بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Allah said in Surah Saba [34:13]:
"But few of My slaves are grateful."
Thankfulness is not limited to when you get a blessing, but when you lose it too. This high status is not reached except by those who know Allah very well.
Why do I want to be شكارا (Constantly Grateful)?
#1 - There are only two categories of people:
a) Grateful (شاكرا)
b) Ungrateful (كفورا)
In Surah Al-Insan [76:3]:
"Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful."
Ungratefulness is كفر أصغر (Minor Disbelief) which does not take a person out of the fold of Islam.
#2 - Allah praises those who are grateful and informed us that only a few of His servants are grateful. And He attributed them to Himself, when He said as mentioned in Surah Saba [34:13]:
"But few of My slaves are grateful."
In this Allah rebukes those who are ungrateful.
#3 - With gratefulness, blessings are increased. Allah said in Surah Ibrahim [14:7]:
And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe."
Q. What if see people getting blessings whilst they are ungrateful to Allah?
A. Either it is:
I) استدراج (Step by Step destruction)
ii) Allah may give a person something, but there will be no بركة (blessings) in it. You may have one child, but Allah puts blessing in that one child. And you may have many children, but each one is only concerned with themselves.
#4 - The Prophet ﷺ invoked Allah to make him grateful:
Note: The aforementioned supplication is said when you are oppressed.
#5 - The grateful person lives a good, content, tranquil, life. He has entered the Paradise of this world before the Paradise of the Hereafter. The Prophet ﷺ said:
عجبا لأمر المؤمن إن أمره كله له خير، وليس ذلك لأحد إلا للمؤمن : إن أصابته سراء شكر فكان خيراً له، وإن أصابته ضراء صبر فكان خيراً له
How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him. [Muslim]
Whatever the believer is going through is a blessing from Allah.
What is the definition of a grateful person?
a) A grateful person recognizes the smallest of blessings.
b) He attributes the blessings to Allah
E.g. He doesn't speak of the doctor who operated on him, the lawyer who defended his case, the teacher who taught him. It is always Allah.
What is the definition of a ungrateful person?
a) He does not recognize the blessing
b) If he does, he attributes it to himself
This life is not the abode of recompense. This is the abode of trial. We are tested with our good children, good husband, beauty, money, etc. It could be taken away from us. In the Hereafter there is no more test, just recompense.
What blessings should we be thankful for?
Worldly blessings and even more than that, religious blessings. Leaving your home and coming to seek knowledge is a blessing from Allah.
Our wearing Hijab, Islam, attending classes, is from Allah and not us. That is why we should always say لا حول و لا قوة الا بالله (There is no change of condition and might except with Allah).
Being grateful entails being inwardly and outwardly thankful to Allah, in good times and in bad.
How do I know that something is a blessing?
Anything that draws you nearer to Allah is a blessing. A blessing could come in the form of a calamity, but if it brings you near to Allah it is a blessing. Combine this with the reward the person gets in the Hereafter for enduring the calamity.
Why don't people recognize blessings?
We are immersed in the blessings of Allah. But we don't recognize it because:
a) We think blessings are what is in accordance to our desire.
E.g. You want a husband or mother like someone elses. But the husband and mother you have is the best husband and mother for you and your personality.
b) We get used to a blessing until we get bored of it or take it for granted.
How do I be شكارا?
1) Revive your heart with knowledge
Your heart is the place of gratitude. If your heart is grateful, your tongue and limbs will follow in suit.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ
Verily Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth but He looks to your heart and to your deeds. [Muslim]
We all are created with tendencies to be envious, proud, arrogant in our hearts. But the believer conceals and asks Allah to give those more of what they have, whilst the hypocrite shows it.
Allah mentioned in the Qur'an that He gives life to the dead earth after He talked about the heart. In Surah Al-Hadid [57:16-17]:
"Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) to be affected by Allah's Reminder (this Quran), and that which has been revealed of the truth, lest they become as those who received the Scripture [the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] before (i.e. Jews and Christians), and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened? And many of them were Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)."
"Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its death! Indeed We have made clear the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) to you, if you but understand."
The revival of your heart is when you seek knowledge.
-> Take knowledge seriously, not at your own leisure. Allah said to Yahya عليه السلام, as mentioned in Surah Maryam [19:12]:
"(It was said to his son): "O Yahya (John)! Hold fast the Scripture [the Taurat (Torah)]." And We gave him wisdom while yet a child."
What kind of knowledge will make me شكارا?
a) To know the Reality of Yourself
You are weak, full of shortcomings. Allah said in a Surah an-Nisa [4:28]:
"Allah wishes to lighten (the burden) for you; and man was created weak."
In Surah Al-Ma'arij [70:19-22]:
"Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient;"
"Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him;"
"And niggardly when good touches him;"
We are all created in this way, but there is a way out. Allah says:
"Except those devoted to Salat (prayers)."
Etc.
We learn about the reality of ourselves through the Quran, Sunnah, observing ourselves, observing people around us, etc.
b) To know the Reality of this World
عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَرَّ فِي السُّوقِ دَاخِلاً مِنْ بَعْضِ الْعَالِيَةِ وَالنَّاسُ كَنَفَيْهِ، فَمَرَّ بِجَدْيٍ أَسَكَّ، فَتَنَاوَلَهُ فَأَخَذَ بِأُذُنِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَيُّكُمْ يُحِبُّ أَنَّ هَذَا لَهُ بِدِرْهَمٍ؟ فَقَالُوا: مَا نُحِبُّ أَنَّهُ لَنَا بِشَيْءٍ، وَمَا نَصْنَعُ بِهِ؟ قَالَ: أَتُحِبُّونَ أَنَّهُ لَكُمْ؟ قَالُوا: لاَ، قَالَ ذَلِكَ لَهُمْ ثَلاَثًا، فَقَالُوا: لاَ وَاللَّهِ، لَوْ كَانَ حَيًّا لَكَانَ عَيْبًا فِيهِ أَنَّهُ أَسَكُّ، وَالأَسَكُّ: الَّذِي لَيْسَ لَهُ أُذُنَانِ، فَكَيْفَ وَهُوَ مَيِّتٌ؟ قَالَ: فَوَاللَّهِ، لَلدُّنْيَا أَهْوَنُ عَلَى اللهِ مَنْ هَذَا عَلَيْكُمْ.
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed through the market, entering from part of the high part of the city and the people were on both sides of him. He passed by a dead one-eared goat and reached out and took its ear. Then he said, "Who would like to buy this for a dirham?" They said, "Why would we want it when it is worthless? What would we do with it?" He said, "Would you like to have it?" "No," they replied. He asked them that three times and they said, "No, by Allah! If it were alive, it would have a defect as it only has one ear. Why would we want it when it is dead?" The Prophet said, "By Allah, this world is less in the sight of Allah than this goat is to you." [Al-Adab Al-Mufrad]
The Prophet ﷺ said:
لَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا تَعْدِلُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ مَا سَقَى كَافِرًا مِنْهَا شَرْبَةَ مَاءٍ
If the world to Allah was equal to a mosquito's wing, then He would not allow the disbeliever to have a sip of water from it. [At-Tirmithi]
If we know the reality of this life, our goals within it will reduce. This life will vanish and come to an end one day.
Allah said in Surah Aal-Imran [3:14]:
"Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children, much of gold and silver (wealth), branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the pleasure of the present world's life; but Allah has the excellent return (Paradise with flowing rivers, etc.) with Him."
In Surah Aal-Imran [3:185]:
"Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing)."
Do not let the certainty of death be lost in the hustle and bustle of this life. When you know you are going to die, it will not bother you whether you get or lose something.
In this Dunya, the taste of delight is temporary. In the Hereafter, the taste of delight stays forever. When you enter Paradise, according to Ibn Al-Qayyim رحمه الله, people will look at what they have in Paradise for years. Just looking in amazement. And the longer people are in Paradise, the more beautiful they become, unlike in this world where you deteriorate.
