Short answer
No. It is a good discipline, but it leaves out what a person needs most. The Noble Eightfold Path is the Buddha's way to end suffering. Its parts are right view, purpose, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and immersion. Islam also commands much of this: honest speech, clean earnings and effort against wrong. But the eight parts name no Creator. So they give no one to thank for life, and no Lord to ask for help. They also name no one who can forgive a person who fails. In one Pali text, a disciple who did wrong says, "I can't undo what I have done". The Qur'an says that for those who repent, believe and do good, "Allah will change the evil of such persons into good" (25:70). Islam keeps the effort and adds the One who hears, helps and forgives. The Qur'an invites everyone to test it.
| What a person needs | The eightfold path | Islam |
|---|---|---|
| Honest speech | ||
| Clean conduct and clean earnings | ||
| Effort against wrong | ||
| A Creator to thank | ||
| A Lord to ask for help | ||
| A Lord who can forgive |
- Named
- Not named in the eight parts
Full explanation
The eight parts of the path
Buddhism has two great branches. Theravada follows the Pali texts, and Mahayana adds further sutras. This page quotes the Pali texts, which Theravada holds to be the Buddha's word. In the first sermon, as these texts tell it, the Buddha calls the noble eightfold path the middle way. He says it leads to peace, awakening and extinguishment, which is nibbana (nirvana) (SN 56.11). In the discourse called Analysis he says what each part means (SN 45.8). Right view is knowing about suffering, its origin, its cessation and the practice that leads to its cessation. Right purpose is the purpose of renunciation, good will and harmlessness. Right speech is refraining from speech that is false, backbiting, harsh or nonsensical. Right action is refraining from killing living creatures, stealing and unchastity. Another discourse with the same list has sexual misconduct in place of unchastity (DN 22). Right livelihood is giving up wrong livelihood and earning a living by right livelihood. A third discourse names wrong livelihood as fawning, flattery, hinting and belittling, and using material things to chase after other material things (MN 117). Right effort is striving in four ways. Bad qualities are kept from arising, and those that have arisen are given up. Good qualities are made to arise, and those that have arisen are kept and made to grow. Right mindfulness is meditating on the body, feelings, the mind and principles. Right immersion is four deep states of meditation called absorptions. English books often call the second part right intention and the last part right concentration. This page keeps the words of the translation it quotes. The Middle Discourses sort the eight into three groups: wisdom, ethics and immersion (MN 44). The eight work together. One discourse says that view, effort and mindfulness keep circling around the first five parts (MN 117). So the path is a whole training, in how a person sees, acts and steadies the mind.
“It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is: right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion. This is that middle way of practice, which gives vision and knowledge, and leads to peace, direct knowledge, awakening, and extinguishment.”
“And what is right view? Knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering. This is called right view. And what is right purpose? The purpose of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. This is called right purpose.”
“And what is right speech? Refraining from speech that's false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. This is called right speech. And what is right action? Refraining from killing living creatures, stealing, and unchastity. This is called right action. And what is right livelihood? It's when a noble disciple gives up wrong livelihood and earns a living by right livelihood. This is called right livelihood.”
“And what is right action? Refraining from killing living creatures, stealing, and sexual misconduct. This is called right action.”
“And what is wrong livelihood? Fawning, flattery, hinting, and belittling, and using material things to chase after other material things. This is wrong livelihood.”
“And what is right effort? It's when a mendicant generates enthusiasm, tries, makes an effort, exerts the mind, and strives so that bad, unskillful qualities don't arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen are given up. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are fully developed. This is called right effort.”
“And what is right mindfulness? It's when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of the mind—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. This is called right mindfulness.”
“And what is right immersion? It's when a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, they enter and remain in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. And with the fading away of rapture, they enter and remain in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, experiencing for themselves the bliss of which the noble ones declare, 'Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.' With the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, they enter and remain in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called right immersion.”
“Right speech, right action, and right livelihood: these things are included in the spectrum of ethics. Right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion: these things are included in the spectrum of immersion. Right view and right purpose: these things are included in the spectrum of wisdom.”
“So these three things keep running and circling around right livelihood, namely: right view, right effort, and right mindfulness.”
Right view
Knowing about suffering, its origin, its cessation and the practice that leads to its cessation.
Right purpose
Renunciation, good will and harmlessness.
Right speech
No speech that is false, backbiting, harsh or nonsensical.
