وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ 172
Translations
And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."
Transliteration
Wa-idh akhadha rabbuka min bani Adam min dhuhurihim dhurriyyatahum wa-ashhhadahum 'ala anfusihim alasta birabbikum qalu bala shahidna an taqulu yawma al-qiyamati inna kunna 'an hadha ghafilin
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the primordial covenant (Alast - 'Am I not your Lord?') wherein Allah extracted the descendants of Adam from his loins and made them testify to His lordship before they were created in the material world. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this refers to a supernatural event where all human souls collectively witnessed Allah's absolute lordship, preventing any excuse of ignorance on the Day of Judgment. This covenant is binding on every human being regardless of whether they consciously remember it, establishing a fundamental spiritual reality underlying human existence.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan period and is part of the broader narrative in Surah Al-A'raf that explains the relationship between humanity and Allah. It contextualizes why people are accountable for rejecting truth—because they already bore witness to Allah's oneness in the pre-mortal realm (alam al-dharr), establishing the doctrine of fitrah (natural disposition toward monotheism).
Related Hadiths
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Every child is born upon the fitrah (natural disposition), and then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian' (Sahih Bukhari 1319). Additionally, Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ explained that souls were created two thousand years before bodies, and those whose souls were righteous will have righteous deeds (Sunan Ibn Majah 63).
Themes
Key Lesson
Every human carries an inherent knowledge of God's lordship encoded in their primordial nature; therefore, ignorance is not a valid excuse for disbelief, and each person is called to awaken and honor the covenant their soul made with the Creator. This ayah reminds us that our connection to monotheism is innate and predates our earthly existence, making the pursuit of truth and spiritual alignment a return to our original nature rather than an external imposition.
Related Ayahs
وَٱتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَىٰ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُۥ خُوَارٌ ۚ أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّهُۥ لَا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلَا يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلًا ۘ ٱتَّخَذُوهُ وَكَانُوا۟ ظَـٰلِمِينَ
And the people of Moses made, after [his departure], from their ornaments a calf - an image having a lowing sound. Did they not see that it could neither speak to them nor guide them to a way? They took it [for worship], and they were wrongdoers.
قَالَ ٱخْرُجْ مِنْهَا مَذْءُومًا مَّدْحُورًا ۖ لَّمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
[Allāh] said, "Depart from it [i.e., Paradise], reproached and expelled. Whoever follows you among them - I will surely fill Hell with you, all together."
وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا ۗ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ فَأَوْفُوا۟ ٱلْكَيْلَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا۟ ٱلنَّاسَ أَشْيَآءَهُمْ وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَـٰحِهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shuʿayb. He said, "O my people, worship Allāh; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due and cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. That is better for you, if you should be believers.
قَالَ أَلْقُوا۟ ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَلْقَوْا۟ سَحَرُوٓا۟ أَعْيُنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَٱسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ وَجَآءُو بِسِحْرٍ عَظِيمٍ
He said, "Throw," and when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them, and they presented a great [feat of] magic.