Manslaughter has several degrees of seriousness depending on the victim, as exemplified through the story of Adam's 2 sons, whom the Quran does not name as it eloquently and concisely draws its audience's attention to the story's core precepts without distracting it with names of persons and places
5:27"And relate to them the story of the two sons of Adam with truth".
It is interesting to note the repetitve stress on re-establishment of the truth, most often when the Quran recounts an incident already known for long by its addressees but transmitted in a convoluted and/or purposefully obscured manner.
As will be shown below, the Quran sheds light on at least 2 crucial events within the whole narrative that are strikingly absent from the HB. These details have important implications and ramifications not only for the protagonists but for all mankind; the reason for the rejection of one brother's offering, derogatorily referred to with al akhar. It means "remaining", he remains after first introducing the virtuous brother. The word also creates a kind of disdain and distancing between the sinful character and the audience/reader. The second issue the Quranic narrative tacles is the killing of the other brother, how it was unjustifiable from every possible angle.
For brevity's sake, the 2 brothers will be given their Biblical names.
Abel first sought reforming his brother. He pointed that the offering was rejected due to his sinfulness or lack of piety (the divine approval/disapproval might have manifested itself through inspiration, either to Abel or his father the prophet Adam). He should thus focus on his inner self, reassessing his spirituality and mend his ways instead of being envious 5:27. The nature of the offering in itself is not important, so long as it is done with sincerity and God-consciousness, hence the Quran's silence on the things both brothers offered
22:37"There does not reach Allah their flesh nor their blood, but to Him is acceptable the guarding (against evil) on your part; thus has He made them subservient to you, that you may magnify Allah because He has guided you aright; and give good news to those who do good (to others)".
This is a major point driven through by the Quran. In the HB, God disdainfully rejects Cain's offering for no other reason that
Gen4:3"Cain brought the fruit of the soil"
while Abel
"brought the firstborn of his flocks and the fattest, and the Lord turned to Abel and to his offering"
This sacrificial rite is no more than a symbol of a conscious, selfless offering in God's name of something one cherishes as necessary and valuable. It is not an attempt to "appease" Him who is far above anything that resembles human emotion, nothing of His creation can disturb Him 35:44. Ultimately anything offered to Allah in God consciousness counts as of equal value and merit than a blood offering as stated in 22:37 above. The primary issue is to remain aware of Allah during this universal rite
22:34"To every people did We appoint rites, that they might celebrate the name of God over the sustenance He gave them"
The Quran recognizes the universality of this rite, and then restores it to the right, original course; glorifying God alone, first and foremost.
It is when one loses Allah's pleasure from sight in the process, such as by having one's intentions polluted with sinfulness as occured to Cain, or by having other deities or motives in mind, that the offering is invalidated. The merit does not lie in the intrinsic value or nature of the offering. Even fasting for Allah's sake by the one who cannot afford an offering is a valid substitute 2:196.
Although the HB echoes that reality when it says
Ps50:8-14"..Will I eat the flesh of bulls or do I drink the blood of he-goats? Slaughter for God a confession and pay the Most High your vows".
Yet in other places, YHWH is depicted as physically delecting with the offering
Lev1:9"Then, the kohen shall cause to [go up in] smoke all [of the animal] on the altar, as a burnt offering, a fire offering, [with] a pleasing fragrance to the Lord".
This is reminiscent of ancient mythologies, more particularily Babylonian, where the gods would partake in the offering together with the offerer. In the HB numbers18 the priests making the offering are the only ones allowed to eat from the dead animal. Gods do not sit on the same table as the laymen. The Quran in sharp contrast allows to
22:28-36"eat of them and feed the poor man who is contented and the beggar; thus have We made them subservient to you, that you may be grateful".
Finally, regardless of Cain's decision, Abel said he will not attempt murdering his brother in return, on account of his deep God-consciousness. Cain is now left with no reason to carry on with his death threats. Abel this way left the entire burden of manslaughter on his brother, not sharing any responsibility for having caused this action, for example by threatening Cain back with death, or fighting back so fiercely that he puts Cain's life in danger
5:28"If you will stretch forth your hand towards me to slay me, I am not one to stretch forth my hand towards you to slay you surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds".
