Thinking : Islamic Perspective

"Thinking, in Islamic perspective, is considered as ‘Ibadah’ or a form of worshipping Allah, which, shall be rewarded as long as it is done with sincerity or ‘ikhlas’, good intention and for a good purpose, " said Swara when she arrived after saying Basmalah and Salaam.

"In the Qur’an, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala mentions clearly,

كِتٰبٌ اَنْزَلْنٰهُ اِلَيْكَ مُبٰرَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوْٓا اٰيٰتِهٖ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ

'[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.' [QS. Sad (38):29]

Al-Qur’an mentions the requirement of ‘ulul al-bab’ that leads to thinking. Thinking is an integral part of the Islamic tradition. Allah created man to think by using reasoning (afala ya’qilun), think creatively (afala tatafaqqarun) and also to ponder, to inquire and to investigate things (afala ya tadabbarun). The tradition of thinking in the past led to tremendous achievements of the Muslims in the fields of philosophy and science such as astrophysics, mathematics, mechanics, music and many others.

In Arabic, the word 'think' refers to the word 'tafakkur,' the same word is 'al-fikr.' So, tafakkur literally means to think on a subject deeply, systematically, and in great detail. In other word, tafakkur is intellectually contemplate or reflection. Reflection is a vital step in becoming aware of what is going on around us and of drawing conclusions from it. It is a key for a man to differentiate between good and bad, vice and virtue, and so on. One can use reflection in every scientific field. However, the rational and experimental sciences are only a first step or a means to reach the final target of reflection, which is knowledge of Allah, provided that one’s mind has not been filled with wrong conceptions and premises. Reflection must be based on and start with belief in Allah as the Originator of creation. Allah says,

وَهُوَ الَّذِيْ مَدَّ الْاَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ فِيْهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَاَنْهٰرًا ۗوَمِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرٰتِ جَعَلَ فِيْهَا زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ يُغْشِى الَّيْلَ النَّهَارَۗ اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَّتَفَكَّرُوْنَ

'And it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers; and from all of the fruits He made therein two mates; He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.' [QS. Ar-Ra'ad (13):3]

There are three phases of Tafakkur, first, give the concept of an idea or thinking or Critical Thinking; second, concentrating or forming new ideas of information or Creative Thinking, and third, bring to think of Allah as the Creator of the Supreme. Tafakkur is such an important concept that Imam Shafi'i, one of the greatest Imam in history, said that Tafakkur sharpens one's intelligence.

In the Quran, Allah asks Muslim to think critically, among them are: Tafakkur (as I have mentioned earlier); Tadhakkur; Ta'qil; Tafqih; and Tadabbur.

About Tadhakkur, Allah says,

اِنَّ فِيْ خَلْقِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّاُولِى الْاَلْبَابِۙ

الَّذِيْنَ يَذْكُرُوْنَ اللّٰهَ قِيَامًا وَّقُعُوْدًا وَّعَلٰى جُنُوْبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُوْنَ فِيْ خَلْقِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِۚ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هٰذَا بَاطِلًاۚ سُبْحٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

'Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding - who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Rabb, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.' [QS. Ali 'Imran (3):190-191]

This ayah illustrates that thinking people will ponder the creations of Allah (the sky and the earth, the night and the day) by using their inner view (basirah). Therefore, people will see the Great of Allah and grateful to Allah every time. Sultan of the Theologians, Fakhruddin Ar-Razi—an influential Muslim polymath and one of the pioneers of inductive logic—claimed that those who are remember and believe in Oneness of God use their aql (think) will achieve al-falah (success). To achieve the level of tadhakkur, man needs to put something into summarization in order to help him understand it wisely. Therefore, man may have an idea towards something in a simple diagram or picture. The application of tadhakkur is applicable on subjects such as Al-Quran and al-Hadith.

