Koran vs. Tanakh
With this ram the priest shall make atonement before Yahweh for the sin which he has committed. Leviticus 19:22 NASB
Atonement – Many Hebrew words have cognates (similar words) in other middle-Eastern languages. One of those languages is Arabic. So it isn’t surprising to find that the Hebrew word kaphar has some relationship to the Arabic word kaffara, a word which mean “absolve.” This Arabic word is borrowed from Hebrew. That might lead you to think that the idea of atonement in the Koran is the same as the idea of atonement in the Tanakh, but you would be mistaken. Knowing the difference is fundamental to understanding the enormous gap between Judaism (and Christianity) and Islam. In fact, once we understand the real difference, we see that some past forms of Christianity are far closer to Islam than the Tanakh will ever be.
Kaphar (to atone, to expiate – with some differences in the nuances, remember?) is central to the Hebrew idea of forgiveness. Essentially, atonement is an act needed to restore a relationship between two parties when that relationship has been severed through some transgression. What is crucial in the Hebraic view is that the break in the relationship is not emotional. It does not occur because of hurt feelings or social displeasure. The break is legal. It is contractually based. One party has aggrieved the other and this grievance must be repaired by some legally sufficient act. It doesn’t matter which party initiates the act of atonement. It only matters that without this act the relationship cannot be restored.
In Israel, atonement is accomplished when the person who has caused the break in the relationship fulfills the restoration obligations demanded by the aggrieved party. This involved a sacrifice. The kind of grievance determined the kind of sacrifice. Atonement could be accomplished through the imposition of punishment (a thief can atone, for example, by repaying what he took plus twenty percent). But when God was the offended party in deliberate sin, final atonement had to be accomplished by God since the penalty included the death of the offender. God’s sacrifice is at the heart of the act of atonement.
This is not the case in Islam. Atonement in Islam is the act of a merciful god without the need for sacrifice. In other words, kaffara (Arabic) implies the concealing or covering up of transgression, not the removal of transgression through the payment of the debt.[1] In Islam, forgiveness is a matter of white-washing the sin, not of cleansing it. The moral debt isn’t erased. It is swept under the carpet. Ethical and moral balance is never achieved. Holiness is not maintained. In the end, the sin remains, but Allah pretends it no longer matters.
Now you can understand why Muslims are devoted practitioners of even the most violent aspects of their faith. They are never actually forgiven. They must continually meet the obligations of Allah in order for him to not recall their transgressions. As long as they are obedient, and only as long as they are obedient, Allah will turn his wrath away. But one slip in devotion, and it all comes back. It is simply impossible for Islam to claim that Allah removes guilt as far as the East is from the West. Guilt is always there, under the prayer rug.
In past centuries some theological expression within Christianity tended to move in the direction of the Islamic concept of atonement. One might recall the endless process of achieving righteousness through certain Roman Catholic rituals, for example. Fortunately, none of these are part of the Hebrew concept of kaphar. Kaphar is true payment. Transgression is not concealed. It is paid for. It no longer applies. Raise your voices in praise to YHWH who forgives for He casts our guilt as far as the East is from the West, never again to become a burden.
Topical Index: Islam, Koran, atonement, kaffara, kaphar, Leviticus 19:22
[1] The Arabic word is used throughout the Koran. Here are but two examples for Sura 5.
5:12 GOD had taken a covenant from the Children of Israel, and we raised among them twelve patriarchs. And GOD said, “I am with you, so long as you observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), give the obligatory charity (Zakat), and believe in My messengers and respect them, and continue to lend GOD a loan of righteousness. I will then remit your sins, and admit you into gardens with flowing streams. Anyone who disbelieves after this, has indeed strayed off the right path.”
8:29 O ye who believe! If ye keep your duty to Allah, He will give you discrimination (between right and wrong) and will rid you of your evil thoughts and deeds, and will forgive you. Allah is of Infinite Bounty.
How sad to live like this- never knowing forgiveness. Every day and every moment of every day, living with doubt as to my current status: is my heart right with G-d, have I done enough (whatever that may be) to appease Him, to atone for my sin? Such a sad state of cloudiness and confusion.
In clear contrast we read from Romans chapter eight, verse one. “Therefore, there is no longer any condemnation awaiting those who are in (blood-covenant) union with the Messiah Yeshua.” Hallelujah for the cross and the words of our Messiah- “it is finished”- “paid in full!!”
See our Savior hung between two thieves.
Hear the soldiers mock His name.
See His followers as they cry in disbelief,
This could not be the reason why He came.
See Him realize His life is through.
And see the love burn from His eyes.
Behold the temple veil as it is torn in two.
And hear the One on Calvary as He cries
Paid in full, I’ve done the work I came to do.
Paid in full, I’ve paid Love’s final price for you.
When all hell tries to tell you that you’ll never win,
Just remember that the debt for your sin is paid in full.
See His children torn between two ways.
Some still choose to mock His Name.
Hear His followers now as they can boldly say,
We are the reason that He came.
See the ones who trust themselves alone,
To do what only Christ can do.
Through Jesus’ blood alone we may approach the Father’s throne,
And hear the words that He still calls to you
Paid in full, I’ve done the work I came to do.
Paid in full, I’ve paid Love’s final price for you.
When all hell tries to tell you that you’ll never win,
Just remember that the debt for your sin is paid in full.
(Charles Billingsley- “Paid In Full”)
Cans someone explain this to me in refrence to Israel in the Old Testament? The part I’m lost on is I was taught that Israel never could have this sins removed, but the sins were rolled up until the next year. That their sins were covered by the blood that was sprinkled on the mercy seat for the day of atonement but not removed. I was taught that only when Yeshua died then the sins were removed from mankind for good.
Thanks
I love the part in the third paragraph where when God was offended only he himself could be the final atonement, so he came to earth in human form, dying for us that this atonement could be made. As for Islam…I just can’t wrap my head around that belief system.
I am always surprised that ANYONE can actually believe what Islam really teaches. Most Muslims don’t adhere to the Koran simply because it opposes common human decency. However, like most Christians, they really have no idea what their faith actually teaches. Just like Christians, they “drift” into their faith.
Common human decency “happens” because we are all (all) made in the likeness
of our compassionate Creator.