Kinds of Reflection
Chapter 35--Kinds of Reflection
There are several kinds of reflection. Ascetics reflect on the evanescent nature of this world, and the way in which it betrays those who pursue it. This gives them patience, which causes their detachment to grow.
Worshippers reflect on the beautiful reward which is in store for them, so that their ardor and enthusiasm for it wax stronger.
Gnostics reflect on the favors and blessed gifts of God and on the secrets of the Names and Attributes. In this way they increase in love for their Exalted and Majestic Creator.
Ordinary people reflect on the proofs and evidences which lead to faith.
Exalted, then, is the state of he who does all four!
Once it is made easy for one, reflection is one of the noblest acts of worship, for it implies the Remembrance of God and brings about an increase in attachment and love. For the heart loves only the one whom it believes has greatness, and the greatness of God the Exalted is only revealed through knowledge of His Attributes, Ability, and the marvels of His works. In this way, reflection leads to knowledge, which in turn leads to reverence, which leads on to love.
Imam al-Ghazali (may God sanctify his secret!) has said, "A man who reflects at length in order to know God, and has had unveiled to him even the minutest portion of the secrets of His Kingdom, will find in his heart such joy and bliss in this unveiling that he will almost fly, and he will be amazed at his own steadfastness and firmness."
Our master, the Pole of Guidance, al-Habib Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad has said in his Book of Assistance:
You should have a wird of reflection in every twenty-four hours, for which you should set aside one or more hours. The best time for reflection is the one which contains the fewest preoccupations and worries, and the most potential for the heart to be present, such as the depths of the night. Knows that the state of one's religious and worldly affairs depends upon the soundness of one's reflection. Anyone who has a share of it has an abundant share of everything good. It has been said, "An hour's reflection is better than a year's worship." 'Ali [ibn Abi Talib], may Allah honor his face, has said, "There is no worship like reflection." And one of the gnostics said, "Reflection is the lamp of the heart; if it departs the heart will have no light."
The ways of reflection are many. One, which is the most noble of them, is to reflect on the wonders of God's dazzling creation, the inward and outward signs of His Ability, and the signs He has scattered abroad in the realm of the earth and the heavens. This kind of reflection increases your knowledge of the Essence, Attributes and Names of God. He has encouraged it by saying, 'Say: Look at what is in the heavens and the earth!' [10:10]. You yourself are one of the wondrous creatures He has made, and you should therefore reflect on yourself, for He has said, 'In the earth are signs for those who have certainty, and in yourselves; can you not see?'[51:20-21].
Know that you must reflect on the favors of God and His bounties which He caused to reach you. He has said, 'Remember the favors of God, so that you may succeed' [7:69]; 'Should you [attempt to] number the favors of God, you will not be able to do so' [45:18]; and 'All good things that you possess are from God' [46:53]. This kind of reflection results in the heart filling with the love of God and continuously rendering thanks to Him, inwardly and outwardly, in a manner that pleases and satisfies Him.
Know that you should reflect on God's complete awareness of you, and His seeing and knowing all about you: 'We have created man, and We Know what his soul whispers to him; and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein' [50:16]; 'He is with you wherever you may be, and God sees what you do' [57:14]; and 'Have you not seen that God knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and no three persons converse but that He is their fourth, and no five persons but that He is their sixth?' [58:7]. This kind of reflection results in your feeling ashamed before God should He see you where He has forbidden you to be or miss you where He has commanded you to be.
Know that you must reflect on your shortcomings in worshipping your Lord and your exposing yourself to His wrath should you do what He has forbidden you. He has said, 'I created jinn and men only to worship Me' [51:56]; 'Do you think that We created you in vain and that to Us you will not be returned?' [23:115]; 'O mankind! What is it that has deceived you concerning your Generous Lord?' [82:16]; and 'O mankind! You shall surely toil toward your Lord laboriously and you shall meet Him' [84:16]. This kind of reflection increases your fear of God, encourages you to blame and reproach yourself, to avoid remissness, and persevere in your zeal.
