Truth (haqq) in the Quran is one of the names of Ali (A). When the Quran says ʻthe truthʼ (haqq), then this word either directly means Ali (A), or somehow refers to Ali (A). Now we will cite the relevant verses and see how they relate to each other and explain each other.
There is one point to make here about the translation. The difference between the arabic word ʻhaqqʼ and the english word ʻtruthʼ is that haqq means not only ʻtruthʼ but also ʻrealityʼ and ʻrightʼ. The basis of the reality of a thing is its haqq.
Let’s start with the 53rd verse of surah “Yunus”:
وَيَسْتَنبِئُونَكَ أَحَقٌّ هُوَ قُلْ إِي وَرَبِّي إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ وَمَا أَنتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ
“And they ask you: Is he truth? Say: Yes, by my Lord, he is the truth, and you cannot weaken (him).”
ʻAhlu Sunnahʼ scholar Haskani Hanafi narrates from Abu Bakr Muameri from Yahya ibn Said from Jafar Sadiq (A) from his father (A) regarding this verse,
He said, “The people of Mecca asked Muhammad (S) about Ali ibn Abi Talib: is he Imam? And it was sent down: Yes, by my Lord, he is the truth, and you cannot weaken (him).”
(Shawahid ttanzil, Vol. 1, 361).
The same riwaya is quoted in “Amali” of Saduq, p. 601, and “Tafsir of Ayashi”, Vol. 2, p. 123.
In “Kafi” it is narrated that the Prophet (S) was asked, “What do you say about Ali?” And it was sent down, “Say: Yes, by my Lord, he is the truth, and you cannot weaken (him).”
The fact that this verse is about a person, and not about the Quran, is indicated by the pronoun “huwa” (he), which in Arabic is usually used for animate beings, that is, for people. If we were talking about the Quran, there would have to be the pronoun “haza” (this), usually used for inanimate things. Allah says in surah “Tawhid”, “Say: He is Allah, the One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge…”, but does not say, “This (haza) is Allah, the One …”
Further, at the end of the verse it is said: wa ma antum bi muAjizeen – “and you cannot weaken (him).” This expression is also not typical for a book, because how can you weaken the book? The book can be distorted, forgotten, destroyed but not weakened. You can weaken a person by depriving him of the place that was given to him. But since Ali (A) was appointed the Khalif of the Prophet (S) from the side of the Lord of the worlds, no one can take away this position from him: “And you cannot weaken (him).”
The fact that Ali (A) is the truth is also said by the well-known hadith from the Messenger of Allah (S):
“Ali is with the truth, and the truth is with Ali.” And in another hadith it is said, “Ali is the truth, and the truth is Ali.”
Let us now open the 17th verse of surah “Hud”:
أفمن كان على بينة من ربه ويتلوه شاهد منه ومن قبله كتاب موسى إماما ورحمة أولئك يؤمنون به ومن يكفر به من الأحزاب فالنار موعده فلا تك في مرية منه إنه الحق من ربك ولكن أكثر الناس لا يؤمنون
“He who has a clear sign from his Lord, and a witness from him follows him, and before him is the book of Musa, – an Imam and a mercy; those believe in him. But whoever disbelieves in him from the various factions – the Fire is his promised destination. Do not be in doubt about him! Indeed, he is the truth from your Lord, but most of the people do not believe.”
Maybe this verse is somewhat difficult for perception. Therefore, let’s understand it gradually.
According to all tafsirs, both Shii and Sunni, “he who has a clear sign from his Lord” is Muhammad (S).
“And a witness from him follows him” – this is Ali (A).
Sunni mufassir Tabari cites:
حدثنا محمد بن عمارة الأسدي قال: حدثنا رزيق بن مرزوق قال: حدثنا صباح الفراء عن جابر عن عبد الله بن نجي قال: قال علي رضي الله عنه: ما من رجل من قريش إلا وقد نزلت فيه الآية والآيتان. فقال له رجل: فأنت فأي شيء نزل فيك؟ فقال علي: أما تقرأ الآية التي نزلت في هود: (ويتلوه شاهد منه)
From Jabir from Abdullah ibn Naj that Ali (A) said, “There is no person from Quraysh, about whom an ayat or two ayats have not been sent down.” The man asked him, “And what verse was sent down about you?” Ali said, “Didn’t you read the ayat in Surah Hud: And a witness from him follows him?”
(Tafsir of Tabari, hadith 18048).
This hadith is also quoted by Qurtubi and Baghawi.
Qurtubi also cites in his “Tafsir”:
روي عن ابن عباس أنه قال: (هو علي بن أبي طالب
It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said, “This means Ali ibn Abi Talib.”
