The Qur’an declares (15:85), “We (God) did not create the heavens, the earth and whatsoever is in between, except with truth. Indeed, the Hour is coming – therefore, bear with graceful forbearance.”
Truth is foundational to the very fabric of our existence. It underlies the natural laws that govern the universe, the moral principles that shape human society, and the systems of governance where justice must prevail. Whether in the laws of physics, the self-evident truth that all human beings are created equal, or the rule of law that upholds justice over corruption—truth is the bedrock of order, dignity, and meaning. Truth or the certainty of our realities or its perception in human mind and psyche, is achieved through several means such as:
- Sensory Reality - touch, smell, hearing, seeing and through instrumentation, laws of nature, etc., where truth is through observation, measurement and calculation. The Qur’an gives it a simple name as ayi’nal yakin (عَيْنَ ٱلْيَقِينِ), such as reality through seeing, experiencing, enabling, etc.
- Intellectual Reality – Through knowledge, wisdom, mathematics, philosophy, logic, and intuition, we reason and reflect beyond sensory input. We get to the truth using facts, expansion of knowledge, wisdom, deep thinking, reflection, cognition and other human capacities for comprehension and analysis that is beyond pure sensory stimulus or input. This is ‘Ilm al-Yaqin (عِلْمَ ٱلْيَقِينِ): truth attained through contemplation, analysis, and the effort to understanding.
- Divinely Inspired Reality – Through deep meditation, spiritual insight, and God inspired revelation, we grasp truths about our creation and existence; our purpose and accountability, our afterlife including judgement day, the accountability of our actions, and the possibility of higher intelligence than our own. This is Haqq al-Yaqin (حَقُّ ٱلْيَقِينِ): the ultimate truth revealed through divine communication and spiritual awakening.
Together, these three dimensions form a comprehensive framework for understanding reality—one that integrates empirical evidence, intellectual rigor, and spiritual depth. Today, truth is under siege. We witness:
- The denial of human suffering and war crimes in various parts of the world, especially in Gaza
- The distortion of root causes for human dislocation and injustice across the globe
- The refusal of powerful nations and wealthy elites to take responsibility for rising corruption and autocracy.
- The denial of climate catastrophe by businesses and political interests
- The list goes on.
In today’s dominant paradigms—where science and capital are held as supreme—growing trends toward atheism and the misuse of religious teachings have elevated sensory reality as the gold standard for discerning truth. This narrow focus has marginalized our intellectual capacities and nearly dismissed the divine dimensions of reality. As a result, we are witnessing an unprecedented rupture in our societal fabric, one that undermines the very foundation of our existence as accountable human beings—accountable not only to ourselves and one another, but to God, who created us with purpose and moral responsibility.
As the Qur’an urgently calls, “Let there be among Our creation a group that seeks the truth and establish justice thereby” (7:181), the time has come to heed this divine summons. If we are to preserve our honor and dignity in this world—and to aspire toward a better afterlife—we must commit ourselves to truth and justice as sacred responsibilities.
