سورة فاطر

Ali ibn Ibrahim: وَ لا تَزِرُ وازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْری [And no bearer of burden bears the burden of another], meaning no sinner carries the sin of another, and the verse: وَ إِنْ تَدْعُ مُثْقَلَةٌ إِلی حِمْلِها لا یُحْمَلْ مِنْهُ شَیْءٌ وَ لَوْ کانَ ذا قُرْبی [And if one weighed down should call another to bear its load, nothing of it will be borne, even if he were a near kinsman], meaning no one's sin is borne by another, except one who commands it — in which case the commander and the commanded [both] bear it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The one whose burden is heavy, if he asks another — even one of his relatives such as father, son, mother or children — to help him lighten his load, they will not lift any burden from his shoulders at all, for everyone will be occupied with himself and will be saying "my soul, my soul!" Just as Allah says: "On the day when a man will flee from his brother * and his mother and his father * and his wife and his children * on that day every one of them will have a concern which will occupy him fully!" (Abasa/34-38)

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mufid in the book al-Irshad narrates from Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated that a pregnant woman who had committed adultery was brought to Umar. Umar ordered that the woman be stoned. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: "Granted that you have authority over this woman [to stone her for adultery], but what authority do you have over the child in her womb? While Allah the Exalted says: وَ لا تَزِرُ وازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْری [And no bearer of burden bears the burden of another]." So Umar said: "May I not live for a difficult matter in which Abu al-Hasan (Ali (peace be upon him)) is not present."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Fadl ibn Shadhan said: Ma'mun asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him) to write for him a brief summary of true Islam. The Imam (peace be upon him) wrote these matters: The actions of people are created by Allah with a creation of measuring out (taqdir), not a creation of bringing into being (takwin), and Allah is the Creator of everything, and one must not believe in jabr (predestination) or tafwid (delegation). Allah never seizes one who has not erred for the crime of the wrongdoer, and Allah does not punish children on account of the sins of their fathers. وَ لا تَزِرُ وازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْری [And no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another] and أَنْ لَیْسَ لِلْإِنْسانِ إِلَّا ما سَعی [And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for] (Najm/39).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Tha'laba ibn Yazid al-Himmani said: Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) wrote to Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan: "Now then, Allah sent down His Book to us and did not leave us in doubt, and there is no excuse for one who mounts the steed of sin in ignorance, and repentance is open, and no bearer of burden bears the burden of another. And you are among those who founded discord and persisted in the flood of hope, differing in secret and in open, out of desire for what is immediate of this world, and denied the long term of the hereafter — as though you have recalled what has issued from you and have found no way to return."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Al-Harawi said: I said to Imam Rida (peace be upon him): "O son of the Messenger of Allah! What do you say concerning a hadith which Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrated, that he said: 'When Hazrat Qa'im (peace be upon him) rises, he will kill the descendants of the killers of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) on account of the crime that their fathers and forefathers committed'?" Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "It is as Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said." I said: "Then what of the word of Allah the Glorified who says: وَ لا تَزِرُ وازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْری [And no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another]?" He said: "Allah speaks truly in all His statements. But the descendants of the killers of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) are pleased with the deed that their fathers and forefathers did and take pride in those deeds. And whoever is pleased with a deed is like one who has done it. If a man is killed in the east and a man in the west is pleased with this deed, he too will, with Allah, be a partner of the killer. Hazrat Qa'im (peace be upon him), when he rises, will kill them for the pleasure they take in the deed of their fathers." I said: "When your Qa'im rises, from which group will he first take vengeance?" He said: "From the tribe of Banu Shayba, for they are the thieves of the House of Allah."