own souls: if Thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us
Thy mercy we shall certainly be lost." (7:23)
said: "O my Lord! I do seek refuge with Thee lest I
ask Thee for that of which I have no knowledge. And unless Thou
forgive me and have Mercy on me I should indeed be lost!"
(11:47)
And Who, I [] ardently hope, will forgive me my sin on the
Day of Judgement. (26:82)
() said: "He has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding
thy (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 gathered that We had tried him:
he asked forgiveness of his Lord fell down bowing (in prostration)
and turned (to Allah in repentance). (38:24)
He [] said "O my Lord! Forgive me and grant me a
Kingdom which (it may be) suits not another after me: for Thou
art the Grantor of Bounties (without measure)." (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 sees
a vision of the glory and holiness of Allah, he immediately falls
down on his face and says,
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am
a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips,
and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (
6:5)
In contrast to his own sinfulness, the prophet hears angels
giving praise to Allah and saying, "Holy, holy, holy is
the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
( 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 works are perfect, and all his ways are
just. A faithful Allah who does no wrong, upright and just is
he. (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 (pbuh) it is written, "do not
plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely.
I hate all this," declares Allah ( 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,
You hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who
tells the truth. You trample on the poor and force him to give
you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you
will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes
and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore
the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are
evil. Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God
Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. (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, "be holy, because I am holy." (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,
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his
ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you
from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that
he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your
fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue
mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads
his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak
lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. ( 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,
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come
from your desires that battle within you? You want something
but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what
you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you
do not ask Allah. (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,
To the Jews who had believed him, Isa said, "If you
hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will
know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered
him, "We are 's descendants and have never been slaves
of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Isa
replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave
to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but
a son belongs to it forever." (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.
QUESTIONS:
1. List the sins given in the (Mark 7:20-23) that are
still evident in the world today.
2. What did Prophet Isa say was the equivalent of murder in
the eyes of Allah?
3. Is it possible for someone to appear good even though he
is a terrible, evil person inside?
a. Yes
b. No
4. The prophet (pbuh) as seen in the ,
a. was sinless
b. tried to cover his sins
c. openly admitted and repented of his
sins
5. How many righteous men did Prophet (pbuh) say
have lived on earth?
6. Allah is holy and righteous. Therefore he,
a. approves
of sin
b. dislikes sin but tolerates it
c. hates sin and punishes it
7. If we try to cover our sins by doing good works how does
Allah react?
8. What does sin do to our relationship to Allah, others and
ourselves?
a. improves
it
b. destroys
it
c. leaves it unchanged
9. According to the (John 8:31,32), what can set us
free from slavery to sin?
10. What would you say to a person who said, "I have
never disobeyed Allah's commands or sinned."?
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