It is life for knowledge and for the qalb (the heart). The servant has not been given any field of contemplation (tafakkur) other than to reflect upon the states of the world (dunyā) and the hereafter. (al-Fath, 26) 1038 tafakkur and tadhakkur
Place fear (khawf) to your right, hope (rajāʾ) to your left, knowledge before you, and contemplation (tafakkur) behind you! When your enemy (Satan) comes from your right, he finds fear with his troops and there is no possibility of defense. The other directions are similar in this regard.
When the enemy comes from behind you, he will bring doubts and corrupt imaginings (hayāl) to seduce you. At that moment, tafakkur will come to your aid and drive away that enemy. If all this did not exist and you did not think and investigate, you would fall into error and perish, and your property (meaning everything Allah has entrusted to you) would also be destroyed. In the city under your own dominion, there is no way to struggle (mujādala) with the enemy (Satan) who will attack you except through these four directions. (Tadbīrāt, 194)
Do not measure with the scale of tafakkur and imagination (hayāl)
the balance of sharia (the sacred law)
most of the time you will err
even if you are sometimes correct
creatures are separated from one another
how then are the necessary (wājib) things separated from the impossible (muḥāl)
When you see something your Lord dislikes
it is the very state (ḥāl) of your condition
when you see your state (ḥāl)
even if there are deeds there, they are blameworthy
here is my advice to you
you will rise to its summit
of pure generosity
ill suspicion (sūʾ al-ẓann) has been forbidden to you
good opinion (ḥusn al-ẓann) will lead you to what is lawful
Tafakkur, which comes before vision (nazar), is the presence of two forms of gnosis (ʿirfān) in the qalb. From one of these, a single gnosis sprouts. These gnoses are either the product of the qalb itself and are corrected by it, or they are acquired from outside as taqlīd (imitation). One must pay attention to whether these are correct or not.
An example regarding wealth can be given: Zayd and ʿAmr are both wealthy. Both possess much wealth. However, Zayd spends his wealth in the path of Allah. The one who spends his wealth in the path of Allah is superior to the one who holds onto it. Thus, in this ḥāl, Zayd is superior to ʿAmr. According to this conclusion, the presence of two premises in the nafs (the lower self) is called tafakkur, iʿtibār, tadhakkur, taʾammul, and tadabbur.
tafakkur and tadhakkur 1039
Tafakkur is the increase of known information. However, the desire to obtain knowledge is not the same as obtaining it itself. From every pairing of gnoses (ʿirfān) in a particular order, a third gnosis is born. This pairing has no end. It continues until the management of the nafs is assigned to the body (that is, until any two premises are selected and a third conclusion is reached). Tadhakkur is that which comes after tafakkur (as the second form of knowledge). (Rauḍa, 250)
Tafakkur is to turn towards basīra (inner sight) in order to perceive the blessing (result). This is found in the essence of tawhid (the oneness of God), in the subtleties of the attribute, and in the meanings of states (ḥāl) and deeds. (Rauḍa, 478)
There are four paths leading to the intention (and desire) for Allah. Whoever possesses all of these is among the verifiers (muḥaqqiq) and the truthful (ṣiddīqūn); whoever possesses three is among the brought-near friends of God (muqarrab awliyāʾ); whoever possesses two... The first is dhikr (remembrance of God); its spread is righteous action, and its fruit is light. The second is tafakkur; its spread is sabr (patient endurance), and its fruit is knowledge. The third is faqr (poverty); its spread is shukr (gratitude), and its fruit is the increase of gratitude. The fourth is ḥubb (love); its spread is to hate the world and its people, and its fruit is union with the Beloved. (Jāmiʿ, 61, 171)
Tafakkur, at the beginning (bidāya), is to turn towards basīra in order to perceive the unseen. In the abwāb (gates), it is to reach Him by means of evidence without seeing what is intended by the unseen. In the mudmalāt (hidden matters), it is to acquire the quality of saving deeds from afflictions and to render them with sincere intention and pure...