Page 76 - Quranic Wisdom - New.indd

The Value of Silence

and when I am not listening, I am not learning.” This saying has
the same meaning as is expressed in the aforementioned verse of
the Quran.

Silence is not simply refraining from speech. It is more
than that. When the human mind, with its unlimited capacity,
stops speaking, it instantly starts thinking. The mind is a super
computer, switched on at the time of birth and continuing to
function eternally. It can never be switched off. Thinking is a
continuous process of the mind. The word ‘rest’ is not to be
found in the human lexicon where the mind is concerned.
What is thinking? It is to reflect, it is to consider, it is to
activate and utilize your intellectual capacity. Bringing the
intellectual faculties into play enables one to arrive at meaningful
conclusions. The mind is the most elevated part of a human
being and thinking is its supreme role.

The Quran tries to develop one’s thinking capacity, it
tries to build a mind that can understand things in
their deeper sense and analyze them with objectivity.

It is said that man is a thinking animal. So thinking is the
most important process which occurs in a human being. All the
great discoveries have been the result of thinking.

But thinking is not an occasional activity of the mind: it is
a continuous process, and it happens not only in the daytime,
but also when you are asleep at night. The only difference at
that time is that it is transferred from the conscious to the sub-
conscious mind.
The issue of silence can be understood in this context.
According to the nature of mind, speaking means to stop the
process of thinking, while when you are silent you are allowing
your mind to carry on its thinking processes without any
interruption. Just as a speed breaker on the road reduces the speed

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