Islamic creation story vs. Biblical creation: Key differences & how to discuss them

Islam is a religion of rules that Muslims must follow in order to please Allah. Part of pleasing Allah includes memorizing the Quran, one of Islam’s main texts. The Quran was supposedly revealed over various occasions to Muhammad between AD 610 and 632 by one of Allah’s angels.

When Muhammad was “creating” Islam, he drew a lot of details from Judaism and Christianity. He wanted the Jews and Christians to accept him as a prophet sent by their God, the God of the Bible, so he tried to pull from their beliefs and add them to Islam’s beliefs.

This is what happened to the Islamic creation story– there are many details that are connected to the Jewish and Christian creation story from the Old Testament. But then there are certain differences that appear because of the context of Muhammad’s life in the 7th century Arabian peninsula.

Learning about the Islamic creation story can reveal what influenced Muhammad as he started this new religion and how easily the truth can be twisted. Then we will also give you tips about how you can talk to your Muslim friend about the creation story and use this topic to start a beneficial conversation!

What is the Islamic creation story?

The Islamic creation story is found in both the Quran and the Hadith, Islam’s two main religious texts. If you don’t know the difference between the two, we suggest reading about them here.

Here is the basic outline of the Islamic creation story:

1. Allah’s throne and water: Allah’s throne was created and set above the water. Allah was the only “being” in the universe before this. 

2. The pen and Lawh al-Mahfooz: Allah then created a pen and told it to write down everything that was going to happen in creation. The pen wrote it down on a tablet that is called the Lawh al-Mahfooz (the preserved tablet). 

3. Heavens and the Earth: 50,000 years after Allah wrote the Lawh al-Mahfooz, he created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day.

4. Living things are brought to life from the water: In Islam, it is said that water is the essence of life. Allah sends down water onto the earth and all living things come from it.

5. Sun and moon are created: Allah created the sun and moon for humans to be able to keep track of time. 

6. Angels and jinn are created: Angels are messengers of Allah that are created from light. Jinn are made to worship Allah like humans, but they are not all obedient to Allah like angels are. It is a belief that Satan was from the jinn.

7. Humans are created: Allah created Adam and his wife as the first humans. 

(Source)

Now, that’s a lot of details. The order is not the same as the creation story we read in the Bible, but there are similarities. The timeline of seven days of creation, with rest on the seventh day, is identical to the Old Testament story of creation (although one text in the Quran contradicts itself by mentioning 8 days of creations Quran 41:9-12)

There are also similar details of Eve (though she is never mentioned by name in the Quran) being created from Adam. However in Islam, she is not made from Adam’s rib, rather from a crooked bone; that’s why women are difficult in nature and wicked. The story continues with Adam and the woman being tempted by Satan so they can have power and rule.

The main differences between the Islamic and biblical creation story

The Islamic creation story is not entirely different from the biblical creation story, but there are a few key differences to point out.

The preserved tablet

The first big difference is the part about the Lawh al-Mahfooz, the pre-written history of the world. There is no mention of this happening in the Bible. The Bible does talk about God’s omnipotence, His everlasting power and knowledge, but there is no scripture to support Islam’s claim about the history of the world being written down.

Created from water 

In the Islamic version of creation, water is the essence of life and therefore all living things come out of the water. This is not accurate according to the Bible! All living things came into existence because of God’s words and did not originate from anything (Genesis 1:20-25).

Timeline differences

The Bible tells us that God made the sun and moon and stars before He made the living animals on the earth, but Islam’s version says that Allah made the sun and moon last before the angels, jinn, and humans.

Worshiping  Adam

That brings us to the last main difference between the Islamic creation story and the biblical account– the creation of man. In the Quran and Hadith, Adam is the first human and he is made out of clay. All of the angels and jinn are commanded to bow down to Adam as a sign of reverence to him, but Satan, also called Iblis in Arabic, refuses so he is cursed by Allah and rejected (Quran 2:34).

The Fall according to Islam

Satan is known as one of the jinn who disobeyed Allah’s command to bow to Adam. He believed he was better than humans, and Allah cast Satan out of paradise. In response, Satan promised that he would torment humans. (Read more about Islam’s beliefs on Satan here)

Allah had told Adam and his wife to live in paradise and enjoy it, and told them not to eat of one particular tree. Satan came back and told them if they ate from the tree they would become immortal like the angels and jinn.

When Adam and his wife ate from the tree, they realized they were naked and covered themselves. Then Allah came back, found them, and he sent them down to Earth as punishment. (Surah 7:11-25)

As you can see, this is very similar to the biblical account of the Fall we read in Genesis!

You can read more details about this part of the story in Islam here.

How can we talk about the creation story with our Muslim friend?

It’s not every day that someone brings up how they believe God made the Earth. But as Christ-followers, we should always be ready to make the most of an opportunity to talk about God’s Word, especially with our Muslim friends.

You can open the conversation talking about the Bible and Quran in a broader context; ask them why they read the Quran and what it tells them. Tell them why you  believe the Bible is the Word of God!

Your friend will probably tell you that your Bible is corrupted, so your version is inaccurate. This can actually lead you into a very good conversation about the Bible’s validity (which you can read about here).

Even beyond talking about the Bible versus the Quran, you can ask your Muslim friends questions like these:

• Why do you believe Allah created the earth and man?

  • This is a great conversation leading into you being able to share what the Bible says about this topic.

• In the Bible, the creation story shows us that God is a God of creativity and order. What do you think of this?

  • This is great way to open up the discussion about the characteristics of God

Always pray before talking to your Muslim friend about faith and religious beliefs. Give the conversation over to God and remind yourself that you can rely on Him to make a change in your Muslim friend’s heart.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I am in awe of your power and grace. Please give me the right words to talk to my Muslim friend and tell them about You. Open up their heart so they may hear Your word and be changed by it. Amen.

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