The Quran

164

Preface

قُل أَغَيرَ اللَّهِ أَبغي رَبًّا وَهُوَ رَبُّ كُلِّ شَيءٍ ۚ وَلا تَكسِبُ كُلُّ نَفسٍ إِلّا عَلَيها ۚ وَلا تَزِرُ وازِرَةٌ وِزرَ أُخرىٰ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلىٰ رَبِّكُم مَرجِعُكُم فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِما كُنتُم فيهِ تَختَلِفونَ

Yusuf Ali

Say: “Shall I seek for (my) Cherisher other than God, when He is the Cherisher of all things (that exist)? Every soul draws the meed of its acts on none¹ but itself: no bearer of burdens can bear of burdens can bear the burden of another. Your goal in the end is towards God. He will tell you the truth of the things wherein ye disputed.”

The doctrine of personal responsibility again. We are fully responsible for our acts ourselves, we cannot transfer the consequences to someone else. Nor can anyone vicariously atone for our sins. If people have honest doubts or differences about important questions of religion, they should not start futile disputes. All will be clear in the end. Our duty here is to maintain unity and discipline, and do the duty that comes to us (Cf. 16:25, 35:18, and 53:38-40).