17:15


Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever goes astray goes but astray to his own hurt; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden. 19 Moreover. We would never chastise [any community for the wrong they may do] ere We have sent an apostle [to them]. 20



35 Al-Fatir (The Originator)

Mecca Period 43



35:18 AND NO BEARER of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden; 15 and if one weighed down by his load calls upon [another] to help him carry it, nothing thereof may be carried [by that other], even if it he one's near of kin." Hence, thou canst [truly] warn only those who stand in awe of their Sustainer although He is beyond the reach of their perception, 17 and are constant in prayer, and [know that] whoever grows in purity, attains to purity but for the good of his own self, and (that] with God is all

journeys' end.

[[Asad’s note - 1 5 I.e., on Judgment Day - for "whatever [wrongj any human being commits rests upon him alone" (6:164, which is followed by a sentence identical with the one above). ]]



وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى...

35:18. Nor can a bearer of burdens bear another's burden.

C3900. Bearer: hamilatun: feminine in Arabic, as referring to the soul (nafs), as in 6:164.

... وَإِن تَدْعُ مُثْقَلَةٌ إِلَى حِمْلِهَا لَا يُحْمَلْ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى...

If one heavily laden should call another to (bear) his load, not the least portion of it can be carried (by the other), even though he be nearly related.

C3901. Natural relationship may be considered as a reasonable cause or opportunity for bearing each other's burdens. For example, a mother or a father might offer to die for her or his child, and vice versa. But this does not apply to spiritual matters. There the responsibility is strictly personal and cannot be transferred to another.

In 29:13 we are told that the misleaders "will bear other burdens along with their own"; but the context shows that the "other" burdens are the burdens of deluding others with their falsehoods. Both sins are their own, viz., their original sin, and the sin of deluding the others. But the responsibility will be doubled.

... إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالغَيْبِ ...

Thou canst but admonish such as fear their Lord unseen

C3902. Bil-gaibi: unseen in the adverbial sense.

The man, who, though he does not see Allah, so realises Allah's Presence in himself as if he saw Him, is the man of genuine Faith, and for him Allah's Revelation comes through many channels and is always fruitful.

... وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ...

and establish regular Prayer

C3903. Prayer is one of the means of purifying ourselves of lower motives in life, for in prayer we seek the Presence of Allah.

... وَمَن تَزَكَّى فَإِنَّمَا يَتَزَكَّى لِنَفْسِهِ ...

and whoever purifies himself does so for the benefit of his own soul;

But the purity which we seek is for our own souls: we confer no favour on Allah or on any Power in the spiritual world, as some imagine who make "gifts" to Allah. In any case the destination of all is to Allah.

... وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿١٨﴾

and the destination (of all) is to Allah.





39 Az-Zumar (The Throngs)

Mecca Period 59 [75 verses]


39:7 [Asad] If you are ingrate" - behold, God has no need of you; none the less, He does not approve of ingratitude in His servants: whereas, if you show gratitude, He approves it in you. And no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden. 12 In time, unto your Sustainer you all must return, and then He will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]: for, verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].


إِن تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنكُمْ...

39:7 [Ali] It ye reject (Allah), truly Allah has no need of you;

... وَلَا يَرْضَى لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ...

but He liketh not ingratitude from His servants:

... وَإِن تَشْكُرُوا يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ...

if ye are grateful, He is pleased with you.

... وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى...

No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another.

C4255. Cf. 6:164.

The account is between you and Allah. No one else can take your burdens or carry your sins. Vicarious atonement would be unjust.

... ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّكُم مَّرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ...

In the end, to your Lord is your return, when He will tell you the truth of all that ye did (in this life).

... إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ ﴿٧﴾

For He knoweth well all that is in (men's) hearts.


