Is it permissible to be charged with what one cannot bear, and how can this be reconciled with the Almighty's saying: "Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity"?
Scholars are divided into two teams regarding the issue of ability and commissioning what is beyond one's capacity:
The First Team: Believes that ability is only present with the action, and that what is left undone is not due to inability, but rather because the place is occupied by its opposite, and this is beyond one's capacity. They cite the verse: "Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. And for them is a great punishment."
The Second Team: This is the view of the majority of the Sunnis, and they hold that ability is of two types: 1. Ability that is the basis of commissioning: This exists before the action and is measured by capability and the soundness of the faculties. Believers and disbelievers share in this type of ability. 2. Ability that is concurrent with the action: This relates to Allah's love and will, and Allah bestows it as a favor upon the believer, not the disbeliever. This is the capability that no creature can be described as possessing.
The second team believes that commissioning what is beyond one's capacity due to the servant's inability is not permissible. However, commissioning what is beyond one's capacity due to its being occupied by its opposite is permissible. They differed on whether to call the latter "commissioning what is beyond one's capacity," with some calling it so and others believing it does not fall under this category.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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