Likewise, everyone who came before us and was destined for felicity was a believer. The Exalted says:

“Indeed, those who believe, those who are Jews, the Christians, and the Sabaeans—whoever believes in God and the Last Day and acts righteously—shall have their reward with their Lord; no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve.”
(Qur’an 2:62)

In another verse He says:

“…the Sabaeans and the Christians…”
(Qur’an 5:69)

The Christians have a higher standing than the Sabaeans; therefore, when they were mentioned before the Sabaeans, the word “Sabaeans” appears in the accusative. Yet the Sabaeans are earlier in history, so in that other verse they are placed first, and the word comes in the nominative, being conjoined to the syntactic position rather than to the explicit governing term. This inversion hints that, despite their chronological priority, they rank lower in merit.

In Sūrat al-Ḥajj the Almighty lists the religions of the world, saying:

“Indeed, those who believe, those who are Jews, the Sabaeans, the Christians, the Magians, and the polytheists—God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection; surely God is Witness over all things.”
(Qur’an 22:17)

Here He simply states that He will decide between all religious communities, without specifying which of them will be commended in the Hereafter. In Sūrat al-Baqarah and Sūrat al-Māʾidah, however, He names four groups—the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabaeans—and then says:

“Whoever believes in God and the Last Day and acts righteously shall have their reward with their Lord; no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve.”
(Qur’an 2:62)

This shows that among those four groups there are people who truly believe in God and the Last Day and perform righteous deeds; such people will be blessed in the Hereafter. By contrast, those among them who lack that faith and righteousness—as well as all Magians and polytheists—are nowhere described as happy in the life to come.