Short answer
Islam keeps much of what you value and adds a Creator to turn to. You value compassion for every living creature, a clean heart and the discipline of the Five Precepts. Islam too forbids unjust killing, adultery, false speech and intoxicants. The Qur'an calls the Prophet (ﷺ) a mercy to all creatures. Islam adds a Creator who hears, forgives and raises the dead. It adds worship as God (﷾) prescribed it, one life and then the Day, and a last messenger with a book to test. The real change is to worship Allah (﷾) alone and take your guidance from the Qur'an. Islam is a whole way of life, from belief to worship to character.
Full explanation
What Buddhists seek
Buddhism has two great branches. Theravada, found mostly in South and Southeast Asia, follows the Pali texts. Mahayana, found mostly in East Asia, adds further sutras, and Zen and Pure Land are Mahayana schools. This page quotes the Pali texts and says so. The Dhammapada is a collection of verses in the Pali canon. One verse calls this the instruction of the Buddhas: not to do evil, to embrace the good and to purify the mind. Two more verses name five wrongs: killing living creatures, false speech, stealing, adultery and drinking beer and wine. They say that whoever does these digs up his own root. These are the matters of the Five Precepts. The Discourse on Love, also in the Pali canon, compares a mother protecting her only child. It tells the hearer to unfold a boundless heart to all creatures. A further verse says the work is each person's own, and that the Realized Ones just show the way.
“Not to do any evil; to embrace the good; to purify one's mind: this is the instruction of the Buddhas.”
“Take anyone in this world who kills living creatures, speaks falsely, steals, commits adultery, and indulges in drinking beer and wine. Right here they dig up the root of their own self.”
“Even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child, so too for all creatures unfold a boundless heart.”
“You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way.”
What Islam keeps
Islam asks you to give up none of the concern behind the precepts. The Qur'an calls the killing of children for fear of want a great sin (17:31). The Prophet (ﷺ) named murder among the greatest sins, with false witness (Bukhari 6871). He also said that the first cases judged between people on the Day of Resurrection will be cases of bloodshed (Bukhari 6533). The Qur'an tells believers not to come near adultery (17:32) and to shun the word that is false (22:30). It forbids eating up one another's property in vanities (4:29). It calls intoxicants an abomination and tells believers to eschew them (5:90), so the Dhammapada and the Qur'an both name the drink. As for mercy, the Qur'an says of the Prophet (ﷺ), "We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures" (21:107). Remembrance has its place too, since hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah (13:28).
“Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin.”
Anas ibn Malik reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said the greatest of the great sins are to associate partners with Allah, to murder a human being, to be undutiful to one's parents, and to give a false statement or false witness.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said the first cases to be judged between people on the Day of Resurrection will be cases of bloodshed.
“Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils).”
“Such (is the Pilgrimage): whoever honours the sacred rites of Allah, for him it is good in the Sight of his Lord. Lawful to you (for food in Pilgrimage) are cattle, except those mentioned to you (as exception): but shun the abomination of idols, and shun the word that is false,- Being true in faith to Allah, and never assigning partners to Him: if anyone assigns partners to Allah, is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its prey) and thrown him into a far-distant place.”
“O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities: But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual good-will: Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful!”
“O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper.”
“We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.”
“"Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.”
What Islam adds: a Creator who hears
The Pali texts argue against a creator. The page "Did the Buddha believe in God?" sets those arguments out and answers each one. The Qur'an describes One who is Allah (﷾), the Eternal, who begets not and is not begotten, and who has no equal (112). He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the One who hears and sees all things (42:11). He is close to His servants and listens to the prayer of every suppliant (2:186). He says, "Call on Me; I will answer your Prayer" (40:60). He forgives all sins, and calls His servants to turn back to Him in repentance (39:53-54). He gave you life, causes you to die, and will bring you to life again, and to Him you return (2:28). What Islam adds is not a technique. It is Someone to turn to.
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
“(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).”
