حَقُّ

13:20; 22:55; 35:32.

Commentary:

There are three degrees of certainty. viz. علم الیقین and عین الیقین and حق الیقین. Of these the first degree of certainty is knowledge of a thing acquired inferentially as we conclude the existence of fire from the presence of smoke in a place without witnessing the fire itself (علم الیقین). But if we see the fire itself, our knowledge of the existence of fire becomes certainty of the second degree (عین الیقین). Knowledge of a thing we witness with the eye may, however, be further improved through actual experience; for instance by thrusting our hand into the fire. This is the highest stage of certainty which in the language of the Quran is called حق الیقین. The verse means that life after death is certainty of the highest degree. The Surah had opened with the subject of the Resurrection and life after death and has closed on the same subject. This is a special peculiarity of the Quranic style that when a certain Surah begins with the discussion of a particular subject, after dealing exhaustively with it, it ends by briefly referring to the same subject.