By Jamaal Diwan
Ibn ʿAṭā said:
“Whoever is not thankful for graces runs the risk of losing them; and whoever is thankful, fetters them with their own cords.”[1]
This wisdom is based on the statement of God in the Quran:
“And when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’”[2]
In this verse and in the wisdom we are presented with one of the greatest laws of this life: when you are thankful, God gives you more. When you are not, He does not. In this regard it is very important that we constantly work and seek to development a grateful view on our existence. This is in fact an act of belief and a cornerstone in the Muslim’s daily relationship with his or her Creator.
It is a simple concept but often very difficult to implement. This is especially true for those of us that come from cultures where we have been blessed with so much but at the same time it is common for people to complain about everything. We have to fight this and learn to be content with what we have and appreciate it. We cannot achieve happiness if we do not learn to appreciate the things that we have, especially the “little” things.
This Ramadan let us try and cultivate the habit of being thankful. Two things that we can do are:
- Specify a few minutes each day to just think about all that we have been given and thank God for it.
- Before we start eating we should pause and reflect about the food that we are eating and where it came from and how much God has given us. This simple practice, which is commanded from us in the Quran,[3] can make a huge difference in our lives as it pushes us to be people of gratitude.
Comments on: "Day 8: Thankfulness" (4)
Assalaamu Alaykum brothers and Muslema- Masha’Allah I have been following your countdown and it’s a wonderful project! Thank you for inspiring us with your gems of knowledge and continuing to be role models in our communities. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala continue to raise your ranks and ease your path. May you all have a very blessed Ramadan.
wasalaamu alaykum,
Marwa
YES BRO. THIS HAS REALLY MADE ME REFLECT ABOUT ALLAHS MERCY
BEING GREATFULL TO HIM FOR ALL THINGS THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED.
INSHALLAH I WIL REMEBER
JAZAKALLAH KHAYRAN, JAMAAL. MYA ALLAH (TA’ALAH) INCREASE YOU IN KNOWLEDGE AND IMAN.
Masha’allah, a very profound yet simple concept. Subhan’allah, America has “Thanksgiving,” the one day in the year where everyone is supposed to be thankful- and yet, it is an embedded aspect in our religion
Islam is beautiful indeed!
Jazaka’allah khair for the reminder, as human beings we forget pretty much everything so we constantly need to remember to be thankful!