Sermon's Title: The Ultimate Wisdom
Themes of the Sermon:
1- Clarifying the meaning of Allah’s Wisdom (Ḥikmah).
2- Understanding the manifestations of Allah’s Wisdom.
3- The fruits of believing in Allah, the All-Wise.
All praise is due to Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise (al-Ḥakīm). His mercy and knowledge encompass all things, and He has perfected everything in its creation and governance. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah’s peace and many blessings be upon him.
To proceed:
O servants of Allah, fear Allah as He should be feared, and remain conscious of Him in private and in public.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].” [Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: 102].
O servants of Allah:
قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ * يَهْدِي بِهِ اللَّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلَامِ وَيُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ
“There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light.” [Sūrat al-Mā’idah: 15-16].
How great are the lights of the Qur’ān! Among its lights is Sūrat al-Kahf, the chapter our Prophet ﷺ encouraged us to recite every Friday. He said: "Whoever reads Sūrat al-Kahf on the day of Friday, a light will shine for him between the two Fridays." (Narrated by al-Ḥākim).
This is a light in your heart, your insight, and your actions, by which you distinguish truth from falsehood and find guidance through every darkness.
And how could it not be so? In this blessed Sūrah is a lamp of light through which a servant finds the satisfying answer to a question that has caused many people to stray due to their ignorance: the question regarding Divine Wisdom (Ḥikmah).
In Sūrat al-Kahf, there is the story of the one to whom Allah spoke, Mūsā, who went out seeking knowledge from al-Khaḍir (peace be upon them both). Three situations occurred—scenarios that baffle the mind. On the surface, each appeared to be evil, harmful, or against the interests of people. Yet, the final explanation brought tranquility to the heart, allowing the servant to find peace in the wisdom of the All-Wise (al-Ḥakīm), the Most Generous.
The servant sees that the scuttling of the ship was actually its salvation; the killing of the boy was actually a mercy and a good thing; and the building of the wall among miserly people was a preservation of rights and a favor from the Great Provider.
He ﷺ said: "The boy whom al-Khaḍir killed was destined to be a disbeliever. Had he lived, he would have burdened his parents with rebellion and disbelief." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim).
O servants of Allah:
Allah is the All-Wise (al-Ḥakīm), and He is All-Knowing and All-Aware of everything. He does not err, He does not forget, and not even an atom's weight is hidden from Him. His wisdom is absolute; there is no limit to His wisdom, Exalted is He. Ḥikmah (wisdom) means placing everything in its most perfect state, in its appropriate place, for a praiseworthy purpose.
It is a wisdom found in the very form of a thing and its creation; a wisdom in its location, timing, amount, and the way it occurs; and a wisdom in the ultimate purpose for which it was created or brought to pass.
To Allah belongs the creation, the command, and the judgment. His command and judgment are of two types: universal (kawnī)—relating to the laws of nature and destiny—and legislative (sharʿī)—relating to the laws of religion. Both are at the pinnacle of wisdom.
In His universal judgment, Allah creates and provides, gives life and causes death, grants honor and humbles, gives and withholds, restricts and expands, lowers and raises, and brings forward or delays. Likewise, all His actions are done with profound wisdom. He is far removed from acting out of playfulness or purposelessness.
The seven heavens, the seven earths, you—O human—and the Jinn; do you think all of this was in vain?
Exalted is Allah, the All-Wise, who says:
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ
“Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?” [Sūrat al-Mu’minūn: 115].
And He says:
وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ * مَا خَلَقْنَاهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“And We did not create the heavens and earth and that between them in play. We did not create them except in truth, but most of them do not know.” [Sūrat ad-Dukhān: 38-39].
The All-Wise created you for a great purpose and a brilliant wisdom: that you worship Him alone without any partners. There is no goodness for creation except that Allah is the only One taken as God, the One to be worshipped, to whom alone belong worship and submission. He, the Exalted, said:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Sūrat adh-Dhāriyāt: 56].
Everything you see around you of Allah’s actions was decreed by His brilliant wisdom. Nothing stands still, nothing moves, no leaf falls, and no drop of water descends except by His wisdom.
Consider the poor and the rich, the healthy and the sick, the safe and the afflicted; all of them are surrounded by the decrees of Allah, the All-Wise and All-Knowing. These decrees are fulfilled according to a complete and profound wisdom.
