“You have to use Hikmah, brother” one often hears. “Yes we agree with you 100%, but Hikmah must be used”, and “You are too aggressive, use some Hikmah” are on the tongue’s of many Muslims. Such a concept exists among active and non-active Muslims alike. Its validity or invalidity therefore must be discussed.
First, the concept of Hikmah must be put in context. It has been used frequently in issues as diverse as, asking for the assistance of the UN or the West in Iraq, Palestine, Bosnia or Kashmir; entering into the political process in the West; and the gradual implementation of Islam in the Muslim world amongst others. However each of the above mentioned examples have proofs from the Quran and the Sunnah to make them prohibited. When these proofs are mentioned they are met with a the statement “Brother, we agree with you 100%, but Hikmah must be used! Can’t you see Muslims (in Palestine, Kashmir etc) how they are treated; we must save them by any means! Can’t you see that nothing gets done unless the US and the UN wishes it?” and so forth.
In reality, this understanding of Hikmah is alien to Islam, for there is no text from the Quran or the Sunnah, where the word Hikmah is mentioned with the same meaning that some today associate. Upon researching the word Hikmah, one finds that it is derived from the Arabic word ‘Hukm’ which means ‘rule’. The word Hikmah appears in the Holy Quran twenty times. It appears with various meanings which are dependent on the context, such as Prophethood, the Quran, the Sunnah, knowledge of the reality of things, deep knowledge followed by actions based on this knowledge etc. Some of the Ayaat are as follows:
“Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own, Who shall rehearse Thy Signs To them and instruct them In Scripture and WISDOM, and purify them:” (TMQ al-Baqara:129)
“And Allah will teach him The Book and WISDOM…” (TMQ Ale-Imran:48)
“Allah did confer A great favour on the Believers When He sent among them A Messenger from among Themselves, rehearsing Unto them the Signs Of Allah, purifying them, And instructing them In Scripture and WISDOM…” (TMQ Ale-Imran:164)
“Invite (all) to the Way Of thy Lord with WISDOM…” (TMQ An-Nahl:125)
“And recite what is Rehearsed to you in your Homes, of the Signs of Allah And His WISDOM…” (TMQ Al-Ahzab:34)
“There have already come to them such tidings as contain a deterrent, A WISDOM far-reaching: -but (the preaching of) Warners Profits them not.” (TMQ Al-Qamr: 4-5)
Thus there is no Islamic or linguistic meaning to Hikmah that is similar to that associated with it by some today.
As a matter of fact one finds that the word, used in this specific context, is synonymous with the idea of ‘Benefit” that exists in Capitalism. This is so because its usage is the same usage of ‘benefit’ among the capitalists. Both parties make it as the yardstick of their actions, with the difference that the Muslim’s say we follow Islam while Capitalists admit they follow that which is beneficial to them.
a) The Muslim is to abide by the divine rule in every action. The divine rule is found only in the Quran, Sunnah, Consensus of the Companions, and Analogy (Qiyas). That which the person views as good, is not one of them. Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) says,
“It is not for the believer (male or female) that when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter that they should have any choice in their matter.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 36]
b) All actions of all human beings are addressed by the divine rule. The divine rule is divided into five categories. Every action must fall in one of these categories. The five categories are:
1) The obligation (fard), which is defined as the action that the person is rewarded for doing and punished for not performing, such as, Salah, Zakah, Jihad, establishing the Khilafah.
2) The forbidden (Haram). It is the action that a person is punished for doing and rewarded for not doing i.e., Zina, back biting, ruling by kufr, doing injustice to an orphan…etc.
3) The liked or preferable (Mandub or Mustahab) is the action where the person is rewarded for doing but not punishable for leaving. Example of such are praying Nafil, giving sadaqa, doing Zikr, etc.
4) The disliked (Makrooh) is that which the person is rewarded for abandoning however not punishable for committing, such as, sleeping on the stomach, biting their nails etc.
5) The allowed (Mubah) action is the one in which the person is not rewarded or punishable for doing or abandoning, talking, sleeping, walking, eating, are some examples.
Therefore it is not allowed for a person to use his “Hikmah” to determine the status of his actions or succumb to his personal desires.
Furthermore the same people cite the example of the Messenger as a justification for their understanding of “Hikmah”. The example of the treaty of Hudybiyah is the main incident used to prove their point. In that treaty, the Messenger (SallAllahau Alaihi Wasallam) accepted to remove “The Messenger of Allah” and “The Most Merciful the Most Compassionate” from the document. Those Muslims see in such actions some sort of Hikmah or compromise.
Such a conclusion is definitely wrong on several levels, two of which are:
a) Both demands made by the Kuffar to the Messenger (SallAllahau Alaihi Wasallam) did not go against any divine rule. Removing the wording “Messenger of Allah” from the document was not Haram, for that was a political document that had nothing to do with anyone’s belief. The Messenger (SallAllahau Alaihi Wasallam) was not asked to deny his Prophethood but merely not to write it in the document. Also removing the words “The Most Merciful, the Compassionate” from the paper is not against Islam. This is due to the fact that we are ordered to mention the name of Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) on any matter of importance, not to write it. The Messenger (SallAllahau Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Anything of importance that doesn’t start by mentioning the name of Allah is incomplete.” There was no abandonment of the divine rule at all in the above case.
b) This document was signed based on an order of the Wahi. It was due to this reason that the Messenger (SallAllahau Alaihi Wasallam) refused to reverse his decisions despite the feeling amongst the Muslims that it weakened their position, Rasool Allah (SallAllahau Alaihi Wasallam) categorically stated to this “I am the slave of Allah and His Messenger. And I will not disobey His order.” Therefore, signing that treaty was a divine rule from Allah that the Messenger adhered to.
In conclusion Muslims must learn, not as a matter of theory, but as a matter of practice that the good is only that which Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) and His Messenger have said. We must learn that the criterion for our actions is the Halal and Haram not reason or benefit. We Muslims must learn that the Hikmah is in following the Islamic text as it is, without twisting or changing its meaning. Muslims must remember that using our minds as the yardstick of actions instead of the divine law is going back to Jahilliyyah and taking the secular standard of judgment taken by the West.
Abul Amin & Habibur Rehman
Khilafah.com Journal
17 Rabee Al-Awwal 1424 Hijri
18 May 2003
