Austin's Blog How Good is Good Enough?
What does it take to get into heaven? In our 8th lesson in Understanding Islam, we take that question seriously with an analysis of the Five Pillars of Islam. A student asked, during the section of the class focused on daily ablutions, “why do Muslims pray five times a day?” The answer to that question—and its corollary in Christianity—speaks volumes about the differences between the two religions. If you want to go to heaven, “how good is good enough?” It depends on which faith you follow.
Islam is a religion of works. It’s a faith revealed by Allah to Muhammad through the angel Jib’riel, documented in the Qur’an, regimented in tens of thousands of traditions organized into the Hadith (see Lesson 9) and embodied within the strict covenants of Shari’a law (literally, “the path”). The antithesis of Islam is Christianity. Instead of Islam’s religion of “do”…that is, what you do to attain salvation…Christianity is a religion of “done”…what Christ has done for you.
Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem. Source: www.bibleplaces.com
The Five Pillars of Islam describe a strict code of action for the serious Muslim: recitation of the Creed (“There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”); prayers (salat) five times each day; almsgiving (zakat) of 2.5% of your net income; fasting (sawm) from sunup to sundown during Ramadan; and hajj, the spiritually climactic journey to Mecca. That’s lots of work, each faithful action building on the last as a Muslim seeks to tip the scales of Allah’s judgment in his or her favor. You’d better be very good if you’re not a man; Islamic tradition teaches that Muhammad once saw hell, and warned it was predominantly populated by women.
So, back to the question from our class: “Why pray five times a day?” Islam teaches that prayer in the mosque is worth twenty five times the prayer done alone in home or at work. “Why not just pray once in the mosque and save yourself all that trouble for the next five days?” one student asked, his query followed by a ripple of laughter. Why not indeed? The answer is chilling. Muslims pray often, not only as an act of obedient worship, but to “stay safe.” Any act of sin is covered by regular prayers throughout the day. If you “banked your prayers” for five days as the student proposed, you might die in the interim and be damned.
Muslims performing salat (prayer) at the Umayyad Mosque. Source: Wikipedia.com
Jesus instructs us differently, atoning for our sins through His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is the Son of God; He is who He says He is. Jesus isn’t simply a great prophet written about in the Qur’an, a mortal man squirreled away in haste while Judas was crucified in His place. Jesus is the Christ… the Messiah… the Son of God who died for all of our sins, and rose again, fully alive. He tells us that, if we ask Him to forgive our sins and then follow Him, we can enter heaven. It’s that simple. No scales, no daily balances weighing whether we’ve been bad or good. No worries that missing one prayer might catch us unprepared, and no worries that breaking a single Ramadan fast… eating one morsel during a lifetime of strict 30-day fasts… would damn us to an eternity in hell.
Years ago, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus, in the area that is modern-day Turkey. He told us that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works so that no one can boast.” Those are powerful words. Jesus came to save men and women through love, not by weighing their good deeds over their bad. We can bring others to know Jesus by following His example. We must love the unlovable, even when they are wickedly opposed to everything we stand for.
This month, Iranian religious leaders are debating passage of a new law that demands execution for any citizen who leaves Islam to convert to Christianity. That law could easily be extended to require the execution of all Iranian Christians and Jews. Can we love the murderous Persians who would do such a thing? We are commanded to. Jesus tells us to love those who hate us, and that includes brothers and sisters blinded by radical Islam. We must love them in order to share the incredible forgiving love of Jesus Christ. Hard words for some. Essential words for all.
If I want to go to heaven, how good is good enough? I know that I can never be good enough to warrant the love of a Savior who accepts me just as I am—a chief sinner among sinners. Praise God that He still loves me unconditionally. He forgives me when I confess my sins and place my trust in Him.
Tell others about Jesus so that they may repent and trust Him, too. You can’t get to heaven on your own merits, no matter how hard you try. Faithful adherence to the Five Pillars of Islam will certainly never get you there. But trusting Jesus is always good enough.
Celtic Cross Source: Wikipedia
The idea that praying five times a day is a “stay safe” mechanism reminds me of a discussion I had with a teacher in high school. She attended an all-girl Catholic boarding school that was located quite near an all-boy Catholic boarding school. She and her friends would all go to confessional Friday afternoon in preparation for the sins they were about to make that weekend. My teacher said this was common practice for both schools, and is very similar to the idea of banking prayers to atone for forthcoming sins.
As I learn more about Islam, I find that Muslims face a losing battle. Austin suggests that a single error can lead a Muslim to “an eternity in hell,” which makes me believe that Muslims must face a lifetime of continuous anxiety.
I worry for the Muslims who pray to atone for sins and never hear the voice of God speaking back.
