Why Was This Covenant Taken?

There are two things here. One is the ʿahd. Why was this ʿahd taken? Why was this covenant taken? Scholars explain that it was taken so that it would be a reminder on the Day of Judgment. We are made to forget it in this world. Can anybody remember it? Does anybody recall saying balā? There were in fact some people who said they could recall it.

Now, just because we cannot recall it, to deny it would not be very sensible, because there are many things that we know we have gone through and cannot remember, such as being in the embryonic stage. Who can remember that? Does anybody remember being in the womb, or have any recollection of it? Just because we cannot remember something, it does not mean it did not happen. Allah says so in the Qur'an, so we believe in it.

The benefit, obviously, is that this creation recognises Allah, because that is how they were created. This point has come up before, in an earlier chapter. We are now made to forget it. On the Day of Judgment, we will remember it as though it had happened only the day before. It will be fresh in our minds. With that bit of information, the ḥujjah will be established against us. If somebody has not acted according to it, and has disagreed, and has not believed in Allah as their Lord, then they will see the contradiction in their life. On the Day of Judgment, they will see how they believed in it, where they came from, and then what they did afterwards. So there will be nobody who feels that they have been cheated on the Day of Judgment.

Obviously, if this were something we remembered, true as a reality in this world, then the test of this world would diminish. So this is the wise purpose of Allah in making it something forgotten to us. He reminds us of it through the Qur'an, through the messengers: that this is the way He wants us to be; that He is our Lord, and this is what He wants us to do. He even tells us that this happened: even though we cannot remember it, He tells us that we did this, that we confessed. So that is the ʿahd Alast, and we believe in it.