The business of pondering

One of the Believers of Mûsâ (Moses) ‘alaihis-salâm’ prayed for thirty years. The shadow of an overhanging cloud was protecting him against the sun. One day the cloud did not show up, so that he had to stay under the sun. When he asked his mother what the reason could be, she said that he probably committed a sin. When he said that he had not committed any sins, his mother inquired, “Didn’t you look at the skies, or at flowers? When you saw them, didn’t you think of the greatness of the Creator?” “I did look at them,” he replied, “but I was remiss in the business of pondering.” There upon she said, “Is there any other sin bigger than this? Make tawba right away.”
A sensible person should not forget about the duty of pondering. Is there anyone who has any guaranty that he will not die tomorrow? Allâhu ta’âlâ did not create anything without any use. The uses which men have so far been able to discern are by far more numerous than those which they have not. 

Pondering can be done in four ways, according to (Islamic) scholars.
- Pondering about the beautiful arts of Allâhu ta’âlâ which manifest on human
beings causes one to believe Him and love Him.
- Pondering about the rewards promised by Him for the worships causes one to perform those worships.
- Pondering about the punishments informed by Him causes one to be afraid of Him and thereby inhibits one from wronging others.
- Pondering about one’s having enslaved oneself to one’s nafs and committing sins and living in a state of heedlessness regardless of all the blessings bestowed by Him causes one to have shame towards Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Allâhu ta’âlâ loves those who observe the terrestrial and celestial creatures and take lessons from them. It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “No other act of worship is so valuable as meditation.” And another hadîth-i-sherîf reads: “A momentary meditation is more useful than sixty years’ worship.”
The book Kimyâ-i-sa’âdat, in Persian, by Imâm Ghazâlî ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ contains a lengthy discourse on tafakkur (meditation, pondering).