Reflection’s Place in Spiritual Life
For a human being to be freed from blindness and attain insight in their spiritual life, it is only possible through deep thought (reflection) and contemplation. Shaykh Abdülkadir Geylani states that the beautiful artistry of Allah resides in every particle of the universe and that these are proofs leading to Truth. Geylani (may Allah be pleased with him) expresses that as a person delves into deep thoughts, their soul will ascend and rise, and says that the only way to liberate the intellect from the captivity of desires is through reflection. He strongly warns that every work done without engaging in reflection leads not to safety but to quagmire, recalling the Prophetic saying: “A moment of good thought (reflection) is better than worship performed throughout the night.” Reflection is the spiritual nourishment of the heart and provides life knowledge to understand the beauties of the afterlife.
The Heart’s Contemplation of Allah and Awakening from Negligence
The most advanced degree of reflection is realizing that the heart is, at every moment, under the watchfulness of Allah (murakaba). The servant should know Allah to be close in all circumstances, both hidden and manifest, and live as if seeing Him; for although the servant may not see Him, He sees the servant at every moment. Remembrance with the tongue without contemplation with the heart is not considered true remembrance, for true remembrance is with the heart. The believer whose solitude with Truth is pure experiences a shuddering of the soul, a radiance of the heart, and the soul reaches its destination in Truth. Conversely, constantly thinking about worldly matters darkens the inner world.
The Opening of the Inner and Outer Eye
Thanks to reflection, a person’s both outward (zahir) and inward (batin) eye become active. The believer, seeing the natural landscapes created by Allah with their outer eye and the countless works full of wisdom scattered upon the earth, also delves into observing the sublime and spiritual entities beyond matter with their inner eye. Once these two eyes begin to see, the true “eye of the heart” is realized, through which a person attains an otherworldly closeness, a proximity that defies measure or description. Living with reflection is the sole key to attaining both lawful earnings in this world and happiness in the hereafter.