[[Asad’s notes: -

12 This statement occurs in the Qur'an five times in exactly the same formulation (apart from the above instance, in 6:164, 17:15, 35:18 and 53:38 - this last being the earliest in the chronology of revelation). In the present instance, it contains an allusion to (and rejection of) the Christian doctrine of "vicarious atonment" and, indirectly, to the worship of saints, etc., spoken of in verse 3 above and referred to in note 1 . (See also note 3 1 on 53 :38.) ]]




53 An-Najm (The Unfolding)

Mecca Period [23]


Asad’s version

53:35 Does he [claim to) have knowledge of something that is beyond the reach of human

perception, so that he can see [it clearly]? 29

(53:36) Or has he never yet been told of what was [said) in the revelations of Moses,

(53:37) and of Abraham, who to his trust was true: 30 that no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden; 31



(53:39) and that nought shall be accounted unto man but what he is striving for; 32

(53:40) and that in time [the nature of] all his striving will be shown [to him in its true light], 33

(53:41) whereupon he shall be requited for it with the fullest requital;


Ali’s version and the Arabic text




أَعِندَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَى ﴿٣٥﴾

35.  What!

has he knowledge of the Unseen so that he can see?

C5109. 'So that he can see what will happen in the Hereafter': for no bargains can be struck about matters unknown.

أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِي صُحُفِ مُوسَى ﴿٣٦﴾

36.  Nay, is he not acquainted with what is in the books of Moses --

C5110. Books of Moses: apparently not the Pentateuch, in the Torah, but some other book or books now lost. For example, the Book of the Wars of Jehovah is referred to in the Old Testament (Num. 21:14) but is now lost. The present Pentateuch has no clear message at all of a Life to come.

وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ ...

37.  And of Abraham

C5111. No original Book of Abraham is now extant. But a book called "The Testament of Abraham" has come down to us, which seems to be a Greek translation of a Hebrew original. See n. 6094 to 87:19, where the Books of Moses and Abraham are again mentioned together.

... الَّذِي وَفَّى ﴿٣٧﴾

who fulfilled his engagements? --

C5112. One of the titles of Abraham is Hanif, the True in Faith.

Cf. 16:120, 123.

أَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ﴿٣٨﴾

38.  Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another;

C5113. Here follows a series of eleven aphorisms.

There can be no vicarious atonement.

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى ﴿٣٩﴾

39.  That man can have nothing but what he strives for;

وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى ﴿٤٠﴾

40.  That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight;

C5114. The second and third aphorisms are that

ثُمَّ يُجْزَاهُ الْجَزَاء الْأَوْفَى ﴿٤١﴾

41.  Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete;




[[Asad’s notes - 29 I.e., "How can he be so sure that there is no life in the hereafter, and no judgment?"


30 Cf. 2:124 and the corresponding note 100. It is obvious that the names of Abraham and Moses are cited here only by way of example, drawing attention to the fact that all through human history God has entrusted His elect, the prophets, with the task of conveying certain unchangeable ethical truths to man.


31 This basic ethical law appears in the Qur'an five times - in 6:164, 17:15, 35:18, 39:7, as well as in the above instance, which is the oldest in the chronology of revelation. Its implication is threefold: firstly, it expresses a categorical rejection of the Christian doctrine of the "original sin" with which every human being is allegedly burdened from birth: secondly, it refutes the idea that a person's sins could be "atoned for" by a saint's or a prophet's redemptive sacrifice (as evidenced, for instance, in the Christian doctrine of Jesus' vicarious atonement for mankind's sinfulness, or in the earlier, Persian doctrine of man's vicarious redemption by Mithras); and, thirdly, it denies, by implication, the possibility of any "mediation" between the sinner and God.


32 Cf. the basic, extremely well-authenticated saying of the Prophet, "Actions will be [judged] only according to the conscious intentions [which prompted them] ; and unto everyone will be accounted only what he consciously intended", i.e., while doing whatever he did. This Tradition is quoted by Bukhari in seven places the first one as a kind of introduction to his Sahi~ - as well as by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abn Da'ud, Nasa'i (in four places), Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal, and several other compilations.

In this connection it is to be noted that in the ethics of the Qur'an, the term "action" ('amal) comprises also a deliberate omission of actions, whether good or bad, as well as a deliberate voicing of beliefs, both righteous and sinful: in short, everything that man consciously aims at and expresses by word or deed.


33 Lit., "his striving will be seen", i.e., on the Day of Judgment, when - as the Qur'an states in many places - God "will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]". ]]