THE ADVICE I WISH I HAD RECEIVED YEARS AGO …
It is so enriching to speak with some people, and so exhausting to talk to others. There are some whose the conversations are energising, and those where talking to them just drains you and wastes your time.
The principles in this article have universal application – whether to a Muslim or non Muslim, at work, at home or even at school. Read it and we promise you that this will save you hours of time and energy in the future!
WHAT IS WISDOM?
There is a distinction between the brain, intellect and wisdom. All of us have the physical brain, but not all of us have intellect. Even if we possess intelligence, we can only be considered wise once we implement the knowledge in the right context and with benefit.
The intelligence that we refer to here is not related to academic achievements. It is of the intellect that generally applies to the knowledge of life, but with a dose of emotional intelligence and maturity which then cultivates wisdom.
Intellect has its foundation in the Arabic word “aql” which means the mother and the pillar of all righteousness and quality. The early people advised that intellect coupled with wisdom forms the fountain of all manner. Allah SWT made it the source of the deen, and it is the pillar of life. It is the quality that brings one closer to people and allows them to be a source of guidance, wisdom and ability to help others.
With the proper intellect, you can rein your emotion and guide it towards successful relationships or feelings that can generate pleasure and benefit to you.
The early wise people used to say that the ultimate treasure mankind can acquire is intellect and humility, which allow and lead one to guidance, and prevent one from being a fool and an ignorant.
According to a saying, the pillar of a human being is his intellect. Based on his intellect, he will know his Lord. The more he knows his Lord, he develops his faith, and according to that, the closer to Allah he becomes and the more good quality and manner he generates. The same person also asked us to contemplate the meaning of chapter Al Mulk, verse 10:
And they will say, “If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze.” (Al Qur’an 67:10)
Umar Al Khattab (RA), one of the Khulafa Ar-Rahideen was himself a genius, sharp witted and with brilliant foresight. He held the view that the roots of a man are his intellect, his status is his deen and his legacy is his manner.
Al Hassan Al Basri (RA) mentioned that Allah SWT bestows no one with intellect and guidance without one day, the same saving him and others.
One of the early wise people correctly said: “If you comprehend intellect, you will make it your constitution and your destination. Ignorance is the most powerful enemy against you.”
Another declared: “Do you know who your best friend is? It is your intellect. And do you know your worst enemy? It is your ignorance.”
Yet another saying goes: “The most beautiful hobby is to increase your intellect. The worst hobby is to increase your ignorance by not seeking knowledge.”
TYPES OF INTELLECT
Intellect can be divided into two:
(a) Inherited – the one that we are born with, meaning our own ability, aptitude and style of thinking, with all the related qualities (or lack thereof)
(b) the one that is acquired over time by seeking knowledge, being in the company of those who possess intellect and wisdom, and the ability to humble oneself and seek the knowledge and wisdom from different sources.
One of the early people held the view that: “The intellect is the light in the heart of the believer. It distinguishes between truth and falsehood.”
Of this, the Qu’ran says: So have they not traveled through the earth and have hearts by which to reason and ears by which to hear? For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts. (Al Hajj, verse 46)
Early Muslims chose their spouses by seeking someone with quality, comprising knowledge, wisdom and character, because they wanted their children to inherit these qualities. Contrast that with our modern criteria for gaining friends, companions, husbands or wives.
Sometimes, knowledge and wisdom are unrelated to age, but the norm is that wisdom increases with age. An early scholar concluded that the more we live, the more our body will weaken, and the more the intellect increases, and the more the wisdom increases. He reminded us not to allow our remaining days to make us ignorant, but utilise them to increase our knowledge and wisdom.
It is believed that the people with intellect are at peace, and the people with foolishness are in misery. One of the early imams came across a very wise boy. The imam enjoyed the boy’s speech, character and wisdom and posed the following question to him:
“What do you think about King so and so? He wants someone like you, and he is planning to give that person half of his kingdom, in exchange for half of his foolishness. Will you accept?”
The boy replied that if he received the wealth with the King’s foolishness, the foolishness will make him spend the money while he retained the foolishness! He preferred to remain a wise person without money, for it was better than being a King but a fool.
THE WISDOM OF SHARING KNOWLEDGE
How many of us have wasted precious time trying to argue with someone who is ignorant, does not want to know anything, and is not seeking knowledge? We still try to share knowledge with him even though the efforts are futile? The fool here is us!
A sage said: “The ultimate foolishness is to give to the wisdom, or to share wisdom, with whom that does not ask for it, or to whom does not deserve it, or to whom who do not want it, or to whom who do not seek it.”
You will be a fool if you try to listen or argue with a fool.
The early people were not chatterboxes who used to babble from sunrise to sunset. They actually used to talk very little, but their brief words containing were rich with wisdom. Today, we say a lot, but without content, understanding or comprehension! How many hours have we spent making small talk, or discussing irrelevant issues, the latest movies or sporting event? Some people can talk of entertaining trivia all day and night, but at the end of it, such knowledge is useless to our practical affairs and does not enrich us in the slightest.
Someone asked Ali RA for the distance between the earth and the sky. He said: Accepted du’a. They asked him the distance between east and west. He said: A journey of the sun per day. Such philosophical questions were pointless, and therefore he deflected a protracted conversation with his brief replies. Look at his wisdom!
Knowledge is like an ocean, but the best form of wisdom is that which leads you to a beautiful character and manner. One of the signs of the intellect is swift comprehension. The wise is the one who grasps such knowledge, and implements it in his life. This is how wisdom is attained: when he substitutes his ignorance with knowledge.
Many people have knowledge, but that knowledge has no potency if not implemented. We see scholars teaching us of virtues and merits of Islam, but they lack the quality simply because they do not live that knowledge out. Iblis is more knowledgeable than humankind, for he has been in existence even before the human race was born, but his failure to apply that knowledge to himself doomed him to eternal torture and wrath of Allah.
It is said that the fool is like hardened clay: it cannot be shaped or dealt with easily.
One of the early people advised that the best thing we can gain in life is intellect which helps us to live our life. If we cannot find it, then the next best is a good companion who will cover our foolishness. If you do not have that, money that is spent in generosity that maybe the people will love you. If we have none of the above, then to be silent, so that people do not know how foolish we are! If all else fails, he advised to wait for death to take you!
