ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ ﳇ ﳈ ﳉ ﳊ ﳋ ﳌ ﳍ ﳎ ﳏ ﳐ ﳑ ﳒ ﳓ ﳔ ﳕ
Say, "Is it other than Allah I should desire as a lord while He is the Lord of all things? And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ."
Tafsir
Verse range: 6:164
Some researchers have stated: It is not far-fetched to say the fronting is for exclusivity, and that by mentioning the rejection of their call toward "others," it refutes the exclusivity [of the divine lordship], alerting one to the fact that associating others is the very desire for someone other than Allah, the Exalted, for there is no desire for Him—Glorified be He—except through His monotheism, the Mighty and Majestic. What is contained in the Noble Arrangement is more eloquent than "Say, is it other than Allah that I worship" and the like, as is not hidden.
(And He is the Lord of all things) This is a circumstantial sentence that reinforces the negation; meaning: and the state is that everything besides Him is a created subject, so how can it be conceived that it should be a partner to Him?
(And every soul earns not [sin] except against itself) It is narrated that they used to say to the Muslims: "Follow our path, and we shall bear your sins." So, He refuted them with what He mentioned, meaning that whatever a soul earns of sins is borne by it, not by another, so that your claim might be valid. Based on this, His statement—Exalted is He—(And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another)—is a confirmation of what preceded it.
It has been said: Their statement carries two meanings. First: "Follow our path and let what you have committed of sins be written upon us, not upon you." Second: "Follow us, so that we may bear on the Day of Resurrection what was written upon you of sins." The statement of the Exalted, "And every soul earns not," is a refutation of the first meaning, and His statement, "And no bearer of burdens shall bear," is a refutation of the second meaning.
It is also said: The response to their statement is the second one, and the first is part of the response to their invitation to worship their gods; meaning: "If I were to answer your call to what you invite me to, I would not be excused by the fact that you preceded me in it, or that I did it in following and obeying you. That would not benefit me at all, nor would it save me from Allah, the Exalted, because the earning of every person and their deed is against themselves." Some have preferred this over the first view, because building [a new argument] is better than mere confirmation.
(Then to your Lord is your return) This is a shift in address, directing it to all [mankind] to emphasize the promise and intensify the warning; meaning: to the Owner of your affair is your return on the Day of Resurrection.
(Then He will inform you of that over which you used to differ) By clarifying truth from falsehood, and distinguishing the living from the dead.
