1. Works offer salvation and atonement of sins.
Surah 2:271 - To give charity in public is good, but to give
alms to the poor secretly is better for you, and will atone for some of
your sins.
Surah 4:31 - If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden,
We will remit you from your evil deeds, and make you enter a Gate of Honour.
Surah 4:124 - And whosoever does good works, whether male or
female, and is a believer, such will enter the Garden…
[A note following 18:98 states that "all the works of man, however
imposing, shall be scattered into dust by the Resurrection, when only purity
of heart is of account." A note after 57:21 says that no one will enter
heaven "without the forgiveness of Allah and without His grace."]
[A note following 7:38 states that misleaders will receive double torment for disbelieving and for misleading, while the misled will receive double for being disbelievers and for allegiance to misleaders.]
This appears unjust based on accountability since the misled would have
disbelieved because of deception. This also suggests that those who disbelieve
by their own conscious choice without having been misled will receive a
single torment. Are they not more accountable than the deceived?
[A note following 7:46 states that the "A'raf, or heights, form a
limbo between Heaven and Hell, where those who have an equal quantity of
good and evil works shall stand", waiting for God to have mercy and
let them into heaven.]
[A note following 7:180 states that according to a hadith, "Allah has ninety-nine names, and whoever memorizes them (or acts in awareness of them) will enter into Heaven."]
Hadiths are Islamic explanatory "scriptures" offered by notables in
the faith after Muhammad's death, though they do not hold the same weight
as the Qur'an itself. Though Muslims tout the inerrant credibility of their
scripture since it was revealed by one divine prophet, this claim is flawed
by the fact that much of the doctrine is explained within hadiths leaving
the revelations open to misinterpretation and corruption, just as Muslims
claim of the Torah and biblical scriptures. So does the above surah indeed
indicate a ticket to heaven, or has the related hadith taken liberties
in interpretation?
Islamic commentaries explain that man and jinn have free will, but angels
do not have free will. Since Satan had the free will to rebel, he cannot
be an angel and is described as a jinn. (See more about jinn in points
#21-24 in the chapter Qur'an and the Bible.)
And Satan disobeyed a command to the angels…
Surah 2:34 - And when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves
before Adam! they all prostrated themselves, except Iblis [Satan],
who in his pride refused, and turned his face away, and became a disbeliever.
An Islamic understanding of angels and Satan falls apart here. Angels
obviously have free will as demonstrated by the love and devotion inherent
in their praise and faith, and Satan is addressed as one of the angels.
His disobedience leads to his fall. Though this implies that all angels
have the free will to rebel, most have chosen to be obedient and faithful.
[A note preceding 38:69 explains "The heirarchy in Heaven, under Allah's command, discuss questions of high import in the Universe." Another note after 67:16 (not listed) states that it is Allah who "decides about the management of affairs of the universe with His angels."]
Throughout the Qur'an, the idea of partners with God is constantly condemned
since God is sufficient in and of Himself and needs no assistance. This
surah suggests a contradiction with that issue. (See point #2 in the chapter
Jesus and the Holy Spirit and point #18 in the chapter Muhammad.)
See Genesis 2:8-10.
In contrast to the biblical "all have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God", this surah indicates that Islamic believers cannot be considered
sinners for they will see the Garden.
[A note after 56:40 (not included) describes the newly created women of Paradise as between the ages 30 to 33 and "virgins without the period of pregnancy and birth."]
Nothing is ever said in the Qur'an of what women will receive in Paradise
since these heavenly women are new creations for all men.
[A note after 69:38 states that this is a speech by Muhammad who received the message from Gabriel.]
Surah 69:35 contrasts with the biblical perspective that God always
demonstrates love for us, especially in His grief and pain (Genesis 6:6)
when He can't save us from our free will choices of sin and unbelief. (See
more on this in point #32 in the chapter Qur'an and the Bible.)