Cain apparently did not show any sign of reform, prompting Abel, despite his initial pleas, to openly declare his enmity towards his brother, making it clear to him what would be the eternal consequences of what he was about to commit
5:29"Surely I want that you should bear my sin and your sin, and so you would be of the inmates of the fire, and this is the recompense of the unjust".
Abel wanted his brother to carry the burden of "my sin and your sin". It is speaking of 2 specific sins, in the singular. The context shows what these 2 specific sins are; Abel's unjust murder ie "my sin", and Cain's sinfulness, his refusal to reform himself despite the repeated pleas of his brother, leading to him being bent on murdering his brother ie "your sin". Certain commentators have erroneously assumed the word was in the plural, concluding that the murder transfered the victim's past sins to the criminal.
The singular "your sin" is used in the same sense in certain ahadith. The prophet tries diffusing a situation where one whose brother was murdered, is about to seek his right to retaliation. He is explained that he could achieve more in terms of personal vengence in the long run in a different way
"Don’t you like that he should take upon him (the burden) of your sin and the sin of your companion (your brother)? He said: Allah’s Apostle, why not? The Messenger of Allah said: If it is so, then let it be. He threw away the strap (around the offender) and set him free".
The criminal is described in the full hadith as an outcast, quick in shedding blood and thus with a potential of comitting more murders. But instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt in case, during a fight, he killed the brother who is now openly seeking blood retaliation, and thus lessening to severity of his sin, the brother could forfeit his right entirely. On top of that, this "throwing away of the strap" symbolizes forgiveness as reflected in another version of the hadith
"If you forgive him, he will bear the burden of his own sin and the sin of the victim. He then forgave him. He (the narrator) said: I saw him pulling the strap".
Just as Abel did with Cain, he would be leaving the entire burden of responsibility of his own potential murder upon the criminal, adding on top of that the sin of refusing to reform himself despite the victim's brother forfeiting his right upon his life and forgiving him. This would push the potential killer's awareness to its maximum while committing his crime. The whole idea is to avoid triggering potential criminals based on suspicion, even when they declare their intentions, trying to reform them if possible by making the first step, and this way puting the entire burden of the sin upon them if they act upon it.
In a similar situation the prophet advised not provoking people known for their violent intent even if they should enter one's house
“...O Messenger of Allah, what if they enter my house?” He said: “If you are afraid that the flashing of the sword will dazzle you, then put the edge of your garment over your face, and let him carry his own sin and your sin, and he will be one of the people of the Hellfire”.
The prophet here is teaching the most basic and pragmatic approach both in a wordly and spiritual sense. Any security expert would advise to diffuse a situation where one is confronted to very dangerous individuals in such a way, even if they should enter one's home. In addition, the prophet gives the assurance that in case one falls victim due to not trying to kill as the agressor is trying, then one would receive maximum vindication by leaving the full blame upon the criminal.
Again, Abel at no point denies he will defend himself just as the prophet in those ahadith nowhere denies the right to self defense. What is denied is fending off the attacker with the same murdering intent. Abel does not say he will not fight back if he sees Cain coming with the purpose of realizing his death threats. He didnt say "I wont defend myself and will let you do whatever you want with me" he only said "I do not intend, under any circumstances, to kill you".
Despite his brother's increased admonitions, from gentle pleas and pointing the wrong ways, to threatening him with hellfire should he commit the crime, Cain slew Abel. The victim was not only innocent of any wrongdoing, but did not even raise his hand with the intention of killing him while he defended himself. What made matters worse, Cain knew beforehand that Abel would never under any circumstance pose a threat to his life. With his crime, Cain had established an evil precedent among the sons of Adam.
This precedent has found its way all throughout the history of mankind, down to our present days
"The Prophet said, "None is killed unjustly, but the first son of Adam will have a part of its burden." Sufyan said, "...a part of its blood because he was the first to establish the tradition of murdering".
The hadith speaks of the concept of misleading others into sin. We will never establish the chain of events linking our current experiences and actions all the way to the first sons of Adam. But this hadith tells us the connection exists, so much so that whenever an unjust murder is comitted, Cain is burdened with SOME of that sin, not all of it. This is simple common sense as one cannot be held fully responsible for a crime he was enticed into comitting. It does not take away one's responsibility in the sin, rather determines the level of involvement of every individual.
