# Salvation by Scales of Deeds or by Grace? > Qur’an 7:8–9 weighs deeds on scales. Qur’an 39:53 says God forgives all sins. Ephesians 2:8–9 says salvation is by grace through faith, not of works. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/islam/salvation-by-scales-or-by-grace - Religions: Islam - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: islam, salvation, grace - Updated: 2026-10-16 The Qur’an puts scales on the Day of Resurrection and says the heavy scale succeeds. It also says God’s mercy encompasses all things and that he forgives all sins. The Gospel says people are saved by grace through faith, and that the gift is not of works. A fair reading keeps both of the Qur’an’s sentences. It does not turn Islam into a ledger with no mercy, and it does not pretend Ephesians 2 is a milder version of the scales. ## Key Points - [Qur’an 21:47](https://quran.com/21/47) [(1)](#ref-1) says God will place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, and that even a mustard seed will be brought forth. - [Qur’an 7:8–9](https://quran.com/7/8) says those whose scales are heavy are the successful, and those whose scales are light lose themselves. [Qur’an 23:102–103](https://quran.com/23/102) says the light scale is eternal loss in Hell. - [Qur’an 99:7–8](https://quran.com/99/7) says an atom’s weight of good and an atom’s weight of evil will be seen. [Qur’an 17:13–14](https://quran.com/17/13) speaks of a record the person will meet, spread open. - [Qur’an 39:53](https://quran.com/39/53) says not to despair of the mercy of Allāh, because he forgives all sins. [Qur’an 7:156](https://quran.com/7/156) says, “My mercy encompasses all things.” - [Ephesians 2:8–9](/bible/ephesians/2/8) [(2)](#ref-2): saved by grace through faith, the gift of God, not of works. [Romans 3:23–25](/bible/romans/3) [(3)](#ref-3) sets justification in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. - [What Does Grace Mean in the Bible?](/christianity/grace-meaning-in-the-bible) is that word at length. [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) is the Christ in whom Romans locates the gift. ## The Scales [Qur’an 21:47](https://quran.com/21/47), Saheeh International, says God places the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection so that no soul is treated unjustly, and that the weight of a mustard seed will be brought forth. God is called sufficient as accountant. The image is a weighing that misses nothing. [Qur’an 7:8–9](https://quran.com/7/8): > And the weighing [of deeds] that Day will be the truth. So those whose scales are heavy - it is they who will be the successful. And those whose scales are light - they are the ones who will lose themselves for what injustice they were doing toward Our verses. The bracketed “of deeds” is the translators’ supply. The verse itself says “the weighing” and then “scales.” Success is the heavy scale. Loss of self is the light scale, tied to injustice toward God’s verses. [Qur’an 23:102–103](https://quran.com/23/102) repeats the pair and names the end of the light scale: those people have lost their souls, in Hell, abiding. [Qur’an 101:6–8](https://quran.com/101/6) says the heavy scale is a pleasant life and begins the contrast with the light scale. [Qur’an 99:7–8](https://quran.com/99/7) is the smallest weight: whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it. [Qur’an 17:13–14](https://quran.com/17/13) says God will produce for each person, on the Day of Resurrection, a record spread open, and the person will be told to read it: “Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as accountant.” [Qur’an 69:19](https://quran.com/69/19) gives the one who receives his record in his right hand the words, “Here, read my record.” The record and the scale belong to the same day. The Qur’an does not print a numbered point system or a ranked list of deeds beyond these verses. [What Do Muslims Believe?](/islam/what-do-muslims-believe) is the wider confession. [Do Muslims Believe in Heaven?](/islam/do-muslims-believe-in-heaven) is the garden those heavy scales are said to enter. ## Mercy in the Same Book The scales are not the only last-day sentence. [Qur’an 39:53](https://quran.com/39/53) tells the servants who have transgressed against themselves not to despair of the mercy of Allāh: “Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins.” [Qur’an 7:156](https://quran.com/7/156) has Moses ask for a good decree in this world and the next, and the answer includes “My mercy encompasses all things,” and then a decree of that mercy for those who fear God, give zakah, and believe in his verses. Mercy is wide, and the verse still names the people for whom it is decreed. [Qur’an 2:37](https://quran.com/2/37), on [Original Sin and Forgiveness](/islam/original-sin-and-forgiveness), says Adam’s Lord accepted his repentance. A Muslim account of the scales can say the weighing is real and that God’s mercy is also real, including pardon that is not a wage. That is a fair reading of the book. It is still a different structure from Ephesians 2, where the gift is defined by not being works. [Does Allah Love Sinners?](/islam/does-allah-love-sinners) quotes the mercy texts at more length. [Is the Atonement Unjust?](/christianity/is-the-atonement-unjust) is the Christian claim that another bears the sinner’s guilt, which [Qur’an 6:164](https://quran.com/6/164) refuses. A hadith puts the same limit on the scales from inside Islam. Sahih al-Bukhari 6467 reports the Prophet telling his companions to do good deeds “properly, sincerely and moderately,” and to “receive good news because one’s good deeds will not make him enter Paradise.” Asked whether that was true of him too, he answered, “Even I, unless and until Allah bestows His pardon and Mercy on me.” [(5)](#ref-5) In Islam’s own sources, the scale is real and mercy still decides. ## Grace, in Ephesians and Romans [Ephesians 2:8–9](/bible/ephesians/2/8): “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” The sentence names grace, faith, and gift, and it shuts the door on works as the ground of the salvation. [What Does Grace Mean in the Bible?](/christianity/grace-meaning-in-the-bible) follows the word through the letter. The contrast with a scale is the phrase “not of works.” A heavy scale is a verdict on deeds. Ephesians says the rescue is not that verdict. [Romans 3:23–24](/bible/romans/3): all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, “being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” [Romans 3:25](/bible/romans/3) says God set him forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood. The free justification and the redemption are located in Christ, not in a remainder after the evil deeds are subtracted from the good. [John 3:16](/bible/john/3/16) is the same gift aimed at the world: God gave his Son, and the one who believes has everlasting life. [John 1:14](/bible/john/1/14) calls the Word God and says he is full of grace and truth. [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) is that identification. The grace is not a softer weighing. It is a person. [What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?](/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-salvation) keeps the Romans sequence. [Original Sin and Forgiveness](/islam/original-sin-and-forgiveness) is why the Christian pages say there is something to be saved from that a sound birth does not erase. The scales answer a real question the Qur’an asks, how deeds will be faced. Ephesians answers a different question, whose work saves. