I was reading at a site operated by an evangelical group when I came across an article that opened with these words:
There are several major differences between Christianity and all other religions. One is that all others require good works or personal merit in order for you to enter heaven (or achieve a high level of existence). In all other religions you get into heaven through your own actions and thoughts. In Christianity salvation is a free gift from God. -- Evangelical.us, What do all cults and other religions have in common with each other?, (author and Copyright information not provided
As I was reading the above-mentioned article, I was monitoring a news broadcast on the TV at my desk. As is all too often the case, there was sad news about our troops serving in Iraq. This led me to read another article at that site; an article touching on the Islamic version of life after death. As you read the words below, think on how much of Islamic soteriology, as sketched in the brief article compares with Catholic doctrines concerning such things as the treasury of merits, Purgatory, indulgences and salvation by works.
In Islam there are two ways to get paradise:
1. Your good deeds are weighed against your bad deeds. If you have done enough good deeds when compared to your bad deeds, you will eventually get to paradise, after spending some time burning in the fires of hell.
2. Muslims who die as martyrs defending Islam go directly to paradise.
It is plain to see that in Islam salvation is a result of your works. You may have also noticed that all Muslims, except those who die as martyrs defending Islam, go to hell. This is clearly stated in the Koran, Sura 19, verses 67-68 and 71-72.
(This is Allah speaking through his prophet Mohammed.) "There is not one among you who shall not pass through hell; such is the absolute decree of your Lord. We will deliver those who fear Us, and leave the wrongdoers there, on their knees." (Sura 19:71-72)
This Sura clearly states that everyone goes to hell and that, after some period of time, Allah will deliver those who have done sufficient good deeds from hell, leaving behind those who have not done enough good deeds.
Salvation is through what a Muslim does. It is through human works. - Evangelical.us, Salvation in Islam, (Author and Copyright information not provided
What is quoted above is an evangelical site's interpretation of Islamic afterlife. In the interest of fairness, I visited an Islamic site to see what I might learn there as regards Muslim teaching on this matter.
God's wisdom thus necessitates that on a certain day men should be called to account for their deeds. The Qur'an promises that such a day will come: "Of a certainty, God will gather all His creatures on the day of resurrection, all His deeds are inspired by knowledge and wisdom"(15:25).
The ultimate perfection of which man is truly worthy is not attainable in the sphere of this world. His growth towards perfection continues until in the afterlife he reaches his ultimate aim and desire, which is the attainment of union with the sublime origin of all being.
Men will come to meet their Creator in a way determined by their deeds, characteristics, and their conduct in this world. This is true both of the pure and the fortunate and of the wretched whose hearts are blackened with sin. For all creatures must inevitably submit to the irresistible will of God and the unfailing norms He has established; willingly or not, they return to Him. However, the way in which they meet God is determined by their conduct while in this world and the attributes they have acquired Once the deeds of men reach their conclusion, the results of their acts are revealed and become apparent. The quality of men's meeting with God depends, then, on the mode of behavior that has distinguished and characterized them in this world.
---------------
As for those black-hearted ones who are destined for hellfire, they too come face to face with the Most Sacred Essence of God. However, God does not look upon them with favor and mercy, and they are deprived of His favor.
The Qur'an says: "There shall be no share for them on the day of resurrection: God will not speak to them or look in their direction"(3:77).
"The faces of one group of men will be luminous and smiling on the day when they meet God, while the faces of another group will be as if covered with dust: mired in shame, these will be the unbelievers, evil in conduct"(80:38-42). Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi Lari, The Face of Western Civilization (1968), English Translation by F. G. Goulding (1970)
Let's face it. The Qur'an, the Islamic holy book that Pope John Paul II kissed for the cameras, makes it clear that Hell is where just about everyone is going when they die. Given that damnation is what waits at the end of Islamic life, it would be wrong to consider Islam as a religion offering salvation to believers.
Islam is an afterlife religion. Strictly speaking, Islam is not a "salvation" religion even though the religion is ruthlessly focused on the afterlife. The goal of individual life is to attain an afterlife within one of the heavens described in the Qur'an and to avoid one of the numerous hells. Salvation religions, however, postulate that admission to paradise or a good afterlife is almost solely in the control of god or some god; in Islam, however, one's afterlife is in large part determined by the sum of one's activities in this life over which one has complete responsibility. In that sense, it's not fair to describe Islam as a salvation religion; unlike salvation religions, Islam requires the active, ethical participation of the faithful in every circumstance of the conduct of their lives. -- Richard Hooker, Islam, ©1996, Richard Hooker
Looks like earning merit is every bit as important to the Islamic afterlife as drawing from the Treasury of Merit is to Catholics.
You are glorified in the assembly of your Holy Ones, for in crowning their merits you are crowning your own gifts.
2006 The term "merit" refers in general to the recompense owed by a community or a society for the action of one of its members, experienced either as beneficial or harmful, deserving reward or punishment. Merit is relative to the virtue of justice, in conformity with the principle of equality which governs it.
2027 No one can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well as necessary temporal goods. -- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (C) 1994/1997 United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
As for me; why I shall be content to trust in the promises of Christ, such as:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.-- John 5:24
