No Contradiction: Entering Paradise by Deeds and Allah’s Mercy in Quran and Hadith
Responding to the Suspicion of a Contradiction Between the Verse {Enter Paradise for What You Used to Do} and the Hadith [No One Will Enter Paradise by Virtue of His Deeds]
Table of Contents
Content of the Doubt
Those who deny the Sunnah compare the following verse and hadith:
[An-Nahl 32]
[The Messenger of God said: No one will enter Paradise by virtue of his deeds]
Response to This Ridiculous Suspicion
Firstly
The Prophet did not say that righteous deeds will never admit their doer to Paradise.
Rather, the Prophet said that righteous deeds will admit their doer to Paradise, and that will be after Allah has mercy on him.
The Full Context of the Hadith
“No one will enter Paradise by virtue of his deeds, not even I, unless God bestows upon me His grace.”]
[On the authority of the Prophet, who said:
“None of you will enter Paradise through a deed, not even I, unless He covers me with His mercy.”]
The Linguistic Style of Negation and Exception
The hadith implies that the believer will enter Paradise through his good deeds after Allah bestows mercy and favor upon him.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between the Quran and the Sunnah.
[Alaa did not get the certificate until after he succeeded]
Meaning that Alaa got the certificate after he succeeded.
The Quran Itself Confirms This Meaning
{And had it not been for the grace of God upon you and His mercy, you would have followed Satan, except for a few}
[An-Nisa: 83]
{And had it not been for the grace of God upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever. But God purifies whom He wills, and God is Hearing and Knowing.}
[An-Nur: 21]
{He from whom it is turned away that Day - He has indeed shown mercy to him. And that is the clear attainment.}
[Al-An`am 16]
After Allah shows us mercy on the Day of Resurrection, the believer will enter Paradise and progress in it according to his good deeds.
Good Deeds Still Matter
The Prophet himself commanded us to do good deeds for the sake of Paradise, and so it was mentioned in Sahih Al-Bukhari as follows:
“We were with the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, at a funeral, and he began to poke the ground with a stick, and said:
‘There is not one of you who has not finished his place in Paradise or Hellfire.’
They said:
Shall we not rely on Him?
He said:
Work, for everyone is facilitated.
“But as for him who gives and fears Allah,”
the verse.
Conclusion
Rather, the infidels who deny the Sunnah are the ones who deceive people and disbelieve in the Qur’an and the words of the Prophet, and they take phrases out of context in order to mislead people.
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