Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ { وَ اِذْ اَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيّٖنَ مِيْثَاقَهُمْ …:} In the pre-Islamic society, the command to attribute adopted sons to their real fathers, and then the command to marry the wife of your adopted son Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) after his divorce, was extremely difficult to implement, because the issue of adoption had taken the form of a religious belief for them and had become deeply ingrained in their veins. Then, there were various apprehensions regarding the marriage with Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her). Therefore, Allah Almighty reminded you (peace be upon him) of the covenant He took from all the Prophets and from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself, in which it was made obligatory upon them that under all circumstances, they would not feel any difficulty in implementing the commands and conveying them to the people, nor would they fear anyone besides Allah Almighty in this matter. The same point is coming again in more detail in this Surah Al-Ahzab in verses (38, 39). The mention of the covenant taken from the Prophets is found in this verse of Surah Al-Ahzab and in verses (38, 39), as well as in Surah Al-Imran verse (81) and Surah Ash-Shura verse (13), that every Prophet will affirm all the other Prophets, will establish the religion upon himself and upon the people, will avoid division in the religion, and despite it being burdensome for the polytheists, will not fall short in inviting to Allah’s religion.

➋ { وَ مِنْكَ وَ مِنْ نُّوْحٍ … :} After taking the covenant from all the Prophets, He explicitly mentioned the taking of the covenant by naming five Prophets. This shows the greatness of the status of these Prophets. The call of each of these Prophets continued for a long period, then, despite coming at the very end, the name of our Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) was mentioned first. After him, the names of the remaining Prophets were mentioned in the order of their coming. This is intended to express his (peace be upon him) exalted status, and also that here the mention of this covenant is specifically for him. Some commentators have written at this point that the reason for this is that although the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came last in the world, he was the first to come into existence, meaning he was created first, but this statement is completely baseless. The hadith in which it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked, “Since when are you a Prophet?” and he (peace be upon him) replied: [ كُنْتُ نَبِيًّا وَ آدَمُ بَيْنَ الرُّوْحِ وَ الْجَسَدِ ] [ مستدرک حاکم : 608/2، ح : ۴۲۰۹ ] (I was a Prophet when Adam was between soul and body), this means that in Allah Almighty’s decree, his Prophethood was determined. It does not mean that he had already been created at that time, because it is well known to everyone that he (peace be upon him) was created last.

➌ Especially, the emphasis on the Messenger (peace be upon him) to convey Allah’s commands is mentioned in Surah Al-Ma’idah (67), and the emphasis on the People of the Book is mentioned in Surah Al-Imran (187) and Al-A’raf (169).

➍ At this point, reminding of this covenant and especially saying {’’ مِنْكَ ‘‘} means that you, who are hesitating to break the pre-Islamic custom regarding adopted relationships and are afraid of the taunts and criticisms of the enemies, should not care at all about people’s taunts and criticisms. Just as with other Prophets, we have a firm covenant with you that whatever we command you, you will carry it out and command others to follow it. Therefore, fulfill the obligation we have placed upon you without hesitation and do not care about the words of the disbelievers and hypocrites; it is our responsibility to protect you from them. He said: «{ وَ اللّٰهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ }» [المائدۃ : ۶۷ ] “And Allah will protect you from the people.”

7-1 What is meant by this covenant is: According to some, it is the covenant of mutual help and affirmation that was taken from the Prophets (علیہم السلام), as mentioned in (وَاِذْ اَخَذَ اللّٰهُ مِيْثَاق النَّبِيّٖنَ لَمَآ اٰتَيْتُكُمْ مِّنْ كِتٰبٍ وَّحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَاۗءَكُمْ رَسُوْلٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهٖ وَلَتَنْصُرُنَّهٗ ۭ قَالَ ءَاَقْرَرْتُمْ وَاَخَذْتُمْ عَلٰي ذٰلِكُمْ اِصْرِيْ ۭ قَالُوْٓا اَقْرَرْنَا ۭ قَالَ فَاشْهَدُوْا وَاَنَا مَعَكُمْ مِّنَ الشّٰهِدِيْنَ) 3. Aal-e-Imran:81). Specifically, the names of five Prophets (علیہم السلام) are mentioned, which highlights their importance and greatness, and among them, the mention of the Prophet comes first, even though in terms of prophethood, he is the last. The way in which this expresses his greatness and honor needs no explanation.

7. And remember the covenant We took from the prophets, and from you, and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus son of Mary [12]. We took a firm covenant from all of them.

[12]
What is the Covenant of the Prophets?

The covenant of the prophets is separate from the Covenant of Alast. And this covenant has also been mentioned multiple times in the Quran. [2: 83، 3: 187، 5: 67، 7: 169 تا 171، 42: 13 ميں]
And that covenant was that every prophet would affirm the truth of the prophets before him and their scriptures, would be the first to obey every command of Allah Almighty himself and then have others obey it, would convey Allah’s message to others without any omission or addition, and would not hold back from striving to implement these commands to the best of his ability. At this point, reminding of this covenant and especially addressing you means that if you are hesitating to break the custom of the Age of Ignorance regarding adopted relationships, and are afraid of the taunts and reproaches of the enemies, then do not care about these people at all. Just as with other prophets, We have a firm covenant with you as well, that whatever We command you, you will carry it out and command others to follow it. Therefore, the service We wish to take from you, fulfill it without hesitation and do not fear the gloating of the enemies.