Books- The Constituents of the Divine Assignment- 1st Constituent - Paragraph (2-7), The Available Hints About Reflection.

We will discuss the hints about reflection in the Noble Quran, Sunnah and the sayings of Tabi'een (followers of the companions). In the Quran Allah says:
﴾Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding* Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 190-191]

﴾ and think deeply﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 191]

"Yatafakkaru" (think deeply) is a verb that is used in the present tense, and in its form it is informative, but in its content it is compositional and imperative. When Allah says:
﴾nor commit illegal sexual intercourse﴿

[Al-Furqan, 68]

This means, beware of committing adultery, so the negation of committing a wrongdoing is sometimes stronger than forbidding it, for when you forbid something you give the other person a room for thinking of doing it, but if you negate it, it will be more effective. Allah says:
﴾The mothers shall give suck to their children﴿

[Al-Baqarah, 233]

In this Ayah, Allah does not say; O mothers, give suck to your children, simply because mothers usually breastfeed their babies, and so the informative style is used in the compositional and imperative style. Allah says:
﴾ and think deeply﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 191]

This means that the believers usually think deeply in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and this act marks their faith, it distinguishes them and it is one of their characteristics.
((It is related in Sahih Ibn Habban by Ataa' that Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "It was a night among my nights. The Prophet PBUH said: 'O Aisha, let me worship my Lord tonight.' I said; 'By Allah, I love to be close to you and I also love your privacy.' Then, he performed ablution and he stood for prayer. He did not stop weeping until his lap was wet, and then he did not stop weeping until his beard was wet, and then he did not stop weeping until the ground was wet. Bilal came to perform the call to prayer and when he saw him weeping, he said; 'O Messenger of Allah, why are you crying when Allah has forgiven your past and future sins?' The Prophet PBUH said: 'Shall I not be a grateful servant? A verse has been revealed to me tonight and woe to whoever reads it without reflecting upon it.' Aisha said, 'It was the verse: Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth… (3:190), and all of its verses. Woe on the one who recites it and does not reflect on it."))

[Sahih Ibn Habban]

Imam Al-Awza'i was asked, "How can we reflect on these Ayat?" He answered, "By reciting and comprehending them." It is reported that the Prophet PBUH said:
((Nine things the Lord has commanded me: fear of Allah in private and in public; justness, whether in anger or in calmness; moderation in both poverty and affluence; that I should join hands with those who break away from me; and give to those who deprive me; and forgive those who wrong me; and that my silence should be meditation; and my words remembrance of Allah; and my vision keen observation.))

[Al-Kada'ee]

((Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: If the people were to know what excellence is there in the Adhan and in the first row, and they could not (get these opportunities) except by drawing lots, they would have definitely done that. And if they were to know what excellence lies in joining the prayer in the first takbir (prayer), they would have vied with one another. And if they were to know what excellence lies in the night prayer and morning prayer, they would have definitely come even if crawling (on their knees).))

[Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmizi and Ahamd]

((Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah PBUH said: "Whoever prays Fajr in congregation, then sits remembering Allah until the sun has risen, then he prays two Rak'ah, then for him is the reward like that of a Hajj and Umrah." He said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Complete, complete, complete.'"))

[At-Tirmizi]

Is reflecting not considered one side of remembering Allah? When man offers Fajr Salah, recites the Quran, ponders over one of Allah's Ayat, and then he remembers Allah, he will be greatly rewarded by Allah the Almighty.
((It is reported by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them that the Prophet PBUH saw some people talking about the physical entity of Allah, so he said to them: "You may ponder on the creation of Allah and do not contemplate on Him, for you can never measure His Divine Essence."))

[Al-Firdawas]

Hence, thinking about the physical Character of Allah is forbidden and it destroys man, whereas reflecting on the creatures of Allah is one of the most exalted obligations (acts of worship) in Islam.
((The Prophet PBUH once ran into a group of people while they were pondering, and he said, "Why are you silent?" [He asked them though he knew the reason why they were silent]. They answered, "We are pondering over the Creations of Allah the Almighty." Then he PBUH said, "This is how pondering should be; ponder over His Creation, and not over His Divine Character."))

[Tafseer Ibn Katheer]

One of At-Tabi'een said, "I came to Umm Dharr after Abu Dharr died, and I asked her about his worship, so she said, "He used to spend the day sitting on one of our house' corners pondering over Allah's Signs. Al-Hasan said, "One hour of reflection is better than offering night prayers all night long." Al-Fudail said, "Reflection is like a mirror which shows you your good deeds and your bad ones." It is said to Ibrahim, "You reflect for a long time", to which he said, "Reflection is the gist of the mind." Sufiyan Ibn Uainah used to say the following lines of poetry:
When man reflects
He will get the morals of everything

Imam Al-Hasan said, "If man's words are not wise, they are nonsense, if man's silent is not out of reflection, then it is out of forgetfulness, and whoever does not learn morals from what he beholds, it will be mere playing." Another Tabi'ee (singular of Tabi'een) said, "Whoever reflects a lot will learn, and whoever learns will act upon what he has learned." Umar bin Abdul Aziz said, "Reflecting on Allah's Graces is the best act of worship." Bishr said, "If all people reflect on Allah's Greatness, none will disobey Him." Hence, sinning is the outcome of being fearless of Allah, which is in its turn the outcome of ignorance. Therefore, the matter is all about swinging between knowledge, fearing Allah and obeying Him and being ignorant, fearless of Allah and disobedient to Him.
Abu Sulaiman Ad-Darani said, "Accustom your eyes on crying and your heart on reflecting." A scholar said, "Thinking of the worldly life draws a veil between man and worrying about the Hereafter, and thinking of the Hereafter makes man wise and brings life to his heart." Reflecting is knowledge, behavior and action, but do you know in what sense? When you reflect you will acquire knowledge and when you have Islamic knowledge, your heart will be in a special state, due to which you will be motivated to offer deeds. Therefore, reflection is the foundation of knowledge, knowledge is the foundation of motivations, and motivations are the foundation of behavior. Hence, when your concepts are right, your perception, motivation and deed will be right as well, and so you will be admitted to Paradise. The heart is made at ease due to remembering Allah, whereas reflection enriches man's knowledge. If you are in a dark room where there is a candle, a matchstick pebbles and a diamond which worth hundreds of thousands on a table, and you lit the candle with matchstick, there will be light in the room, enabling you to see the diamond on the table and be very happy, and you will take it. This is the normal steps of your reaction. Much in the same line, reflection needs a present mind in remembering Allah, and reflection leads to knowledge, whereas knowledge makes the heart in a special sate that gives man a motivation due to which he acts, and the deed he performs is the price for Paradise, but this sequence of events starts with reflection.
If someone is relaxing in a garden, and suddenly he spots a serpent, the image of this serpent will be reflected on the retina, which transfers it to the brain. At this level sensation occurs and the brain comprehends the situation. After realizing the danger, this man bounces and runs. Hence, man's relation with the outer environment is established according to a rule, which consists of three things (or stages): comprehension, reaction and behavior. Similarly, when man acquires knowledge, the state of his heart changes, and this causes changes in the actions of the limbs. Thus, whatever we do is based on a special state of our heart which is the outcome of knowledge, whereas knowledge comes from reflection which comes from Tathakkur (present mind in remembering Allah). The steps are as follows: remembering Allah, reflecting on His Sings, acquiring Islamic knowledge, having the state of the heart changed, taking action (like performing good deeds) and then being admitted to Paradise.