Hadith 115

Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said about the verse of Allah: "And when your Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants" (Surah Al-A'raf: 172), that Allah gathered them, turned them into spirits, and then He formed them. He made them speak, and they responded. Then Allah took the covenant and the oath from them and made them testify upon themselves: "Am I not your Lord?" He said: "I will bear witness to you, the seven heavens and the seven earths, and I will also bear witness to your father, Adam, that you will not say on the Day of Judgment: 'We were unaware of this.' Know that there is no deity except Me, and no Lord other than Me, and do not associate anything with Me. I will send My messengers to remind you of My covenant and oath, and I will send down My books upon you." They said, "We bear witness that You are our Lord and our God. There is no Lord for us other than You, and no God for us other than You." They acknowledged this, and Adam looked at them. He saw the rich and the poor, those of good appearance and others less so. Adam then said, "My Lord, why did You not make all of Your servants equal?" Allah replied, "I loved to be thanked." Then Adam saw the Prophets among them, shining like lamps, with light upon them. They were chosen with another covenant in the message and prophethood. This is as Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: "And when We took the covenant from the Prophets..." up to His saying, "And Jesus, the son of Mary" (Al-Ahzab: 7). These souls were present, and He sent them to Maryam (Mary). It is narrated from Ubayy that he entered through her.