About Ta’qil, Allah says,

اَتَأْمُرُوْنَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ اَنْفُسَكُمْ وَاَنْتُمْ تَتْلُوْنَ الْكِتٰبَ ۗ اَفَلَا تَعْقِلُوْنَ

'Do you order righteousness of the people and forget1 yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?' [QS. Al-Baqarah (2):44]

This show that the Allah emphasizes on a few mankind those who are asked others to follow the Law of Allah, but he himself refuse to do so. Some mufassirun stated that this kind of people refer to Bani Israel and Hypocrites. Allah condemned these kinds of people by saying 'Will you not reason?' which bring us the word 'do not think' refer to 'do not understand the truth.' In order to understand the truth, man need to synthesize the information at the first place before jumping into the conclusion.

About Tafqih, Allah says,

وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيْرًا مِّنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْاِنْسِۖ لَهُمْ قُلُوْبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُوْنَ بِهَاۖ وَلَهُمْ اَعْيُنٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُوْنَ بِهَاۖ وَلَهُمْ اٰذَانٌ لَّا يَسْمَعُوْنَ بِهَاۗ اُولٰۤىِٕكَ كَالْاَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ اَضَلُّ ۗ اُولٰۤىِٕكَ هُمُ الْغٰفِلُوْنَ

'And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.' [QS. Al-A'raf (7):179]

Based on this ayah, we know that there is a relationship between heart and mind. According to Imam al-Ghazali, al-qalb (heart) depends on al- ‘aqal (mind). He claimed that once man would like to do right thing, he will ask his mind to see the Great of Allah. At this level, man need to analyze the information after identifying two difference entities. Man will identify the right and wrong, advantage and disadvantage, positive and negative element that reflect to something.

The Quran mention that every human being is seen to have a body, an individual soul (which has an ego and a conscience) and a spirit (which Allah first blew into Adam, alaihissalam). We said that the soul has certain obvious faculties such as intelligence, will, sentiment (scholars like Ghazali sometimes equate these three with the ‘capacities’ for ‘intelligence’, ‘anger’ and ‘desire’ respectively), speech, imagination and memory. The body is clear enough, and its faculties obviously include the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch). It is mortal, death being the separation of the soul from the body. The soul is the individual personal core of the human being, and it is immortal. In the Qur’an, the soul is seen to have three major parts—or perhaps three ‘modes’ (since the soul remains one). These are: ‘the soul which incites to evil’ (QS. Yusuf 12:53); ‘the self-reproaching soul’ (QS. Al-Qiyamah, 75:2); and ‘the soul at peace’ (QS. Al-Fajr, 89:27). In other words, the soul has an ego, a conscience and a state which is beyond the ego. The spirit is beyond the whole individual personality, and so little can be said about it in words. Allah says,

وَيَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الرُّوْحِۗ قُلِ الرُّوْحُ مِنْ اَمْرِ رَبِّيْ وَمَآ اُوْتِيْتُمْ مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ اِلَّا قَلِيْلًا

'They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about the spirit. Say, “Its nature is known only to my Rabb, and you ˹O humanity˺ have been given but little knowledge.' [QS. Al-Isra' (17):85]

The soul is said to be the individual ‘inner witness’ of the body, and ‘the captain of its ship’. The spirit is said to be the supra-individual ‘inner witness’ of the body and the soul taken together, and the wind and life in their sails. In the Qur’an there are two paradises for each of the blessed, Allah says,

وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهٖ جَنَّتٰنِۚ

'But for he who has feared the position of his Lord1 are two gardens.' [QS. Ar-Rahman (55):46)]

Some mufassirs take this as the paradises of the soul and spirit respectively. In other words, there is a state of perfect happiness for each of the human subjectivities: the soul and the spirit.

In addition to the physical heart that pumps blood around the body, human beings also have a non-physical, spiritual’ heart that corresponds to the physical heart, but on a higher level of reality. This ‘spiritual heart’ is actually the ‘doorway’ or ‘bridge’ between the soul and the spirit. In the Qur’an, it has four ‘degrees’: (in ‘ascending’ order) the ‘breast’ (‘sadr’); the ‘heart’ (‘qalb’); the ‘inner heart’ (‘fuad’), and the ‘core’ (‘lubb’—sometimes thought of as the inner heart and intellect together). The ‘breast’ is identiϧed with the soul, and the ‘core’ is identiϧed with the spirit.

