سورة الاٴعرَاف
Surah Al-A‘râf 7:172
The Elevated Places · Verse 172 of 206
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَنْ تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَٰذَا غَافِلِينَ
Abdul Mannan Omar
Behold! when your Lord brings forth from Adam´s children - from their loins, their offspring, and makes them bear witness to themselves when He says, `Am I not your Lord who sustains you?´ They say (in evidence which human nature itself bears), `Yes we bear witness (to it and acknowledge it).´ (Allâh does that) lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, `Surely, we were unaware of this (that you are our Lord).´
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
When thy Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): "Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?"- They said: "Yea! We do testify!" (This), lest ye should say on the Day of Judgment: "Of this we were never mindful":
Ahmed Ali
When your Lord brings forth from their loins the offspring of the children of Adam, He makes them witnesses over themselves, (and asks): "Am I not your Lord?" ´Indeed,´ they reply. ´We bear witness,´ -- lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "We were not aware of this;"
12 more translations
Ali Unal
And (remember, O Messenger,) when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their offspring, and made them bear witness against themselves (asking them:) "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes, we do bear witness." (That covenant was taken) lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were indeed unaware of this (fact that you are our Lord)."
Daryabadi
And recall what time thy Lord took from the children of Adam their posterity from their backs, and made them testify as to them selves saying: am I not your lord? They said: Yea! we testify.That was lest ye should say on the Day of Resurrection verily of this we have been unaware.
Faridul Haque
And remember when your Lord brought forth the generations from the backs of the Descendants of Adam, and made them their own witness; "Am I not your Lord?"; they all said, "Yes surely You are, why not? We testify"; for you may say on the Day of Resurrection that, "We were unaware of this."
Maulana Muhammad Ali
And when thy Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and made them bear witness about themselves: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes; we bear witness. Lest you should say on the day of Resurrection: We were unaware of this,
Maulvi Sher Ali
And remember when thy Lord brought forth from Adam's children - out of their loins - their offspring and made them to bear witness against their ownselves saying, `Yea, we do bear witness.' This HE did lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, `We were surely unaware of this.'
Muhammad Asad
AND WHENEVER thy Sustainer brings forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, He [thus] calls upon them to bear witness about themselves: "Am I not your Sustainer?" - to which they answer: "Yea, indeed, we do bear witness thereto!"
Muhammad Musin Khan
And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes! We testify," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we have been unaware of this."
Muhammad Pickthall
And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware;
Muhammad Sarwar
When your Lord asked all the offspring of Adam (before their birth), "Am I not your Lord?" All of them testified and bore witness to their testimony that on the Day of Judgment they would not say, "We were not aware of this (fact),"
Muhammed ali Shakir
And when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their backs, their descendants, and made them bear witness against their own souls: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes! we bear witness. Lest you should say on the day of resurrection: Surely we were heedless of this.
Rashad Khalifa
Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves: "Am I not your Lord?" They all said, "Yes. We bear witness." Thus, you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were not aware of this."
Shabbir Ahmed
When your Lord brought forth generations in succession from the Children of Adam, and made them bear witness, “Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we bear witness.” Thus you cannot say on the Resurrection Day, “We were not aware of this.”
Commentary 7:172It is good to remember the promise our souls made to its Creator when He created them. He asked each soul أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ - “Am I not your Lord?” and…
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَافِلِينَ
7:172It is good to remember the promise our souls made to its Creator when He created them. He asked each soul أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ - “Am I not your Lord?” and the response was بَلَىٰ شَهِدْنَا - “Indeed you are, we witness,” (7:172). This is the original covenant.
In the preceding verse reference was made to the implied covenant of the Israelites; now it is to the implied covenant of the whole of humankind. It refers to the inherent consciousness of every human being about the existence of a Supreme Being Who is the Creator, the Cherisher and the Sustainer. This consciousness has been embedded in the very nature of every human being so that he may thereby find a way towards his Creator and recognise Him as his Lord. The witness spoken of in the verse is the human nature itself. This is the same witness mentioned elsewhere in the Holy Qur’ân where it is called the nature in which Allâh has made human being (30:30), referring to the basic human nature that is pure and uncorrupted in its essence. The innate faculties of a human being are sufficient to enable him to distinguish between right and wrong (91:8), and to warn him when he deviates from the right course. A “quiet, soft, low and faint voice” within him always makes an appeal in this context. In its uncorrupted state the human soul is capable of listening to this voice (nafs al-Lawwâmah) and acknowledging the Truth; metaphorically remembering the covenant it gave: Yes, You are my Lord!. It is a metonymy for the creative act of Allâh and of human beings existential response to it. A poet has said:
أثر القدم تدٌل علئ السفر
ما تقول انا ألارض و السمَوات تدل علئ العلم القدير
"The signs of footsteps are proof of someone who walked. How can you deny that the heavens and the earth are not proofs of the existence of the All-Knowing All-Powerful?" The expressions used here do not necessarily mean that a dialogue actually took place while making this covenant. The words are simply meant to express a state of affairs. Moreover, the verse does not mention that this covenant was made between Adam and God, but from the descendants of Adam, that is—humankind as a whole. The advent of the Prophets is to remind us of this covenant.