Transliteration:( Laa yukalliful-laahu nafsan illaa wus'ahaa; lahaa maa kasabat wa 'alaihaa maktasabat; Rabbanaa laa tu'aakhiznaaa in naseenaaa aw akhtaanaa; Rabbanaa wa laa tahmil-'alainaaa isran kamaa hamaltahoo 'alal-lazeena min qablinaa; Rabbanaa wa laa tuhammilnaa maa laa taaqata lanaa bih; wa'fu 'annaa waghfir lanaa warhamnaa; Anta mawlaanaa fansurnaa 'alal qawmil kaafireen )
773.Allah Almighty does not place a burden upon anyone which he cannot bear. Thus He does not place obligation of Zakaat on the poor, Hajj on the helpless and Qiyaam (standing upright) in Salaah on the sick. From this blessed verse many laws are taken.
774.From this it is evident that one cannot perform physical obligations on behalf of another because the word 'to earn' refers to physical deeds. Nonetheless, rewards of deeds can be conveyed as this is not negated here.
775. When making dua in prayer it is better to call upon Allah Almighty or to call by His names as per your needs.
The sick should say. Oh the giver of cure of all ills .The needy should implore. Oh Purveyor of all needs The sinner should implore: Oh Forgiver of all sins" Because of our many needs. Allah's names too are just as many. However, "Oh Allah Oh our Lord are most beloved of these."
776. By heavy burden is meant things like seeking repentance by suicide, burning dirty clothes, cutting impure hides, severe punishment for transgressions etc which were placed upon the Yahud and others. From this it is clear that Almighty Allah wants to shower His blessings upon the Muslims, therefore He is showing them the ways of seeking them.
777. Do not place such difficult obligations upon us which will be hard to fulfil. It should be remembered that inconvenience is not given through impossible things, thus reference here is not made to these. Says Allah Almighty "Allah places not burden on any soul but to the extent of his strength." (S2:V286) or, do not afflict upon us such diseases, etc which we would not be able to endure patiently. In this verse all the calamities of this world are included.
778. Mention is earlier made concerning the forgiveness of minor sin. In "and pardon us" forgiveness of major sins is mentioned. In "And forgive us" future sins and the way to refrain from them as well as seeking guidance for doing good deeds are covered, while in "And have Mercy upon us" could be a further consideration given to the above matters. Thus there is no repetition in the verse.
285. The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) “We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers ـ and they say, “We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).” 286. Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. “Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Patron, Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.
The Hadiths on the Virtue of These Two Ayat, May Allah Benefit Us by Them Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allah said,
(Whoever recites the last two Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice for him.)
The rest of the six also recorded similar wording for this Hadith. The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith using various chains of narration, and Imam Ahmad also recorded it.
Muslim recorded that `Abdullah said, “When the Messenger of Allah went on the Isra journey, he ascended to the Sidrat Al-Muntaha in the sixth heaven, where whatever ascends from the earth ends at, and whatever descends from above it ends at.
(When that covered the lote tree which did cover it!) ﴿53:16﴾ meaning, a mat made of gold.
The Messenger of Allah was then given three things: the five prayers, the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah and forgiveness for whoever did not associate anything or anyone with Allah from his Ummah.”
Earlier we mentioned the Hadith regarding the virtues of Surat Al-Fatihah from Ibn `Abbas which stated, “While the Messenger of Allah was with Jibril , he heard a noise from above. Jibril lifted his sight to the sky and said, `This is a door that was opened just now in heaven, and it was never opened before.’ An angel came down through the door to the Prophet and said, `Receive the good news of two lights that you have been given and which no Prophet before you was given: the Opener of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah. You will not read a letter of them, but you will be granted its benefit.”’ This Hadith was collected by Muslim and An-Nasa’i, and this is the wording collected by An-Nasa’i.
Allah said,
(Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) “We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers.”)
Therefore, each of the believers believes that Allah is the One and Only and the Sustainer, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him and there is no Lord except Him. The believers also believe in all Allah’s Prophets and Messengers, in the Books that were revealed from heaven to the Messengers and Prophets, who are indeed the servants of Allah. Further, the believers do not differentiate between any of the Prophets, such as, believing in some of them and rejecting others. Rather, all of Allah’s Prophets and Messengers are, to the believers, truthful, righteous, and they were each guided to the path of righteousness, even when some of them bring what abrogates the Law of some others by Allah’s leave. Later on, the Law of Muhammad, the Final Prophet and Messenger from Allah, abrogated all the laws of the Prophets before him. So the Last Hour will commence while Muhammad’s Law remains the only valid Law, and all the while a group of his Ummah will always be on the path of truth, apparent and dominant. Allah’s statement,
(And they say, “We hear, and we obey”) means, we heard Your statement, O our Lord, comprehended and implemented it, and adhered to its implications.
((We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord) contains a plea and supplication for Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and kindness.
Allah’s statement,
(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope) means, Allah does not ask a soul what is beyond its ability. This only demonstrates Allah’s kindness, compassion and generosity towards His creation. This Ayah is the Ayah that abrogated the Ayah that worried the Companions, that is, Allah’s statement,
(And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it.)
This indicates that although Allah will question His servants and judge them, He will only punish for what one is able to protect himself from. As for what one cannot protect himself from, such as what one says to himself – or passing thoughts – they will not be punished for that. We should state here that to dislike the evil thoughts that cross one’s mind is a part of faith. Allah said next,
(He gets reward for that which he has earned) of good,
(And he is punished for that which he has earned) of evil, that is, concerning the acts that one is responsible for.
