2. YAQĪN (CERTAINTY)

Allah says in the Qur’ān:
وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ (الحجر : ٩٩)
“And serve thy Lord until there comes unto
thee the Hour that is certain” 2
What does the yaqīn, “the certainty” mean here? It is death. This is the translation given by Mujāhid, al-H...asan and Qatādah. They were the Qur’ānic commentators among the tābi’īn, people who were contemporary to the companions of the Prophet.
In another Qur’ānic verse, yaqīn also means “death”, when the people who are to enter Hell will say in the Hereafter:
وَكُنَّا نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ حَتَّى أَتَانَا الْيَقِينُ ( المدثر : ٤٦-٤٧ )
“And we used to deny the Day of Judgment, until there
came to us (the hour) that is certain.” 3
In one tradition the Prophet entered into the house of ‘Uthmān ibn Maz.‘ūn who was passing away, and said,
أَمَّا هُوَ فَقَدْ جَاءَهُ الْيَقِينُ وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لَأَرْجُو لَهُ الْخَيْرَ
(رواه البخاري وأحمد)
“As for him, the hour of certainty (meaning “death”)
has come to him, and I hope he will be well.” 4
Death is something of whose coming we are certain. According to the verse mentioned before, every Muslim has to serve and worship Allah until the imminent death comes.
Speaking about prayer, Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) said,
صَلِّ قَائِمًا فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَقَاعِدًا فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَعَلَى جَنْبٍ
(رواه البخاري وأبو داءود وابن ماجة و أحمد)
“Pray standing; if you can’t, pray sitting;
and if you can’t, pray laying down.” 5
This means, there is no excuse for not doing the prayer (except women in their period).
However, there is misinterpretation of the word yaqīn (certainty) in the verse mentioned before among people who claimed to be knowledgeable. They said that yaqīn in this verse means ma‘rifah (gnosis) or h.aqīqah (truth, reality). Therefore, they interpreted the verses mentioned above as “Worship your Lord until ultimate truth comes to you.” So, when this happens, sharī‘ah or religious obligations would not apply to them any longer. They would not have to pray any more, for every movement of their bodies, even the beat of their hearts would be prayer and dhikr (remembrance to Allah), h.ajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) would not apply to them any longer, for their hearts would have become the qiblah (direction in praying) and the Ka‘bah itself, and the t.awāf (the circumambulation around the Ka‘bah) would be around their hearts.
This interpretation is not only misleading, but also leads astray. Prophets, peace be upon them, were the chosen people who knew more about Allah and His injunctions than others, and yet, they were people who followed the most religious obligations. Who are we to claim to know something which allows us to be exempted from these religious obligations?
The other meaning of yaqīn is “the truth”. The lapwing (hoopoe) said to Prophet Sulaymān (Solomon, p.b.u.h.),
وَجِئْتُكَ مِنْ سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ ( النمل : ٢٢)
“And I have come to thee from Saba with tidings true” 6
All truth is in itself certain. Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728/1328) divided yaqīn into three categories:
1. ‘Ilmu’l-Yaqīn, certainty by reasoning or inference. For example, if somebody told you that there is honey at a certain place and the informer is a reliable person, this is ‘ilmu’l-yaqīn, certainty by reasoning.
2. ‘Aynu’l-Yaqīn, certainty by personal inspection, namely, certainty of seeing something with our own eyes. This belongs to the category of “seeing is believing.” If you come to the place and see the honey by yourself, this is ‘aynu’l-yaqīn, certainty by personal inspection.
3. H...aqqu’l-Yaqīn, absolute truth, no possibility of error of judgement or error of the eye. If you taste the honey and find it genuine honey, your certainty is called h.aqqu ’l-yaqīn, absolute truth.
People around the world knew through the media that a tornado disaster occurred here at Edmonton last week (July 31, 1987). For them, this is ‘ilmu’l-yaqīn, certainty by reasoning. To people who come to see this disastrous area, it is ‘aynu’l-yaqīn, certainty by personal inspection. To the victims, it is h.aqqu’l- yaqīn, the absolute truth. Before, they had homes, now, they don’t.
You know that fire burns; this is ‘ilmu’l-yaqīn. If you see fire burning, this is ‘aynu’l-yaqīn. But if you feel the heat of fire, or burn your finger, this is h.aqqu’l-yaqīn, the absolute truth. Allah says in the Qur’ān,
كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ . لَتَرَوُنَّ الْجَحِيمَ . ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا
عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ. ثُمَّ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ
( التكاثر : ٥-٨)
“Nay, were ye to know, with certainty of mind
(you would beware), ye shall certainly see Hellfire!-Again,
ye shall see it with certainty of sight! Then shall ye be
questioned that day about the joy (ye indulged in)!” 7
H...aqqu’l-Yaqīn is also mentioned in the Qur’ān. Allah says:
وَإِنَّا لَنَعْلَمُ أَنَّ مِنْكُمْ مُكَذِّبِينَ. وَإِنَّهُ لَحَسْرَةٌ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ.
وَإِنَّهُ لَحَقُّ الْيَقِينِ. فَسَبِّحْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الْعَظِيمِ
(الحاقّة ٤٩-٥٢).
“And We certainly know that there are amongst
you those that reject (it) [namely, revelation]. But truly
(revelation) is a cause of sorrow for the unbelievers.
But is truth of assured certainty.” 8
Whoever rejects Revelation, the Qur’ān, will be made sorrowful on the Judgement Day, and this is the absolute certainty.
Īmān (faith) and yaqīn (certainty) are closely related. Like yaqīn, Ibn Taymmiyyah divided faith into three degrees:
1. Faith gained through study and investigation, but having no effect in one’s daily life.
2. Faith accompanied with good deed, as one starts feeling the effect of faith in one’s daily life.
3. Faith in which one tastes its sweetness.
With regard to the sweetness of faith (حَلَاوَةُ الْإِيمَانِ)a tradition says:
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ الثَّقَفِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ
عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ ثَلَاثٌ
مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ وَجَدَ حَلَاوَةَ الْإِيمَانِ أَنْ يَكُونَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِمَّا سِوَاهُمَا وَأَنْ يُحِبَّ الْمَرْءَ
لَا يُحِبُّهُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ وَأَنْ يَكْرَهَ أَنْ يَعُودَ فِي الْكُفْرِ كَمَا يَكْرَهُ أَنْ يُقْذَفَ فِي النَّارِ.
(رواه البخاري و مسلم )
“It was narrated by Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) said: ‘Whoever possesses three things
will taste the sweetness of faith: that he loves Allah and His Messenger
more than any other; that he loves someone for the sake of Allah
alone; and that he hates to return to infidelity as he hates to be
thrown into the Hellfire.’” 9

Footnotes:

2. Qur’ān, al-H...ijr [15]:99
3. Qur’ān, al-Muddaththir [74]:46-47
4. Reported by Bukhārī and Ahmad ibn Hanbal
5. Reported by Bukhārī, Abū Dā’ūd, Ibn Mājah and Ahmad
6. Qur’ān, al-Naml [27]:22
7. Qur’ān, al-Takāthur, [102]:5-8
8. Qur’ān, al-Hāqqah [69]:49-52
9. Reported by Bukhārī and Muslim