Meditation
Another great way
to worship God
God has created so many wonderful ways for us to worship Him and
come ever closer and closer to Him. The religious duties and laws
which form an integral part of our lives help us do this all the
time. As yet another great way to worship God and strengthen their
souls, God has enjoined believers to meditate, several times in
the Quran. If believers wish to be raised to an honorable rank in
God’s eyes and earn His mercy, they should make the most of
this opportunity (25:64, 9:112).
[17:79] During the night, you shall meditate for
extra credit, that your Lord may raise you to an honorable rank.
[39:9] Is it not better to be one of those who
meditate in the night, prostrating and staying up, being aware of
the Hereafter, and seeking the mercy of their Lord?…
The dictionary gives us several meanings for the word meditate,
some of which are ‘reflect, contemplate, ponder and think
over’, all of which indicate that meditation involves a state
of conscious and focused thinking or reflection about something.
Since our salvation is highly dependent on our thinking about God
as much as we can (2:152, 33:41-42, 62:10), obviously, the requirement
to meditate (or reflect) in the Quran means that we must meditate
on God. The meditation can be upon His name, His great attributes
or His wonderful creations; anything that makes us reverently conscious
of Him, remember Him and love Him for what He really is.
[50:40] During the night you shall
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meditate on His name,
and after prostrating.
[3:190-191] In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the
alternation of night and day, there are signs for those who possess
intelligence. They remember GOD while standing, sitting, and on
their sides, and they reflect upon the creation of the heavens and
the earth....
Meditate on God
It is necessary to realize that the objective of meditation talked
about in the Quran, must be meditation (Zikr) on God. This is a
very important aspect because when most people refer to meditation,
they are not referring to a plan to meditate or reflect upon God.
Some people spend hours and big amounts of money learning various
forms of meditation in the hope that they can concentrate better
on things or be more at peace with themselves because of pressures
created by excessive worldly pursuits. The methods involve adopting
rigid postures, reciting mantras, attempting trance-like states
or even making the mind go completely blank, but never with the
objective of consciously remembering or commemorating God. Why would
believers want to deliberately make their minds go blank and unaware
when they could use the same precious moments to consciously remember
and be aware of God?
[7:205] You shall remember your Lord within yourself,
publicly, privately, and quietly, day and night; do not
be unaware.
On the other hand, believers get the best of all benefits when
they meditate on God because they get to develop the soul as well
as experience a sense of relaxation, assurance and happiness (20:130).
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How does one meditate; what is the
technique?
[3:191-194] They remember GOD while standing, sitting,
and on their sides, and they reflect upon the creation of the heavens
and the earth: "Our Lord, You did not create all this in vain.
Be You glorified. Save us from the retribution of Hell....
As we see from the above verses, there is no particular position
or technique for meditation or reflection upon God, and believers
may have different ways to enjoy this. Some may prefer to lie down;
some may choose to go for a walk or a drive in the car while thinking
about all His wonderful creations; some may fall prostrate (recommended
in the Quran) or be with a group of believers and sing His praises
(15:98). While any time is always the best time to think or reflect
upon God (3:41, 19:11), the Quran makes specific mention of meditation
at night and dawn.
[3:17] They are steadfast, truthful, submitting,
charitable, and meditators at dawn.
[73:2] Meditate during the night, except rarely....
[73:6] The meditation at night is more effective, and more
righteous....
[73:20] Your Lord knows that you meditate during two-thirds of the
night, or half of it, or one-third of it, and so do some of those
who believed with you...
Though we are free to meditate as we wish, believers should also
take note of the references in the Quran about falling prostrate
before God and seeking His mercy, in addition to the requirement
to meditate on God (3:113, 7:206, 9:112, 25:64, 39:9, 50:40, 53:62,
76:26, 96:19).
Cont’d on page 4
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