3الَّذي أَنقَضَ ظَهرَكَAli UnalWhich weighed so heavily on your back?1As pointed out in 33: 72, the supreme trust of selfhood (ego) is a great burden for each human being to carry; it is of such a weight that the heavens, the earth, and the mountains shrank from bearing it (see Appendix 14). It was God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, who felt this weight more than all other people. Moreover, as a Messenger of God, he had been sent a weighty word from God, i.e., the Qur’ān, Who charged him with conveying it to others (73: 5). This is such a weighty Word that, in the words of God, if by a Divine Discourse the mountains were to be set in motion, or the earth were to be cleft, or the dead be made to speak, all would do so by the Qur’ān – not by any other Divine or non-Divine word (13: 31). So, naturally, the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, should havenormally felt weighed down under such a burden. However, by expanding his breast and endowing him with the capacity to bear all hardships, and by helping him to carry out his mission, God eased him of this burden.