Sin and Remission: The Quran vs. The Bible

Introduction

If you were to die tonight, are you guaranteed heaven? it's not uncommon for missionaries to boastfully put this question to Muslims. They ask this rhetorically of course as the point being made is that only a Christian can be 100 percent certain of salvation, thanks to the saving grace of Jesus (PBUH). Now not only is such rhetoric used to undermine Muslims, but it is also a popular sales tactic to gain converts. Preachers around the world cry out from street corners: “Just confess with your tongue that Jesus is your savior, and you will be saved.” Such invitations are of course highly enticing, but have you ever stopped to consider whether it's true? In this blog, we are going to scrutinize this claim considering the New Testament, and then compare it to the stance of the Last Testament (The Holy Quran) on the respective matter.

Biblical Narrative

Such invitations are of course highly enticing, but have you ever stopped to consider whether it's true? In this blog, we are going to scrutinize this claim considering the New Testament. Many Christians believe in the concept of ‘Once saved, always saved’. Yet, the apostle Paul taught the exact opposite. “No! I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize”. (1 Corinthians 9:27; The Bible). Paul here advises Christians to keep themselves in check so that they do not lose the prize of salvation. This indicates that any believer can fall from grace, even Paul himself.

The Book of Revelation goes into more detail and informs us that a believer's deeds may disqualify one from heaven. “To the Angel of the Church in Sardis: Write! I know your deeds; You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Yet, you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white for they are worthy. I will never blot out the name of that person from the Book of Life.” (Revelations 3:1-6; The Bible)

Here the members of a church are warned that their deeds are unfinished and that they must strengthen what remains lest their names be blotted out from the Book of Life. These individuals are contrasted with those who have not sold their clothes, who are said to walk with Jesus (PBUH), and are worthy. We can see that the New Testament clearly teaches that a believer can lose their salvation based on their deeds. One has to wonder what sort of deeds can cause a believing Christian to lose their place in heaven.

In the New Testament, salvation is linked to being born again. Jesus (PBUH) replied: “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. (John 3:3; The Bible). Being born again is likened to becoming a new creation, a spiritual rebirth. So, what are the characteristics of those who are born again? The New Testament informs us: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God's seed remains in them. They cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are." (1 John 3:6-10: The Bible) We can see that ‘they're born again’ is characterized by their lack of sin. Sin is said to be what separates God's children and those of the devil.

The New Testament even goes so far as to say that if a believer is overcome by sin, then it would have been better for them to have not been born again at all. “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness.” (2 Peter 2:20; The Bible)

In summary, it is an oversimplification to say that simply believing Jesus (PBUH) died for our sins guarantees heaven. Scripture is loud and clear. A believing Christian can absolutely lose his or her. salvation depending on their sins. Therefore, the critical question that every Christian must consider is just how much sin it takes for one's born-again status to be revoked. Given the monumental role that sin plays in determining our salvation, one would expect the New Testament to be overflowing with useful information about it.

Perhaps the most detailed exposition can be found in the following account by Paul: “Now the works of the flesh are evident which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries and the like of which I tell you beforehand just as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19; The Bible)

Unfortunately, for Christians, such passages do not provide much in the way of clarity there is the vague statement of those who practice such things. To what exact extent is Paul referring here? Is just one transgression enough to lose salvation? Perhaps, it's a regular practice. If so, how regular are these various sins hierarchical? In other words, are all the sins weighed equally, or are some worse than others? Don’t all Christians, all of humanity even, have selfish ambitions and jealousies to some extent? One may presume that sins such as idolatry are far worse than the others, but Paul lumps everything together under the category ‘works of the flesh’.

As you can see, there is not enough information provided about sin in order for one to be able to account for it in any meaningful way. This puts Christians in a perilous situation. An individual is either saved or doomed with their sins determining their fate, yet, there is no definite means of knowing which of the two groups one currently lies in because the New Testament does not provide any useful framework for dealing with sin. Now, you may be thinking can't a Christian just overcome these uncertainties through repentance? In other words, all they have to do is ask God's forgiveness to get their sins wiped out, thus guaranteeing that they regain their born-again status while the New Testament generally encourages people to repent. Unfortunately for Christians, God's forgiveness is by no means guaranteed.