Have you not heard the words of the Wisest of Judges:
أَهُمْ يَقْسِمُونَ رَحْمَتَ رَبِّكَ نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِيشَتَهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا
“Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord? It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service.” [Sūrat az-Zukhruf: 32]?
Through this wise decree, the well-being of the world is maintained. If this were to change, people would be corrupted and injustice would spread, as He, the Exalted, said:
وَلَوْ بَسَطَ اللَّهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهِ لَبَغَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَكِنْ يُنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ
“And if Allah had extended [excessively] provision for His servants, they would have committed tyranny throughout the earth. But He sends it down in an amount which He wills. Indeed, He is, of His servants, Acquainted and Seeing.” [Sūrat ash-Shūrā: 27].
The All-Wise Allah willed that this worldly life (Dunyā) be a place of trial and testing. Thus, you see in it illnesses and hardships just as you see wealth and well-being, good and evil. Why? The All-Wise answers you, saying:
وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً
“And We test you with evil and with good as a trial.” [Sūrat al-Anbiyā’: 35].
And He says:
وَبَلَوْنَاهُمْ بِالْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
“And We tested them with good [times] and bad that perhaps they would return [to obedience].” [Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: 168].
Perhaps you feel distressed when you see the dominance of those who disbelieve or the aggression of oppressors. Perhaps the moans of the wounded and the cries of the oppressed pain you, and you ask yourself: "Why?" The All-Wise (al-Ḥakīm), the All-Knowing, answers you:
ذَلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَانْتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَكِنْ لِيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ وَالَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَنْ يُضِلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ
“That [is the command]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah - never will He waste their deeds.” [Sūrat Muḥammad: 4].
He also answers you by saying:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَسَيُنْفِقُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسْرَةً ثُمَّ يُغْلَبُونَ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ * لِيَمِيزَ اللَّهُ الْخَبِيثَ مِنَ الطَّيِّبِ وَيَجْعَلَ الْخَبِيثَ بَعْضَهُ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فَيَرْكُمَهُ جَمِيعًا فَيَجْعَلَهُ فِي جَهَنَّمَ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ
“Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to avert [people] from the way of Allah. So they will spend it; then it will be for them a regret; then they will be overcome. And those who have disbelieved - unto Hell they will be gathered. [This is] so that Allah may distinguish the wicked from the good and place the wicked some of them upon others and heap them all together and put them into Hell. It is those who are the losers.” [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 36-37].
Your faith in Allah’s perfect and absolute wisdom regarding His universal decree (al-ḥukm al-kawnī)—His control over destiny—enables you to be patient with what He has preordained. You remain certain that Allah only decreed it out of His wisdom and knowledge. Thus, you say as Yaʿqūb, peace be upon him, said:
قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنْفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَنِي بِهِمْ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ
“He said, ‘Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. Perhaps Allah will bring them to me all together. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise.’” [Sūrat Yūsuf: 83].
Your soul may long for something of this world; Allah might withhold wealth from you, or marriage, or a child. You might supplicate to Allah for what you want, yet He does not give you exactly what you requested. This is not out of stinginess—Exalted is He—but rather out of His wisdom, mercy, and kindness. Have you not heard the words of the Prophet ﷺ: "Indeed, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, protects His believing servant from [the harms of] the world while He loves him, just as you protect your sick ones from food and drink, fearing for them." (Narrated by Aḥmad).
O servants of Allah:
As for His legislative judgment (al-ḥukm al-sharʿī)—the laws of religion—it is likewise at the pinnacle of wisdom. He, the Exalted, did not legislate the religion with its detailed rulings except with profound wisdom; the lives and interests of creation cannot be sustained without them.
Wherever you look within this wise Sharīʿah , you see in every command kindness, goodness, righteousness, and harmony with both reason and human nature (Fiṭrah). You see in every prohibition and forbidden matter something that is evil, corrupt, and harmful. Indeed, every person of sound intellect testifies that Allah never commanded something only for one to say, "I wish He hadn't commanded it," nor did He forbid something only for one to say, "I wish He hadn't forbidden it." This is because it is the judgment of the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.
I invite you, O seeker of guidance, to reflect upon the wisest of books: the Wise Qur’ān (al-Qur’ān al-Ḥakīm), which Allah described by saying:
تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ
“These are the verses of the wise Book.” [Sūrat Yūnus: 1].
Read the verses of legal rulings (Āyāt al-Aḥkām) with reflection, seeing how Allah clarified in many of them aspects of His brilliant wisdom, and how He would often conclude these verses with His name: al-Ḥakīm (The All-Wise).
