You are
responsible for what you did. You are not responsible for what somebody else
did. You will only be questioned for what you did. You are not liable for what
somebody else did.
In Christianity,
there is an original sin which was committed by somebody else; they attribute
it to Adam. According to Christianity, we are held responsible for what Adam
did tens of thousands of years ago. The sin was not committed for us, but by
Adam, and Christianity says that we are responsible for it. Who paid the price
for it? Not us [according to Christianity], but Jesus [‘Eesa]. This is contrary
to simple, common sense. Why should the innocent (Jesus) have to pay for what
human beings have done? That is contrary to Justice.
Allah will hold
us accountable for our actions. Allah says: “Whoever is guided is only guided
for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs only errs against it. And no
bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And never would We punish
until We sent a messenger.” (17:15)
You are not
doing anyone a favor by being Muslim; whoever is guided is guided for his own
good. When you go pray in the masjid, you are not doing anyone a favor. You
don’t do a favor to Allah when you obey him; it’s for your own good. At the
same time, if you go astray, it is your own loss.
The message of
accountability of one’s self is not something new that Muhammad sallallahu
‘alayhi wa sallam bought; it was the message of every prophet before, including
Jesus (‘Eesa) and Abraham, Nuh and Adam. Allah says: “Or has he not been
informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses. And [of] Abraham, who
fulfilled [his obligations] – That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of
another. And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives.
And that his effort is going to be seen – Then he will be recompensed for it
with the fullest recompense.” (53:36-41)
Contradiction?
When you read
some ayaat in Qur’aan, you might feel a sense of contradiction. For example,
Allah says: “But they will surely carry their [own] burdens and [other] burdens
along with their burdens [...]” This ayah sounds contradictory to what we were
saying about each person being accountable only for themselves. We get the
answer to this confusion in the same ayah: “[...] and they will surely be
questioned on the Day of Resurrection about what they used to invent.” (29:13)
They made up falsehoods and other people followed those falsehoods. Therefore,
they would carry the sins of everyone who followed their words. It’s true that
you carry your own sins, but you are also responsible for the sins you have
caused. That doesn’t mean that those people are free of burden; they carry
their sins as well. If you cause five sins, the people will be held accountable
for those five sins, and so will you.
As mentioned
before, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that the one who starts a
good tradition (sunnah) will get the reward for everyone who follows it until
the day of judgment, and whoever starts a bad tradition will get the sin for it
for everyone who follows it until the day of judgment. Therefore, the scholars
have said that it is much for a person to commit a sin in public, so that the
people may follow it, as opposed to doing it in private.
RasulAllah
sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “No human being is killed unjustly, but a
part of responsibility for the crime is laid on the first son of Adam who
invented the tradition of killing (murdering) on the earth. (It is said that he
was Qabil).” (Bukhaari, 9/83/6) [Also see Bukhaari, 9/92/423 and Muslim, 16,
4156]
