Verse of Wizr
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | Qur'an 6:164 • Qur'an 17:15 • Qur'an 39:7 • Qur'an 35:18 • Qur'an 53:38 |
| Topic | Not bearing the burden of sins of others |
Verse of Wizr (Arabic: آية الوِزْر) or Verses of Wizr refers to the Quranic phrase "And no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another" (Arabic: وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ), according to which the responsibility for sins lies solely with the individual, and no one will bear the burden of another's sin. This verse demonstrates Divine Justice and the severity of punishment on the Day of Judgment. Muslim jurists have derived the Rule of Wizr from it, which is applied in various jurisprudential chapters. The law that one does not bear the burden of another's sins is considered a universal law communicated by all Prophets.
Based on the Verse of Wizr, exegetes believe that the immature children of polytheists and disbelievers will not be punished in the Hereafter. However, this law does not include the leaders of misguidance; because, in addition to their own personal sins, they bear the responsibility of misleading others.
No One Bears the Burden of Another
The Verse of Wizr or Verses of Wizr is a set of Quranic verses referring to the law or Divine Sunna that "no human bears the burden of sins of others."[1] According to this law, every individual is responsible for their own actions[2] and sees only the punishment of their own sins, not the sins of others.[3] This law is stated in Verse 164 of Sura al-An'am, Verse 15 of Sura al-Isra', Verse 7 of Sura al-Zumar, Verse 18 of Sura Fatir, and Verse 38 of Sura al-Najm.[4]
The Verse of Wizr appears in Suras al-An'am, al-Isra', Fatir, and al-Zumar as "wa-la taziru waziratun wizra ukhra" (And no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another), and in Sura al-Najm as "allā taziru waziratun wizra ukhra" (That no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another). It is said that these verses were revealed in response to those who encouraged others to commit sins and claimed they would bear the burden of their sins.[5]
According to Quranic exegeses, God has likened sin to a heavy load ("Wizr") in these verses because of its harmful consequences, which will be placed only on the shoulders of the sinner on the Day of Judgment;[6] therefore, asking close relatives to take on the sin is of no use to the person, because every human is entangled in their own deeds and forgets others.[7]
According to exegetes, the law of not bearing the burden of others' sins is one of the foundations of Islamic beliefs, demonstrating both Divine Justice and the severity of punishment on the Day of Judgment; since no one is willing to bear another's burden, it causes humans to be careful in their actions and not be influenced by the environment.[8] Exegetes consider these verses as proof that immature children of polytheists and disbelievers will not be punished in the Resurrection.[9]
In Tafsir Tasnim, Abd Allah Jawadi Amuli considers the law of not bearing others' sins as a subject that all Prophets communicated to people.[10] It is also stated in Al-Mizan that the Verse of Wizr expresses the same matter mentioned in the Scrolls of Abraham and Moses: that no human is polluted by or held accountable for the sins of other humans.[11] However, according to Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya in Al-Tafsir al-kashif, these verses are contrary to what appears in the Torah, as the Torah speaks of placing the sins of fathers upon the children.[12]
According to Mohsin Qara'ati in Tafsir-i nur, this law should not lead to the abandonment of Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, because silence in the face of wrong doings is itself a sin; but if there is resistance against enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, no sin will be attributed to the enjoiner or forbidder.[13]
Responsibility of Leaders of Misguidance
In some commentaries, the question is raised: if no sinner bears the burden of another's sin, then why do verses such as Verse 25 of Sura al-Nahl and Verse 13 of Sura al-'Ankabut state that the leaders of disbelief and misguidance bear the sins of their followers in addition to their own? Also, it is mentioned in some narrations that whoever establishes a good or bad tradition (Sunna) shares in the reward or sin of those who act upon that tradition.[14]
In response to this question, it is stated that without a connection and causality, one person's sin is not written for another; however, if an individual is the founder of a good or bad deed and plays a role in its performance through causality, they will share in its results, and the act is in a way attributed to them. Therefore, leaders of misguidance bear the sins of their followers because they caused the deviation of others and, in reality, committed the sin of misleading others.[15]
According to Allama Tabataba'i, the followers of the misguided cannot shift the burden of their sin onto their leaders either, and both groups will be punished.[16] Muhammad Ali Rida'i Isfahani in Tafsir-i Qur'an-i Mihr considers the law of not bearing others' sins to apply in cases where the individual had no involvement in the actions of others; but if someone creates a bad method or tradition or encourages others to do evil, they are partners in that act and will be punished.[17]
Documentation of the Rule of Wizr
The Rule of Wizr is derived from the Verses of Wizr.[18] Based on this rule, punishment applies only to the offender and does not extend to others.[19] Jurists have cited this rule in various jurisprudential discussions such as Hajj, Jihad, deposit (wadiʿa), Inheritance, testimonies, hudud, taʿzirat, Qisas, and blood money (diyat).[20] The Rule of Wizr is considered one of the main elements of punishment in Islam and an accepted axiom among the Shi'a and Sunni.[21] Citing verses 35 to 40 of Sura al-Najm, Sayyid Mustafa Muhaqqiq Damad claims that the Rule of Wizr was also among the written principles of divine religions prior to Islam[22] and is observed in the criminal law of Western countries as well.[23]
Notes
- ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Tasnīm, vol. 27, p. 653; Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr, vol. 17, p. 110.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 19, p. 386.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 633; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 7, p. 396, vol. 17, p. 35; Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 3, p. 293.
- ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 7, p. 182.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i drakhshān, vol. 13, p. 300.
- ↑ Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Tafsīr-i rāhnamā, vol. 15, p. 121; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 18, p. 224.
- ↑ Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Tafsīr-i rāhnamā, vol. 15, p. 121; Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 6, p. 284.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 18, p. 224; Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr, vol. 17, p. 110.
- ↑ Huwayzī, Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn, vol. 3, p. 144; Ṣādiqī Tihrānī, Al-Furqān, vol. 17, p. 103; Qummī Mashhadī, Kanz al-daqāʾiq, vol. 7, p. 371.
- ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Tasnīm, vol. 27, p. 653.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 46.
- ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 6, p. 284.
- ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 7, p. 488.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 6, p. 65.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 549; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 12, p. 51.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 13, p. 57.
- ↑ Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr, vol. 17, p. 110.
- ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, vol. 4, p. 160.
- ↑ Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 6, p.448.
- ↑ Mūʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 6, p. 448.
- ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, pp. 155-163.
- ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, p. 161.
- ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, p. 155.
References
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- Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Muḥammad. Anwār-i drakhshān dar tafsīr-i Qurʾān. Tehran, Nashr-i Luṭfī, 1380 AH.
- Huwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī b. Jumʿa al-. Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn. Qom, Ismāʿīliyyān, 1415 AH/1994-95.
- Jawādī Āmulī, ʿAbd Allāh. Tasnīm. Qom, Isrāʾ, 1393 Sh/2014-15.
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- Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif. Qom, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH/2003-04.
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