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
“And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"”
“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.”
“How can ye reject the faith in Allah?- seeing that ye were without life, and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye return.”
Worship as God (﷾) prescribed it
Calm and attention are good, and Islam gives them an address. The Qur'an commands the prayer and regular charity (2:43), the fast (2:183) and pilgrimage to the House for those who can make the journey (3:97). The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Islam is built on five (Bukhari 8). They are the testimony of faith, the prayer, zakat (the yearly alms on wealth), Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) and the fast of Ramadan. Giving is part of it, as it is in Buddhism, where it is called dana. Islam has reflection too. The Qur'an praises those who celebrate Allah's (﷾) praises, standing, sitting and lying down, and who contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth (3:190-191). The shape of worship is not left to each age. It comes from God's (﷾) own command.
“And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).”
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-”
“In it are Signs Manifest; (for example), the Station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security; Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah,- those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures.”
Ibn Umar reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Islam is built on five: to bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish the prayer, to pay zakah, to perform the pilgrimage, and to fast the month of Ramadan.
“Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding,- Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.”
Many lives, with no known beginning
The Pali texts teach rebirth. A discourse in the Linked Discourses says that this transmigration has no known beginning. Beings roam on, it says, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving. A Buddhist who holds this takes the present life to be one of many. In the Middle Discourses the Buddha leaves some questions undeclared: the world's eternity or extent, soul and body, and the Realized One after death. A Creator is not on that list.
“this transmigration has no known beginning. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving.”
“For example: the cosmos is eternal, or not eternal, or finite, or infinite; the soul and the body are one and the same, or the soul is one thing, the body another; after death, a realized one still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists.”
One life, then the Day
Islam teaches that this is the only life before the Day of Resurrection. The Qur'an says that every soul will taste death and that to Allah (﷾) we return (21:35). It says that Allah (﷾) takes the souls of men at death and keeps back those whose death He has decreed (39:42). On the Day each person's record is laid open to him (17:13-14). Anyone who has done an atom's weight of good or of evil will see it (99:7-8). In Islam the one who did the deed is the one recompensed for it. The soul at rest is told, "Come back thou to thy Lord, well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him" (89:27-30). Some faces on that Day will beam, looking towards their Lord (75:22-23). The page "Is nirvana better than Paradise?" sets the two hopes side by side.
“Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. to Us must ye return.”
“It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.”
“Every man's fate We have fastened on his own neck: On the Day of Judgment We shall bring out for him a scroll, which he will see spread open. (It will be said to him:) "Read thine (own) record: Sufficient is thy soul this day to make out an account against thee."”
“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.”
“(To the righteous soul will be said:) "O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! "Come back thou to thy Lord,- well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him! "Enter thou, then, among My devotees! "Yea, enter thou My Heaven!”
“Some faces, that Day, will beam (in brightness and beauty);- Looking towards their Lord;”
The last messenger, and a book you can test
Islam holds that God's (﷾) guidance was completed with the Qur'an. It asks nobody to take this on trust. The Qur'an invites the doubter to produce a sura (chapter) like it (2:23) and to look for discrepancy in it (4:82). If the Qur'an is from God (﷾), then its word that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Seal of the Prophets (33:40) is His word. It also says he was sent to all mankind (7:158). The Buddha pointed away from himself, and the Dhammapada has him say that the Realized Ones just show the way. Muslims neither call him a prophet nor call him a false teacher, as the page "What do Muslims think of the Buddha?" explains. They weigh every teaching by the Qur'an, and they invite you to weigh the Qur'an itself.
“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.”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
“You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way.”
The real change Islam asks
Islam does ask a real change, and it is better to say so plainly. It asks you to worship Allah (﷾) alone and to invoke no one along with Him (72:18). It asks you to take your guidance from the Qur'an and the last Prophet (ﷺ), not from the Pali texts or the sutras. It asks you to hold that there is one life and then the Day, in place of many lives. It does not ask you to mock the Buddha or his followers. The Qur'an tells believers to invite with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and to argue in the way that is best and most gracious (16:125). The page "Should anyone pray to the Buddha or a bodhisattva?" takes up devotion in more detail.
