DEEP THINKING
(Surat Al 'Imran: 191)
DEEP THINKING
Most people believe that in order to think deeply, one needs to put one's head between one's hands, withdraw to an empty room, and isolate oneself from all other people and affairs. Indeed, they make such a big issue of thinking deeply that they find it too difficult, and imagine that it is a quality exclusive to philosophers.
However, Allah invites people to reflect and says that He has revealed the Qur'an for people to reflect on it: "It is a book We have sent down to you, full of blessing, so let people of intelligence ponder its signs and take heed." (Surah Sad: 29). What is important is one's sincerely improving one's ability to think and going deeper in thinking.
On the other hand, people who do not spend effort to that end continue their lives in deep heedlessness. The word heedlessness has connotations like neglectfulness without forgetting, abandoning, being mistaken, disregarding, being careless. The heedless state of those who do not reflect is a consequence of forgetting or deliberately disregarding the purpose of their creation and of the realities which religion teaches. Yet, this is an extremely dangerous course that may lead to Hell. Correspondingly, Allah has warned people against being among the heedless:
Remember your Lord in yourself humbly and
fearfully, without loudness of voice, morning and evening. Do not be of
the heedless ones. (Surat al-A'raf: 205)
Warn them of the day of bitter regret when the affair will be
resolved. But they take no notice and they do not believe. (Surah
Maryam: 39)
In the Qur'an, Allah refers to people who reflect and who, after reflecting conscientiously, see the truth and therefore fear Him. Allah says that those who blindly follow the superstitious beliefs and thoughts of their forefathers without thinking, are wrong. When asked, these people say that they believe in Allah. Yet, since they do not think as is due, they do not amend their conduct from fear of Allah. In the following verses, the mentality of these people is clearly laid out:
Say: "To whom does the earth belong, and everyone in it, if you have any knowledge?"
They will say: "To Allah." Say: "So will you not pay heed?"
Say: "Who is the Lord of the Seven Heavens and the Lord of the Mighty Throne?"
They will say: "Allah." Say: "So will you not have taqwa*?"
Say: "In whose hand is the dominion over everything, He who
gives protection and from whom no protection can be given, if you have
any knowledge?"
They will say: "Allah's." Say: "So how have you been bewitched?"
The fact is that We have given them the truth and they are liars. (Surat al-Muminun: 84-90)
Thinking Removes the Spell on People
In the above verse, Allah asks people, "So how have you been bewitched?" The word "bewitched" in the verse implies a state of mental numbness that takes control of people as a whole. An unthinking person's mind is benumbed, his sight becomes fuzzy, he acts as if he does not see the facts before his eyes, and his faculty of judgement weakens. He becomes incapable of grasping even a plain truth. He cannot be fully conscious of extraordinary events taking place right before him. He does not notice the intricate details of events. The reason for people's leading heedless lives for thousands of years and their staying away from deep thought as a whole, as if it is merely a cultural heritage, is actually this mental numbness.
We can explain one of the outcomes of this collective spell with an example:
Beneath the earth's surface lies a boiling stratum or layer
called magma. The crust of the earth is very thin, which implies that
this blaze is very close to us, almost under our feet. In order to have
a better understanding of how thin the earth's crust is we can make a
comparison: the thickness of the earth's crust in proportion to the
whole earth can be compared to the thickness of the peel of the apple
in proportion to the whole apple.
Everyone knows that there is a stratum boiling at very high
temperatures right beneath the earth's surface, but few people think
much about it. This is because their parents, brothers, relatives,
friends, neighbors, the journalists of the newspapers they read, TV
program producers and their university professors do not think about it
either.
Let us try to make you think over this a little. Let us assume that a
person, having lost his memory, tries to learn about his surroundings
by asking questions of everyone around him. This person would first ask
where he is. What would he think if he was told that beneath the
ground he stands on lies a globe of boiling fire and that these flames
could gush out of the earth's surface in the event of a strong
earthquake or a volcanic eruption? Let us go further and suppose that
this person was told that this world is simply a small planet and it
floats in an infinite dark void called space and that space contains
even greater dangers than those beneath the earth’s crust. For example,
meteors weighing tons freely move around in space. There is no reason
why they should not alter their courses, perhaps because of some
gravitational influence from another planet, and collide with the
earth.
Surely, that person would not be able to forget, even for a moment, the
risky situation he is in. He would investigate how people lead their
lives in such an environment to which they hang on by the skin of their
teeth. He would realize that a flawless system has been brought into
being. The inside of the planet on which he lives contains great
danger, yet very delicate balances prevent this danger from harming
people, except in unusual circumstances. The person who realizes this
understands that the earth and all creatures on it live and continue
their existence in safety only by the will of Allah, owing to the
flawless balance He has created.
This example is only one of millions, even billions of examples upon
which people need to ponder. Giving another example will be useful to
help us understand how heedlessness affects people's faculty of thought
and restrains their intellectual capacity.
People know that the life of this world passes away and ends very
rapidly, yet still, they behave as if they will never leave this world.
They act as if there is no death in the world. This, indeed, is a kind
of spell carried over from generation to generation. This has such a
strong effect that when someone talks about death, people immediately
close the subject for fear of breaking the spell on them and facing the
reality. People who have spent their entire lives in order to buy fine
houses, summer residences and cars, and to send their children to good
colleges, do not want to think that one day they will die and that
they will not be able to take their cars, their houses, or children
with them. Consequently, rather than beginning to do something for the
real life after death, they choose not to think.
However, everyone, sooner or later, will definitely die and after one
dies, whether one believes it or not, the eternal life will begin for
everyone. Whether this eternal life will be spent in Paradise or in Hell
depends on what one has done in the short life of this world. While
such is the plain truth, the only reason why people behave as if death
does not exist is this spell that has covered them because they do not
think.
