“Say, ‘Should I seek a lord other than Allah, when He is the Lord of all things? No soul earns anything except against itself, and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.’” (164)
“And He is the One who has made you successors on the earth and raised some of you above others in rank, so that He may test you through what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in punishment; yet He is surely All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (165)
Regarding His saying, exalted is He, “Say, ‘Should I seek a lord other than Allah?’” Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “A master and a god.” “When He is the Lord of all things”: this was because the disbelievers used to say to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, “Return to our religion.” Ibn ‘Abbas said: Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah used to say, “Follow my way, and I will bear your burdens for you.” So Allah, exalted is He, said: “No soul earns anything except against itself”—that is, no soul commits any sin except that its consequence is borne by the one who committed it. “And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another”: no soul shall carry the burden of another; that is, no one will be taken to account for another person’s sin. “Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.”
“And He is the One who has made you successors on the earth”: that is, He destroyed the peoples of past generations and made you, O community of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, inherit the earth after them. Thus, He made you their successors therein: you succeed them in it and cultivate it after them. The term khalā’if (successors) is the plural of khalīfah (successor), just as waṣā’if is the plural of waṣīfah (female attendant). Everyone who comes after one who has passed on is his successor, because he succeeds him.
“And raised some of you above others in rank”: that is, He made your circumstances differ, placing some of you above others in physical constitution, provision, livelihood, strength, and excellence. “So that He may test you through what He has given you”: so that He may test you regarding what He has provided for you—testing the wealthy and the poor, the noble and the lowly, the free person and the slave—so that what entails reward or punishment for each of you may become manifest. “Indeed, your Lord is swift in punishment,” because whatever is coming is swift and near. It was said that this refers to destruction in this world. “Yet He is surely All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” ‘Ata’ said: “He is swift in punishing His enemies, forgiving toward His devoted servants, and merciful to them.”