Right action
No killing of living creatures, stealing or unchastity.
Right livelihood
Giving up wrong livelihood and earning a living by right livelihood.
Right effort
Keeping bad qualities from arising, giving up those that have arisen, raising good ones and keeping them.
Right mindfulness
Meditating on the body, feelings, the mind and principles.
Right immersion
The four absorptions.
What the path claims for itself
The Dhammapada is a book of verses in the Pali canon. It says that of paths, the eightfold is the best. It goes on, "This is the path, there is no other for the purification of vision", and it says that those who practise it will make an end of suffering. Near the end of his life, the Buddha told the seeker Subhadda that true ascetics are found only in a teaching that has this path. So the question on this page is a fair one. These texts do not offer the path as one help among many. They offer it as the way out, so it can be weighed as a whole.
“Of paths, the eightfold is the best; of truths, the four statements; dispassion is the best of things, and the Clear-eyed One is the best of humans. This is the path, there is no other for the purification of vision. You all must practice this, it is the way to baffle Māra. When you all are practicing this, you'll make an end of suffering. I have explained the path to you for extracting the thorn with wisdom.”
“Subhadda, in whatever teaching and training the noble eightfold path is not found, there is no ascetic found, no second ascetic, no third ascetic, and no fourth ascetic. In whatever teaching and training the noble eightfold path is found, there is an ascetic found, a second ascetic, a third ascetic, and a fourth ascetic. In this teaching and training the noble eightfold path is found. Only here is there an ascetic, here a second ascetic, here a third ascetic, and here a fourth ascetic. Other sects are empty of ascetics.”
What Islam also commands
Much of the path's conduct is good, and Islam commands it too. Right speech rules out speech that is false, backbiting, harsh or nonsensical. The Qur'an says to shun the word that is false (22:30) and to say what is right (33:70). It condemns speaking against a brother behind his back (49:12), and it praises those who avoid vain talk (23:3). Right action rules out killing, stealing and unchastity. The Qur'an forbids taking life unjustly (6:151), coming near adultery (17:32) and eating up one another's property (4:29). Right livelihood is giving up wrong livelihood. The Qur'an condemns those who cheat in measure (83:1-3), and the Prophet (ﷺ) said no one eats better than from the work of his own hands (Bukhari 2072). One Pali list of trades that a lay follower should avoid includes intoxicants, and the Qur'an forbids those too (5:90). Right effort means stopping bad qualities and growing good ones. The Qur'an says that he succeeds who purifies his soul (91:9), and it promises guidance to those who strive in God's (﷾) cause (29:69). Right purpose includes good will. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that none of you has faith until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself (Bukhari 13). The Qur'an calls him "a Mercy for all creatures" (21:107). The two do differ. Right action covers every living creature, and that list of trades includes meat. Islam allows meat from animals slaughtered with mercy (Muslim 1955). Islam does not ask anyone to renounce home and family (57:27), and it sets out no stages of absorption. The page "Is meditation enough?" takes up mindfulness and meditation. So the question is not whether this conduct is good. The question is whether good conduct is all a person needs.
“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! Fear Allah, and (always) say a word directed to the Right:”
“O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it”
“Who avoid vain talk;”
“Say: "Come, I will rehearse what Allah hath (really) prohibited you from": Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want;- We provide sustenance for you and for them;- come not nigh to shameful deeds. Whether open or secret; take not life, which Allah hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom.”
“Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils).”
“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!”
“Woe to those that deal in fraud,- Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due.”
Al-Miqdam reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said no one has ever eaten better food than what he earned by the work of his own hands, and that the prophet David used to eat from what he earned by his own labour.
“Mendicants, a lay follower should not engage in these five trades. What five? Trade in weapons, living creatures, meat, intoxicants, and poisons.”
“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.”
“Truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it!”
“And those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right.”
Anas reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said none of you has faith until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.
“We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.”
Shaddad ibn Aws reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Allah has prescribed excellence in everything. So when you slaughter, slaughter well: sharpen the blade and spare the animal suffering.
