Who Can Achieve Salvation?

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Excerpts from Chapter 2 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir, analyzing implications of Quráanic Verse 2:62:

62. Inna allatheena amanoo waallatheena hadoo waalnnasara waalssabi-eena man amana biAllahi waalyawmi al-akhiri waAAamila salihan falahum ajruhum AAinda rabbihim wala khawfun AAalayhim wala hum yahzanoona

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62. Indeed, those who believe and those who are Jews, the Christians and the Saabieen – whosoever believed in Allah and in the Last Day, and acted righteously ⁶⁸ – for them then, of course, is their reward with their Lord. And fear shall overpower them not; nor shall they grieve! ⁶⁹

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68. In Verse 8:29, the Qur'aan informs the believers that Allah creates for them the furqaan, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, if they are pious! Even a thief, when he steals, knows in his heart of hearts that he is doing something wrong! But he suppresses this call of his conscience. And with its repeated suppressions, his conscience so to say dies much before his physical death! A pious, Allah-fearing man, on the other hand, does not suppress his conscience - his furqaan! The Qur'aan guides us further in this regard by explaining, in Verses 2:44, 2:177 and 2:189, what Al-Birr (good, righteous conduct or behaviour) ought to be!

69. From Adam to Muhammad (peace be upon them all), all the Prophets have preached but one Religion - the Religion of Islam! And the fundamentals of this Religion have always been: belief in Allah, belief in the Hereafter and performance of righteous deeds. So, no eyebrows need be raised when this Verse 2:62 informs us that even the Jews and the Christians shall attain to salvation if they only satisfied the three conditions mentioned. And no dichotomy be sought between this Verse here and Verse 3:85, wherein Allah informs us that no religion other than Islam shall be accepted! The moot question that now arises is whether the present-day Christians and the present-day Jews – with all their notions about Trinity, and about each being the chosen people of God with guaranteed divine visas to Paradise, and with their outright rejection of Muhammad and of the Qur'aan as the last Prophet and the last divine Testament - do thus satisfy the three fundamental conditions to be entitled to Salvation. And the moot question also is whether the present-day Muslims - with their neglect and ignorance of, and therefore with their fundamental deviations from, divine commands laid down in the Qur'aan - do thus satisfy the three fundamental conditions to be entitled to Salvation.

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Grant us the wisdom to understand Your Verses correctly, Allah!

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 17^th February, 2017