A common argument that Christian missionaries and apologists throw at Islam is this idea that Islam teaches that salvation is based on works and that Muslims cannot be assured of their salvation in the afterlife. If the missionary argument is correct then we should find proof within the Quran and Sunnah that works are highlighted more than faith, and that our good deeds is what gets us into paradise. We should also see if Muslims will be punished in Hell the same way as disbelievers will be. However if one looks at the Quran and Sunnah objectively, they will see that Islam teaches the exact opposite of what the Christian apologists claim. Let’s begin shall we ———- Proof # 1 Lets see what the Quran says about the salvation of Muslims in the afterlife: 👇 Allah states in Quran 9:72: ”Allah has promised the believers, both men and women, Gardens under which rivers flow, to stay there forever, and splendid homes in the Gardens of Eternity, and—above all—the pleasure of Allah. That is ˹truly˺ the ultimate triumph.” (Quran 9:72) Allah also states in Quran 3:9: ”Our Lord! You will certainly gather all humanity for the ˹promised˺ Day—about which there is no doubt. Surely Allah does not break His promise.” (Quran 3:9) With these two verses in mind, we can do some simple hermeneutics and form this syllogism, Premise 1: Allah never breaks his promises (Quran 3:9) Premise 2: Allah promises Muslims heaven (Quran 9:72) Conclusion: Therefore Muslims are guaranteed heaven and thus have assurance on their salvation. This alone should refute the Christian argument but lets keep going. ——— Proof # 2 If Islam really taught that salvation is based upon good deeds then you would expect that it would also teach that those who die as Non-Muslims can potentially go to Heaven if they were generally good people while on Earth. We should expect Islam to teach a religious pluralist worldview and be opposed to salvific exclusivism. However when we read the Quran we find the exact opposite. Allah states that Islam is the only acceptable fath in his sight, and any other religion will lead to doom. 👇 ”And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.” (Quran 3:85) Furthermore, Allah states multiple times in the Quran that the good deeds of Non-Muslims are worthless, here are just some examples: ”…And whoever of you reverts from his religion [to disbelief] and dies while he is a disbeliever - for those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.” (Quran 2:217) ”…And whoever rejects the faith, all their good deeds will be void ˹in this life˺ and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers.” (Quran 5:5) ”It is not for the polytheists to maintain the mosques of Allah while they openly profess disbelief. Their deeds are void, and they will be in the Fire forever.” (Quran 9:17) ”Do you ˹pagans˺ consider providing the pilgrims with water and maintaining the Sacred Mosque as equal to believing in Allah and the Last Day and struggling in the cause of Allah? They are not equal in Allah’s sight. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.” (Quran 9:19) —— ”The parable of the deeds of those who disbelieve in their Lord is that of ashes fiercely blown away by wind on a stormy day. They will gain nothing from what they have earned. That is ˹truly˺ the farthest one can stray.” (Quran 14:18) ”Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Shall we inform you of who will lose the most deeds?˹They are˺ those whose efforts are in vain in this worldly life, while they think they are doing good!”It is they who reject the signs of their Lord and their meeting with Him, rendering their deeds void, so We will not give their deeds any weight on Judgment Day. That is their reward: Hell, for their disbelief and mockery of My signs and messengers.” (Quran 18:103-105) —— ”As for the disbelievers, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert, which the thirsty perceive as water, but when they approach it, they find it to be nothing. Instead, they find Allah there ˹in the Hereafter, ready˺ to settle their account. And Allah is swift in reckoning .Or ˹their deeds are˺ like the darkness in a deep sea, covered by waves upon waves, topped by ˹dark˺ clouds. Darkness upon darkness! If one stretches out their hand, they can hardly see it. And whoever Allah does not bless with light will have no light!” (Quran 24:39-40) ”Those who do not expect to meet Us say, ‘If only the angels were sent down to us, or we could see our Lord!’ They have certainly been carried away by their arrogance and have entirely exceeded all limits.˹But˺ on the Day they will see the angels, there will be no good news for the wicked, who will cry, ‘Keep away! Away ˹from us˺!’ Then We will turn to whatever ˹good˺ deeds they did, reducing them to scattered dust.” (Quran 25:21-23) ”It has already been revealed to you—and to those ˹prophets˺ before you—that if you associate others ˹with Allah˺, your deeds will certainly be void and you will truly be one of the losers.” (Quran 39:65) ”As for the disbelievers, may they be doomed and may He render their deeds void.That is because they detest what Allah has revealed, so He has rendered their deeds void.” (Quran 47:8-9) If these weren’t enough, in an authentic Hadith in Sahih Muslim, Muhammad peace be upon him talked about a specific pagan’s good deeds and how those good deeds will not help him on the day of judgment: 'A'isha reported: I said: Messenger of Allah, the son of Jud'an established ties of relationship, fed the poor. Would that be of any avail to him? He said: It would be of no avail to him as he did not ever say: O my Lord, pardon my sins on the Day of Resurrection. Source: Sahih Muslim 214 I think the evidence speaks for itself in this area but let’s continue ——— Proof # 3 Now the Christian apologists may try and say that they know that Islam teaches that the good deeds of disbelievers are useless but will try to argue that Muslims themselves require good deeds in order to get into Heaven in the afterlife. To this I will say that this assertion is false on every level. In Islam the way that a Muslim goes to paradise is ultimately through Allah’s mercy. Aisha reported: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Follow the right course, seek nearness to Allah, and give glad tidings. Verily, none