Sandy’s comment “hits the nail on the head.” There is a huge anxiety on the part of Muslims in assuring their salvation. As Ergun Caner says in his testimonial video, when a Muslim extremist dies in a martyr attack, it’s an expression of that person’s hopelessness… that is, without the assurance of salvation through martyrdom, he could not be certain he’d go to heaven.
Our witness of the saving grace of Jesus Christ is so crucial to Muslims. They want to go to heaven, and are willing to endure incredible discipline, even hardship, to make it there. Their hearts are not so different from ours, are they? They want salvation… they simply are misled to believe it can come from their own efforts. At the core of their being, many want to hear the good news we can share with them about grace and salvation.
Islam is a religion without true hope. There is not any salvation plan nor any idea of grace and mercy… I remember hearing a Muslim acquaintance speak of “facing the scales” every night and calculating whether his good acts outweighed the bad that day. When asked if that would gain him entrance to heaven, he responded “even then, who knows?” How is it that countless followers flock to a religion founded a belief system without hope? Where do the roadblock in a Muslim’s thinking lie?
I understand Ergun Caner’s advice to “be careful how you approach my brothers”. I realize the sacrifice a Muslim makes by placing his belief in Jesus Christ. I often remind myself that it my place to be faithful and open to directives from the Father, but is the Holy Spirit who changes lives. It not my place to win over, but to be a witness…a friend.
Austin, have you found anything regarding that praying five times daily provides any surety for a Muslim? Everything I have read points towards the prayer being a requirement for every good Muslim. I would appreciate any comments or advice! Thank you.
I wonder if Muslims who sin in-between prayer times and die are considered to go to hell. Is it the same as believers who only believe that you are truly saved if you are baptized and people die in a plane crash who have just accepted Christ?
Also, I bet that sometimes the concept that our salvation is based soley on faith is a stumbling block to people. We are taught that nothing in this world comes free and people may be looking for the “catch.”
I hope that people can truly realize that we are saved by the grace of God and nothing else.
Shalem asks a good question… does praying five times a day provide surety of salvation for a Muslim? The answer is “no.” Prayer is mandatory, a means directed by Allah to remind mankind that there is a supreme power that must not be ignored. The frequency of five times a day is directed by tradition (the Hadith) and not from a direct command in the Qur’an.
Early in his revelations, Muhammad told of a dream where he was told of the need for Muslims to pray 50 times a day. That requirement angered many of his followers. Muhammad later testified that he mounted a strange white horse (the buraq) and flew from Mecca to Jerusalem, then to heaven. He was escorted by Moses through the seven heavens, and there pleaded with Allah to reduce the mandatory number of prayers from 50 to 5. Allah assented, and from that point on, Muslims are required to remember Allah five times a day.
If one does not pray, the lack of a prayer doesn’t condemn you per se, but it adds to the negative scales in your balance of good and evil. Thus, the benefit of praying with others in a mosque… worth 25 times that of individual prayer.
To Kiwimichelle’s question if dying between prayers leads to hell, I’m no expert in Islam here, but my understanding is that it’s back to the issue of balances. If one’s good deeds outweigh the bad, you would hope to enter heaven.
Remember, in both answers, that the final word is Allah’s. They say “as Allah wills” (in’sha Allah) meaning that, no matter what I do, it’s ultimately in his hands. Even Muhammad had no idea where he would go… heaven or hell. As Kiwimichelle says, people are often looking for the “catch.” I’d say that’s a pretty horrible “catch.” No matter what you do, or how good you are, if Allah’s having a bad day and feels like giving you a “thumbs down,” then you’re damned.
We are, as Kiwimichelle said, only saved by the grace of the real God, Jesus Christ.
Perhaps something about the strict formula that is laid out in Islam of five prayers a day, fasting during Ramadan, etc can be something attractive about Islam to some people. The requirements are given, although the outcome of ones salvation is not. We like to think that we can do things for ourselves and are often very prideful.
This summer I was talking with a roommate about God’s gift of salvation by grace and the idea shocked her. She pointedly asked me, “You mean someone can live their whole life living a horrible life and then accept God’s grace on their deathbed and still go to heaven??!” Yes! She lived her life by a pattern of trying to feel that she was good enough. She didn’t want to believe that some could, “cheat” by not working to get their salvation. I realized anew the way Jesus turns the world’s thinking upside down.
The way I understand Islam is that it is very regulated or steadfast in its nature. I see the strict prayer and Pillars necessary if you are judged on scales. I was wondering if any of the scales were viewed any different from the others? Is sin part of Islam, and if it is how is it viewed? How do you know if you’re doing more good than bad?
This blog connects quite closely to a conversation I just had with a man (i interviewed him) that just got back from serving in the military in a Muslim country. The man I interviewed is a Christian and it was interesting to hear his view of the Muslim faith. he told me that after visiting the country, and interacting with Muslim people he came to respect them for their devotion to what they believe in. To think of how different our Christian life might be if we only gave the same amount of importance to talking with God as we do to going to work and being entertained…however he said that the same thing he admires in them is the same thing that makes him sure he would never want to be Muslim. The fact that you have complete works in order to *hopefully* reach perfection.