“Then, in their wake, We followed them up with (others of) Our messengers: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him Compassion and Mercy. But the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them: (We commanded) only the seeking for the Good Pleasure of Allah; but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet We bestowed, on those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are rebellious transgressors.”
| Part | In the Pali texts | In Islam |
|---|---|---|
| Right speech | No false, backbiting, harsh or nonsensical speech. | Shun the false word, say what is right, avoid vain talk. |
| Right action | No killing of living creatures, stealing or unchastity. | No unjust killing, no adultery, no eating up others' property. |
| Right livelihood | Give up wrong livelihood. A lay follower does not trade in intoxicants. | No cheating in measure, no intoxicants, and food earned by your own hands. |
| Right effort | Stop bad qualities and grow good ones. | He succeeds who purifies his soul, and those who strive in God's (﷾) cause are guided. |
| Right purpose | Good will and harmlessness, with renunciation. | Wish for your brother what you wish for yourself, with no call to renounce home and family. |
| Right immersion | The four absorptions. | No stages of absorption are set out. |
Where the path begins
The discourse called The Great Forty says that right view comes first. It says that right view produces right purpose, and so on down the list. So the whole path rests on its first part. In the discourse on the eight parts, right view is knowing about suffering: what it is, where it comes from, that it can cease, and the way to that. The Great Forty also gives an everyday right view, which it ranks below the noble one. That view says, among other things, that giving has meaning, that good and bad deeds bear fruit, and that there is an afterlife. Islam agrees with all three. But neither account says who made the world, or who made the person walking the path. A Buddhist will say that this is on purpose. In one discourse the Buddha says he declared the four truths because they are beneficial, and lead to peace, awakening and extinguishment (MN 63). Elsewhere the Pali texts argue against a creator, and the page "Did the Buddha believe in God?" answers them. So the path measures what matters by the end of suffering. That is why its starting point matters so much. A path can only be as complete as the view it starts from. If there is a Creator, a view that leaves Him out has missed the first fact of human life. The Qur'an starts there. One verse opens, "Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah", and it goes straight on to asking forgiveness (47:19).
“In this context, right view comes first. And how does right view come first? Right view produces right purpose. Right purpose produces right speech. Right speech produces right action. Right action produces right livelihood. Right livelihood produces right effort. Right effort produces right mindfulness. Right mindfulness produces right immersion. Right immersion produces right knowledge. Right knowledge produces right freedom. So the trainee has eight factors, while the perfected one has ten factors.”
“And what is right view? Knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering. This is called right view. And what is right purpose? The purpose of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. This is called right purpose.”
“There is meaning in giving, sacrifice, and offerings. There are fruits and results of good and bad deeds. There is an afterlife. There are such things as mother and father, and beings that are reborn spontaneously. And there are ascetics and brahmins who are rightly comported and rightly practiced, and who describe the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight.”
“And why have I declared these things? Because they are beneficial and relevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life. They lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.”
“Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy fault, and for the men and women who believe: for Allah knows how ye move about and how ye dwell in your homes.”
Right view comes first.
What follows from it?
Right purpose, and so on down the list.
Does it say who made the world?
Neither account of right view says.
Why not?
The Buddha says he declared the four truths because they lead to peace, awakening and extinguishment.
And if there is a Creator?
A view that leaves Him out has missed the first fact of human life.
No one to thank
The Pali texts do value thanks. They say that the true person is grateful and thankful. They say that mother and father cannot easily be repaid. Islam agrees: "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents" (31:14). The difference is the first name in that verse. Walking the path takes eyes, a mind and many years, and no one gave these to himself. The eight parts name no one to thank for them. The Qur'an says that God (﷾) brought you forth knowing nothing. It says He gave you hearing, sight and intelligence, "that ye may give thanks" (16:78). It says that you could never number His favours (14:34). So in Islam, thanks is not an extra. It is the right answer to the plain fact that life was given. A discipline can make a person better, but it cannot pay a debt to a Giver it does not name.
“The true person is grateful and thankful, for the virtuous only know how to be grateful and thankful.”
“Mendicants, I say that these two individuals cannot easily be repaid. What two? Mother and father.”
“And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him, and in years twain was his weaning: (hear the command), "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents: to Me is (thy final) Goal.”
“It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when ye knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections: that ye may give thanks (to Allah).”
“And He giveth you of all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favours of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.”
