In the Name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
No soul will bear the burden of another. If a heavily laden soul should call upon others for help, nothing of its load shall be carried by anyone, not even by a close relative. Hence, you can truly warn only those who stand in awe of their Lord, even though He is beyond the reach of their perception, and attend regularly to prayers. Whoever purifies himself does so for his own benefit. With God is all journeys’ end.
The blind and the seeing are not equal; nor are darkness and light; nor the (cooling) shade and the scorching heat. (The Originator, Fatir, 35: 18-21)
The Surah now emphasizes individual responsibility, which means that everyone will have what they deserve. No one benefits anyone else in any way. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has no personal interest in guiding people to the truth. Everyone bears his or her own burden, alone, without help. Therefore a person who seeks to be pure will be the only one to benefit from this endeavor. The matter is ultimately left to God to determine: “No soul will bear the burden of another. If a heavily laden soul should call upon others for help, nothing of its load shall be carried by anyone, not even by a close relative.”
The fact of individual responsibility and reward has a decisive effect on morality and behavior. When people are fully aware that they are rewarded according to their own deeds, that none will be responsible for anyone else, and that none can escape responsibility, they realize the need to take stock of their actions before they have to answer for them. At the same time, this is reassuring, because no individual needs to worry about answering for the actions of his community. As long as he has done his duty, giving advice to his community to follow divine guidance, no further responsibility is laid on him. God Almighty does not hold mankind to account for their collective actions. They account to Him individually, each for their own work. It is the duty of the individual to advise others and try hard to bring them into line. Once he has done this, however, he bears no responsibility for their wickedness or corruption. He will be credited for his own good work. Similarly, if he lives in a good community, its goodness will not benefit him if he himself is wicked.
We see, then, an image of a multitude, each person carrying his or her own burden, with none able to help others. Even if someone requests help from the closest of relatives, none will oblige. It is thus a long queue, with people carrying loads and moving toward the checkpoint where the load will be weighed. Everyone is tired, preoccupied with the heaviness of their load, unable to think of others, even their own kin.
At this point, the Surah’s address is directed to the Prophet: “Hence, you can truly warn only those who stand in awe of their Lord, even though He is beyond the reach of their perception, and attend regularly to prayers.” It is such people that can really appreciate the warning: They are the ones who fear God even though they have not seen Him, and who attend to their worship so as to maintain relations with Him. The Prophet is told that these are the ones to benefit by admonition. Others, who have no fear of God, need not worry him.
“Whoever purifies himself does so for his own benefit.” No one receives the benefit of purification except the one who does it. Moreover, purification has pleasant and transparent connotations that apply to one’s heart, thoughts, feelings, behavior and attitudes. “With God is all journeys’ end.” He is the one who reckons people’s actions and rewards them accordingly. Nothing good or evil is overlooked.
Needless to say, with God belief and unbelief, good and evil, guidance and error cannot be treated on an equal basis. In the same way, blindness and sight, darkness and light, coolness and heat, life and death are unequal. All have essentially different qualities: “The blind and the seeing are not equal; nor are darkness and light; nor the (cooling) shade and the scorching heat; and neither are equal the living and the dead.”
There is a close link between the nature of unbelief and the nature of blindness, darkness, scorching heat and death, just as there is a contrasting link between the nature of belief and that of clear sight, light, cool shade and life.
Faith is a light that penetrates into the heart, the senses and perceptions so as to give a true assessment of things, values, events and how they interact. A believer looks at things in this light, which is God’s light, and determines how to approach and deal with them in an assured, confident way. Faith also provides a believer with a quality of sight that gives a clear picture of things that is neither hazy nor blurred. Furthermore, it provides a cooling shade in which a believer can take refuge from the burning heat of anxiety, doubt and worry. Faith is a light that touches hearts, feelings and purposes, and it is constructive action that never stops to build, allowing no waste.
By contrast, unbelief is blindness. It prevents people from seeing the evidence in support of faith and recognizing the true nature of the universe, its relations, values and events. It is also a darkness: When people move away from the light of faith, they fall into different types of darkness making it difficult for them to see things with any degree of accuracy. Furthermore, unbelief is a hot desert where burning doubts and worry over one’s origin and destiny compound to eventually lead the unbeliever to the fire of hell. Finally, unbelief is death because it separates the unbeliever from the true source of life, making him unable to interact in any way that promotes life. Each type has its distinctive nature, and its special reward. The two cannot be equal in God’s sight.
