It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah Almighty took a firm covenant from Adam’s (peace be upon him) progeny at the place of Nu’man, that is, ‘Arafah. The method was that Allah Almighty brought forth from his back all his offspring that He was to create, and scattered them before him like ants. Then, addressing them face to face, He said:“Am I not your Lord?”All replied,“Yes, indeed! We all bear witness.”This was so that on the Day of Resurrection you may not say,“We were unaware of this,”or say,“It was our forefathers who committed shirk before us, and we were their descendants after them; so will You destroy us for the deeds of those who went astray?”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) that, explaining the interpretation of Allah Almighty's statement «وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ» , he says: Allah Almighty gathered them in the form of souls, then made their images and called them forth, so they spoke. Then He took a firm covenant from them and made them witnesses over themselves and said: "Am I not your Lord? I make the seven heavens and the seven earths witnesses over you, and I also make your father Adam (peace be upon him) a witness over you, so that you may not say on the Day of Resurrection that we had no knowledge of this matter. Know that there is no deity nor Lord besides Me, so do not associate anyone with Me. Soon I will send My messengers to you; they will remind you of My promise and covenant, and I will also send down books upon you." All of them replied: "We bear witness that You alone are our Lord and deity; we have no Lord besides You." Thus, they acknowledged this matter.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, it will be said to a man from among the people of Hell: What do you think, if you were to offer as ransom all that is on the earth, would you give it to save yourself from this punishment? He will say: Yes. Allah Almighty will say: I had asked you for something easier than this. I had taken a covenant from you, while you were in the loins of Adam (peace be upon him), that you should not associate anything with Me, but you refused and persisted in associating partners with Me."

It is narrated from Abdur Rahman bin Ghanm that Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) related to him that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) one day rode on his donkey named Ya’foor, its rope was made of palm leaves. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Mu’adh! You also mount.”I said: O Messenger of Allah! You go ahead (I am fine walking), but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) again said:“You mount.”So I mounted behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It happened that the donkey stumbled and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and smiled, and I felt regret in my heart. Then the same happened the second and third time as well. In any case, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) put his blessed hand behind and struck my back with a whip or stick and said:“Mu’adh! Do you know what right Allah has over His servants?”I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Indeed, Allah’s right over His servants is that they worship Him and do not associate anything with Him.”Then, as much as Allah willed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went forward, and then put his hand behind and struck my back and said:“O Mu’adh! O son of Mu’adh’s mother! Do you know what right the servants have over Allah if they do so?”I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Indeed, when the servants do so, their right over Allah is that He admits them to Paradise.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We came to Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Tell us some strange hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: Yes, that incident is that I was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on a donkey. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Mu'adh bin Jabal!" I said: I am present, O Messenger of Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you know what right Allah has over His servants?" I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. Then he mentioned the hadith as above, but in this narration, instead of saying that He will admit them to Paradise, the words are that He will not punish them, and in one narration there is this addition: At the end I said: O Messenger of Allah! Should I not convey this hadith to the people and give them glad tidings? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave it, so that they may continue to do more deeds."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We came to Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Tell us some strange hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: Yes, that incident is that I was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on a donkey. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Mu'adh bin Jabal!" I said: I am present, O Messenger of Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you know what right Allah has over His servants?" I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. Then he mentioned the hadith as above, but in this narration, instead of saying that He will admit them to Paradise, the words are that He will not punish them, and in one narration there is this addition: At the end I said: O Messenger of Allah! Should I not convey this hadith to the people and give them glad tidings? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave it, so that they may continue to do more deeds."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "O Abu Hurairah! Do you know what is the right of people upon Allah and the right of Allah upon people?" I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The right of Allah upon His servants is that they worship Him and do not associate anything with Him, and if they do so, then their right upon Allah is that He does not punish them."

Sayyiduna Tufail bin Sakhbara (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the half-brother of Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), narrates: I saw in a dream that I passed by a group of Jews and asked them: Who are you people? They said: We are Jews. I said: If you did not say that Uzair is the son of Allah Almighty, you would have been the best nation. They said: You Muslims would also be the best nation, if only you did not say that (whatever happens is) what Allah wills and what Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) wills. Then I passed by a group of Christians and asked them: Who are you people? They said: We are Christians. I said: If you did not say that the Messiah (peace be upon him) is the son of Allah Almighty, you would have been the best people. But they replied: If you also did not say that (whatever happens is) what Allah wills and what Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) wills, then you too would have been the best nation. When morning came, after relating this dream to some people, I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him the whole matter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me: "Did you tell this dream to anyone?" I said: Yes. Then, after the people had performed the prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed them, and after praising and glorifying Allah Almighty, he said: "Tufail has seen a dream and has told some of you about it. The matter is that you people used to say a certain phrase, (I disliked it) but modesty prevented me from forbidding you. (Now that the matter is clear) do not say: (whatever happens is) what Allah wills and what Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) wills."

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a man came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I saw in a dream that I met some people of the Book and they said to me: You (Muslims) are very good people, if only you did not say: (It happens only as) Allah wills and Muhammad (peace be upon him) wills. Upon hearing this, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I also disliked your saying this. In the future, say: What Allah Almighty wills, and then what Muhammad (peace be upon him) wills."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man said to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whatever Allah wills and you will." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Have you made me a partner with Allah? Only what the One and Only Allah wills (happens)."