If we look at the
context of the verse...:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا
وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آَمَنَ بِاللَّهِ
وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ
وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who
follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who
believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their
reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (2:
62)
...we come to know
this is a part of the section actually addressed to the Jews who had made their
faith more of a racist i.e. excluding creed and believed (and they still
believe) that only Jews would enter the Blissful Paradise.
Even the Christians
have the idea of Vicarious Atonement that suggests that only by belief in
Christ one can find salvation otherwise, they say, 'all your deeds are like
filthy rags.' I remember never in my discussions I found even a single
Christian, not even priests, able to categorically explain as to what will
happen to those who passed away before Christ's (PBUH) birth including the
Jewish Prophets.
Here the Quran
dispels the notion of attributing any such idea to the Noble Faith of Islam for
its taste is different. The Jews i.e. Israelites before Christ (PBUH) who
believed in Allah and the Last Day were infact Muslims and thus in the
Hereafter they'll earn the reward for their Faith and deeds. Same goes for the
Christians before the Last Prophet (PBUH) declared his prephethood and the
Sabians as well (we cannot with utmost surety say who they actually were).And
this is supported by the reports about the point of revelation of this Ayah.
Ibn Kathir with
reference Ibn Abi Hatim narrates:
...قال سلمان: سألت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن أهل دين كنت معهم،
فذكرتُ من صلاتهم وعبادتهم، فنزلت
'Salman Farisi (RA) said, 'This verse was revealed
when I made a mention of the of the prayers and fasting of those believers whom
I had met before coming to the Holy Prophet (PBUH)'..(Ibn Kathir in his
commentary to this verse)
(If we recall the
story of Salman Farisi (RA) then we see that it goes exactly in line with what
is written above)
Prerequisite for Salvation
and good deeds of non-Muslims:
PREREQUISITE: To have an understanding
as to what Quran says about goody goody Jews & Christians, we need to go
through the rest of the Quran and authentic Ahadith.
وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ
الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآَخِرَةِ مِنَ
الْخَاسِرِينَ
"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam,
never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks
of those who have lost (All spiritual good)." (3:85)
عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى
اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ
لَا يَسْمَعُ بِي أَحَدٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ يَهُودِيٌّ وَلَا نَصْرَانِيٌّ
ثُمَّ يَمُوتُ وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِالَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ إِلَّا كَانَ مِنْ
أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ
It is narrated on
the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon
him) observed: By Him in Whose hand is the
life of Muhammad, he who amongst the community of Jews or Christians hears
about me, but does not affirm his belief in that with which I have been sent
and dies in this state (of disbelief), he shall be but one of the denizens of
Hell-Fire. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 218)
This is conclusive!
GOOD DEEDS OF NON-BELIEVERS: About
their good deeds like charity etc Insha'Allah they'll be rewarded in this world
e.g. Mother Tresa got the goodwill and admiration from all people.
But the verse and
Hadith above make it clear that a person who has known about the Holy Prophet
(PBUH) for him belief in his prophethood along with all the fundamentals is an
absolute necessity for salvation.
We may understand it
as if good deeds are decimal powers and the Faith in Fundamentals are Natural
Numbers varying according to the quality of the belief. So the decimal power
(the good deeds) are of no use unless there is atleast 1 in the left most place.
Two other possible queries
answered:
1)Now one may say
that here only belief in Allah and the Last Day are mentioned and not the
Articles of Faith like belief in the Prophets etc. But the fact of the matter
is here the style and context conveys that enumerating the Articles of Faith is
not the thing dwelt at. Any such idea is in direct clash with the numerous
verses of the Quran and how can one believe in Allah and the Last Day without
belief in the Prophets, Angles and the Revealed Scripts?
Further Belief in
Allah is the first of the fundamental beliefs and faith in the Last Day is the
last of the fundamentals and Quran here tells in its unique style that its a
must to believe in all the articles from the first to the last.
2)Why are the
Muslims mentioned along with Jews, Christians and Sabeans, isn't it known that
they believe in Allah and all the rest of the fundamentals? Keeping in view the
rich Quranic style we see that its just like a King while making a new Law says
that it is applicable to all the subjects impartially and whoever will obey
them will have its reward irrespective of the fact if he was previously a
friend or a foe.
Hope that helps!
INDEED ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST!
...by Waqar Akbar
Cheema
