Al-Qur'an Surah Fatir Verse 18

Mufti Taqi Usmani

No bearer will bear the burden of any other person. If a person carrying a heavy load calls (someone) to (share) his load, nothing from it shall be carried (by the latter), even though he be a near of kin. You can warn only those who fear their Lord, while He is unseen, and establish Salāh. Whoever gets purified gets purified for his own benefit. And to Allah is the final return.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

No soul burdened with sin will bear the burden of another. And if a sin-burdened soul cries for help with its burden, none of it will be carried—even by a close relative. You ˹O Prophet˺ can only warn those who stand in awe of their Lord without seeing Him[[ This can also mean that they are in awe of their Lord as much in private as they are in public. ]] and establish prayer. Whoever purifies themselves, they only do so for their own good. And to Allah is the final return.

Ruwwad Translation Center

No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. If a heavily-laden soul calls for help to bear its burden, nothing of it will be carried, even if he is a close relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and establish prayer. Whoever purifies himself, he only does so for his own benefit. To Allah is the final return.

A. J. Arberry

No soul laden bears the load of another; and if one heavy-burdened calls for its load to be carried, not a thing of it will be carried, though he be a near kinsman. Thou warnest only those who fear their Lord in the Unseen and perform the prayer; and whosoever purifies himself, purifies himself only for his own soul's good. To God is the homecoming.

Abdul Haleem

No burdened soul will bear the burden of another: even if a heavily laden soul should cry for help, none of its load will be carried, not even by a close relative. But you [Prophet] can only warn those who fear their Lord, though they cannot see Him, and keep up the prayer- whoever purifies himself does so for his own benefit–– everything returns to God.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And a bearer of burthen will not bear another's burthen, and if one heavy-laden calleth for his load, naught thereof will be borne although he be of kin. Thou canst warn only those who fear their Lord, unseen, and establish prayer. And whosoever becometh clean becometh clean only for himself; and Unto Allah is the return.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Nor can a bearer of burdens bear another's burdens if one heavily laden should call another to (bear) his load. Not the least portion of it can be carried (by the other). Even though he be nearly related. Thou canst but admonish such as fear their Lord unseen and establish regular Prayer. And whoever purifies himself does so for the benefit of his own soul; and the destination (of all) is to Allah.

Abul Ala Maududi

No one can bear another's burden. If a heavily laden one should call another to carry his load, none of it shall be carried by the other, even though he be a near of kin. (O Prophet), you can warn only those who fear their Lord without seeing Him and establish Prayer. Whoever purifies himself does so to his own good. To Allah is the final return.

Ahmed Ali

No one who carries a burden bears another's load; and even if the burdened soul cry out for help none will carry the least of its burden, however close a relative it may be. You can only warn those who fear their Lord in secret and fulfil their devotional obligations. Whoever grows in goodness does so for himself. To God is the journeying back.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And no burdened soul will carry another soul’s burden; and if a burdened soul calls another to share the burden, no one will carry any part of it, even if he is a close relative; O dear Prophet (Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), your warning only benefits those who fear their Lord without seeing and who keep the prayer established; and whoever cleansed himself, has cleansed for his own benefit; and towards Allah only is the return.

Ali Quli Qarai

No bearer shall bear another’s burden, and should someone heavily burdened call [another] to carry it, nothing of it will be carried [by anyone] even if he should be a near relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord in secret and maintain the prayer. Whoever purifies himself, purifies only for his own sake, and to Allah is the return.

Ali Ünal

And no soul, as bearer of burden, bears (and is made to bear) the burden of another; and if one weighed down by his burden calls to (another for help to) carry it, nothing of it will be carried by that other, even if he be his near of kin. You can warn (in a profitable way) only those who stand in awe of their Lord though unseen (beyond their perception), and establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions. And whoever is purified (of his wrong ideas or actions), is only purified for the good of his own soul. And to God is the homecoming.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And no soul that bears (its own) burden (of responsibility) can bear the burden of another. And if a soul heavily laden (with the weight of sins) calls to (be relieved of) its burden, not the least of its burden shall be borne (by the other) even though (it calls its) near kinsman. You can warn only those who hold their Lord in awe in the heart of their hearts and observe Prayer. And one who purifies oneself shall do it only for the good of one´s own soul, for to Allâh shall be the eternal return.

English Literal

And no sinner/loader/burdener (F) (self) carries/bears/sins (F) another`s sin/load/burden , and if she/it calls (a) burdened/loaded (F) (self) to (remove) her/its weight/load , nothing from it (will) be carried/lifted a thing, and even if it was/is (to) of relations , truly/indeed you warn/give notice (to) those who fear their Lord with the unseen/hidden and they kept up the prayers, and who purifies , so but he purifies to/for him self, and to God (is) the end/destination.

