Islam’s View of Sin and True Salvation
Salvation is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In Islam salvation generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its consequences and being accepted by God (Allah).
In Islam, salvation refers to the eventual entrance to Paradise. Islam teaches that people who die disbelieving in God do not receive salvation. It also teaches that non-Muslims who die believing in God but disbelieving in his message (Islam), are left to his will. Those who die believing in the one God and his message (Islam) receive salvation.
Narrated Anas, that Muhammad said:
Whoever said “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah” and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a barley grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah” and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a wheat grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah” and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of an atom will be taken out of Hell.
— Muhammad, Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:2:43
Islam teaches that all who enter into Islam must remain so in order to receive salvation.
“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).”
— Quran, sura 3 (Al Imran), ayat 85
For those who have not been granted Islam or to whom the message has not been brought:[25]
Those who believe (in the Qur’an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians, – any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”
Oneness of God (Tawhid):
Belief in the “One God”, also known as the Tawhid (التَوْحيدْ) in Arabic, consists of two parts (or principles):
- Tawḥīdu r-Rubūbiyya (تَوْحيدُ الرُبوبِيَّة): Believing in the attributes of God and attributing them to no other but God. Such attributes include Creation, having no beginning, and having no end. These attributes are what make a God. Islam also teaches 99 names for God, and each of these names defines one attribute. One breaks this principle, for example, by believing in an Idol as an intercessor to God. The idol, in this case, is thought of having powers that only God should have, thereby breaking this part of Tawheed. No intercession is required to communicate with, or worship, God.
- Tawḥīdu l-‘ulūhiyya (تَوْحيدُ الأُلوهيَّة): Directing worship, prayer, or deed to God, and God only. For example, worshiping an idol or any saint or prophet is also considered Shirk.
Sin and repentance
The basic concept in Islam that man is not born a sinner loaded with original sin so as to need a redeemer therefore denounce the idea of redemption through Jesus. Man is born of a neutral nature with a completely clean slate, and is capable of both good and evil. He is given both rational power and divine guidance through the prophets to induce him to choose the good and forsake the bad, but it is his duty to make the choice. He alone is responsible and answerable for his error if he errs. Every individual carries only his own burden of deeds and misdeeds and has himself to expiate his sins. The Christian idea of salvation is a concept foreign to Islam.
In simple terms:
- People are basically good. (The Islamic doctrine of fitrah [original innocence] )
- They just forget.
- Islam is a reminder system.
- Everyone saves themselves by getting proper guidance.
Islam also stresses that in order to gain salvation, one must also avoid sinning along with performing good deeds. Islam acknowledges the inclination of humanity towards sin. Therefore, Muslims are constantly commanded to seek God’s forgiveness and repent. Islam teaches that no one can gain salvation simply by virtue of their belief or deeds, instead it is the Mercy of God, which merits them salvation. However, this repentance must not be used to sin any further. Islam teaches that God is Merciful.
Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy: For Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. Of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil, until death faces one of them, and he says, “Now have I repented; indeed,” nor of those who die rejecting Faith: for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous.
Instead of assuming human to be religiously and ethically fallen, Islam acclaims him as the khalifah (representative) of Allah, perfect in form, and endowed with all that is necessary to fulfill the divine will indeed, even loaded with the grace of revelation!
— Qur’an, sura 4 (An-Nisa), ayat 17
Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed.
— Qur’an, sura 4 (An-Nisa), ayat 48
Islam describes a true believer to have Love of God and Fear of God. Islam also teaches that every person is responsible for their own sins. The Quran states;
If ye reject (Allah), truly Allah hath no need of you; but He liketh not ingratitude from His servants: if ye are grateful, He is pleased with you. No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. In the end, to your Lord is your Return, when He will tell you the truth of all that ye did (in this life). for He knoweth well all that is in (men’s) hearts.
— Qur’an, sura 39 (Az-Zumar), ayat 7
Al-Agharr al-Muzani, a companion of Mohammad, reported that Ibn ‘Umar stated to him that Mohammad said,
O people, seek repentance from Allah. Verily, I seek repentance from Him a hundred times a day.
— Prophet Mohammad, Sahih Muslim, 35:6523
Sin in Islam is not a state, but an action (a bad deed); Islam teaches that a child is born sinless, regardless of the belief of his parents, dies a Muslim; he enters heaven, and does not enter hell.[33]
Narrated Aisha, that Mohammad said, “Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and receive good news because one’s good deeds will not make him enter Paradise.” They asked, “Even you, O Allah’s Apostle?” He said, “Even I, unless and until Allah bestows His pardon and Mercy on me.”
— Sahih al-Bukhari, 8:76:474
Saved through what?
“The crucifixion of Jesus does not play a role in the Islamic perspective any more than does his superhuman origin, for salvation in Islam results from the recognition of the Absoluteness of God and not from a sacrificial mystery.” [Cyril Glassé, The New Encyclopedia of Islam]
The Christian concept of salvation is, centered on an external entity – the mystical body of Christ in which the Christian must participate in order to be saved while in Islam, the redemptive potential is centered in the individual himself. [from Yasien Mohamed, Human Nature in Islam].
Islamic salvation affects the “purification of the soul from hollow pagan beliefs and immoral practices.
The Muslim reject the idea of a sin nature which is passed from one generation to another, as stated in the Qur’an to the effect that each person has to pay for their own sin. “No person earns any (sin) except against himself (only), and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another …” (Quran 6:164). This text also militates against the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus for sinful humans.
For the Muslims, avoidance of hell-fire, good standing in the Muslim community, and “doing the good and avoiding the evil” are what matter most.
Islam took the Biblical Jesus and “cleaned him up”and turned him into a true Muslim prophet, rid of the vestiges of “the Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Redemption.”
Five Pillars
Islam is built on five principles, acts of worship that Islam teaches to be mandatory. Not performing the mandatory acts of worship may deprive Muslims of the chance of salvation. According to Ibn ‘Umar, Muhammad said that Islam is based on the following five principles:
- To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle.
- To offer the compulsory prayers dutifully and perfectly.
- To pay Zakat to poor and needy (i.e. obligatory charity of 2.5% annually of surplus wealth).
- To perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Mecca)
- To observe fast during the month of Ramadhan.