No one to turn to
The texts are plain about whose work the path is. The Dhammapada says, "You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way." The Realized Ones are the Buddhas. The Buddha told Ananda, his attendant, to live as his own island and refuge, with the teaching as his island and refuge too. The texts do give a person company. The Buddha says that good friends are "the whole of the spiritual life", and that beings are freed "by relying on me as a good friend" (SN 45.2). But a friend shows the way, and the Buddha said that after his passing the teaching would be the teacher (DN 16). So when a person's strength fails, the eight parts name no Lord to call on. The page "Does Buddhism say only you can save yourself?" looks at where the texts themselves depart from this. Islam also asks for effort: a person has only what he strives for (53:39). But it does not leave him alone with it. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah (﷾) says: all of you are astray except those I guide, so ask Me for guidance (Muslim 2577). The Qur'an says that God (﷾) places on no soul more than it can bear (2:286). It says that He is close and listens to the prayer of every suppliant (2:186). So in Islam the path itself is something a person asks for.
“You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way.”
“So Ānanda, live as your own island, your own refuge, with no other refuge. Let the teaching be your island and your refuge, with no other refuge.”
“Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life. A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path.”
“And here's another way to understand how good friends are the whole of the spiritual life. For, by relying on me as a good friend, sentient beings who are liable to rebirth, old age, and death, to sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress are freed from all these things.”
“The teaching and training that I have taught and pointed out for you shall be your Teacher after my passing.”
“Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another; That man can have nothing but what he strives for;”
Abu Dharr reports the Prophet (ﷺ) saying that Allah says: My servants, I have forbidden injustice to Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another; all of you are astray except those I guide, so ask Me for guidance; you sin by night and day and I forgive all sins, so ask Me for forgiveness. A hadith qudsi: the meaning is given as Allah's, in the Prophet's words.
“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."”
“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.”
What the texts say when a person fails
The Pali texts do not say that a person gets away with anything. They say the opposite. The Buddha says he does not teach that intentional deeds are wiped out without being experienced, in this life or in a later one. The texts also give a real remedy. In the discourse called A Horn Blower, a disciple who has killed feels remorse. He reflects, "But I can't undo what I have done." He then gives up killing and does not kill again. That, the discourse says, is how to give up this bad deed and get past it. It adds that when a heart of love for all is developed, any limited deeds do not remain. The Buddha told Rahula, a young monk, to confess a harmful act to the Teacher or a sensible companion, and to restrain himself in future. He says it is growth in the noble training to see a mistake for what it is, deal with it properly and commit to restraint. This is serious teaching. Islam asks for the same honesty, and it praises those who do not persist in a wrong (3:135).
“Mendicants, I don't say that intentional deeds that have been performed and accumulated are eliminated without being experienced. And that may be in this very life, or in the next life, or in some subsequent period. But in any case, there is no making an end of suffering without experiencing intentional deeds that have been performed and accumulated, I say.”
“But I have killed living creatures to a certain extent. That's not right, it's not good, and I feel remorseful because of it. But I can't undo what I have done. Reflecting like this, they give up killing living creatures, and in future they don't kill living creatures. That's how to give up this bad deed and get past it.”
“Suppose there was a powerful horn blower. They'd easily make themselves heard in the four quarters. In the same way, when the heart's release by love has been developed and cultivated like this, any limited deeds they've done don't remain or persist there.”
“This act with the body that I have done leads to hurting myself, hurting others, or hurting both. It's unskillful, with suffering as its outcome and result. Then, Rāhula, you should confess, reveal, and clarify such a deed to the Teacher or a sensible spiritual companion. And having revealed it you should restrain yourself in future.”
“I made a mistake, sir. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of me to take the life of my father, a just and principled king, for the sake of authority. Please, sir, accept my mistake for what it is, so I will restrain myself in future. Indeed, Great King, you made a mistake. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of you to take the life of your father, a just and principled king, for the sake of sovereignty. But since you have recognized your mistake for what it is, and have dealt with it properly, I accept it. For it is growth in the training of the Noble One to recognize a mistake for what it is, deal with it properly, and commit to restraint in the future.”
“And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sins,- and who can forgive sins except Allah?- and are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done.”
A remedy with no one to forgive
Every step of that remedy is the person's own work. Even the heart of love is something he must build, and the text speaks only of limited deeds. It names no one he can ask. One discourse shows where this leaves a grave deed. King Ajatasattu had killed his father, and he confessed it to the Buddha. The Buddha accepted his confession. Yet after the king left, the Buddha told the monks: "The king is broken, mendicants, he is ruined." Mendicants is this translation's word for monks and nuns. Had he not killed his father, the Buddha said, the vision of the teaching would have come to him in that very seat. So the confession was accepted, and the loss still stood. A teacher can hear a confession. But the texts quoted here name no Lord who can wipe out the deed. The page "Does Buddhism have a hell and a judgement?" shows the same gap after death. This matters to anyone who carries real guilt, because stopping today does not answer for yesterday.