The Quran explains in many places that a person's good deeds are means of obtaining God's forgiveness in the hereafter. But the person who comes to the hereafter with few good deeds as compared to his sins will inevitably have a spiritual debt to pay, and this is done in the Fire for an appropriate time. If his sins were comitted against others, then in addition to having to account for the sin itself, he will have a share of some of his victims' sins.
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Do you know who the bankrupt is?” They said: “O Messenger of Allah! The bankrupt among us is the one who has no Dirham nor property.” The Messenger of Allah said: “The bankrupt in my Ummah is the one who comes with Salat and fasting and Zakat on the Day of Judgement, but he comes having abused this one, falsely accusing that one, wrongfully consuming the wealth of this one, spilling the blood of that one, and beating this one. So he is seated, and this one is requited from his rewards. If his rewards are exhausted before the sins that he committed are requited, then SOME of their sins will be taken and cast upon him, then he will be cast into the Fire.”
This "some" doesnt refer to some of the total sins, ie 2 out of 5 sins. Rather some part of some specific sins, as with Cain's example above.
Simple observation shows that many times victims become offenders due to past trauma, or various circumstances caused by the sin originally comitted against them. Again, as with the hadith about Cain's partial responsibility for the murders among Bani Adam, there is a chain of causality behind each human action. It is possible that some of his victims' sins were enticed by his deeds against them. These specific sins will then naturally be partially shared with the criminal, without taking away the due share of responsibility of those that committed them. Another similar hadith says
"Had it not been for Bani Isra'il, food would not have become stale, and meat would not have gone bad; and had it not been for Eve, a woman would never have acted unfaithfully toward her husband".
The prophet, and anyone else who heard this, knew there werent Israelites going around causing food to spoil. With or without them, food decay occurred anyway. But because an undeniable character trait of theirs, whether in the prophet's time, the time of Jesus, or our very capitalist era, is greed and hoarding of surplus wealth, the notion of spoilage is here associated to them among all the people of the earth. They established a pattern on an unprecedented scale whose repercussions are seen till this day. As to Eve, the nature of her betrayal isnt indicated, but it has to do with something her husband entrusted her with. Being the first among all the women vicegerent of the earth, her actions, good or bad, left a mark on subsequent women vicegerents, who learned from her. This doesnt mean that without her, women would have always been faithful. Eve had at some point a choice to make but made the wrong one, even though she wasnt influenced by a previous pattern. This means woman will always have the choice between faithfulness and betrayal to their husbands, just like Eve had. But to the women that came after Eve, a pattern of bad conduct in a particular matter preceded them, influencing to some instinctive degree their own conduct, without it being a decisive factor beyond their freewill. The association of certain traits with particular people is therefore hyperbolic, as is so common in the manner of speech of the Arabs
God knows very well those who conceal or misconstrue the Truth 41:40 and such sin causes the rejection from God's grace, rejection by men and angels alltogether 2:161. This type of human and spiritual injustice is "fitna", not based on any reasonable evidence and knowledge but instead on inner desires, worldly interests, blind attachement to inherited ways, and the Quran logically explains that the misleaders shall bear their own burden of sins as well as the responsibility of misleading others -intentionally or not- into sin 4:85,16:25,29:12-13 without diminishing from the moral responsibility and consequent requital of those they mislead 14:21,43:36-9. Once more, misleaders do not take away the share of responsibility of a person in his sin, because none bears the burden of other people's sins 17:13-15,53:38-42. Misleaders share their own burdens in those specific sins which they enticed others into committing. Thus each one shares his full burden of responsibility within one and the same sin. This why the Quran keeps warning to guard
36:45"against that which is before you and that which is behind you"
The "before" referring to the action one is about to perform and "behind" is the consequence of this action, referred to as the footsteps one leaves behind
36:12,37:69-70,43:22"they say: We found our fathers on a course, and surely we are guided by their footsteps".
There is a reason why, in sura fatiha, we seek example from people of the past confirmed to have succeeded spiritually, hence the use of the past alladhina anaamta alayhim.
