I would like to ask about the phenomena of rewards and punishments with reference to the Islamic faith. Considering that Islam is also offering a reward for good deeds
… but, as you have said, when rewards do not entail controlling the subject, then they are not harmful, is this the point of difference in the rewards that you are criticizing and the rewards offered by religion? Have I understood correctly?
I am coming to that point. I have almost completed my presentation for today.
As for the rewards and punishments promised in the Qur’an, with reference to the hereafter…
… the first difference is that we are not being conditioned through those rewards and punishments…
You see, in the case of religion, God is telling us that your time on this earth is for a purpose. If you live in coherence with that purpose, you will meet one set of consequences; while if you refuse to do so, you will meet another set of consequences.
He is not rewarding or punishing us for the purpose of future manipulation of our behavior.
Another point is that, according to our concept, God does not punish merely on the basis of behavior.
That is the judgment regarding punishment is not based on behavior alone. When God punishes or rewards [in the hereafter,] His judgment also considers the circumstances, intentions, attitudes, perceptions, understandings, thought processes — all of these things.
For instance, if the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) believed that copulation with one’s spouse is not allowed during the nights of Ramadan…
… then God is warning them that they should not have indulged in it, [even though the Divine law does not prohibit it]. Thus, it is not some standard behavior on which all humankind will be rewarded or punished by God…
… rather, all the internal processes of man are given due consideration in the judgment.
This is something that we cannot even do. This is what I mentioned that we - humans - cannot know all the reasons behind another’s actions and this is one of the reasons why rewards and punishments spoil relationships because the perspectives of the punisher and the punished are not the same.
Another point is that the actions that are rewarded and the rewards promised by God are commensurate.
It is not like if you offer regular prayers, you’ll get a bicycle; or if you do so and so, you’ll get chocolate.
Whatever God is promising as rewards are commensurate to the efforts that one needs to put in to get those rewards.
One cannot say that the reward is more or less important than the effort one has to put in to get it.
Another point is that when we work to get rewards or to avoid punishments from others…
… this is a very important distinction. When I wrote an article on altruism, a question was asked that whether adopting altruistic behavior in the hope of getting a reward from God does that refute it's being altruistic?
Actually, we first need to understand what exactly is wrong in acting morally in the hope of getting a reward: When we act in certain ways in the hope of getting a reward or avoiding a punishment that someone has promised or warned us with…
… such an expectation affects our integrity…
… we are continually looking behind our shoulders to confirm whether we are being observed the person or not, whether our action is being noticed by him or not…
… this creates duplicity in us…
… when our expectation is to get a reward from God, it does not have that danger, because there’s no time or place where our actions are not observed by God.
And finally, God does not reward or punish as a method of manipulating behavior. The point that you have also mentioned. That is, those rewards and punishments are not to manipulate future actions.
That is, the purpose of putting people in heaven or hell is not to teach them a lesson for their future lives…
… they are rather the consequences that I have to face
These are a few points that completely set apart the rewards and punishments mentioned in religion.
Please keep in mind that I am not referring to the rewards and punishments implemented in the name of justice. This concept that we are discussing does not apply there.
I had mentioned the context of my presentation particularly for people who would like to reform the character of others…
… we should remove some strategies from our methodologies. We should not promote behaviors on the basis of rewards and punishments, because that goes against the very spirit of promoting the right behaviors.
We need people to adopt the right behaviors for the right reasons. This is essential.