Consequently, this is the heart that Allah ‘looks at’. The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ

'Verily, Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth, but He looks to your heart and to your deeds.' [Sahih Muslim]

It is therefore the part people need to get right! This is even more true of the ‘inner heart’, for whereas the heart ‘comprehends’ (or, conversely, turns ‘blind’), the ‘inner heart’, actually sees (‘spiritually’). Allah says, referring to the Prophet (ﷺ), in the Qur’an,

مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَاٰى

‘The inner heart did not distort what it saw.’ [QS. An-Najm (53):11]. 

Throughout history, innumerable Muslim scholars and mystics have also attested to the reality of the ‘spiritual heart’. This ‘spiritual heart’ is the seat of both spiritual knowledge and love.

Ever since the German philosopher Immanuel Kant published his Critique of Pure Reason in 1781, this kind of ‘metaphysical knowledge’ has not been taken seriously by Western philosophers and academia. Before that, however, spiritual or ‘inner’ vision was a well-known religious doctrine. For example, in Plato’s Republic, Socrates said, 'By pursuing [certain philosophical studies] a certain organ in every student’s soul is cleansed and rekindled, which has been blinded and destroyed by his other pursuits. Yet it is more worth saving than a thousand eyes, for by this organ alone is the truth perceived.’

It should be noted also that the heart’s vision is as much self-knowledge as it is knowledge of ‘external’ spiritual truths and realities. Allah created men to know Him, and the Qur’an helps them to know themselves. It remains to be said that it is precisely self-knowledge that leads to knowledge of Allah and of spiritual realities. In fact, Allah created the spirit with deep innate knowledge of Him as a testimony against their own souls. Allah says,

وَاِذْ اَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْۢ بَنِيْٓ اٰدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُوْرِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَاَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلٰٓى اَنْفُسِهِمْۚ اَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْۗ قَالُوْا بَلٰىۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛاَنْ تَقُوْلُوْا يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ اِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هٰذَا غٰفِلِيْنَۙ

'And [mention] when your Rabb took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], 'Am I not your Rabb?' They said, 'Yes, we have testified.' [This] - lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, 'Indeed, we were of this unaware.' [QS. Al-A'raf (7):172]

And Allah requires souls to not forget Him and maintain this testimony and self-knowledge in this life. Perhaps this is why And Allah requires souls to not forget Him and maintain this testimony and self-knowledge in this life. Perhaps that's why the Ancient Greek aphorism 'nosce te ipsum' or 'temet nosce' [know thyself] is the first of three Delphic maxims inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi according to the Greek writer Pausanias. The two maxims that follow 'know thyself' were 'nothing to excess' and 'certainty brings insanity.'

The maxim, or aphorism, 'know thyself' has had a variety of meanings attributed to it in literature, and over time, as in early ancient Greek the phrase means 'know thy measure.'

Not every heart ‘sees’. The heart’s ability to ‘see’ depends on a person’s deeds. The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا أَخْطَأَ خَطِيئَةً نُكِتَتْ فِي قَلْبِهِ نُكْتَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ فَإِذَا هُوَ نَزَعَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ وَتَابَ سُقِلَ قَلْبُهُ وَإِنْ عَادَ زِيدَ فِيهَا حَتَّى تَعْلُوَ قَلْبَهُ وَهُوَ الرَّانُ الَّذِي ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ ‏:‏ ‏(‏ كلاَّ بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ‏)‏ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏

'Verily, when the servant commits a sin, a black mark appears upon his heart. If he abandons the sin, seeks forgiveness, and repents, then his heart will be polished. If he returns to the sin, the blackness will be increased until it overcomes his heart. It is the covering that Allah has mentioned: No, rather a covering is over their hearts from what they have earned.' [Jami' at-Tirmidhi; Hasan (fair) according to Al-Albani]

In other words, the heart only ‘sees’ when it is sufficiently pure. Spiritual vision, then, is a matter of virtue and constant repentance. Conversely spiritual blindness is the result of sin and egotism, or at least complacence, like a total eclipse of the sun. And since the heart is also the seat of faith, spiritual knowledge increases faith and vice versa.So, how can a person polish his or her heart to remove the rust that accumulates over the course of life? The Prophet’s Companion, Abu Darda,’ radhiyallahu 'anhu, said, ‘There is for everything a polish that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of Allah.'

