Quran Garden

Session 296

Chapter 2

Verse 269

He gives wisdom to whoever He will. Whoever is given wisdom has truly been given much good, but only those with insight bear this in mind. (Chapter 2: Verse 269)

Wisdom is to place each matter in its rightful place.  It is translated from the Arabic origin: ‘Hikma.’  The word 'Hikma حكمة' originated from the 'bridle' which is the piece of leather and iron placed in a horse’s mouth so the rider can control and aim the animal towards the desired destination.  Without it, the animal may wonder aimlessly and stray from the rider’s goal.  Similarly, wisdom sets a proper goal for each action and then steers the person in the right direction.  Allah, the all Wise, is the one who identifies for each creation its bounds and mission.  Who is better than your creator, the one who knows you best, in determining your goal in life? Allah’s teachings are the essence of wisdom because they insure your security and the security of your children in this world, and paradise in the Hereafter.  So when you follow the teachings of your creator, you have -in fact- applied wisdom and put matters in their rightful place.

Here we should take a few moments to learn a very valuable lesson about our children; more specifically, a lesson of how to raise them wisely and insure their future against calamities.  There will be a period in every person’s life where he or she is more preoccupied by the needs of the children than his or her own needs.  A father may starve in order to feed his family.  A mother would wear old torn clothes so she can buy her children something new for school. 

Take the example of our beloved Prophet Abraham.  He, peace be upon him, was tested in his youth and in his old age.  But the tests were different.  The Almighty tested Abraham in the early stages of his life by putting his health and wellbeing on the line for faith.  When Abraham was captured by his enemies, they threatened to throw him in the fire.  When he refused to worship their Gods, they pushed him into the raging flames.  Allah protected His prophet as narrated in the following verses:

Abraham said: "How do you worship, instead of God, that which cannot benefit you in any way, nor harm you? "Shame on you and on all that you worship apart from God! Will you not reason and understand?" They said, ‘Burn him and avenge your gods, if you are men of actions.’ "O fire," We ordered, "Be cool and peaceful for Abraham!" (21:66-69)

Contrast that to the test God put Abraham through at his old age.  He tested him with a command to slaughter his son.  As Abraham and Ishmael got ready to obey their Lord, Allah redeemed Ishmael with a great ram.  From Abraham’s tests, we learn that a man in the latter stages of his life is far more concerned for his children’s wellbeing than his own.  

But how do you protect your children? How do you insure their wellbeing if you die? Should you leave them a lot of money? Or will money spoil them and send them down a dark path? Allah teaches you the wisdom that offers the best insurance policy for your kids.  He says:

Let those who would fear for the future of their own helpless children, if they were to die, show the same concern for orphans; let them be mindful of God and speak out for justice. (04:09)

In other words, Allah wants you to secure the future of your children with good deeds and just words.   Take good care of those less fortunate around you, and Allah will take good care of your kids. 

Let’s look at examples from the Quran of how this insurance policy pays out.  We start with the story of Moses and the righteous servant, Al-Khidr, -peace be upon them-. God says:

So they went on until when they came upon the people of a township, they asked its people for food, but they refused them hospitality. They found there a wall which was on the verge of tumbling down, and he restored it.  Moses said: "If you had wished, you could have taken payment for it." (18:77)

Moses did not know that there was a treasure belonging to two orphans buried under the wall by their father.  The people of this village were rude.  They refused to help when Moses and Al-Khidr asked for food –which is the most basic of human needs-.  Such people would have robbed the orphans’ treasure if they found it.  Thus, it was necessary to erect the wall so the treasure would be concealed from the villagers until the kids reached maturity.  But why did God protect the orphans and their wealth from the villagers?  Listen to the answer from verse 82 of chapter 18:

The wall belonged to two young orphans in the town and there was buried treasure beneath it belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man, so your Lord intended them to reach maturity and then dig up their treasure as a mercy from your Lord.

Allah teaches us that the future of the two orphans was secured because of the good deeds of their father.  This is true wisdom and it can only be appreciated by the thoughtful mind. 

We find another example of how the wisdom of a parent protects their children in the story of ‘The Cow’, the namesake of this chapter.  If you recall, among the children of Israel lived a very poor but righteous man.  All he had in this world was a small calf.  On his deathbed his last words were: "O God, I entrust my wife, my little boy, and my only possession, a calf, to your care." He knew that his wife could barely take care of the household, so he entrusted this calf to God's care and let it loose right before he died.

            After a few years, the mother told her grown son: 'Your father left you a little fortune:  A calf; it should be a grown cow by now." The son was surprised and asked his mother where it was.  She replied: "Your father entrusted it to God and set it free.  Be like him and say: 'I put my trust in you Lord, please guide me to my cow.'" The young man supplicated then he set out to search for it.  Barely a day had passed and a cow came towards him and stopped submissively.  As he lead it to his house, a group of the Israelites –who were quarrelling over the murder of a relative- saw the cow and realized that it fit perfectly the cow God described for them to slaughter.  They offered to buy it for 3 gold coins, but the young man’s mother refused.  The Israelites increased their bid to 5 coins, then 10, but the mother kept refusing.  Finally, they urged the son to speak to his mother to be reasonable.  He told them: "I will not sell without my mother's approval, even if you offer me its skin-fill in gold!"  The mother smiled and said: "Let that be the price: The cow’s skin-fill of gold."

Again, the story teaches us that parents’ righteousness plays the main role in the protection of their children.  Through the wisdom and good deeds of the father and mother, God facilitated the affairs of this child and enriched him beyond the wealthiest people of the town. 

I would also like to give the example of the wisdom of Hasan Al-Basri.  When a needy person would come to him asking for charity, he would say: ‘I welcome the one who will carry my supplies to the hereafter free of charges.’ Through his great wisdom, Hasan Al-Basri realized that true success is beyond worldly riches and instant gratification.  He invested his time, effort and wealth in the ever-lasting benefits of the hereafter.

In our daily lives, we have all seen the example of the student who strives and works hard to be successful, while his or her classmates rest and waste time on games and television.  The student who works hard will rise in society, while others would struggle for the rest of their lives.  God says:

He gives wisdom to whoever He will. Whoever is given wisdom has truly been given much good, but only those with insight bear this in mind. (Chapter 2: Verse 269)