In my view, this answer is superior to the first; indeed, it is the position I consider preponderant.

Another response that has been put forward is that the first verse—“and that man shall have only what he strives for”—has been abrogated, because it belonged to the law of those who came before us. The Almighty says, “Has he not been informed of what is in the scrolls of Moses and of Abraham who fulfilled— that no bearer shall bear the burden of another, and that man shall have only what he strives for” (al-Najm 53:36-39). These verses merely relate what was in the scrolls of Moses and Abraham, whereas our own sacred law establishes that a person may benefit from the deeds of others; therefore, some claim, the earlier ruling was abrogated. This answer, however, is weak, and the preceding answer remains, in my judgment, the stronger one. Allah knows best.

Question: Could the word “descendants” here be limited to children who die before reaching puberty?

Answer: No. What is intended by “descendants” is offspring in general.

Exegesis of Sura al-Rahman

Question: What is the meaning of the Almighty’s words, “He let the two seas flow so that they meet; between them is a barrier they do not transgress” (al-Rahman 55:19-20)? And which two seas are meant in the verse?

Answer: “He let the two seas flow so that they meet” means that the two seas lie side by side; that is the sense of “they meet.”

The two seas are the fresh-water sea and the salt-water sea.

It has also been said that the intention is the Persian Gulf and the Roman Sea (the Mediterranean), where they meet in the ocean.

Accordingly, the two seas may be understood to be the fresh sea and the salt sea, without