The HEART of Spiritual

Intelligence: How to
Cultivate Hikma (Wisdom)
During Uncertain Times
Maryam doesn’t seem to be managing her work/life commitments
very well, especially with the unexpected COVID-19 challenges.
She is a 35-year-old, 1st generation, successful Muslim
professional working in a senior management role at a Fortune 10
company in Dallas, Texas. Though she is happily married with two
girls, she has been experiencing major stress juggling between
work, home, and self-care while trying to maintain her spiritual
practices.

She wants to contribute to a financially stable household, but she is

starting to lose motivation at her current job. She feels she is not
able to give enough time to her girls and has not taken time out to
nurture her marriage due to the daily grinds.

These challenges have become a bit more intertwined as the lines

between her work and home life became blurry when she started
working from home due to COVID-19. She also has her mom and
in-laws at home during this quarantine period due to personal
circumstances.

Maryam feels she is not her best self: she is generally more
distracted, worried, on the edge, and realizes she needs to invest in
herself to deal with the challenges and uncertainties more

positively. She prays to Allah   to grant her more Hikma

(wisdom) to see the good in everything and know how to move
forward in her life. But can more Hikma really help her?
What is Hikma and Why You Need it
in Uncertain Times
Hikma or Wisdom from Allah   is the ability to see the beauty

and purpose in everything we go through in life. One of Allah   

Names is Al Hakeem- the All-Wise. When we trust His Wisdom and
process everything through the wisdom revealed in His Book, we
can gain more clarity and positivity in life.

Allah   says:

“The Most Compassionate. Taught the Quran. He created human

beings. And taught him speech.” [Quran 55:1-4]

Significantly, Allah   mentioned: “taught the Qur’an” even before

the mention of the creation or the intelligent speech of human
beings because the Quran gives humans the ultimate intelligence
and guidance to deal with the ups and downs of life more gracefully.
The Quranic knowledge is not only about the ‘aql or intelligence of
the mind but also the spiritual intelligence of faith and guidance that
is rooted in the heart.

One of the words used to describe the Quran is Al Hakeem: the

wise book. Allah, The All-Wise, revealed the Quran to teach us
wisdom. This type of intelligence is paramount to our success that

Allah   swears by it: “

 “Ya, Seen. By the Quran, rich in wisdom!” [Quran 36: 1-2]

Allah   revealed the ultimate wisdom or intelligence through the

Divine revelations to His chosen messengers whom He instructed
to teach and reflect His Hikma to people. Allah   commanded

the Prophet Muhammad  :

“Invite to the way of your Lord with Hikma and kind teaching.”
[Quran 16:125]

To revive dead hearts, guide lost people, bring certainty during the

uncertainties of life, the quality Allah   asked the Prophet   to

use was Hikma. The Beloved Prophet  Muhammad   not only

needed to adopt a high level of wisdom when working on reviving
barren hearts, but he was the perfect example of wisdom in his life
dealing with all the challenges and uncertainties he faced when he
started calling people to Allah’s path.

'HIKMA OR WISDOM FROM ALLAH SWT IS THE

ABILITY TO SEE THE BEAUTY AND PURPOSE IN
EVERYTHING WE GO THROUGH IN LIFE. WHEN WE
TRUST HIS WISDOM, WE CAN GAIN MORE CLARITY
AND POSITIVITY IN LIFE.' WADUD HASSAN,
FOUNDER OF MINDFULNESS MATTERS
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE,CLICK TO TWEET
Developing Hikma: the 6 Traits of
Spiritual Intelligence

[If you want to understand your own level of  Hikma, take
this free assessment]

Start Mindfulness Quiz!

So how can we develop Spiritual Intelligence? There are 6 traits

highlighted in a special chapter of the Quran where Allah   

teaches us wisdom through one of His chosen servants -regarded
as a Prophet by some and a very special servant of Allah by others-

called Luqman The wise. Allah   dedicated an entire chapter of

the Quran to his wisdom, Surat Luqman. Allah   says:

“Indeed, We endowed Luqman with wisdom.” [Quran 31:12]

Luqman was called al Hakeem, the wise, and Surah Luqman

captures his beautiful wisdom in the forms of his advice to his son.
We propose the HEART of Spiritual IntelligenceTM framework here
based on the advice of Luqman:

Central Message of the Verse Quranic (Q) and Prophetic (P) Principles

H: Heal with Mindfulness of God

 Do not associate any partner with God, and it

will be your right upon Him to protect you.
[31:13] Worship God Alone
Prophetic Hadith

 Remember God, He will remember you.

Quranic verse
[31:16] Be Mindful of God, He
is all aware  Be Mindful of God, He will protect you.
Prophetic Hadith

 Prayer brings you under the protection of God.

Prophetic Hadith

 Establish prayer, God will grant you success in

[31:17] Be Excellent in Prayer everything you do.
Prophetic Hadith

 Come to Salah, Come to Success.

Prophetic Hadith

E: Engage with Purpose

 Whoever makes the hereafter their main

concern, God will make this world easy for them.
[31:14] God is our final
destination
Prophetic Hadith

A: Achieve with Gratitude

 Be grateful, and God will increase you.

