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
وَلَمَّا جَآءَ مُوسَىٰ لِمِيقَـٰتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُۥ رَبُّهُۥ قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِىٓ أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ ۚ قَالَ لَن تَرَىٰنِى وَلَـٰكِنِ ٱنظُرْ إِلَى ٱلْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ ٱسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُۥ فَسَوْفَ تَرَىٰنِى ۚ فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّىٰ رَبُّهُۥ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُۥ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ مُوسَىٰ صَعِقًا ۚ فَلَمَّآ أَفَاقَ قَالَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنَا۠ أَوَّلُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And when Moses arrived at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You." [Allāh] said, "You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it should remain in place, then you will see Me." But when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He rendered it level, and Moses fell unconscious. And when he awoke, he said, "Exalted are You! I have repented to You, and I am the first [among my people] of the believers."
ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لَهْوًا وَلَعِبًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ فَٱلْيَوْمَ نَنسَىٰهُمْ كَمَا نَسُوا۟ لِقَآءَ يَوْمِهِمْ هَـٰذَا وَمَا كَانُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ
Who took their religion as distraction and amusement and whom the worldly life deluded." So today We will forget them just as they forgot the meeting of this Day of theirs and for having rejected Our verses.
قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِرَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
They said, "We have believed in the Lord of the worlds,
وَأُمْلِى لَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ كَيْدِى مَتِينٌ
And I will give them time. Indeed, My plan is firm.