Short answer
In Islam your effort matters, and every deed is weighed. Yet no one is saved by deeds alone. It is God's (﷾) mercy that saves, and faith with good deeds is how a person seeks it. Jain teaching says each soul frees itself by its own effort, with no God to forgive it. Islam commands effort and rewards every good deed, down to an atom's weight. But the Prophet (ﷺ) said that no one's deeds will save him, not even his own, unless God (﷾) covers him with mercy. In the same hadith he told his followers to do good deeds properly, sincerely and in moderation. So deeds are not pointless, but they are not a price that buys Paradise. God (﷾) forgives, multiplies every good deed, and accepts everyone who turns to Him while life lasts.
Full explanation
Islam asks for effort, and counts every deed
Islam does not ask anyone to sit back and wait. The Qur'an says that whoever has done an atom's weight of good will see it, and an atom's weight of evil too (99:7-8). God (﷾) lays on no soul more than it can bear, and each soul gets the good it earns (2:286). The angels greet the righteous with "enter ye the Garden, because of (the good) which ye did" (16:32). So effort is commanded, and none of it is lost.
“Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it.”
“On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray:) "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden Like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith."”
“(Namely) those whose lives the angels take in a state of purity, saying (to them), "Peace be on you; enter ye the Garden, because of (the good) which ye did (in the world)."”
What Jain teaching says
Jain teaching holds that each soul frees itself by its own effort. Padmanabh Jaini, a leading scholar of Jainism, writes that a Jain cannot lean on divine grace. He has to rely largely on his own effort, for this life and for his salvation. The Acaranga Sutra of the Svetambaras (the white-clad branch of Jainism) puts it in Hermann Jacobi's English of 1884: "Man! Thou art thy own friend; why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself?" The Svetambara Uttaradhyayana Sutra says that he who conquers himself through himself will obtain happiness. Austerity (tapas, strict self-denial) is the way to clear old karma, the deeds that cling to the soul. The same text compares a monk's karma to a tank whose inflow is stopped. It dries up, and karma gathered over millions of births is "annihilated by austerities". The Digambaras (the sky-clad branch) keep other scriptures, but they too teach liberation by the soul's own effort.
Jaini writes that the Jaina, who does not hold to a God acting in the world, cannot lean on faith in divine grace. He has to rely largely on his own initiative and effort, for his needs in this world and for his salvation (p. 89).
“Man! Thou art thy own friend; why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself?”
“He who conquers himself through himself, will obtain happiness.”
“As a large tank, when its supply of water has been stopped, gradually dries up by the consumption of the water and by evaporation, so the Karman of a monk, which he acquired in millions of births, is annihilated by austerities, if there is no influx of bad Karman.”
Why Jain teachers turned away from grace
Jain teachers had a reason for rejecting grace. Jaini explains that in the traditions of India that believe in God (﷾), grace is a divine hand that lifts souls out of rebirth. The Jains and other Sramana (wandering ascetic) traditions found a problem here. A giver of grace would have to be a being never bound by karma. How could such a being touch the world of rebirth at all, when acting in it belongs to embodied souls? Islam's answer is that acting binds a soul in need, not the Creator, who needs nothing (35:15).
Jaini explains why the Jain tradition turned away from divine grace. In the theistic traditions of India, grace is a divine helping hand that lifts souls out of rebirth. For the Sramana traditions, the Jains among them, this raised more problems than it solved. The giver of grace would have to be a being forever free of bondage. Yet how could a being that was never bound touch or move the world of rebirth, when such action belongs to embodied beings (pp. 135-136)?
“O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise.”
Who can cancel a wrong?
Effort can do a great deal. It can stop a wrong from being repeated and make a person better. Jains know the weight of a wrong well. Each year they confess their wrongs, forgive all beings, and ask all beings to pardon them. In Jain teaching these pleas clear the heart of anger, and the soul then sheds its karma by its own effort. No God stands over the account to forgive. Islam teaches that every deed is done in the sight of the One who made both the doer and the one harmed. A wrong is like a debt, and only the one it is owed to can release it. So a wrong done to a person must be put right with that person, or it is settled on the Day of Judgment (Bukhari 2449). The sin itself is God's (﷾) to forgive. The Qur'an says that good deeds remove evil ones (11:114), and that is because God (﷾) has made them do so. God (﷾) says, "Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins" (39:53). The next verse calls people to turn back to Him (39:54).
