Tafseer of The Star · An-Najm · 53:38
That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Others said: No, he fulfilled what he had seen in his dream concerning the slaughtering of his son. They said that His word أَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ("that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another") belongs to that which is placed later but whose meaning is to be placed first. They said: the meaning of the verse is: or has he not been informed of what is in the scriptures of Mūsā, that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another, and of what is in the scriptures of Ibrāhīm who fulfilled?
* Mention of who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِي صُحُفِ مُوسَى * وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى ("Or has he not been informed of what is in the scriptures of Mūsā, and of Ibrāhīm who fulfilled?"); he says: Ibrāhīm who made his obedience complete in what he did with his son when he saw the dream, and what is in the scriptures of Mūsā is أَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ("that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another") ... to the end of the verse.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Lahīʿa informed me, on the authority of Abū Ṣakhr, on the authority of al-Quraẓī — who was questioned about this verse وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى ("and of Ibrāhīm who fulfilled") — he said: he fulfilled by the slaughtering of his son.
Others said: no, the meaning of it is that he fulfilled toward his Lord all the ordinances of Islam.
* Mention of who said this:
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Shabawayh related to us, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Khārija ibn Muṣʿab related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: Islam consists of thirty parts. No one was tested with this religion who fulfilled it completely except Ibrāhīm. Allah said وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى ("and of Ibrāhīm who fulfilled"), and thus Allah decreed for him exemption from the Fire.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى ("and of Ibrāhīm who fulfilled"): what was imposed upon him.
Others said: he fulfilled by what has been transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the report that follows:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Rishdīn ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: Ziyān ibn Fāʾid related to me, on the authority of Sahl ibn Muʿādh, on the authority of Anas, on the authority of his father, he said: the Prophet ﷺ said: "Shall I not tell you why Allah named Ibrāhīm, His intimate friend, 'the one who fulfilled'? Because every time he entered upon the morning and the evening he said: فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ حِينَ تُمْسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصْبِحُونَ ("So glory be to Allah when you enter the evening and when you enter the morning") until he completed the verse."
Others said: no, he fulfilled toward his Lord the work of his day.
* Mention of who said this:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr, on the authority of al-Qāsim, on the authority of Abū Umāma, he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said concerning وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى ("and of Ibrāhīm who fulfilled"): "Do you know what he fulfilled?" They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "He fulfilled the work of his day: four rakaʿāt during the day."
The most correct of the statements on this is the statement of the one who said: he fulfilled all the ordinances of Islam and everything in which he was commanded to obedience, for Allah, exalted is His mention, has reported about him that he fulfilled, and thus He made the report about his complete fulfillment of all obedience general, and did not specify one part to the exclusion of another part.
If someone were to say: but He specified that precisely by His word, so he fulfilled أَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ("that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another") — then that belongs to what Allah, exalted is His praise, has reported is found in the scriptures of Mūsā and Ibrāhīm, not to that with which the report that he fulfilled was specified. As for the fulfillment, it applies in general. And if the two reports that we have mentioned — or one of them — were sound from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, we would not abandon their statement for another; but in their isnād (chain of transmission) there is a defect on account of which one must be cautious with it.
And His word أَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ("that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another"): the portion of His word أَلا تَزِرُ ("that she shall not bear"), according to the interpretation we have given, is in the genitive position, referring back to the "what" (mā) in His word أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِي صُحُفِ مُوسَى ("Or has he not been informed of what is in the scriptures of Mūsā"). He means by His word أَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى: another soul; no, every sinful soul bears only its own sin upon itself.
We have already set forth the explanation of that, with the differences of the scholars concerning it, earlier.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the interpreters have spoken.
* Mention of who said this:
Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd al-Muḥāribī related to us, saying: Abū Mālik al-Janbī related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid related to us, on the authority of Abū Mālik al-Ghifārī, concerning His word أَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى * وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلإنْسَانِ إِلا مَا سَعَى ("that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another, and that man shall have nothing but that for which he has striven") up to His word مِنَ النُّذُرِ الأُولَى ("of the former warnings"), he said: this is in the scriptures of Ibrāhīm and Mūsā.
And by His word أَلا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ("that no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another") was meant the one who had guaranteed to al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra that he would bear on his behalf the punishment of Allah on the Day of Resurrection. He says: has the one who made this statement and gave this guarantee not been informed of what is written in the scriptures of Mūsā and Ibrāhīm: that no sinful soul shall take upon itself the sin of another sinful soul?
