From one perspective, some think, the entire world is in chaos—it is not possible to speak of any beauty or goodness, nor is there room for faith, divine knowledge, emotions, love, or enthusiasm. In this world, feelings are confused, thoughts are bizarre, and life overall is like hell. Voices are obscured by static and are on a hopeless bandwidth; words are allergen, heartstrings snapped, the plectrum broken. Souls that used to foam with tranquility and satisfaction, friendly conversations that used to buzz like a beehive and taste like honey, are nowhere to be found. These voices, breaths, homes like a warm, bubbly bird nest, and leadership that worked like a clock are gone only to be replaced by a scary silence, a maddening loneliness, homesickness, grief, longing, and disappointment that fill people’s hearts drop by drop. This is how pitiful the world is from one perspective.

The world of faith, however, is one with hope and has its doors open to eternity. All the beauties of existence come in torrents that appear in the exhibition of this world and inspire us with feelings for an eternal life. In this magical realm, thoughts about this life and the next are intertwined so closely that those who can preserve their roots of meaning and perceive this world with its various dimensions would never wish to leave it.

In a world of faith, what appears to be a state of stillness hides vitality and dynamism, and under what appears to be a muddy snowy surface lies a liveliness that strives for spring. As we close our eyes to observe this world with our hearts, we witness the best bouquet of songs, sounds, and sights of sweet babbling waters, a soft breeze, colors, and scents flowing in from everywhere.

In this world, life revolves on the axis of purpose—a life that reaches an unforgettable state of being in terms of faith, love, devotion, and spiritual pleasures, filling our subconscious with the seeds of otherworldly joy. This is especially so during the blessed hours and minutes, days, weeks, and months when faith embraces our core with light and softens our physicality in favor of spirituality—that is when we feel everything around us to be otherworldly, and our feet are off the ground soaring in the skies. In such an expansive mood of the spirit, our curtains are unfurled to eternity in times unbound by time; as the colors of the other world and the voices of those who have passed on come fill our souls, we feel freed from spatial boundaries and soak under a rain of blessings—blessings that we cannot even imagine.

When comparing our world of faith to other systems of belief, thought, and worldview, I cannot think of one that is more magical, colorful, fulfilling, rational, and that does not allow gaps for any vice. Lights from beyond this physical realm stream in a variety of wavelengths and embrace our spirit, turn our vision in the heart to the beauties of the beyond, connect our feelings to eternity, and have us drink its magical elixir. Our concerns are calmed in our world of faith; our fears are gone; traumas resulting from assumptions of non-existence and oblivion are removed; and our hearts are soothed.

At times, one can see this world to be overshadowed by ash-like colors—people disconnected and heartbroken. But these are never permanent, and they never originate from the human spirit. These times of constriction and darkness are immediately followed by faith in the form of a heavenly tree, filling up our failing points and reviving our willpower.

Everyone can sense this pleasure and joy in their own depths of spirit as if they are coming directly from the Beloved. For them, in everything they touch, in every yearning they keep, and in every word they utter, there is a color of eternity and a sip from the spring water of life. This is such a state of being that even the spirits of the invisible world feel the need to clear their sacred path for you.

In this world of faith, hymns of peace and contentment and the music of enthusiasm never go fully mute. This world’s silence is but to tune up, and its musical compositions flow as a heavenly river sent to help us make sense of this life.

The real music, poetry, and beauty of this world have their roots in the hearts of its inhabitants who embrace everything and every person with love. This beauty sprouts from the light source of their hearts, from the consciousness and awareness that overflow this source, and from their efforts to search for it and the fact that they become the ones searched for in the heavens and the earth. Who knows what sacred secrets and songs from the beyond are whispered to these spirits and which naked truths are shown to them?

Yes, this world of faith provides, on the one hand, nourishment for all the desires and dreams of our spirits, awakes us to all the secrets worth waiting for, and opens doors for new aspirations and perceptions; while on the other hand, it delineates the boundaries of human horizons, reminding us that we cannot be independent from what is eternal—or rather, from the source of eternity. Anyone who can lend an ear to their conscience can hear and comprehend in the form of a humming sound the whispers and signs from these secret and mysterious realms—maybe without words and letters but still clear, deep in their soul.

