The rich young ruler asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Life here on Earth is finite. We see people die and know that eventually there will be the day when our bodies will stop functioning. What will happen then? A few people believe that death is simply the end, but the majority of the people in the world believe in some form of continuity after death. Athiests may not believe in an after life, but all religions teach that a part of a person that we call the soul persists for eternity. Some religions believe in some form of reincarnation. Others believe that a person's soul goes either to Heaven, a place of reward, to Hell, a place of punishment, or to some "holding pen" such as Pergatory pending a disposition to either Heaven or Hell.
Two of the great religions of the world, Christianity and Islam, hold parallel views of what happens to the soul of a dead person, but they hold completely divergent doctrines regarding how one reaches Heaven or is consigned to Hell.
For the purpose of this article, I am using the words man and he generically. The term man encompasses all humans, both male and female. The term he is used only as a convenience to avoid having to say things like he or she. The pronoun he is used to indicate a person of either gender.
For both religions, Hell is a place of eternal torment and punishment. Both the Bible and the Koran talk of a Hell in graphic language. Regardless of whether one takes such scripture literally or whether one interprets the scripture metaphorically, Hell is definately a destination to be avoided.
Heaven is a place of reward. To the Christian, the focus of Heaven is God. There are rewards such as mansions and crowns, but the focus of existance in Heaven is a close and loving relationship with God and with other Christians. While the Bible tells us that there is no sorrow or pain in Heaven, it also tells us that there is no marriage in Heaven. This implys that sex and other carnal pleasures are replaced in Heaven by something better, but unspecified. The common picture of Heaven expressed by most Muslims is a devine theme park. Muslims interpret the Koran to say that souls in Heaven enjoy all of the carnal pleasures of life and enjoy them in abundance. A case in point are the radical Muslim etreemists who expect that their martyrdem will earn them an eternal orgy with 57 virgins. Except on the basis of faith, one can not be sure which religion is correct, but members of both religions desire to go to Heaven.
The Bible tells us that all fall short of the glory of God. Thus, from a Christian perspective, even the best of us are not qualified, on the basis or behavior or works, to enter Heaven. The Bible tells us that our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags in the eyes of God. Thus Christian doctrine holds that man is inherently wicked. Man can only find righteousness with the help of God. He does not have the strength to be good without God's help.
The Koran calls all people basically good. Man become evil as he falls prey to the temptations of the world. Muslim doctrine gives each person an account in which good works are balanced against evil deeds. While a Muslim may not know the standards required, he knows he will reach Heaven if the balance of his account at death is favorable.
Thus a Christian knows he can reach Heaven only by the grace of God. Such grace is unmerited, but God gives that grace to those who believe in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. This belief is an act of faith. a personal relationship with Jesus is the traditional way to achieve and strength this faith.
Muslims I have met expect to reach Heaven on the basis of their good works. Many of them work hard to keep the letter of the law based on how they interpret the Koran. This includes their prayer life, their good deeds and any service they have rendered to Allah. Fighting in a Holy Jihad, and especially martyrdem are services to Allah that should weigh heavily on the good side of their ledger.
Christians know they will go to Heaven if they have Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Muslims epect to get to heaven if their good works outweigh their sins, but they can not be sure until the judgement day.
I write this knowing that many readers will pick the generalities apart. In particular, there will be readers who will say, "I know Christians who. . . ." or "I know Muslims who. . . ." Any discussion such as this that is making broad comparisons presumes Christians and Muslims who fit the role of their respective religion exactly. We must keep in mind that not everyone who calls themself Christian has Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. I presume that there are also those who call themselves Muslim who are not true followers of Allah.
Thus we must summarize that Christians who have Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior believe they will reach Heaven based on their faith in Jesus and the resulting relationship they have with Him. On the other hand. a Muslim who is sincerely trying to follow the will of Allah as written in the Koran has a hope of reaching Heaven on the basis of sufficient good behavior and good works to please Allah. On judgement day, we will all stand in judgement before a supreem being and learn which doctrine is correct. The choice is yours to make.