HE has bestowed on us.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Thanks or gratitude means reciprocating kindness and giving praise to
the one who has done good and kind things. The one who is most
deserving of thanks and praise from people is Allaah, may He be
glorified and exalted,because of the great favours and blessings that
He has bestowed upon His slaves in both spiritual and worldly terms.
Allaah has commanded us to give thanks to Him for those blessings, and
not to deny them. He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying). I will remember you,
and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favours on you) and never be
ungrateful to Me"
[al-Baqarah 2:152]
Secondly:
The greatest ones who obeyed this command, and gave thanks to their
Lord until they deserved to be described as shaakir and shakoor
(thankful) are the Prophets and Messengers (blessings and peace of
Allaah be upon him).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, Ibraaheem (Abraham) was an Ummah (a leader having all the
good righteous qualities), or a nation, obedient to Allaah, Haneef
(i.e. to worship none but Allaah), and he was not one of those who
were Al-Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the
Oneness of Allaah, and those who joined partners with Allaah).
121. (He was) thankful for His (Allaah's) Favours.He (Allaah) chose
him (asan intimate friend) and guided him to a Straight Path (Islamic
Monotheism -- neither Judaism nor Christianity)"
[al-Nahl 16:120, 121]
"O offspring of those whom We carried (in theship) with Nûh (Noah)!
Verily, he was a grateful slave"
[al-Isra' 17:3]
Thirdly:
Allaah has mentioned some of the blessings that He has bestowed upon
His slaves, and has commanded them to be grateful for them, and has
told us that few of His slaves give thanks to Him:
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
1.
"O you who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah -- Islamic Monotheism)!
Eatof the lawful things that We have provided you with, and be
grateful to Allaah, if it is indeed He Whom you worship"
[al-Baqarah 2:172]
2.
"And surely, We gave you authority on the earth and appointed for you
therein provisions (for your life). Little thanks do you give"
[al-A'raaf 7:10]
3.
"And among His Signs is this, that He sends the winds as glad tidings,
giving you a taste of His Mercy (i.e. rain), and thatthe ships may
sail at His Command, and that you may seek of His Bounty, in order
that you may bethankful"
[al-Room 31:46]
4.
Among spiritual blessings, He mentions (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salaah (the prayer),
wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by
passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the
ankles. If you are in a state of Janaaba (i.e. after a sexual
discharge), purify yourselves (bathe your whole body). But if you are
ill or on a journey, orany of you comes after answering the call of
nature, or you have been in contact with women (i.e. sexual
intercourse), and you find no water, then perform Tayammum with clean
earth and rubtherewith your faces and hands. Allaah does not want to
place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete
His Favour to you that you may be thankful"
[al-Maa'idah 5:6]
and there are many other blessings. We haveonly mentioned some of
these blessings here; listing all of them is impossible, as Allaah
says(interpretation of the meaning):
"And He gave you of all that you asked for, and if you count the
Blessings of Allaah, neverwill you be able to countthem. Verily, man
is indeed an extreme wrongdoer, a disbeliever (an extreme ingrate who
denies Allaah's Blessings by disbelief, and by worshipping others
besides Allaah, and by disobeying Allaah and His Prophet Muhammad صلى
الله عليه وسلم)"
[Ibraaheem 14:34]
Then Allaah blessed us and forgave us our shortcomings in giving
thanks for these blessings. He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And if you would count the Favours of Allaah, never could you be able
to count them. Truly, Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"
[al-Nahl 16:18]
The Muslim is always asking his Lord to help him to give thanks to
Him, because were it notfor Allaah's helping His slave, he would not
be able to give thanks. Hence it is prescribed in the saheeh Sunnah to
ask for help from Allaah to give thanks to Him.
It was narrated from Mu'aadh ibn Jabal that the Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) took his hand and said: "O
Mu'aadh, by Allaah I love you, by Allaah I love you." Then he said, "I
advise you, O Mu'aadh, do not fail following every prayer to say: O
Allaah help me to remember You, thank You and worship You properly."
Narrated by Abu Dawood (1522) and al-Nasaa'i (1303); classedas saheeh
by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
Gratitude for blessings isa cause of them being increased, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: 'Ifyou give thanks (by
accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allaah), I will give you more
(of My Blessings); but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers),
verily, My punishment is indeedsevere'"
[Ibraaheem 14:7]
Fourthly:
How can a person thank his Lord for His great blessings? His gratitude
should fulfil all the necessary conditions, which are gratitude of the
heart, gratitude of the tongue and gratitude of the physical
faculties.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Gratitude may be in the heart, in submission and humility; on the
tongue, in praise and acknowledgement; and in the physical faculties,
by means of obedience and submission.
