Quran is a book of wisdom giving details of the divine scheme and principles acquired for successful living on this Earth. However, all these things can be discovered only through contemplation. Abu Darda was a senior companion of the Prophet of Islam. After his death, a man came to his wife and asked her what was the most basic form of worship performed by Abu Darda. She replied: He would spend the whole day thinking, thinking, and thinking. (Sunan an-Nasai, No. 11850) Contemplation or tadabbur opens the doors of the Quranic treasure of knowledge. Spirituality in Islam is based on tadabbur (thought of God) (4:82). Contemplating the universe functioning perfectly, one realises that man’s life, too, must have a meaningful end. Then one exclaims: “O our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose. Glory be to you! Give us salvation in the life to come.” (3:191). Thus, the universe manifests God’s attributes, a source of spiritual nourishment for those who want to lead a divine life on earth. For them, the whole universe becomes an essential means of reaching spiritual perfection. This spiritual development continues throughout one’s earthly life till a time comes when one attains that degree of spirituality, which the Quran calls the ‘Rabbani soul.’ Souls such as these will inhabit Paradise in the life Hereafter. Our most compassionate Lord will say: “Dwell in Paradise; you shall have no fear, nor shall you grieve.” (7:49)
Introduction
The Quran reiterates on several occasions that God revealed the Quran so that people reflect over it. A verse to this effect reads
This is a blessed Book which We sent down to you, for people to ponder over its messages, and for those with understanding to take heed (38:29)
In other words, the Quran was revealed for the wise so that they may contemplate and draw lessons from it. According to a Hadith
Every verse of the Quran has two meanings – the manifest and the hidden (Mishkat)
The above Hadith means that every verse of the Quran can be understood by understanding its complete meaning. The meaning consists of a literal meaning of the verse as is and a hidden meaning, which must be fathomed. This means that the deep meaning of the verses can be understood only when man contemplates. Quran therefore cannot merely be for recital.
According to recent news, a non-Muslim actor did some pronunciation mistake while reading out the Kalimah [recited to mark the declaration of faith] because of which, a fatwa was issued against him. It is unfortunate that those who issue such fatwas do not understand that correct pronunciation is not the primary concern. It is only contemplation that can lead man to greater spirituality and connect him to God. I would like to cite an example to clarify this. An illiterate Muslim, considering it to be a rewardable act, used to touch the pages of the Quran in reverence. This was only an act of blind faith [aqeedatmandi]. While he might be rewarded for his modesty but the act per se is tantamount to underestimation of the purpose of revelation of the Quran. The Quran was revealed so that man may reflect upon it and not so that it is relegated to the lofty shelves of the house - untouched and unopened.
Quran is for contemplation
Let me take the very first verse of the Quran to explain the point further. The verse reads
All praise is due to God (1:2)
In order for man to attribute all praise to God, he must realize Him as the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Mere recitation of the Quranic verses cannot bring about this realization in man. The tempest that arouses after man discovers his Lord leads him to submit before the all-powerful God.
No other creature in this entire Universe is capable of acknowledging God, except man. Let me explain the importance of this acknowledgement. Every natural phenomenon is bound by the laws of nature, which without fail, it abides by. There is no freedom to exercise choice. Man on the other hand, has been given freedom by God. Misuse of this freedom, creates unpleasant situations in the society and fosters negative emotions. Living in a society therefore means that everyone will face some negative occurrences and will consequently have complaints against his fellow human beings. It is a fact that a heart full of complaints cannot be grateful to God. Only one whose heart is full of positive emotions can truly thank God for His bounties. It is therefore implicit in the above verse of the Quran that man must first prepare himself and then he will be able to acknowledge God. The pre-condition therefore is to learn the art of managing negative emotions. First, the negative feelings will have to be managed and you will have to purify your heart completely. Only a purified soul will be capable of reflection and only those who reflect can be truly grateful to God. This is the principle to understand the Quran and Hadith, without thinking and reflecting no meaning can be fathomed.
Imaan (Faith)
According to a Hadith
He who said, there is no God but One will get paradise (Bukhari)
The above Hadith was misinterpreted to mean that anyone who utters the Kalimah will be inhabited in the perfect world of paradise. Such interpretation amounts to severe underestimation of God and His paradise. Faith is not an outcome of mere lip service or utterance of some words; it is the result of man’s discovery. Man needs to understand God at the level of his conscious. God should be man’s discovery.