“"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah;”
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.”
Men and women alike
The Qur'an speaks to men and women together. It lists the believing, the devout, the truthful, the patient, the charitable and those who fast, men and women alike. It promises them all forgiveness and great reward (33:35). It says that God (﷾) will not let the work of any of them be lost, male or female (3:195).
“For Muslim men and women,- for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in Charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise,- for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.”
“And their Lord hath accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: Ye are members, one of another: Those who have left their homes, or been driven out therefrom, or suffered harm in My Cause, or fought or been slain,- verily, I will blot out from them their iniquities, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath;- A reward from the presence of Allah, and from His presence is the best of rewards."”
Islam's answer: goodness is the start
Buddhism and Islam begin from the same wish: to be free of wrong and to be kind to every creature. The question is where the road goes from there. Being good is the start, not the end. The Qur'an says that man is in loss, except those who believe, do righteous deeds, and urge one another to truth and patience (103:1-3). It says that every soul returns to Allah (21:35). Allah (﷾) looks at hearts and deeds (Muslim 2564), so Muslims do not judge anyone's heart. But the Qur'an is plain that deeds are accepted with faith. It says: "If any do deeds of righteousness,- be they male or female - and have faith, they will enter Heaven" (4:124). That is why Islam asks you to weigh the message that has reached you. Islam is a whole way of life: belief, worship, law, family and character together (2:208; 5:3). The page called What is Islam? shows it whole, and the page on following the religion you were born into takes up family and tradition. Islam asks you to read the Qur'an in a translation you trust and to test it. Then ask whether Muhammad (ﷺ) is the last prophet God (﷾) sent (33:40).
“By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), Verily Man is in loss, Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.”
“Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. to Us must ye return.”
Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Allah does not look at your faces or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.
“If any do deeds of righteousness,- be they male or female - and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them.”
“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.”
“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.”
Eight questions and replies
Dhammapada 246-247 — Stains, verses 246-247
“Take anyone in this world who kills living creatures, speaks falsely, steals, commits adultery, and indulges in drinking beer and wine. Right here they dig up the root of their own self.”
Cited for
I can be a good Buddhist and a good person. The Five Precepts already name what is wrong, so why change?
The response
Allah (﷾) looks at hearts and deeds (Muslim 2564), so Muslims judge no one's heart. Goodness is the start. The Qur'an joins belief to righteous deeds (103:1-3) and says to Allah (﷾) every soul returns (21:35). It is plain that good deeds are accepted with faith (4:124). That is why Islam asks you to weigh the message that has reached you.
Where it lands — Being good is the start. The question is where you return, and whether the Qur'an is true. Islam asks you to test it.
Dhammapada 183 — The Buddhas, verse 183
“Not to do any evil; to embrace the good; to purify one's mind: this is the instruction of the Buddhas.”
Cited for
The Dhamma is already a whole path: do no evil, embrace the good, purify the mind. It does not need a Creator.
The response
Islam grants that the path is practice. It is also a whole way of life, and it calls believers to enter it whole-heartedly (2:208). The difference is the Source. Islam holds that God (﷾) Himself prescribed its worship (2:43; 2:183; 3:97) and that He hears and answers the one who calls (2:186).
Where it lands — Both ask for a clean life. Islam adds the One who made you and answers you, and it asks you to test the book that tells you of Him.
Sutta Nipata 1.8 — The Discourse on Love, verse 7 (segments 7.1-7.4)
“Even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child, so too for all creatures unfold a boundless heart.”
Cited for
Compassion for all creatures is the heart of the Buddha's teaching. Does Islam have it?
