Thinking Is Worship

Did you know that Thinking (تفكر) is Worship?

Abdul-Rahman Sa’di says in his Tafsir:

أن التفكر عبادة من صفات أولياء الله العارفين
“Contemplation/Thinking is an act of worship and a characteristic of the close friends of God.”

[“Taysir al-Karim”, 1/270].

Thinking/Reflecting (التفكر) has been repeatedly mentioned in the Qur’an.

This concept is called: Tafakur.

It has been said by some scholars of the past:

تفكر ساعة خير من عبادة سنة
“A moment of reflection is better than a year of worship.”

Many people carry out acts of worship robotically – without contemplation.

We will only taste the sweetness of faith, when we reflect on what we are saying and why we are here on earth.

Think about: space, gravity, sun, moon, laws of physics, oxygen, etc.

When we ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth, we find God’s Signs.

It says in the Qur’an:

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَاب
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار

“Surely! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, surely there are signs for people of understanding.

Those who remember God while standing, sitting and [lying] on their sides, and WHO PONDER (YATAFAKARUNA) OVER THE CREATION of the heavens and the earth, saying, Lord, You have not created all this without purpose. Glory be to You! Save us from the torment of the Fire.”

[Qur’an 3:190-191].

Even if we don’t go far and just contemplate over our own bodies:

– If our noses were upside down, we’d drown in rain!!

– If our eyebrows grew long like our head hair, we’d have curtains in front of your eyes!!

– The human eye is 576 megapixels – if a 5 megapixel webcam cannot come without Intelligent design, how can the human eye have come about without an Intelligent designer?

– If our eyes were located near our knees or ankles, or at the back of our heads – we’d bump into everything!

– If our eyeballs were not located inside the protecting eye-socket, we’d go blind if we bumped into something!

These are just random examples.

Think about it for yourself.

There are 1000s of things we can contemplate about – just in the human body.

Let alone, if we start looking at the heavens and the earth.

ربنا ما خلقت هذا باطلا سبحانك فقنا عذاب النار!!