testimony against themselves—that is, His causing them to acknowledge His lordship and making them witnesses against themselves to the lordship they had acknowledged.

His words, “He made them testify,” imply that it was He who made them witnesses against themselves that He is their Lord. This calling to witness is linked to their being taken from their fathers’ loins. This known, observable taking, about which there is no doubt, is the extraction of semen from the fathers’ loins and its descent into the mothers’ wombs.

However, the mothers are not mentioned here because He says later:

“Or lest you say, ‘It was only our forefathers who associated others with Allah before us, and we were their descendants after them.’”

They followed the religion of their fathers, not that of their mothers, as they said:

“We found our fathers following a religion.”

Hence He says:

“He said, ‘Even if I bring you better guidance than what you found your fathers following?’”

Thus He is saying: Recall when they were taken from their fathers’ loins and, at birth, were created upon the natural disposition, acknowledging the Creator and testifying against themselves that Allah is their Lord. This acknowledgment constitutes Allah’s proof against them on the Day of Resurrection. He thus mentions His taking them and making them testify against themselves, for He, glorified be He, created and fashioned, and ordained and guided.

The taking thus includes His creating them, while the calling to witness includes His guiding them to this acknowledgment. For He said, “He made them testify,” meaning that He made them witnesses.

We have already mentioned that calling someone to witness can mean entrusting him with testimony to bear, as in His words:

“Call two just men from among you to witness.”

That is, have them bear this testimony against those concerning whom it is given.