When the Greek mathematician, Archimedes, discovered a principle of hydrostatics he was thrilled and shouted “
According to the Quran,
Did He not find you wandering, and give you guidance? (93:7)
The above verse explains that a necessary condition for realization is that man must first be a seeker. Even the Prophet of God was a seeker first before he became a believer.
Before citing the next reference, I would like to present the principle to understand the Quran. Often to understand the deeper meaning of the Quran, the meaning of one verse has to been seen in the light of the interpretation of another. Applying this to the above verse and reflecting upon the following verse of the Quran,
And for their words God will reward them with Gardens (5:85)
According to the above verse, man will be granted paradise on qaul (words). The term “words” here refers to words of realization or marefat. Looking at the two verses together, it becomes clear that God shall grant paradise to those began their journey as a seeker, spent their time thinking about truth and upon discovering the truth, pronounced faith in words. Thinking that only those who recite the Kalimah as a matter of lip service is a contradiction to the above verses. Unfortunately, the present-day Muslims have succumbed to this misunderstanding and have become content with mere rendition of the articles of faith.
Tadabbur (Contemplation)
Tadabbur or contemplation is the essential aspect of worship. Without contemplation, worship is only form. Unfortunately, jurisprudence lays great emphasis on form. Here I am reminded of a conversation with an alim who was propagating a mission – Islaah-e-ibadah. I asked him the aim of his mission and the activities they undertake towards its achievement. He said they work towards perfecting the form in which namaz is offered. The reason they were involved in this work was because they considered form as worship. If we deliberate over the following verse of the Quran, it becomes clear that the heart of worship lies in spirit
Those who are humble in their prayer (23:2)
Being “humble” in the prayer is related to spirit and not form. Therefore if man does not think, he will worry about form alone and will consider form to be worship. Only thinking, helps fathom the real meaning.
Yesterday discussion over the following verse
It is We who have sent down the Reminder and We will, most surely, safeguard it (15:9)
People interpret this verse as preservation of the Quran that happened in the seventh century and this interpretation implies that there is no relevance of this verse in today’s time. Can this happen that this is not relevant today because it will not then arouse a tempest within you. I told him that every verse has a present because only then will the Quran arouse thrill within us and jolt us from our reveries. Today, Quran is found in all houses but it is kept on the topmost shelves and people consider this as the sole motive of the Quran. The true purpose is that they think and fathom its meaning. The meaning of this verse according to today is that why did God say “We have revealed it” when only this could have been said that God shall preserve it.
Thinking more will make you understand that Quran is a great blessing of God. It is therefore implicit that if a Being gives you something precious then it will be His concern to let it remain preserved. If someone gifts you a diamond, he will be concerned that it remains safe and is not lost. This gives us a principle that when God gave you a blessing in the form of the Quran, it is His responsibility to preserve it. The principle is that with atiyah comes preservation. This will encompass everything. If you truly discover your being as an atiyah (God-given), you will discover that when God has given this, He will preserve it. Anything can happen any moment but when you realize yourself as a blessing, then you will have the faith that God shall then preserve it too. This gives you a point of reference for a dua, ‘God it is your sunnat that when You give a blessing, You preserve it too. I accept it and I pray that you preserve it.’ The prime concern of animals is safety. Even a lion has that concern which is why he moves in bushes. The same applies to man. Whatever we have can end anytime. The only difference is that while an animal can know this as an instinct, man understands this as a point of reference and prays that when God has given me this, God must preserve it.
When man truly discovers this, he gets a big point of reference, that is, when God has given us everything here, He may grant us everything in the hereafter. In this world, God has granted us innumerable bounties. I was telling someone that in my village, I used to cover distances on foot very often. But till then I had not known that the Earth actually revolves at a great speed and despite that we are steady on this flying wheel. This is a blessing of God and numerous such things. Man, for instance, also has a sense of direction, which helps him traverse distances. If you discover that it is the principle of God that when He grants, He assumes responsibility of protecting it, you will get such a big point of reference that here in this world, You have given me as a unilateral gift so give it to me in the hereafter because after giving You don’t take it away and ensure its continuity. This is such a thrilling experience and is what is referred to as praying to God with isme-azaam. That is you discover an attribute of God and with its reference, you invoke His blessings.