In Surah Al-Kahf [18:28]:
"And keep yourself (O Muhammad) patiently with those who call on their Lord (i.e. your companions who remember their Lord with glorification, praising in prayers, etc., and other righteous deeds, etc.) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face, and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our Remembrance, one who follows his own lusts and whose affair (deeds) has been lost."
c) To know our Lord
We need to know His beautiful names, perfect attributes, how He treats those who believe in Him and those who disbelieve in Him.
The ignorant person will surely be ungrateful. Allah does not deal with us the way we deal with each other. If Allah loves someone, He tests him. The Prophet ﷺ said:
من يرد الله به خيراً يصب منه
He whom Allah intends good, He makes him to suffer from some affliction. [Al-Bukhari]
2) Recognize the blessings of Allah
Blessings are divided into:
I) New blessings
ii) Existing blessings
- Blessings you ask Allah for
- Blessings you do not ask Allah for
It is easy to be grateful to Allah for a new blessing. But we need to look at everything in our life; small and big. The grateful person looks at everything he has as a blessing from Allah. When you recognize the blessings of Allah you love Allah, you can rely on Him (التوكل), etc.
Before the Prophet ﷺ would sleep at night, he would say:
الحمد لله الذي أطعمنا وسقانا، وكفانا وآوانا، فكم ممن لا كافي له ولا مئوي
Al-hamdu lillah-illadhi at'amana wa saqana, wa kafana wa awana, fakam mimman la kafiya lahu wa la mu'wiya
(Praise is due to Allah Who has fed us, provided us drink, satisfied us and gave us protection. Many are those who have no one to provide for them, or give them shelter) [Muslim]
iii) There are blessings you do not recognize.
E.g. You wanted to travel and study but your parents refused. You think your parents corrupted your future but later on in life you look back at those years and thank Allah.
3) Belief in the Qadar
Everything you will get in this life was written 50,000 years before the creation of the heavens and earth.
Allah said regarding the believers in the Qur'an:
"رضي الله عنهم و رضوا عنه" - Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.
They were tested with events in this world which went opposite to what they wished for, but they were never displeased with Allah in their hearts. Allah is Generous and Kind, He is السلام - There are no deficiencies in Him. When He afflicts you with anything, it is not because He hates you, but because it is best for you. He is All-Wise.
Yusuf عليه السلام was taken from his family and thrown into a well, then sold as a slave, then thrown into a prison, then became a Minister. He had to go through all that to attain that. A blessing could come after calamity.
Allah is preparing your life for you, so be content, and never think evil of Allah. Even if you do not see the wisdom of the calamity in this life, know your sins will be expiated because of it. When those who never tasted calamities see the reward of those who were tested by Allah in this world, they will wish that their skins had been cut with scissors.
To be impatient is to complain about Allah, to be patient is to complain to Allah.
4) Be aware of the enemy of gratefulness; Shaytan. When Allah expelled Shaytan from Paradise, Shaytan said, as mentioned in Surah Al-A'raf [7:17]:
Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You)."
This is the purpose of the Shaytan. When you are thankful to Allah, you are an enemy to the Shaytan in this area, because he swore to Allah that he will stand in the way of the sons of Adam.
This life is based on shortage. Everyone is lacking something in this world. The Shaytan comes to your heart and examines what you lack and what bothers you and what makes you ungrateful to Allah and magnifies it. Whenever you read Quran and calm down, he again comes to you and reminds you of this shortage so that you never feel rest and content. We have to understand his tricks in order to live a good life. Being content in this world is Paradise, regardless of what you have. Having a good husband is your way to Paradise and having a bad husband is your way to Paradise. It is the way you look at things, nor about things itself. Do not wait for something to happen to become happy, but change the way you look at things.
5) Be an advocate of gratefulness.
Remind people of the blessings they have whenever they start to complain.
Comments
Post a Comment