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
وَٱخْتَارَ مُوسَىٰ قَوْمَهُۥ سَبْعِينَ رَجُلًا لِّمِيقَـٰتِنَا ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ قَالَ رَبِّ لَوْ شِئْتَ أَهْلَكْتَهُم مِّن قَبْلُ وَإِيَّـٰىَ ۖ أَتُهْلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنْ هِىَ إِلَّا فِتْنَتُكَ تُضِلُّ بِهَا مَن تَشَآءُ وَتَهْدِى مَن تَشَآءُ ۖ أَنتَ وَلِيُّنَا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَا ۖ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْغَـٰفِرِينَ
And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. And when the earthquake seized them, he said, "My Lord, if You had willed, You could have destroyed them before and me [as well]. Would You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done? This is not but Your trial by which You send astray whom You will and guide whom You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy upon us; and You are the best of forgivers.
وَلَا تَقْعُدُوا۟ بِكُلِّ صِرَٰطٍ تُوعِدُونَ وَتَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِهِۦ وَتَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا ۚ وَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ إِذْ كُنتُمْ قَلِيلًا فَكَثَّرَكُمْ ۖ وَٱنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ
And do not sit on every path, threatening and averting from the way of Allāh those who believe in Him, seeking to make it [seem] deviant. And remember when you were few and He increased you. And see how was the end of the corrupters.
وَٱلَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ ٱلْمُصْلِحِينَ
But those who hold fast to the Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] and establish prayer - indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of the reformers.
وَلَمَّا سَكَتَ عَن مُّوسَى ٱلْغَضَبُ أَخَذَ ٱلْأَلْوَاحَ ۖ وَفِى نُسْخَتِهَا هُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِرَبِّهِمْ يَرْهَبُونَ
And when the anger subsided in Moses, he took up the tablets; and in their inscription was guidance and mercy for those who are fearful of their Lord.