For God to Judge

For God to Judge

1985 4 April 9 For God to Judge (379) Certain Quranic commentators have related a conversation involving Jews, Christians and Muslims, each of whom were of the opinion that they would enter paradise before everyone else. The Jews said that they were the followers of Moses, who besides being God’s prophet, was also chosen to be spoken to by God. The Christians based their claim on their allegiance to Jesus, who was a personification of the spirit and wisdom of God. As for the Muslims, they argued that since their prophet Mohammad was the final prophet, they themselves – as his followers – were successors to the prophetic legacy; it was their privilege to continue the work of prophets: they were the best community that had been sent forth among mankind.

The judgment delivered on this matter by God, however, differs from the wishes of all these candidates for salvation. The Muslims are explicitly commanded to forsake such wishful thinking:

“It shall not be in accordance with your wishes, nor shall it be as the People of the Book wish. He that does evil shall be requited with evil: there shall be none to help or protect him. But the believers who do good works, whether men or women, shall enter the gardens of paradise. They shall not suffer the least injustice” (4: 123-124).

In one tradition the Prophet is reported as saying that true faith does not consist of fanciful thoughts or superficial pretences; true faith comes from the heart, and is verified by one’s actions.

People of every religion have a tendency to hold their own religion to be superior to others. They then go on to believe that they themselves are superior to others in the sight of God, and will enter heaven solely on the basis of their religious denomination. But there are absolutely no grounds for this creed. No religion is inherently superior to any other. The only difference between Islam and other religions is that the former is preserved in its original form, whereas others are not. God will judge each person according to his or her own actions: only those who have done good deeds will be raised up in the sight of God. With Him “there are degrees for all”, but “according to their deeds”, not according to anything else (Qur’an 46:19).