Hikmah: A Departure from Sharia

"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 of many Muslims. Such concept exists among active and non-active Muslims alike. Its validity or invalidity must be discussed so that Muslims know where they stand. First, the concept of Hikmah must be put in context. It has been used frequently in issues such as, asking for help from the UN or the US for Bosnia or Kashmir, entering into the political process of the US, gradual implementation of Islam in the Muslim world... etc. Each of the above mentioned examples has a proof (actually several ones) from the Quran and the Sunnah to make it prohibited. In each of the above mentioned situation, the proof is mentioned to prohibit such act, however met with a famous statement "Brother, we agree with you 100%, but Hikmah must be used! Can't you see Muslims in Bosnia 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?..." In reality, this concept of Hikmah is alien to Islam, for there is no text from the Quran or the Sunnah, where the word Hikmah is mentioned, carries the same meaning associated with it today. Upon researching the word Hikmah, one will find 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, depending on the context, such as prophet hood, the Quran, the Sunnah, knowledge of the reality of things, deep knowledge followed by actions based on this knowledge...etc. Some of the Ayahs are as follows: -in translation"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:" (al-Baqara:129) "And Allah will teach him The Book and WISDOM..." (al-e-Imran:48) "Allah did confer A great favor 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..." (al-e-Imran:164) "Invite (all) to the Way Of thy Lord with WISDOM..." (an-Nahl:125) "And recite what is Rehearsed to you in your Homes, of the Signs of Allah And His WISDOM..." (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." (al-Qamr:4,5) Thus there is no Islamic or linguistic meaning to Hikmah that is similar to that associated with it nowadays. As a matter of fact one finds that the word, in this specific context, is synonymous with the word 'Benefit" that is 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 Muslim say we follow Islam while Capitalists admit they follow that which is beneficial to them. It is extremely strange that an active Muslim, working for Islam that is, would abandon a clear hadith or an Ayah for that which he thinks to be good. Such idea is invalid as well as dangerous for the following reasons. 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). Hikmah, that which the person sees good, is not one of them. Allah (swt) says, -in translation"It is not allowed for a believing man or a believing man or a believing woman, if Allah and His Messenger give an order to have a choice in their matter."

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 rule are charity, praying Nafil, growing the beard, 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,...etc. 5) Allowed (Mubah) is the action which the person is not rewarded or punishable for doing or abandoning. Talking, sleeping, walking, eating, are some examples. The question that arises, therefore, is in which category does the Hikmah fall? If it falls in the Fard or Haram, or Macro or Mandub, it is nonsense for a Muslim who wants the pleasure of Allah to abandon the divine rule and follow his/her desire. If, however, it falls in the Mubah category, there is no argument that Allah (swt) has given humans the choice to do or abstain. It is very unfortunate that the Hikm that is addressed here is used in the Haram and Fard area and not in the Mubah. That is the real problem. Same people cite the example of the Messenger as a proof for using the Hikmah. the example of the treaty of Hudybiyah is the main issue used to prove their point. In that treaty, the Messenger (saaws) 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 conclusion is definitely wrong on several accounts, two of which are: a) Both demands made by the Kuffar to the Messenger (saaws) did not go against any divine rule. Removing the wording "Messenger of Allah" from the document was not Haram, for that was a pure political document that had nothing to do with anyone's belief. the Messenger (saaws) was not asked to deny his Prophet hood but merely not to write it in the document. Also removing the word of "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 (swt) on any matter of importance, not to write it. The Messenger (saaws) 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 (saaws) said to his companions where they refused to shave their heads as a sign of anger, "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. We Muslims must learn, not as a matter of theory, but as a matter of practice that the good is only that which Allah (swt) and His Messenger have said. We must learn that the criterion for our actions is the Halal and Haram not Hikmah or benefit. We Muslims must learn that the Hikmah is in following the Islamic text as is without twisting or changing. We Muslims must remember that putting our minds as the yardstick of actions instead of the divine law is going back to Jahiliyah and taking the secular standard of judgment taken by the West. by Abul Amin

Ar-Raya Magazine, October 1992