Al-Haaqqa (The Reality)

18. That Day shall everyone be brought to Divine Threshold, not a secret of you shall be veiled.

19. Then, as for him who shall carry his Record in his right hand shall say [happily and proudly]: “Here! Read my Record!

20. Certainly, I did believe that there shall be the Resurrection Day and I shall meet my Record of Deeds!”

21. So he shall be in a life, well-pleasing.

22. In a lofty Paradise,

23. The fruits in bunches whereof shall near at hand.

24. Eat and drink at ease for the deeds you did in days past!

It was mentioned above under the preceding blessed Verses that

“blowing into the Trumpet”

shall occur twice.

Upon the first blowing, all animate entities shall die and the world of existence shall perish; though it shall be upon the second that a new world shall be created and mankind and angels shall be revived.

As mentioned above, the opening of the blessed Verses reflect the first blowing where as the close thereof is indicative of the second. Proceeding with the same issue, the blessed Verses in question open by saying that on that Day, you shall be all brought before God Almighty and none of our deeds shall be concealed.

The passive verbal form

tu‘radhun (“you shall be presented”)

derives from ‘-r-dh denoting present or show something in commercial transactions or otherwise.

It is worthy of note that men and other creatures are permanently before Divine Threshold, though it shall be reflected with further clarity on the Day of Resurrection. For instance, Divine Sovereignty over the world of existence is everlasting, though such Sovereignty shall be in utmost clarity on that Day.

The clause

“not a secret of you shall be veiled”

may reflect that the secrets shall be revealed on that Day, as it is mentioned elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an¹ :

“The Day when all the secrets shall be revealed,”

thus disclosing all secret deeds, characters, and intentions.

Some Qur’an exegetes maintain that such event shall be even far greater than the shattering of the mountains and rending asunder of celestial spheres and bodies, since it shall be the Day of utter disgrace for the evil doers and unrivaled honor and glory for the believers, when men shall appear with disclosed secrets and intentions and nothing shall be concealed from anyone on that Day. It may so make a reference to Divine Omniscience on that Day. God Almighty knows best.

Thus, the blessed Verse 19 says:

“Then, as for him who shall carry his Record in his right hand shall say [happily and proudly]: “Here! Read my Record!”

He is seemingly quite happy that he is granted innumerable Bounties and Guidance.

He is totally grateful and utters

“Praise be to Allah.”

Summarizing his greatest glory, in the blessed Verse 20 he says:

“Certainly, I did believe that there shall be the Resurrection Day and I shall meet my Record of Deeds!”

The Arabic past verbal form

thanantu (“I did certainly believe”)

reflects that such person is saying that he has been rewarded Divine Bounties for his certitude regarding the Day of Resurrection.

It is true that belief in reckoning of the deeds on the Day of Resurrection imbues man with the spirit of fearing God Almighty and feeling the responsibility vested with him. It is the most significant factor in man’s spiritual growth.

Some of these Divine Rewards are enumerated in the following blessed Verse 21:

“So he shall be in a life, well-pleasing.”

Everything is included in the blessed Verse, though further clarification is to be found in the blessed Verse 22:

“In a lofty Paradise…”

so exalted that it is unimaginable, unseen, and unheard.

The blessed Verse 23 says:

“The fruits in bunches whereof shall near at hand,”

by which it is intended to say that there shall be no toil in picking the fruits, nor shall be any impediment to approaching the fruitful trees. All Divine Bounties shall be accessible to the people of Paradise. The Arabic word qutuf denotes picked fruit.

The blessed Verse 24 includes an affectionate address to the people of Paradise by God Almighty, saying:

“Eat and drink at ease for the deeds you did in days past!”

The point is that all these great Divine Bounties are well-measured bestowed upon people for their deeds done in this world and sent in advance. It is noteworthy of such insignificant deeds entail such Rewards in the light of Divine Graciousness and Mercy.

It is reflected in numerous traditions that the blessed Verse 19 concerns Imam ‘Ali or him and his followers, though it is one of the obvious implications of the blessed Verse whose contextual meaning may not be restricted in semantic scope.