Jaini describes Jain confession. Towards the end of the Paryushana festival, lay Jains confess their wrongs and ask pardon of their teacher, family and friends. They then forgive all beings and ask all beings to pardon them, in a well-known verse: I ask pardon of all living beings; may they all pardon me (p. 216). In the meditation called samayika, Jains of all sects forgive, and beg forgiveness of, the whole world of beings. These pleas are believed to clear the heart of anger and resentment (pp. 223-224).
Jaini writes that the Jaina, who does not hold to a God acting in the world, cannot lean on faith in divine grace. He has to rely largely on his own initiative and effort, for his needs in this world and for his salvation (p. 89).
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: whoever has wronged another, in his honour or in anything else, should seek his release from it today, before the Day when there will be no money. If he has good deeds, they will be taken from him in proportion to the wrong. If he has none, some of the wronged person's bad deeds will be laid on him.
“And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: For those things, that are good remove those that are evil: Be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord):”
“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
“"Turn ye to our Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the Penalty comes on you: after that ye shall not be helped.”
No one is saved by deeds alone
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that the deeds of none of you will save you. His Companions asked whether that was true even of him. He said: not even me, unless Allah (﷾) covers me with His mercy. Then he told them to do good deeds properly, sincerely and in moderation (Bukhari 6463). Sahih Muslim records the same saying, ending with the command to keep to what is right (Muslim 2816a). His words were not doubt about his own end, for the Qur'an tells him of God's (﷾) forgiveness and His favour fulfilled on him (48:2). He was teaching that even the best of people enter Paradise by God's (﷾) mercy. So the hadith that denies salvation by deeds alone is itself a command to do good. Good deeds are a means God (﷾) has set for His mercy, and the strength to do them is His gift too. They are not a price that buys Paradise. That is why the Qur'an can say "because of (the good) which ye did" (16:32). Faith and good deeds are how a servant seeks mercy, and mercy is what saves.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said no one's deeds will save him. Asked whether that included him, he said: not even me, unless Allah covers me with His mercy. He then told them to do good deeds properly, sincerely and in moderation.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that no one of you will be saved by his deeds. A man asked: not even you, Messenger of Allah? He said: not even me, unless Allah covers me with mercy from Him; but keep to what is right. Muslim's second chain has "with mercy from Him and grace", without the last words. The chapter heading, added by a later editor, reads: no one enters Paradise by his deeds, but by the mercy of Allah.
“That Allah may forgive thee thy faults of the past and those to follow; fulfil His favour to thee; and guide thee on the Straight Way;”
“(Namely) those whose lives the angels take in a state of purity, saying (to them), "Peace be on you; enter ye the Garden, because of (the good) which ye did (in the world)."”
Mercy meets the effort
God's (﷾) mercy does not wait until a soul has finished the road alone. It meets the soul's effort. God (﷾) multiplies every good deed tenfold, and counts an evil deed only as one (6:160). The Prophet (ﷺ) reported that God (﷾) says: if My servant comes to Me walking, I go to him running (Bukhari 7405). For those who repent, believe and do good, God (﷾) changes their evil deeds into good ones (25:70). When Amr ibn al-As came to accept Islam, the Prophet (ﷺ) told him that Islam wipes out all that came before it (Muslim 121). Every deed is still weighed (99:7-8). Mercy takes nothing from anyone. No one is wronged (6:160), and every creature's right is still repaid (Muslim 2582).
“He that doeth good shall have ten times as much to his credit: He that doeth evil shall only be recompensed according to his evil: no wrong shall be done unto (any of) them.”
The Prophet (ﷺ) reports that Allah says: I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me; if he comes a hand-span nearer to Me, I come an arm's length nearer to him, and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running. Also in Sahih Muslim 2675.
“Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,”
Amr ibn al-As, near death, said that before Islam no one was more hateful to him than the Prophet (ﷺ), and he had wished to kill him. He told how he came to the Prophet to accept Islam. He asked the Prophet to stretch out his right hand so he could pledge, then drew his own hand back. Asked why, he said he wanted a condition: that he be forgiven. The Prophet asked whether he did not know that Islam wipes out everything that came before it.
“Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it.”
Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: on the Day of Resurrection every right will be given back to the one it belongs to, so that even the hornless sheep will take its due from the horned sheep.
