Wisdom, Knowledge and Virtue complement each other

After all that I have been through, I resort to a simple way of understanding any new system, things unknown to me or even things that I have not fully grasped:

LISTEN, OBSERVE AND LEARN

Listening to me is the first step of grasping something new while you observe at the same time. Listening and observing should come simultaneously and occur harmoniously unless if you are born blind or born deaf. Nevertheless the blind ones (but able to hear) sees with their heart and instinct and the deaf ones (but able to see) observes with imaginative sound from their heart as well. It is the power of their mind to break down things that they are less capable of.

Learning comes after listening and observing. It is the process realised through reading about the things that has been heard of and observed followed by hands-on practical. In between each of the learning process flow is the process of putting all the knowledge pieces together by gathering all the information that was seen and heard into a complete form of jigsaw puzzle.

Reading on its own can only lead to self-imagination and possibly misinterpretation of the knowledge. However, reading while observing the information we read with open heart and mind while incorporating all the information we have heard before, makes acquiring knowledge an exciting and, not to disregard the elementary essence of reading itself, a potentially powerful insight. Reading should always instigate an exercise of our brain's millions of active neurons accompanied by the physical alertness. The alertness will not be propagated unless we invoke a certain level of interest as a result of listening and observing of the importance of receiving such information while relating all of its relevance. This is what i call critical thinking while reading. Making some notes and highlighting on the main issues as well as the keywords as we read would create a balance flow between the mind, body and soul. The mind interpretes the information, the body exerts enough energy to assist the mind and the soul stabilizes the human aspect of ascertaining the interest towards knowledge quest. In addition to the physical alertness, there is this old proverb quoted as: "Early sleep and early rise makes a man healthy and wise" . Without good physical condition, the process of searching more information based on what we have heard, observed and read would not be that smooth.


So far, the biggest mistake that I have ever done throughout my schooling years was the mistake of not optimising the listening part. This is not to imply that I do not listen at all while i was in the classroom/lecture hall/lab/meeting with the teacher, lecturers, supervisors. I often listened to myself 55% more than trying to take note of what was said. That has led to communication breakdown and loss of some of the essential information that was delivered during that very moment itself. Secondary information was the consequence as I then resorted to asking my friends of what have i missed during an important class. I have then realised my mistake and have tried to improve it during my bachelor degree studies. The result was rather tremendous. However, this did not stop there only. During my PhD years, I had had some disputes and disagreements with my supervisor resulting in some horrendeous moments in my life. He often accused me of not listening to what he said, and i said to him vice versa. I got told off on quite many occassions and so i said to myself, this has got to stop. There must be a very important and yet very strong element, an equilibrium point that will unite us into a more acceptable level of compromising each other and contemplating towards mutual agreement. And there it was: I failed to LISTEN wisely. To listen is not a one-way process. Listening process has 3 degrees of freedom: to listen to what is said first and foremost, to be able to accept what u hear and to analyse the outcome; an ideal countercurrent process. This does not mean that we just accept everything we have heard blindly, it means listening is an integral part of learning and by understanding that, we will be able to analyse the information that we have obtained through listening.


When we listen, we observe the person who speaks to us and observe the points delivered. When we read, we observe what we read and not just simply scheming and scanning the text. Observation is the crucial link to listening and reading.

Nevertheless, acquiring the knowledge will not be complete without instilling virtuosity in ourselves; the virtue of gaining the knowledge by ourselves and the virtue of gaining the knowledge from other sources (people mainly).

More about knowledge, wisdom and virtue in the following texts below:


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Some quotations regarding wisdom:


"Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end" - Leonard Nimoy's Commander Spock of Star Trek series.


"The wise man questions the wisdom of others because he questions his own, the foolish man, because it is different from his own." - Leo Stein

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Ghandi


"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something." - Plato

"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it". Albert Einstein


"Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic". Fyodor Dostoyevsky


"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom." Charles H. Spurgeon


"Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future." Dale E. Turner



"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe." Marilyn vos Savant









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Taken from: Islamicity

Author: Sadullah Khan


Wisdom has been defined as:

* the ability to make correct judgments and decisions.