Madaarij al-Saalikeen (2/246)
The details of that:
1.
Gratitude of the heart: what is meant is that theheart senses the
value ofthe blessings that Allaah has bestowed upon His slave, and
fully acknowledges that the one who has bestowed these great blessings
is Allaah alone, with no partner or associate. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allaah"
[al-Nahl 16:53].
This acknowledgement is not mustahabb, ratherit is obligatory.
Whoeverattributes these blessings to anyone other than Allaah has
disbelieved.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahmaanal-Sa'di (may Allaah havemercy on him) said:
What man should do is attribute blessings to Allaah and acknowledge
them fully. Thus he will attain complete Tawheed. Whoever denies the
blessings of Allaah in his heart or on his tongue, is a kaafir and has
nothing to do with Islam.
Whoever affirms in his heart that all blessings come from Allaah
alone, but verbally he sometimes attributes them to Allaah and
sometimes attributes them to himself, or his actions, or the efforts
of someone else -- as happens on the lips of many people -- this is
something that the person must repent from, and he should not
attribute blessings to anyone except their Creator, and he must strive
to make himself do that, because faith and Tawheed cannot be attained
except by attributing blessings to Allaah.
The gratitude which is the head of faith is based on three pillars:
acknowledgement of the heart of all the blessings that Allaah has
bestowed upon him, andupon others, and talkingabout them; praising
Allaah for them; and using them to obey the One Who bestowed the
blessings and to worshipHim.
Al-Qawl al-Sadeed fi Maqaasid al-Tawheed (p.140)
Allaah says, describing the situation of one whodenies attribution of
blessings to Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):
"They recognise the Grace of Allaah, yet they deny it (by worshipping
others besides Allaah) and most of them are disbelievers (deny the
Prophethood of Muhammad صلىالله عليه وسلم)"
[al-Nahl 16:83].
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
i.e., they acknowledge that Allaah is the one who grants them that,
and He is the one who bestows that favour upon them, yet despite that
they deny it, and worship others alongside Him, and attribute victory
and provision to someone other than Him.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer (4/592).
2.
As for gratitude of the tongue, it means acknowledging verbally -
after believing in the heart- that the one who grants blessing is
indeedAllaah, and keeping the tongue busy with praise of Allaah, may
He be glorified and exalted.
Allaah says, explaining His blessings to His slave Muhammad (blessings
and peace of Allaah be upon him): "And He found you poor and made you
rich (self-sufficient with self-contentment)?" [al-Duha 93:8]. Then He
reminded him in return for that: "And proclaim the Grace of your Lord
(i.e. the Prophethood and all other Graces)" [al-Duha 93:11].
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
i.e., as you were poor and in need, then Allaah made you rich and
independent of means: then speak of the blessing of Allaah bestowed
upon you.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer (8/427).
It was narrated that Anasibn Maalik said: the Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah is pleased
with a person who eats some food and then praises Him for it, or who
drinks some drink and then praises Him for it."
Narrated by Muslim (2734).
Abu'l-'Abbaas al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Praise here means gratitude, and we have seen above that praise may
take the place of gratitude but gratitude may not take the place of
praise. This indicates that gratitude for blessings -- even if they
are few -- is a means of attaining the pleasure ofAllaah, may He be
exalted, which is the noblest situation of the people of Paradise.
When the people of Paradise say, "You have given to us what You have
not given to anyone among Your creation," Allaah will say to them: "
Shall I not give you something better than that?" They will say, "What
is it? Have You not brightenedour faces, and admitted us to Paradise
and savedus from Hell?" He will say, " I bestow My pleasure upon you,
and Iwill never be angry with you after that."
Gratitude is a means of attaining that great honour because it implies
acknowledgement of the Bestower of blessings and acknowledging Him
alone as the Creator of that blessing and the One Who caused it to
reach the recipient of the blessing, as an honour and favour from the
Bestower, and that the recipient of the blessing is poor and is inneed
of that blessing, and cannot do without it. So this is an
acknowledgement of the rights and bounty of Allaah, and the duty and
need of the slave. So Allaah has caused the reward for that
acknowledgement to be this great honour.
Al-Mufhim lima ashkala min Talkhees Kitaab Muslim (7/60, 61).
Hence some of the salaf said: Whoever conceals ablessing has denied
it, but whoever manifests itand spreads it has given thanks for it.
Ibn al-Qayyim said, commenting on that:
This is based on the words: "When Allaah bestows a blessing upon a
person, He loves the effect of His blessing to be seen on His slave."
Madaarij al-Saalikeen (2/246).
It was narrated from 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez (may Allaah have mercy
on him) that he said: Remind one another of blessings, for mentioning
them is gratitude.
3.
Gratitude of the physical faculties means using one's physical
faculties in obedience of Allaah and keeping them from committing sins
and actsof disobedience that Allaah has forbidden.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
" 'Work you, O family of Dawood (David), with thanks!""
[Saba' 34:13]
It was narrated that 'Aa'ishah said: When the Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) prayed, he would stand for
so long that his feet became swollen. 'Aa'ishah said: O Messenger of
Allaah, are you doing this when Allaah has forgiven your past and
future sins? He said: "O 'Aa'ishah, shouldI not be a thankful slave?"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4557) and Muslim (2820).
Ibn Battaal (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Tabari said: the correct view concerning that is that the person's
gratitude is affirming that this is from Allaah and no one else, and
affirmation of this fact isaction, and it is confirmed by action. As
for the affirmation which is contradicted by action, the one who does
that does not deserve to be called grateful at all. But it maybe
called gratitude of the tongue. The evidence that this is trueis the
words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): " 'Work you, Ofamily
of Dawood (David), with thanks!'"[Saba' 34:13]. It is well known that
He did not order them, when He said that to them, to affirm His
blessings, because they did not deny that this was a favour from Him
to them. Rather He commanded them to give thanks for His blessings by
obeying Him in their actions. Similarly, the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allaah be upon him), when his feet swelled upas he was
praying at night, said: "Should I notbe a thankful slave?"
Sharh Saheeh al-Bukhaari (10/183, 184).
Abu Haroon said: I entered upon Abu Haazim, and said to him: May
Allaah have mercy on you, what is the gratitude of the eyes? Hesaid:
If you see something good with them, you mention it, and if you see
something bad with them, you conceal it. I said: What is the gratitude
of the ears? Hesaid: If you hear something good with them, you
remember it, and if you hear something bad with them, you forget it.
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Gratitude is of two degrees, one of which is obligatory, which is
doing obligatory actionsand avoiding haraam things. This is essential
and is sufficient as gratitude for these blessings.
Hence one of the salaf said:
Gratitude means giving up sin.
And one of them said: Gratitude means not using any blessing to help
one to disobey Him.
Abu Haazim al-Zaahid mentioned gratitude of all the physical
faculties: (It means) refraining from sin, and using themto help one
to do acts of obedience. Then he said:As for the one who givesthanks
with his tongue but does not give thankswith all of his physical
faculties, his likeness is that of a man who has a cloak and takes
hold of the edge of it, but does not put it on, so it is of no benefit
to him against cold or heat or snow or rain.
The second degree of gratitude is that which ismustahabb, which is
when, after doing obligatory actions and avoiding haraam things, a
person does supererogatory acts of worship. This is the degree of
those who have gone ahead and closer to Allaah.
Jaami' al-'Uloom wa'l-Hukam (p. 245, 246)
Summary:
In order to be grateful toyour Lord for the blessings that He has
bestowed upon you, youmust acknowledge in your heart that the giverof
these blessings and the bestower is Allaah, may He be exalted, so you
venerate Him, attribute it to Him, and you acknowledge that with your
tongue, so you give thanks to Him after waking from sleep for having
given new life, and after eating anddrinking for having provided you
with them and bestowed them upon you, and so on with every blessing
that you see in your life.
You give thanks with your physical faculties bynot letting them see or
hear any sin or evil, suchas singing or gossip; youdo not walk with
your feet to haraam places; you do not use your hands to commit evil,
such as haraam writing in a relationship with non-mahram women, or
writing haraam contracts, or making or doing anything haraam. Giving
thanks with the physical faculties for blessings also includes using
them to obey Allaah, by reading Qur'aan and books of knowledge,
listening to beneficial and useful things, and so on with all the
faculties which you should use in various kinds of obedience and
worship.
Remember that gratitude for blessings isa blessing which needs to be
given thanks for, so that one will continueto enjoy the blessings of
his Lord, thanking his Lord for those blessings and praising Him for
helping him to be among those who give thanks.
We ask Allaah, may He beexalted, to help us and you to do that which
He loves and which pleases Him.
And Allaah knows best.
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And Allah Knows the Best!
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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA
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