Will Christians Enter Paradise or Go to Hell?

In one of his articles[1]

Mr. Jochen Katz has pointed out a contradiction in two sets of verses of the Qur’an.

According to Mr. Katz, Al-Baqarah 2: 62 and Al-Maaidah 5: 69

contradict with Aal Imraan 3: 85 and Al-Maaidah 5: 72.

Al-Baqarah 2: 62 reads as:

Indeed, those who have believed [in this Prophet] and those, who became

Jews and the Nasaaraa and the Sabians, whoever [truly] believes in God

and the Day of Judgment and does good deeds; they shall have their reward with

their Lord and they shall neither have fear [for the future] nor any remorse

[for the past].

Al-Maaidah 5: 69 is almost a replica of the above verse. It reads as:

Indeed, those who have believed [in this Prophet] and those, who became

Jews and the Sabians and the Nasaaraa, whoever [truly] believes in God

and the Day of Judgment and does good deeds; they shall have their reward with

their Lord and they shall neither have fear [for the future] nor any remorse

[for the past].

On the other hand, Aal Imraan 3: 85 reads as:

Whoever prefers a religion other than Islam, it shall definitely not be

accepted from him; and in the Hereafter, he shall be among the losers.

And Al-Maaidah 5: 72 reads as:

They have rejected who say that God is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. And

the Messiah [actually] said: O children of Israel, worship God, my Lord and

your Lord. Whoever ascribes partners to the One God, God shall forbid Paradise

for him and his abode shall then be the great fire. And the unjust shall have

no helpers.

In his article, Mr. Katz has implied that according to the first two verses,

Christians, besides the Jews and the Sabians and the believers in the new

Prophet — Mohammed (pbuh) — shall be rewarded with Paradise; while the third

verse[2]

states that only the adherents of Islam shall be rewarded with the eternal bliss

of Paradise and the fourth verse has condemned the Christians for their saying

that Jesus (pbuh) is God.

Mr. Katz’s contention that according to the first two verses, all the

mentioned groups are promised paradise is quite questionable. The verse does not

say that all the mentioned groups shall enter paradise; on the contrary, it says

that paradise is not the right of any one or the other group — as the adherents

of the respective groups would like to believe — but is the right only of those

who truly believe in God and in the Day of Judgment and do good deeds. Thus,

whether a person be from amongst the believers in the new Prophet, the Jews, the

Christians or the Sabians, he would only be entered into the eternal bliss of

paradise, if he truly believes in God and the Day of Judgment and does good

deeds.

Seen in the correct perspective, the verse promises eternal bliss to those

who truly believe in God and the Day of Judgment and do good deeds. If a person

qualifies on the stated criteria, then whether he be from among the Jews, the

Christians, the Sabians or the believers in the new Prophet, he shall be entered

into the eternal bliss of paradise[3].

However, it should remain clear that according to the Qur’an, knowingly

ascribing partners to God is, in effect, a rejection of God. Thus, if a person

believes in God and also ascribes partners to Him, his belief would not be

accepted on the Day of Resurrection. The Qur’an (Ghaafir 40: 42) says:

[O my people,] you call me toward rejecting God and to ascribe to Him

partners about which I do not have any knowledge, while I call you to [the

path of] the Powerful, the Oft-forgiving.

The above verse is a clear evidence of the fact that according to the Qur’an,

ascribing partners to God is effectively a rejection of God.

The foregoing explanation should clarify the correct implication of the first

two cited verses. As far as the third verse (Aal Imraan 3: 85) is

concerned, it is quite clear from its context that the word ‘Islam’ in

this verse is used in its literal sense (implying submission to God), rather

than as a term to denote the Islamic religion. The cited verse, with its two

preceding verses reads as:

Do they prefer a religion other than the one ordained by God, while to Him

submits all that is in the heavens and the earth — whether willingly or

unwillingly — and to Him shall all be returned. Say: ‘We believe in God and

in that which has been revealed upon us and in that which was revealed upon

Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the groups, and in that which was given to

Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We do not differentiate

between these prophets [believing in some and rejecting others] and we stand

submitted to Him’. And whoever prefers any religion other than that of

submission to God, it shall not be accepted from him and on the Day of

Judgment, he shall be among the losers.

