• God of all is only One

• Pride and the proud ones detested by God

• The disbelievers shall bear their own burden and also the burden of those whom they lead astray

An-Nahl (The Bee) Verses 22 – 25

إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مُنْكِرَةٌ وَهُمْ مُسْتَكْبِرُونَ

Your God is One God; and those who believe not in the hereafter, their hearts are repulsive (against the truth1), and they are men of pride.2(16:22)

لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ

Certainly it is that God knoweth what they hide and what they express; Verily He loveth not the proud ones. (16:23)

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ مَاذَا أَنْزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

And when it is said unto them: “What is it that your Lord hath sent down?” Say they (Nothing but the) legends of the ancients,” (16:24)

لِيَحْمِلُوا أَوْزَارَهُمْ كَامِلَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمِنْ أَوْزَارِ الَّذِينَ يُضِلُّونَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ أَلَا سَاءَ مَا يَزِرُونَ

That they may bear their burden entirely on the Day of Judgment and also of the burdens of those whom they led astray without knowledge; Behold! Evil is it what they bear! (16:25)

Commentary

Verse 25

Those who mislead others shall bear not only the burden of their own sins but also the sins of all those misled by them without diminishing anything from the punishment of the followers. Similarly, those who guide others aright shall have the reward not only for their own goodness but also for the goodness spread by them among those who follow them, without prejudice or any detriment to the rights of the followers for their own rewards.

The Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq commanded ‘Associate ye not yourselves with the wicked and even sit ye not with them, for with God, ye may be counted as one of them.’ The Holy Prophet said: ‘Man is greatly influenced and moulded in character and conduct by his immediate environment specially by those with whom he associates himself.’ The Fourth Holy Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali al-Baqir said: ‘Abstain ye from the society of the sinners and their neighbourhood or vicinity and keep yourselves away from helping the iniquitous and the aggressive ones’

• 1. Perverse.
• 2. Arrogant.