Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 172

Overview (Verses 172 - 174)

A Scene to Defy All Imagination

Your Lord brought forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, and called them to bear witness about themselves. [He said]: “Am I not your Lord?” They replied: “Yes, indeed, we bear witness to that.” [This He did] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, “We were truly unaware of this;” or lest you say, It was our forefathers who, in times gone by, associated partners with God, and we were only their late offspring. Will You destroy us on account of what those inventors of falsehood did?” Thus We make plain Our revelations so that they may return [to the right path]. (Verses 172-174)

In this short passage we have the central issue of faith and human nature portrayed in a uniquely vivid scene that shows the generations of the faraway future, as they are still in the loins of human beings, before they make their appearance in this visible world. All of them are gathered in front of their Creator who asks them:

“Am I not your Lord?” (Verse 172) They all acknowledge His Lordship, admit their position as obedient servants and His status as the only Lord. They are no bigger than small atoms held in the hand of the great Creator.

This is a sublime scene with no equivalent in human language or its imaginative portraits. Its remarkable nature becomes even greater when our minds try, as hard as we can, to visualize it, looking at all these countless cells being gathered together and brought forth. They are then addressed as rational beings, on account of the innate qualities God has placed in them. They respond like rational beings, acknowledging their position and status and giving their pledges when they are still in the loins of their ancestors. We are filled with awe as we contemplate this splendid scene, looking at these tiny cells, each holding a potential life. Each is the seed of a complete human being, with unique qualities, waiting for permission to grow and appear in its special form reserved for it in the world beyond. It gives its pledge and enters into a covenant before it appears into this world of ours.

The Qur’ān portrays this splendid scene describing a great truth, which is deeply established in human nature. This Qur’ānic description was made fourteen centuries ago, when no human being had any vision of the reality of human creation, apart from myth that had no foundation. Now after all these centuries, human beings have come to know some rudimentary elements of that truth. Today, biological science tells us that genes keep a record for every human being, showing his or her qualities or characteristics when they are still in the loins of their ancestors. These genes, which keep the records of no less than three thousand million human beings, may be pooled together in a space not exceeding one cubic centimetre. Had this fact been stated at that time, it would have been met with derision and incredulity. But God certainly says the truth, as He states: “In time We shall make them see Our signs in the utmost horizons (of the universe) and within themselves so that it will become clear to them that this revelation is the truth.” (41: 53)

Ibn `Abbās, a companion of the Prophet who is renowned for his scholarship, reports: “Your Lord went over Adam’s back with His hand, and out came every human being He would be creating until the Day of Resurrection. He took their pledges and made them bear witness about themselves, saying to them: “Am I not your Lord? They replied ‘Yes, indeed.’” (Verse 172)

How did this event take place? How did God take the offspring of Adam’s children from their loins to make them testify? How did He ask them, “Am I not your Lord?” And how did they reply, “Yes, indeed.” The answer to all these questions is that our human perception cannot understand how God acts, since it cannot perceive God’s own nature. Perceiving the `how’ is subsequent to perceiving the nature of the one who does. There are numerous actions that the Qur’ān attributes to God, such as the following few examples: “He then applied His design to the skies, which were yet but smoke” (41:11); “He is established on the throne of His Almightiness” (10: 3); “God annuls or confirms whatever He pleases” (13: 39); “The heavens will be folded up in His right hand” (39: 67); “Your Lord comes down with the angels, rank upon rank” (89: 22); and “Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them.” (58: 7) All these actions and many others reported in authentic ĥadīths as having been done, or will be done by God must be accepted as perfectly true, without any attempt on our part to understand how. It is just as we have mentioned that the perception of ‘how’ is subsequent to perceiving the nature of the one who does it. There is simply nothing that resembles God in any way. Hence, there is no way that we can perceive His nature or how He accomplishes His deeds. There is no possibility that we can resemble His action to anything we know, since there is nothing that resembles God in any way. Any attempt to do so will end in error and failure. All philosophers who tried to describe how God acts could do no more than come up with theories of endless confusion.

One interpretation of this statement suggests that the pledge God has taken from the offspring of Adam’s children relates to their nature. He has established in their nature the tendency to acknowledge His Lordship as the only God in the universe. They grow up with this tendency until they deviate as a result of external factors of one sort or another.

