Today's Reflection [Ayah 62 , Surah Al- Baqarah]

 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَىٰ وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

Those who believe, and those who are Jewish, and the Christians, and the Sabeans any who believe in God and the Last Day, and act righteously—will have their reward with their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. (Quran 2:62)

The reason behind the disobedience of the Children of Israel was that their belief about the Hereafter had gone corrupt. They believed because they are the People of the Book – the Chosen people they are certainly going to Paradise. They called themselves the Children of Allah and considered themselves extra special, as today some Muslims falsely believe as well.

By revealing this ayah, Allah clarifies the misconception. No person will enter Jannah solely based on their belief or actions. The correct belief (believe in the Oneness of Allah  followed with the righteous actions (done as per the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ) will lead us to Jannah. We cannot claim to be entering Jannah because we are Muslims. We must perform righteous deeds as taught by the Prophet ﷺ; we cannot invent our own forms of worship. Our deeds must conform to the Sunnah. Similarly, for one’s righteous deeds to be accepted their belief has to be right as well. A person who does not believe in Allah but actively participates in charity drives, all his deeds will be rejected.

Allah does not accept any deed or work from anyone unless it conforms to the Law of Muhammad ﷺ that is after he was sent. Before that, every person who followed the guidance of his own prophet was on the correct path, following the correct guidance and was saved. When Allah sent Muhammad ﷺ as the Last and Final Prophet and Messenger to all of the Children of Adam, mankind was required to believe in him, obey him and refrain from what he prohibited them; those who do this are true believers. The Ummah of Muhammad was called Mumineen (believers), because of the depth of their faith and certainty, and because they believe in all of the previous Prophets and matters of the Unseen.

Our salvation in the Hereafter does not depend on our association with a particular group. We must correct our belief and stick to the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ. We should also stop labeling each other Kafir and rather work on spreading the word of Allah , helping ourselves and others become well-pleasing to Him.