His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Allah does not burden a soul except to its capacity. It has what it has gained, and upon it is what it has earned. Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or made a mistake. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us and forgive us and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."

His saying, exalted is He: "Allah does not burden a soul except to its capacity" is a definitive statement indicating that He does not burden the servants with acts of the heart and limbs except that which is within the capacity of the one burdened, and according to his understanding and constitution. With this, the distress of the Muslims regarding the interpretation of thoughts has been alleviated. Those who deny the permissibility of burdening with what cannot be borne have interpreted this verse to mean that He does not burden and has not burdened, and this is not explicitly stated in the verse, nor does the wording negate it. Therefore, disagreement is permissible.

This meaning that we have mentioned in this verse aligns with the meaning of His saying, exalted is He: "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship" [Al-Baqarah: 185], and His saying, exalted is He: "And He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty" [Al-Hajj: 78], and His saying, exalted is He: "So fear Allah as much as you are able" [At-Taghabun: 16].

People have differed regarding the permissibility of burdening with what cannot be borne in the rulings that are in this world after their agreement that it is not currently occurring in the Shari'ah, and that this verse has indicated its absence. Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari and a group of the theologians said: Burdening with what cannot be borne is permissible by reason, and that does not prohibit anything from the beliefs of the Shari'ah, and that would be a sign of the torment of the one burdened, and it is a decisive matter. This is considered in the burdening of the creator to form a hair according to the hadith.

Those who have spoken about its permissibility have differed: Did it occur in the message of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, or not? A group said: It occurred in the case of Abu Lahab, because he was judged with the destruction of his hands and the burning in the fire, and that indicates that he does not believe. The burden of the Shari'ah upon him is to believe, so it is as if he was burdened to believe, and that in his belief he does not believe, because if he believes, he must believe in the surah: "May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined" [Al-Masad: 1].

Another group said: It has never occurred, and His saying, exalted is He: "He will burn in a Fire" [Al-Masad: 3] means that if he persists in his disbelief.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: What cannot be borne is divided into categories. Some of it is impossible by reason, like combining opposites, and some of it is impossible by custom, like lifting a mountain by a person. Some of it is what cannot be borne because it is destructive, like burning in fire and the like. Some of it is what cannot be borne due to being occupied with something else, and this is only said about it: what cannot be borne in a very figurative sense.

'And "He imposes" extends to two objects, one of which is omitted, its estimation being: worship or something. And Ibn Abi Abla read: "except that it encompasses it" with the opening of the waw and the breaking of the seen. This involves a figurative expression, as it is inverted, and the proper wording is "except that it encompassed it," as He said: ﴿His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 255] and as He said: ﴿And His knowledge encompasses all things﴾ [Ta-Ha: 98]. However, this comes from the category of saying: I placed the turban on my head, and my mouth on the stone.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿To it belongs what it earns﴾ means from the good deeds, and ﴿And upon it is what it has earned﴾ means from the sins, as said by Al-Suddi and a group of the interpreters. There is no disagreement in that, and the thoughts and similar things are not from the earnings of a person. The expression in the good deeds came with "to it" because it is from what a person rejoices in earning and is pleased with, so it is added to his ownership. And it came in the sins with "upon it" because they are burdens and weights and difficult responsibilities. This is as you say: I have wealth, and I have a debt, and as the one who gives charity with the found item says: O Allah, for so-and-so, if he refuses, then it is for me and upon me. And the act of earning was repeated, so he differentiated between the two expressions for the sake of the style of speech as He said: ﴿So give respite to the disbelievers; delay them a little﴾ [Al-Takwir: 17]. This is one aspect, and what appears to me in this is that the good deeds are what is earned without effort, as the one who earns them is on the path of Allah's command and the outline of His law. And the sins are earned by the act of exaggeration, as the one who earns them exerts effort in transgressing the veil of Allah's prohibition, exalted is He, and goes beyond it to them. Thus, it is appropriate in the verse for both expressions to appear to secure this meaning.

And Al-Mahdawi and others said: It was said: The meaning of the verse is: No one is held accountable for the sin of another.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is correct in itself, but not from this verse.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us﴾ means: Say in your supplication.

And people differed in the meaning of His saying: ﴿We have forgotten or erred﴾ - Al-Tabari and others went to the view that forgetting means leaving, that is, if we left something from Your obedience, and that it is the intended error - they said: (And as for the forgetting that overwhelms a person, and the error that is due to striving, it is excused from the person, so he is not commanded in the supplication not to be held accountable for it.) And many scholars went to the view that the supplication in this verse is indeed for the overwhelming forgetting and the unintended error, and this is what is correct in my view.

