It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them testify over themselves" up to "Will You then destroy us for what the falsifiers did?" [Surah al-A'raf: 172 - 173] , that he said: "On that day Allah Almighty gathered all the human beings who were to come into existence until the Day of Resurrection. He made them souls, then He gave them form and gave them the power of speech, so they spoke. Then He took from them the covenant and pledge and, making them witnesses over themselves, said: 'Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes indeed, we testify, lest you say on the Day of Resurrection: We were unaware of this', or that you say: 'It was only our forefathers who associated partners (with Allah) before, and we were their descendants after them; will You then destroy us for what the people of falsehood did?' Allah Almighty said: 'I make the seven heavens, the seven earths and your father Adam (peace be upon him) witnesses over you, lest you say on the Day of Resurrection: We did not know, or: We were unaware of this. So do not associate anything with Me. I will send you My messengers who will remind you of this covenant and pledge of Mine, and I will send down My books to you.' They all said: 'We testify that You are our Lord and our God; we have no Lord besides You and no God besides You.'" (Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b said:) Then their father Adam (peace be upon him) was raised up before them. He looked at his offspring and saw among them the rich, the poor, the handsome and people of other different conditions. He said: "O my Lord, if only You had made Your servants equal!" Allah said: "I love to be thanked." Adam (peace be upon him) saw among them the Prophets, shining like lamps. A separate covenant of messengership and prophethood was taken from them, and that is the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "And when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you and from Nuh" [Surah al-Ahzab: 7] ; and that is the saying of Allah: "So set your face to the religion, inclining to truth; the natural disposition of Allah upon which He created mankind; there is no altering the creation of Allah" [Surah al-Rum: 30] ; and that is the saying of Allah: "This is a warner like the warners of old" [Surah al-Najm: 56] ; and the saying of Allah: "And We did not find for most of them any covenant; rather, We found most of them defiantly disobedient" [Surah al-A'raf: 102] ; and the saying of the Exalted: "Then We sent after him messengers to their peoples, and they came to them with clear proofs, but they were not going to believe in what they had denied before" [Surah Yunus: 74] . On the day they affirmed what they affirmed, it was in His knowledge who would deny it and who would affirm it. The soul of Isa (peace be upon him) was among those souls from whom the covenant was taken in the time of Adam (peace be upon him). Then that same soul was sent to Maryam (peace be upon her) when the events took place from "she withdrew from her family to a place in the east" up to "a matter decreed. So she conceived him" [Surah Maryam: 16 - 21] . He said: Maryam (peace be upon her) conceived the one (the soul) who had spoken to her, and it was the soul of Isa (peace be upon him). It is narrated from Abu al-Aliyah that Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It (the soul) entered through her mouth." The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about this verse: "And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them testify over themselves: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes indeed, we testify, lest you say on the Day of Resurrection: We were unaware of this" [Surah al-A'raf: 172] . He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he was asked about it, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty created Adam (peace be upon him), then He wiped his back with His right hand and brought forth from it his offspring, and said: 'I have created these for Paradise, and they will do the deeds of the people of Paradise.' Then He wiped his back again and brought forth from it (other) offspring, and said: 'I have created these for the Fire, and they will do the deeds of the people of the Fire.'" At this a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, then what is the point of deeds?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, when Allah Almighty creates a servant for Paradise, He employs him in the deeds of the people of Paradise." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.