Surah 35

Surah 35:18

"No one bearing a burden bears the burden of another. If one heavy-burdened calls for his load (to be carried), nothing of it will be carried, even though he be a family member. You warn only those who fear their Lord in the unseen, and (who) observe the prayer. Whoever purifies himself, only purifies (himself) for (the sake of) his own self. To God is the (final) destination."
Mankind is in need of Allah, and each Person will carry His own Burdens on the Day of Resurrection Verses 35:15-18
Show Full Scripture Context (35:15-18) — 4 Verses
Verse 15

۞يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ أَنتُمُ ٱلۡفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِۖ وَٱللَّهُ هُوَ ٱلۡغَنِيُّ ٱلۡحَمِيدُ

People! You are the ones in need of God, and God – He is the wealthy One, the Praiseworthy.

Verse 16

إِن يَشَأۡ يُذۡهِبۡكُمۡ وَيَأۡتِ بِخَلۡقٖ جَدِيدٖ

If He (so) pleases, He will do away with you and bring a new creation.

Verse 17

وَمَا ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٖ

That is no great matter for God.

Verse 18

وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٞ وِزۡرَ أُخۡرَىٰۚ وَإِن تَدۡعُ مُثۡقَلَةٌ إِلَىٰ حِمۡلِهَا لَا يُحۡمَلۡ مِنۡهُ شَيۡءٞ وَلَوۡ كَانَ ذَا قُرۡبَىٰٓۗ إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَأَقَامُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَۚ وَمَن تَزَكَّىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَتَزَكَّىٰ لِنَفۡسِهِۦۚ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ

No one bearing a burden bears the burden of another. If one heavy-burdened calls for his load (to be carried), nothing of it will be carried, even though he be a family member. You warn only those who fear their Lord in the unseen, and (who) observe the prayer. Whoever purifies himself, only purifies (himself) for (the sake of) his own self. To God is the (final) destination.

Allah tells us that He has no need of anyone or anything else, but all of creation is in need of Him and is in a position of humility before Him. He says:

“O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah.”

meaning, they need Him in all that they do, but He has no need of them at all. Allah says:

“But Allah is the Rich, Worthy of all praise.” meaning, He is unique in His being Free of all needs, and has no partner or associate, and He is Worthy of all praise in all that He does, says, decrees and legislates.

“If He willed, He could destroy you and bring about a new creation.”

means, if He wanted to, He could destroy you and bring forth another people, and this is not difficult or impossible for Him. He says:

“And that is not hard for Allah.”

Allah’s saying:

“And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden;”
means, on the Day of Resurrection.

“and if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load,”

means, if the person who is carrying a heavy burden calls someone else to help him carry his load, all or part of it,

“nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin.”
means, even if he is closely-related to him, even if he is his father or son, for each person will be preoccupied with his own self and his own situation.

Then Allah says:

“You can warn only those who fear their Lord unseen and perform the Salah.”

means, ‘the only ones who will draw a lesson from what you have brought are those who are possessed of insight and wisdom, who fear their Lord and who do as He commands.’

“And he who purifies himself, then he purifies only for the benefit of himself.”

means, who does righteous deeds, the benefit of that will come back to him.

“And to Allah is the Return.” means, to Him everything will ultimately return, and He is swift in bringing to account. He will reward or punish everyone according to his deeds: if they are good, then the end will be good, and if they are bad, then the end will be bad.

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.