Page 25 - Deep Thinking

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n previous chapters, we mentioned that people do not think as
they ought to and do not develop their faculty of thinking. Yet
here there is an important point that needs to be clarified. Surely
certain things cross one's mind every moment of one's life. There is almost
no moment, save at times of sleep, that the human mind is utterly blank.
However, a great many of these are useless, futile and unnecessary
thoughts that are of no avail in one's Hereafter, that lead nowhere, and
serve one no good.
If someone tries to remember what he thought during the day and
notes it down, then looks over it at the end of the day, he will see how
futile most of his thoughts are. Even if he were to find some of it useful,
he would most likely be mistaken. For, on the whole, thoughts that seem
correct may not be of any use in the Hereafter.
Just as people waste time dealing with futile things in their daily lives,
equally they spend time in vain carried away with futile thoughts. In the
verse: "Successful indeed are the believers…who keep aloof from what is
vain…" (Surat al-Muminun: 3), Allah points out one of the characteristics
of the believers. Surely, this command of Allah holds true for people's
thoughts as well. This is because thoughts, unless we control them con-
sciously, continuously flow through our minds. One unconsciously jumps
from one thought to another. While thinking about what needs to be
brought from the shops, the mind suddenly starts to think about an old
conversation with a friend. This uncontrolled and useless thinking may go
on uninterruptedly throughout the day.
Yet controlling thought is possible. Everyone possesses the ability to
think things that will improve him, his faith, mind, courtesy and his sur-
roundings.
In this chapter, we will mention what sorts of things heedless people
tend to think about in general. The reason for mentioning this is so that
the readers may recognize in these heedless thoughts, ones similar to their
own and realize that what they are thinking is not beneficial and useful.
This will help in taming the thought process to think of subjects that are