Short answer
Islam teaches faith and good deeds together, and in the end God's (﷾) mercy. The New Testament does not speak with one voice here. Paul was a Christian missionary of the first century. He wrote that a man is justified (made right with God (﷾)) by faith without the deeds of the law. James, whose letter is in the New Testament, wrote that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Both pointed to Abraham. Asked how to have eternal life, Jesus said nothing about a sacrifice for sins. He said, "keep the commandments." The Qur'an says again and again: those who believe and do righteous deeds. Faith comes first, and good deeds grow from it. The Prophet (ﷺ) taught that no one is saved by deeds alone, but by God's (﷾) mercy.
Full explanation
Paul: justified by faith
Paul taught that a person is made right with God (﷾) by faith, not by keeping the Law of Moses. He pointed to Abraham, who believed God (﷾) and was counted righteous. Most Protestants read these verses as teaching salvation by faith alone, as a free gift.
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
“For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
James: justified by works
James asks whether a faith with no works can save anyone. He answers that such faith is dead. He points to the same Abraham, who was justified by works when he offered his son. Then he states the opposite of Paul's sentence in almost the same words.
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?”
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
The churches took different sides
The disagreement is not modern. Martin Luther was a German monk who began the Reformation, the sixteenth-century split that created the Protestant churches. He made faith alone the heart of it. He called James "an epistle of straw" and said it contradicts Paul. The Catholic Church answered at the Council of Trent, a Catholic council of the sixteenth century. It condemned anyone who teaches that the sinner is justified by faith alone. Catholic and Orthodox teaching reads Paul through James. Most Protestants read James through Paul. In 1999 Lutherans and Catholics signed a joint declaration. It says the old condemnations do not apply to each other's teaching as set out in it. They left the condemnations themselves in place, and the two churches remain divided.
In his 1522 preface to the German New Testament, Luther ranks the books and says that, compared with the Gospel of John and the letters of Paul and Peter, the letter of James is "an epistle of straw", because it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it. In his preface to James he adds that it contradicts Paul by ascribing justification to works.
The Council of Trent, in its decree on justification, condemns anyone who says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is needed to cooperate in obtaining the grace of justification.
The Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church declare a consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification. They say that the sixteenth-century condemnations do not apply to each other's teaching as it is set out in the declaration, while adding that nothing is taken away from the seriousness of those condemnations. Methodist, Reformed and Anglican bodies later associated themselves with it.
Calling on the name, or doing the will
Jesus adds a condition that the calling verses leave out. Acts, the New Testament book about the early church, and Paul say that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Jesus says that not everyone who calls him Lord will enter the kingdom. Only the one who does the will of his Father will enter.
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
What Jesus said when he was asked
A man asked Jesus directly what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus said nothing about a sacrifice for sins or about his blood. He told the man to keep the commandments. In Acts, Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, says much the same. In every nation the one who fears God (﷾) and works righteousness is accepted.
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”
The Qur'an's one answer
The Qur'an joins faith and righteous deeds in the same phrase dozens of times. It never sets one against the other. Surat al-Asr says all people are in loss except those who have faith and do righteous deeds.
“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.”
“But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: "Why, this is what we were fed with before," for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).”
“But those who have faith and work righteousness, they are companions of the Garden: Therein shall they abide (For ever).”
“Those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and establish regular prayers and regular charity, will have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Paul | By faith, without the deeds of the law |
| James | By works, and not by faith only |
| Jesus, when asked | Keep the commandments |
| Jesus | Only the one who does the will of his Father enters the kingdom |
| The Qur'an | Those who have faith and do righteous deeds |
| The Prophet (ﷺ) | No one by deeds alone, but by God's (﷾) mercy |
Mercy, not a wage
Islam does not teach that a person earns Paradise like a wage. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that no one's deeds will save him. Asked if that included him, he said, not even me, unless God (﷾) covers me with His mercy. He then told them to do good deeds properly and sincerely. He also taught that God (﷾) writes a good deed down as ten to seven hundred times over, or more, and a bad deed as one. Faith and deeds are the path, and God's (﷾) mercy is what brings a person in.
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.
Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet (ﷺ), telling what his Lord said, taught: a good deed intended but not done is written as one full good deed; if it is done, it is written as ten to seven hundred times over, or more; a bad deed intended but not done is written as a full good deed; if it is done, it is written as one bad deed only. Also in Sahih Muslim 131.
Verse by verse
James 2:24 — Epistle of James, chapter 2, verse 24
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
Cited for
Protestants say James means that works show that faith is real before other people. Paul speaks of how a person is made right before God. So the two do not disagree.
The response
Both writers use the same man, Abraham, and quote the same verse of Genesis about him. James gives it as "it was imputed unto him for righteousness", which is God's (﷾) reckoning, not people's view. Paul says Abraham was not justified by works before God (﷾). James says he was justified by works, and adds "not by faith only". Luther knew this reading well. He still judged that James contradicts Paul.
Where it lands — The two sentences answer the same question about the same man in opposite ways. They have kept the churches divided since the Reformation.
Matthew 19:21 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 21
“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
Cited for
Jesus went on to say "come and follow me", and that salvation is impossible with men. So he pointed the man to himself and to grace.
The response
Jesus first told the man to keep the commandments. "Follow me" came with "sell that thou hast, and give to the poor": more to do, not less. Nothing in the passage mentions a sacrifice for sins or his blood. And "with God all things are possible" is the mercy Islam also teaches. The Prophet (ﷺ) said no one is saved by his deeds alone, but by God's (﷾) mercy.
Where it lands — The answer Jesus gave to the one direct question about eternal life was obedience, with God's (﷾) mercy.
Romans 10:13 — Epistle to the Romans, chapter 10, verse 13
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Cited for
Whoever calls on the name of the Lord in faith is saved. Obedience follows as the fruit of that faith, but adds nothing to it.
The response
Jesus warned that calling him Lord is not enough. Only the one who does the will of the Father enters the kingdom. When he was asked the way to eternal life, he pointed to the commandments.
Where it lands — Jesus' own words join faith to obedience, as the Qur'an does.
Perspectives
Protestant
Salvation is by grace through faith alone, not by works. Good works follow true faith as its fruit, but they add nothing to it.
Paul writes that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Rebuttal
Paul did write it. But James wrote the opposite in almost the same words, and Luther judged that James contradicts Paul. Asked directly, Jesus said to keep the commandments.
Ephesians says salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, so that no one can boast.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that nobody earns Paradise like a wage: the Prophet (ﷺ) said that God's (﷾) mercy is what saves. But mercy and deeds go together. God (﷾) ordains His mercy for "those who do right" and "those who believe in Our signs" (7:156). No sacrifice stands in between. And Jesus said only the one who does the Father's will enters the kingdom.
Protestants read James as speaking of faith shown to be real by its works. It is not, they say, about how a sinner is first made right with God.
Rebuttal
James uses the same man, Abraham, and the same verse of Genesis as Paul. James gives it as "it was imputed unto him for righteousness", which is God's (﷾) reckoning, not how people see him. Yet James says Abraham was justified by works, "and not by faith only", and Luther still judged that James contradicts Paul.
Catholic and Orthodox
Faith is necessary but not alone. Grace works through faith, the sacraments and good works together.
James writes that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees with James that true faith shows itself in deeds. Islam goes further: it joins faith and righteous deeds in one phrase, and never sets the one against the other. And the Prophet (ﷺ) taught that in the end God's (﷾) mercy brings a person in.
The Council of Trent condemned the teaching that the sinner is justified by faith alone.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that faith must be joined to good deeds. It goes further: this rests on Jesus' own answer, to keep the commandments, and on the Qur'an's one answer, not on a council's ruling.
The Islamic perspective
Salvation comes through faith in the One God (﷾) together with righteous deeds, and in the end by His mercy. This is what the Prophet (ﷺ) taught, and what Jesus told the man who asked him.
Paul writes that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. James writes that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Both cite Abraham.
The two answers cannot be reconciled.
Luther himself said that James contradicts Paul, and the churches are still divided over it.
Asked how to have eternal life, Jesus said to keep the commandments.
The Qur'an promises Paradise to those who believe and do righteous deeds, and never sets one against the other.
The Prophet (ﷺ) taught that no one is saved by deeds alone, but by God's (﷾) mercy. He also taught that God (﷾) multiplies good deeds and counts a bad deed only once.