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What is the ruling on one who denies the existence of the world of particles (alam al-dharr) and interprets the verse "Am I not your Lord?" as an expression of divine will and creation, rather than a revelation and instruction, and that what is meant by it is the religious instinct and spiritual feeling?

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There is a difference between denying the world of atoms (alam al-dharr) and the covenant taken from Adam and his progeny, and denying that this is an interpretation of Allah's saying: "{And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This was] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."}" [Al-A'raf: 172]. Ahl al-Sunnah (the People of the Sunnah) believe in the covenant and the world of atoms, but they differed in interpreting the verse. The majority of them interpret it as such, while some believe that the testimony in the verse is an interpretation of the primordial nature (fitra) of monotheism, and not a real testimony. The most preponderant opinion is that the testimony in the verse is real, and that Allah brought forth the progeny of Adam from his loins and took a covenant from them. This is supported by hadiths and narrations. Denying the world of atoms entirely, and that the children of Adam were not brought forth from his loins nor was a covenant taken from them, is an erroneous statement that is rejected by hadiths and narrations, and on which Ahl al-Sunnah agree.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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