Jihad
Worldwide, the Muslims are humiliating themselves by being involved in endeavours in the name of jihad and qital as they do not think and contemplate over the verses of the Quran. For example, a Hadith states
It is not jayaz for a believer to humiliate himself (Musnad Ahmad)
When someone asked the Prophet why someone would humiliate himself, he was told that he humiliates himself if he confronts something which he does not have the power to confront. Every action therefore must be result-oriented. If it isn’t then the action is not worth undertaking. The Quran says
Good words ascend to Him and righteous deed are exalted by Him (35:10)
Good action is that action which is in accordance with the dua or good words. That is, you are praying using good words but in actuality you hate others, then you are merely saying good words but not performing good action. And according to God, good word is raised or lifted up by good deed or good action. If good action is not there, then good word is of no use.
Dawah work has to be preceded by well wishing. If dua alone would have led to correction, then Prophet Noah’s son, Prophet Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, etc. would not have accepted Islam, but this did not happen. Because that man did not discharge his responsibility well, that’s why the dua did not get fulfilled. Hatred and dawah therefore cannot go hand in hand. People consider dawah as announcement. No, it is well wishing. If you do not have well wishing, you cannot be doing dawah work.
Yesterday I had an audio address in
Aadmi amal karta hai, par badla milta hai use apni aqal ke barabar (Musnad Al Harris)
That is man will get the reward only upon what he had thought and fathomed. Repetition of form will not suffice because every form of worship is related to aqal (thinking). The Quran repeatedly says
Will you not then understand? (28:60)
It is therefore very important to understand that Islam is not the name of any ritual, being born in a family. It is only when you think and develop your personality, that is Islam and that is your religion because it is attained at the level of discovery. Only then will God reward the action. It is therefore extremely important to do one’s intellectual development. That in fact is the prime.
A person rung up and asked me the way to aala marefat (supreme realization); he asked how he could attain it? I asked him that Babri mosque was demolished in 1992, do you hate those people who did so? He said, “Yes, it is natural to hate them.” I then said, why do you talk about supreme realization. You have to understand that they demolished one mosque and there are still 5.5 mosques in
This entire earth was made a mosque for me (Sahih Muslim) – Poori zameen mere liye masjid bana di gayi hai
Because I will know that Earth still remains and I can prostrate before God anywhere. Prophet was exiled from
Ae logon! Apne aap ko bachao aag se, chahe khajur ka ek tukda de kar kyun naa ho
(Ibn Hisham)
When you attain this level, your supreme concern is only God. Everything else takes a backseat. Yesterday, I was thinking about what someone wrote about Abu Bakr, that person had written that Abu Bakr was a blind follower of Prophet Muhammad. This is false. The real thing is that the wavelength of Abu Bakr and Prophet Muhammad had become one. That’s why when Prophet passed away, everyone was very troubled. But when Abu Bakr saw his body, he lifted the sheet and said,
Jo Muhammad ko poojta tha to woh jaan le ki Muhammad mar gaye, jo Khuda ko poojta hai, woh jaan le ko khuda zinda hai aur who marne wala nahin hai (Ibn Hisham)
This was the level of his realization. And in case of present day Muslims, only when a mosque is demolished there is excessive hue and cry. Only when you reach such level of realization, do you get supreme realization. A poet said these lines upon being imprisoned by the British, Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Zindaan mein tune garche mujhe daal diya hai magar
Parwaaz jo meri rok sake, aisi bhi koi deewar utha
This should be your level of realization that God is there always and I can connect with him anytime. Whether other things remain or not, they are all secondary. People talk about marefat and do not want to pay the price for it. An American writer read Islam very vastly, the prime being that he read I objectively unlike Muslims who read Quran subjectively. He wrote
The greatest concern of Islam is Allah
This means that everything is secondary in Islam. Muslims live in small things, if someone did something, they would get instigated. It means that they have not yet connected themselves with God. Big discovery has not come to them, they are indulged in insignificant issues.
Once a man came to meet me in an auto-rickshaw and he came to me after lengthened bargaining with the auto driver. I asked him why he did so, he replied, that had he given him the money he was asking, he would not have been left with anything for the return journey. Another man came to me; he did not bother over the money asked and instantly gave what the auto driver demanded as his pockets were filled with money. The same is the case with Muslims. Their pockets are devoid of the notes of marefat and realization. Those who have it, will not be bothered about trivial issues.
Muslims today are oblivious of what proximity to God is. This is because they do not have marefat and therefore their life is completely dry. They are not like a flourishing tree but a barren bark because they are devoid of marefat and live in trivial issues. This is a serious matter that man must make his concern.
