Al-Baqarah: (269) He gives wisdom...

Know that when the Almighty mentioned in the preceding verse that Satan promises poverty and commands indecency, while the Merciful promises forgiveness and bounty, He indicated that the reason for preferring the promise of the Merciful over the promise of Satan is that the Merciful's promise is supported by wisdom and reason. Satan's promise is supported by desire and the self (nafs), as these command the attainment of immediate pleasure and following the dictates of imagination and illusion. Undoubtedly, the judgment of wisdom and reason is the truthful judgment, free from deviation and flaw, whereas the judgment of the senses, desire, and the self leads a person into tribulation and hardship. Therefore, the judgment of wisdom and reason is more worthy of acceptance. This is the indication regarding the coherence (of the verses).

Several issues remain concerning this verse:

The First Issue: The Meaning of Wisdom

The intended meaning of al-Hikmah (wisdom) is either knowledge or acting rightly.

It is narrated from Muqatil that the interpretation of Hikmah in the Qur'an takes four forms:

1. The Admonitions of the Qur'an: As in the verse: {And what has been revealed to you of the Book and the Wisdom, admonishing you thereby} (Al-Baqarah: 231), meaning the admonitions of the Qur'an. Similarly in An-Nisa and Al 'Imran.
2. Understanding and Knowledge: As in the verse: {And We gave him judgment while still a youth} (Maryam: 12), and {And We certainly gave Luqman wisdom} (Luqman: 12), meaning understanding and knowledge. Also in Al-An'am: {Those are the ones to whom We gave the Book, judgment, and prophethood} (Al-An'am: 89).
3. Prophethood: As in An-Nisa: {For We had already given the family of Abraham the Book and wisdom} (An-Nisa: 54), meaning prophethood. Also in Sad: {And We strengthened his kingdom and gave him wisdom} (Sad: 20), meaning prophethood. And in Al-Baqarah: {And God gave him the dominion and wisdom} (Al-Baqarah: 251).
4. The Qur'an itself, with its wondrous hidden secrets: As in An-Nahl: {Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom} (An-Nahl: 125), and in this verse: {And whoever is given wisdom, he has certainly been given much good} (Al-Baqarah: 269).

Upon investigation, all these meanings ultimately revert to knowledge.

Then, reflect, O miserable one! For God has only given a little knowledge, as He says: {And you have not been given of knowledge except a little} (Al-Isra: 85). He named the entire world as little, saying: {Say, "The enjoyment of this world is little"} (An-Nisa: 77). Observe the measure of this "little" so that you may know the greatness of that "much."

Rational proof also supports this: the world is finite in extent and duration, while the ranks, number, and duration of knowledge are endless, as is the happiness derived from it. This indicates the virtue of knowledge. The detailed discussion on this point has already passed in the exegesis of the verse: {And He taught Adam the names, all of them} (Al-Baqarah: 31).

As for wisdom meaning acting rightly, its definition is said to be: to adopt the attributes of God to the extent of human capacity. This meaning is supported by the Prophet's saying (peace be upon him): "Adorn yourselves with the attributes of God Almighty."

Know that wisdom cannot depart from these two meanings, because human perfection lies in two things: knowing the Truth for its own sake, and knowing the Good for the sake of acting upon it. The first refers to knowledge and conforming perception, and the second refers to doing justice and what is right.

It is narrated that Abraham (peace be upon him) prayed: {My Lord, grant me judgment and join me with the righteous} (Ash-Shu'ara: 83). Judgment (Hukman) is theoretical wisdom, and joining the righteous is practical wisdom. Moses (peace be upon him) called out: {Indeed, I am God; there is no deity except Me} (Taha: 11), which is theoretical wisdom, and then said: {So worship Me} (Taha: 14), which is practical wisdom. Jesus (peace be upon him) said: {Indeed, I am the servant of God} (Maryam: 30), which is theoretical wisdom, and then: {And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has instructed me} (Maryam: 31), which is practical wisdom. Regarding Muhammad (peace be upon him): {So know that there is no deity except God} (Muhammad: 19), which is theoretical wisdom, and then: {And ask forgiveness for your sin} (Muhammad: 19), which is practical wisdom. Regarding all the Prophets: {He sends down the angels with the Spirit of His command upon whom He wills of His servants, [saying], "Warn that there is no deity except Me, so fear Me"} (An-Nahl: 2), which is theoretical wisdom, and then: {so fear Me} (An-Nahl: 2), which is practical wisdom.

