from the Seerah of Muhammad

The Meaning of Hikmah
The word Hikmah is derived from the Arabic word ‘Hakama” which means to ‘rule’ or issue a
judgement. The word Hikmah appears in the Qur’an in twenty instances. It appears with various
meanings, depending on the context. It denotes meanings such as Prophethood, the Qur’an, the
Sunnah, knowledge of the reality of things, and deep knowledge followed by actions based upon
this knowledge.
Some of the Ayat which feature the term Hikmah are as follows:
“Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them Your Verses
and instruct them in the Book (Qur’an) and “aI-Hikmah”, and sanctify them. Verily! You are the
All Mighty, the All-Wise.” (Baqarah 2: 129)
In this Ayah, Hikmah means to recite the Revelation and its explanations which are given by the
Prophet (saaw) through the Sunnah.
“He grants ‘Hikmah’ to whom He pleases, and he, to whom ‘Hikmah’ is granted, is indeed granted
abundant good. But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of understanding.”
(AI-Baqarah 2: 269)
In this Ayah, Hikmah the knowledge and the understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah and the
enabling of one to speak and to act in the correct and right way.
“Indeed Allah conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger
from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (Qur’an), and purifying them, and
instructing them the Book and Al-Hikmah, while before that they had been in manifest error.” (Al-
Imran 3:164)
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