Those who cannot, by thinking, save themselves from this spell and
therefore from a heedless state, will understand the facts by seeing
them with their eyes after they die. Allah communicates this fact in the
Qur'an:
You were heedless of this, so We have stripped you of your covering and today your sight is sharp. (Surah Qaf: 22)
As Allah says in the verse, the sight which here is blurred because of
not thinking, will be "sharp" at the time when the person gives account
in the Hereafter after death.
It should be pointed out that people deliberately impose such a spell
on themselves. They suppose that by doing so they will live restful and
relaxed lives. However, real amenity, peace, joy and comfort can be
gained by this spell being removed. Besides it is very easy for anyone
to make a decision and shake off this mental numbness, and begin to
live with a clear consciousness.
Allah has presented the solution to people; people who
reflect can dispel this enchantment while they are in the world. They
thus come to understand that all events have a purpose and an inner
meaning, and are able to see wisdom in the events that Allah creates at
every instant.
One can Think at Anytime and Anywhere
 Such a crowd makes one reflect upon Allah's unique vast creation. Since the moment the world came into existence, Allah has created billions of human faces, all different from each other. |
There is no time, place or condition necessary for thought.
Anyone may think while walking on the street, going to the office,
driving a car, working at the computer, attending a friend's gathering
or having lunch.
While driving a car, for example, it is possible to see hundreds of
people outdoors. He who looks at these people can think about many
different things. It may come to his mind that the physical appearances
of these hundreds of people are completely different. None of these
people look like one another. It is astonishing that, although these
people share basically similar features such as eyes, eyebrows,
eyelashes, hands, arms, legs, mouths and noses, they all look so
different from one another. Thinking a little further, one remembers
the following:
Allah has created billions of people over thousands of years all
different from one another. This certainly is a piece of evidence of
Allah’s obvious existence and marvelous creation.
The person watching all these people rushing may be occupied by many
different thoughts. At first glance, each one of these people seems like
a distinct individual. Every one of them has his own world, wishes,
plans, ways of living, topics that make him happy or unhappy, and
tastes. Yet these differences are misleading. In general, every human
being is born, grows up, goes to school, looks for a job, works,
marries, has children, sends the children to school, marries them off,
ages, becomes a grandmother or grandfather and finally passes away.
From this point of view, there are no big differences between people's
lives. Whether one lives in a neighborhood in Istanbul or in a Mexican
city does not change anything at all. All of these people will
definitely die one day. A century later, perhaps not even one of these
people will be alive. The person who realizes all this, carries on
thinking and asks himself the following questions: "Since all of us will
die one day, why does everybody act as if they will never depart from
this world? While a person, whose death is certain, ought to strive for
his life after death, how is it that almost all people behave as if
their lives in this world will never end?"
Such a person is one who thinks and reaches a very crucial conclusion from what he thinks.
A great majority of people do not think about these issues. If they are
suddenly asked, "What are you thinking at the moment?", it will be
seen that they think extremely unnecessary things that will not be of
much use to them. However, man is able to think meaningful, wise and
important subjects at every moment from the time he wakes up until he
sleeps, and derive conclusions from what he thinks.
In the Qur'an, Allah informs us that in all circumstances the believers
reflect and derive beneficial conclusions from their thinking.
In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of
night and day, there are signs for people with intelligence: those who
remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect
on the creation of the heavens and the earth: "Our Lord, You have not
created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the
punishment of the Fire." (Surah Al 'Imran: 190-191)
As we are also informed in the verse, because believers are people who
reflect, they are able to see the miraculous side of the creation and
exalt the power, knowledge and wisdom of Allah.
Thinking Sincerely by Turning Towards Allah
In order for contemplation to benefit a person and lead him to
the right conclusions, he should always think positively. For instance,
a person who, seeing someone far more handsome than himself, feels
inferior because of his physical inadequacy by thinking about the other
person's good looks or who becomes jealous of this person, is thinking
a thought of which Allah does not approve. Yet, a person who aims to
earn the approval of Allah considers the good looks of the other person
as a manifestation of Allah's perfect creation. Since he looks at this
person as a beauty Allah has created, he derives great pleasure from
it. He asks Allah to enhance the beauty of this person in the
Hereafter. As for himself, he also asks Allah for true and eternal
beauty in the Hereafter. He realizes that man can never be perfect in
this world, because the world has been created with imperfections as a
part of a test. His craving for Paradise increases. This is certainly
only one example of sincere thought. Throughout life, man encounters
many instances like this. He is tested to see whether he displays the
beliefs and good manners with which Allah will be pleased.
In order to be successful in the test of this world and thus achieve
the best Hereafter, one needs to derive lessons and warnings from the
things one thinks about. For this, it is imperative that one thinks
truthfully continually. Allah states in the Qur'an:
It is He Who shows you His signs, and sends down
provision to you out of heaven. But none pay heed save those who turn
unto Him repentant. (Surah Ghafir: 13)
From Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on
Tempo TV on April-8 2009
ADNAN OKTAR: Human beings are created to serve Allah. Their duty is to serve. But Allah tests us; but after seeing what we will do in the test Allah has no need to determine what we are. Allah has already known this for all time before. Because Allah created all these. Allah knows what we do. Allah’s real aim in inward is to allow us to know ourselves; what kind of people are we? What kind of moral values have we? What kind of character do we have? ... If Allah chooses and we go to Paradise, we will develop a great love for ourselves by saying: “I was a very good person. I served, I communicated Islam, and I helped the poor and supported others in times of difficulty.” In other words, we will have attained a rich color in Paradise. |
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