“I made a mistake, sir. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of me to take the life of my father, a just and principled king, for the sake of authority. Please, sir, accept my mistake for what it is, so I will restrain myself in future. Indeed, Great King, you made a mistake. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of you to take the life of your father, a just and principled king, for the sake of sovereignty. But since you have recognized your mistake for what it is, and have dealt with it properly, I accept it. For it is growth in the training of the Noble One to recognize a mistake for what it is, deal with it properly, and commit to restraint in the future.”
“The king is broken, mendicants, he is ruined. If he had not taken the life of his father, a just and principled king, the stainless, immaculate vision of the Dhamma would have arisen in him in that very seat.”
“Suppose there was a powerful horn blower. They'd easily make themselves heard in the four quarters. In the same way, when the heart's release by love has been developed and cultivated like this, any limited deeds they've done don't remain or persist there.”
“Mendicants, I don't say that intentional deeds that have been performed and accumulated are eliminated without being experienced. And that may be in this very life, or in the next life, or in some subsequent period. But in any case, there is no making an end of suffering without experiencing intentional deeds that have been performed and accumulated, I say.”
The Lord who forgives
The Qur'an speaks to that guilt directly. It asks, "who can forgive sins except Allah?" (3:135). It says, "Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins" (39:53). The next verse gives the condition: "Turn ye to our Lord (in repentance)" (39:54). Whoever does evil and then seeks Allah's (﷾) forgiveness will find Him Oft-forgiving (4:110). No sin is too grave for this. The Qur'an names invoking another god, unjust killing and fornication. Then it makes an exception for whoever "repents, believes, and works righteous deeds". Of them it says, "Allah will change the evil of such persons into good" (25:68-70). So what a person cannot undo, God (﷾) can forgive. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah (﷾) says: you sin by night and day and I forgive all sins, so ask Me for forgiveness (Muslim 2577). This is not a free pass. An-Nawawi, a scholar of the 13th century, sets out what the scholars say repentance needs. A person must give up the sin, regret it and resolve never to return to it. If he wronged someone, he must also return that person's right or seek his pardon. Repentance left until death arrives is of no effect (4:18). Every atom's weight of good and evil will be seen (99:7-8). Wrongs to people that were never put right are paid back on the Day, out of the wrongdoer's good deeds (Muslim 2581). So Islam keeps the account that the Pali texts insist on, and it adds the mercy they do not name.
“And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sins,- and who can forgive sins except Allah?- and are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done.”
“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.”
“If any one does evil or wrongs his own soul but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”
“Those who invoke not, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit fornication; - and any that does this (not only) meets punishment. (But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy,- 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,”
Abu Dharr reports the Prophet (ﷺ) saying that Allah says: My servants, I have forbidden injustice to Myself and made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another; all of you are astray except those I guide, so ask Me for guidance; you sin by night and day and I forgive all sins, so ask Me for forgiveness. A hadith qudsi: the meaning is given as Allah's, in the Prophet's words.
Al-Nawawi reports from the scholars that repentance is a duty from every sin. If the sin is between a person and Allah and touches no human being's right, it has three conditions: to stop the sin, to regret having done it, and to resolve never to return to it. If one of the three is missing, the repentance is not sound. If the sin touches a human being, there is a fourth condition: to be cleared of that person's right. Property is returned to him, and for backbiting his pardon is sought.
“Allah accept 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.”
“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 Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) asked who the bankrupt is. He said the bankrupt of his community comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayer, fasting and charity. But he insulted one, slandered another, took another's wealth, shed another's blood and beat another. Each is given some of his good deeds. If his good deeds run out before the account is settled, their sins are taken and thrown on him, and then he is thrown into the Fire.
| What happens | In the Pali texts | In Islam |
|---|---|---|
| Stopping | Give up the deed and restrain yourself. | Give up the sin, regret it and resolve never to return to it. |
| Who hears it | The Teacher or a sensible companion. | Allah (﷾), who alone forgives sins. |
| The deed itself | The disciple cannot undo what he has done. | For those who repent, believe and do good, Allah (﷾) changes their evil into good. |
| The account | Deeds are not wiped out without being experienced. | Every atom's weight is seen. Wrongs to people must be put right, or they are paid back on the Day. |
Deeds alone save no one
Islam says this of its own path too. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that no one's deeds will save him. He was asked whether that included 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). So the answer on this page is not a complaint against one path. No effort of any kind is enough alone. Every person needs mercy, and no one gave himself the strength to try. Islam asks for the effort, and it puts the hope in God (﷾).
