991—Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Hamid al-Tabari informed us. He said: Ahmad ibn al-Sari ibn Salih narrated to us. He said: Ya‘qub ibn Sufyan narrated to us. He said: Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Nuh al-Tayalisi narrated to us. He said: ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Sa‘d narrated to us. He said: Abu Ja‘far al-Razi narrated to us, from al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas, from Abu al-‘Aliyah Rufi‘, from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, concerning His saying:

“And when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam—from their loins—their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes indeed; we bear witness,’ lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We were unaware of this’; or lest you say, ‘It was only our forefathers who associated others with Allah before us, and we were descendants after them. Will You then destroy us for what those who dealt in falsehood did?’” [al-A‘raf 7:172–173]

He said: On that day, He gathered before Himself all who would exist until the Day of Resurrection, made them into pairs, fashioned them, and brought them before Him. Then He took from them the covenant and solemn pledge, making them testify concerning themselves: “Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Yes indeed; we bear witness”—up to His saying: “for what those who dealt in falsehood did.” [al-A‘raf 7:172–173]

He said: “I call the seven heavens and the seven earths to witness against you, and I call your father Adam to witness against you, lest you say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We did not know of this.’ Know that there is no god besides Me and no lord besides Me. Do not associate anything with Me. I shall send to you messengers who will remind you of My covenant and My solemn pledge, and I shall send down to you My Books.”

They said: “We bear witness that You are our Lord and our God. We have no lord besides You and no god besides You.” Thus, on that day, they affirmed their obedience to Him. Their father Adam was then raised up above them, and he looked at them. He saw among them the poor, and he saw among them the prophets, like lamps illuminated with light. They were singled out for another covenant concerning the divine message and prophethood. This is what He says:

“And when We took from the prophets their covenant ... and from you, and from Noah ... and We took from them a solemn covenant.” [al-Ahzab 33:7] ... [al-Ahzab 33:7] ... [al-Nisa’ 4:154]

It is also what He says:

“So set your face toward the religion as one inclining to truth—the natural disposition of Allah upon which He has created mankind. There is no changing Allah’s creation.” [al-Rum 30:30]

And concerning this He said: “This is a warning like the earlier warnings.” [al-Najm 53:56] He took His covenant from the earlier warners. Concerning this, He also says: “We found no covenant with most of them; rather, We found most of them to be defiantly disobedient.” [al-A‘raf 7:102]

And concerning this: “Then, after him, We sent messengers to their people, and they came to them with clear proofs; but they would not believe in that which they had previously denied.” In His knowledge, on the day they affirmed it, were those who would deny it and those who would believe in it.

Thus Jesus, peace be upon him, was among those souls from the children of Adam from whom the covenant and solemn pledge had been taken. Allah, exalted is He, then sent that to Mary when:

“She withdrew from her family to an eastern place and screened herself from them. Then We sent to her Our Spirit, and he appeared before her as a well-proportioned man. She said, ‘Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, if you are God-fearing.’ He said, ‘I am only a messenger from your Lord, to grant you a pure son.’ She said, ‘How can I have a son when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?’” [Mary 19:17]

⦗620⦘ up to His saying: “So she conceived him.” [Mary 19:22]

He said: Thus she conceived the one who addressed her: the spirit of Jesus, son of Mary.