50 - الْحَقُّ

[Bint e Aisha]

الْحَقُّ

 

 

Translation 

 

الْحَقُّ is translated as The Truth and The Only Reality.

 

Definition

It is defined in different ways and one of them is The True Presence Who exists. Another definition is The True existence whose presence and divinity is evident by proofs i.e. there are proofs that He exists (You have to look for them but they exist). 

 

Another way it is defined is, that Being Whose existence cannot be denied and to acknowledge it is necessary i.e. the existence of Allah ta’ala is such an ultimate truth and reality that it cannot be denied and the point that is made here is that there is no clear proof that He does not exist. This is actually the basic level of Deen or any religion and especially in the Abrahamic religions that God exists. 

 

Atheists have no Proof God does not exist

Therefore the truth of Allah ta’ala is so strong and so evident that His nonexistence cannot be proven. In debates with atheists when they say, “How do you know God exists?” the answer is, “How do you know God does not exist?”

 

Story of Person in search of truth
Ibn Katheer relates that a Muslim was not sure of his beliefs. He was a calligrapher and so he wrote manuscripts of the Tawrah, the Bible and the Qur’an but with some changes in each.  He then went to see the scholars of each religion and presented it to them. The Jewish and Christian scholars were happy to see the beautiful manuscripts and rewarded him however the Muslim scholars found the mistakes and had him arrested for tampering with the Qur’an. He admitted making the changes and explained his reason which was to see which religion was true and protected by Allah ta’ala. 

 

Story of Salman Farsi RA

There are many stories of people in search of the truth and one of the more famous ones is the search for truth of Salman Farsi RA. He grew up in Persia where his father kept him imprisoned for fear of losing him. He was devoted to the Magian religion however he came across Christianity and inclined towards it. He left home and travelled to Syria where he came into the service of a Bishop however he found the Bishop was corrupt. When the Bishop died he was replaced by a new Bishop who was an ascetic who longed forthe Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. Salman RA was devoted to him and spent time in his company. On the death of this Bishop he travelled to another place where the Bishop was also an ascetic and he spent time in his service however as death neared him, Salman RA asked him where he should go after his death. The Bishop replied, 

 

“There is nobody following our ways of life I can send you to. Nevertheless, your life seems to coincide with the era of the predestined Prophet who will arise from the Haram. His migration will be to a city full of date trees. Moreover, he will certainly have some distinct features: Between his shoulder blades, there will be the Seal of the Prophethood. He will eat food, provided it is a gift and not a donation. If you can reach that city, then do so, because you are very close to his era.”

 

Eventually Salman RA reached Madeenah and awaited the arrival of the final Prophet he was told about and when the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam reached Madeenah after Hijrah Salman RA accepted him.

 

Allah ta’ala is called الْحَقُّ and it means Allah ta’ala is The Truth and when a person tries to find the truth, it will lead to Him.

 

‘Ibaadah is only for Allah ta’ala

Only Allah ta’ala is الْحَقُّ  and ‘Ibaadah is showing or manifesting the feeling of humility and this is only for Allah ta’ala and not for any Makhlooq and this is strongly mentioned in the Qur’an,

 

اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا ۖ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
 

They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God. There is no god save Him. Be He glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)! 
[Surah Tawbah: 31]

 

‘Adi bin Hatim narrated, “I came to the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam while I had a cross of gold around my neck. He said: ‘O ‘Adi! Remove this idol from yourself!’ And I heard him reciting from Surah Bara’ah: They took their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah (9:31). He said: ‘As for them, they did not worship them, but when they made something lawful for them, they considered it lawful, and when they made something unlawful for them, they considered it unlawful.’”

 

So it does not mean just worship people but also to follow them and let them determine what is Halaal and Haraam and Muslims do this too. They do not study the Qur’an and Hadith and sometimes blindly follow other people and Scholars who are not on the truth and this is a type of Shirk as well. 

 

In the Qur’an

It is mentioned 10 times in the Qur’an.

 

ثُمَّ رُدُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلَاهُمُ الْحَقِّ - Then those souls are brought back to Allah, their real Master. [SurahAn’aam: 62]

 

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّهُ يُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ وَأَنَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ 
 

That is because Allah, He is the Truth. Lo! He quickeneth the dead, and lo! He is Able to do all things; [Surah Hajj: 6]

Allah ta’ala is the True Lord and we do not worship Prophets like the Christians did or angels like the Mushrikeen did and nowadays scientists often worship science i.e. science has truth in it however it is only Allah ta’ala Who is The True Creator and Lord and when we know this then we know that it is only Him we should ask help from. In Surah Faatihah we say,

 

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ - Thee (alone) we worship; Thee alone we ask for help. 

