لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ﴿۱۶۳﴾ قُلْ أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْغِي رَبًّا وَهُوَ رَبُّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَلَا تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ إِلَّا عَلَيْهَا وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ ﴿۱۶۴﴾ وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ الْأَرْضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيعُ الْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ﴿۱۶۵﴾

﴾163﴿ Laa shareeka lahoo wa bizaalika umirtu wa ana awwalul muslimeen
﴾164﴿ Qul aghairal laahi abghee Rabbanw wa Huwa Rabbu kulli shaiyy'; wa laa taksibu kullu nafsin illaa 'alaihaa; wa laa taziru waaziratunw wizra ukhraa; summa ilaa Rabbikum marji'ukum fa yunabbi'ukum bimaa kuntum feehi takhtalifoon
﴾165﴿ Wa Huwal lazee ja'alakum khalaaa'ifal ardi wa rafa'a ba'dakum fawqa ba'din darajaatil liyabluwakum fee maaa aataakum; inna Rabbaka saree'ul 'iqaabi wa innahoo la Ghafoorur Raheem

﴾163﴿ There is no partner of him and I have become with this ruling and I am the first of the people of monotheism
﴾164﴿ Say: Do I seek a Lord other than Allah, the Most High, and He is the Lord of everything, and he does not do the deed (bad deed) of anyone unless it is harmful to him, and one sinner does not bear the burden of another then to your Lord is your return, so let him inform you of what you differed in
﴾165﴿ And it is special to Allah Almighty that He made you prosperous (one after another) on earth and raised some of you above others in degrees (in knowledge and wealth) to test you in what He has given you, indeed your Lord is quick to punish (the disobedient) and indeed He is Forgiving, Merciful

[163] Denial of both doctrinal and practical shirk is intended.
(وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ) – "And I am the first of the Muslims": Every prophet is the first Muslim in his own nation.
Saying this phrase specifically belongs to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
For the followers (non-prophets), it is not appropriate to recite this exact phrase when reading the Qur'an; rather, they should say "وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ" – "and I am among the Muslims," as has been mentioned in some narrations.
[164] This is another method of teaching and answers three questions:
First question: Can anyone besides Allah the Exalted be the manager of the universe, like the idea of a Qutb (spiritual pole)?
Answer: Allah the Exalted is the Lord and manager of everything; therefore, there is no need for any other manager.
Second question: If someone says that with this belief, a person cannot be sinful?
Answer: (وَلَا تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ) – "No soul earns [evil] but against itself": The meaning of 'earn' here refers to sin, such as associating partners with Allah the Exalted (shirk), which is not forgiven. Rather, the sin of shirk necessarily falls upon the one who commits it.
Third question: If someone says, “I will take the sin of this act upon myself, but you go ahead and do it”?
Answer: (وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى) – "No bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another."
Question: If no one can carry another’s sin, then why was the word وَازِرَةٌ (sin-bearer) specifically used?
Answer: Because those who spread such doubts are always وَازِرَةٌ (sinners), hence it was specified, even though the ruling is general.
And the answer to such a question is also mentioned in verse 12 of Surah Al-‘Ankabūt:
(ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ) – "Then to your Lord [is your return]": This is a warning of the Hereafter.
(فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ) – "Then He will inform you": Here, 'informing' refers to judging between the truth-followers and the false-followers and giving them reward or punishment accordingly.
[165] This is an encouragement to act upon the commands of this Surah and a confirmation of the Lordship (Rubūbiyyah) of Allah the Exalted, as mentioned in the previous verses.
(خَلَائِفَ) – Sijistānī said that it means residents who succeed one another as deputies. Sharbīnī said that this describes the last nation (Ummah) because the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) is the Seal of the Prophets, so his Ummah is also the successor of all previous nations.
(وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ) – This answers the question: Since everyone possesses the qualities of a vicegerent (khalīfah), shouldn’t all be equal?
Answer: The response is that they have been made different: some are intelligent, some ignorant; some wealthy, some poor; some are owners, others owned. This is all for the purpose of testing you. The goal of this test is to recognize the Oneness (Tawḥīd) of Allah the Exalted and to distinguish between those who are grateful for these blessings and those who are ungrateful.
(فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ) – What is meant by this is all the qualities and conditions a person is given: the wealthy are tested with their wealth, the poor with their poverty, the beautiful with their beauty, the unattractive with their condition, the knowledgeable with their knowledge, and the ignorant with their ignorance.
(إِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيعُ الْعِقَابِ) – This is a warning to those who are ungrateful for these blessings and to those who do not act upon this Surah.
(وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ) – This is a glad tiding for those who are grateful for these blessings and for those who act upon this Surah.