Q: Could Mufti Saheb please explain to me the actual meaning that we take from the ayat which means: "No bearer shall bear the burden of another".
The reason I ask is because I heard an Aalim say that we think that our aamaal only affect us but it's not right because when Nabi e Kareem صلى الله عليه وسلم went for Mi'raaj than it was seen that all aamaal of the people was going up and conditions according to it go down upon the people. Meaning, because of our aamaal, people in Syria are under distress but wouldn't that contradict the Ayat.
From what I understand, is that the aamaal go up and according to one's own aamaal a person will get benefit or harm no matter what the condition. Is this the right understanding and if it is, should I in a way of extreme hikmat explain to the Aaalim who is my dear Ustaad?
A: This aayat refers to the punishment of the Hereafter. The principle in regard to the Hereafter is that only the person who committed the sin will be punished for the sin. No other person will bear the punishment of the sin. This is the meaning of the aayat: "No bearer (of sin) shall bear the burden of another."
As far as the principle in this world is concerned, then when sins are committed openly and brazenly, and the people present do not correct the sin, then apart from the sinner being sinful for the wrong he has committed, the people present will also be sinful for not correcting the wrong which was carried out in their presence.
Thereafter, if sins are continuously perpetrated openly and brazenly, then at times, Allah Ta‘ala sends down punishment upon the people of that place. Generally, the pious servants of Allah Ta‘ala who reside in that place and forbid people from those sins are protected from the punishment. However, at times, when the wrong surpasses all bounds, then even the pious servants can become victims of the punishment (even though they will not be resurrected with the sinners and punished in the hereafter for those sins which they stopped people from committing).
As for the people who were not present in the place where sins were committed, then if they detested the sin, they will not be sinful and taken to account for the wrongs that took place in that gathering. Hence, to say that if a sin is committed in South Africa, then the people of China will be responsible for it, will not be correct.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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