When a person grows deep in his discovery of truth and becomes strong in faith, he takes life seriously. One aspect of this seriousness that comes from faith is what can be called ‘drawing lessons’. The Quran has many verses which call man towards contemplation, to derive spirituality from material events and to learn the right lessons from history. There are similar references in the corpus of hadith—for instance, the Prophet once said, “My silence should be for contemplation, and my vision keen observation.” (Musnad al-Shahab al-Qazai) Faith or the realization of Truth results from drawing lessons from various experiences and observations. What is the discovery of faith? It is the discovery of the Creator after reflecting on creation. You discover the invisible world through the visible world. Through the signs of God scattered all over the visible world, you discover the inner realities of life. You develop the capacity of discernment and insight, along with external vision.
Lessons from History