Even in Jain teaching, the road is long
In Jain teaching a Jina, one of the teachers who reached omniscience, finds the road with no teacher. His followers are different. Jaini notes that they would not reach liberation without the Jina's help as teacher. Paul Dundas, a historian of Jainism, adds a further point. Jains came to hold that the highest attainments, full omniscience among them, are no longer possible in this age. So Jain practice now also aims at merit for a better rebirth. Islam's offer is different. There is one life, and God's (﷾) forgiveness is open in it, now, to anyone who turns to Him (39:53-54).
Jaini writes that ordinary people need a guru to begin the life of a monk, but the Jina-to-be needs no teacher. He renounces the world on his own and becomes the first monk of a new order (pp. 3-4).
Jaini notes that followers of a Jina may also reach omniscience and so liberation. They are called kevalin or arhat, not Jina. He adds that without the Jina's help they would not have reached so high a state in the first place (p. 31, note 69).
Dundas writes that, by around the early common era, Jains recognised that a variety of advanced spiritual attainments, of which enlightenment (full omniscience) was one, were no longer possible in this era after the death of the disciple Jambu. Religious practice then aimed not only at burning away karma but also, increasingly, at gaining merit for a good rebirth (chapter 6, opening page, p. 94).
“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
“"Turn ye to our Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the Penalty comes on you: after that ye shall not be helped.”
Islam's answer: effort, carried by mercy
Islam's answer is that your effort counts, and God's (﷾) mercy carries it. The One who made you sees every deed and forgives the one who turns to Him. He creates by His command, "Be," and it is (2:117), and there is nothing whatever like Him (42:11). Islam is a whole way of life, with belief, worship and conduct together (2:208; 5:3). The Qur'an asks to be tested. Its challenge is to produce a sura (chapter) like it (2:23) and to look for discrepancy in it (4:82). If it is God's (﷾) word, then Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Seal of the Prophets, the last of them (33:40). Read it, and weigh his message for yourself.
“To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: When He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: "Be," and it is.”
“(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).”
“O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one; for he is to you an avowed enemy.”
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
Five replies, answered
Uttaradhyayana Sutra 30.5-6 — lecture 30 (The Road of Penance), verses 5-6
“As a large tank, when its supply of water has been stopped, gradually dries up by the consumption of the water and by evaporation, so the Karman of a monk, which he acquired in millions of births, is annihilated by austerities, if there is no influx of bad Karman.”
Cited for
Austerity burns off old karma, so a soul can clear its own past without God's forgiveness.
The response
Austerity can change the one who practises it, and Jains ask pardon of the beings they have harmed. But no one can cancel his own debt. A wrong done to a person must be put right with that person, or it is settled on the Day of Judgment (Bukhari 2449). The sin itself is God's (﷾) to forgive. Good deeds remove evil ones (11:114) because God (﷾) has made them do so. He forgives all sins to those who turn back to Him (39:53; 39:54).
Where it lands — Effort can reform the doer. A debt is cancelled by the one it is owed to, and every sin by God (﷾).
Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification (1979), pp. 135-136
Jaini explains why the Jain tradition turned away from divine grace. In the theistic traditions of India, grace is a divine helping hand that lifts souls out of rebirth. For the Sramana traditions, the Jains among them, this raised more problems than it solved. The giver of grace would have to be a being forever free of bondage. Yet how could a being that was never bound touch or move the world of rebirth, when such action belongs to embodied beings (pp. 135-136)?
Cited for
A being forever free of karma could never act in the world of rebirth, so grace is impossible.
The response
That holds for a soul in a body, which acts because it wants and lacks. Islam's God (﷾) is not such a soul. He is the Creator of all things, and there is nothing whatever like Him (42:11). He is "Free of all wants" (35:15), and brings things into being by His command, "Be," and it is (2:117). He acts from mercy and wisdom, not need, so acting in His own work does not bind Him.
Where it lands — Acting binds a needy soul. It does not bind the Creator, who needs nothing.
Acaranga Sutra 1.3.3.4 — book 1, lecture 3 (Hot and Cold), lesson 3, verse 4
“Man! Thou art thy own friend; why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself?”
Cited for
I am my own friend. Why should I look for a friend beyond myself?
The response
Even in Jain teaching, the Jina's followers learn the road from his teaching. But a teacher only shows the road. He cannot forgive what was done on it. Islam's answer is the One who made the soul. He says that if His servant comes to Him walking, He goes to him running (Bukhari 7405). He forgives all sins to those who turn to Him (39:53-54).
Where it lands — A teacher shows the road. Only the soul's Maker can forgive, and He meets every step.
