بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala tells us that,
وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِىَ ٱلشَّكُورُ ﴿١٣..
...And few of My servants are grateful. (13)
[Quran, Saba 30:13]
Most people neglect to give thanks to Allah for the blessings He bestows upon us whereas we enjoy Allah's blessings in every moment of our lives. We ask Allah for success, a good spouse, righteous children, good health, well being, halal income, knowledge, wisdom, safety, etc, but for most things, we don't even think to ask. Allah just handed them to us without being asked.
Did we ask for the sun, the moon, the stars, the ocean, the trees, our mother, our father, our siblings? No. But those are the great bounties of Allah upon us. We need them to continue our lives, at least at one point or some point in our lives. Can you imagine if one day the sun didn't rise? Or the oceans dry up? Or no more birds flying? Or the gravity goes away? Or you lose a parent or a family member?
وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٨
And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (18)
[Quran, An-Nahl 16:18]
Shukr (gratitude) is to recognize the bounties of Allah. And then respond to it appropriately.
We are all in need of Allah. Our lives, the breath we take, our still and our movements are all in control of Allah and they all happen by the Will of Allah. Giving thanks to Allah in every moment of our lives is one of the most important characteristics of a true believer.
There is a secret in being grateful to Allah. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala tells us,
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ ﴿٧
And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.' "(7)
[Qur'an, Ibrahim 14:7]
Being thankful is a sign of the believers' love of Allah. Those who are grateful have the insight and capability to see the beauties and blessings that Allah creates. Those who disbelieves or ungrateful to Allah only see the imperfections and faults. And because of that they are always unhappy and discontented.
In order to be grateful to your Lord for the blessings that He has bestowed upon you, you must acknowledge in your heart that the Giver and the Bestower of these blessings is Allah, Exalted is He, 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 and drinking 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 limbs and physical faculties by not letting them see or hear any sin or evil, by not engaging in bad speech such as yelling at your parents, arguing, lying, gossiping; you do not walk with your feet to haram places; you do not use your hands to commit evil, such as haram writing in a relationship with non-mahram (one whom you can marry according to Islamic law), or writing haram contracts, or making or doing anything haram. Giving thanks with the physical faculties for blessings also includes using them to obey Allah and perform deeds that are pleasing to Allah-- such as helping your parents, spouses, children, and people in need, taking care of the environment, reading the Qur'an 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.
Being grateful to Allah is also by being grateful to our parents and treating them with excellence, and reciprocating good with good to people who have done good to us.
Remember that our gratitude for blessings is also a blessing which needs to be given thanks for, so that you will continue to enjoy the blessings of your Lord, thanking your Lord for those blessings and praising Him for helping you to be among those who give thanks.
We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala help us do that which He loves and which pleases Him. We ask Allah to fill our hearts with contentment and make us of those who are grateful and good to our parents. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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