From Madarij As-Salikin

Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyah

Firasah is a sense of visual acumen, perception and insight. Allahsays, "Surely! In this are the signs for the mutawassimeen." [15:75]

And with the regard to the meaning of mutawassimeen, here is what someof the great interpreters of the Qur'an said about it: Mujahid said itis "those who have visual acuity". Ibn Abbas said that it means "thosewho watch closely". Qatadah said that it means "those who learn thelessons". And Muqatel said that it means "those who reflect". There isno 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 regards to thehypocrites, "Had He willed, We could have shown them to you and youwould have known them by their marks, but surely you will know them bythe 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 His Prophet,sallallahu `alayhe wa sallam, that he would know them from the lahn oftheir speech. It is more likely that one may know more about thespeaker and what is within his mind from his speech and the tone of hisvoice 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, deposits inthe heart of His servant. By this light, His servant distinguishesbetween truth and falsehood and between right and wrong.

The reality of firasah is a sharp thought that enters the heart anddominates its opinion. It overwhelms the heart just as the lion does toits pray, fareesah. Note the similarity between firasah and fareesah inArabic. However, in their linguistic forms, fareesah is an objectwhereas firasah is similar in form to wilayah (authority and power),imarah (authority and command) and siyasah (administration andleadership).

The strength of firasah is dependent on the strength of faith. A personwith stronger faith has sharper firasah. Amr bin Nujaid said that Shahal-Kermani had sharp firasah and was never wrong. He also used to saythat whoever lowers his gaze away from prohibitions, restrains himselffrom vain desires, constructs his interior according to muraqabah(knowledge that Allah is watching over us), his exterior according tothe Sunnah, and accustoms himself to eat only halal, his firasah willnever be wrong.

Ibn Masoud said, "There are three people with the sharpest firasah. TheEgyptian who bought Yusuf and then said to his wife, 'Make his staycomfortable, maybe he will profit for us or we shall adopt him as ason.' [12:21]. The other was the daughter of Shuaib, who said to herfather with regards to Musa, 'Hire him!' [28:26] And Abu Bakr, for heappointed Omar as his successor." Another narration includes the wifeof Pharaoh who said about Musa, "A comfort of the eye for me and foryou. Kill him not, perhaps he may be of benefit to us, or we may adopthim 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 opinion sin 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 know him.Umar said, "This is either a soothsayer or he was so in the days ofjahiliyyah." Upon sitting before Umar, Sawad said, "O commander of thefaithful! You never received any of your guests the way you did me."Umar said, "What we used to do in the days of jahiliyyah is worse thanthis. But tell me about what I have asked you." Sawad said, "You weretrue, O commander of the faithful! I was a soothsayer in the days ofjahiliyyah, then he told him the story."

The sahabah, in general, had the most accurate and sharpest firasah.The true firasah is obtained from life and from the light Allah grantsto whom He wishes from amongst His true servants. The heart receiveslife and light and then its firasah will almost never be wrong. Allahsays, "Is he who was dead and We gave him life and set for him a lightwhereby he can walk amongst men, like him who is in the darkness fromwhich he can never come out?" [6:122]

The verse describes the person as "dead" because of the disbelief inhis heart and the life of jahiliyyah or ignorance he was leading, butthen Allah gave him life through emaan or faith of knowledge. Upon hisacceptance 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. Hiseye examines the look and the signs, his ear examines the speech, theover expressions, oblique inferences and hints, content, logic and toneof voice. And his heart analyzes both what is seen and hear to perceivehidden thoughts of others. His analysis and examination of the interiorcompared to the exterior is like one who examines currency to see if itis counterfeit after examining the outside. It is also similar toAhlul-Hadeeth (scholars who specialize in the knowledge of thehadeeth), 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's mind, thesharpness of the heart and the intelligence. The second is theappearance of the signs and indications on others. When both factorsare present than one's firasah may not be wrong. Iyaas bin Mu`awiyahhad great firasah and he was well-known because of it , as was ImamShafiee who was also reported to have written about it.