Know that you must reflect on this worldly life, its numerous preoccupations and hazards, and the swiftness with which it perishes, and reflect on the Afterlife and its felicity and permanence. God the Exalted has said, 'Thus does God render the signs clear to you, so that you may reflect on this world and the Afterlife' [2:220]; 'But you prefer the life of this world when the Afterlife is better and more abiding' [77:17]; and 'The life of this world is but distraction and play; while the Last Abode is indeed the Life, if they but knew' [29:64]. This kind of reflection results in losing all desire for the world and in wishing for the Afterlife.
Know that you should reflect on the imminence of death and the regret and remorse which occur when it is too late. God has said: 'Say: the death that you flee from will indeed meet you, and you will then be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you of that which you had been doing' [62:8]; 'Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord! Send me back, that I may do good in that which I have left!" No! It is but a word he says' [23:99]; and 'O believers! Let not your wealth or your children distract you from the Remembrance of God....And God will not reprieve a soul whose time has come [63:9-11]. The benefit of this kind of reflection is that hopes become short, behavior finer, and provision is gathered for the Appointed Day.
Know that you should reflect on those attributes and acts by which God has described His Friends and His enemies, and on the immediate and delayed recompense which He has prepared for each group...[a whole lot of verses quoted here which I'm leaving out]...The result of this kind of reflection is that you come to love the fortunate, habituate yourself to emulating their behavior and to taking on their qualities.
...
You should, with each kind of reflection, bring to mind those verses, hadiths, and other narratives which relate to it. We have given an example of this by quoting some of the verses relating to each kind of reflection.
Beware of reflecting on the Essence of God and His attributes in the wish to understand their nature and how they exist. Rarely has anyone become enamored of this without falling into the abysses of negation [ta'til] or the traps of anthropomorphism [tashbih]. The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said, 'Reflect on the favors of God, and do not reflect on His Essence, for you will never be able to give Him His due.'
The quotation from this comprehensive and fascinating chapter of The Book of Assistance of Imam al-Haddad closes here.
Worshippers reflect on the beautiful reward which is in store for them, so that their ardor and enthusiasm for it wax stronger.
Gnostics reflect on the favors and blessed gifts of God and on the secrets of the Names and Attributes. In this way they increase in love for their Exalted and Majestic Creator.
Ordinary people reflect on the proofs and evidences which lead to faith.
Exalted, then, is the state of he who does all four!
Once it is made easy for one, reflection is one of the noblest acts of worship, for it implies the Remembrance of God and brings about an increase in attachment and love. For the heart loves only the one whom it believes has greatness, and the greatness of God the Exalted is only revealed through knowledge of His Attributes, Ability, and the marvels of His works. In this way, reflection leads to knowledge, which in turn leads to reverence, which leads on to love.
Imam al-Ghazali (may God sanctify his secret!) has said, "A man who reflects at length in order to know God, and has had unveiled to him even the minutest portion of the secrets of His Kingdom, will find in his heart such joy and bliss in this unveiling that he will almost fly, and he will be amazed at his own steadfastness and firmness."
Our master, the Pole of Guidance, al-Habib Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad has said in his Book of Assistance:
You should have a wird of reflection in every twenty-four hours, for which you should set aside one or more hours. The best time for reflection is the one which contains the fewest preoccupations and worries, and the most potential for the heart to be present, such as the depths of the night. Knows that the state of one's religious and worldly affairs depends upon the soundness of one's reflection. Anyone who has a share of it has an abundant share of everything good. It has been said, "An hour's reflection is better than a year's worship." 'Ali [ibn Abi Talib], may Allah honor his face, has said, "There is no worship like reflection." And one of the gnostics said, "Reflection is the lamp of the heart; if it departs the heart will have no light."
