How does one attain wisdom?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

((وَمَن يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا))

(سورة البقرة, الآية 269)

“He grants Hikmah to whom He pleases, and he, to whom Hikmah is granted, is indeed granted abundant good. But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of understanding.”

(Translation of The Holy Quran, Chapter 02, Verse 269)

Hikmah is an Arabic word meaning wisdom. In Islam, The word Hikmah does have many definitions some said it’s justice in judging while other described it as the knowledge of the reality of things according to how they really are. One of my favorite definitions was the definition of a great Muslim Scholar, Ibn Al-Qayyem he said: “Hikmah is to do that which needs to be done, in the manner in which it needs to be done, at the time in which it needs to be done” It has also been defined as reaching the truth with knowledge and action, so overall we can say Hikmah is the proper use of knowledge.

@Aaliyahbintarg , A dear sister of mine, the daughter of the famous and one of my favorite preachers, Sheikh Abdul Raheem Green asked me a question “How does one attain wisdom?” a natural question after all we all desire to obtain this Wisdom. Honestly, if I had to choose between world's greatest treasures and true wisdom, I would certainly choose Wisdom. In fact the time she asked me this question she was showing me that she already possess a degree of wisdom. I could have answered her in Twitter but I wanted to take the opportunity to share my thoughts about this topic in my blog to learn and be learned from.  If you want only the summary read scroll down and read the paragraph that starts with “There are many ways…” remember Don’t Rush! Otherwise continue below.

Personally I believe that attaining Hikmah is a gift and blessings from Allah but again all we have are gifts given to us by Allah. Wisdom is a valuable treasure and usually treasures are underground, you get it by scraping your knees and getting dirt under your fingernails. Therefore never expect to get something valuable like Wisdom without a continuous struggle, “The tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

I think if we appreciate knowledge, be open to learn, welcome correction and discipline, we would  step a great step in attaining wisdom. Don't let “Pride” that monster in your heart that swallows wisdom, be a barrier to learn from your mistakes or others. Don’t let the “Arrogant you” fool you that you are the only one existing in this universe thus you can’t be wrong. Remember one of the greatest evidences that a person is ignorant is that when he thinks everything he says or do is right. A trait of a wise man is that he listen to increase the knowledge and reduce the amount of his ignorance, after all ignorance is the source of all evils and an attribute suitable for the devil. Appreciate your humanity and the mind given to you by not despising wisdom like some animals disguised in a human form.

“Man learns through experience, and the spiritual path is full of different kinds of experiences. He will encounter many difficulties and obstacles, and they are the very experiences he needs to encourage and complete the cleansing process. “Study the life of those called Wise, learn from them, Read books, specially the Quran as a daily-dose of instruction for Wisdom. Wisdom can be attained by experience, since life is very short, you are not expected to live 200 years. Remember “Dreams are, by definition, cursed with short life spans.” Don’t be haste for as it’s been said before, great haste makes great waste, you shouldn’t be in such desperate haste to succeed. There is no elevator gets you directly to wisdom, you have to use the stairs.

Read books written by wise men who wrote their 60 years or so of experience and what they learned in their books. If you are serious about it you can attain the knowledge of someone who lived 60 years in a week which is a blessings that only few understands. Said that, don’t think that attaining wisdom is only a stage in your life, since wisdom is unlimited it should be a lifetime goal. It’s important to save time by learning what benefits you in this life and hereafter for not everything written is worth reading. Make sure what you are trying to learn is not conflicting with God’s teachings, for a wisdom that conflicts with the source of wisdom shouldn’t be called wisdom.  No matter how much you like a scholar or a book you are learning from note that there are countless other men and books who speaks the truth and no one is perfect except God and words of God

As I said earlier, it’s God who gives wisdom, God is the source of all wisdom, you should believe that God is The All Wise, who knows everything. You would never ask someone to learn if you don’t believe that person who you are asking is a learned or have knowledge, let alone if you don’t believe in his existence. Where God is dishonored, gaining wisdom cannot be possible. Dear Knowledge seeker, ask God sincerely to meet your need and believe without doubt that your wish shall be granted, As Nelson Mandela said: “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination”

There are many ways to attain wisdom, a person like me can’t write about them all, but I will give you a summary of what I know. You need a sincere desire for obtaining wisdom and knowledge. You need Al-Taqwa to receive guidance from God (Al Taqwa is more than only fear of the Lord, it is the pre-requisite to every right attitude). Keep struggling in this road till the end, once you stop struggling you stopped living. Learn from the great scholars, read their books and don’t be haste. Experience, Experience, Experience! A great source of knowledge and a great teacher of almost everything. You need your own experience and others’ as well.

Look at the universe around you with a thoughtful heart, Almighty Allah said in the Holy Quran: “Have they not traveled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to understand and ears wherewith to hear? Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the chest that grow blind”  Have faith and pray to God, and remember that unlike kings of this world God loves it when we ask him for help. Avoid following your desires, instead discipline yourself to do what you know is right and important. Stop being Ignorant, you may ask how one can be ignorant if he wasn’t originally ignorant, well it’s by following the footsteps of an ignorant, those who follow a blind will fall and those who follow others blindly eventually will fall as well.

Don’t be arrogant for wisdom and arrogance are greatest enemies, they can never reside in one heart. Don’t learn or read for the sake of gaining knowledge so you can be called a scholar or wise. You get wisdom as you apply all that you’ve learned above and have a brave heart to take the risk, even if you did a mistake be modest enough to learn, look up not down.  Finally I will give you a formula, “Wisdom = Love + Knowledge + Scars” Loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge, knowledge is the reason for all the scars and Scars are life’s greatest wisdom’s teachers.