Religious Wisdom - I

All praise is due to Allaah The Almighty; we praise Him, ask His help
and forgiveness and repent to Him. We seek refuge with Allaah The
Almighty from the evil of our souls and the consequences of our evil
deeds. No one can mislead a person whom Allaah The Almighty guides,
and no one can rightly guide a person whom Allaah The Almighty
misguides. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but
Allaah Alone, who has no partner; and I testify that Muhammad,
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam , is His slave and Messenger.
Religious wisdom is a well-known term. Those who read or study the
biographies of our righteous predecessors or listen to their
instructions frequently hear about it. Some people might read their
biographies and feel as if they arereading about a historical matter
that does not concern them. Also, when we read the biographies of the
righteous predecessors and narrations concerning their religious
wisdom, asceticism as well as inspiring narrations, we may judge them
as being weak or fabricated, or may even accuse their narrators of
overstating or extremism; likewise, we might even think they are
incorrect, despite the fact that some of these narrations are true and
correct. Rarely do we blame ourselves for failing to understand these
meanings; likewise, many hearts may not bepure enough to comprehend
thatthe state of the righteous predecessors was a result of theirfear
of Allaah The Almighty. Their state was also the result of their
following the guidance of the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ,
and those who preceded them.
In truth, I hesitated before writing about this topic to the extent
that while I was reading and collecting its references I decided not
to talk about it at all.This decision was not because the topic is not
significant or important but because I felt that only the people known
for their religious wisdom should talk about it; just as only those
who are humble, pious and truthful should talk about truthfulness.
A person who pretends to have something that he does not own is
blameworthy, just like a personwho wears two stolen
garments,therefore, I will talk about religious wisdom, but with no
comparison to my own state. My role will only be to convey the sayings
and words of wisdom excerpted from the biographies of the righteous
predecessors of this Ummah (Muslim nation), and try to connect them
with our reality. We ask Allaah The Almighty to grant us righteousness
and piety as well as religious wisdom. If we cannotattain their lofty
status, let us at least try to imitate them, for the person who
imitates a particular group is one of them. Indeed, imitating noble
people brings about success.
Religious wisdom is a prophetic term found in the Sharee'ah .
AbuHurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated that the
Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam , instructed him, saying: "Be
religiously wise so that you would be the most devoted person in
worship; be content so that you would be the most grateful person;
love for people what you love for yourself so thatyou would be a
believer; act kindly towards your neighbors sothat you would be a
Muslim; and do not laugh too much, for this makes the heart wither."
[Al-Bayhaqi]
In a Hadeeth on the authority of Huthayfah, may Allaah be pleasedwith
him, that the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam , said: "The
merit of knowledge is dearer to me than the merit of worship.
Religious wisdom is the best act in Islam." [Al-Bazzaar, Al-Haakim,
At-Tabaraani in Al-'Awsat and Al-Haakim on the authority of Sa'd, may
Allaah be pleased with him]
In these authentic texts, the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ,
mentioned the term "religious wisdom" , thus, it is a prophetic term
related to the Sharee'ah , even though such terms are not necessarily
required to be explicitly mentioned by the Prophet, sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam . As long as there is no contradiction between these
terms and the texts of the Sharee'ah, there is noproblem in using
them.
There is plenty of evidence in the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet,
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam , supporting the meaning of religious
wisdom. For example, there is a comprehensive and great Hadeeth that
many scholarsconsider to be a pillar on which Islam stands. In a
Hadeeth on the authority of An-Nu'maan ibn Basheer, may Allaah be
pleased with him, he heard the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam
, say: "Both lawful and unlawful matters are evident, but betweenthem
are certain doubtful [suspicious] things which many people have no
knowledge of. Thus, whoever guards against these doubtful things keeps
his religion and his honor safe. On the other hand, whoever indulges
in these doubtful things [will eventually] indulge in unlawful
matters, just as a shepherd who grazes his cattle near the Hima
[private pasture] ofsomeone else and at any moment is liable to stray
into it."
This Hadeeth is well-known and memorized by people of all ages and is
mentioned in the books of Sunnah with many narrations. This Hadeeth
also establishes a rule for doubtful matters, where a person should be
religiously wise. Avoiding doubtful matters is only one aspect of
religious wisdom that has a much wider meaning.
Another Hadeeth in this regard is what An-Nawwaas ibn Sam'aan, may
Allaah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam , said: "Righteousness is good morals, and vice is
what rankles in your chest and you fear that it might be revealed to
people."' [Muslim] Also, there is a narrationwhen Waabisah ibn Ma'bad,
may Allaah be pleased with him, cameto the Prophet, sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam , who said: "Have you come to ask about
righteousness?" Waabisah said, "Yes." The Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi
wa sallam , said: "Consult your heart; righteousness is whatyour soul
and heart are assured of. Whereas, vice is what rankles in your heart
and chest, even if people tell you again and again that it is
permissible." [Ahmad and Ad-Daarimi] There is another Hadeeth , which
was narrated by Ahmad on the authority of Tha'labah, may Allaah be
pleased with him, that supports this Hadeeth .
This Hadeeth indicates how highlysensitive the righteous slaves of
Allaah The Almighty are; to the extent that their souls become
reassured and comforted by virtue, while at the same time they are
repulsed by misdeeds, even if the people tell them that they are
permissible acts. This Hadeeth definitely encourages us to refrain
from doubtful matters and to perform what the hearts are assured of.
It also describes the state of the righteous people and their hearts
that follow the truth by virtue of the light given to them by Allaah
The Almighty. Such hearts are comforted by virtue, guidance, piety and
righteousness. On the other hand, they feel repulsed and doubtful
about sins and all that cause them, even if people gave them different
opinions that permit them to commit these sins. Only the true slaves
of AllaahThe Almighty can make this distinction between virtue and
vice, and perhaps we can use thisas a way to test our hearts; whether
they are comforted by virtue, righteousness and piety orare averse to
disobedience and evil deeds. They would be righteous hearts – Allaah
Willing. Otherwise, their hearts would require refinement and
purification. Obviously, this does not concern the rejecters whose
hearts are totally covered, as their souls have become fettered by
their fancies and desires and their souls are only comforted by
disobedience of Allaah The Almighty and harming His righteous
believers.
There are many people whose judgments are no longer sound and who view
misdeeds to be good deeds and vice versa. Therefore, such distinction
between virtue and vice is only given to righteous people whose hearts
have totally turned to Allaah The Almighty. Such a heart loves no one
except for the sake of Allaah The Almighty, and hatesno one except for
the sake of Allaah The Almighty. It turns to Allaah Alone and faces
Him without deviation, just as the person turns towards the Qiblah
during his prayers and stands before Allaah The Almighty five times a
day. Thus, Allaah The Almighty is his sole direction. This person
loves no one except Allaah The Almighty, and turns towards Him Alone.
Such a soul has no will that contradicts the orders and Sharee'ah of
Allaah The Almighty. For that reason, such a heart has attained a high
degree and is comforted by virtueand repulsed by vice.
Accordingly,Allaah The Almighty confers on him this light and
criterion to make the distinction between right and wrong. Allaah The
Almighty Says (what means): } O you who have believed, if you
fearAllaah, He will grant you a criterion [to judge between right and
wrong] and will remove fromyou your misdeeds and forgive you. { [Quran
8:29]