The human soul is always awake; yet, their conscience is like a computer programmed to decipher certain secrets, waiting for specialized hands to tap on its keyboard. This is true for every human being. The world spins, centuries come one after another, time transforms, events change color, yet the richness and harmony of the human’s inner world never changes. How does this richness penetrate eyes and hearts? What kind of an impact does it have on the soul? How does it change our perspectives? And how do we perceive this heavenliness?

In order to answer these questions, we need to run a self-reflective analysis and reach a synthesis in the laboratories of our heart and soul. If we can manage to do this, we will be able to observe how much we are impacted by things and events. Then, we will realize how our spirit is a witness to and an interpreter of existence and the worlds beyond. This joyful recurrence of awakening and acceptance over many years will leave such indelible traces that for those sincere servants of God, life will be experienced in the sweetness of a song and in the uniqueness of being human. Many crooked standards of measurement of our age, however, put us in a position that contradicts the self, causing us to experience a chaos which, in fact, does not exist in our soul.

Our world of faith manifests in the depths of a dreamy land, in the compassion and comfort of a private heavenly mansion, and in the incomprehensible magic of contentment.

All the stars and the skies they glide in, all the heavenly realms and the colorful eternity that lie beyond, are present as beautiful decorations in our world of faith.

In our world of faith, heavens interweave with the earth; the afterlife is an eternal abode of rest from this world—but only after a long journey herein. Death is a means for reunion; and the time of death is like a “wedding night” (shab-e arus).

Humankind has as many aspirations as there are grains of sands on earth and stars in outer space. With its enchanting beauties, signposts, and guides that point to the beyond, this world of faith offers to humankind a land of magic filled with light, color, meaning, spirit, and pleasures. This world opens its gates every day with thousands of blessings, settles in our spirit with a different taste, delights us by putting on an exhibition of the most precious meanings, and sets up bridges between knowledge and thought as if presenting to us a book for our review. This world constantly nourishes our mind and never leaves us alone, even for a moment.

Voices and words in this world are heard like the most touching songs. Roses and all other flowers spread the best of their fragrances without holding back any of it. Living things are friends; non-living things are loyal companions. Everything is born, grows, and moves on with a paradisical consistency.

* The Qur’an 21:69: “‘O fire’ We ordered ‘Be cool and peaceful for Abraham.’”

Above all, it should be said that this saying is weak in regard to the hadith criteria. However, there is a verse in the Quran that expresses the same idea: “In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for the people of discernment” (Al Imran 3:190). In one hadith the Messenger of God emphasizes the importance of contemplation: “Whoever reads this verse and does not contemplate on it, shame on him.” In addition, it was reported by Umm Salama and-according to another narration-Aisha, that the Prophet cried when this verse was revealed or when he was reading it.

Contemplation has a very important place in the life of a believer. However, for this to be the case we must understand what contemplation means. First of all, contemplation is based on prior knowledge. Blind and ignorant contemplation is dry imagination and in time it will lead to frustration. Later, a person will begin to see such a practice as meaningless. For this reason, a person must first be familiar with the subject they are going to contemplate or, in other words, they must have some prior information.

Understanding the orbit of the moon and stars, their relation to humanity, the revolution of atoms which make up human beings, and their movement is a step towards contemplation, but looking at the movement of the moon and sun and becoming overwhelmed with poetic inspiration about the mind-boggling beauty of the universe is not contemplation. There are a number of lonely, strange, handicapped naturalist poets who think like this and plunge into their imagination. They are not contemplators; rather they are fanciful people who have lost their hearts to Mephistopheles.