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.
Islam's answer: a path you ask for
Islam also speaks of a path, and it makes the same kind of claim: "this is My way, leading straight: follow it" (6:153). The difference is whose path it is, and who walks it with you. The Fatiha, the Qur'an's opening chapter, is recited in every prayer (Bukhari 756). It gives thanks: "Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds". It asks for help: "Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek". And it asks for the path itself: "Show us the straight way". So a Muslim brings his thanks and his need to his Lord in every prayer. Islam is a complete way of life: belief, worship and character together (5:3; 2:208). No past need keep anyone away. The Qur'an says that those who turn from unbelief will have their past forgiven (8:38). The Prophet (ﷺ) told a man who came to him that Islam wipes out what came before it (Muslim 121). Ibn Uthaymin, a scholar of the 20th century, adds that property taken from people by force must still be given back. The Qur'an does not ask to be taken on trust. It asks to be read with care and tested (4:82; 2:23). Then consider the Messenger it names, Muhammad (ﷺ), the Seal of the Prophets, meaning the last of them (33:40). He was sent to all people (7:158).
“Verily, this is My way, leading straight: follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His (great) path: thus doth He command you. that ye may be righteous.”
Ubada ibn al-Samit reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that a prayer in which al-Fatiha is not recited is not valid.
“Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;”
“Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.”
“Show us the straight way, The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.”
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
“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.”
“Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them).”
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.
Says that when a non-Muslim becomes Muslim, Allah forgives what he did before, citing Qur'an 8:38 and Sahih Muslim 121, with an-Nawawi's explanation that Islam erases the sins before it and wipes them out. It quotes Ibn Uthaymin that property taken from its owner by force must still be returned to him.
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
“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.”
“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."”
Thanks
Praise to Allah (﷾), the Lord of the worlds.
Help
Worship of Him, and a request for His aid.
The path
A request that He show the straight way.
Perspectives
Buddhist (the Pali texts)
The eightfold path is the Buddha's way to end suffering, and the texts say there is no other. A person who walks it sees his faults, stops them and replaces them with good. What he did bears its own result. He has the Buddha, the teaching and the community as his refuge, and good friends on the way. He needs no Creator, because the path asks only for what leads to the end of suffering.
Theravada, from the Pali canon
The path needs no God. The Buddha compared such questions to a man shot with a poisoned arrow, who must have it taken out before anything else. He said he declared the four truths because they are beneficial and lead to peace and awakening (MN 63). So the path works by a person's own practice, whoever made the world.
Rebuttal
The questions set aside in that discourse are whether the world is eternal or finite, soul and body, and an awakened one after death. A Creator is not on the list. Elsewhere the Pali texts do not set the matter aside: they reject the view that what a person experiences is God Almighty's creation (AN 3.61). Nor is the path free of the unseen, for its right view includes an afterlife and the fruit of deeds (MN 117). So the choice is not between a path with no beliefs and a faith with them. It is which account of the unseen is true. And if a Creator gave the wounded man his life, then thanking Him and asking His help is no delay. It is the first thing owed (16:78; 2:186).
The Dhammapada says of the eightfold path, "This is the path, there is no other for the purification of vision", and says that practising it makes an end of suffering. So nothing needs to be added.
Rebuttal
Islam makes the same kind of claim for its own way (6:153), so a claim alone settles nothing. The question is what each one leaves out. A path measured only by the end of suffering does not ask who made the one who suffers, or what he owes (16:78; 23:115). The Qur'an also offers a test anyone can take (4:82; 2:23).
A person needs no one to forgive him, because good can take the place of bad. The Pali verses say that someone whose bad deed is supplanted by the good shines upon this world, like the moon freed from clouds (MN 86; Dhammapada 173).
