In response to the question "Why do you like Islam?" the late Annemarie Schimmel (d. 2003), one of the greatest scholars of Islam of the last century, said "because Muslims take God seriously; they are aware that God the One is near us here and now, and yet cannot be described, either by intellectual or supra-intellectual means but can be experienced by the pure and loving heart..." This may come as a surprise to those who see Islam as an exoteric-formalistic religion with very little to say on spirituality. Given the atrocities committed in the name of Islam today and the ignorance of reactionary Muslims, it is not an easy task to explain the spiritual dimension of Islam and show the place of a "pure and loving heart" in the lives of Muslims. Contemplation is the way to see things with intelligence and a loving heart.

Seeing is an act of both intelligence and sentiment. It is understanding and perception by taking a stance vis-a-vis reality. It requires conscious looking and searching for meaning, purpose and beauty. In this sense, contemplation combines intelligence with heart. The great Muslim sage Ataullah Iskandari (d. 1309) defines it as the "permanent presence of the heart with the truth..." The heart, which in modern times has been associated with feelings and sentimentality only, has a robust intellectual/rational dimension to it. It confirms what the mind knows and thus brings certainty and contentment. Head-knowledge by itself does not guarantee certainty. It needs heart-knowledge to have a fuller understanding of things. Heart-knowledge does not replace but complements head-knowledge. It adds depth and wisdom to what we know.

According to a widely quoted saying among the sages, "intelligence is a light in the heart by which truth and falsity are distinguished from one another." By locating intelligence in the heart, the Islamic intellectual tradition, in a way similar to its Christian and Jewish counterparts at a philosophical level, has sought to avoid any dichotomy between mind and heart, reason and faith, and logic and transcendence. It has followed the principle that a holistic universe requires a holistic way of knowing.

Historically speaking, this fundamental perspective has allowed the creation of a civilization based on intelligence, wisdom, beauty, humanness and compassion. It has cared for the natural environment as well as other human beings. It has devised and invented sophisticated techniques and advanced technologies without altering the nature of things in a violent manner. It has produced some of the greatest minds, artists and spiritual guides in history who have dovetailed scientific, philosophical and artistic disciplines in their knowledge and wisdom. It has built cities in which people found trade and profit but also beauty and repose.

Today, the task of combining head and heart in contemplation is rendered extremely difficult by the materialistic and self-centric tendencies of the modern world in which spirituality has become another commodity to "have." Spiritual refinement has been commercialized in the vast industry of "self-help" programs. Thomas Merton, the famous American monk and mystic, is right to complain that "...the worst advantage of the word [contemplation] is that it sounds like ‘something,' an objective quality, a spiritual commodity that one can procure, something that it is good to have; something which, when possessed, liberates one from problems and from unhappiness ..."

The problem with the instrumental notion of contemplation is that it ends up engrossing rather than overcoming the alter ego. It is the self that remains in charge here: it defines what spirituality is and carries on to be at the center of all things. Physically speaking, we live in a helio-centric world, i.e., a universe at the center of which is the sun. But morally and spiritually speaking, much of what has transpired since the 18th century has kept us in a homo-centric world-order. The rude, egotistic humanism that has taken over the major aspects of modern life has not made our world a better place to live as decent human beings.But the key to a proper understanding and practice of contemplation is the decentering of the self and the ego. The self cannot reach moral perfection and spiritual refinement without acknowledging the larger reality of which it is only a part. True, the human self is extremely important. Its rational and moral qualities set human beings apart from other beings. It is what elevates the flesh to the level of the spirit. Taming the self and perfecting the soul does not diminish its meaning and purpose. To the contrary, placing the self in its proper place in the larger scheme of things brings out its true meaning and value. The 19th century Moroccan Sufi, Muhammad al-Darqawi (d. 1823), sees an essential link between the self and the cosmos. He describes their relationship in a striking way: "The self is an immense thing. It's the whole cosmos since it's a copy of existence. All that is in the cosmos is in it, and all that is in it is in the cosmos. Whoever has control of the self inevitably has control of the cosmos and whoever is ruled by his self is certainly ruled by the cosmos."

Contemplation is not an idle practice of empty thoughts. It is an active state of full consciousness. It is an invitation to acquiring knowledge and wisdom. It elevates the human soul to a higher state of understanding. It is badly needed in our increasingly insane world.