Qatadah said in the interpretation of the verse: It has reached me that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, Allah has overlooked for my nation their forgetting and their errors." And Al-Suddi said: "When this verse was revealed and they said it, Gabriel said to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Allah has done that, O Muhammad.'" So the apparent meaning of their words is what I have confirmed, and that is that when the believers were relieved of what they feared in His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Allah will hold you accountable for it﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 284], they were commanded to supplicate for the removal of that type which is beyond the capacity of a person to remove, and that is in forgetting and error. And the burden is the weight, and what cannot be borne in its utmost forms.

This verse - according to this saying - indicates the permissibility of imposing what is unbearable. Therefore, the believers were commanded to pray that this difficult permissible matter does not occur.

The view of al-Tabari and al-Zajjaj is that imposing what is unbearable is not permissible. For them, forgetfulness is what is left of acts of obedience, and error is what is intended from disobedience. The burden (iṣr) refers to heavy acts of worship, such as the obligations of the Children of Israel, including killing themselves, mutilating their bodies, and punishing themselves for their sins as was written on their doors, and imposing upon them difficult covenants. What a person cannot bear is, for them, a concession, as when you say, 'I cannot bear the dispute with so-and-so,' and for other matters you find difficult, even if you can actually endure it. Or it may be that this is something we cannot bear because it is destructive to us, like the punishment of Hellfire and others. As for the term 'error,' it may come in intention and with effort.

Qatadah said: The burden (iṣr) is the covenant and the severe pledge. This was also said by Mujahid, Ibn Abbas, al-Suddi, Ibn Jurayj, al-Rabi', and Ibn Zayd. Al-‘Ata said: The burden (iṣr) is the transformation into monkeys and pigs. Ibn Zayd also said: The burden (iṣr) is the sin for which there is no expiation or repentance. Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The burden (iṣr) is the severe and difficult matter. The term 'aṣirah' in the language refers to the binding matter of a bond, kinship, or covenant, and similar things. All these expressions lean towards this meaning. The burden (iṣr) is the rope by which loads are tied and similar things. The term 'qidd' encompasses the arms of a man. It is said: 'Aṣara ya'ṣiru iṣran.' The burden (iṣr), with the hamzah broken, is from that. There is a view on this. It was narrated from Asim that he read: 'uṣran' with the hamzah pronounced.

There is no disagreement that 'those before us' refers to the Jews.

Al-Dahhak said: And the Christians.

As for the statements of the interpreters regarding His saying: 'Our Lord, and do not burden us with that which we have no power to bear,' Qatadah said: Do not make it difficult for us as You made it difficult for those before us. Al-Dahhak said: Do not impose upon us deeds that we cannot bear. Ibn Zayd said something similar. Ibn Jurayj said: Do not transform us into monkeys and pigs.

Salam ibn Sabur said: What we cannot bear is the excessive burden, and this was reported by al-Naqqash from Mujahid, al-‘Ata, and Makhlud. It was narrated that Abu al-Darda would say in his supplication: And I seek refuge with You from an excessive burden that has no count. Al-Suddi said: It is the severity and the burdens that were upon the Children of Israel from prohibitions.

Then He, the Exalted, said regarding what He commanded the believers: 'And pardon us,' meaning: for what we have committed and has been revealed, 'and forgive us,' meaning: cover for us what You have known of us, 'and have mercy on us,' meaning: bestow upon us a beginning of mercy from You.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

These are different avenues for supplication, although the intended purpose of each one of them is the same, which is entering Paradise.

'And You are our Protector' is praise that includes drawing closer to Him and gratitude for His blessings. A Protector is one who has authority, so it is a place of guardianship. Then the supplication concludes with a request for victory over the disbelievers, which is the essence of establishing the law, elevating the word, and providing a way to various acts of obedience.

It has been narrated that 'Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: Say: ﴿Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or made a mistake﴾. He said it, and Gabriel said: He has done so. Then he said: Say this and that, and he would say it, and Gabriel would say: He has done so until the end of the surah.' This meaning is supported by many hadiths.

It has been narrated from Mu'adh ibn Jabal that when he finished reciting this surah, he would say: Amen.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This implies that he narrated it from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. If that is the case, it is complete. If it is by analogy to the surah of Al-Fatiha, where there is a supplication, and here there is a supplication, then it is good.

Abu Mas'ud 'Uqbah ibn 'Amr narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: 'Whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah in a night, they will suffice him,' meaning from the night prayer. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'I do not think anyone who understands and comprehends Islam would sleep until he recites them.'

It has been narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'I was given these verses from the end of Surah Al-Baqarah from a treasure beneath the Throne, which no one was given before me.'

The Surah Al-Baqarah has been completed, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may Allah send blessings upon our master Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets.