Responsibility in the Qur’anic Discourse and Its Impact on Individual and Societal Awareness

Abstract

Abstract:

          Responsibility in Islam is a fundamental concept based on assigning individuals tasks entrusted to them by Islamic law—whether personal or collective—on account of their honored and rational human nature. Anyone granted authority over something becomes accountable for it before God and people.

Individual responsibility manifests in a person being accountable for themselves: their body, limbs, intellect, words, actions, and even the hidden contents of the heart, such as hatred and envy. This is a personal responsibility in which no one shares; if the individual does well, they are rewarded, and if they do wrong, they are liable for punishment. The intellect is the basis for this responsibility; when the intellect is lost, the obligation ceases.

The Qur’an establishes this divine concept by linking responsibility to the purposes of creation: honor, freedom, intellect, and the sending of messengers. Whoever possesses these faculties is obligated to carry the trust of responsibility—unless the intellect is lost, which is known as the suspension of accountability.

Responsibility involves effort and obligation; it is not assigned to trivial matters but rather to what brings benefit and burden, such as enjoining good, forbidding evil, spending in charity, giving advice, restoring rights, and speaking the truth. It can either be a voluntary commitment, accepted by choice—as in the case of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him, when he assumed control over the storehouses—or a legal obligation imposed on the responsible individual, such as providing for one’s wife and children or repaying debts.

In essence, responsibility expresses a deep awareness of religious duty. It is a pillar for the reform of individuals and society and a means to fulfill the objectives of Islamic law in establishing justice and preserving rights.