Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir- Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Opening
Beloved friends whom Allah loves, we often chase intellectual intelligence yet forget to pursue wisdom [Al-Ḥikmah]. In fact, wisdom is the light that makes knowledge not merely lodge in the head, but seep into the heart. The scholars summarize the essence of wisdom into three great meanings:First: Understanding the Qur’an. Not just reciting, but comprehending what is lawful and unlawful, and understanding the parables Allah presents. Wisdom is when those verses change our behavior.
يُؤْتِي الْحِكْمَةَ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا
“He gives wisdom to whom He wills, and whoever has been given wisdom has certainly been given much good.”[QS. Al-Baqarah: 269]
Second: Emulating the Prophetic Path. Imam Ash-Shāfi‘ī defined wisdom as As-Sunnah. The wise are those whose soul’s “frequency” is in tune with the Prophets—always guarded from sin out of shame before Allah.Third: True Sound Reason. Wisdom is the ability to distinguish what is eternal from what is transient, so that we do not do something we will weep over in the future.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
الْكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ
“The wise person is the one who subdues his soul and works for what comes after death.”[HR. Tirmidhī]
2. Lessons and Message
There was a father who spent his entire life accumulating wealth so his child could study abroad. But he forgot to teach one thing: the wisdom of the Qur’an. When the father fell into his death throes, the child returned home. Instead of guiding his father to say Lā ilāha illallāh, the child was busy calling a lawyer to confirm the insurance and the division of their luxury house. The father died in tears, realizing he had built a palace for his child, but forgot to build “faith” in his child’s heart. Worldly knowledge was attained, but wisdom was never possessed. That is a regret without end.
Wisdom is like the brakes on a fast-moving vehicle. No matter how high your position or how fast your worldly race, if your vehicle has no brakes, you will surely crash into the ravine of disobedience. Knowledge is the engine, but wisdom is the brakes. The engine takes you places, but the brakes save you from accidents.
How funny we are—sometimes we feel like the smartest people on earth just because our academic titles stretch from the front to the back of our names. There are smart people with dazzling degrees, yet at the slightest problem they immediately post gloomy statuses and hurl insults on social media. This is like a person who owns the key to a gold warehouse, yet sleeps on the sidewalk because he forgot how to use the key. Brilliant in theory, but “short-circuited” in practice. His sound reason is “on vacation” when his emotions flare up!
3. Conclusion and Closing
Blessed brothers and sisters, wisdom is the crown of a believer. It is the combination of understanding the Book of Allah, emulating the Sunnah, and clarity of reason. Let us not become people who are eloquent in speech but dull in feeling, or clever at seeking the world but blind to the path home to Paradise.Let us pray that Allah not only grants us vast knowledge, but also Al-Ḥikmah that guides us to salvation. For the most unfortunate person is not the one who has no wealth, but the one who has a mind yet lacks the wisdom to recognize Allah as his Lord.
. والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Abu Sultan Al-Qadrie
