1.

The Holy Qur’an - together with Prophet Muhammad’s Sunnah

as the exemplary life pattern, i.e., the revelation or the revealed
knowledge - is the fountainhead of all wisdom (Luqman, 1).

It follows that in Islamic scholarship and culture, the compass of the

science of philosophy – which means “love (philo) of wisdom
(sophia)” – should not exceed the limits of a qualified rationalization
of the existential truths presented by the revelation. By the same
token, it could be said that authentic Islamic philosophy raises and
attempts to answer an array of fundamental questions, but only
in the light of the biggest answers and ultimate direction provided by
the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and life.

Islamic philosophy can do so either independently or in collaboration

with other sciences. A Muslim philosopher, it stands to reason, is
firstly a lover and follower of heavenly guidance and truth, then of
wisdom. Islamic philosophy is a balancing act of harmonization
between reason and revelation.

However, what is transpiring in the ambit of most of the profane and

agnostic Western philosophy - where God is either humanized or
rejected altogether, where man and his limited abilities and talents
are deified, and where the order of nature is desacralized and ill-used
– has nothing much to do with “love of wisdom”. It is essentially about
“abuse of wisdom”, one way or another.

That is why, colloquially, it is said that philosophy is yet to

conclusively answer a single fundamental question, or solve a single
major issue confronting humankind.  It is also said that no two great
philosophers agree on a single subject. All that despite thousands of
years of exhaustive philosophizing as a challenge to and substitute
for religions.

Surely, for reason on its own the truth will remain an elusive target.
Reason is powerful, but not all-powerful. It is mighty, but not
almighty. It is good and reliable only as far as it goes. Although it tries
to pick up the slack, reason will perennially be harvesting nothing but
fragments of the truth. It will endure on its borderline.
1. Almighty Allah is only All-Wise. Thus, in the Surah, He calls
Himself twice “All-Wise” (Luqman, 9, 27). He also calls Himself
three times “Well-Acquainted (with all things)”
(Luqman, 16, 29, 34), once “All-Knower” (Luqman, 34) and once
“All-Knower of what is in the breasts of people” (Luqman, 23).
2. The Surah begins with a reference to the heavenly wisdom
(Luqman, 2), and ends with a reference to the heavenly
knowledge and acquaintance (Luqman, 34). Everything else at
any plane of existence subsists between these poles, being
measured and evaluated against them. The heavenly
knowledge and wisdom are the lone sources of life’s
authenticity, credibility and certainty.
3. Ignorance, pride, arrogance, and vain desires are formidable
obstacles on the road to true knowledge and wisdom
(Luqman, 6, 7, 20, 21). They shut people’s faculties and blind
them completely, causing people to wander and act aimlessly in
their follies and myopia. It is such people who dispute “about
Allah without knowledge or guidance or a Book that gives light”
(Luqman, 20).
4. Luqman was given wisdom. He did not acquire it (Luqman, 12).
The solitary source of both wisdom and knowledge is Almighty
Allah. He bestows them upon whomsoever He wants, according
to His divine will and plan. About wisdom, the Qur’an says: “He
grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and he to whom wisdom is
granted receives indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will
grasp the Message but men of understanding” (al-Baqarah,
269).
5. In isolation from Heaven and the revelation as guidance, man
can reach and grasp neither true knowledge nor true wisdom.
Hence, the Wise Qur’an is given to man as a guide and mercy
in order for man to become knowledgeable, wise and so,
successful while on earth (Luqman, 3, 4, 5). No genuine and
sustainable success on earth, individual or collective, is
possible without Almighty Allah’s Word, Will, and Blessings on-
board.
6. One of the first signs that someone is given wisdom is that
he acknowledges the gift and is grateful and
 humble (Luqman, 12). This attitude is an antithesis of a state
spawned by ignorance, arrogance, and indulgence in vain
desires.
7. Luqman was an extremely wise man. His epithet was the Wise
or the Sage. His wise advice to his son demonstrates his
wisdom (Luqman, 13-19). His counsels revolve around properly
knowing life and living it accordingly. The counsels are as much
theoretical as practical directives. They, in the end, are all
connected to the higher metaphysical order of things, meanings
and experiences. Without the latter, nothing on earth would ever
make any sense, nor could it be mustered for the ultimate good
of humankind.
8. Luqman wants his son to base his perceptions, judgement, and
actions on reason. He is not to act irrationally and
inconsequentially. He wants him to be a person of dignity and
self-respect. He wants him to grow at once as a strong and
adept individual, and a beneficial community member. He wants
him to be his community’s asset, rather than a liability, for
wisdom inspires and builds not only individuals and their
personal worlds, but also entire communities, cultures, and
civilizations. Indeed, the total well-being of mankind is the goal
of wisdom as the greatest heavenly gift. In other words, Luqman
wants his son to be wise too.
9. Though wisdom encompasses both theory and practice,
abstract and applied dimensions, the latter by far outweighs the
former in terms of supreme importance and value. It is due to
this that Prophet Muhammad’s exemplary life paradigm,
Sunnah, is likewise called “wisdom” (Hikmah). Sunnah is not
only the interpretation and application of the Qur’an, but at
the same time the personification of all Islam and its
infinite wisdom. To live right and be successful in both
worlds is to be wise.
10. Islam teaches man as much what he should and can, as
what he should not and cannot know (Luqman, 10, 34).
Knowing what one cannot and should not know is a
fundamental aspect of knowledge. Yet, it signifies the threshold
of all wisdom.