in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so have the believers. Each has believed in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers: “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord; to You is the final return.”’ When they did so, Allah abrogated it and revealed:

‘Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity. It shall have the good it has earned and bear the evil it has incurred. Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or make a mistake.’ He said: ‘Yes.’

‘Our Lord, do not lay upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us.’ He said: ‘Yes.’

‘Our Lord, do not burden us with what we have no strength to bear.’ He said: ‘Yes.’

‘Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy upon us. You are our Protector, so grant us victory over the disbelieving people.’ He said: ‘Yes.’”

Sa'īd ibn Jubayr narrated a report to the same effect from Ibn 'Abbās, with the words, “I have done so, I have done so,” in place of “Yes.”

For this reason, many of the early and later scholars said that it was abrogated by His words, “Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.” This was reported from Ibn Mas'ūd, Abū Hurayrah, Ibn 'Umar, Ibn 'Abbās—in one report from him—al-Hasan, al-Sha'bī, Ibn Sīrīn, Sa'īd ibn Jubayr, Qatādah, 'Atā' al-Khurāsānī, al-Suddī, Muhammad ibn Ka'b, Muqātil, al-Kalbī, and Ibn Zayd.

Others were reported to have said that it was not abrogated; rather, it remains applicable to accountability in general: He takes to task whom He wills and forgives whom He wills. This was reported from Ibn 'Umar and al-Hasan