Rewards for All

Rewards for All

1988 12 December 22 Rewards for All (417) “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”(Quran 4: 123-124)

This verse from the Quran clearly counters certain erroneous ideas which have been clung to at various points in history, and even up to this very day by Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. The Jews, for instance, have always insisted that they have the right to enter paradise before all others, because they are followers of Moses, who had the supreme honour of being spoken to personally by God. The Christians for their part base their claim to privileged treatment on their allegiance to Jesus, who was a personification of the spirit and wisdom of God. As for the Muslims, they argue that since their Prophet Muhammad was the final prophet, they alone, as his followers, are the inheritors of his prophetic legacy. The Quran, however, makes it clear that it will only be the “believers who do good works, whether men or women” who shall enter the gardens of paradise.

It is, therefore, an exercise in futility for people of different religions to hold their own brand of faith to be superior to others. It is even worse if they go on to believe themselves superior to others in the eyes of God, and that their entry into heaven will be solely on the strength of their religious denomination. It is high time that it was universally understood that no religion is inherently superior to any other. The only way in which Islam has the edge over other religions is in having preserved its sacred texts in their original, and therefore completely pure form.

When it comes to judging the merits and demerits of individuals, the religious labels they choose to display will not in any way enhance or detract from their intrinsic worth. Nothing can be hidden from God’s all-seeing eye. The Almighty will judge each and every individual by his thoughts, words and deeds, and only those who have remained pure in thought and consistently done good deeds will be raised up on high. “There are rewards for all, according to their deeds, so that God may duly requite them for their works. They shall not be wronged.” (Quran, 44:19)