In his commentary on the Qur’ān, Ibn Kathīr reports that many scholars are of the view that this testimony from the offspring of Adam’s children refers to the fact that in their very nature, they have a tendency to accept God’s oneness. This is why the Qur’ānic statement says, “Your Lord brought forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam”, rather than saying, “from the loins of Adam himself or from his loins.” And the statement speaks of “their offspring”, to indicate the succession of their generations, one after another. This is similar to the Qur’ānic statement: “It is He who has given you the earth to inherit.” (27: 62) God also says: “He brought you into being out of other people’s seed.” (6: 133) Here, in the verse we are discussing, God goes on to say: “And called them to bear witness about themselves. [He said]: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They replied: ‘Yes, indeed’.” (Verse 172) This means that He has created them admitting this fact, testifying to it at the very moment of their existence. Scholars also say that testimony is sometimes given verbally as in the Qur’ānic verse: “They will reply: `We bear witness against ourselves.’ The life of this world has beguiled them. So they will bear witness against themselves that they were unbelievers.” (6: 130) At other times, the testimony can be made by adopting a certain position or attitude, as that described in the Qur’ānic verse stating: “It is not for the idolaters to visit or tend God’s houses of worship, while they bear witness against themselves for being unbelievers.” (9: 17) This means that their situation testifies against them, not that they make a statement to this effect. The same applies to the Qur’ānic verses: “Man is surely ungrateful to his Lord, and of this he himself is a witness.” (100: 6-7)

Requests also can be made verbally or by adopting a particular position. This is evidenced by the Qur’ānic verse stating: “He gives you of everything you ask Him for.” (14: 34) Scholars say that a factor that supports this view is the fact that this testimony is counted against them as they associate partners with God. Had this taken place in the way some people suggest, then everyone would have remembered it, and it would have been taken against them. It is suggested that its being reported by the Prophet is sufficient as a proof of its taking place. This is true, but we should remember that those unbelievers rejected everything that God’s messengers have stated. Since this is stated as an argument against them, it must be a reference to their nature, which admits God’s Lordship and oneness. For this reason, the Qur’ānic passage goes on to say: “[This He did] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, `We were truly unaware of this;’ or lest you say, ‘It was our forefathers who, in times gone by, associated partners with God.’” (Verses 172-173)

A Pledge Given by Human Nature

The ĥadīths to which Ibn Kathīr refers as confirming this Qur’ānic statement are quoted here. Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim relate in their authentic collections, the Şahīh, a ĥadīth narrated by Abū Hurayrah who quotes the Prophet as saying: “Every human being is born with upright nature. [One version puts the statement as: every human being is born believing in this faith.] His parents then make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian.”

A ĥadīth related by Muslim quotes the Prophet as saying: “God says I have created My servants following the pure faith. Satans then assaulted them and removed them from their faith, forbidding them what I have made lawful.”

Al-Aswad ibn Sarī`, one of the Prophet’s companions who belonged to the Sa`d clan reports: “I joined God’s Messenger in four expeditions. Once, when our people had killed enemy fighters, they also attacked their children. On hearing this, the Prophet was very angry and rebuked them, saying: ‘How is it that some people attack children?’ One man said: ‘Messenger of God, are they not the children of unbelievers?’ He said: `The best among you have been born to unbelievers. Let it be known that every human being is born following the right faith. He will continue to do so until he is able to express himself. His parents then make of him a Jew or a Christian.’”

For our part, we do not exclude the possibility that the event related in this Qur’ānic verse took place as is described, i.e. literally: “Your Lord brought forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, and called them to bear witness about themselves.” (Verse 172) We believe that it could easily happen as God has described, because there is nothing to stop it happening when God wills. But at the same time we do not exclude the interpretation outlined by Ibn Kathīr and approved by other scholars. At any rate, we can conclude that there is a pledge made by human nature to God Himself, declaring that human nature believes in His oneness and will continue to do so. This means that the essence of God’s oneness is well established in human nature, and every human child is born with this clear tendency. It deviates from it only when an external factor corrupts its nature by the manipulation of the dual susceptibility of human beings to follow right guidance or to deviate from it. This is a latent susceptibility which can be influenced by external factors and circumstances.