Scholars of ʻAhlu Sunnahʼ also claim that “a witness from him” can be understood as Jabrail or – quite strange! – “the language of the Prophet”. It is not clear what the “language of the Prophet” has to do with it, and as for Jabrail, the very words of the verse indicate the falsity of this interpretation: “And a witness from him follows him.” First, Jabrail did not follow the Prophet (C), but conveyed revelations to him. The one who followed him was the one who accompanied him everywhere and was his successor after his death, that is, Ali (A). Secondly, Allah says here “from him,” that is, from his family, from himself. Ali (A) was “from the Prophet” as he was his cousin, the husband of his daughter (A) and the father of his grandchildren (A). As the famous hadith says, “Ali is from me, and I am from Ali.”
So, the “witness from him” means Ali ibn Abi Talib (A), and only him.
This is also found in Shii tafsirs. Sheikh Kulayni quotes in “Kafi” from Imam Reza (A):
“The commander of the believers Ali (A) is a witness from the Messenger of Allah (S), and the Messenger of Allah (S) is the one who has a clear sign from his Lord.”
(Kafi, Vol. 1, 147).
So, we have established that the “witness from him” who follows the Messenger of Allah (that is, is his khalif) is Ali ibn Abi Talib (A). Now let’s look at the continuation of the verse, “And before him is the book of Musa, – an Imam and a mercy.” That is, the book of Musa (Torah) announced his arrival, and he (that is, Ali) is an Imam and a mercy.
As we can see, this verse directly says that Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) is the Imam. Of course, opponents of Shia, unwilling to admit it, argue that the expression “an Imam and a mercy” refers to the “book of Musa.” That is, the “Imam and mercy” here is the “book of Musa,” and not the “witness from him.”
However, if we look at the entire verse, we will see that its continuation speaks of the same person who is called “the witness from him” and “Imam.” Let’s take another look at the whole verse:
“He who has a clear sign from his Lord – that is, Muhammad (S) – and a witness from him follows him – that is Ali (A) – and before him is the book of Musa – that is, the book of Musa is before Ali (A), because this book confirms the fact that he is the successor of the Last Prophet (S) – an Imam and a mercy – that is, Ali (A) is Imam and mercy – those believe in him. – That is, true believers believe in him. – But whoever disbelieves in him from the various factions – the Fire is his promised destination. Do not be in doubt about him! Indeed, he is the truth from your Lord – that is, do not be, O Muslim, in doubt about Ali, for he is the truth (haqq) from your Lord – but most of the people do not believe.”
So, from the verse of Surah “Hud” we have analyzed, we understand the following:
1. Ali (A) is a witness for the Messenger of Allah (S), “following him,” that is, being his khalif and successor.
2. Ali (A) is Imam and mercy.
3. Ali (A) is the truth (haqq) from the Lord. He who does not believe in him will be in Fire forever. He is not an expression or manifestation of truth. He himself is the truth.
And Ali (A) was what they denied, as we read in the 32nd verse of the surah “Anfal”: “And when they said: O Allah! If he is the truth from You, then rain upon us stones from heaven or inflict on us a painful punishment.” Whom did they mean when they said, “If he is the truth from You”? Ali (A). This took place after the Ghadir oath, when Haris ibn Amru said, “O Allah, if this – that is, Wilaya of Ali after the Prophet (S) – is true, then send down a stone from heaven to me!” And as soon as he said it, a stone fell from the sky and pierced his body through and through, starting from the head. And about this case, the first verses of the surah “Maarij” also speak, “A questioner asked about a penalty to befall – the unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off, – (a penalty) from Allah, Lord of the Ways of Ascent.”
Now let’s move on to the 44th verse of Surah “The Cave”:
هُنَالِكَ الْوَلَايَةُ لِلَّهِ الْحَقِّ هُوَ خَيْرٌ ثَوَاباً وَخَيْرٌ عُقْباً
“This is Wilayat of Allah – the truth. He is better in reward and better in outcome” (18:44).
Sheikh Kulayni narrated in “Kafi” from Abdurrahman ibn Kathir, “I asked Imam Sadiq (A) about this verse, and he said: This is the commander of the believers Ali (A)”.
So, the Wilaya of Allah, which is mentioned here, is the Wilaya of Ali (A). And he is the truth (haqq), and he is better in reward and better in outcome.