Remembering Allah often: essentially, as much as one can, with love. Indeed, the cardinal spiritual commandment in the Qur’an seems to be to remember or glorify Allah in some way (with the right intention), including through reciting the Qur’an itself. Equally, most of the sunnah itself consists of either invocations or supplications to be said before or after almost every imaginable legitimate and necessary action or vital function. These include everything from the moment of birth to the moment of death; from marking the beginning of each day of the week to marking its end; from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night; from hearing a rooster crow in the morning to seeing the moon at night; from putting on one’s clothes to taking them on; from eating and drinking to going to the bathroom; from (against) being angry to making love; from coughing to sneezing to laughing to yawning; from leaving one’s home to entering it; from greeting someone to saying goodbye to them; from before starting one’s prayers to after ϧnishing them; from before starting a conversation to after ϧnishing one, and so on.

Remembering Allah at all times (or as often as possible) with love, even outside of the formal prayers, means worshipping Allah as if one saw Him necessarily, and this is called Ihsan. Hence, Ihsan or excellence means to invoke Allah as much as possible (if not constantly), and this is precisely the sunnah.

Remembering Allah is a relief. When there is no remembrance in the soul, the ego is always there whispering nasty thoughts. Allah says,

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْاِنْسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهٖ نَفْسُهٗ ۖوَنَحْنُ اَقْرَبُ اِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيْدِ

'And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer1 to him than [his] jugular vein.' [QS. Qaf (50):16]

It whispers evil things about other people—or even about Allah Himself—and tries to get you to do foul things, hence its name, the soul that incites to evil [ QS. Yusuf, 12:53]. Failing that, it selfishly whines about itself: about how unjustly it has been treated; how great it really is, puffing itself up like a toad —though toads are nicer than egos, or maybe, is it the same?—and gloating over its little ‘victories.’ Anyone who watches his or her thoughts with detachment for long enough will witness this. So. Allah warns,

وَمَنْ يَّعْشُ عَنْ ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهٗ شَيْطٰنًا فَهُوَ لَهٗ قَرِيْنٌ

'And whoever is blinded from remembrance of the Most Merciful - We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion.' [QS, Az-Zukhruf (43):36].

But when there is remembrance present in the heart, the flow of internal chatter—the ego’s ‘stream of consciousness’—dries up, and the heart finally gets some peace and rest. Allah says,

الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَتَطْمَىِٕنُّ قُلُوْبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ ۗ اَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ تَطْمَىِٕنُّ الْقُلُوْبُ

'Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allāh. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allāh hearts are assured.' [QS. Ar-Ra‘d (13):28].

Instead of being with your own petty self, you are with Allah, at least in thought. Allah says,

فَاذْكُرُوْنِيْٓ اَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوْا لِيْ وَلَا تَكْفُرُوْنِ

'So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.' [QS. Al-Baqarah (2):152].

And over time, frequent remembrance heals the heart and makes it sound. For most people, this is what really counts in the end, when they leave their bodies and world behind. Allah says,

يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَّلَا بَنُوْنَ ۙ

اِلَّا مَنْ اَتَى اللّٰهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيْمٍ ۗ

'The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children. Only those who come before Allah with a pure heart ˹will be saved.'' [QS. Ash-Shu‘ara (26):88–89].

