Subtleties and Allusions

(1)) Foolishness in Material and Spiritual Matters

In the Qur’an, foolishness (safāhat) is addressed in both spiritual and material matters, although in most cases it refers to spiritual issues. Some of these instances are mentioned below:

a) The Qur’an considers those who deny prophethood and divine mission as “foolish” (safīh): “And that our foolish one used to say about God what was an excess in falsehood.”(240) This verse narrates the words of one of the jinn who describes some of his own kind as foolish because they claimed that society had no need for a prophet. The fact that this statement is not refuted or rejected is evidence of its acceptance, because the Qur’an is not a book of stories and reports, but a judge and arbiter. Any content it narrates carries with it an indication of acceptance or rejection. If it reports a concept without rejecting it, it is understood to be approved, especially if the context or tone suggests acceptance rather than rejection.

When recalling material blessings, the enjoyment of which is not a sign of nobility, the Qur’an mentions humans and animals together, such as: “The example of [this] worldly life is but like rain which We have sent down from the sky that the plants of the earth absorb_—[those] from which men and livestock eat.”(241), “He sends down rain from the sky, and We bring forth with it plants of various colors. Eat [therefrom] and pasture your livestock”(242), “That We poured down water in torrents, Then We broke open the earth, splitting [it with sprouts], And caused to grow within it grain And grapes and herbage And olive and palm trees And gardens of dense shrubbery And fruit and grass—_[As] enjoyment for you and your grazing livestock”(243) and so on.

b) God Almighty says about the disbelievers and hypocrites: “Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish ones, but they know [it] not.”(244) These people, having made themselves foolish and their discerning intellect having become ill, do not know that they are not rational, and one who is not rational does not think about their future. Recognizing an illness is only possible when the scale and measure of diagnosis itself is healthy; but if this rational faculty itself becomes foolish and ill, the ability to diagnose disappears.

c) After the change of the qibla from Jerusalem to the Kaaba, the Jews objected to this ruling. God, while referring to them as foolish, quotes their foolish objection and responds to it: “The foolish among the people will say, ‘What has turned them away from their qibla, which they used to face?’ Say, ‘To God belongs the east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a straight path.’”(245) The three mentioned cases were related to foolishness in spiritual and otherworldly matters. In the following, instances of foolishness in material and worldly affairs are mentioned.

d) One of the conditions for the validity of transactions is the maturity of the contracting parties. The foolishness of the contracting parties prevents the validity of their transaction, hence God says: Do not give your property to the foolish: “And do not give the foolish your property.”(246) Just as foolish disposal of wealth is wasteful and detrimental to the individual and society.

e) Economic maturity is in contrast to financial foolishness. The property of orphans is only entrusted to them when they reach puberty and attain economic maturity, having the ability to manage their own wealth, and mere physical maturity is not sufficient: “And test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them.”(247) Therefore, being afflicted with foolishness in childhood prevents the transfer of orphans’ assets to them.

2) Intellectual Ignorance and Practical Foolishness of the Foolish

Foolishness (safāhat) sometimes refers to theoretical intellect, meaning “intellectual ignorance” (jahl ʿilmī), and at other times refers to practical intellect, meaning “practical foolishness” (jahālat ʿamalī). Foolishness in terms of theoretical thought is in contrast to “Whoever knows himself knows his Lord”(248) (249); that is, “Whoever is foolish about himself is foolish about his Lord,” and thus has an aversion and flees from it. Foolishness in terms of practical motivation is in contrast to “[Intellect] is that by which the Merciful is worshipped,” which was mentioned earlier.

3) Intellectual and Practical Vices of Foolishness

Foolishness (safāhat) prevents reflection on the signs within oneself: “And in yourselves. Then will you not see?”(250) and hinders contemplation of the signs in the horizons: “We will show them Our signs in the horizons”(251). Therefore, it is accompanied by many intellectual and practical vices, which can be summarized as follows: There are numerous blessings decreed for the remembrance of God, which is manifested in His religion and embodied in the community of His Prophet. Turning away from it leads to deprivation of all these blessings; for example:

a) God’s religion brings with it recitation, teaching of the Book and wisdom, and turning away from it means lack of intellectual maturity: “So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life. That is their sum of knowledge.”(252)

b) Religion and remembrance of God are the cause of deliverance from every difficulty: “And whoever fears God_—He will make for him a way out”(253), and turning away from it causes a constricted life and sinking into hardship: “And whoever turns away from My remembrance—_indeed, he will have a depressed life.”(254)

c) His religion and the community of His Messenger are the source of intellectual flourishing and the manifestation of its treasures: “and to unearth for them the hidden treasures of intellects”(255), and turning away from it leads to belittlement, empty-mindedness, and foolishness: “So he bluffed his people, and they obeyed him.”(256)

d) His religion and the community of His Prophet are light, and turning away from it is immersion in darkness: “…if he puts out his hand, he can hardly see it.”(257) Of course, it is clear that one who is afflicted with the mentioned afflictions in this world will be more afflicted in the Hereafter: “And whoever is blind in this [life] will be blind in the Hereafter and more astray in way.”(258)