Now let’s see how the heavens and the earth were created. Let’s open the surah “Ibrahim,” ayah 19: “Have you not seen that Allah created the heavens and the earth through the truth (bil-haqq)?” The preposition “bi” means “through” something. Allah created the heavens and the earth bil-haqq – through the truth. What truth? The same truth that the previous verses spoke of. Truth is Ali (A) and Wilaya of Ali (A). Through this truth, that is, from the light of Muhammad, Ali and the Household of Ali, the heavens and the earth were created. Opponents of Shia ask, how is the light of Ahl ul-Beit at the heart of all things? Here we see that the Quran tells you about this …
Let us also open the 85th verse of the surah “Hijr”: “We have not created the heavens and earth and that between them except through the truth,” through the haqq. Through the same haqq that you are unable to weaken, the heavens and the earth were created. As the first verse we quoted says, “And they ask you: Is he truth? Say: Yes, by my Lord, he is the truth, and you cannot weaken (him).” This is the same truth through which the heavens and the earth were created, and this is Ali (A). We see how different verses of the Quran support each other and refer to each other.
And in the 73rd verse of surah “The Cattle” we read: “And it is He who created the heavens and earth through the truth.”
And in the 3rd verse of surah “The Bees”: “He created the heavens and earth through the truth.”
And in the 44th verse of surah “The Spider”: “Allah created the heavens and the earth through the truth. Indeed in that is a sign for the believers.” Believers are those who recognize the Wilaya of Ali (A) and the Household of Ali (A). And in the fact that the heavens and the earth were created through them, through the light of Ali (A), is a sign for these believers.
Now let’s turn to the following topic. As you know, some suras of the Quran open with the letters of the Arabic alphabet, for example, “Alif. Lam. Mim” (surah “The Cow”), “Alif. Lam. Mim. Sad” (surah “The Heights”), “Alif. Lam. Ra” (surah “Yunus”) and so on.
It is necessary to pay attention to the following: if you collect all these letters and remove the repeating ones from them, then you get fourteen letters corresponding to the number of Fourteen Infallibles. They are: ص ر ا ط ع ل ي ح ح ن م س ك ه.
(Remove repeating ones from them – that is, for example, if the letter ʻmimʼ occurs several times at the beginning of different suras, then we leave it only once – and so with all other letters).
Only one phrase can be formed from this fourteen letters, and no other: صراط علي حق نمسكه – that is: “The path of Ali is the truth, we hold on to it.”
So, here we also see the word haqq, ʻtruthʼ in connection with Ali (A). This indicates that the reality and the interior of the Quran is nothing more than the fourteen lights of Ahl ul-Beit, of which it (the Quran) is the outer expression, and these fourteen lights are the primary letters that make up the essence of the Quran.
As it is said about this in the first verses of the surah “Zuhruf”, “Ha. Mim. By the clear Book” – and the clear Book here is Imam Ali (A), as he said, “This is the silent Quran, and I am the speaking Quran.” And then Allah says in the same surah “Zuhruf”, “Indeed, We have made him an Arabic Quran that you might understand” – that is, He have made the speaking Quran – and this is the Imam – a written Quran in Arabic. In other words, Allah have made the written Quran in Arabic the outer manifestation of this inner reality of Ahl ul-Beit. And then He says, “And, verily, he is in the Mother of the Book with Us – Ali the Wise” – that is, the reality of Ali (A) is the Mother of the Book. This is also said in the 12th verse of the surah “Ya.Sin,” “And all things We have enumerated in a clear Imam” – that is, every thing in the universe comes from the light of the Imamat. As we have just read, “And it is He who created the heavens and earth through the truth” – that is, through the clear Imam, through Ali (A).
And also at the beginning of surah “The Cow” we read:
الم ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
“Alif. Lam. Mim. That Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard.”
This verse is always incorrectly translated. The original says: zalika l-kitab – “THAT Book,” not “THIS Book” (haza l-kitab). Allah says, “that Book,” and not “this Book,” because it means “the speaking Quran,” that is, Imam (A), and not “this Book,” that is, the silent Quran, which is being held in the hands of people. Ali ibn Ibrahim Qummi cited that Imam Sadiq (A) said, “The Book here is Ali” (Tafsir Qummi, Vol. 1, 43). This is the very “clear Book,” the reality of which is made the Arabic Qoran, as we read in the first verses of the surah “Zuhruf.”
And in the 29th verse of the surah “Jasiya” we read:
هَذَا كِتَابُنَا يَنطِقُ عَلَيْكُم بِالْحَقِّ
“This Our Book speaks about you with truth.”
In “Tafsir Burhan” it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (A) says, “Indeed, the book does not speak, but Muhammad and Ahl ul-Beit of Muhammad (S) are ones who speak with the book.” That is, they are a speaking book – “that book”, which is mentioned at the beginning of surah “the Cow.”