Uttaradhyayana Sutra 13.23 — lecture 13 (Citra and Sambhuta), verse 23
“Neither his kinsmen, nor his friends, nor his sons, nor his relations will share his suffering, he alone has to bear it; for the Karman follows the doer.”
Cited for
Mercy is unfair. A strict account should give each soul exactly what it earned.
The response
In Islam no one is punished beyond his deed, and no good deed is lost (99:7-8). God (﷾) says that no one will be wronged (6:160). To forgive what is owed to Himself is His right, as any creditor may cancel a debt. What one creature owes another is paid back in full on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that even the hornless sheep will take its due from the horned sheep (Muslim 2582).
Where it lands — No one is wronged. God's (﷾) mercy waives what is owed to Him, and every creature's right is repaid.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6463 — Kitab al-Riqaq (Softening of the Heart), hadith 6463
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said no one's deeds will save him. Asked whether that included him, he said: not even me, unless Allah covers me with His mercy. He then told them to do good deeds properly, sincerely and in moderation.
Cited for
If no one is saved by his deeds, then deeds do not matter in Islam.
The response
The same hadith goes straight on to command good deeds, done properly, sincerely and in moderation. Sahih Muslim gives the same saying with "keep to what is right" (Muslim 2816a). The Qur'an says every atom's weight of good will be seen (99:7-8). Deeds are how a servant seeks mercy. They are not a price that buys Paradise.
Where it lands — Deeds are commanded and weighed. Mercy, not a price paid, is what saves.
Perspectives
Jain: each soul frees itself
Jain teaching holds that no god frees the soul. Each soul is its own friend. It stops new karma by restraint and burns off old karma by austerity, until it is free. Grace from outside is neither needed nor possible.
"Man! Thou art thy own friend; why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself?" (Acaranga Sutra 1.3.3.4, Svetambara). No one outside the soul can free it.
Rebuttal
Jain teaching itself says that the Jina's followers would not reach liberation without his teaching. But a teacher can only show the road. He cannot forgive what was done on it. Islam points to the One who made the soul, hears it (42:11), and forgives all sins to those who turn to Him (39:53).
Austerity annihilates the karma gathered over millions of births, as a tank dries up when its inflow is stopped (Uttaradhyayana Sutra 30.5-6, Svetambara). So a soul can clear its own past.
Rebuttal
Austerity can change the one who practises it. But no one can cancel his own debt; only the one it is owed to can. Good deeds do remove evil ones (11:114), because God (﷾) has made them do so. He forgives all sins to those who turn back to Him (39:53-54).
A giver of grace would have to be a being never bound by karma. Such a being could not touch the world of rebirth (Jaini, on the Sramana traditions). So grace is impossible.
Rebuttal
The objection treats acting as a sign of need, as it is for a soul in a body. God (﷾) is not a soul in the world. He made it, needs nothing from it (35:15), and there is nothing like Him (42:11). He acts out of mercy and wisdom, not need.
If grace saves, then effort is pointless and deeds no longer matter.
Rebuttal
The very hadith that says no one is saved by deeds alone goes on to command good deeds, done properly, sincerely and moderately (Bukhari 6463). Every deed is weighed (99:7-8).
Mercy is unfair. If some are forgiven, the strict account of each soul's deeds is broken.
Rebuttal
No one is punished beyond his deed (6:160), and no good is lost (99:7-8). God (﷾) may waive what is owed to Himself. Every creature's right is still repaid, even an animal's (Muslim 2582).
The Islamic perspective
Effort is commanded and every deed is weighed. Yet no one is saved by deeds alone: God's (﷾) mercy saves, and faith and good deeds are how a servant seeks it. Forgiveness is God's (﷾) to give, and He multiplies every good deed. His door stays open, while life lasts, to all who turn to Him.
Every deed down to an atom's weight is seen, and God (﷾) burdens no soul beyond its capacity. The righteous enter the Garden because of the good they did.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that no one's deeds will save him, not even his own, unless Allah (﷾) covers him with mercy. He then commanded good deeds done properly, sincerely and moderately.
God (﷾) multiplies good deeds tenfold, counts evil only as one, and wrongs no one. He comes running to the servant who comes walking.
God (﷾) forgives all sins to those who turn back to Him, and changes the evil deeds of those who repent into good. Islam wipes out what came before it.
Deeds are a means by which a servant seeks God's (﷾) mercy, not a price that buys Paradise.
God (﷾) is the Creator, unlike anything He made, who brings things into being by His command. The Qur'an invites everyone to test it, and names Muhammad (ﷺ) the Seal of the Prophets.