Almighty God, in the Quran tells us that He created human beings with an innate ability to know and believe in Him. He also fashioned and equipped human beings with the precious faculties of reason, speech, judgment, decision-making, etc., so that we can observe and learn about His Existence, Power, Perfection, and Glory from the signs present throughout His exhibition (i.e., the universe). Such reflections arouse within a person logical thinking and awaken that internal common sense which guides the person to come to the natural conclusion that all creation is the result of an All-Wise Creator of incomprehensible Might and Mercy that deserves our love and worship. And because God is most Merciful to His creation, He revealed more than 2500 verses in His Book on this topic of contemplating His creation; commanding people to observe the signs of a Living Creator so that people may bring about in their lives an active consciousness of Him (Taqwa) and to enliven in themselves a trust and hope in His absolute Power, Wisdom and Mercy: "And of His signs, He shows you lightening for fear and hope. And He sends down from the heaven water, with which He gives life to the earth after its death (30:24)."

Therefore, in this month's Soul Booster, Mawlana Faizani reminds and teaches us of the profound treasures and meanings one finds or arrives at through deep contemplation. He leverages insightful questions to awaken deniers and skeptics, while further strengthening the faith (Iman) of the believers. He asks and encourages everyone to come back and ponder on the makeup and the coherence of the universe, and humanity's harmony and station within its order! Through these questions and answers, Mawlana Faizani enlivens our hearts and souls, making us wondrously open to the great implications of a supreme God and empowering us to continually employ our innate talents (of reason, speech, judgment etc.) in the quest for becoming perfect, enlightened and immensely happy believers.

1. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who clearly knows that all kinds of artifacts that he sees around him and in the world result from the two hands of power:

A: The imperceptible Hand of Power of God, Mighty and Sublime be He. The Artificer of everything has created and can continue to create any element from non-existence if He wants to, truly out of nothing.

B: The secondary maker is man. He prepares and organizes the objects and things needed for himself and his contemporary generation out of the raw (iron for example) or cooked (crude oil for example) resources created by Almighty God.

2. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the creature who rejects and regards as impossible the chance that anything devised by himself or his fellow creatures could exist without an artificer. Unfortunately, however, there are some people who think and accept that this entire exposed and hidden universe can exist without an Artificer.

3. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who believes it to be impossible for any social order not to be led by a human administration, whether such leadership be sound or unsound. Yet he thinks of this entire order (exposed or hidden) on land and in the seas to be without the Great Administrator; the Almighty Leader and Artificer, Glorified and Exalted be He. He thinks this entire perceptible universe exists, metaphorically speaking, without the engineering and organization of the Glorious, Great, Unlimited Omniscient. Some have believed in this way, Alas!

4. Question: Who is man?

Answer: Man is the being who believes in worldly laws, whatever power be attached to them, and knows that they are enforced under the surveillance of some general organizer. Unfortunately, however, some people deny this truth even after clearly discerning the law of continuation of the universe, the earth, and the nearby galaxies, which according to their own word and estimation, have been and are still monotonously active for everyone to see, during our lifetime and in past generations for billions of years. Some even call the existence of the Almighty Artificer a superstitious theory. On the other hand, some people realize from it (the entire universe), the existence of an Unbreakable Power: the Absolute Authority of His Self-Existent Being. They accept with sound faith and know that the aforementioned systems are indeed permanent and stable under the Surveillance of the Self-Subsisting, the Able, Exalted be He. This understanding is faith (Iman) and these are the perfect believers, provided they put it into practice.

Reason (the faculty of logic) and intellect ('aql) are one of the fundamental gifts of Almighty God upon humanity. From one point of view these faculties define the human state, setting man apart from all other animals on earth. Reflection/contemplation (fikr) is the power/ability of thought by which a person puts together data gathered by sense perception (hearing, sight, smell, touch, and taste) in order to reach logical conclusions. Knowledge (ilm and ma'rifa) of God is the fruit of such endeavors. If the tool of contemplation is leveraged properly (i.e., as prescribed in the al-mizan al-shar'iyah), one acquires right knowledge of God and is thereby led to immense happiness in both words. This immense happiness is achieved through the process of drawing near or having proximity (qurb) to God. If contemplation is misused (contrary to God's Law), it is one of man's greatest obstacles; hence the Prophet (PBUH) would pray, "I seek refuge in God from knowledge which has no use (la yanfa'). Useless knowledge in the context of attaining insight into God is any knowledge outside of the framework of tawhid (Oneness) and which does not lead to certainty of faith in God; for faith embraces all acts which one performs or avoids. For example, all existent things come from God and go back to Him. Likewise all true and useful knowledge comes from God and takes the knower back to Him. Useful knowledge leads to the Garden of Paradise and useless knowledge the misery of Hell. Of course, knowledge that leads to God and felicity (Paradise) is not theoretical: it is knowledge that is practiced and further enhanced with sincere work ('amal).

