How does the verse "And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another" reconcile with hadiths such as "Woe to the Arabs from an evil that has drawn near," and "We will perish if wickedness becomes widespread," and the story of rain not falling on the Children of Israel because of the disobedience of a single individual, knowing that Allah is Just?

The Prophet's ﷺ statement about the destruction befalling the Arabs is interpreted by some as meaning that since they were the first to embrace Islam, when trials occur, destruction would be swifter for them, as happened after the assassination of Uthman and the subsequent tribulations.

As for punishing the general populace for the sins of a select few, despite the Almighty’s saying: {And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another}, the response is that this verse pertains to worldly rulings, where people in the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah) would seek vengeance for a slain person from someone other than the perpetrator.

However, Allah Almighty's punishment in this world encompasses both the wrongdoer and the righteous, as stated in His saying: {And fear a trial which will not strike exclusively those who have wronged among you}, and Umm Salamah's question: "Shall we be destroyed while there are righteous people among us?" He replied: "Yes, if wickedness becomes widespread."

Destruction in this world can occur through proximity and the misfortune of association, as people will be resurrected according to their intentions, as in the Hadith of the army swallowed by the earth in al-Baydaa', where some of them were not truly part of that army, yet they will be resurrected according to their intentions.

Some scholars have interpreted this to mean a failure in the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil. If evil is committed openly, then everyone deserves punishment: the one who commits evil openly and the one who abandons forbidding it, except for the oppressed. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a means of salvation from divine punishments, as in the Almighty’s saying: {So when they forgot that by which they had been reminded, We saved those who forbade evil}.

The Prophet ﷺ gave an example of those upholding Allah’s boundaries and those transgressing them as people who drew lots for places on a ship. If they had left the one who wanted to make a hole in it, they would all have perished. But if they had stopped him, they all would have been saved.