Differences Between the Qur'an and Genesis

1.) In the Qur'an, God taught Adam the names of the animals, and then, Adam told the angels the names of the animals. In Genesis 2-3, Adam named the animals by himelf, and there was no mention of angels. Thus, the Qur'an gave more power to God, and less power to Adam.

2.) In the Qur'an, the creation story included the fall of Satan, who was an angel known as Iblis. This was much like the Vita, in which Satan is told to worship Adam, and he refused to do so, and thus, God banished him from Heaven.

3.) In the Qur'an, the snake of Genesis 2-3 was replaced by Satan. Thus, the Muslims believed that Satan rather than a mere snake caused the fall of mankind.

4.) In the Qur'an, the menstruation of woman was mentioned, which was never mentioned in the Genesis story. Rather, the pains of childbirth was replaced by this menstruation discussed. Here, the Qur'an elucidated that this aspect of a woman's life was a time of impurity and uncleanliness, and thus, no touching of any kind must occur with woman during this time.

5.) In the Qur'an, both divorce and marriage were discussed, but neither of this were directly mentioned in Genesis 2-3. Marriage may have been mentioned in Genesis 2-3, but the word 'marriage' was not directly used to describe it, but rather the act of a man "clinging to his wife."

6.) In the Qur'an, it was explicitly stated that men were a degree above woman. There was no action of a woman that indicated that she was subordinate to men. In Genesis 2-3, it has been interpreted by many scholars that because of Eve's faults in the story that woman are subordinate to men, but it was not explicitly stated as much as in the Qur'an. Furthermore, when in Genesis 2-3 it stated and gave a reason why the husband should rule over their wives, in the Qur'an it just stated that men were above women. Thus, Allah created men and women without the presence of equality, which goes against Genesis. In Genesis 1, men and women were both created in the image of God and at the same time. It was not until Genesis 3 that women were subject to their husband's will. Thus, in the Qur'an, Allah, rather than Eve, was responsible for the inequality between man and woman. In fact, the Qur'an explicitly stated "Men are in charge of woman, because Allah hath made one of them to excel the other."

7.)In Genesis 2-3, the snake (Satan in the Qur'an) only spoke to Eve. In the Qur'an, however, Satan spoke to both Adam and Eve. The Qur'an also had Adam and Eve tasting the fruit together, rather than Eve eating the fruit initially and then giving it to her mate to eat. Thus, the Qur'an did not have any specific time in which Eve demonstrated inferiority or superiority to Adam in the Garden. Rather, it was just explicitly stated that women were inferior to men, because Allah made it so. Thus, the Qur'an gave much more power and significance to Allah, where in Genesis 2-3, humans were given much more power, and determined their own destiny. Allah made everything happen, and at the end of each passage, it was stated how "all-knowing" or "all powerful" Allah was.

8.) In the Qur'an, man was created from potter's clay of black mud, while in Genesis 2-3, man was created from the dust of the soil. In both versions, God (or Allah in the Qur'an) breathed into Adam, but in the Qur'an this was called "My spirit" rather than the "breath of Life."

9.) The Qur'an had much more emphasis on the fall of Iblis, who later became Satan, much like the Vita and Paradise Lost. Because Satan refused to worship and respect Adam, the two would be enemies. However, in Genesis 2-3, the snake and man were enemies because the snake tempted them in the Garden. Thus, the Qur'an was much more like the Vita. It emphasized Satan, rather than mankind's fall from glory.

10.) The Qur'an did not mentioned that man and woman were created in God's image. There never seemed to be an actual fall of mankind, but rather, because of Satan's fall and because he would always be man's enemy, mankind would always be tempted. Thus, Allah commanded that the children of Adam "let not Satan seduce you as he caused your first parents."

11.) The Qur'an also spoke about how women and men should live and dress. This was much like Tertullian's On the Apparel of Women, in which he emphasized modesty, covering of the bosom, and hide their adornment. The Qur'an also stated that anyone who did not have a "match" should remain chaste. This emphasis on chastity was much like that of Augustine's, in which the chaste were glorified rather than looked down upon.

12.) The Qur'an included a section that mentioned different languages, but did not contain a story about how this was so. Rather than having humans being the cause of God "confusing" humans by making them talk in different languages, the Qur'an simply stated that Allah made different languages by himself. In other words, Allah was the ultimate creator, and He alone decided to create different languages. Human actions had no influence on his decision. Thus, the Qur'an once again emphasized the all-powerful and all-knowing powers of Allan. Human's had little to no influence on the decisions of Allah.