This story of Adam's 2 sons establishes that in the next life, punishment is a matter of degrees, where a murderer can get a more severe punishment depending upon the person he killed. The one slain was innocent of any wrongdoing, even warned his brother that was about to kill him, tried reforming him, and finally pointed the grave consequences of his sins. But this familial tragedy was about to repeat itself, as the murderous Israelites were trying by all means to put an end to their Ishmaelite brother's life, despite his calls to reforms, there being no reasons for them to threaten and attack him, and his warnings of hellfire should they carry on with their deadly intentions. The Jews of the prophet's time were not only trying to kill a man innocent of any wrongdoing against them and in general, but were trying to kill a prophet of God as their forefathers tried doing and sometimes succeeded against the prophets raised from among themselves and who called them to adhere to their own Books which they had thrown behind their backs and forgotten. The story of the 2 sons of Adam ends with a reminder of a lesson they knew very well
5:32"For this reason did We write upon the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men".
A day will come where all generations that ever roamed the earth shall be gathered at the same time for account precisely due to that principle, that whatever a person does in his lifetime, whether good or evil, its influence and impact does not end with his life but continues to operate even after his death for long periods of time, for which he is totally responsible.
The Quran draws attention to this important sense of awareness of one's deeds and how they inevitably have consequences on a larger scale. It firstly does so through the examples of the most eminent prophets, including Nuh, Ibrahim or Jacob as being deeply concerned with their family's future spirituality, and that of the following generations. The most righteous, once made to enter paradise and joined with the righteous among their relatives will remember that earthly concern with joy and relief at its pleasant unfolding
52:25-8"And some of them shall advance towards others questioning each other. Saying: Surely we feared before on account of our families: But Allah has been gracious to us and He has saved us from the punishment of the hot wind. Surely we called upon Him before: Surely He is the Benign, the Merciful".
The second manner by which attention is drawn to the idea of repercussions of one's deeds is through a concise and eloquent statement
82:5"Every soul shall know what it has sent before/qaddamat and held back/akharat".
1) Ma qaddamat is the good or evil act which man has sent forward, and ma akharat is what he refrained from doing, 2) what one did earlier as well as after (in the early and latter days of his life) and finally 3) whatever good and evil deeds a man did in his life is ma qaddamat and whatever effects and influences of his acts he left behind for human society is ma akharat
14:49"And you will see the guilty on that day linked together in chains".
In that connection, the prophet said
“When a man dies, his acts come to an end, except three, recurring charity, or knowledge [by which people] benefit, or a pious son, who prays for him [i.e. for the deceased]”.
The concept of not following the evil footsteps of misleaders is contrasted with the Quran's command to the believers not to "advance" the righteous guidance of the messenger of God, willing for their desires to have precedence over divine directives, they should walk in the footsteps of the one guided to success in both this world and the next 49:1,33:36.
So besides being careful which footsteps one is following, one should ever be watchful of the print left behind, and one of the essential ways of doing so is by educating and transmitting righteousness to the best of one's ability the members of one's family who have been entrusted to one's care in the natural process of life. The Quran actually treats this as a moral responsibility for which one shall be held accountable
66:6"save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones; over it are angels stern and strong, they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and do as they are commanded".
Through the example of the most eminent of prophets whose last words and bequests to their descendants were to steadfastly remain on the straight path, the Quran draws back mankind's focus on the higher matters of life at a moment where most would be concerned with purely worldly and financial issues 2:132-3.
In the Hereafter, the believers will see their deeds rewarded manifolds contrary to the disbelievers
2:261-274,28:84,6:160"Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it, and whoever brings an evil deed, he shall be recompensed only with the like of it, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly".
This shows how God's wrath is always tempered by His perfect attributes of justice and mercy meaning He never loses control, contrary to humans who when they sit on the throne of force, they take the path of cruelty, oppression.
In sura Jumua 62:1 just after describing God as the malik/sovereign, He is called the quddus/holy, thus warding off any adverse connotation attached in human psyche to a powerful king.
It is in reminder of this reality that many Quranic verses speaking of God's capacity to retribute, or the manner in which He freely distributes benefits, end with a mention of His almightiness, praiseworthiness, wisdom; He is worthy of all praise at every moment all the while being the almighty ruler who does not need rendering any account. Similarly, His self sufficiency is often coupled with His praiseworthiness because although some persons might be self-sufficient, their niggardiness and manner in which they exploit their wealth is unworthy of any praise, contrary to God's indiscriminate mercy and grace. Also when the ordinary self-sufficient persons happens to do something, at last they gain some benefits from their action, while the only One Who bestows things on His servants abundantly and gains no benefit is His Pure Essence, and for the same reason He is the most eligible of all to be praised and glorified.
