Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:269

"He gives wisdom to whom He wills." Ibn Jarir and others reported from Ibn Abbas that it is knowledge of the Quran: its abrogating and abrogated [verses], its ambiguous and categorical [verses], that which precedes and that which succeeds, its lawful and prohibited [matters], and its parables. In another narration from him, it is [defined as] understanding (fiqh) in the Quran. Similar [views] are reported from Qatadah, al-Dahhak, and a large number [of scholars].

What Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Ibn Abbas—that it is prophethood—can be interpreted in light of what al-Bayhaqi reported from Abu Umamah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Whoever reads a third of the Quran is given a third of prophethood, whoever reads half of the Quran is given half of prophethood, whoever reads two-thirds of the Quran is given two-thirds of prophethood, and whoever reads the entire Quran is given all of prophethood. It is said to him on the Day of Resurrection: 'Read and ascend,' [raising] a degree for every verse, until he completes what he possesses of the Quran. Then it is said to him: 'Grasp,' and he grasps. Then it is said to him: 'Do you know what is in your hands?' Behold, in his right hand is Eternity, and in the other is Bliss." The meaning of "reading" in this report is not merely [reciting] the words, for that is something in which the righteous and the wicked are equal; rather, it means reading with understanding (fiqh). This is supported by what Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Abu al-Darda: "Wisdom is reading the Quran and reflecting upon it."

From Mujahid, it is [defined as] accuracy in speech and action. In another narration from him, it is the Quran, knowledge, and jurisprudence. In yet another, it is the knowledge whose benefit is great and whose utility is vast. From Ata, it is knowledge of Allah (may He be exalted). Abu Uthman said: "It is a light by which the whispering [of Satan] is distinguished from [divine] inspiration." It has been said otherwise. In al-Bahr, it is mentioned that there are twenty-nine sayings among the scholars regarding it, all close to one another. Some count the majority of them as terminology, restricting themselves to what they see as a specific, significant individual instance of wisdom; otherwise, it is originally a verbal noun (masdar) from al-ihkam, which is perfection in knowledge, action, speech, or all of them. Muqatil stated that it has been explained in the Quran in four ways: sometimes as the exhortations of the Quran, other times as the marvelous secrets contained therein, at another time as knowledge and understanding, and at another as prophethood.

It is said: Perhaps the most appropriate in this context—that which organizes the rulings explained within the folds of this noble verse—is one of the first two meanings. The meaning of "giving it" is to clarify it and grant success in acting upon it; that is, to clarify it and [grant] the success to know and act upon it. "[To whom He wills] of His servants, that He should give it to him, by virtue of the vastness of His grace and the encompassment of His knowledge, just as He gave you what He explained within the verses of profound wisdom upon which the sphere of your benefits rotates. So, seize them and hasten to act upon them."

"And whoever is given wisdom..." It is in the passive voice, either because the intention is to state the virtue of the one who has attained wisdom regardless of the agent, or because the agent is well-known, and the external [noun] is used in place of the pronoun to emphasize the importance of this specific subject—which is why it was placed before the first object—and to signal the reason for the ruling. Ya'qub read yu'ta in the active voice, making the conditional man (whoever) the first object or the subject, with the resumptive pronoun omitted. The latter is supported by the reading of al-A'mash: wa-man yu'tihi al-hikmatu (And whoever He gives wisdom).

"...has certainly been given much good." A great deal [of good], for the good of both abodes has been gathered for him.

Al-Tabarani reported from Abu Umamah that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Luqman said to his son: 'O my son, you must sit with the scholars and listen to the speech of the wise, for Allah the Exalted gives life to the dead heart with the light of wisdom, just as He gives life to the dead earth with the downpour of rain.'" Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "There is no envy except in two: a man whom Allah has given wealth and empowered him to spend it in the cause of Truth, and a man whom Allah has given wisdom, so he judges by it and teaches it." Al-Tabarani reported from Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Allah the Exalted will gather the servants on the Day of Resurrection, then He will distinguish the scholars and say: 'O assembly of scholars, I did not place My knowledge in you to punish you. Go, for I have forgiven you.'" In a narration from Tha'labah ibn al-Hakam, He—Glory be to Him—says: "I did not place My knowledge and My wisdom in you except that I intended to forgive you for what you have done, and I do not care."

