The first difference that struck me between the Quran and the Bible accounts of the fall of Adam and Eve was the difference in the depiction of early man. The Bible makes him out to be an innocent enjoyer of paradise. The Quran shows him as having dominion over the Angles even (7,11). Christians tend to see Angels as being stronger than humans are. The fallen among men were saved by his son, while the fallen angels were simply damned. Christians seem to believe that man is not as responsible for his fall as Muslims do.
In Genesis 1:8 it states that Adam and Eve noticed they were naked and made loincloth for themselves. The Quran speaks instead of the ôshameful partsö being exposed. Indeed the interpreters have many different takes on this: their clothes fell off (Ubayy b. KaÆb), the feathers covering their bodies fell off (Mohammad b. Qays), etc. Christians equate the awareness of sexuality as shameful only because of Adam and EveÆs sin. Muslims, in contrast, see the fall as being stripped of natural covering of shame that God provides if man does not oppose him.
This accounts for the difference in Western and Islamic attitudes toward dress. Islamic women are very modest, saving the viewing of much of their bodies for their husbands only. Western women of all faiths, or no faith at all, see this as restrictive. Indeed, some of what they wear barely constitutes ôloinclothsö. Their defense is that the body is inherently beautiful, and that only the sinful nature of the beholder corrupts the viewing of it.
Ironically, this belief that man is innocent, was tempted, and is naturally beautiful except for the introduction of sin, leads Christian faiths to believe that they can never be ôgood enoughö for God. They require constant forgiveness and depend on the mercy of God for their salvation. The concept of original sin comes from Adam and is shared by all.
In contrast the Quran, in 7,26-31, suggest...