Question No. 3074 31 August 2022 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

Three Things Test a Man’s Wisdom: Wealth, Position, and Adversity

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Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei

Tracking code: #Q-3074

Please explain the following hadith:
A man’s wisdom is tested by three things: wealth, position, and adversity.
ثلاث یمتحن بها عقول الرجال: هن المال و الولایه و المصیبه

Subject category: Ethics and Spirituality Hadith and Traditions Hadith

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

People’s wisdom is tested by how they respond to wealth, position, and hardship. Managing wealth and authority responsibly, without falling into corruption or frivolity, and showing resilience and sound judgment in times of adversity are signs of wisdom. When hardship strikes, the loss of reason and irrational behavior reveal what lies within a person.

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

Indeed, people’s intelligence is best judged in particular situations and circumstances. In times of authority and wealth, the role of reason becomes more apparent: it is revealed in how a person exercises power and manages wealth, guards against arrogance and self-conceit, and avoids sinking into corruption and frivolity. How many people are overcome by their own desires once they attain position and rank? In times of affliction, the leadership of reason is made plain by steadfast patience and the ability to manage hardship. For when reason fails in the face of calamity, and a person behaves irrationally and improperly, their true inner nature comes to light.

ثلاث تمتحن بهن عقول الرجال:
هن الولایه، و المال، و المصیبه.
عیون الحکم و المواعظ (للیثی)، ص: 212

Three things test men’s intelligence: authority, wealth, and calamity.

سته تختبر بها (أحوال) «3» عقول الرجال: المعامله، و المصاحبه، و الولایه، و العزل، و الغنى، و الفقر.
عیون الحکم و المواعظ (للیثی)، ص: 284

Six things reveal the state of men’s intelligence: dealing with others, companionship, authority, dismissal from office, wealth, and poverty.

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Three Things Test a Man’s Wisdom: Wealth, Position, and Adversity

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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