The Station of Firasah

Firasahis a sense of visual acumen, perception and insight. Allah says,"Surely! In this are the signs for the mutawassimeen." [15:75]
And with the regard to the meaning of mutawassimeen, here is whatsome of the great interpreters of the Qur'an said about it: Mujahidsaid it is "those who have visual acuity". Ibn Abbas said that it means"those who watch closely". Qatadah said that it means "those who learnthe lessons". And Muqatel said that it means "those who reflect". Thereis no contradiction or apparent incompatibility amongst theseinterpretations. For example, one who sees the ruins and houses ofthose who belied Allah's Messengers would receive insight, admonitionand reflection.
Alllah, subhanahu wa ta`ala, says the following with the regardsto the hypocrites, "Had He willed, We could have shown them to you andyou would have known them by their marks, but surely you will know themby the lahn of the speech!" [47:30] The first thing mentioned is thefirasah of the eye and watching and the second thing noted is thefirasah of the ear and hearing. The lahn of their speech is namely twovarieties. One is proper and the other is wrong.
The proper lahn may mean eloquence as stated in the hadeeth: "Andperhaps some of you are more eloquent in their claim than others."(Bukhari and Muslim) Or it may mean an indirect reference orindication. The wrong lahn is the speech that has grammatical mistakes.By using it, people tend to change the meaning to something incorrector to a hidden meaning which may not have been intended.
The meaning of the verse is that Allah has confirmed to HisProphet, sallallahu `alayhe wa sallam, that he would know them from thelahn of their speech. It is more likely that one may know more aboutthe speaker and what is within his mind from his speech and the tone ofhis voice than from his physical appearance. The words and the tone ofvoice can tell much more, than the appearance, about the intention ofthe speaker. Firasah can be either visual or auditory. The Prophet,sallallahu `alayhe wa sallam, is reported to have said, "Beware of thefirasah of the believer, for he sees with the light of Allah," then herecited the verse, "Surely,?�€A�.mutawassimeen." (Tirmidhi) Thefirasah of the believer is always truthful.
The firasah is a light which Allah, subhanahu wa ta`ala, depositsin the heart of His servant. By this light, His servant distinguishesbetween truth and falsehood and between right and wrong.
The realityof firasah is a sharp thought that enters the heart and dominates itsopinion. It overwhelms the heart just as the lion does to its pray,fareesah. Note the similarity between firasah and fareesah in Arabic.However, in their linguistic forms, fareesah is an object whereasfirasah is similar in form to wilayah (authority and power), imarah(authority and command) and siyasah (administration and leadership).
The strength of firasah is dependent on the strength of faith. Aperson with stronger faith has sharper firasah. Amr bin Nujaid saidthat Shah al-Kermani had sharp firasah and was never wrong. He alsoused to say that whoever lowers his gaze away from prohibitions,restrains himself from vain desires, constructs his interior accordingto muraqabah (knowledge that Allah is watching over us), his exterioraccording to the Sunnah, and accustoms himself to eat only halal, hisfirasah will never be wrong.
Ibn Masoud said, "There are three people with the sharpestfirasah. The Egyptian who bought Yusuf and then said to his wife, 'Makehis stay comfortable, maybe he will profit for us or we shall adopt himas a son.' [12:21]. The other was the daughter of Shuaib, who said toher father with regards to Musa, 'Hire him!' [28:26] And Abu Bakr, forhe appointed Omar as his successor." Another narration includes thewife of Pharaoh who said about Musa, "A comfort of the eye for me andfor you. Kill him not, perhaps he may be of benefit to us, or we mayadopt him as a son.' [28:9]
Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq is considered to be the one with the greatestfirasah in the ummah and Umar was the second. The incidents that proveUmar's firasah are numerous, familiar and well-known. He never saidwith regards to anything, "I think this is so," but it was what hethought. The fact that the Quran approved of his opinions in manyincidents is sufficient evidence of his sharp firasah. One of which washis opinion regarding the redemption of the captives from the Battle ofBadr.
Once a man named Sawad Bin Qarib passed by and Umar dind't knowhim. Umar said, "This is either a soothsayer or he was so in the daysof jahiliyyah." Upon sitting before Umar, Sawad said, "O commander ofthe faithful! You never received any of your guests the way you didme." Umar said, "What we used to do in the days of jahiliyyah is worsethan this. But tell me about what I have asked you." Sawad said, "Youwere true, O commander of the faithful! I was a soothsayer in the daysof jahiliyyah, then he told him the story."
The sahabah, in general, had the most accurate and sharpestfirasah. The true firasah is obtained from life and from the lightAllah grants to whom He wishes from amongst His true servants. Theheart receives life and light and then its firasah will almost never bewrong. Allah says, "Is he who was dead and We gave him life and set forhim a light whereby he can walk amongst men, like him who is in thedarkness from which he can never come out?" [6:122]
The verse describes the person as "dead" because of the disbeliefin his heart and the life of jahiliyyah or ignorance he was leading,but then Allah gave him life through emaan or faith of knowledge. Uponhis acceptance of these gifts, the Qur'an and faith become the light bywhich he sees his way out of the darkness (of disbelief and ignorance)and onto the straight path.
Firasah is linked to three human organs: the eye, ear and heart.His eye examines the look and the signs, his ear examines the speech,the over expressions, oblique inferences and hints, content, logic andtone of voice. And his heart analyzes both what is seen and hear toperceive hidden thoughts of others. His analysis and examination of theinterior compared to the exterior is like one who examines currency tosee if it is counterfeit after examining the outside. It is alsosimilar to Ahlul-Hadeeth (scholars who specialize in the knowledge ofthe hadeeth), who will read a hadeeth that has a sound isnad (chain ofnarrators) but upon examination of the matn (text of the hadeeth), itis found that it is a fabricated hadeeth.
There are two factors in firasah. One is the quality of one'smind, the sharpness of the heart and the intelligence. The second isthe appearance of the signs and indications on others. When bothfactors are present than one's firasah may not be wrong. Iyaas binMu`awiyah had great firasah and he was well-known because of it , aswas Imam Shafiee who was also reported to have written about it.

Imaam Ibn Al Qayyim in his Kitaab Madaarij As-Saalikeen