But beyond that, for some people, constant remembrance can lead to true spiritual vision and inspiration. Allah says in a ‘holy hadith’ (‘hadith qudsi’),

مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا، فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ بِالْحَرْبِ، وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ، فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ، كُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِهِ، وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ بِهِ، وَيَدَهُ الَّتِي يَبْطِشُ بِهَا، وَرِجْلَهُ الَّتِي يَمْشِي بِهَا، وَإِنْ سَأَلَنِي لَأُعْطِيَنَّهُ، وَلَئِنْ اسْتَعَاذَنِي لَأُعِيذَنَّهُ، وَمَا تَرَدَّدْتُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ تَرَدُّدِي عَنْ نَفْسِ عَبْدِي الْمُؤْمِنِ، يَكْرَهُ الْمَوْتَ وَأَنَا أَكْرَهُ مَسَاءَتَهُ

' Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.' [Related by Al-Bukhari]

You may ask, 'Why is it important to know this?' The answer is, it is important to know about the heart for a number of reasons. First, it is because it allows human beings to understand that they must purify their souls (tazkiyat al-nafs), and overcome their own egos and their pettiness. It is in the heart that human greatness really lies—and everything that human beings do they do first in the heart (through having the right intention). The heart is the most sublime aspect of human beings. And it requires constant spiritual work, particularly invocation.

Second, because it explains the apparent paradoxes of faith and intelligence, and of faith and evil. The first paradox is that there are geniuses with no faith, and apparently unintelligent people with a lot of faith. The second paradox is that there are good people who do good works and have no faith, and, conversely, very evil people who have faith, or who are apparently very religious. Knowing about the heart makes it clear first that faith is not a matter of mental genius—and does not depend on mental ‘intelligence’—but rather on active goodness. So being very clever—or not very clever—has little bearing on faith.

Second, it makes it clear that those people who do evil and have faith are, in fact, gradually losing it, through their actions. Conversely, people who do good—for altruistic and not merely egotistical reasons—are gradually gaining it. They are polishing their own hearts. The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

الْبِرُّ حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ، وَالإِثْمُ مَا حَكَّ فِي نَفْسِكَ وَكَرِهْتَ أَنْ يَطَّلِعَ عَلَيْهِ النَّاسُ

'Al-Birru (Righteousness) is good character and sin is what gnaws at your conscience and that which you dislike for other people to become aware of.' [Al-Adab Al-Mufrad; Sahih according to Al-Albani]

Third, more mundanely, it is important to know about the heart because most people today are educated to believe that they are essentially only their own ‘mind’ with a body attached to it. The ‘mind’ is thought of as merely ‘programming’ plus ‘cumulative experiences’. These are believed to be physically inside neural pathways in their physical brains within their skulls, just as a computer is essentially comprised of a microchip within a PC or a mobile phone. So when the ‘computer’ is permanently turned off or broken, you die. This seems to have the weight of medical evidence behind it, since all body parts except the brain (including the physical heart) seem to be surgically replaceable, and since brain damage is associated with memory loss. So basically, whether we say so or not, we tend to subconsciously believe that we are moving, organic computers. This means that our whole interaction with objective ‘reality’ is conϧned by our bodies and mediated by our five senses.

And yet all of us—or perhaps many of us—have experiences that do not fit into this model of ourselves. For example, many people often seem to know in advance who is calling them on the phone, even if they do not ever call at that time, or were not expected to call then. And many times, the person receiving the call says, ‘Oh I was just thinking about you.’ This seems particularly true for people with genuine aϱection for each other. Often also, one will have a ‘feeling’ about something and then it happens or proves to be true.

A lot of times the feeling turns out to be wrong or wishful thinking, but often it is correct. And it is astounding how even pets seem to develop a ‘sixth sense’ about their owners to the extent of knowing when they are returning home: scientiϧc studies have actually been done on this.

Then there are ‘déjà vus’ and, more powerfully, premonition dreams or visions: sometimes you see the thing that is going to happen in a dream; sometimes you see a symbol of it. Most often perhaps, you feel misgivings or ominous unease about something for no apparent reason. Sometimes you sense a danger coming. Now psychologists and statisticians have some very good ‘scientific’ explanations for a lot of these phenomena, but not all of them. And many people begin to recognize from their own trials-and-errors which of their different kinds of intuitions they should take seriously, and which should be ignored.