 

Going through the names of Allah ta’ala we realise that Allah ta’ala holds the ultimate and absolute level in all His attributes and we know not to turn to anyone else and this is the running theme in the Asmaa ul Husnaa.

 

Prayer of the Night 
 

It is narrated that when the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam got up at night to offer the Tahajjud prayer, he used to say these words of praise,

 

اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ قَيِّمُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ، لَكَ مُلْكُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ، وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ نُورُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ، وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ الْحَقُّ، وَوَعْدُكَ الْحَقُّ، وَلِقَاؤُكَ حَقٌّ، وَقَوْلُكَ حَقٌّ، وَالْجَنَّةُ حَقٌّ، وَالنَّارُ حَقٌّ، وَالنَّبِيُّونَ حَقٌّ، وَمُحَمَّدٌ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَقٌّ، وَالسَّاعَةُ حَقٌّ، اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ، وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ وَعَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ، وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْتُ، وَبِكَ خَاصَمْتُ، وَإِلَيْكَ حَاكَمْتُ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَمَا أَخَّرْتُ، وَمَا أَسْرَرْتُ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُ، أَنْتَ الْمُقَدِّمُ وَأَنْتَ الْمُؤَخِّرُ، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ 

 

O Allah! All the praises are for you, You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. All the praises are for You; You have the possession of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. All the praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth And all the praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth; And all the praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the truth, And to meet You is true, Your Word is the truth And Paradise is true And Hell is true And all the Prophets (Peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad is true, And the Day of Resurrection is true. O Allah ! I surrender (my will) to You; I believe in You and depend on You. And repent to You, And with Your help I argue (with my opponents, the non-believers) And I take You as a judge (to judge between us). Please forgive me my previous And future sins; And whatever I concealed or revealed And You are the One who make (some people) forward And (some) backward. There is none to be worshipped but you [Bukhari]

 

Being Truthful
 

We should make Du’a to be on the true path and to be with the truthful people. To be truthful to Allah ta’ala we need to be true servants and to be true to ourselves and to other people. There are many Hadith about being truthful.

 

الْحَقُّ has a higher level meaning. It is not about speaking the truth. In regards to Allah ta’ala, He is the ultimate Truth.

 

It comes that everything in the world is Baatil and this is the opposite of Haqq. In Surah Rahmaan (verses 26-27) Allah ta’ala says, 

 

 كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ - All that exists on the earth will perish.

وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ - But the Face of your Rabb will remain full of Majesty and Glory. 

 

A verse in the Qur’an says this Dunya is Daarul Ghuroor, a place of deception/delusion and we live lives of delusion thinking we are something we are not. Allah ta’ala is The Truth and the force that will break us out of our falsehood. We should acknowledge our wrongdoing to Allah ta’ala and ask to be saved from all falsehood and to be guided towards Him as He is الْحَقُّ. 

 

The more a person tries to be truthful to themselves and to others and live truthful lives, the more Allah ta’ala will bring them to Himself. 

 

Haqq can also mean rights of Allah ta’ala i.e. Huqooqullah and Huqooqul ‘Ibaad, rights of Allah ta’ala and rights of the slaves of Allah ta’ala. 

 

Counsel

Allah ta’ala has the right to be obeyed, loved and worshipped and therefore not to give these rights to any human be it a Prophet or a scholar. We see this in the Asmaa ul Husnaa again and again. 

 

We are often confused regarding what is right and wrong and what is true or false. If we say, “O Allah, I worship only You” then He will protect us from false people and paths. 

 

To remember that the Qur’an is the Kitaab of Haqq and the words of الْحَقُّ  and if we hold fast to it then we will be guided on the path of guidance and truth. 

 

The truth touches people and the Quran touches even disbelievers to some extent. Allah ta’ala gives opportunities to everyone to glimpse the truth. Sometimes we see it and turn the other way as it is too hard to digest but may Allah ta’ala give us more opportunities and to take them up these opprotunities. People do not want to hear the truth or accept it and Allah ta’ala says in the Qur’an that people are in delusion even though they know the truth. People do not want to be reminded of death and the Aakhirah. They want to remain happy in their delusion. If people deny the commands of Allah ta’ala they deny the truth. People’s acceptance or non-acceptance does not change the truth. It still remains the truth.

 

*~~*~~*