Sūra 42 provides a good example of how quranic text can very quickly change voice and object. The sūra begins (v. 3) with a voice speaking directly to the messenger in second person (“you”) about Allah in third person (“he”). Verse 7, however, has Allah speaking in first person plural (“we”) to the messenger. Verse 8 returns to third person about Allah. Verse 10 speaks to the audience in second person plural (“you”) and then shifts to first person singular (“I”). Verse 13 starts with a voice speaking about Allah in third person to the audience in second person plural, then shifts to Allah speaking in first person plural to the messenger in second person singular, and then returns to discussing Allah in third person.

Sūra 42 provides a good example of how quranic text can very quickly change voice and object. The sūra begins (v. 3) with a voice speaking directly to the messenger in second person (“you”) about Allah in third person (“he”). Verse 7, however, has Allah speaking in first person plural (“we”) to the messenger. Verse 8 returns to third person about Allah. Verse 10 speaks to the audience in second person plural (“you”) and then shifts to first person singular (“I”). Verse 13 starts with a voice speaking about Allah in third person to the audience in second person plural, then shifts to Allah speaking in first person plural to the messenger in second person singular, and then returns to discussing Allah in third person.

The Place of the Scale(s) in the Reckoning Daniel A. Brubaker The Quran mentions “the Scale” ( mizān ) and “the Scales” ( mawāzīn ) in the context of the Reckoning, or the Hour (i.e., the Day of Judgment), and these images are emblematic of the Quran’s teaching on salvation – that a sinful person with a simple net positive of good deeds will make it into the Garden (i.e., Paradise), marking a consequential point of difference between what the Bible and the Quran say about how people are healed and united to God. “(It is) Allah Who sent down the Book in truth, and (also) the scale. What will make you know? Perhaps the Hour is near” (42.17). The core theological difference between biblical Christianity and quranic theology (and, I believe, the central mission of the latter) is that the Quran dethrones Jesus, insists he is only a man, and denies His victory over death at the cross, thus rejecting salvation as a transformative union with God through Christ. The Quran explicitly refuses the possibility of Christ bearing our fallen nature to heal it. For example, “Every human – We have fastened his fate to him on his neck. . . . No one bearing a burden bears the burden of another” (17.13, 15). The Quran’s view of the universe is one in which all people will be judged by Allah based upon the weight of their deeds. If good deeds outweigh the bad, people may be admitted to the Garden, “beneath which rivers flow.” If bad deeds outweigh the good, they may find themselves in the fire and a painful punishment. In both cases, the variable is the will of Allah, whose preference is the deciding factor. That Allah is “merciful, compassionate,” is one of the Quran’s most familiar refrains. However, various permutations of the promise of a “painful punishment,” as well as the assurance that Allah is swift and strong in retribution, also abound. The definite form al-mīzān , “the scale,” occurs nine times in the Quran (6.152; 7.85; 11.84; 11.85; 42.17; 55.7; 55.8; 55.9; 57.25), plus once in the plural al-mawāzīn , “the scales” (21.47), and six times in the possessive plural mawāzīnuhu , “his scales” (7.8; 7.9; 23.102; 23.103; 101.6; 101.8). The past participle form mawzūn , “weighed,” likewise occurs once (15.19), the related word for “weighing” ( waznu ) of deeds (e.g. on a scale) twice (7:8; 55:9), the word waznan , “an account,” once (18:105), and the word wazanūhum , “they weigh,” once as well (83:3). “As for the one whose scales are heavy, he will be in a pleasing life, but as for the one whose scales are light, his mother will be Hāwiya hell or abyss]” (101.6–8). “But whoever’s scales are light, those are the ones who have lost their (own) selves – remaining in Gehenna” (23.103, scales is plural in this verse). “We shall lay down the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, and no one will be done any evil. (Even) if there is (only) the weight of a mustard seed, We shall produce it, and We are sufficient as reckoners” (21.47). Beyond reference to the Day of Judgment, scales appear in the Quran in relation to giving a minor orphan the fullness of what he is owed until he comes of age (6.152) or relating a past exhortation to the people of Midian to fulfill their obligations to each other (7.85; 11.84). Consistent with the picture painted by the Quran, those who believe its message cannot know their final fate. Many are thus fearful of or resigned to the prospect of eternity in the fire. Although hoping to fall upon Allah’s mercy, they can have no personal assurance of such. What Does the New Testament Say about Salvation? The judgment, including an accounting for the deeds done while in the flesh, is referred to in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., [Psalm 1:5) and variously in the New Testament (Matthew 10:15; Hebrews 9:27; 2 Peter 3:7; Jude 6). Beginning in Matthew 25:31, Jesus, referring to himself as the Son of Man and mirroring Ezekiel 34:17–31, promises that he will return in glory. Seated on his throne with all nations gathered before him, he will sort individuals as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, decreeing punishment and reward based upon what they had done. The Bible says God is the source of all Life; humanity\'s sin brought about corruption, spiritual sickness, and death. The biblical sacrifices pointed toward the ultimate healing of human nature: the Messiah uniting Himself to humanity to conquer death. As John the Baptist exclaimed when he saw Jesus: “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Christianity is emphatic that salvation cannot be "earned" as a wage through a legalistic balancing of scales or mere adherence to the Law. Rather, salvation is a lifelong process of healing and transformation (deification) made possible by God\'s grace. True faith is never separated from good works; they act synergistically. As the Apostle James writes, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).

The “good news” to which the word gospel refers is that God did not abandon humanity to corruption and death. Instead, out of profound love, the Son of God entered into our human condition, assumed our burdens, and destroyed the power of death by His own death and resurrection, offering eternal life and union with God to all who willingly cooperate with His grace.