wisdom and Islam - by Dr Mohd Farid Mohd Shahran

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Wisdom Is Placed At The Apex In Islam

Ditulis oleh Dr. Mohd Farid Mohd Shahran. Posted in The Star

sumber : http://www.ikim.gov.my/index.php ... t-the-apex-in-islam

It goes without saying that great civilisations were built based on a strong foundation of knowledge. Although artifacts and monuments such as the Acropolis, Coliseum and Sphinx are often presented by historians as symbols of the achievement of many civilisations in the past, the structures are indeed the result of much higher and refined dimensions of a civilisation which are knowledge, thought and intellectualism.

Hence, it is more sound to evaluate the success of a civilisation through knowledge-based criteria such as great ideas and books, scholars and sages, libraries and universities. These are in fact the civilisational elements that continue to enlighten the soul and the reason for people in elevating their life to a higher and meaningful level.

Such is also the reason why after more than three millennia, ideas of great sages such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are still instrumental in inspiring the western thought and civilisation, thus leaving traces in many disciplines of knowledge such as philosophy, politics, psychology, logic, physics and ethics. Similarly in the case of Islamic civilisation, the thoughts of al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and al-Ghazali continue to effect the development of many intellectual schools in Islam. Even the images and narratives of modern western civilisation are incomplete without the final touch by their frontiers of knowledge such as Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant, and Thomas Hobbes.

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Thus, it is worth asking, what kind of knowledge that really gives impact to the development of a civilisation? In other words, what is the nature of knowledge that is conducive to the development of a civilisation? Looking at the ideas put forward by the above-mentioned scholars, obviously the nature of knowledge that is impactful upon a civilisation does not refer to a specialised or particular knowledge that concerns only a small aspect of human life. Rather, it is knowledge and ideas that deal with the universals which ultimately present a big picture about realities. Indeed, it is due to the universal nature of these ideas that they have been able to have great repercussion on the intellectual discussions in the world of academia for thousands of years.  As a matter of fact, a university is called one because of its important role of teaching universal knowledge which is capable of giving enlightenment to humanity on the fundamental aspect of realities in human life.



Such is the kind of knowledge called wisdom, a term which is somehow being disregarded in the contemporary academic  world or reduced to a narrow meaning such as in the use of the term ‘local wisdom’. In reality, wisdom has a more universal implication when it is defined as a quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgment. It is also connected with the soundness of action and decision with regard to the application of experience.

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But a more important implication of the term wisdom is that it refers to a higher level of knowledge that enlightens man concerning the position of everything in its proper place. It is the knowledge that will bring justice to human life since justice will only take place when things are put in their proper places. Knowledge, at the level of wisdom, is seen as a virtue since it elevates the position of man following his ability to act in accordance with the true knowledge of realities.
This is what Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, one of the renowned theologians of Islam of the 13th century implied when he expressed wisdom as “the condition where knowledge and action are in a proper accordance.” Prof. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, a contemporary renowned Muslim scholar, clarifies that wisdom is human ability to put what knowledge in which place, the failure of which will lead to confusion and injustice to one’s self.


At the highest meaning of the term, wisdom corresponds to one of the Most Beautiful Names of God itself which is al-Hakim or the Most Wise. It is an attribute that reflects perfection in divine essence which bears its stamp in this wonderful creation of God.



To a human being, the divine attribute of al-Hakim, as elucidated by Imam al-Ghazali, a distinguished theologian of Islam (in his book, The Highest Aim in Explaining the Beautiful Names of God) can also be exemplified at the human level in their ethical life as expressed in the hadith,“mould yourselves following the attributes of Allah.” To exemplify such an attribute, man has to continue seeking true knowledge and practise the wisdom in his practical life.

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Since God, as ‘the Most Wise’ knows, in an absolute way, the place of everything, He sent prophets and revealed books to human beings in order to teach them the proper place of things. In the case of Prophet Adam, the Qur’an mentions that God taught Adam the names of all things for him to be vicegerent (khalifah) on earth (Surah al-Baqarah: 31). The Qur’an also explains that wisdom is given to all the Prophets together with the book of Allah in order for them to guide people to the true path of goodness. This is in line with another verse in the Qur’an that pronounces, “Whoever is given wisdom, he is indeed being given an abundance of goodness.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 269).

Apart from the Prophet, some selected individuals were also endowed with profound wisdom by God. One such story in the Qur’an concerns Luqman al-Hakim (Luqman the Wise), an outstanding man who was bequeathed wisdom by God through which he was able to advise his son on the fundamental principles in life such as the oneness of God, being good to parents, the importance of prayers, patience and humility in life.

Psychologically, as elaborated again by the great sages, wisdom springs from the faculty of reason (‘aql) which distinguishes human beings from the rest of God’s creations and therefore elevates them to the highest position.

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Hikmah, is also considered by the sages as one of the cardinal virtues together with courage, temperance and justice. Such virtues are the result of the proper preservation of certain psychological faculties in man. Wisdom, in particular, is achieved in man when he properly uses his reason in a true, moderate way neither falls to the extreme of excesses which will lead him to something vicious such as cunning and deceit, nor to the extreme of falling short of using it which will lead to other vices such as stupidity and ignorance.


In essence, it is pertinent that knowledge at the level of wisdom be put as the ultimate aim of educational process. For, education is nothing but to produce a good human being not only at the cognitive and understanding level but more importantly at the ethical level.

Zackmaster

Nama.. asma.. isim.. ism..

Alim.. Ilmu.. Alam..

Hakim.. Hukum.. Hikmah..

NorAddin

mbhcsf replied at 23-3-2016 04:18 AM
Hikmah, is also considered by the sages as one of the cardinal virtues together with courage, temper ...

salam

In essence, it is pertinent that knowledge at the level of wisdom be put as the ultimate aim of educational process. For, education is nothing but to produce a good human being not only at the cognitive and understanding level but more importantly at the ethical level.

yap ..
knowledge without education
education without knowledge
produce no result .. no essence

wassalam