Beacon Of Guidance
Peace be upon you Huzoor. My question is how can a person learn wisdom, in order to make wise decisions? What is wisdom? Wisdom is to use your intellect. Utilise your intellectual abilities, which can also increase through the acquisition of knowledge. Alright? Once you obtain knowledge,
Then you will be better equipped to understand various circumstances. When you have the ability to understand something, then you also develop the ability of responding to it with wisdom. Alright? Thus, wisdom denotes responding sensibly according to the circumstances at hand.
If someone asks you a question and you respond in a harsh manner and tone as a result of which the questioner becomes upset and starts quarrelling with you, then this would not be considered wisdom. If you were to give the same response
In a gentle and loving manner while helping the questioner to understand, then this would be considered wisdom. Alright? We should make decisions based on the intellectual abilities which Allah the Almighty has granted us. This can only be done when you have a good standard of knowledge. Alright?
If you forcibly tell someone that “you do not observe purdah [the veil] “and thus are not acting upon the commandments of Allah the Almighty, “thus Allah the Almighty will punish you and take you to Hell.” Then that person will surely become angry
And respond by asking “who are you to tell me that I will be punished? “Allah the Almighty will decide. My matter is with Allah”. If you say the same thing in a loving manner, explaining that you observe purdah and wear the Hijab because it a commandment of Allah the Almighty
Which must be implemented, and thus you do so in order to act upon the teachings of your faith, then in this manner, you will have explained the matter to her with wisdom, while also avoiding any sort of quarrel. Alright? Wisdom means responding to something in a sensible manner
Which results in a positive outcome. At the same time, wisdom does not mean to become afraid. If someone asks whether you are an Ahmadi, and you say that the wise thing to do is to say that you are not Ahmadi lest people mock you, then this cannot be considered wisdom.
You should say that Allah the Almighty has enabled you to accept the Imam of the Age according to the prophecies of the Holy Prophet (sa). Alright? This is the answer. Wisdom does not mean fear; it means to respond in a sensible manner, such that does not result in a negative outcome. Alright?
When it is a matter of faith, you must not hide your faith. You should not become afraid and say that because you were afraid, the wise thing to do was to say that you are not an Ahmadi,
Or if it is time for prayer and you say that it is alright to not offer prayers. Such things do not qualify [as wisdom]. You must show pride so far as faith is concerned. When it is a matter of something else and helping someone understand, there you must utilise wisdom.
The task of a believer is to continuously strive [in spiritual development]. One should not focus on what their current spiritual rank is or what the next rank is. Allah the Almighty knows where the end of one rank finishes and where the start of the second begins.
So for a believer, you must simply continue to engage yourself more and more in performing good deeds and to continue to strive in this regard, and to engage in this Jihad of purifying yourself continuously. When one recognises the fact that pure changes are developing from within oneself
And that one is developing a relationship with Allah the Almighty, then one does not think about achieving the next rank or about trying to attain the highest level of becoming a saint. All one contemplates over is how one can attain the pleasure of Allah the Almighty;
They endeavour to never forsake the bond and relationship they have developed with Allah the Almighty. As soon as one has the thought that they have reached such and such spiritual rank then arrogance begins to creep into the person’s mind and arrogance is an incredibly dangerous thing.
It was arrogance that prevented Iblis from showing obedience. So one must always strive and know that their only purpose is to act upon the commandments of Allah the Almighty and to thereby attain the pleasure of Allah the Almighty. There are many commandments of God Almighty. How can you learn about these different ranks?
You should deliberate over the Holy Qur’an. There are around 700 commandments in the Holy Qur’an, and in some places the Promised Messiah (as) has even said that there are 1200. So, have you acted upon all these 700 or 1200 commandments? Have you truly searched for them?
When you have found these commandments and have acted upon them, only then you can think about attaining the next step, in fact, then Allah the Almighty Himself grants such a person greater ranks; one cannot achieve these ranks through their own effort.
So it is the task of a believer to constantly, with great humility and meekness, seek the love and pleasure of Allah the Almighty and act upon His commandments and strive to excel in this to the best of one’s ability. If one is mindful of this, then one will continue to spiritually progress
And Allah the Almighty has established these various ranks and only He knows which rank one has attained and what the next rank for that person is. A person himself cannot ascertain what spiritual rank they have achieved. The task of a believer is to tread on the path of righteousness,
Act upon the commandments of Allah the Almighty and strive to attain the love and pleasure of Allah the Almighty. This is our objective which we should strive to attain. This is an ongoing struggle and Jihad. This is the Jihad which grants one Allah the Almighty’s nearness
And then Allah the Almighty Himself reveals to His people as to what their rank is in His sight.