(… وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ) (And it is He who created the heavens and earth in truth. …): The creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of man; in the inability for anyone to create something like it, in its completely precise order, in its movement and rotation and in all that is in it of creation. This part of the universe, consisting of everything between the heavens and the earth, is created by Allah (swt) in truth. And truth is something which is established and does not change.
(… قَوْلُهُ الْحَقُّ… ) (…His word is the truth …): Meaning, do not think that only creation is the truth, but its destruction too is the truth, as Allah (swt) says:
إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ (1) وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انكَدَرَتْ (2) وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ (3) وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ (4) وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ (5) وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ
(When the sun is put out, (1) and when the stars fall down, (2) and when the mountains are blown away, (3) and when pregnant camels are left untended, (4) and when wild beasts are gathered together, (5) and when the seas are set on fire,) (At-Takweer: 1-6)
(… وَلَهُ الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ… ) (…And His is the dominion [on] the Day the Horn is blown.…): Will Sovereignty be for Him only on the Day of Standing? Doesn’t the Sovereignty also belong to Him now?
The answer: The blow on the trumpet will signal the beginning of the gathering. This is the time when Sovereignty will be limited to Allah (swt) alone. This is because, in this worldly life, He has given human beings possessions. For example, ‘I am the owner of this shirt and the owner of this pair of spectacles.’ Another person might say: ‘I am the king ruling over you’. However, on that day, there will be no possessions, no owners and no kings. There will be no Sovereignty except for Allah (swt).
(… عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ… ) (…He is Knower of the unseen and the witnessed;…): Everything connected to faith is of the unseen. Allah (swt) from our perspective, is of the unseen. The Day of Judgment is of the unseen, and so are the Paradise, Hellfire, Angels and Books. Although the Book is with you, it was of the unseen when it was revealed to the Prophet (saws). The Prophets are also of the unseen, because even though their people saw them at some specific point in time, they did not witness them being tasked with Prophethood or with the Divine Scripture.
Therefore, having faith is to believe in Allah (swt), His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgment and the Decree, both the good and bad of it. Since He is the Knower of the unseen, He will obviously also be Knower of the seen, so He knows both the unseen and the seen.
( وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ … ) (…and He is the Wise, the Acquainted): Wisdom means ‘everything which is placed in its correct amount and at the correct period and time’. Allah (swt) is the All-Wise in all affairs, and He is All-Aware of His creations, their actions and what will happen to them. As such, He (swt) says:
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ (16) إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى الْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ (17) مَا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ (18) وَجَاءتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ذَلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ (19) وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ ذَلِكَ يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ (20) وَجَاءتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ (21) لَقَدْ كُنتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَاءكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ
(Indeed, (it is) We (Who) created humankind and (fully) know what their souls whisper to them, and We are closer to them than (their) jugular vein. (16) As the two recording-angels—(one) sitting to the right, and (the other to) the left—note (everything), (17) not a word does a person utter without having a (vigilant) observer ready (to write it down). (18) (Ultimately), with the throes of death will come the truth. This is what you were trying to escape! (19) And the Trumpet will be blown. This is the Day (you were) warned of. (20) Each soul will come forth with an angel to drive it and another to testify. (21) (It will be said to the denier), “You were totally heedless of this. Now We have lifted this veil of yours, so Today your sight is sharp!”) (Qaff: 16-22)
It is as if the human being has a cover over his eyes in this worldly life, so he does not really see except after death comes. This is because, he will then be living in a different order altogether and can see all the realities.
In this verse, Allah (swt) speaks of the creations of the heavens and earth; that they were created in truth, that the end of the universe will happen in truth, that He is the knower of both the unseen and the seen, and that with His wisdom and knowledge, He will reckon creation for what they had done. Each good deed will be rewarded ten times its worth, and multiple times more. Whereas for the evil deed, the evildoers will not be rewarded except for what they had done.