We go beyond this to say that the truth of God’s oneness is also well established in the nature of all existence, of which human nature forms only a part. It continues to be a part of that whole existence, governed by the same laws and reacting to whatever takes place. The great truth of God’s oneness is acknowledged by the nature of the whole universe, as it is also established within human nature itself.

The law of unity which governs the whole existence is clearly evident in the outer appearance of the universe as well as its coherence, the perfect compatibility between its different parts and components, as well as its consistent movement and action. It is also reflected in the complete absence of conflict between the various rules and laws operating in the universe and their practical effects. Furthermore, we see it in the unity of the essence of atoms, according to the latest findings of human knowledge. That essence is radiation that results from all matters when their atoms are made to split and release their charge.

As human knowledge advances, it uncovers more and more of the law of unity that applies to this whole universe, and the rules that dictate its actions and reactions, not automatically, but by God’s free will that operates consistently at every moment and every turn. However, we do not rely merely on what is uncovered by human knowledge, which can never be absolute, considering the means available to human beings. We simply take this human knowledge as supporting evidence. Our foremost basis in establishing any universal truth is what is stated by the Creator Himself who knows perfectly what He has created. The Qur’ān leaves no room for doubt that the law which governs this whole universe is the law of unity, set in operation by the consistent will of the single Creator who is limitless in His glory. Nor does the Qur’ān leave any room for doubt that this whole universe submits to its Lord, acknowledges His oneness and worships Him in the way and fashion known to God. Of these we only know what God has told us. We certainly see the effects of this worship in the consistency and coherence that we observe in the universe and its operation.

This same law also applies to man who is, after all, a creature living in this universe. It is firmly rooted in human nature, which feels it instinctively and acts in consistency with it, as long as it remains sound, far from corrupting influences. When human nature suffers corruption, it becomes less instinctively aware of this law and allows fleeting desires to dictate its action, instead of following its perfect law that is well established within its own constitution.

This law is a covenant that has been made between human nature and its Creator. It is established in every single living cell from the moment it comes into existence. It predates God’s messages and messengers. According to this covenant every cell testifies to the Lordship of the one God who has a consistent will that has established a single law to govern the whole universe as well as its own actions and reactions. With such a covenant made with human nature, no one can argue that he is unaware of God’s revelations that explain the divine faith or that he knows nothing of God’s messages that call on people to believe in His oneness. There is no validity in the argument advanced by anyone who says: “I was born into a family of unbelievers. Therefore, I had no chance of knowing the faith based on belief in God’s oneness. I had to follow the footsteps of my forefathers who had erred and caused me to err. Therefore, the responsibility is theirs, not mine”. Hence, the Qur’ānic comment on the testimony given by the offspring of Adam’s children is stated most clearly: “[This He did] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, `We were truly unaware of this;’ or lest you say, ‘It was our forefathers who, in times gone by, associated partners with God, and we were only their late offspring. Will You destroy us on account of what those inventors of falsehood did?’” (Verses 172-173)

But God knows that human nature is likely to go astray when subjected to the pressures exercised by satans, whether human or jinn, who manipulate human weaknesses. He is fully aware that human beings can go far astray once they are set on the way to error. Hence, He has determined, out of His grace, not to hold them to account merely on the basis of this covenant with their nature or the reason He has given them to judge and evaluate matters. He has determined to send them messengers who are given plain revelations, and to make His signs clear so that human nature can be saved from the effects of pressure. In the same way, the human intellect is freed from the shackles of its weaknesses and desires. Had God’s knowledge shown that nature and reason were sufficient for people to follow the right path without sending them messengers and messages, He might have made these the basis of accountability. But God’s grace has dictated that this basis must be His message: “Thus We make plain Our revelations so that they may return [to the right path].” (Verse 174)

They may turn back to their nature and honour their covenant with God. When they operate the faculties of perception and understanding God has established within their souls and constitution, the reality of God’s oneness becomes so clear in their minds and causes them to adhere firmly to the faith based on that reality.

Hence, we have to look on those messages and messengers sent by God as an aspect of His grace.