As should be clear from the given translation, the referred verses are a call

to submission to the Almighty, which incidentally, is precisely the call of the

Islamic religion as well. Seen in the correct perspective, these verses shall be

seen to entail nothing contrary to the message entailed in Al-Baqarah 2:

62 and Al-Maaidah 5: 69.

As far as Al-Maaidah 5: 72 is concerned, its alleged contradiction

with Al-Baqarah 2: 62 and Al-Maaidah 5: 69 should stand completely

resolved after the clarification of the correct implication of the first two

cited verses.

Regarding Al-Maaidah 5: 72, Mr. Katz writes:

No Christian would ever say that Jesus is “another god” as this

verse mistakenly says, nor that “God is Jesus”. It is only the other

way around: “Jesus is God, but not ‘all of God'”

In the referred verse, the Qur’an does hold the Christians guilty of saying

that Jesus is “another God”. This is an incorrect translation of the referred

verse. On the contrary, the particular doctrine condemned by the referred verse

of the Qur’an is of believing that God is Jesus (pbuh). However, Mr. Katz has

stressed that no Christian ascribes to the belief that God is Jesus.

It should be kept in mind that the Qur’an has commented only on the beliefs

of the Christians, who lived in the particular environment in which the Qur’an

was revealed. There is some evidence, which suggests that the Nasaaraa

(Christians), who lived in the environment of the revelation of the Qur’an did

ascribe to a few beliefs, which were generally not ascribed by the Pauline

Christians. Explaining this point, in one of earlier responses to a question, I

have written:

It is not correct to assume that all the Christian sects gave up adherence

to the Law of the Old Testament. On the contrary, in my opinion, it actually

seems more realistic to believe that the Christians living in the Arabian

peninsula during the times of the Prophet (pbuh) and the revelation of the Qur’an

adhered to the Mosaic laws of the Old Testament in letter and spirit. My

opinion is based on the following points:

The Qur’an has criticized the Jews and the Christians for their

malpractices and incorrect beliefs. These criticisms of the Qur’an focus on

the malpractices and incorrect beliefs of the Jews and the Christians living

in the environment in which the Qur’an was being revealed. For instance, the

Qur’an has criticized the Christians of holding Jesus (pbuh) and his mother —

Mary (pbuh) — to be divine (Al-Maaidah 5: 116). However, this was (an

incorrect) belief only of the Christians living in that region. We are well

aware of the fact that the general Christian population does not ascribe to

the belief of the divinity of Mary.

The Qur’an has not criticized the Christians of holding the law to be

abrogated. If the Christians of the times and region of the revelation of the

Qur’an had actually held the law to be abrogated, the Qur’an would definitely

have criticized them for it. We see that the Qur’an has criticized the

Christians on a number of issues, but these issues, generally, pertain to the

divinity of Jesus (pbuh). Thus, it should seem safe to assume that the

Christians living in the Arabian Peninsula during the times of the revelation

of the Qur’an lived their lives according to the Mosaic laws. Just as it would

be safe to assume that those Christians did not ascribe to the belief of “atonement”,

for if they had, the Qur’an, most definitely, would have criticized them for

it.

The Qur’an has called the Christians by the name of “Nasaara“.

While, it is known that the general Christians had come to be known as “Christians”

or “Maseehee” from a very early period (as is mentioned in the “Acts of

the Prophets”). In view of this fact, it seems quite plausible that the

Christians living in the Arabian Peninsula at the time of the revelation of

the Qur’an were generally those who ascribed to the Nazarene creed[4].

The Nazarenes were a Syrian Judeo-Christian sect that came to be recognized in

the fourth century AD. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

“Although they [the Nazarenes] accepted the divinity of Christ and his

supernatural birth, the Nazarenes also maintained strict observance of

Jewish laws and customs, a practice that had been dropped by the majority of

Jewish Christians. They used a version of the Gospel in Aramaic called the

Gospel According to the Hebrews, or the Gospel of the Nazarenes.”

It is extremely unfortunate that the Gospel according to the Hebrews or the

Gospel of the Nazarenes is nowhere to be found anymore. Had it been available,

we would have known more about the beliefs and practices of this sect.

I hope the above explanation should raise a few questions, regarding his

objection, in Mr. Katz’s mind.

© Copyright December 2000. All Rights Reserved with the Author