Surah
Bani Israel (Children of Israel)
[aka. Al-Isra (the Ascension)]
Chapter 17: Verse 15
Translation:
He
who follows the right way shall do so to his own advantage;
and he who strays shall incur his own loss. No one shall carry
another’s burden. And never shall We punish any until
We send a Messenger.
Commentary:
It is obvious that if a man follows the right
way, he does no favour to God, or His prophet (peace be upon
him) or to those who seek to bring about reform. For his
righteousness will be to his own advantage.
Likewise, when he adopts a wrong course, or stubbornly clings
to it, he harms no one but himself.
Once the truth is convincingly placed before
a wise person, and falsehood is shown to be untrue, he should
not allow his biases or excessive concern for material interests
to deter him from following the truth and instead should
adopt a straightforward attitude to
it.
The statement ‘No one shall carry another’s
burden’ emphasizes that every man has been encumbered
with moral responsibility, that each person is accountable
to God in his personal capacity,
that no man has a co-sharer in this accountability. Hence,
a wise person should not be overly concerned with the actions
of others.
In the scheme of things relating to God’s
Judgement of man, the Messengers occupy a central position.
The Messengers constitute God’s
evidence which, at the end of the day, also
establishes man’s responsibility. For had not Messenger
been sent and no Message conveyed, there would be little justification
to hold men to account and to punish them.
Man’s responsibility is so grave that
he ought to remain wholly absorbed with the question: ‘What
will happen to me? How will God treat me?’
So far as others are concerned, God knows best as to how,
when and to what extent His Message reached each of them,
and how each of them responded to it, and why.
[Taken
from "Towards Understanding the Quran" by Abul Ala
Mawdudi, Vol. V, (Islamic Foundation, UK), pp. 29-30] |