11:106-108"..And as to those who are made happy, they shall be in the garden, abiding in it as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord please; a gift which shall never be cut off".
In the Quran God attaches the proviso of His will even for things like heaven and hell which are firmly decreed by Him, to mean that nothing passes out of His control or authority. He can remove anyone from either heaven or hell, anytime He wishes. Nothing is incumbent upon Him, nothing passes out of His control, His hands are not "tied up" as some among the people of the book provocatively alleged to the prophet 5:64. Here in the case of heaven, Allah adds the comforting clause
"a gift which shall never be cut off".
This shows that the righteous COULD but WON'T be taken out of it. The verse keeps in view God's complete control over all matters, but also implies that it is by God's grace that one enters paradise in the first place. In reality none of our deeds are as perfect and faultless so as to grant us a reward of such magnitude. It is due to God's mercy and grace that He overlooks the servant's weaknesses and defects so long as he commits himself to piety and avoids the great sins, reforms himself and does not dwell in a state of transgression in which he stumbled into
4:17-18,53:32"surely your Lord is liberal in forgiving".
Allah is liberal in forgiving and accepts the faithfull's services despite their imperfections, and blesses him with rewards. Should He resort to minute accountability no one can dare claim to win Paradise only on the strength of his own deeds
44:51-7"Surely those who guard (against evil) are in a secure place,..and He will save them from the punishment of the hell, a grace from your Lord; this is the great achievement".
The Quran reiterates this principle many times that the reward of the Hereafter is really a divine grace, and God's overlooking His creatures' mistakes.
6:16" Whosoever is spared on that Day, He has certainly been merciful unto him, and that is the manifest triumph".
The righteous believers in the hereafter are depicted as recognizing, upon their entry to heaven, that it in fact is merely a favor from their Lord who warded off the suffering of hellfire from them 52:18-27. Blind justice would otherwise require a certain degree of retribution. Yet He forgives the trespasses and only considers the best of a faithful servant's worldly deeds
39:35"So that Allah will do away with the worst of what they did and give them their reward for the best of what they do".
It speaks in the Quran of those who wont be reproached for their minor sins and shortcomings, forgiven and redeemed through their good deeds. Once made to enter paradise, the reward awaiting them will be made to match not any deed, but the best of them at least. Then by God's grace their reward will be made to surpass what is proportionally due to them 6:160,16:96-7,29:7,39:35,46:16,84:8. It is clear that in Islam, the righteous' good deeds in themselves are not what grant him salvation in the hereafter. They serve as a measure of a person's faith in God. It is then God's grace that translates exponentially that level of faith, whose indicator are the deeds, into reward in the hereafter.
This abundance of rewards will be gracefully given, without anything being asked in return 47:36. Again, because nothing a human may do can ever equal the value of the limitless reward of heaven
30:45“And so it is that He might reward, out of His bounty, those who have believed and done righteous deeds".
Also, the very common verse ending bighayri hisab/without measure/reckoning covers both that Allah, being the One God, does not render account to anything or anyone concerning what He does, as well as cover that He gives abundantly without any fear that it will dwindle, since He is the source of Infinite Mercy.
Upon seeing the realization of Allah's pledge on the Day of Resurrection, the righteous will be in such a state of awe at the immense reward awaiting them that, humbled and grateful, they will recognize
7:43"All praise is due to Allah Who guided us to this, and we would not have found the way had it not been that Allah had guided us".
Instead of declaring His might and generosity, as a wordly king would do so as to make his servants feel indebted, Allah the Supreme, will only answer
"this is the garden of which you are made heirs for what you did".
There is no hint to the fact that this eternal dwelling they have been made the heirs of is due to His grace, and His merciful forgiveness that He overlooks and covers His sincere servants' imperfections. That mercifulness is alluded to by David when stating that God's judgement does not take into account every single fault of His servants
Ps130:3"O God, if You keep [a record of] iniquities, O Lord, who will stand?".
The Quran puts it this way
16:61"And if Allah were to impose blame on the people for their wrongdoing, He would not have left upon the earth any creature, but He defers them for a specified term. And when their term has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it]".
The prophet, humble as he always was and never falling into self-complacency, would reflect that notion by saying
"The good deeds of any person will not make him enter Paradise.” They said, “Not even you, O Allah’s Apostle?” He said, “Not even myself, unless Allah bestows His favor and mercy on me.” So be moderate in your religious deeds and do the deeds that are within your ability".
One cannot overlook the supreme pragmatism of the prophet, in addition to his humility. Allah, as repeatedly said in the Quran, has never willed to burden mankind with a difficult sharia, and neither is one expected to over exhert himself religiously. Rather seek with sincerity the means within one's capability, by which to remain connected to Allah.
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