They also can sometimes think and talk about the beauty of the universe. Worldly beauty can be made to be legendary with words, inspiring people to feel and hear the beauties of Heaven. Sometimes poets can write such epics about the splashing of water, the tapping of raindrops, the rustling of trees and the chirping of birds that a person feels as if they are in the middle of the heavens. However, this is not contemplation; moreover, it promises nothing for the life of the heart and spirit. In this way no advances are made and one has not passed behind the veils. There is no benefit from such contemplation. Regardless of how deep the dreams are, such contemplation gains nothing for a person.

As mentioned above, before contemplation it is necessary that there first be some information. In respect to the knowledge humanity has now attained, people will make new syntheses and analyses with the previous knowledge, probing deeper and arriving at different conclusions. Using these conclusions as an introductory basis for future conclusions, new results will be produced. These new results will be contemplated more deeply; one-dimensional thinking will become multi-dimensional and multiple-contemplation will be achieved. All of this is dependent on there being information. It is impossible for people to contemplate without information.

For this reason, it is necessary to do a lot of reading. Later, it is necessary to study the path and method of contemplation and finally the rules that are operative in nature and the signs of creation therein should be studied so that we can create the possibility of steady and sound thinking.

If a person contemplates soundly for one hour, the fundamental principles of faith will develop in that person. Later, that person will love God and a profound love for the divine will appear in their heart. Meanwhile, they will attain spiritual pleasure and take flight towards the beyond. Sometimes with this kind of contemplation a person can reach a horizon that another person has not reached with a thousand years of worship. If one with such an understanding and consciousness does not turn towards their Lord, then even after thinking superficially for a thousand years, the distance they will cover will not equal the distance covered by one hour of contemplation. However, this should not be understood to mean that this one thousand years of worship was in vain. For in God’s presence neither a bow or prostration or standing or a short rest between movements can be lost. In accordance with the verses, “whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it” (Zilzal 99:7–9), everyone will gain something in accordance with their actions. A person who performs worship will have fulfilled their devotion to God. However, they will not have gained the depth that is derived from contemplation. In this sense, contemplation is worth a thousand years of worship.

Everyone can broaden their ability to contemplate with portions of the scripture and remembrance, and they can strengthen their relationship with God. Who knows, maybe because of the enthusiasm that this contemplation will give us we can succeed in renewing ourselves. May God reform us inside and out!

Finally, it is also asked: “Do verses that direct one to contemplation and silent prayer count as contemplation?” If the meaning of these is not understood, then, although one will receive merit for them, they are not contemplation. For contemplation stems from reflection and means bringing together events from yesterday and today, making a synthesis, and establishing a connection between the causes and effects. Strengthening our relationship with God is the most important fruit of this. Any remembrance or verse or, in fact, even listening to the scripture from the mouth of Gabriel himself would be merit, but it is not contemplation. To be considered as contemplation there must be a concentration, focus, a serious investigation and a deepening and strengthening of our relationship with our Lord.

What is most lacking today is contemplation. In this respect, it is not an exaggeration to say that in general believers are deficient in contemplation.

The phrase “delusion of immortality” means people think they are eternal and immortal. Such people are obsessed with the world, as if they will never die; they live just for the sake of living, without meaning, they are concerned of the present time only. They are consoled by worldly pleasures, and they do not give importance to the past or future.

Sometimes, this delusion develops so gravely that it completely takes individuals under its influence, to the extent that they become more concerned with things that are not within their control. They put aside their own lives-for they think as if they are immortal-and become fixated, for instance on the fear of a Doomsday that will destroy the universe even if it is to take place two or three thousand years later; they feel anxiety exclusively for that. All of this stems from the delusion of immortality. For such people do not think of their own death, but are busy with the death of the universe over which they have no power.

I cannot say this for everyone, but if we look around we see that many people think they are immortal, even if they spent their youth in worship and seclusion. There are times when they have said, “I can move mountains or crush what I hold in my hands,” or it is likely that they can say such things in certain times in their lives. During these times people live the delusion of immortality. This delusion is more likely to take place particularly when a person is healthy and young; certainly there are exceptions, but many young people never think that they will grow older and die. They never think that they will leave everything behind and go to some other world. They never calculate that their wealth and assets will fleet away.