But the Quran also portrays some sinners, more precisely the misleaders, receiving a "double" punishment 11:20,25:69,33:68 just as the prophet Muhammad was threatened with a "double" punishment should he yield to the low desires of his sinful nation 68:9,10:15,17:73-4, this is because their sins have repercussions outside the individual and will ultimately mislead others into sin. Even the followers of a falsehood initiated or left to posterity by the misleaders will have a double punishment 7:38-39 because they followed the heritage of evil left by their predecessors and then left the heritage of evil for their successors. One and the same sin may thus be requited according to different levels of severity depending on the person committing it as well as the social repercussions of that sin. The same standard was applied to the Israelites, the first community tasked with guiding the nations Isa40:2,Jer16:18 as can be seen with their long history of divine chastisements.
The Quran answers those who tried deceiving the believers into thinking they had the power to diminish their burdens by taking upon themselves the entire responsibility of their apostasy
29:12"And never shall they be the bearers of any of their (the Muslims') wrongs; most surely they are liars".
The responsibility for transgression will rest entirely on the transgressor himself but as regards the misleaders and deceivers, in addition to their own burdens they will carry the burden of responsibility for leading others astray 29:13. On the day of Resurrection, being aware of their error and the warnings of the Quran not to take any Guardian (in religious guidance) other than Allah 7:3, the disbelievers who were mislead will start by confronting their misleaders who are now leading their followers to Hell as they led them on the wrong path on Earth 11:97-8, asking them to take some of their punishment upon them since they put them in this situation 40:47-50 but this will be impossible so they will try taking the matter into their own hands
41:29"Our Lord, show us those who led us astray from among the jinn and the men that we may trample them under our feet so that they may be of the lowest".
Being guilty of the grievous sin of misleading others, they will be the first to be dragged inside the Fire, and those who were mislead and kept rejecting the truth after it was made manifest to them, will be on their knees witnessing the humiliation of their earthly prestigous leaders, referred to as shaitans.
Sura maryam vividly paints the picture of what these 2 types of sinners will endure in the hereafter. It starts with 19:68 where the blind followers and their leaders are gathered. Only those arriving to the resurrection burdened with disbelief and so many sins they havent repented for, they will be the only ones gathered for a terrible task 25:26,54:6 as opposed to the righteous believers who in their lifetime stood in awe of such day
76:7-11"Therefore Allah will guard them from the evil of that day and cause them to meet with ease and happiness".Consequently they, whether male or female, will never be abased or disgraced between their earthly deth and final entry to heaven. Instead, once resurrected they will be shining with a light emanating from them and guiding them on the path to paradise while the rest of the world is plunged in darkness 3:194-5,57:12,66:8. They will in addition be receiving Allah's love 19:96, His individual care 76:11, they will be safe from harm 41:40 and raised in a happy state 56:8,76:11,88:8. Their faces will be bright 3:107,75:22 looking forward to Allah's promise 50:32,28:61. They wont have any grief or fear of the supreme awesomeness of that day, as they will be protected from its upheaval and afflictions, welcomed and greeted by the angels before the beginning of their judgement 2:277,16:32,21:103. They will be removed far away from hearing the faintest sound of hell 2:17,26:90,21:98-103. The fire of hell will only be brought before the disbelievers and unrepented sinners 18:99-101, the only ones experiencing this mighty day as a great difficulty 74:8-10.
From among the disbelievers, the most prominent misleaders are brought forth 19:69. The next verse states
19:70"We do certainly know best those who deserve most to be burned therein".This indirect form of address, starting at v66 with a people's denial of the resurrection, is called tabaaid in Arabic, or distancing.
It is meant at expressing the speaker's discust towards the addressees who arent worthy of being directly spoken to. We know however from the context that they are the most prominent of the misleaders who deserve the worst punishment. The Quran then, in its typical manner of executing its threats, switches from the indirect, to the direct form, catching its audience off-guard
"And there is not one of you but shall come to it".
This parenthetical statement, of which the Quran abounds due to its very nature as an interactive speech seeking to keep the audience ever attentive to its message, points directly at the disbelievers who are hearing the message of the prophet, telling them they cannot escape
18:53"And the guilty shall see the fire, then they shall know that they are going to fall into it, and they shall not find a place to which to turn away from it".
