granted him wisdom and a clear judgment" (Qura'n, 38:20). Scholars have said that wisdom
means knowledge.
Knowledge may either be knowing what can exist without our choice or doing, which is
theoretical knowledge, or it may be knowledge of what can happen by our choice and doing,
which is practical knowledge. Theoretical knowledge may either be the means towards an
end, or it may be an end by itself. The means, for example, may be the science of logic the
deduction of which is determined by what concepts and assertions mankind can conceive in a
way which does not permit except a very rare margin of error.
As regarding what is considered as the ultimate end, be informed that things may be classified
into three categories: They may either comprise a form, or they actually are not supposed to
exist in a certain form, or either case may be applicable to them. What is supposed to be in a
form should either be in a particular one, and the science which researches such portion of
what exists is called natural science or physics. What ought not be a particular form and ought
to be in some other form, the science that researches it is called the science of mathematics.
As regarding the other category which is not supposed to be in a particular form at all, the
science that researches it is called theology.
As regarding the third kind, the one which may be in a particular form or may not, the science
researching it is called the inclusive science, and it is like the knowledge of the unit, the
multiplicity, the causation, the deduction, the completion or the deficiency. All of this falls
under the category of theoretical knowledge.
Practical knowledge may either be the researching of the conditions of man regarding his own
body, which is called the science of physiology, or his conditions with members of his
household, which is called the science of domestic management, or his conditions (ties to,
relationship...) with the rest of the world, which is called political science.
The person who personified wisdom in his everyday conduct among people is the Messenger
of Allah by the token of this verse of Surat Ali-`Imran: "Certainly Allah conferred a benefit
upon the believers when He raised among them a Messenger from among themselves reciting
to them His signs and purifying them and teaching them the Book and the wisdom although
before then they were surely in manifest error" (Qura'n, 3:164).
The wisdom in as far as the servants of Allah are concerned is to say and to do what is right as
much as it is humanly possible. Allah says in Surat al-Baqarah, "He grants wisdom to
whomsoever He pleases, and whoever is granted wisdom is indeed granted a great deal of
good and none but men of understanding mind" (Qura'n, 2:269). A wise person among people
is one who precisely calculates intricate things; he masters them and skillfully executes them.
Wisdom is the greatest knowledge, and its greatness depends on the greatness of what is
known, and surely there is nothing greater than Allah. Anyone who gets to know Allah is