The response
Yes. The Qur'an says of the Prophet (ﷺ), "We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures" (21:107). It tells believers to repel evil with what is better, so that an enemy may become a friend (41:34). Islam also names the source of mercy: the Creator who forgives all sins and calls His servants to turn back to Him (39:53-54).
Where it lands — Mercy is common ground, and Islam grounds it in the Creator's own mercy.
Dhammapada 276 — The Path, verse 276
“You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way.”
Cited for
You yourselves must do the work, and the Realized Ones just show the way. Islam asks me to depend on someone.
The response
Islam too puts the work on each person. No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another (17:15), and an atom's weight of good will be seen (99:7-8). It asks you to depend on the One who is near and answers (2:186). Both teachers point away from themselves, and Islam says to whom (40:60; 72:18).
Where it lands — The work is yours in both. Islam says the work is done before the One who hears you and to whom you return.
Samyutta Nikaya 15.3 — Linked Discourses, chapter 15, discourse 3 (Tears), segments 1.2-1.3
“this transmigration has no known beginning. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving.”
Cited for
The Pali texts teach many lives with no known beginning. Islam says there is one. Why should I believe it?
The response
Neither report can be checked by looking. The Qur'an says every soul tastes death and returns to Allah (21:35). It says He gave you life, will cause you to die and will bring you to life again (2:28). It asks to be tested before it is believed (2:23; 4:82).
Where it lands — The question is which report of the unseen is true, and the Qur'an asks to be tested.
Majjhima Nikaya 63 — Middle Discourses, discourse 63 (The Shorter Discourse With Malunkyaputta), segment 2.3
“For example: the cosmos is eternal, or not eternal, or finite, or infinite; the soul and the body are one and the same, or the soul is one thing, the body another; after death, a realized one still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists.”
Cited for
The Buddha left the big questions undeclared. I keep the ethics and the meditation and need no more.
The response
The Buddha did leave those questions undeclared. The same texts teach rebirth without a first point (Samyutta Nikaya 15.3), so setting some questions aside was a choice among claims about the unseen. Islam keeps the ethics and the reflection (3:190-191) and does not set death aside. Every soul returns to Allah (﷾) and reads its own record (21:35; 17:13-14).
Where it lands — Calm and ethics are kept. What follows death is the question Islam answers plainly.
Dhammapada 276 — The Path, verse 276
“You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way.”
Cited for
If I became Muslim, would I have to stop honouring the Buddha?
The response
Islam does not ask you to mock him or to insult any Buddhist. Muslims are told to invite with wisdom and beautiful preaching (16:125). It does ask that prayer and worship go to Allah (﷾) alone, and that no one be invoked along with Him (40:60; 72:18). Muslims neither call the Buddha a prophet nor call him a false teacher. They weigh his teaching by the Qur'an.
Where it lands — Respect for a teacher is not ended. Worship and prayer go to Allah (﷾) alone.
Dhammapada 246-247 — Stains, verses 246-247
“Take anyone in this world who kills living creatures, speaks falsely, steals, commits adultery, and indulges in drinking beer and wine. Right here they dig up the root of their own self.”
Cited for
The first precept forbids killing any living creature. Islam allows slaughter.
The response
It does. Islam permits eating meat from animals slaughtered with Allah's (﷾) name spoken over them (6:118; 16:5). It commands that slaughter be done well, sparing the animal suffering (Muslim 1955). The Prophet (ﷺ) said a woman entered the Fire because of a cat she starved (Bukhari 3318). Here Islam and the first precept differ, and this page does not hide it. The page "Does Islam teach kindness to animals?" takes it up.
Where it lands — Islam does not forbid all killing of animals. It forbids cruelty, and it holds that the One who gave life sets its limits.
Perspectives
Buddhist: the Dhamma is already a good path
A Buddhist can say that the Dhammapada gives a clean life. The Five Precepts and a boundless heart give a whole rule of living, and the work is each person's own. A secular Buddhist adds that he keeps the ethics and the meditation without rebirth or a Creator. Many Buddhists therefore ask why they should change.
