Concept of Wisdom in Islam

Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on August 05, 2016

Brothers and sisters! In today’s khutba, I intend sharing some thoughts with you towards understanding the concept of hikmah or wisdom in Islam. Many a times, people confuse wisdom with knowledge, and knowledge with information. Muslim scholars, philosophers, and thinkers have defined and explained wisdom or hikmah in a variety of ways, such as ‘profound truths or subtle realities,’ ‘the art of understanding properly,’ ‘coming to know the essence of things as they really are,’ ‘the ability to make correct judgments and decisions,’ ‘making the best use of available knowledge,’ ‘reaching the truth with knowledge and action,’ ‘thinking what is best and doing what is best in any given situation’, ‘insight that guides one to that which is correct and accurate in his movements and actions,’ and so on.  

It was one of the missions of prophets and messengers of Allah to impart hikmah or wisdom to their people. When Ibrahim (AS) prayed for the fulfillment of the mission of prophets, he invoked Allah (SWT) in these words,

رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ 

“Our Lord, raise up among them a Messenger from them to recite Your Ayaat to them and teach them the book and wisdom and purify them. You are the Almighty, the All-Wise.” (al-Baqarah, 2:129).

The commentators from among the companions and their immediate successors have advanced different connotations of the word ‘wisdom’ or hikmah. Some say that it refers to the commentary and tafsir of the Qur’an. Others believe that it means the proper understanding of the deen, or the injunctions of the Sharia, or such commandments of Allah (SWT) which have been received through the word of the Prophet (SAW). But the truth of the matter is that despite the variety of expressions used, the substance of all these statements is the same—namely, the way or Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) and the hadith. This is the interpretation reported from Qatadah by Ibn Kathir and Ibn Jarir.

The word hikmah is used repeatedly in the Quran as a characteristic of the righteous, and as a quality of those who truly understand. Referring to the favors bestowed upon Dawud (AS), Allah says,

وَآَتَاهُ اللَّهُ الْمُلْكَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَعَلَّمَهُ مِمَّا يَشَاءُ

“And Allah gave him kingship and wisdom and taught him whatever He willed.” (al-Baqarah, 2:251).

Referring to the favors bestowed upon the descendants of Ibrahim (AS), Allah says,

فَقَدْ آَتَيْنَا آَلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآَتَيْنَاهُمْ مُلْكًا عَظِيمًا 

“We gave the family of Ibrahim the book and wisdom, and We gave them a great kingdom.” (al-Nisa’, 4:54).

Asking ‘Isa (AS) to remember the favors bestowed upon him and his mother, Allah says,

وَإِذْ عَلَّمْتُكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ

“And when I taught you the book and wisdom, and the Torah and the Injil.” (al-Ma’idah, 5:110).

Wisdom in these verses is referred to as an integral component of the message and guidance provided by divine revelation. To possess hikmah is to have one of the greatest blessings of Allah, for Allah says,

يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ

“He grants wisdom to whom He wills; and whoever is granted wisdom has indeed been granted abundant good.  But only insightful people bear this in mind.” (al-Baqarah, 2:269).

When we convey the message of Islam, it should be done with hikmah, for Allah says,

ادْعُ إِلَى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ

“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good advice.”(an-Nahl, 16:125).

In this ayah, wisdom implies that one should use discretion in the work of conveying the message of Islam and should not do this blindly like foolish people. Wisdom demands that one should keep in view the intelligence, capability and circumstances of the addressees and convey the message in accordance with the requirements of the occasion. Moreover, one should refrain from applying one and the same method to each and every person or group but should first diagnose the real disease of the addressee and then cure it by appealing to his head and heart. Verse 31 of Surat Luqman says,

وَلَقَدْ آَتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِلَّهِ وَمَنْ يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ

“And certainly, We gave Luqman wisdom, saying, be thankful to Allah: he who is thankful, is thankful only for the good of his own soul. But if anyone is unthankful, then surely Allah is self-sufficient and praiseworthy.” (Luqman, 31:12).

The relationship between wisdom and thankfulness is something that should be pondered upon very deeply. Shukr is the faculty of being thankful to someone who has done some good. With the ongoing evolution of human reasoning, it is now well known and understood that the forces of nature like the sun, the moon, the oceans, the winds, the rains, the mountains, the fire, and so on to which people used to show reverence as a gesture of thankfulness are nothing but humble servants in a grand cosmic order that has been made subservient to man. They have no will or determination of their own. They submit to the natural laws created by Allah (SWT). People practicing primitive religions are well known for their worship of nature.