[31:14] Give thanks to God and
your parents Quranic verse
 Central Message of the Verse Quranic (Q) and Prophetic (P) Principles

R: Rise with Patience and Humility

 Be patient, and God will be with you.

Quranic verse
[31:17] And bear with patience
 Desire makes slaves out of kings, while
what befalls you
patience makes kings out of slaves.

Imam Ghazzali

 Adopt humility for God, Allah will elevate your

ranks.
[31:18 -19] God does not like
the arrogant
Prophetic Hadith

 God does not give with harshness what he

grants with gentleness.
[31:19] Lower Your Voice
Prophetic Hadith

T: Thrive with Compassion & Service

 The best of you is the best to his family.

Prophetic Hadith

[31:14] Be Dutiful to Parents  Serve your parents and relatives, God will
increase your provision and life span.
Prophetic Hadith

 Help and Aid the Cause of God, God will aid

you.
[31:17] Enjoin Good, Forbid Quranic verse
Evil
 Benefit people and God will benefit you.
Prophetic Hadith

The heart of a believer embodies these beautiful traits of Luqman

the wise as captured in the HEART of Spiritual Intelligence
 model. The HEART model, based on Quranic and Prophetic
principles then, represents a type of intelligence that elevates a

human being to the presence and pleasure of God   and causes

a ripple in the unseen system of God   for protection, blessing,

assistance, and elevation.

This Spiritual Intelligence was perfectly embodied by none other

than our beloved Prophet Muhammad   and here are some of

those Prophetic qualities of Spiritual Intelligence you and I can
strive to bring into our own lives:

1. Mindful of Allah   in everything I do:

 Feeling His presence in everything I do
 Seeing His Wisdom and Power in all situation in life – good or
bad

 Experiencing tranquility in His remembrance 

 Transforming worries and weakness into relief and strength

through reliance on Him 

 Turning my entire life as worship through being mindful of my
intention

2. Focused on our purpose on earth so that

everything is connected to:
 Understanding our unique place and purpose in this world

 Aligning my personal purpose with the Pleasure of Allah 

 Finding motivation in everything we do through my purpose
 Filtering distractions and negativity by focusing on that which
is best aligned to my purpose
 Connecting the preparation of our return to Him and the
Hereafter to everything we do

3. Deeply grateful so that we are:

 Embodying an attitude of deep gratitude to God, and then
parents, family, friends, and community
 Internally aware of all the blessings in our life big and small,
apparent and subtle, the special and the regular
 Externally manifesting a radiating attitude of positivity and
abundance

4. Patient and humble during

difficulty and uncertainty with the highest
expectation of:
 Allah’s Presence
 Promised Reward
 Promised Relief
 Using Prophetic silence to help regulate our negative
thoughts, emotions
 Thinking of others as better than the self, overlook their
shortcomings, focus on their positive qualities,
 Be humble while doing good:
o Hide good deeds
o Hope for God’s acceptance and rewards
o Fear our sins and shortcomings

5. Compassionate in the way I represent

Allah   and His Prophet   and connect with
people

 Reflecting the mercy Allah 

 Embodying the Prophet’s   compassion of

o Being a source of healing in people’s lives
o Listening with no judgment
o Making people feel safe through verbal and physical
affirmation
o Serving without any expectation from people and only to

seek the compassion of God 

“And whosoever is granted wisdom is indeed granted abundant
good.” [Quran, 2:269]

Maryam’s Story
Applying the HEART Model

Before After

H: Heal with Mindfulness of God

She was feeling distracted. She is taking time out to incorporate Mindful
breathing with Istighfar and Dhikr. She is treating
Wudhu and Salah as spiritual self-care. She is starting
to find healing in Quranic recitation and meditation.
She is taking some time for only her and Allah SWT
 Before After

to let go, relax, find focus.

E: Engage with Purpose

She is starting to look for wisdom in how everything

that is happening in her life can be a way for her to get
She was feeling lost and
confused about her meaning and closer to Allah  . She has started reflecting and
purpose in life. journaling to connect her values, interests, and
strengths to the purpose of worshipping God, being of
service to humanity, and preparing for the hereafter.

A: Achieve with Gratitude

She was starting to focus on her She is now taking time every day to look for, reflect
negative thoughts and stressors on, and express gratitude for all blessings – big and
in life. small.

R: Rise with Patience and Humility

She was losing her calm more She is taking time to pause, breathe, and make Dhikr
often than usual. before responding.

She decided to set healthy boundaries for personal

She realized that due to not
self-care time and started journaling about the positive
taking time to take care of her
characteristics of everyone in her family. She is
spiritual, emotional and physical
starting to reframe any negative thoughts into positive
self, she started resenting others
and saving her energy for her own self-development
and seeing the faults in others.v
goals instead of trying to change or control others.

T: Thrive with Compassion & Service

She is now focusing on taking a pause before

She was coming across a little
responding immediately. She is visualizing the
direct and at times not easily
Prophetic compassion in dealing with and serving
approachable.
others before taking action.

The HEART Model of Spiritual Intelligence is helping Maryam

build herself up spiritually, physically, and emotionally. It’s helping
her be more calm, mindful, and positive about her life instead of
getting carried away by her ever-growing to-do list, demands of her
home/career, and the stresses of juggling between all her roles and
responsibilities.