people, who go so far as to consider it possible that He would punish someone for a minor sin despite his many great good deeds; or that, of two men who have both good and evil deeds, He would forgive one despite his many evil deeds and few good deeds, yet punish the other for a single sin despite his many good deeds, and give the former a higher rank in Paradise than the latter.

These people consider it possible that Allah would punish people without their having sinned, charge them with what they cannot bear, and punish them for failing to fulfil it. The Companions recoiled because they feared that the matter might be of this kind. They said: “We cannot bear this; if He charges us with what we cannot bear, He will punish us.” Allah thus set aside this supposition and made clear that He does not charge any soul beyond its capacity. He thereby exposed the falsehood of the claim that He charges a servant with what he cannot bear and punishes him for it. This view is not known to have been held by any of the early generations or the leading scholars. Rather, their statements contradict it. Indeed, Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah was asked about His words:

“Allah does not charge a soul beyond its capacity.”

He replied: “Only what it can bear with ease; He has not charged it to the utmost limit of its ability.”

Al-Baghawī said: “This is a sound interpretation, for capacity is less than the utmost one can bear.”

The former view was advanced only by a group of later scholars when they debated the Mu‘tazilah on questions of divine decree. They followed the path of determinism taken by Jahm and his followers, adopting this view in varying degrees. This has been discussed at length elsewhere.

Ibn al-Anbārī said concerning His words:

“And do not burden us with what we cannot bear”:

“That is, do not burden us with what would be difficult for us to fulfil, even if we could manage it through strenuous effort