Reason and logic dictate that Allah alone is worthy of our worship and our praise, glory and thankfulness of Him. Thus, it is the faculty of understanding that makes one reach from thankfulness to tawhid. Thus, to thank Allah is to have reached the threshold of wisdom. Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA) would say during his sermons,

خَيْرُ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى وَرَأْسُ الْحِكْمَةِ مَخَافَةُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

“The best provision is mindfulness (taqwa) of Allah, and the peak of wisdom is the fear of Allah the Exalted.”

One of the noble and exclusive attributes of Allah (SWT) is that He alone is Al-Hakeem or the Most Wise! Whatever is associated with Him is based on His hikmah, be it His creation, His Laws, His Books, His Messengers, His Commands, His Guidance or His Judgment. Whatever and whoever is not associated with Him is bound to be devoid of wisdom. Al-Hakeem carries out His divine will with His perfect wisdom: He judges, decrees, inflicts, and relieves in the most rightful way, place, and time. He is All-Wise in His creating and perfecting, in His commands, and in His sayings and actions.

Hikmah or wisdom when it concerns man is to strive to use his faculties of intelligence and power of reasoning, and recognize Al-Hakeem and submit to Him. Everything one does in alignment with Al-Hakeem’s guidance will be based on hikmah; and anything one does which is not aligned to His guidance will be devoid of hikmah. The Prophet (SAW) said: “A wise person is one who keeps a watch over his bodily desires and passions, and checks himself from that which is harmful and strives for that which will benefit him after death; and a foolish person is one who subordinates himself to his cravings and desires and expects from Allah (SWT) the fulfillment of his futile desires.”

Allah’s name Al-Hakeem is often paired with Al-‘Aleem (The All-Knowing).

وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ

“And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (al-Mumtahinah, 60:10).

 Al-Hakeem is also often paired with Al-‘Azeez (The Most-Powerful).

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

“It is He who shapes you in the womb how He wills. There is no god but He, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:6).

This shows us that Allah (SWT) uses both His knowledge and His power in the wisest way to guide us through the life of this world, testing us with tailor-made trials, challenges and opportunities for us to give proof of our faith in Al-Hakeem.

Knowing that Allah (SWT) is Al-Hakeem, how can we live by this name? We can live by this name by putting our trust in His hikmah; in His wisdom at all times, no matter how hard it may seem! If Al-Hakeem decides that we should lose or gain something, there is wisdom behind it. If something happens that displeases us, it would be unwise to be unhappy with Al-Hakeem. How many times in life have we looked back and seen the wisdom behind things that happened to us. May we lead our lives to seek the pleasure of Al-Hakeem.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين.

Brothers and sisters! The law and guidance of Al-Hakeem are set to reform the creation and not to cause hardship in life. In other words, His laws are best for us. If we don’t understand His laws, we should not blame the laws, but our own understanding. We should keep reflecting on the perfection of Al-Hakeem’s work, and keep reminding ourselves of His wisdom reflected in His creation. The Qur’an is referred to as the Wise Quran, and a book of wisdom.

الر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ

“Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the book of wisdom.” (Yunus, 10:1)

يس () وَالْقُرْآَنِ الْحَكِيمِ () إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ()

“Ya-seen. By the Wise Quran. You are indeed one of the messengers” (Ya-Seen, 36:1-3).

An oath has been taken by the Qur'an, and the word ‘wise’ has been used as a description of the Qur'an. Allah is telling Muhammad (SAW) that this Qur'an, which is full of wisdom, testifies that the person who is presenting such wise revelations is most surely a Messenger of Allah. The more we follow the commands of the All-Wise, the wiser we will become. So let us make the Qur’an our close companion, by believing in it, reciting it, understanding it, acting upon it, and conveying it to others.

According to a hadith, "There is no envy except in two cases: (1) A man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it righteously, and (2) A man whom Allah has given wisdom and he acts according to it and teaches it to others." According to another hadith, “wisdom is the lost property of the believer; let him take it wherever he finds it.”  Let us use our blessings with wisdom by using them to gain the pleasure of Al-Hakeem. How many of us have wealth but do not utilize it properly? How many of us have health, and take it for granted?

Being wise is using our intelligence, wealth, health, time, and skills to please Al-Hakeem. The ones, who with their God-gifted intelligence and power of reasoning submit their free-will to the Will of their Creator will be the wise in His sight, deserving His mercy, forgiveness, and grace, and the ones who do not submit their free-will to the Will of their Creator will be the ignorant and arrogant in His sight, deserving His wrath and anger.

The truth is that wisdom prevents man from committing wrong actions, and guides him to take the right way. It gives him a broad perspective on everything in life. It deepens his understanding, and increases his awareness of the surrounding circumstances so that he may reach the right words and actions.    

May Allah grant us wisdom in dealing with ourselves and others and in spreading His message to humanity; ameen. 

• Prev
• Next