The Dhammapada calls not doing evil, embracing the good and purifying the mind the instruction of the Buddhas (Dhammapada 183). I live by that. I can be a good Buddhist and a good person, so I need nothing more.
Rebuttal
Goodness is a fine start, and Muslims do not judge anyone's heart (Muslim 2564). But the Qur'an says deeds are accepted with faith (4:124) and asks to whom every soul returns (21:35).
The Five Precepts (Dhammapada 246-247) and a boundless heart for all creatures (Sutta Nipata 1.8) already give a whole rule of living. Islam adds nothing.
Rebuttal
Islam also forbids adultery, false speech and intoxicants (17:32; 22:30; 5:90), and calls the Prophet (ﷺ) a mercy to all creatures (21:107). What it adds is the Creator who hears (2:186) and to whom you return (21:35).
The Dhammapada says that I must do the work myself and the Realized Ones just show the way (Dhammapada 276). Islam asks me to lean on a God I cannot see.
Rebuttal
Islam too puts the work on each person. No bearer of burdens bears another's (17:15), and an atom's weight of good will be seen (99:7-8). The One it points to is near and answers (2:186).
The Pali texts say rebirth has no known beginning (Samyutta Nikaya 15.3), so Islam's one life is simply wrong.
Rebuttal
The sutta states what the Pali texts hold, and this page does not dispute that it is their teaching. Islam gives its own report of the unseen: one life, then the Day (2:28; 21:35). It asks you to test the book that carries it (4:82).
I keep the ethics and the meditation and have dropped rebirth. The Buddha left the big questions undeclared (Majjhima Nikaya 63), and I need no Creator.
Rebuttal
You keep what is good. But dropping rebirth leaves death unanswered. Islam keeps the ethics and the reflection (3:190-191) and says plainly that every soul returns to Allah (﷾) and reads its own record (21:35; 17:13-14).
The Islamic perspective
Islam keeps what is good in what a Buddhist holds. That is compassion for all creatures, a clean heart, and a ban on unjust killing, adultery, false speech and intoxicants. It adds a Creator who hears, forgives and raises the dead. It adds worship as God (﷾) prescribed it, one life and then the Day, and the last messenger with a book to test. It asks one change at the root: to worship Allah (﷾) alone and take guidance from the Qur'an. Belief, worship, law, family and character are one way of life.
The Qur'an forbids adultery, false speech, the wrongful eating of others' property and intoxicants, and calls the killing of children for want a great sin. The Prophet (ﷺ) named murder among the greatest sins, and said bloodshed is judged first on the Day. Islam asks no Buddhist to give up the concern behind the precepts.
The Prophet (ﷺ) was sent as a mercy to all creatures. Hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah (﷾).
The Creator of the Qur'an is One, eternal, begetting none and begotten of none. He hears and sees, is close to every caller, answers prayer, and forgives all sins to those who turn back to Him.
Worship in Islam is as God (﷾) prescribed it: the prayer and charity, the fast and the pilgrimage, and Islam is built on five pillars. It also has reflection on creation.
Islam teaches one life before the Day, when each person's own record is opened. God (﷾) gave life, causes death and brings back to life, and keeps the soul He takes.
The Paradise of the Qur'an is rest with the Lord. The soul at rest is called back well pleased, and faces will look towards their Lord.
The Qur'an invites everyone to test it. The tests are to produce a sura like it and to look for discrepancy. It calls Muhammad (ﷺ) the Seal of the Prophets and says he was sent to all mankind.
The change Islam asks is real. It is to worship Allah (﷾) alone, invoke no one along with Him, and take guidance from the Qur'an and the last Prophet (ﷺ). Islam asks Muslims to invite others with wisdom and in the best and most gracious way.
The Qur'an promises men and women the same reward and says the work of none is lost.
Goodness is the start, not the end. The Qur'an joins belief with good deeds, every soul returns to Allah (﷾), and Islam is a whole way of life.