There’s a certain art to reflection. There are particular avenues to contemplation. It doesn’t happen easily for most people.What you must do is practise and train your thought process.

When you want to contemplate over a Qur’anic verse or a statement, you must throw behind it sincerity, a yearning to find benefit, an intention to draw closer to Allah and get to know Him. You must throw behind it patience as you delve deeper into the words, repeating them again and again if at first you get nothing or you hit shallow waters. You must throw behind it all the knowledge you have and all the depth that your heart possesses. You must throw behind it experience that Allah has given you; never forget your experiences because they are an opportunity for you to become a deeper person, a wiser soul, a more empathic human being.

And all this you must repeat, frequently and habitually. Because the secret to reflection and contemplation is do it repeatedly – for the mind needs to be trained before it opens fully, just as the date needs to be chewed before it gives its full sweetness.