The religion of Islam began in the early 600’s AD. Founded by an Arabian man by the name of Muhammad, Islam is by far the predominant religion in the Middle East, and is spreading rapidly into other nations as well. According to Islamic doctrine, Muhammad received revelations from the angel Gabriel, which were eventually compiled into the Quran, the Islamic holy text. One of the primary revelations Muhammad received was that only one god existed, and that his name was “Allah”. This revelation was in direct conflict with the religious beliefs of the surrounding Arabian tribes, who worshipped a multitude of gods. As Muhammad began to preach about his revelations to the people of Mecca (in present day Saudi Arabia), persecution forced him and his followers to flee to the city of Medina. Muhammad soon went to war against the Meccans, ultimately defeating them and gaining control of their city. Within a year of this conquest, Muhammad was able to unite all the tribes of the Arabian peninsula under his religion.
The term “Islam” means “submission”. Consequently, a follower of Islam is known as a “Muslim”, or “one who submits (to the will of Allah)”. In order to please Allah and gain entrance to paradise, Muslims must have their good works outweigh their bad works here on earth. Though their entrance to paradise is determined by Allah alone, Muslims may make progress toward this goal by following the “Five Pillars” of Islam. The Five Pillars are: 1) reciting the Shahadah (There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet), 2) praying five times a day, 3) giving alms, 4) regular fasting, and 5) if financially and physically able, making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Additionally, Muslims hold the Quran to be the sacred word of Allah. Certain other scriptures are accepted as well, but only the Quran is believed to have endured uncorrupted.
Because Muslims must perform good works in order to gain entrance into paradise, Islam is yet another religion that relies on the belief that man is basically good. After all, if man were able to save himself by his own deeds, he must be perfectible by his own power. As a result, if performing good works and following the Five Pillars are what make one good enough to gain entrance to paradise, man must be intrinsically good. However, who determines what is “good enough”? According to Islam, only Allah knows for sure. One might spend their entire life as a devout Muslim, but still not perform enough good deeds to satisfy Allah. While it might be satisfying to attempt to achieve salvation, what if all of one’s good deeds still weren’t good enough?
God understands our nature better than we do. He realizes that we are sinful, lost, and totally incapable of performing enough – indeed, any – good deeds on our own power. In essence, left to ourselves, we’re hopeless. However, in His infinite and unfathomable grace, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life on earth and to die for our sins. His death paid the price for our sins – in full. Consequently, if we accept His gift of grace, God accepts Christ’s death as payment for our sins. Because it must rely on someone’s own deeds, Islam can only hope to cover over one’s sins with good works – much like covering an ink blot with white-out. You might not be able to see it, but the blot’s still there. It hasn’t been taken away. The question isn’t how many good deeds one must perform. The problem lies in what must be done about the bad deeds. If the bad deeds can be taken away, the situation is resolved. Islam can only hope to use enough good deeds to cover the bad ones. Christ’s blood is sufficient to pay for every one.
