أَخْبَرَنَا وَلِيدُ بْنُ مَحْمُودٍ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ عَنِ الْعَقْلِ أَهُوَ مَوْهُوبٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ أَوْ لِلنَّاسِ فِيهِ صُنْعٌ؟ قَالَ: بَلْ هُوَ مَوْهُوبٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَلَيْسَ لِلنَّاسِ فِيهِ صُنْعٌ، قُلْتُ: فَلِمَاذَا ذَمَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ؟! قَالَ: أَيْنَ ذَهَبْتَ يَا وَلِيدُ؟! إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ وَهَبَ لَهُمْ عَقْلًا وَأَمَرَهُمْ بِاسْتِعْمَالِهِ، فَلَمْ يَسْتَعْمِلُوهُ، فَذَمَّهُمْ عَلَى تَرْكِ الْإِسْتِعْمَالِ، أَمَا سَمِعْتَ قَوْلَهُ: ﴿لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا﴾[1] وَقَوْلَهُ: ﴿أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا﴾[2]؟! قُلْتُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، إِنِّي أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَزْدَادَ عَقْلًا! قَالَ: يَا وَلِيدُ، إِنَّكَ لَمْ تَسْتَعْمِلْ عَقْلَكَ كُلَّهُ حَتَّى تَحْتَاجَ إِلَى زِيَادَةٍ، لَا وَاللَّهِ بَلْ لَمْ تَسْتَعْمِلْ مِنْهُ جُزْءًا مِنَ السَّبْعِينَ، فَلَعَلَّكَ إِنْ تَسْتَعْمِلْهُ لَنْ تَحْتَاجَ إِلَى زِيَادَةٍ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَسَّمَ الْعَقْلَ عَلَى قَدْرِ حَاجَةٍ بِهِ، وَلَمْ يَنْقُصْ مِنْهُ وَلَمْ يَزِدْ عَلَيْهِ، وَجَعَلَ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدَرًا مَقْدُورًا، فَاسْتَعْمِلْ عَقْلَكَ يُغْنِيكَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ، وَإِنِ احْتَجْتَ بَعْدَهُ إِلَى شَيْءٍ فَاسْتَعِنْ بِعَقْلِ أَخِيكَ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ فَضَّلَ الْعُقُولَ بَعْضَهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ، لِيَسْتَعِينَ بَعْضُهَا بِبَعْضٍ، وَيَكُونَ بَعْضُهَا تَبَعًا لِبَعْضٍ، وَجَعَلَ عَقْلَ خَلِيفَتِهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَكْمَلَ الْعُقُولِ لِيَكُونَ مَصِيرَهَا وَمَأْوَاهَا، فَلَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا اسْتَعْمَلَ عَقْلَهُ حَقَّ اسْتِعْمَالِهِ وَاتَّبَعَ خَلِيفَةَ اللَّهِ فِي الْأَرْضِ حَقَّ اتِّبَاعِهِ، لَكَانَ كَمَنْ عَقْلُهُ كَامِلٌ لَا نُقْصَانَ فِيهِ وَلَا عَاهَةَ!

Translation of the saying:

Walid ibn Mahmud al-Sajistani informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani about the intellect, whether it is bestowed by Allah or whether people have a hand in it. He said: “Rather, it is bestowed By Allah, and people have no hand in it!” I said: “Why then has Allah reproached those who do not use the intellect?!” He said: “Where did you go, O Walid?! Indeed, Allah has bestowed an intellect upon them and commanded them to use it, but they have not used it, so He has reproached them for abandoning using it! Have you not heard His words: ‘They have intellects with which they do not understand,’ and His words: ‘Do they not ponder on the Quran, or are there locks on the intellects (so that they are not used)’?!” I said: “May I be sacrificed for you, I desire to acquire more intellect!” He said: “O Walid! You have not used your entire intellect so that you would need to increase it. No, by Allah! Rather, you have not used one of its seventy parts! So perhaps, if you use it, you will never need to increase it; because Allah has distributed the intellect according to the need for it, neither decreasing (the measure of) it nor increasing it, and He has set an appropriate measure for everything. So use your intellect, for it will suffice you, Insha’Allah, and if you need anything after that, then get help from the intellect of your brother, for Allah has made some intellects superior to some others so that some of them get help from some others and some of them follow some others, and He has made the intellect of His Caliph on the earth the most perfect of intellects to be their reference and shelter! S if a man uses his intellect as it deserves (to be used) and follows Allah’s Caliph on the earth as he deserves (to be followed), he will be like one whose intellect is perfect, devoid of any imperfection or deviation!”

Explanation of the saying:

This divine scholar, in this transcendent wisdom with utmost eloquence, has depicted the intellectual system that governs the world, and he has clearly explained the origin of the intellect, its measure, its levels, and its connection with its counterparts. According to this transcendent wisdom, the intellect has a divine and non-acquired nature, and people cannot increase or decrease it in any way, but it has been given to each one of them in proportion to his need, neither more nor less than that. However, they can use the intellects of each other, thus compensating for the relative imperfection of their intellects. Meanwhile, the intellect of Allah’s Caliph on the earth is the most perfect of all other intellects, and therefore, it is considered their reference to which they should lead. Based on this, the key to human perfection is that he should maximize using his intellect and maximize following Allah’s Caliph on the earth.

To be fair, these unique words of wisdom are like precious diamonds that have fallen on the path of people, yet they pass by them and do not pick them up from the ground; because they are excessively heedless and arrogant, unable to distinguish between diamond and a piece of rock! It is truly unfortunate that such a perfect scholar exists among them, yet they do not benefit from his knowledge. This was also the case with Ali ibn Abi Talib, who held a vast amount of knowledge within his breast but did not find anyone to carry it; to the extent that he sighed in sorrow and said: «إِنَّ هَاهُنَا لَعِلْمًا جَمًّا لَوْ وَجَدْتُ لَهُ حَمَلَةً»; “Here lies a vast amount of knowledge. If only I could find carriers for it,” and called out: «سَلُونِي قَبْلَ أَنْ تَفْقِدُونِي»; “Ask me before you lose me,” but he received no response from anyone; because the people of his time did not appreciate him, nor did they deserve a human being like him. So the consequence of their heedlessness, arrogance, and ingratitude for Allah’s blessing was that Allah became displeased with them, removed this scholar from among them, and made the ignorant dominant over them instead of him to lead them to misery with their oppression so that they would become a lesson for those would come after them!