Abdul Rahman Chao

We praise Allah. We seek His assistance and we seek His forgiveness. And we seek refuge and protection in Allah from the evil that results from our sins and from the evil that results from our deeds. Whomsoever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guides, none shall misguide.

And whomsoever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows to be led astray, then none shall guide them back to the straight path. I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And I also bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ, peace and blessings be upon his messenger, is his final servant and messenger.

Allah tells us in the Qur'an, O you who believe, be God-conscious, fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as He deserves to be feared, and do not die except as Muslims. Allah also tells us in the Qur'an, O mankind, be God-conscious, fear your Lord, for He has created you from one soul. And created from it its mate, and from both many men and many women.

And fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that by the rights that you ask of one another, and by the wounds that bore you, verily Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is ever watchful over you. O you who believe, be God-conscious, fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and speak the truth. He will render your deeds righteous, and He will forgive your sins.

And whomsoever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and whoever obeys Allah and His messenger, has indeed achieved a great victory. Verily the best speech is the speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. The worst affairs are those that are religious innovations, for all of that is in His guidance, and all that leads to hellfire.

The Story of Wisdom: Sulaiman's Test

We find in the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, a story that occurred during the time of Prophet Dawud, and Prophet Sulaiman ﷺ. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Qur'an, tells us about how He had given Dawud kingship and prophethood combined.

And so in this hadith, two women were out somewhere, and they both had their children with them, and unfortunately this wolf came and snatched one of the children, and ate it and ran away. So obviously the mother who lost her child was distraught, so she made a claim that, no, that is my child, it's your child that got eaten. So they had a dispute on who is the actual mother of this child.

Each one was claiming it for themselves. So they came to Prophet Dawud ﷺ, and they asked him, and they said, this is the situation, each one claiming that this is their child, obviously one is wrong and one is right. Dawud ﷺ believed that the older woman in this scenario, that she was the mother of this child.

Sulaiman ﷺ was there, and he called them back, and he knew that something was not right. He knew that there was something amiss, and so he said, he asked them whose child is this, and everyone is saying, it's mine. So to test the truth and honesty of these two women, he said, bring me a saw, a minshar.

And he said, we'll cut this child in half, and we'll give half to this, and the half to the other. Upon hearing this, one of the women immediately spoke up, and said, no, no, no, don't do that, it's hers. And when that woman spoke up and said, it's hers, denying that this was her own child, Sulaiman ﷺ realized that she was the actual mother.

Brothers and sisters, this story highlights for us, how Allah gave Prophet Sulaiman this very special knowledge, understanding human emotions, understanding how humans think. And he realized that the only way to know who the real mother is, is by putting this crazy scenario, it's very frightening, to saw the child in half. But he didn't actually mean to do that.

He realized that the real mother would rather give up raising her child than to see any harm come to her child. That is true wisdom from Allah.

Understanding Divine Wisdom

Brothers and sisters, the scholars have talked about what wisdom is. And they've said, وَضْعُ الشَّيْءِ فِي مَوْضِعِهِ فِي مَحَلِّهِ.

To put something in its correct place. To know where to put everything in its correct place. وَقَالَ ابْنُ الْقَيِّمِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ.

Ibn al-Qayyim made a comment and he said, الْحِكْمَةُ فِعْلُ مَا يَنْبَغِي عَلَى وَجْهِ الَّذِي يَنْبَغِي فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّذِي يَنْبَغِي. Wisdom is to do what is obligated. To do what you must do, in the right way, and in the right time.

And if you think about how your childhood is, you will realize that the majority of your time as a child growing up, it was your parents telling you, do this and don't do that. Which is the first part. Doing what you're supposed to do.

Do this and don't do that. Don't do this, but stay away from that. And as you get older through your teens, you start learning the how. How do you do this? How do you do it correctly? And it is throughout our adulthood where we begin to really learn when to actually do it. Because a lot of us know how to do many things, but not all of us know the correct timing. And timing it correctly to make sure that the action is correct.

Al-Aziz Al-Hakim: The Mighty and Wise

Brothers and sisters, one of the names of Allah is Al-Hakim. The one who is infinitely wise. But you always find, very commonly in the Qur'an, that this name of Allah Al-Hakim is attached to another name of Allah.

Or another attribute of Allah. And that name is Aziz, the Mighty. You find throughout the Qur'an, Allah describes His servants as عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ, the Mighty and the Wise.

And the ulema have commented about why does Allah combine these two attributes and these two names of His together in these verses. And Allah knows best. And of course Allah is the highest of all examples.

And that is, you might find a king who is very strong and very mighty, but has no wisdom. And you might find someone on the other hand, who is extremely intelligent and very wise, but not strong at all, but actually quite meek and feeble. And so when Allah describes Himself as the Mighty and the Wise, it is to show you that He is the strongest, the most powerful, and He does not misuse this power, and put it somewhere where it doesn't belong.

And in the same name, Al-Hakim, is to show you that Allah has infinite wisdom, and He knows exactly the way how it should be done, and yet He is the most powerful. Brothers and sisters, this attribute of Allah as having infinite wisdom, it's not just some attribute that we think about, oh Allah is Al-Hakim, Allah is the one who has infinite wisdom, but it is something that guides our entire religion and tradition. Allah knows and is most wise of how everything should be, how it should be, and when it should be.

And Allah knows, and He has wisdom in the things that we don't understand, such as evil, the existence of evil, also known as the absence of good. And even in the existence of evil, there is wisdom. And more importantly, that everything that Allah legislates, that He has made fard upon you, that He has made obligatory, or He has made haram and forbidden upon you, there is a wisdom in it.

It is not just a perfunctory, it's not just this robotic movement, there is a wisdom in all of these things. Having this attribute among people of being called wise is a highly coveted attribute and talent. In fact, the Prophet ﷺ gave exception, in which he says, there is no envy, no jealousy that is permitted except in two things.

In other words, to have ghibta, to wish it for you without wanting it removed from someone else. And that is what jealousy is. You see something good in someone else, you don't want them to have it, you want it for yourself.

But ghibta is, you see good in someone else, you also want it for yourself, without them being diminished in their talent. And he said two things. He said, لَا حَسَدَ إِلَّا فِي اثْنَتَيْنِ.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 73)

There is no jealousy except in two matters. The first person is the one whom Allah has given him immense wealth. But it's not just someone who has wealth. Like in our society, we look up to the people who are rich. But the person who has wealth and spends it in the correct way.

And the second thing is to want to be like that person who was given a lot of wisdom and he uses it to pass his judgment with it and he teaches people with it.

The Meaning of Hikmah in the Quran

Brothers and sisters, we look in the Qur'an and we find that the word الْحِكْمَةُ comes in many different meanings. And I'll just share two with you.

Sometimes it means السُّنَّةُ, the practice of the Prophet ﷺ. And obviously there is much wisdom in why Allah would call سُنَّةٌ, the way of the Prophet ﷺ as حِكْمَةٌ. Because the life of the Prophet ﷺ teaches you exactly what you do to implement the Qur'an, how to implement Islam and when to do it in the correct way. And in other parts of the Qur'an, we find that الْحِكْمَةُ can also mean a warning.

Why is it a warning also called wisdom? Because if you have a teacher or a parent or someone in charge that is always yelling and screaming and warning and threatening at the wrong time, in the wrong amount, it loses complete meaning. When you threaten to punish at the wrong time, it loses meaning. They get scared at the beginning and they realize it's not really going to happen and that's it.

Wisdom is Not Merely Age

A common myth among people is that old and senior people, may Allah preserve them, are always wise. And that is not necessarily true.

Umar ibn al-Khattab, one time wrote a letter to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari. And he said, إِنَّ الْحِكْمَةَ لَيْسَتْ عَنْ كِبَرِ السِّنِّ Wisdom is not something that you get when you're at an old age. وَلَكِنَّهُ عَطَاءُ اللَّهِ يُعْطِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ But it is a gift that is given by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to whomever He pleases.

فَإِيَّاكَ وَدَنَاءَةَ الْأُمُورِ وَمُرَاقَ الْأَخْلَاقِ And so stay away from moral depravity and corrupting behavior.

Luqman: The Wise Slave

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given certain people in this world a type of wisdom that is not given to the rest of the people. And that kind of wisdom is a blessing from Allah. It is given to prophets. It is given to very select righteous people. And we know that the prophets and messengers had this.

But we also know the most famous one as we find in the Quran, an entire chapter named after this individual, Luqman. Luqman was an Abyssinian slave. And according to some of the Mufassireen, he actually lived, he was a contemporary of Dawud. And Luqman has a surah named after him, a chapter in the Quran named after him.

What does Allah describe him as?

We have given Luqman wisdom. But then Allah clarifies what is the ultimate wisdom. And that is to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because when you thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you're only thinking yourself, you're helping yourself. And whoever denies the favors of Allah, then Allah is most not in need of that person.

And that is the highest level of wisdom, brothers and sisters. To know that everything that Allah has given you, all of the blessings that Allah has given you, as well as the difficulties that you have undergone, there is divine wisdom, and that you give thanks to Allah for those good times, and you are patient during the difficult times.

Before we close up for the second khutbah, Luqman عليه الصلاة والسلام demonstrates this special wisdom given by Allah to a select few in this world. So one time his master came to him and said, go and bring me the choicest, the best cut of meat that you can get.

So Luqman procured the tongue and the heart. So he brought this. We're not sure if it's a sheep or a cow. And then so he said, why did you bring me these two? He said, because if these two are good, then they are indeed the best, the best cut. Sometime later he sent him along his way, and he said, bring me the worst cut. And he brought back the same two again.

He said, few days ago you brought the heart and the tongue, and today you're going to bring the same? And he said, this is the worst? He said, yes. Because if these two are corrupt, then they are indeed the worst cuts.

Wisdom in Practice: Lessons from the Sunnah

The Wisdom of Umm Salama

The Prophet ﷺ was one time with his companions, and he had told them that they would go to Mecca from Medina to perform Umrah. But as you know in that story, they were stopped by the Meccans, and so they were promised that they would come back the following year as outlined in the treaty of Hudaybiyyah.

So the Prophet ﷺ commanded his companions to come out of the state of ihram. And you come out of the state of ihram by doing a number of things. Some of you can start with maybe slaughtering the animal, or shaving the head, etc. And none of the companions were moving to do it. I think it was because they felt sad that they couldn't do this Umrah and they had to wait a whole year to come back.

So they were slow in carrying out the order of the Prophet ﷺ. And the Prophet ﷺ became visibly upset by this slow response from the companions رضوان الله تعالى عليهم So he went into his tent. And his wife looked at him and asked him what was the problem, and he explained to her the situation.

Umm Salama رضي الله عنها She said, the wisdom of women, the wisdom of Umm Salama, the wisdom of the mother of believers. She said, you go and you break the ihram, you started off yourself. So the Prophet ﷺ exited his tent, shaved his head, and completed the closing of the ihram state. And one by one, the companions got up and they followed the Prophet ﷺ.

This example, brothers and sisters, highlights for us the general wisdom that we, you, me, and everyone can obtain. This wisdom can only be achieved when a person obeys Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى and stays away from what Allah has forbidden. It comes with experience, with knowledge, and seeing the big picture.

The Danger of Speaking Without Knowledge

During the time of the Prophet ﷺ, there was an expedition of companions who went out. And one of the companions was injured. He had this injury in his head. So that night, they went, they camped out, and it was extremely cold.

And he woke up in the morning realizing that he was in a state of ritual impurification, janabah, that required a shower. So, it was very cold, so he asked the one in charge, I'm in this state, it's extremely cold, I have an injury on my head, do I go and do the ghusl, or do I do tayammum in this case? But the companion said, no, you must do the shower at this point. So he did, he obliged, he got sick, and he died.

When the story came to the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ was very upset. Because this person gave a ruling, not knowing the situation and the wisdom of when to apply the rule of tayammum, and when to not apply the rule of tayammum. And that is the first point that we want to convey to you.

And that is, having wisdom requires you to have deep knowledge of what you're talking about. And when a person speaks without knowledge, they're more than likely to mess up.

The Wisdom of Silence

Also, brothers and sisters, one of the good characteristics that the scholars of the past used to say, is that if you want to obtain wisdom, observe. And when we say observe, it doesn't just mean, oh, just observe. It means observe and stay quiet.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6018)

The Prophet ﷺ says, Whoever believes in Allah and the last day, then let them say what is good, or keep silent. And why did the Prophet ﷺ associate the belief in Allah and the last day with staying silent? Because if you're not so focused on projecting what's coming out of your head, and telling your opinion all the time, but instead you're looking, it's because you remind yourself that everything that you do, and everything that you say, will be questioned on the day of judgment. And you will be held accountable for it.

One of the scholars of the past, he says, أَجْمَعَ الْأَطِبَّاءُ عَلَىٰ أَنَّ رَأْسَ الطِّبِّ The doctors of the past, they have all agreed that the highest level of medicine is الْحِمْيَةُ, preventative medicine.

It's not when you get hurt, you go to the doctor. It's you have a healthy lifestyle to prevent yourself from getting sick. وَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَىٰ أَنَّ رَأْسَ الْحِكْمَةِ الصَّمْتُ And they have also agreed that the epitome, the highest, the apex, excuse me, the apex of wisdom is to keep silent.

The Wisdom of Gradual Change

Brothers and sisters, Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha tells us of the story of how intoxicants and the ulema have included in this anything that alters your mind. So when the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wa sallam forbade alcohol, it came down in three different stages. It was first discouraged, and then don't come to salah if you are in a state of drunkenness. And then it was prohibited outright.

Which is the wisdom of that? Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha she said, Had it been prohibited outright from the beginning, no one would have dropped it. No one would have given up on alcohol.

Seeing the Good

Finally brothers and sisters, maybe it is because of our upbringing, maybe it is because of our own negligence. Sometimes wisdom is seeing the good and not focusing on the negative when it is in the minority, in the very small minority. And a lot of times when you meet certain people, there's 99 good things and one thing that is wrong, and they focus on that one thing that is wrong.

And the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wa sallam in closing gives us this beautiful hadith about the people who nitpick the small mistakes and cannot see the bigger picture.

The Prophet shallallahu alaihi wa sallam says, that the example of the person who listens to teachings or wisdom and only picks out what is the wrong, always focusing on the negative, is like the person who goes to, let's say, the shepherd, and he says, procure me, give me the best lamb that I can slaughter for food. And so the shepherd says, go and bring me the best that you see. Grab it by its ear and bring it to me. But instead he comes and he brings the ear holding and leading with him, the sheep dog. That's all he saw.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us wisdom. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us among those who hear the truth and follow it.

Oh Allah, give us what is the best in this world and give us the best in the next life and protect us from the hell fire.