Much has been said in tafsir literature about this profound verse. One should always remember God by the tongue until His remembrance reaches our hearts. Remembrance can come in many forms, whether it be through our presence in our prayers, reading the Holy Quran, dhikr, or contemplation.
This verse indicates that one can meditate upon God through His creation and His Attributes and Qualities reflected in it, but not upon God’s Essence directly, since the Divine Essence can never be the direct object of meditation by limited human consciousness. Ahmad ibn Ajiba has stated that “Reflection (fikr) is the lamp of the heart. If it vanishes the heart has no illumination”. Hasan al-Basri was also reported to have said, “If one’s words are not wisdom, they are vain. If one’s silence is not reflection, it is absent-mindedness. If one’s thought is not contemplation, it is play."