The Qur'an itself indicates that the perfection of man's state lies only in these two faculties. Abu Muslim said: Hikmah is derived from Hukm (judgment), just as Nahla (a bee) is derived from Nahl (bees). A wise man (Hakim) is one possessing intellect, sense, and sound opinion. In this context, it is in the active sense. It is also said: Amrun Hakim (a wise matter), meaning well-established (muhkam), which is Fa'il in the sense of Maf'ul (passive), as God says: {In it is determined every wise affair} (Ad-Dukhan: 4). What Abu Muslim stated regarding linguistic derivation conforms to what we have mentioned regarding the meaning.

The Second Issue: Recitation Variant

The author of Al-Kashshaf said: It has been recited as {And whoever is given wisdom} (Wa man yu'ta al-hikmah) with the meaning: "And whoever God gives wisdom," and Al-A'mash recited it this way.

The Third Issue: Proof for Divine Creation of Actions

Our scholars use this verse as proof that the actions of the servant are created by God Almighty.

If we interpret Hikmah as knowledge, it cannot refer to necessary knowledge, because that is present in animals, the insane, and children, and these things are not described as possessing wisdom. Therefore, it must refer to speculative knowledge (al-'ulum al-nadhariyyah). If we interpret it as sensible actions, the matter is clear. In both cases, it necessitates that the acquisition of speculative knowledge and sensible actions is established by something other than the servant, by a determiner other than him, and that other is, by consensus, God Almighty. This proves that the servant's action is a creation of God Almighty.

Objection: Why can it not mean prophethood, the Qur'an, or the faculty of understanding and sensory perception, as stated by Ar-Rabi' ibn Anas?

Answer: The evidence we mentioned refutes these possibilities. It is established by continuous transmission (an-naql al-mutawatir) that the term Hakim (wise) is used for those who are not prophets. Thus, wisdom is distinct from prophethood and the Qur'an. Rather, it is interpreted as either knowing the realities of things or daring to perform sound, righteous actions. In either case, the intended meaning is achieved.

If the Mu'tazila attempt to interpret the giving (Ita') as divine guidance (tawfiq), assistance (i'anah), or subtle favors (altaf), we say: Whatever they do of this kind for the believers, they do the like for the disbelievers, yet this great praise mentioned in the verse does not apply to them. Therefore, we know that the wisdom mentioned in this verse is something other than the act of subtle favors. And God knows best.

The Meaning of Remembrance

Then He said: {But none will remember except those of understanding} (Wa ma yadhakkaru illa ulu al-albāb).

My view, and God knows best, is that when a person finds wisdom and gnoses present in his heart, and then reflects and contemplates, realizing that they were not attained except through God's giving and facilitation, he becomes one of those of understanding (ulu al-albāb). This is because he did not stop at the effects (al-musabbabāt) but ascended from them to their causes (asbāb). This transition from the effect to the cause is the remembrance (adh-dhikr) that only those of understanding attain. As for one who attributes these states to himself and believes he is the cause of their occurrence and attainment, he is among the outwardly apparent ones who are incapable of transitioning from effects to causes.

As for the Mu'tazila, since they interpret wisdom as the faculty of understanding and the establishment of proofs, they say: This wisdom does not stand on its own; rather, a person benefits from it by reflecting and contemplating to know what is beneficial and what is harmful for him, and based on that, he proceeds or refrains.

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