Being thankful to Almighty Allah

 Human beings are very ungrateful.  Their avarice doesn’t allow them to recognize a bounty of Almighty Allah as a bounty.  They consider what they are not destined for as bounties and make various plans to get it.  The result of those plans is destruction.  They lose both, what was theirs and what wasn’t.  Eventually, they die in a state of ungratefulness.  For this reason, think about all the bounties that Almighty Allah has given you and value them with your heart.  For the person who doesn’t value bounties, those bounties are snatched away from that person.  Thus, Almighty Allah says:  If you are thankful, then We will increase the bounties.  Thus, it is our duty that we carefully reflect over the bounties that Almighty Allah has granted us so that we get the chance to thank Him for them.  In fact, to what extent can we thank Allah?  Only those people can thank Allah perfectly whose bosoms have been enlightened and whose hearts have been filled with wisdom and gnosis of Almighty Allah, as they are aware of the secrets and subtleties of everything.

 

Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi (May Allah shower His mercy on him) says:  Thankfulness is that you don’t consider yourself fit to receive any bounty.

 

Hadhrat Ghouse Azam (May Allah be well pleased with him) says:  Thankfulness is of 2 kinds:  One is that the bounties should be used in worshipping Almighty Allah and in helping the needy.  The second is that through the bounty, the One giving the bounty should be recognized and thanked for granting the bounty.

 

Hadhrat Imam Ghazali (May Allah shower His mercy on him) says:  Use the bounties of Almighty Allah to seek His pleasure and this can happen only when one is aware of the reasons behind creation and the reasons behind creation of every specific thing.  For example, eyes are a bounty of Almighty Allah and thankfulness for this it be used in reading the Holy Quran and Islamic books and in seeing great creations like the earth and sky with the intention of taking heed and realize the greatness of the Creator.  Also to stop it from roving over the area below the navel and the knees (Satar).

 

In the same way, ears are also a bounty and their thankfulness is to use it in listening to the remembrance of Almighty Allah and those things which are beneficial in the afterlife and stop oneself from hearing useless things.

 

The tongue is to be busied in remembrance and extolment of Almighty Allah and in thankfulness to Almighty Allah.  It should be restrained from uttering complaints in hard times.  Even if someone asks one, no word of complaint should be uttered, as complaints of the Emperor shouldn’t be uttered before a slave who cannot do a thing.  This act is utterly futile and is a sin.  If words of thankfulness are uttered, they will be counted as worship.

 

The thankfulness of the heart is that it is busied in remembrance of Allah Most High and reflection and gnosis and sincerity.  It should be adorned with praiseworthy attributes and cleared of blameworthy attributes.  Thus, the thankfulness of all the parts of the body, all wealth, honor, etc. is to use them in worship of Almighty Allah.

 

        Develop the habit of reflecting over the bounties of Almighty Allah.  This will cultivate the love of Almighty Allah.  Human beings are very ungrateful.  Their avarice doesn’t allow them to recognize bounties as bounties.  This is highly condemnable.  Value the bounties of Almighty Allah and keep thanking Him and don’t become ungrateful.

 

“Thankfulness” is that one shouldn’t be so engrossed in the bounty that one forgets the One who grants the bounty.  That the bounty causes one to remember the One granting the bounty even more is thankfulness.  Ungratefulness lessens the bounty and one is rendered bereft of the bounty of the hereafter, i.e. forgiveness and reward.

 

Hadhrat Ka’ab (May Allah be well pleased with him) says:  If Almighty Allah grants someone a bounty and that person is thankful to Almighty Allah and uses that bounty humbly for the sake of Allah, then Almighty Allah grants that person the benefit of that bounty in this world and raises his status in the hereafter as well.  If the Lord Almighty grants someone a bounty and that person neither thanks Almighty Allah nor is humble, then Almighty Allah stops the benefit of that bounty in this world and in the hereafter opens the levels of hell for that person.  If He wants to, He may punish that person or pardon him.

 

Hadhrat Ashraf Ali (May Allah shower His mercy on him) says:  The reality of thankfulness is that one expresses thanks both with the tongue and with one’s limbs as well.  The thankfulness of the tongue isn’t simply saying, “Thanks be to Allah”, but the tongue should be busied in those works which are beloved to Almighty Allah and to save it from things which displease Him.  Remember Allah with the tongue, recite the Holy Quran, read rules of the Shariah and convey them to others.  Don’t backbite on anyone, don’t slander, don’t repeat things to others and don’t lie.  This is the thankfulness of the tongue.  The thankfulness of the ear is that to listen to good things.  To avoid backbiting, complaints, etc.  The thankfulness of the heart is to develop the love of Allah Most High and His Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  To develop humility, reliance on Allah and fear and consciousness of Allah.  Remove blameworthy traits from the heart.  To keep clear of pride, etc.  Don’t consider anyone to be inferior.  Consider oneself to be most inferior of all and don’t consider oneself to be superior to anyone.  Who knows, that person may die on faith and God forbid, we may die a faithless death and then that person will be superior to us.

 

A Hindu man used to be a neighbor of Hadhrat Maulana Akbar Qasim.  When he died, the Maulana saw him in a dream that he is strolling in paradise.  He asked him:  O Lala!  How come you are here?  He said:  Maulvi Sahib!  When the time of my death came near, I recited the testification of faith (Kalima Shahadar) and it was accepted.  The Maulana said:  Just see!  The Lala spent his entire life in disbelief and earned paradise at the time of death.  No one knows how I will die.

 

Thus, be it a non-Muslim even, don’t consider oneself as better than him.  However, one should hold the belief that those who die on faith are better than those who die on disbelief.  Also, never harbor enmity against a Muslim for any worldly dealings of for any other reason.  This is the thankfulness of the heart.

 

The thankfulness of the entire body is that one shouldn’t wear any clothes that are not forbidden by the Shariah and that one shouldn’t wear fine clothes to pride oneself against a Muslim brother which will hurt him.

 

Thus, perfect thankfulness is that the whole body, hands, heart, tongue, etc. all are busy in the worship of Almighty Allah.  There is love and gnosis of Almighty Allah in the heart and no part of the body commits a sin.  Then, we will be truly thankful to Almighty Allah.

 

[Excerpted from Mawaaiz-e-Hasana, Vol. 2]