Meqdad (RA) who was one of the most loyal companions of Imam Ali (AS) narrated: One day I went to Abu Horairah and he narrated from the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) who said:

To think for one hour is better than one year of prayers. I went to see ibn Abbas and he narrated from the Prophet (PBUH) who said: To think for one hour is better than seventy years of prayers. Another companion of the Prophet (PBUH) narrated from the Prophet (PBUH) who said: To think for one hour is better than seventy years of prayers. I was surprised, I went to see the Prophet (PBUH) and asked about this and he replied: All three are telling the truth, and then the Prophet (PBUH) asked all three to come to him and asked Abu Horairah: How and what are you thinking about? He replied: According to the Quran, I am thinking about the secrets of the sky and the earth. The Prophet (PBUH) said: Your thinking for one hour is better than one year of prayers. The Prophet (PBUH) asked Ibn Abbas: How do you think? He replied: I think about death and the fear of the Day of Judgment. The Prophet (PBUH) said: Your one hour of thinking is better than seventy years of prayers. The Prophet (PBUH) asked the third person: What do you think about? He replied: I think about the hellfire, and the panic and the hardship of it. The Prophet (PBUH) said: Your one hour of thinking is better than seventy years of prayers. Therefore, it is clear that the value and the rewards of thinking depend on the intention of the individual, and about what they think about [1].

[1] Yeksad Modhu’a va Pansad Dastaan, Seyyed Ali Akbar Sedaqat, Page 160.

Source: en.shafaqna.com