So, knowing about the heart is important because it gives you a model that helps look at intuitions more openly and objectively. This is particularly important with strong intuitions about impending danger. In short, knowing about the heart helps you to use your own ‘gut feeling’. Indeed, the Prophet (ﷺ) said to Wabisah ibn Ma’bad, radiyallahu ‘anhu, three times, combined three of his fingers and started to poke him with them in his chest and said, ‘O Wabisah, ask your heart, ask yourself.’ [HR Imam Ahmad; Hasan by Al-Mundhiri]

About Tadabbur, Allah says,

اَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُوْنَ الْقُرْاٰنَ ۗ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللّٰهِ لَوَجَدُوْا فِيْهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيْرًا

'Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’ān?1 If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.' [QS. An-Nisa (4):82]

The development of tadabbur understanding is essential to, what we called, Critical Thinking, because critical thinking by definition involves reflecting on what is known and how that knowledge is justified. They know what they think and can justify why. The word of tadabbur means learn and understand al-Quran completely which is knows the law of Islam and believes all the contents. Allah emphasizes al-Quran is a complete book because it came from Allah. This is the higher level where man judges the idea.

The Qur’an was revealed to those who recite it or listen to its verses, will contemplate and reflect upon its messages. This reflection leads to appreciation of Allah’s creation, self-tranquility, remembrance of Allah, reminding the thinker of his ‘obligations’ and the requirements to fulfill them and observations study and exploration of the universe. This leads to the discovery of the governing of the universe, which has been made subservient to mankind for cultivation of earth and establishment of civilization.

So, what are the characteristics of thinking? They are: asking questions; defining a problem; examining evidence; analysis assumption and biases; avoiding emotional reasoning; considering other interpretations; avoiding over simplification; and tolerating ambiguity.

One of the conception dari Critical Thinking is Ijtihad. Ijtihad means to make an effort either physically or mentally on a particular issue, to the ability of independent reasoning, where after thoroughly examining an argument and comparing it with previous parallel arguments, one comes to a solution.

Similar to Ijtihad, is the concept of the Qiyas, which denotes analogical reasoning and it's mainly used on Islamic legal matters. A layman can do qiyas on their own yet on smaller matters such as determining which direction one faces when praying, when they don't have an officoal guide to help them out. Qiyas, and so too for Ijtihad, allow for jurists to create new laws based on the changing times of the world as culture of daily life changes, though these new laws based previosly settled analogous claims."

"So, as the conclusion," said Swara that there many verses in the Quran encourage men to think. Many of Western thinking are based on customary law only, but Islam sets out to think on the basis of customary of law, mind law, and sharia law.

And the most important that Islam encourages its followers to think, but it restrict them, and of course, for all of us, from thinking about the substance of Allah. Allah always commanded men to think about His creation, i.e. men and universe, in order to know Him. And Allah knows best."

Time to go, slowly, Swara's echo faded, and she hummed,

َيَا نَبِى سَلَامْ عَلَيْك

[Ya nabi salam alayka]

Oh Prophet, peace be upon you

َيَارَسُولْ سَلَامْ عَلَيْك

[Ya rassool salam alayka]

Oh Messenger, peace be upon you

َيَا حَبِيبْ سَلَامْ عَلَيْك

[Ya habeeb salam alayka]

Oh beloved, peace be upon you

َصَلَوَاتُ اللهْ عَلَيْك

[Salawatollah alayka] *)

May Allah send blessing upon you

Citations & References:
- H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, A Thinking Person's Guide to Islam, Turath Publishing
- Muhammad Mumtaz Ali, Critical Thinking : An Islamic Perspective, Amazon

- Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, translated and edited by Paul Guyer  & Allen W. Wood, Cambridge University Press

- B. Jowett, M.A., The Republic of Plato - Translated into English with Introduction, Analysis, Marginal Analysis and Index, Clarendon Press

*) "Ya Nabi Salam Alayka" written by Salah Galal, Maher Zain & Hamza Namira

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