The 'you' in 19:71 is a direct address to all the disbelievers as an actual threat, with the additional warning that
"this is an unavoidable decree of your Lord".
Then the Quran mentions the "delivery" of the believers, how they will be spared such disgraceful situation of humiliation on their knees and begging to be saved
"And We will deliver those who guarded (against evil), and We will leave the unjust therein on their knees".
The "delivery" of the believers is again mentioned in 39:61 and how no evil and grief will even touch them
"And Allah shall deliver those who guard (against evil) with their achievement; evil shall not touch them, nor shall they grieve".
Even among the commentators that argued the believers will be made to enter hell, none of them stated they shall be made to suffer in it. So harmless that experience will be that some reports describe the believers after entering paradise, not even aware they were in hell prior
“The people of paradise said after they entered paradise, ‘Didn’t our Lord promise that we will enter hell?’ and they will be told, ‘You entered it and found it ashes.’”
The experience is depicted as a mercy from Allah. The believers are made to see, but not experience, a place that could have been theirs had it not been by Allah's guidance and grace.
When Judgement is laid down on a Day where none can harm or benefit the other 34:42, they will hate their own selves 40:10. They will realize, not only that they are now accountable for the actions they were mislead into committing, but also for misleading others in turn 43:67. Their earthly ties will crumble and will begin denying one another, cursing eachothers 29:25. The followers will request a double punishment for their leaders 38:61, asking to see them to trample them and make them of the lowest 41:29.
That bitter dissension among the sinners and their misleaders during their judgement and following their entry to hell, incessantly disputing and quarrelling 36:59-64 is in stark contrast with the dwellers of heaven who shall greet and speak to one another with the best words of prayers, sit face to face, symbolizing their whole heartedness in being in eachother's company
10:10,44:53,52:20"Reclining on thrones set in lines".
Nothing symbolizes peace of mind, purity of intentions and mutual love more than the free manner of sitting in front of one another.
These same leaders will disavow their followers like Iblis will disavow his followers since none of them can be discharged from their moral responsibilities and none were forced in making their conscious choices
14:22,34:32,37:29-30"They shall say: Nay, you (yourselves) were not believers. And we had no authority over you, but you were an inordinate people".
These earthly misleaders will in turn blame their false beliefs and wrongdoings on their forefathers 28:63, after ackowledging their own helplessness and error 37:32. Now each person can only blame his own self, and will consequently hate himself 40:10.
38:64"That most surely is the truth: the contending one with another of the inmates of the fire"
but their excuse of having followed the footsteps of their fathers will not be accepted as throughout the Quran and through the examples of the greatest prophets such as Ibrahim who distanced himself from the practices of his fathers and contemporaries 43:26, man has been told to think of himself 30:8 and warned of the moral inadmissibility of accepting a proposition as true on no other grounds than that it was held to be true by the majority 54:44 or by earlier generations, and the blind acceptance of religious doctrines or traditions (taqlid) which are not unequivocally supported by divine revelation 23:24,43:21-24.
The jinn themselves, the sole other entity along with humans possessing freedom of choice and consequent moral accountability, are quoted as admitting to having fallen prey to the same erroneous view 72:5.
The number of people accepting a practice does not mean it is morally acceptable or contributes to human progress. It could signify the nation is on the verge of self-destruction
5:100"The bad and the good are not equal, though the abundance of the bad may please you; so be careful of (your duty to) Allah, O men of understanding, that you may be successful".
The acceptance of certain behaviour as normal behaviour is a reflection that the norms of society have turned upside down and the pursuit of lower values is given priority.
Finally all ties between them will be cut off 2:166,69:35.
We thus see throughout the Quran and ahadith, a clear and consistent explanation of the theme of divine justice and moral accountability. This is in constrast to the tensions one sees in past scriptures, traditions and philosophies of the world in this particular topic. In the HB God punishes children for their parents' sins Ex34 yet elsewhere states that one is requited for his own sins only Deut24, Ezek18. The rabbis, recognizing the contradiction (Sanhedrin 27b) harmonize by saying that only when a child knowingly follows the sinful path of the parent does he bear their sins as well as his. This obviously doesnt remove the contradiction as the child did not actively participate in the parents' sins. In Christianity the case is far worse as we have an innocent person made to bear the sins of all the world.
Further reading answering Sam Shamoun "Do They Bear Another’s Burdens Or Not?"
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