I have known many Muslims throughout my life, and I always viewed them as having such dedication to their religion. I used to wish that “Christians” in some ways would model the same dedication. However, it is heartbreaking to realize much of that dedication is really fear and uncertainty. Christians are drenched with grace from our savior enabling us to not consume fear hoping that every action we embark is “good enough.” Many of my fears in life seem so minimal compared to those of Muslims…and I thought I had it bad.
It puts a whole new perspective on the way that we view the Islamic faith to consider the bondage that they truly are in. It is easy to get frustrated sometimes when thinking of different aspects of the religion and especially with the extremist sects and even suicide bombers. But when considering this fear that they live in it makes me feel more pity, and helps to understand the world that they live in. If you didn’t know whether or not you were going to go to heaven and you were told that the only sure way was to die in an act of Jihad, that’s a tough place to be in. It’s hard to live everyday by the scales. But it’s all really focused on a wrong way of thinking and not knowing the Saviour who already died to pay for our sins.
As much as I disagree with Islam, I must respect their loyalty to their faith. And although maybe they are praying for the “wrong reasons,” at least they are praying every day! I often times feel that as Christians we take serious advantage of such a loving God, and we can often times portray to others that…”Yeah, Salvation is free and you don’t have to do anything for it! Jesus died for you! Rock on!” And yet many of us forget that we are called to be follows of Christ…not just saved.
Austin,
Recently, hundreds of Christian families have been forced to flee from Mosul, Iraq. Islamic extremists have issued an ultimatum–to convert to Islam or be executed. How widespread is this intolerant behavior in Iraq? What, if anything, can the US government and Christians do to ensure freedom of religion in the area?
Although Muslims pray 5 times a day and most americans think that it is strange and unnecessary, how many Christians even talk to God? If our time with God is described as a relationship where he loves us and we love him, isn’t it a little one-sided? How many Christians talk to God as much as they talk to their significant other? How many Christians even talk to god once a day? Once a week, even? Do Christians have any right to say that Muslims are backwards, or are we just jealous that their religion requires more of a relationship?
I think that what appeals to Muslims is the five clear cut commands. I’m sure there’s some ambiguity in what is sin and what isn’t, but it seems that over all Islam has a lot more specifics (which can be overwhelming) but can also be comforting. it would be interesting to know what their definition of sin is compared with the average Christian’s view of what sin is. I am guessing that where as Christians have the calling to love one another, and love your enemies and be perfect as God is perfect, Muslims have very specific rules to follow that are already set before them. I’m not saying that this is necessarily appealing to all of us, i’m just trying to answer the question of why Islam is growing, and appealing to so many.
If I were a Muslim I would have a constent feeling of unrest all the time. How could you feel at peace in a religon that has these balances of good vs. bad? Reading this blog makes me realize how Christianity has so much more peace to it, and not having the feeling of unrest.
It seems to me that no matter what your religion is that we are all trying to find out way to Him. Whether that is praying five times a day or going to church on Sundays we all have our way to celebrate Him. Some may argue that one way is better than another but in the end does it really matter as long as we are strengthening our relationship with Him?
I find it very troubling that Islam in a sense uses fear to keep its followers under control.If they don’t pray 5 times a day it is a sin and they are judged by the scales. How can you be the best person you can when you live in fear of going to hell?
I completely agree with you that there is a great difference in the way that Muslims and Christians view salvation. We obviously view grace as our redemptive atonement, while Muslims view works as theirs. On account of prayer, though, I don’t think it is bad that Muslims pray five times a day, nor do I think that it is our place to criticize them for their devotion to prayer fives times a day. While we certainly should not view that as a means to salvation, perhaps Christians should show more devotion in setting everything aside for prayer. It would be unheard of for a Christian to get up in the middle of a business meeting to go bow before the Lord in prayer. Why is it that we view our priorities as such? Perhaps instead of completely discounting their practices as wicked, in the sight that their motives are askew, we should take into consideration their devotion to prayer, and spend more time in prayer ourselves, which is a Biblical principle.
This reminds me a lot of Catholicism. It really makes me sad that these wonderful people believe that God would leave your salvation up to chance. If he truly is a just and fair God, the fact that your latest sins haven’t been forgiven would not be in the equation (in my opinion). But I do admire the fact that they devote so much out of their day to spending time with God. It is my goal to have that form of devotion eventually in my life.
Many times people say that we have the same God, God is merciful, if so why would he be weighing this scale of good and bad, all people make mistakes, we are just human. Believing in Jesus and God will get them to Heaven. If there is a scale God would not be considered as merciful and graceful.
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