The antidote to be applied to this feeling that will remove the heedlessness in a person is “mental activity.” In other words, it is necessary to engage in an effort to raise the veil with objective and subjective contemplation through meditation into the external world, as well as into one’s inner world, in order to try and glimpse the truth. As a matter of fact, it is very important to raise the veil and to see the truth before the day comes when God raises the veil Himself, perhaps in a rather bitter way. In the Qur’an, God says, “We have removed from you your veil, so your sight is today sharp” (50:22). In other words, We will open pull the veil from your eyes and on that day you will see your destination, the place where you will account for your life and witness the judgment of God, the Universal Guardian and All-Watchful.

Yes, that day will inevitably come. Before that day comes, it is very important to rend that veil with carefulness and contemplation, and to reach the horizon of seeing and feeling Heaven and Hell now and in this world. But because human being is forgetful, when people become a little remote from contemplation they immediately suffer the delusion that they are going to live forever.

Let us clarify the topic a little more with an example: Assume that one of us enters a palace. Everything has been prepared there according to the desires and appetites of our ego. When I say “everything,” I mean everything from banquets to things that will satisfy human carnal desires. However, we understand with certain signs that all of these are forbidden. Consequently, this means that we are not allowed to touch the banquet tables, we cannot come close to the forbidden zone of those who are not permissible to us, and we cannot eat the “forbidden fruit.” For, as stated before, there is a “forbidden” sign on all of them. Sometimes, when faced with such a situation, some people can be defeated by their carnal self. The food can whet their appetites, those attractive things can lure them to turn their eyes on them, and their feelings of lust can push them to do evil things. At that moment they can be tempted to extend their hands to touch those fruits.

If just as they are fully in the total grip of their desires, a curtain suddenly opened and Hell with all its terror and Paradise with all its magnificence appeared before them, then they would neither extend their hands to the forbidden food nor take a step towards sin.

In this respect we can say that what lead people to evil are heedlessness, diving into the world as if they will never die (tul al-amal), and the inability to see the truth. I think that it is this matter that enabled the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, to avoid sin. If by means of a mental activity we could imagine the existence of Heaven and Hell with the certainty that two times two equals four, then we could put a brake on our ego, not enter into evil deeds, always see the next life and live in a measured way. When we are without such an activity, we will be buried under the veil of forgetfulness. Even if we believe in God, we will often be defeated by our feelings and we will do evil under the delusion of immortality. We will commit ourselves to nothing else but enjoying this world to the fullest.

Another way of overcoming the delusion of immortality is meditation on death (rabita al-mawt). For thinking about death is an important method that takes us to the view that this world is transient, destroying the delusion of eternalness. However, at this moment, when we look around, we see that fire only burns what it touches. Only those in whose homes someone dies remember death, and this important topic does not interest anyone else. Whereas, our Prophet reminds us that remembering death and visiting graveyards for this purpose is helpful.

Although visiting graveyards was initially forbidden in Islam, later the Prophet persistently emphasized this. For graves and headstones remind some less vigilant hearts of the next life by association. But it seems to me that our hearts are as if dead due to heedlessness.

Today, I think that only those who have had a close one die even partially remembers death and are able to lessen the delusion of immortality and wake up a little. I recommend to friends that they visit hospitals to keep death in mind. Let them go and visit various clinics and see the situation of those who have lost their health and are waiting for death. It is probable that such a view will remind them that they are each a traveler, and it will trigger their desire to make preparations.

As a result, the delusion of immortality sometimes derives from heedlessness, which in turn stems from a lack of contemplation. Meditation on death is an important method for puncturing this; the other is to observe hospitals and the condition of sick people. Yes, whenever a person is tested by illness or accident or on the subjects of property, life or children, then this delusion is deflated.

In short, we have to destroy this delusion by whatever means it takes. Otherwise, it will strangle us and we will not be able to rise to the level of true humanity. We will not be able to find a suitable atmosphere that will facilitate our ties with our Lord’s mercy. We have to keep two activities always alive: contemplation and meditation on death.