Al Shu‘arā’

رَبِّ هَبْ لِي حُكْمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ

83. “My Lord! Bestow wisdom on me, and join me with the righteous!”

The Qur’anic word /hukm/, mentioned here, can be in the sense of government, guardianship, and the management of the affairs, or it can be used with the meaning of knowledge and cognition. The word /hukm/, of course, has a meaning more than /hikmat/ (wisdom, theology), because /hikmat/ is only the power of recognition between right and wrong while /hukm/ is a cognizance accompanied with preparation for executing the right. However, from this verse on the supplications of Abraham and his beseeching before the Presence of Allah begin.

It seems that after inviting that misguided people unto Allah and stating the manifestations of His Lordship in the world of existence, he becomes completely hopeless of them and turns to the Presence of Allah and asks Him whatever he wants, so that he shows those idolaters that whatever they desire for this life and the next they ought to ask Him. By the way, this matter is another emphasis on the absolute Lordship of Allah. Here is his first demand that he asks Him:

Yes, before anything else, Abraham (as) asks Allah (s.w.t.) to give him a deep and correct cognizance coupled with jurisdiction, because no practical program is possible without such foundation. Next to this demand, he (as) asks Allah to join him with the righteous ones. This request that Abraham asks refers to the practical aspects which idiomatically is called ‘practical knowledge’ versus ‘theoretical science’ that was seen in his former demands.

Undoubtedly, Abraham (as) had both the rank of ‘wisdom’ and was among ‘the righteous ones’; then why does he ask Allah such a demand? The answer to this question is that neither wisdom nor righteousness has a definite limit. He asks Allah that every day he gains the more and more levels of knowledge and practice. He (as), even as an arch prophet, is not satisfied with tbepe aspects. Moreover, he knows that all these merits are from the side of Allah, and every moment they may be ceased as the result of a fault. Therefore, besides he asks Allah its continuation, as everyday we ask him in our ritual prayer to guide us into the ‘Straight way’ and demand the continuation and perfection of this way.