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the holy spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance”. (Hebrews 6:4-6; The Bible) The verses make it clear that the fallen away were genuine believers who were once enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, and shared in the holy spirit. We can see that when a Christian has fallen away, it is a point of no return, and any repentance thereafter is in vain because the door of forgiveness is shut on them forever. What constitutes falling away again?

The New Testament does not go into detail and so again, Christians are left in a position of uncertainty about their own situation. What can we conclude from all of this? You might as well flip a coin to determine your fate. There is no Christian on the face of the earth who is guaranteed heaven when they die. There are just too many ambiguities around the topics of sin and salvation. Now, is this really the kind of guidance that we should expect from God Almighty? No human being whose salvation is pinned upon such guidance can ever truly feel at ease or at peace.

Quranic Narrative

The religion of Islam stands in stark contrast to Christianity. The Quran informs mankind that those who believe and do righteous deeds will enter paradise. “And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens beneath which rivers flow.” (The Quran; 2-25) The actions that we perform during our lives are being recorded and we will have to answer to God Almighty for everything we have said and done. “O that day people will come forward in separate groups to be shown their deeds. Whoever has done an atom's weight of good will see it but whoever has done an atom's weight of evil will see that.” (The Quran 99:6-8)

Both our righteous and evil deeds will be weighed on the day of judgment and those whose scales are heavy with righteous deeds will be successful in the hereafter. “And the weighing of deeds that day will be the truth so those whose scales are heavy with good -it is there who will be successful” (The Quran;7-8)

Whosoever scales our light, they are liable for punishment by God. “But as for one who scales our light, his refuge will be an abyss, (The Quran 101;8-9) Muslims who hope to be successful in the hereafter must therefore wisely spend the time that God has granted them on this earth by performing as many righteous deeds and as few evil deeds as possible. The Quran equips us with the tools needed to manage our deeds. For example, we are informed that God Almighty out of his generosity, multiplies righteous deeds ten times. “Whoever has done a good deed will have it ten times to his credit but whoever has done a bad deed will be repaid only with its equivalent.” (The Quran; 6-160)

There are even special nights in the year when righteous deeds are multiplied exponentially. The Quran tells us about the night of the decree. “Indeed, we sent the Quran down during the night of decree and what can make you know what is the night of decree? The night of decree is better than a thousand months”. (The Quran 97:1-3)

Islam goes so deep into the topic of sin that it even covers our thoughts and intentions. Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said: “But if he intends to do an evil deed and does not do it, God records it with himself as a complete good deed but if he intends it and does it, God records it as one single evil deed”. (Sahih Muslim) We are also informed of many ways that our sins can be wiped away. The act of sincere repentance is one such means “Say! O my servants who have transgressed against themselves by sinning. Do not despair of the mercy of God. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is Most forgiving, Most Merciful.” (The Quran; 39-53)

There are some acts of worship that are so virtuous that they can wipe out an entire lifetime of sins. Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said “Did you not know that the pilgrimage of hajj wipes out what came before it?” (Sahih Muslim) In fact, Muslim scholars have written entire books about major and minor sins. Such is the level of detail that Islam provides there is so much more information and so many other examples that could be shared but it's not possible to do Islam justice in such a short blog.

What Islam provides is a comprehensive and practical framework that we can use to keep track of our balance of deeds in order to ensure that our righteous deeds far outweigh the evil we have done as long as a Muslim is knowledgeable enough about their religion and conscientious enough about their actions then they are in a strong position to be successful on the day of judgment. Now, perhaps a Muslim did not perform many righteous deeds or perhaps they committed a lot of evil deeds. If God Almighty does not forgive them, then, they may be entered into hell for a temporary period of time in order to be purified of their sins. Ultimately though, every Muslim will eventually enter heaven.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) said “Whoever said none has the right to be worshipped but God and has in his heart good equal to the weight of an atom will be taken out of hell.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Conclusion

In conclusion, many Christians think that they are guaranteed salvation by virtue of simply believing that Jesus died for their sins. Having examined the New Testament, the reality is that the free ticket to heaven that they have been sold by missionaries is not worth the paper it's printed on.

By contrast, we've seen that the Quran provides exactly the kind of useful information that one would expect to find in a genuine book of revelation so the next time a missionary asks you about death in the afterlife smile and be assured that we Muslims have in our possession the best of guides, that is, Islam!

That is all for now! Stay tuned for our next blog. May God bless you all. Assalamalaikum!