The ways of reflection are many. One, which is the most noble of them, is to reflect on the wonders of God's dazzling creation, the inward and outward signs of His Ability, and the signs He has scattered abroad in the realm of the earth and the heavens. This kind of reflection increases your knowledge of the Essence, Attributes and Names of God. He has encouraged it by saying, 'Say: Look at what is in the heavens and the earth!' [10:10]. You yourself are one of the wondrous creatures He has made, and you should therefore reflect on yourself, for He has said, 'In the earth are signs for those who have certainty, and in yourselves; can you not see?'[51:20-21].
Know that you must reflect on the favors of God and His bounties which He caused to reach you. He has said, 'Remember the favors of God, so that you may succeed' [7:69]; 'Should you [attempt to] number the favors of God, you will not be able to do so' [45:18]; and 'All good things that you possess are from God' [46:53]. This kind of reflection results in the heart filling with the love of God and continuously rendering thanks to Him, inwardly and outwardly, in a manner that pleases and satisfies Him.
Know that you should reflect on God's complete awareness of you, and His seeing and knowing all about you: 'We have created man, and We Know what his soul whispers to him; and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein' [50:16]; 'He is with you wherever you may be, and God sees what you do' [57:14]; and 'Have you not seen that God knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and no three persons converse but that He is their fourth, and no five persons but that He is their sixth?' [58:7]. This kind of reflection results in your feeling ashamed before God should He see you where He has forbidden you to be or miss you where He has commanded you to be.
Know that you must reflect on your shortcomings in worshipping your Lord and your exposing yourself to His wrath should you do what He has forbidden you. He has said, 'I created jinn and men only to worship Me' [51:56]; 'Do you think that We created you in vain and that to Us you will not be returned?' [23:115]; 'O mankind! What is it that has deceived you concerning your Generous Lord?' [82:16]; and 'O mankind! You shall surely toil toward your Lord laboriously and you shall meet Him' [84:16]. This kind of reflection increases your fear of God, encourages you to blame and reproach yourself, to avoid remissness, and persevere in your zeal.
Know that you must reflect on this worldly life, its numerous preoccupations and hazards, and the swiftness with which it perishes, and reflect on the Afterlife and its felicity and permanence. God the Exalted has said, 'Thus does God render the signs clear to you, so that you may reflect on this world and the Afterlife' [2:220]; 'But you prefer the life of this world when the Afterlife is better and more abiding' [77:17]; and 'The life of this world is but distraction and play; while the Last Abode is indeed the Life, if they but knew' [29:64]. This kind of reflection results in losing all desire for the world and in wishing for the Afterlife.
Know that you should reflect on the imminence of death and the regret and remorse which occur when it is too late. God has said: 'Say: the death that you flee from will indeed meet you, and you will then be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you of that which you had been doing' [62:8]; 'Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord! Send me back, that I may do good in that which I have left!" No! It is but a word he says' [23:99]; and 'O believers! Let not your wealth or your children distract you from the Remembrance of God....And God will not reprieve a soul whose time has come [63:9-11]. The benefit of this kind of reflection is that hopes become short, behavior finer, and provision is gathered for the Appointed Day.
Know that you should reflect on those attributes and acts by which God has described His Friends and His enemies, and on the immediate and delayed recompense which He has prepared for each group...[a whole lot of verses quoted here which I'm leaving out]...The result of this kind of reflection is that you come to love the fortunate, habituate yourself to emulating their behavior and to taking on their qualities.
...
You should, with each kind of reflection, bring to mind those verses, hadiths, and other narratives which relate to it. We have given an example of this by quoting some of the verses relating to each kind of reflection.
Beware of reflecting on the Essence of God and His attributes in the wish to understand their nature and how they exist. Rarely has anyone become enamored of this without falling into the abysses of negation [ta'til] or the traps of anthropomorphism [tashbih]. The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said, 'Reflect on the favors of God, and do not reflect on His Essence, for you will never be able to give Him His due.'
The quotation from this comprehensive and fascinating chapter of The Book of Assistance of Imam al-Haddad closes here.
posted by Subul @ 2:49 PM
3 comments