* as foreseeing consequences and acting to maximize beneficial results.

* making the best use of available knowledge.

* thinking what is best and doing what is best in any given situation


Hikmah (denoting 'wisdom') is a positive term used repeatedly in the Quran as a characteristic of the righteous [refer: Quran 2:251; Quran 4:54; Quran 5:110], as a quality of those who truly understand [refer: Quran 31:12].

1)The Quran is referred to as the Wise Quran [Quran 36:2]; the Book of Wisdom, the verses of a Book of Wisdom [refer: Quran 10:2; Quran 13:2]

2)Wisdom is referred to as an integral component of the Message and Guidance provided by Divine Revelation ... taught the Book, the wisdom, the Gospel and the Torah [Quran 5:110]
3)And even the Almighty refers to Himself as The Mighty , The Wise [Quran 2:209].

4)When Prophet Abraham prayed for the fulfillment of the mission of prophets, he prayed for one who would " relate scripture to the people, convey hikmah (wisdom) and provide a means of purification." [Quran 2:129]

5)Hikmah is the lost property of the Believer; the Prophet Muhammad said and he encouraged us to take wisdom from any source.

6) in the case of debating and argumentation, hikmah should be the primary instrument [refer Quran 16:125]



Hikmah (Wisdom), 'Aql (Mind)


At times the word hikmah is interchanged with 'aql; as evidenced in the saying of Sayidina 'Ali: "the tongue of a wise person is behind the heart and the heart of a fool is behind the tongue".


Hikmah & 'Ilm

Though 'ilm (knowledge) may open the doorways to hikmah, but hikmah is distinct from 'ilm. Knowledge and information provides means for enlightenment ;

Remember Allah's Blessings and the (truthful information) sent through the Book and the wisdom it provides by which you may be enlightened. [Quran 2:23]

The Prophet said ask the learned, consult with the wise and accompany the poor.

There are many who know many things, yet are lacking in wisdom. [Ancient Greek philosopher, Democritus]

In our age... people seem more than ever prone to confuse wisdom with knowledge, and knowledge with information [author and poet, T.S. Eliot]


Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty. [Philosopher & writer, Will Durant]

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. - [Isaac Asimov's Book of Science and Nature Quotations, 1988 ]

Though 'book knowledge' enhances the potential for wisdom; wisdom is often attained by learning in other ways; By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and Third by experience, which is the bitterest. [Ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius]



Virtue & Wisdom


Ethics is the branch of philosophy which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. Ancient Roman orator, Cicero said; "The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil." The Ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, suggested that the four cardinal virtues are wisdom, courage, self-control and justice.

In Islam, wisdom is always linked to virtue. "You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the capacity for hearing, sight, and the intellect, and you are responsible for using them effectively. You shall not walk with arrogance on earth - you cannot bore through the earth, nor can you be as tall as the mountains. All impropriety is condemned by your Lord. This is of the wisdom inspired to you by your Lord. You shall not set up another object of worship beside God, lest you end up in hell; blamed and defeated." [Quran 17:36-39]

Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq stated that the cardinal virtues to live by are ... piety, contentment, patience, gratitude, humility, modesty, generosity, courage, enthusiasm, benevolence, truthfulness and trustworthiness.



Effective Wisdom


Wise ones have said that the height of wisdom is to proportion our wants to our possessions, our ambitions to our capacities, our emotions to our conscience and our deeds to our values it is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err. [Gandhi]

The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man. [Ancient Greek playwright, Euripides]

Wisdom is a bounteous thing that is invaluable, and Allah reminds us in the Quran:

Whoever is granted wisdom has indeed been granted something tremendously beneficial; but none reflect except people of insight. [Quran 2:269]