Assignment 10- Muslim creation stories PDF

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1 Assignment 10

1. Read the "Muslim creation stories" in the link here (here) and compare/ contrast them with the creation story in Genesis 1-3 in this link (here).(Read the Genesis account and the Muslim account. The story does not read straight through in the Koran as it does in Genesis. I picked out different verses from the Koran so you could read it in one shot.) Compare: Both stories start out with a clean slate where there is no evil and only Adam. They have humans gaining the power of knowledge and free will. Adam gets a wife named Eve and is told to disregard the tree of knowledge. After disobeying their omnipotent force they are told that they will be forced to farm for their food. They are banished from the sacred place they corrupted. Contrast: In the Bible Eve is regarded as having a less inferior role in the story. Iblis or Satan taunts the couple but in the Bible is was Eve who interacted with the serpent the most. In the Koran it says that the outcast Iblis interacts with Adam and Eve unitarily “Then Shaitan (Satan) whispered suggestions to them both in order to uncover that which was hidden from them of their private parts (before); he said: "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals.”” . In Genesis the Lord doesn’t proclaim as much much regret as Allah does after Adam and Eve have eaten from the tree. In the Korean it states ““O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts, etc.) and as an adornment, and the raiment of righteousness, that is better. Such are among the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, that they may remember (i.e. leave falsehood and follow truth]). …27. O Children of Adam! Let not Shaitan (Satan) deceive you, as he got your parents [Adam and Hawwa (Eve)] out of Paradise,

Press 3 stripping them of their clothing, to show them their private parts. Verily, he and his allies (his soldiers from the jinn or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them. Verily, We made the devils allies (protectors and helpers) for those who believe not.””

2. Explain the importance for the angels in the Muslim story to submit to God because "God knows" what he is doing? The angels represent the submission which is so highly valued in to the Muslim god Allah. The angles show the loyalty and dedication that Allah commands from them when he is speaking about creating “him from clay”. Ibis refuses to submit to Allah because he believe that humans are a lesser being and a waste of time. Muslims highly value obedience to Allah so when Ibis refused to submit it was a great insult to the omnipotent god. 3. Does it make sense that Iblis (an angelic being/Jinn) refused to submit to a man, even though God asked him to do it? (A. I am not asking whether you agree with Iblis' actions. I am specifically asking you to think about how the submissive posture of the angels before and after the creation of man may have influenced the character. B. I am asking you to think about the answers that Iblis gave for his actions. Discuss why his reasons might be illogical or why he might be justified in his refusal to submit to mankind.)

Accordant to the Islamic religion no, in fact Iblis is supposed to be grateful to Allah and submit to him because he is thankful for his creation. However I also see that Iblis was created out of the element of fire. Fire is used to symbolize unpredictability in many religious and literary texts. From a literary point of view yes but from an Islamic point of view absolutely not. Iblis believed since he was created from a superior element having to deal with something made

Press 3 of clay was beneath him. Thus making him protest the judgment of his ruler.

4. Click Here to review the article on Sufism on page 3 in this module and Click Here to read page 4 and 5 in an article by Allan Butler in which he cites the Ta-Sin of Before Endless-Time and Equivocation we find Hallaj's declaration of "I am the Truth!" and Ahmad al-Ghazzali through Ayn al-Qozat. After reading the section, answer the questions below: A. What were al-Hallaj's three defenses of Iblis? i) Iblis used the eternal and paternal love that Allah had for him against him. He knew that Allah would always love him and he was always connected to his god therefore he could escape punishment. He also was so devoted that he did everything in the name of Allah B. What is Ayn al-Qozat's claim about Iblis (Eblis) and Mohammad? Mohammad and Iblis are prophets who guide people on very different paths. Mohammad steered people towards god and Iblis lead people astray. According to Ayn al-Qozat's Iblis was an appointed gatekeeper of heaven, some may view Iblis’s way as a mean of weeding out non-believers. 5. Explain some differences between the Muslim story and the Biblical story. In the biblical texts Satan wished to over throw God and as a result is cast out of heaven. In the Korean Iblis is banished from paradise after disobeying God’s orders, meaning followers should obey the order of God in order to achieve paradise. Humans are made of earthy dust according the Bible, whereas in the Koran they are made of clay. There is no specific mention of Eve’s creation in the Korean like in the Bible, Eve just appears coupled with Adam in the story.

Press 3 In the Bible the angles aren’t given commands to bow before Adam like they are supposed to in the Koran....