A person may only enter Paradise by the mercy of Allāh. Despite acting as a means, the actions of the servant alone cannot be used to enter it. In analysis of this, Allāh mentions the servant entering Paradise because of his actions in His saying:

ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

“Enter you Paradise, because of (the good) which you used to do (in the world).”
(Al-Nahl, 16:32)

Nonetheless, the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) negated a servant being able to enter Paradise because of his actions alone in his saying: “None among you shall enter Paradise because of his actions [alone]”.¹ However, there is no contradiction between the verse and the ḥadīth for two reasons:

1. The interpretation provided by Sufyān and others who used to say: “Safety from the Fire occurs because of Allāh’s pardon, entering Paradise occurs because of His mercy, and one’s level and degree of elevation in Paradise is determined by his actions”.² This interpretation is supported by the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه): “Indeed, the People of Paradise will enter it, each of them occupying a station that corresponds to the blessings of their actions”.³
2. The letter bāʾ (corresponding to ‘because of’) used in the context of negating entry to Paradise in the ḥadīth and used in conjunction with “actions” (بِعَمَلِه) is one that denotes compensation where one commodity is equal in value to another [that is, Paradise is greater in value than one’s actions, hence the ḥadīth negates entry to Paradise because of actions alone]. As for the bāʾ (or ‘because of’) in the verse (بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ), it is one that denotes a causal connection between two things (Paradise and one’s actions), despite it not being the only factor that informs the end result (that is, a combination of one’s actions and Allāh’s mercy). The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has also combined these two types of bāʾ in the ḥadīth: “Know that none of you shall be saved because of his actions”. The companions said: “Even you O Messenger of Allāh?” He replied: “Even myself; if it were not because of Allāh sheltering me with His mercy”.⁴

For whoever truly knows Allāh and testifies as to His right over him, coupled with his own faults, errors and sins, and is granted heartfelt insight over these two testifications, will recognise this point and find certainty in admittance of it.

And with Allāh belongs true guidance.

Source: Ḥādī al-Arwāḥ:176-178
Translated by: Riyāḍ al-Kanadī