You read the verses of inheritance, and at their conclusion, He says:
آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ لَكُمْ نَفْعًا فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
“Your fathers and your sons - you do not know which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.” [Sūrat al-Nisā’: 11].
You read the verses of divorce, and your heart finds tranquility when He says:
وَإِنْ يَتَفَرَّقَا يُغْنِ اللَّهُ كُلًّا مِنْ سَعَتِهِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ وَاسِعًا حَكِيمًا
“But if they separate [by divorce], Allah will enrich each [of them] from His abundance. And Allah is ever Encompassing and Wise.” [Sūrat al-Nisā’: 130].
He, the Exalted, mentions the punishment for theft, saying:
وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُوا أَيْدِيَهُمَا جَزَاءً بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَالًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
“[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” [Sūrat al-Mā’idah: 38].
Furthermore, you read those verses where Allah commanded the believers to seek permission before entering upon their mothers and sisters, and you see how Allah concluded it by saying:
كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
“Thus does Allah make clear to you the verses; and Allah is Knowing and Wise.” [Sūrat al-Nūr: 58].
Allah’s judgment is the essence of wisdom; whatever contradicts or opposes it is mere futility, whim, and corruption. For this reason, Allah mentioned more than twenty legislative rulings in Sūrat al-Isrā’ and then concluded them by saying:
ذَلِكَ مِمَّا أَوْحَى إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ الْحِكْمَةِ
“That is from what your Lord has revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], of wisdom.” [Sūrat al-Isrā’: 39].
Indeed, the believer who is certain of Allah’s perfect wisdom in His law submits and surrenders to His command with a peaceful heart, rejoicing and happy with the judgment of the All-Wise, the All-Knowing. Such a person does not oppose the divine decree with flimsy claims or corrupt delusions.
May Allah bless me and you through the Great Qur’ān and benefit us with the verses and the Wise Remembrance (al-Dhikr al-Ḥakīm) it contains. I seek Allah’s forgiveness for me and for you, so seek His forgiveness; indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
The Second Sermon:
All praise is due to Allah; may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. To proceed:
O servants of Allah:
Indeed, none can fully encompass the wisdom of Allah, the All-Wise (al-Ḥakīm), the All-Knowing (al-ʿAlīm), except Him. Out of mercy for His servants, He, the Exalted, has pointed them toward some of His brilliant wisdom within His universal and legislative decrees. However, He has also hidden much of His wisdom from them—which is itself an act of wisdom. How many secrets of divine wisdom leave the human mind in awe! Therefore, the duty of the intellect is to offer complete submission to the Lord of the worlds, having faith in His wisdom and in what He has made known of it.
One day, a woman came to ʿĀ’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) and asked: "Why is it that a menstruating woman makes up her fasts but does not make up her prayers?" ʿĀ’ishah replied: "Are you a Ḥarūriyyah (a member of a rebellious sect known for over-stringency)?" The woman said: "I am not a Ḥarūriyyah, but I am simply asking." ʿĀ’ishah then said: "That used to happen to us; we were commanded to make up the fasts, but we were not commanded to make up the prayers." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim).
It is well known that Allah has made matters easy for women in certain rulings out of consideration for them. This includes not requiring them to pray or fast during their menses. However, He obligated them to make up the fasts upon becoming pure, but not the prayers. This is because prayers are frequent and repeat daily; thus, requiring them to be made up would cause hardship and distress, unlike the fast, which occurs only once a year.
Despite this clear reason, the Mother of the Believers, ʿĀ’ishah—the deeply learned jurist—wanted to establish a foundational principle for the woman: submission to the judgment of Allah, even if the specific wisdom behind it is hidden from us. This is rooted in the firm belief that the One who obligated, legislated, and judged is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing, who says:
لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ
“He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.” [Sūrat al-Anbiyā’: 23].
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and honor the Muslims. Destroy the criminal disbelievers and the aggressive transgressors. O Allah, send down tranquility into the hearts of the believers and raise the banner of the religion, by Your power, O Most Powerful, O Most Firm.
O Allah, restrain the hands of the oppressors from us; appoint for us from Your presence a protector and appoint for us from Your presence a helper.
O Allah, grant us security in our homelands, and guide our leaders and those in authority over us to righteousness. Place our leadership among those who fear You, are conscious of You, and follow Your pleasure.
Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
