‘The unbelievers say to the believers: “Follow our way and we will carry the burden of your sins.” (They say so even though) they are not going to carry any part of their sins. Surely they are lying.’
(Al-Qur’ān – 29:12)
The Makkan unbelievers’ contention was that doctrines such as Life after Death, Resurrection, the Grand Assembly and Reckoning were all a farce. They also asserted that if the Afterlife did turn out to be a reality and people were indeed subjected to a Reckoning, then they would be ready to bear the burden of others’ sins. They asked the reverts to recant their faith and return to their ancestral one for they, the unbelievers, would assume all responsibility for the consequences that might ensue. Traditions mention several Quraysh chiefs saying the kind of things mentioned here to those who had reverted to Islam. For example, it is related that Abu Sufyan and HarbibnUmayyahibnKhalaf said the same to Umar when he embraced Islam.
First of all, it is out of question that anyone will bear the burden of others’ sins in the Hereafter, or that a sinner will be exonerated because some other person owns the latter’s sins. Instead, everyone will be recompensed in the Hereafter for their own deeds. The unbelievers will not carry the burden of others’ sins. At the same time, they will not escape receiving double punishment. Not only will they be punished for straying from the Truth, but they will also be taken to task for misleading others.