"He Who created Death and Life, that He may test which of you is doing the best of deeds: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving." (Quran, 67:2)

All knowledge is knowledge of God, while God in Himself, in His very Essence, cannot be known. Nothing can be known of Almighty God except what He reveals of Himself. Therefore, as mentioned above, through the 2500 verses in His Book on this topic of contemplating His creation, Almighty God opens the way for us to gain insight into Him by disclosing to us His names (and attributes) and creations which are the properties and effects of His names and attributes. The names of God exist through us and for us. They revolve around us and all creation and become manifest within all. Therefore, the person who constantly ponders on and witnesses the names of God and their Power, Perfection, and Glory, etc. as they manifest within the creation gains supply of a complete, energy-filled, powerful spiritual nourishment that strengthens his/her faith and spirit. Contemplation on these direct manifestations establishes the shortest communication's path of the servant to God and is the strongest energy for charging the battery of faith. Such contemplation is better than all other forms of worship. A minute of such study is equivalent to a year of worship according to the Messenger, peace and blessings of God be upon him.

However, it is incumbent on us to mention that God never reveals to us His Essence, and the reason for that is: "There is nothing ever like Him. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing (42:11) "And there is none like unto Him" (112:4). Indeed, the delimited cannot encompass the limitless. As a hemstitch says: "The paint is not aware of the painter." Hence the Quran admonishes human beings never to liken God to anyone or anything. "So do not set forth any likenesses for Allah. Surely Allah knows, and you do not know!" (16:74)

Finally, the Qur'anical meaning of reflection/contemplation signifies to look, to gaze, to inspect, to investigate, to reason. Each verse in the Holy Quran in which contemplation (tafakkur) and taking heed (i'tibar) are mentioned guides the reader to obtain the most accurate knowledge and insight into the Creator. For example, God says: "What, do they not consider how the camel was created?" (88:17) and "Have they not considered the dominion of the heaven and the earth and all that Allah hath created?" (7:185) and "Do they not see the birds, constrained in the middle of the sky? None withholds them but Allah; most surely there are signs in this for a people who believe" (16:79) and "Thus do We make clear the communication for people who reflect." (10:24)

Logical analysis provides indispensable support for understanding His Oneness (tawhid). It is incumbent on us to immediately implement this power in strengthening our faith in the quest for becoming perfect, enlightened, and immensely happy believers.

Some Benefits of Contemplation:

• Abu Hurairah (Rad.) reported that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said that "contemplation for one hour (sa'at) is better than worship for 60 years." (Muslim, "Qadar," 34; Ibn Ma'ja, "Muqaddima," 10; Ibn Hanbal, 3:366)

• Concerning the verse: "If you are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you. But if ye show ingratitude, truly My punishment is severe indeed." (14:7); sincere thanksgiving for favors is possible only when the practitioner understands the benefits of such favors. Intimately pondering on the favors of God causes an increase in the light of faith and a fortification of spiritual power. It is the only tool for discovering the secrets of the unseen, Fourth Dimension.

• A person who constantly ponders on and witnesses the names of God and their Power, Perfection, and Glory, etc. as they manifest throughout the creation gains supply of this complete, energy-filled, powerful spiritual nourishment to strengthen his/her faith and spirit.

• Contemplation establishes the shortest communication's path of the servant to God and is the strongest energy for charging the battery of faith. It is better than all other forms of unconstrained worship; due to this type of worship being free from hypocrisy.

• Contemplation is the servant's only tool for relating to and gaining Insight into the Almighty God. "I have created Jinns and Men that they may Worship Me (to acquire Insight into Me)." (51:56)

• The remembrance of God, Glorified and Exalted be He, in solitude, and the ponderance on things everywhere are considered unconditional worship. Abu Sa'id said that the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) used to say, "It is as if the Prophet (PBUH) used to live in the desert wilderness due to his frequent parables of nature (when explaining the meanings of the verses of the Quran)." (Ahmad 3:11, Muslim 1:172)

• Through contemplation you witness the Power, Perfection, Glory etc. of Almighty God and thereby become one of his devout servants standing in total humility and submission before the Creator of all the worlds, and etc.

Need to Learn how to Contemplate? Make an effort to regularly read the books of Mawlana Faizani which contain knowledge of how to perfect these techniques. The purpose of these epistles and books is to upgrade the luminosity of faith in their readers (and audiences). Based on the sound guidance of the Quran and the Hadith and using commonplace and mysterious things, with God's help these books elevate higher and higher your inner ability and spiritual purity to wherever God may will. According to the development of your Nucleus of Monotheism and the depth of your pondering, you continually discover more things. By increasing these inner explorations, certainly your light of faith increasingly brightens.