And again we see how the verses of the Quran support and reveal each other. Ali (A) is haqq (truth), Ali (A) is Imam mubin (clear Imam), in which every thing is enumerated, Ali (A) is “that Book,” that is, the essence of the Quran or the speaking Quran, Ali (A) is in the letters that begin the suras, and Ali (A) is the truth through which the heavens and the earth were created. All of this points to the same reality.
Let us turn to other verses that speak about the truth. In the surah “Fussilat,” ayat 53, we read:
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ
“We will show them Our signs in the world and in themselves, so that it becomes clear to them that he is the truth” – that is, We will show you all these countless signs in the universe and in your souls until it becomes clear to you that the Imam is the truth and the greatest sign of Allah, by which Allah is known. You rejected the truth, you did not know the truth, but We will show you more and more signs, guide you through more and more trials in the world and in yourself, until you come to the conclusion that he (the Imam) is the truth and there is no other truth. As stated in the 32nd verse of the surah “Yunus”, “What is there after the truth but error?” After the truth, that is, the Imam, there is nothing but error, and everything other than him is a lie and falsehood.
In the 53rd verse of surah “The Heights” we read:
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ تَأْوِيلَهُ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي تَأْوِيلُهُ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ نَسُوهُ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَاءتْ رُسُلَ رَبِّباباا
“Do they await except its tawil? The day its tawil comes those who had ignored him before will say: The messengers of our Lord had come with the truth.” In “Tafsir of Qummi” we read, “It will be at the arrival of Qaim” – that is, at the arrival of Imam Mahdi, the tawil (the true interpretation of the Quran) will be revealed, but he himself is this tawil. “The day its tawil comes” – that is, the Imam comes. The Messenger of Allah (S) said, “O Ali, I fought for the tanzil, and you will fight for the tawil” – that is, for the true interpretation of the Quran. And when Ali (A) fought for tawil, it means that he fought for himself, because he is tawil: “This is the silent Quran, and I am the speaking Quran,” as he said on the day of Siffin.
And now, when the tawil comes, that is, the Imam, the Qaim of the Household of Muhammad (S) comes, “those who had ignored him before will say” – who was this ignored one? – Ali (A). They will say, “The messengers of our Lord had come with the truth (haqq).” With what truth? With the same truth of the Wilaya of Ali (A). “This is Wilayat of Allah – the truth. He is better in reward and better in outcome” (18:44).
Let’s open surah “The Women,” ayah 170:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءكُمُ الرَّسُولُ بِالْحَقِّ
“O people! Surely the Messenger has come to you with the truth from your Lord.”
Imam Baqir (A) says, “That is, with the Wilaya of Ali (A).”
(Kafi, Vol. 1, 351).
Let us turn to the 29th verse of surah “The Cave”:
وَقُلِ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ فَمَن شَاء فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَاء فَلْيَكْفُرْ إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ نَاراً
“And say: The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve. Indeed, We have prepared for the oppressors a fire.”
Imam Bakir (A) said, “The truth is from your Lord” – that is, Wilaya of Ali (A). Truth is Ali and Wilaya of Ali (A). – “Indeed, We have prepared for the oppressors a fire” – that is, for those who oppressed the Household of Muhammad (S) and took away their rights.
In the last verses of the surah “Haqqa” we read:
وَإِنَّهُ لَتَذْكِرَةٌ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ.
وَإِنَّا لَنَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مِنكُم مُّكَذِّبِينَ.
وَإِنَّهُ لَحَسْرَةٌ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ.
وَإِنَّهُ لَحَقُّ الْيَقِينِ
“Indeed, he is a reminder for the righteous! And indeed, We know that among you are deniers. And most surely he is a great grief to the unbelievers. And most surely he is truth of assured certainty” (69: 48-51).
Who is this “he” referred to in these verses? Imam Sadiq (A) says, “This is the commander of the believers Ali (A).” (“Manakib” by Ibn Shahr-Ashub, Vol. 3, 37; “Tafsir Qummi”, Vol. 2, 372).
Ali (A) is a reminder for the righteous, he is a great grief to the unbelievers, whom he struck with his sharpened sword, and he is truth of assured certainty, hakku l-yaqyn.
And the final verses that we will give here are the words of one of the last suras of the Koran: “By the afternoon.” The word asr has several meanings, including epoch, time, and afternoon. And the hadiths say that this refers to the time of the arrival of Qaim (A). “Indeed, mankind is in loss.” That is, all people who live before the arrival of Qaim are all in loss, except the believers: “Except those who believe…” Imam Sadiq (A) says, they believed in Wilaya of Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) – “and do good, and enjoin on each other truth” – that is, Wilaya of Ali (A), says Imam Sadiq (A), and, as we have already seen, in the Quran the word ʻtruthʼ always means Ali (A) or Wilaya of Ali (A) – “and enjoin on each other patience.”
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