Faridul Haque

And no burdened soul will carry another soul’s burden; and if a burdened soul calls another to share the burden, no one will carry any part of it, even if he is a close relative; O dear Prophet (Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), your warning only benefits those who fear their Lord without seeing and who keep the prayer established; and whoever cleansed himself, has cleansed for his own benefit; and towards Allah only is the return.

Hamid S. Aziz

And this is not hard for Allah.

Hilali & Khan

And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden, and if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load, nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin. You (O Muhammad SAW) can warn only those who fear their Lord unseen, and perform As-Salat (IqamatasSalat). And he who purifies himself (from all kinds of sins), then he purifies only for the benefit of his ownself. And to Allah is the (final) Return (of all).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And this is not hard to Allah.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And a burdened soul cannot bear the burden of another and if one weighed down by burden should cry for (another to carry) its burden, not aught of it shall be carried, even though he be near of kin. You warn only those who fear their Lord in secret and keep up prayer; and whoever purifies himself, he purifies himself only for (the good of) his own soul; and to Allah is the eventual coming.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And no burdened soul can bear another's burden, and if one heavy laden crieth for (help with) his load, naught of it will be lifted even though he (unto whom he crieth) be of kin. Thou warnest only those who fear their Lord in secret, and have established worship. He who groweth (in goodness), groweth only for himself, (he cannot by his merit redeem others). Unto Allah is the journeying.

Muhammad Sarwar

No one will bear the burden of another. Even if an overburdened soul should ask another to bear a part of his burden, no one, not even a relative, will do so. (Muhammad), you can only warn those who have fear of their Lord without seeing Him and who are steadfast in prayer. Whoever purifies himself, does so for his own good. To God do all things return.

Qaribullah & Darwish

No laden soul shall bear another's load. If one is heavyburdened and calls for his load to be carried, nothing of it will be carried, not even if he is a close relative. You warn only those who fear their Lord in the Unseen, and establish the prayer. He who purifies himself, purifies himself for the good of his own soul. To Allah is the arrival.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden; and if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load, nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin. You can warn only those who fear their Lord unseen and perform the Salah. And he who purifies himself (from all kinds of sins), then he purifies only for the benefit of himself. And to Allah is the Return (of all).

Wahiduddin Khan

No burden-bearer shall bear another's burden, and if some over-laden soul should call out for someone else to carry his load, not the least portion of it will be borne for him, even though he were a near relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord in the unseen, and pray regularly. Anyone who purifies himself will benefit greatly from doing so. To God all shall return.

Talal Itani

No burdened soul can carry the burden of another. Even if one weighted down calls for help with its burden, nothing can be lifted from it, even if they were related. You are to warn those who fear their Lord inwardly, and perform the prayer. He who purifies himself purifies himself for his own good. To God is the ultimate return.

Tafsir jalalayn

And no burdened soul shall bear the burden of another [sinful soul]. And should one, soul, burdened heavily, with sin, call for, some of, its burden to be borne, by another, nothing of it will be borne, even if, the one called, be a relative, kin, such as a father or a son -- the impossibility of `having something borne [by another]' in both instances is something ordained by God. You can only warn those who fear their Lord in secret, in other words, those who fear Him despite not having seen Him, for they are the ones to benefit from the warning, and observe the prayer, maintain [performance of] it. For whoever purifies himself, cleansing himself of idolatry and other [similar abominations], is purifying himself only for [the sake of] his own soul, because the reforming of his self pertains to him. And to God is the [end of the] journeying, the return in the Hereafter when He will requite according to deeds.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى

And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden;

means, on the Day of Resurrection.

وَإِن تَدْعُ مُثْقَلَةٌ إِلَى حِمْلِهَا

and if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load,

means, if the person who is carrying a heavy burden calls someone else to help him carry his load, all or part of it,

لَاا يُحْمَلْ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى

nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin.

means, even if he is closely-related to him, even if he is his father or son, for each person will be preoccupied with his own self and his own situation.

Then Allah says;

إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالغَيْبِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَةَ

You can warn only those who fear their Lord unseen and perform the Salah.

means, `the only ones who will draw a lesson from what you have brought are those who are possessed of insight and wisdom, who fear their Lord and who do as He commands.'

وَمَن تَزَكَّى فَإِنَّمَا يَتَزَكَّى لِنَفْسِهِ

And he who purifies himself, then he purifies only for the benefit of himself.

means, who does righteous deeds, the benefit of that will come back to him,

وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ



And to Allah is the Return.

means, to Him everything will ultimately return, and He is swift in bringing to account. He will reward or punish everyone according to his deeds;if they are good, then the end will be good, and if they are bad, then the end will be bad