According to rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website):Contemplation means thinking deeply and reflecting about something. It is thinking about the outcomes and results of an action.
Imam Ali (AS) says about contemplation: “When you hear a tradition, test it according to the criterion of intelligence not that of mere hearing, because relaters of knowledge are numerous but those who guard it are few.”
According to the verses of the Holy Quran, inviting people to contemplate was one of the educational methods used by divine messengers, including Prophet Joseph (AS).
At that time, the people of Egypt believed in various gods and considered each to be in charge of a part of the world’s affairs. Imitating their fathers and forefathers, they had made up false deities and worshipped them without thinking and contemplating. They considered these false gods to be running the affairs of the world, and without any reference to reason or logic, they asked them for help.
They believed in the influence of the false gods so much that it is said that before starting a journey on the Nile, they would go to a temple and pray to be saved from the crocodiles of the river.
In order to help them realize this is not what they should do, Prophet Joseph (AS) invited them to contemplate:
“My fellowprisoners, say which is better, many gods at variance, or Allah the One, the Conqueror?” (Verse 39 of Surah Yusuf)
He calls on them to think more deeply about the various gods they worship, which are unable to help them while the one and true God is capable of helping them.
Joseph (AS) then tells them: “What you worship instead of God are no more than empty names that you and your fathers have given to certain things. God has not given any authority to such names. Judgment belongs to no one but God. He has commanded you to worship nothing but Him. This is the only true religion, but most people do not know.” (Verse 40 of Surah Yusuf)
He wanted to help them realize that their beliefs were based on illusions and deceptions, and that there was no logical reason to believe what they believed.
iqna
