Answer
Short Answer:
- One form of the remembrance of God that is particularly suitable for meditation is the recitation of the Quran itself and thinking about the Quran. The Quran invites us to do that by asking:
“Do they not meditate on the Quran?” (Quran 4:82)
- The Quran describes the believers as meditating on the signs in the heavens tafakkur. They meditate on the creation of the heavens and the earth.
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Welcome to let the Quran speak.
Safiyyah Ally: Now we answer questions we’ve received from you, our viewers. If you have a question, visit our website QuranSpeaks.com.
Dr.Shabir the question we have today is about meditation. The question is do Muslims have a concept of meditation?
Shabir Ally: Yes, it’s an interesting question ,Safiyyah, and a quick answer is yes. Let me start by saying that meditation is a very important aspect of religious practice. And we see this across the world’s religions.
It is most commonly known nowadays in North America, from perhaps Hindu practice, where there is a recitation of a certain mantra in some streams, it is the recitation of om.
In Buddhism, there is also an emphasis on right thought and right meditation, and in Zen Buddhism, there may be some actions that are performed, while that aids the mind to focus in a particular way.
So there is meditation and prayer itself there is meditation because you are locking your mind out from foreign thoughts and you’re thinking more clearly about what you’re doing and the object of your prayer.
Now, the Muslim prayer in particular Safiyyah, is thought to involve a very high state of meditation.
It is said in Muslim tradition that the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him made an ascension into the high heavens. And if there is a narrative saying that the prayer of the Muslim believer is miraaj almumineen, it is the ascension of the Muslim believer.
And it is interesting that our prayer involves also prostrating on the floor. And the the irony is that while we are prostrating and placing our faces on the floor, we are going down low, and the Muslim tradition says that we are actually being raised high, because this is like the ascension into the heavens for us. So it’s a very acute form of meditation; the Muslim prayer is.
Safiyyah Ally: Now I know that beyond the prayer there other things that we can do that sort of involve meditation, for example the Dhikr that we do.
Shabir Ally: Yes dhikr is the remembrance of God. It’s almost like reciting the name of God that we mentioned by a comparison of the Hindu tradition, so in the Muslim tradition, we would be reciting just simply the name of God, Allah, for many, this is a form of meditation.
And some go deep into it, especially in Sufi circles, just reciting the name of God can actually pull a person into a deep state of ecstasy and, meditation.
We also have the recitation of longer formulas like SubhanAllah, Alhamdulilaah (Glory be to God, Praise be to God). Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest) La ilaaha Illa Allah (the formula of the Muslim faith, there is no God but God) just reciting that over and over.
This is a form of meditation and because it is so formulaic and repetitive, you don’t have to think about what you’re saying, You say that automatically, but then the mind goes into this meditative state.
One form of the remembrance of God that is particularly suitable for meditation is the recitation of the Quran itself and thinking about the Quran. The Quran invites us to do that by asking:
“Do they not meditate on the Quran?” (Quran 4:82)
So reading the Quran itself is a form of meditation there are many Muslims who, not having had the luxury of being born in an Arabic speaking environment, they grow up and into their adult years, they don’t know to speak the Arabic language, or even to understand it when they read it, but they have been taught how to recite the Quran and pronounce it accurately even as an Arab would.
And they make it as a duty to themselves to recite the entire Quran in the original Arabic language. That too is a form of meditation for every Muslim and it is a Muslim belief that these are the very words of God.
So when one is reciting those words, one feels a very close affiliation with God knowing that this is His divine revelation.
Saffiyah Ally: Tell me briefly about the Sufi concept of muraqabah?
Shabir Ally: Muraqabah literally means meditation. And it is the idea that you don’t have to be saying anything or doing anything you just simply occupied silently in contemplating the greatness of God.
Saffiyah Ally: All right we’ll leave it at that Dr.Shabir, Thank you for your time.
Shabir Ally: If you have a moment Sophia I would also add that the Quran describes the believers as meditating on the signs in the heavens tafakkur. They meditate on the creation of the heavens and the earth.
Saffiyah Ally: We’ll leave it at that Dr. Shabir, thank you for your thoughts.
Saffiyah Ally: You’re welcome.
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