of you will enter Paradise by his deeds alone. ” They said, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “Not even me, unless Allah grants me his mercy. Know that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is done regularly, even if it is small.” Sources: Sahih al-Bukhari 6467, and Sahih Muslim 2818 Muhammad peace be upon him also said in an authentic Hadith in At-Tirmidhi that on the day of judgment, the shahadah will be heavier than any good deed 👇 Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As: “that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Indeed Allah will distinguish a man from my Ummah before all of creation on the Day of Judgement. Ninety-nine scrolls will be laid out for him, each scroll is as far as the eye can see, then He will say: 'Do you deny any of this? Have those who recorded this wronged you?' He will say: 'No, O Lord!' He will say: Do you have an excuse?' He will say: 'No, O Lord!' So He will say: 'Rather you have a good deed with us, so you shall not be wronged today." Then He will bring out a card (Bitaqah); on it will be: "I testify to La Ilaha Illallah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger." He will say: 'Bring your scales.' He will say: 'O Lord! What good is this card next to these scrolls?' He will say: 'You shall not be wronged.' He said: 'The scrolls will be put on a pan (of the scale), and the card on (the other) pan: the scrolls will be light, and the card will be heavy, nothing is heavier than the Name of Allah.'" Source: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2639 ——- If this is not enough then the next Hadith I will show will definitely put a nail in the coffin in this: “A man in the past worshiped Allah continuously for 500 years. He was granted a shelter on top of a mountain that was surrounded by salty water. However, Allah caused a stream of sweet water to flow through the mountain for that individual. The man would drink from this water and use it to make ablution. Allah also raised a pomegranate tree from which the man would eat one fruit every day. One day, this person supplicated to Allah that, “Oh Allah bring my death while I am in the state of prostration.” Allah accepted this dua of his. Whenever Gabriel came down to the Earth, he found this man prostrating to Allah. Gabriel said that on the day of Judgement, Allah will tell the angels to take this individual to Paradise through His mercy. However, this man will insist that he should enter paradise through the good deeds that he had performed. Then, Allah will tell the angels to compare his good deeds with the blessings that were given to him in the world. It will be seen that 500 years of his worship does not even equal to the gift of eye sight that was given to him by Allah. The angels will be asked to take him toward the hell fire. Then the man will plead, “Oh Allah! Enter me into Paradise only through Your mercy.” At that point, the following discussion will take place between Allah and that man. Allah: Oh my servant, who created you? The worshiper: Oh Allah, You have created me. Allah: Were you created because of the good deeds you have done or because of My mercy? The worshiper: Because of Your mercy. Allah: Who granted you the ability to worship for 500 years? The worshiper: Oh the Almighty! You have granted me that ability. Allah: Who placed you on the mountain surrounded by the ocean? Who caused a stream of sweet water to flow in between the salty water? Who caused a pomegranate tree to grow for you? Who granted you death while in the state of prostration? The worshiper: Oh the Sustainer of the Worlds! You have done all of these. Then Allah will say, “All these have happened due to My mercy and you too will enter Paradise only through My Mercy.” Source: ‘Mustadrak ala Sahihain’ and Bayhaqi & Al-Hakim (مستدرک علی الصحیحین 4/278– Hadith No. 7637) Proof # 4 The Christian apologists may try to argue “Isn’t it true that a Muslim can enter Hell?” To this I say yes however the difference between a Muslim and a Non-Muslim in this regard is that a sinful evil Muslim only stays in Hell for a temporary period of time and is eventually taken out and put into Paradise. Meanwhile all Non-Muslims regardless of whether or not they were good or bad will enter Hell. Abu Dharr reported: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Gabriel, upon him be peace, came to me to give the good news that anyone from my nation who dies without associating partners with Allah will enter Paradise.” I said, “Even if he commits adultery and theft?” The Prophet said, “Even if he commits adultery and theft.” Sources: Sahih al-Bukhari 1237, and Sahih Muslim 94 The famous Hadith scholar Al-Nawawi said, “This tradition is a proof for the people of the Sunnah, that those who commit major sins will not remain in the Hellfire forever. If they enter it, they will be taken out and eventually admitted into Paradise.” Furthermore in Sahih Muslim 184a it says: Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah will admit the people of Paradise into Paradise among whomever He wills, due to His mercy, and He will admit the people of Hellfire into Hellfire, then Allah will say: Look for those with faith in their hearts as much as a seed and bring them out. Then, they will be brought out having been burned and turned into charcoal. They will be cast into the river of life and will sprout just as a seed in the silt is carried away by the flood. Have you not seen that it comes out yellow and entwined? While it is true that a Muslim can end up in Hell they will never stay there forever. Every single Muslim will eventually go to Paradise whether sooner or later. https://www.call-to-monotheism.com/answering_common_questions_on_salvation_that_christians_pose_to_muslims Answering Common Questions on Salvation That Christians Pose to Mus... It is about Islamic apologetics and refuting Christianity and deviant Muslim sects. It is also about learning Islam. Christians don’t have assurance of salvation https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gLG5jsuxDqk YouTube ManyProphetsOneMessage The Qur'an or the Cross? https://mpom.wpengine.com/2015/02/21/why-the-quran-weighs-more-than-the-cross/ Many Prophets, One Message Many Prophets One Message Why the Qur’an Weighs More than the Cross.