Allah then said, ﴿mentioning what the believers said﴾ while directing His servants to supplicate to Him, all the while promising them that He will answer their supplication:
(“Our Lord! Push us not if we forget or fall into error,”) meaning, “If we forgot an obligation or fell into a prohibition, or made an error while ignorant of its ruling.” We mentioned the Hadith by Abu Hurayrah, that Muslim collected, wherein Allah said, “I shall (accept your supplication).” There is also the Hadith by Ibn `Abbas that Allah said, “I did (accept your supplication).”
(Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians),) means, “Even if we were able to perform them, do not require us to perform the difficult deeds as You required the previous nations before us, such as the burdens that were placed on them. You sent Your Prophet Muhammad , the Prophet of mercy, to abrogate these burdens through the Law that You revealed to him, the Hanifi (Islamic Monotheism), easy religion.” Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said that Allah said, “I shall (accept your supplication).” Ibn `Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah said that Allah said, “I did (accept your supplication).” There is the Hadith recorded through various chains of narration that the Messenger of Allah said,
(I was sent with the easy Hanifiyyah way.)
(Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear) of obligations, hardships and afflictions, do not make us bear what we cannot bear of this.
(Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear.)
We mentioned that Allah said, “I shall (accept your supplication)” in one narration, and, “I did (accept your supplication),” in another narration.
(Pardon us) meaning, between us and You regarding what You know of our shortcomings and errors.
(And grant us forgiveness) concerning what is between us and Your servants. So do not expose our errors and evil deeds to them.
(Have mercy on us) in what will come thereafter. Therefore, do not allow us to fall into another error. They say that those who commit error need three things: Allah’s forgiveness for what is between Him and them, that He conceals these errors from His other servants, and thus does not expose them before the servants, and that He grants them immunity from further error.” We mentioned before that Allah answered these pleas, “I shall,” in one narration and, “I did,” in another narration.
(You are our Mawla) meaning, You are our supporter and helper, our trust is in You, You are sought for each and every type of help and our total reliance is on You. There is no power or strength except from You.
(And give us victory over the disbelieving people) those who rejected Your religion, denied Your Oneness, refused the Message of Your Prophet , worshipped other than You and associated others in Your worship. Give us victory and make us prevail above them in this and the Hereafter. Allah said, “I shall,” in one narration, and, “I did,” in the Hadith that Muslim collected from Ibn `Abbas.
Further, Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Ishaq said that whenever Mu`adh would finish reciting this Surah,
(And give us victory over the disbelieving people), he would say “Amin.”
338. Man’s answerability to God is limited by the extent of his ability. If a man does not have the ability to do a certain thing, God will not take him to task for not having performed it. In the same way, if it is really beyond a man’s ability to abstain from something, God will not blame him for having failed to abstain from it. It should be noted here that man will not be the final judge as to whether he had the ability to do something or not. Such judgement will be made by God alone.
339. This is the second fundamental principle of God’s law of retribution. Every man will be rewarded for the services he has rendered, none will be rewarded for services rendered by others. The same applies to punishment. It is the one who is guilty who will be punished. It is possible, however, that if a man has initiated either good or bad practices, they will continue to affect people’s lives. The resulting good and bad deeds of people will be reckoned either to their credit or against them, since they are clearly related to their efforts and actions. It is impossible, however, that a map should be either rewarded for an act of goodness or punished for an act of evil in which he has had no share – neither by intent nor practical action. The requital of acts is not transferable.
340. The prayer made here is that God should not subject them to the severe tests and the terrible persecutions and hardships undergone by their predecessors. It is God’s law that those who commit themselves to follow Truth and righteousness are subjected to severe tests and tribulations, and it is a believer’s duty to meet them with patience and fortitude. At the same time, the believer should always pray that God may make it easy for him to follow the path of Truth and righteousness.
341. Believers pray to God not to place upon them a burden beyond their capacity of endurance, and to subject them only to those tests from which they may emerge triumphant. May it not happen that the hardships are too much for them to bear, and that their feet falter and are turned away from the path of righteousness,
342. In order to appreciate fully the spirit of this prayer, one should remember that these verses were revealed on the occasion of the ascension of the Prophet, a year before his migration to Madina. At that time the struggle between Islam and unbelief had reached its climax. Not only in Makka, but throughout the Arabian peninsula, there was no place where the lives of those who wished to follow the religion of God had not been made extremely difficult. In these circumstances the Muslims were told in what manner they ought to pray to their Lord. It is obvious that if the bestower himself tells one how to present one’s request, the granting of the request becomes virtually assured. Hence, this prayer greatly strengthened the hearts of the Muslims. Moreover, this prayer implicitly taught the Muslims not to allow their feelings to flow along undesirable channels. They should instead mould them into a prayer to their Lord.
Think of the heart-rending cruelties to which the Muslims were subjected merely because of their devotion to Truth, and then turn to the contents of this prayer, where there is no trace of bitterness against the enemies. Consider the physical afflictions and material losses which the Muslims suffered, then note how this prayer does not contain the slightest hint of worldly ambition. Compare the wretchedness and misery of these devotees of Truth with the pure, exalted feelings with which this prayer is overflowing. This comparison will enable us to appreciate the nature of the spiritual and moral training provided to men of faith.
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