What is the contemplation? What is tafakkur in islam?
It snows in the winter. In addition to numerous wisdom hidden behind, it embellishes the whole world with its white view like a bridal chamber. It refreshes people’s souls by watching its white color in the winter when the nights get longer and the darkness becomes denser. What would happen if it were in red like blood or black that reminds mourning and dirt? Imagine how heavy depression it would cause upon human psychology. People would lose their minds.
Moreover, various kinds of creatures are conserved alive under the ground under the ice-cold snow. When the spring approaches and the snow melts, various kinds of creatures come out of ground, rather than dead bugs.
Allah Almighty manifests His art by showing that He is not limited by the conditions. For example, in the winter season when the plants usually do not survive, He creates snowdrops under the snow.
Snowdrop flowers… Blessings over blessings…
“He over all things hath Power!” (al-Mulk, 67: 1)
Sheikh Sâdî:
“The best answer to the man whom you cannot silence by presenting evidences from the Holy Qur’an and hadith would be not to answer at all.”
If it were other flowers, they would fade, froze and decay, but the snowdrops are the manifestations of divine art under those harsh conditions. The cactus, or the water tanks of the deserts, are the manifestations of His divine art… Various kinds of manifestations of His arts in every season and under all conditions…
Allah Almighty opens various kinds of windows for our contemplation with His omnipotence and art… He sometimes gives lessons to man by making a fig tree grow in a wall or in a rock and making that tree grow fruits. In this way, He also teaches us that we should not fall in despair. In other words, man must strive hard by resorting to the causes. The divine help may manifest itself even under the most impossible conditions when one puts his trust in Allah Almighty!…1
There are such flowers that only grow at high altitudes…There are such fruits that are unique to certain climates… Fruits that are special to certain lands, many favors meeting whatever people need…
Each one of them is a unique mystery.
Let us contemplate on a fruit tree that grows out of a tiny seed to seedlings, and transforms from seedlings into a tree:
It has a special program that repeats itself at every season and follows a special calendar. As if there is a computer in that tree in which we see nothing but wood. As if it has a controlling room from where commands are given and these orders are followed to the letter.
A soul that has true belief and compassion, which is the first fruit of the belief, it can unnecessarily neither kill an ant nor pick a flower.
In due time, every tree first blossoms. Their flowers give people the good news of spring with their beautiful colors, patterns and fragrant. They also invite the insects and birds carry their seeds.
After flowering, their branches come into leaves. The leaves exhibit various tones of green and freshen our souls. They help us see different scenes. Leaves are like the energy panels of photosynthesis. At the same time, they are the food of various creatures around the tree. A leafy tree also provides shade, another blessing…
Finally, the buds turn into fruits. Even though those fruits are fed by the same soil and water, they have different colors, flavors and, characteristics.
As if there is a pump at the root of every tree. This pump takes the water from the ground to the farthest leaf in the tree and this water never overflows.
All fruits have different kinds of skins. Some are like a membrane, some are like a thick linoleum and some others are like a wooden drawer… The richness of divine art… These skins are like thermoses protecting the food in it.
“Hast thou not turned thy vision to thy Lord? How He doth prolong the shadow! If He willed, He could make it stationary! Then do We make the sun its guide.” (al-Furqân, 25: 45)
A fruit does not last long after it is peeled. It gets sour, rots, dries or darkens. It can only be conserved by means of additive agents or keeping them in refrigerators.
However, there are some fruits that stay unspoiled in their thermos like skins for months. The mysteries which deepen more by contemplation …
Many fruits carry their seeds in themselves. Thus, the trees that cannot walk or move maintain their generations by giving fruits.
Who has made this perfect program, written specifically for every species and stored it in such small seeds?
Let us continue to contemplate on countless divine blessings: Have we ever thought about what a great blessing the shadows are? Allah Almighty says:
“Hast thou not turned thy vision to thy Lord? How He doth prolong the shadow! If He willed, He could make it stationary! Then do We make the sun its guide.” (al-Furqân, 25: 45)
If it is offered that “give your eyes and take the world in return!!” How many people can accept such a proposal?
If it is offered “Give your ear, become deaf and take the world in return!” who can give up the blessing of hearing?
If Allah Almighty did not determine the world’s rotation around the sun as it is today, or if He made the solar system with two stars in its center, or if He did not create something such as trees that provide us shadows and if He made the entire world desert, we would understand the value of shadows.
Inside the sea of these possibilities, one should also contemplate on his own body.
Source: The Universe, The Qur’an And The Human, Osman Nuri Topbaş, Erkam Publications