On Foolishness and Wisdom

On the authority of Abu Ishaq, he said:

If it is reported to you that a wealthy man has become poor, then believe it.

And if it reaches you that a poor man has become wealthy, then believe it.

And if it reaches you that a living person has died, then believe it.

And if it is conveyed to you that a fool has gained sense, then do not believe it.

On the authority of Abu Yusuf, the judge, who said:

Three: believe two and do not believe one.

If it is said to you that a man was with you, withdrew behind a wall, and died, then believe.

And if it is said to you that a poor man went to a land and gained money, then believe it.

And if it is said to you that a fool went to a town and gained sense, then do not believe it.

From al-Awza'i, who says:

I was informed that it was said to Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him:

O Spirit of God, do you bring the dead back to life?

He said: "Yes, by the permission of Allah."

They asked, "And do you heal the blind?"

He said: "Yes, by the permission of Allah."

They asked: Then what is the remedy for madness?

He said: This is what troubles me.

Ja'far ibn Muhammad said:

Good manners in a fool are like water in the roots of the colocynth.

The more moisture increases, the more bitter it becomes.

Al-Ma'mun said:

Do you know what happened between me and the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid?

I had an offense to him, so I entered submitting myself to him.

He said, "Get out, you fool."

So I left angrily and did not go to him for days.

Then he wrote me a note saying:

I wish I knew: now that estrangement toward you has gone so far, was the negligence yours, or was it mine?

If you betrayed us, may God forgive you; and if I betrayed you, forgive me.

I went to him,

He said, "If the sin is ours, then indeed we sought your forgiveness."

And if it was yours, then indeed we have forgiven it.

So I said to him:

You said to me, "You fool." If you had said to me, "You oaf," it would have been easier for me.

He said, "What is the difference between the two of them?"

I said to him:

Rashness arises from women and clings to a man through prolonged companionship with them.

So when he left them and kept company with virile men, it ceased from him.

As for folly, it is an instinct.

And some of the wise recited:

And the treatment of bodies is an easier matter when they fall ill than the treatment of minds.

We have mentioned that folly is a corruption in the two intellects or in the mind,

and whatever is rooted in the very essence,

So it is an instinct that discipline does not benefit it.

And only benefits by exercise and discipline who his essential nature is sound,

So training wards off the corrupting occurrences.

Furthermore, people differ in the two intellects, in its very essence, and in the amount of it that they were given.

Therefore, foolishness varies in degree.

They said to Ibrahim al-Nizam:

What is the limit of folly?

He said: You asked me about something that has no limit.

And Ali said:

There is no one except that in him is a folly in which he lives.

And Wahb ibn Munabbih said:

God created Adam a fool.

And were it not for that, life would not be pleasant for him.

And from Mutrif, he said:

If I had sworn, I would have hoped to keep it.

There is no one among people who is not foolish about what lies between him and God, the Exalted and Majestic.

And he used to say:

There is no one among people who is not foolish regarding what lies between him and his Lord, the Exalted and Majestic.

However, some foolishness is less harmful than others.

And Sufyan al-Thawri said:

He created the person foolish so that he might benefit from life.

And some of them recited: