‘Whoever comes before God
with a good deed will receive a better reward; whoever comes with an evil deed
will be punished only for what he has done.’ (28:85)
‘He
does not wrong anyone by as much as the weight of a speck of dust: He doubles
any good deed and gives a tremendous reward of His own.’ (4:41)
In Hinduism and Buddhism, ‘Karma’ is the ‘sum
of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as
deciding their fate in future existences.’ Many people
believe in ‘Karma’ leading to multiple reincarnations in different states of
existence before the human soul finds ultimate salvation. However, ‘Karma’, in general, is about good luck or bad fate; viewed as
resulting from one’s actions.
From an Islamic perspective, we humans live only once in this world, and when we die, we leave forever from this world, only to give an account of our deeds on the Day of Resurrection and Judgement: man’s eventual fate is essentially linked to his own actions. On the Day of Judgement, man’s soul will testify on all deeds- good, or bad- to receive the true and enduring reward of Paradise, or the Fire of Hell as a consequence of one’s record of deeds.
From a Qur’anic perspective, life
in this world is full of tests and trials for the humans. As we go about our
lives on an everyday basis, we meet with the good and the bad; with fortune and
misfortune in the ebb and flow of life. Times of prosperity or adversity visit
us: good fortune may keep us happy and content for a period of time; adverse
changes in circumstances when they arrive make us sad over the losses suffered.
We should be thankful to the Lord Almighty: grateful for all the blessings that
God gifts us as a provision for this life; we should be patient in times of difficulties.
Moreover, we should atone for our bad deeds in quest of Divine forgiveness, and
we should perform good deeds for receiving Divine Bounty. Indeed, our Lord is
both Just and Bounteous: indeed, God rewards our good deeds. As for those do
bad deeds, Divine Justice will pursue those who follow evil ways with punishment
and rejection, and they will have their reckoning at the hands of God, possibly
in this world itself; certainly in the world to come, Insha Allah.
'...[b]asically, Karma is a Sanskrit word which literally means “action” and refers to the cause and effect of each and every action of man. Thus, every good action or deed that a person does, he will get its result, i.e., its good rewards, whether in this life and the next, and every bad action he does, he shall see its result too, both in this life and the next.
Islam as the universal and best Way
of Life chosen for mankind since the dawn of time has evoked “Kifarah”
which comes from the word “Kaffarah”, which means atonement. A Muslim
believer is encouraged by Allah in His exquisite teachings – Islamic teachings –
that he or she should keep on atoning for his or her sins and reform his or her
conduct so as he or she may avert divine punishment. Reflect on the mercy of
Allah in that which Allah is quicker than lightning to forgive the sins of His
servants if they turn to Him in sincere repentance and guard themselves from
falling into the same sins.
In a Hadith narrated by Abu
Hurairah (ra), the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said: “Allah has decreed
good deeds and bad deeds, and then He explained that whoever intends to perform
a good deed but does not do it, Allah will record it as a complete good deed.
If he intends to do it and actually does it, Allah will record it as ten good
deeds, up to seven hundred times, or even many times more. But if he intends to
do a bad deed and does not do it, Allah will record it as a complete good deed.
If he intends it and actually does it, Allah will record it as a single bad
deed.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
And this Hadith is backed by the
following verse of the Holy Quran on the justice and mercy of Allah: 'Whoever
comes with a good deed will be rewarded tenfold. But whoever comes with a bad
deed will be punished for only one. None will be wronged.' (Al-Anam, 6: 161)