Discovering God

constantly strive to increase his level of realization. That way, there is no limit to God’s splendour. Similarly, there is also no limit to the realization of God. It is according to the level of realization a person attains, that his status will be determined in the Hereafter in Paradise, neither less nor more than that. Reflection and Contemplation: Sources of High Realization Inevitably, a high level of realization is achieved only through elevated thinking. Regarding God’s words and God’s Creation, the more one thinks deeply, the more one will attain to deeper realization. The formula of maarifah is, in short—the more profound the thinking, the higher the degree of realization. Many expressions have been used in the Quran to describe this deep thinking, for instance, tadabbur (reflection), tawassum (introspection) or taaqqul (reason). All these relate to different aspects of deep thinking, such as reflection, introspection, taking lessons, analysis, etc. In truth, everything in this world, whether great or small, has a source of thinking. If things are not taken in the simple sense, but rather, as subjects of reflection, then on reflecting with seriousness, everything becomes a source of realization. For instance, man walks on the earth daily but he does not think about it. If he thinks about it, this walking will become a treasure of maarifah.