This refers to the bearers of the religious knowledge brought by the Wise of Prophets and the Prophet of the Wise, the presence of the Seal of the Message and the definer of the aspects of justice and courage (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), not what Galen, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, and those who walked in their footsteps and devoted themselves to the portico of their thoughts have arrived at. For ignorance is far better than what they have arrived at, and safer by many degrees than what they have relied upon; to the point that many scholars forbade looking into their books. They reasoned for this with what Imam Ahmad and Abu Ya'la reported from the hadith of Jabir, that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked permission from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) regarding a collection of writings from the Torah to read and thereby increase his knowledge, but he became angry, did not permit him, and said: "If Moses were alive, he would have no choice but to follow me." In another narration: "The Book of Allah the Exalted is sufficient for you." The point of the deduction is that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not allow the use of the book that Moses brought—[even though it was] guidance and light—at a time when the lights of prophethood were shining and the clouds of doubts and suspicions were dispelled by returning to it. So how can it be permitted to occupy oneself with what the confused philosophers of the Greeks have laid down in falsehood and deception at a time when suspicions have multiplied, delusions have grown, and Islam has become a stranger? In the Book of Allah the Exalted, there is sufficiency from everything else, as is not hidden from those who distinguish the chaff from the grain and the error from the truth.

"And none will remember except those of understanding." (That is, none will take admonition or reflect upon the verses except those with minds purified from the impurities of delusion and the darkness of following desires. These are the ones who have been given wisdom. To show care for praising them with this quality, the explicit noun was placed in the stead of the pronoun. The sentence is either a state (hal) or a concluding parenthetical clause.)

[As for the indication in the verses]: They encompass three types of superior spending. The first is spending in the cause of Allah, which is spending in the world of the kingdom (mulk) from the station of the manifestation of acts; to this, He, the Exalted, pointed by saying: "Those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a grain..." etc. The second is spending from the station of witnessing the attributes, which is spending to seek the pleasure of Allah; to this, He, the Exalted, pointed by saying: "Those who spend their wealth seeking the pleasure of Allah." By comparing it to a garden, He makes the extent of its superiority over the first—likened to a grain—known. Perhaps the superiority of the one over the other is like the superiority of the garden over the grain. What increases the difference is that the garden, even after giving its fruit, remains in its state, unlike the grain. To emphasize the indication of the high rank of this spending over the first, He mentioned the rabwah (a raised piece of land). The third is spending through Allah—it is from the station of witnessing the Essence, which is spending the self after its purification; to this, there is an indication in His saying: "O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned." The self is "earned" in this regard. The reward for the first spending is multiplying up to seven hundred and more, because the generous hand is expansive. The reward for the second is the garden of attributes that yields multiplication. The reward for the third is the wisdom inseparable from the existence granted after the sacrifice, which is the great and abundant good, because it is the most specific of His attributes. The one who performs this spending continues to spend from the divine wisdoms and the inspired sciences because of the lifting of the veil and the witnessing of the Eye.

In the midst of this, He, the Exalted, warned that mana (reminding others of one's favor) and adha (harassment) nullify spending, because spending is only praiseworthy for three reasons: its being in accordance with the command, which is a state of the spending relative to Him, the Exalted; its being a remover of the vices of stinginess, which is a state of the spending relative to the spender himself; and its being beneficial and relieving, which is a state of the spending relative to the recipient. So, if the spender reminds [the recipient] of his favor and harasses him, he has violated the command of Allah and brought about that which contradicts the relief and benefit of the recipient, and his self has become apparent in arrogance, aggression, vanity, being veiled by his own action, and seeing the blessing as coming from himself, not from Allah the Exalted. All of these are vices worse than stinginess. That is why a kind word is better than charity followed by harassment. Indeed, that is the most appropriate.