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What Is the Mizan? In [Qur’an 21:47](https://quran.com/21/47) and [Qur’an 7:8–9](https://quran.com/7/8) it is the scales of the Day of Resurrection. Heavy scales are success. Light scales are loss. Saheeh International supplies “of deeds” in brackets at 7:8. ### Does the Qur’an Teach Salvation by Works Alone? It teaches the scales, and it teaches that God forgives all sins ([Qur’an 39:53](https://quran.com/39/53)) and that his mercy encompasses all things ([Qur’an 7:156](https://quran.com/7/156)). Both sentences are in the book. [Ephesians 2:8–9](/bible/ephesians/2/8) says the Christian salvation is not of works. ### Where Is the Record of Deeds? [Qur’an 17:13–14](https://quran.com/17/13) says each person will meet a record, spread open, and will be told to read it. [Qur’an 69:19](https://quran.com/69/19) is the one who receives that record in the right hand. ## Keep Reading [Ephesians 2](/bible/ephesians/2) and [Romans 3](/bible/romans/3) are the grace texts. [What Does Grace Mean in the Bible?](/christianity/grace-meaning-in-the-bible) and [What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?](/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-salvation) open them. [Original Sin and Forgiveness](/islam/original-sin-and-forgiveness) is the fitrah beside Romans 5. ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Qur’an 21:47 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/21/47) > And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant. ### Qur’an 23:102-103 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/23/102-103) > And those whose scales are heavy [with good deeds] - it is they who are the successful. But those whose scales are light - those are the ones who have lost their souls, [being] in Hell, abiding eternally. ### Qur’an 99:7-8 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/99/7-8) > So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it. ### Qur’an 17:13-14 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/17/13-14) > And [for] every person We have imposed his fate upon his neck, and We will produce for him on the Day of Resurrection a record which he will encounter spread open. [It will be said], "Read your record. Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as accountant." ### Qur’an 39:53 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/39/53) > Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." ### Qur’an 7:156 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/7/156) > And decree for us in this world [that which is] good and [also] in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned back to You." [Allāh] said, "My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things." So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses - ### Romans 3:23–25 King James Version. > [3:23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [3:24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [3:25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; ### Qur’an 101:6-8 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/101/6-8) > Then as for one whose scales are heavy [with good deeds], He will be in a pleasant life. But as for one whose scales are light, ### Qur’an 69:19 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/69/19) > So as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will say, "Here, read my record! ### Qur’an 2:37 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/2/37) > Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. ### Qur’an 6:164 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/6/164) > Say, "Is it other than Allāh I should desire as a lord while He is the Lord of all things? And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ." ### Romans 3:23–24 King James Version. > [3:23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [3:24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ### Romans 3:25 King James Version. > Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; ### John 3:16 King James Version. > For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ### John 1:14 King James Version. > And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Qur'an, 21:47; 7:8–9; 23:102–103; 99:7–8; 39:53; 7:156; 17:13–14](https://quran.com/21/47) (Saheeh International. The link is 21:47, the scales of the Day of Resurrection.) 2. [Letter to the Ephesians, 2:8–9](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/ephesians/2). King James Version 3. [Letter to the Romans, 3:23–25](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/romans/3). King James Version 4. [Gospel of John, 1:14; 3:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/14). King James Version 5. [Sahih al-Bukhari, 6467](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6467) (English on sunnah.com, Muhammad Muhsin Khan.) ## See Also - [Does Allah Love Sinners?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-allah-love-sinners) — The Qur’an says Allah loves those who do good and does not like disbelievers. Romans 5:8 says Christ died for us while we were still sinners. - [Is the Atonement Unjust?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/is-the-atonement-unjust) — No. Ezekiel 18:20 and Qur’an 6:164 say guilt is personal. The Son lays down his life himself. That is not a bystander seized by a court. - [Original Sin in Islam and Christianity: Fitrah and the Fall](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/original-sin-and-forgiveness) — Bukhari 1358 says every child is born on the natural faith. Qur’an 2:37 says Adam’s Lord accepted his repentance. Romans 5 says death spread to all. - [What Does Grace Mean in the Bible?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/grace-meaning-in-the-bible) — Grace in the New Testament is the Greek word charis, God’s favor given freely in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8–9 says salvation is that gift, not a wage. - [What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-salvation) — The Bible says people are saved by grace through faith, not of works. Churches that confess the Trinity disagree about baptism and about whether a believer can fall away.