Rebuttal
The Qur'an agrees that good deeds remove evil ones (11:114). Ibn Rajab, a scholar of the 14th century, says most scholars hold that such deeds wipe out the minor sins. The Prophet (ﷺ) said the five daily prayers do so as long as major sins are avoided (Muslim 233). Major sins need repentance. But in the Pali verse the person must supply all the good himself, and the Buddha says that deeds are not wiped out without being experienced (AN 10.217). Islam adds what no person can supply: a Lord who forgives the one who repents, believes and does good (25:70). The page "Was it just to make Angulimala, a mass murderer, a saint?" looks at the discourse this verse comes from.
The same discourse that says "I can't undo what I have done" goes on. When a heart of love for all is developed, any limited deeds do not remain (SN 42.8). So the past need not weigh on anyone.
Rebuttal
The discourse speaks of limited deeds, and the love is built by the person's own meditation. The king who killed his father confessed and was accepted, and the Buddha still called him ruined (DN 2). The Qur'an sets no limit of gravity for the one who truly repents. It names invoking another god, unjust killing and fornication, and still makes an exception for whoever repents, believes and does good (25:68-70).
Forgiveness makes people careless. A law of deeds is fairer, because no one is let off (AN 10.217).
Rebuttal
Islam lets no one treat forgiveness lightly. It comes with turning back and not persisting (39:54; 3:135), and repentance left until death arrives is of no effect (4:18). Every atom's weight is seen (99:7-8). Wrongs done to people must be put right, or they are paid back on the Day (Muslim 2581). A law of deeds has no will or knowledge, so it cannot show mercy. The page "Is karma just?" takes that up.
Thanks belong to parents and to those who help us, as the texts say (AN 2.32; AN 2.33). Life comes from causes, so there is no one else to thank.
Rebuttal
Islam honours parents too (31:14). But parents did not plan the eyes and mind their child was born with, and a chain of causes cannot receive thanks. The Qur'an names the One who gave hearing, sight and intelligence (16:78). The pages "Did the Buddha believe in God?" and "If everything needs a creator, who created God?" answer the argument from causes.
A Buddhist is not alone. The Buddha says that good friends are the whole of the spiritual life, and that beings are freed by relying on him as a good friend (SN 45.2). A Buddhist goes for refuge to the Buddha, his teaching and the Sangha, the community of monks and nuns, and the Dhammapada calls this the supreme refuge (Dhammapada 190-192).
Rebuttal
Good teachers and good companions are a real help. But the same texts say that the Realized Ones just show the way (Dhammapada 276), and that after the Buddha's passing the teaching would be the teacher (DN 16). A guide who has shown the way is not One who hears every caller. The Qur'an says to trust in "Him Who lives and dies not" (25:58). He is close and listens to every suppliant (2:186).
Mahayana Buddhist
Many Mahayana Buddhists look beyond their own effort. They call on Buddhas and bodhisattvas, those who have vowed to help others, for help and rescue.
Pure Land and other Mahayana schools
Help does come from outside. Amitabha, the Buddha of the Pure Land, vowed to bring to his land those who turn their thought to it.
Rebuttal
This shows how deep the need for help is. Yet the Pali texts say that the Buddhas just show the way (Dhammapada 276), so the two do not agree on what a Buddha can do. The Qur'an gives that power to God (﷾) alone: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)" (40:60). No one is to be invoked along with Him (72:18). The page "Should anyone pray to the Buddha or a bodhisattva?" takes this up.
The Islamic perspective
Honest speech, clean conduct, an honest living and hard effort are good, and Islam commands them. But good conduct is not all a person needs. Islam begins with the Creator, gives thanks to Him, asks Him for help and guidance, and turns to Him for forgiveness. Belief, worship and character are one way of life.
The Qur'an commands much of the path's conduct: to shun false speech, to keep from adultery, and to take no one's property in vanities. It says that he succeeds who purifies his soul.
The first thing to know is God, and forgiveness belongs beside that knowledge.
God (﷾) gave hearing, sight and intelligence so that people may give thanks, and His favours cannot be numbered.
A person is told to ask God (﷾) for guidance, and He listens to every suppliant.
Allah (﷾) forgives every sin, however grave, to the one who truly repents before death. For those who repent, believe and do good, He changes their evil into good.
Forgiveness is no free pass. Repentance means giving up the sin, regretting it, resolving not to return to it, and putting right what is owed to people. Every atom's weight of deeds is seen, and wrongs never put right are paid back on the Day.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that no one's deeds will save him unless Allah (﷾) covers him with His mercy, and he still told people to do good deeds well.