Verse 172 of the Holy Quran, Surah al-Aʻrāf , is considered one of the foundational verses in Islamic thought. This verse speaks of a covenant and a promise that God Almighty made with human beings and asked them to fulfill. Islamic scholars, generally relying on certain narrations, have mentioned a concept called the "The World of Dharr " in the context of this verse. Although this concept is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran itself, its early presence in a diverse range of hadith, exegetical, theological, and mystical discourses in the early Islamic centuries indicates its importance. Despite the extensive research that has been conducted on this concept in general and specifically in the context of Verse 172 of al-Aʻrāf , there are still serious disagreements about it. The present study aims to analyze the narrations that are the source of this concept in order to deconstruct it. It also critiques the exegetical views using an approach of "Quran-by-Quran" exegesis and concludes that: first, Verse 172 of Surah al-Aʻrāf is structurally similar to other verses that emphasize the divine covenant taken from prophets, the Children of Israel, the Children of Adam, etc.. Second, contrary to what is widely believed, no confirmation of the aforementioned concept can be found in this holy verse.
