“Thank you so so much! I really appreciate it,” I wrote to a stranger I had never met. I was so grateful to that man. In my first visit to New York, I had lost my phone in a cab. This phone had all my numbers in it, pictures, saved messages… everything. As silly as it felt to be making du`a’ (supplication) for something seemingly so trivial, I asked Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala (exalted is He), to return my phone. I tried to have conviction that, because I had said the remembrances that day, I had not lost my phone.

Photo: Lucas ()

Indeed, the next morning, I received an email from the man who had found my phone. A few arrangements were made, and I was reunited with my phone shortly after. As I thanked that man, I turned to Allah (swt) in my heart and said, AlhamduliLah – all praise is due to Allah.

Al-Hameed: the Praiseworthy

It is befitting to learn about Allah’s Name al-Hameed after having studied His Name al-Ghani, as these two Names come together in the Qur’an. Al-Hameed comes from the three-letter root ha-meem-dal (ح-م-د), which is the opposite of the word al-thamm, which means to condemn. Something that is complete and perfect deserves hamd,while something that has faults or is incomplete receives thamm. This praise is accompanied with feelings of adoration, gratitude and submission. Al-Ghazali states:

“God – great and glorious – is the Praised by virtue of His praise for Himself from eternity, and by virtue of His servants’ praise for Him forever. But this comes down to the attributes of majesty, of exaltation, and of perfection, as they are linked to the repetition of those who continually remember Him, for praise involves recalling the attributes of perfection insofar as they are perfect.”

This Name is closely associated with shukr, meaningful thankfulness. But hamd is much more encompassing than shukr. Thankfulness is expressed to someone for a particular deed or favor, whereas hamd is praise and gratitude not simply for overt favors, but for the inherent qualities the praiseworthy possesses. Thus it is said that hamd (praise) is the pinnacle of shukr (thankfulness). Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:

“To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth. And indeed, Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy (al Hameed)” (Qur’an, 22:64).

Thus Allah al-Hameed is the One we go to with gratitude and humility, praising Him not just for those favors we feel thankful for, but for His very essence and all His decrees. Sheikh Ratib an-Nabulsi has said that al-Hameed is the only One deserving of true praise, which is why we repeat in every prayer:

الحمدلله رب العالمين

All-Praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds

The importance of this Name is that Allah (swt) teaches us not to be attached simply to His blessings, but to His essence. Yes, He gives us, and we thank and praise Him for what He gives. But when we think of al-Hameed, it ceases to be solely about the blessing. We are reminded of His inherent attributes, of al-Hameed Himself, and thus we praise Him when things are good or seemingly bad, because they all come from Him. When we realize that good came out of the calamity we were facing, or on the Day of Judgment when we see how we are rewarded not only for our gratitude for the good but for our patience with the hardships, do we embody the spirit of praise, and say wholeheartedly: al-hamduliLah!

And thus His Name: the Praiseworthy, the Praised.

The Prophet ﷺ and Praising Allah
The Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) praised Allah throughout his life, whether he was in hardship or receiving many beautiful gifts from Allah. In a famous hadith (narration), Aisha, radi Allahu `anha (may God be pleased with her), saw the Prophet ﷺ praying for so long that his feet became swollen. So she asked him:

“O Messenger of Allah, why do you undergo so much hardship despite the fact that Allah has pardoned for you your earlier and later sins?”

He ﷺ responded: “Afala akuna abdan shakura? – Should I not be a thankful servant?” (Bukhari)

And what did the Prophet ﷺ say as he was praying in the night? Ibn `Abbas relates that the Prophet ﷺ used to say when he stood for the tahajjud (late night) prayer:
“O Allah! Yours is the praise. You are the sustainer of the heavens and the Earth and all that they contain. And Yours is the praise. Yours is the dominion of the heavens and the Earth and all that they contain. And Yours is the praise. You are the light of the heavens and the Earth and all that they contain. And Yours is the praise. You are the king of the heavens and the Earth. And Yours is the praise. You are the Truth. Your promise is true. The meeting with You is true. Your word is true. Paradise is true and the Fire is true. The prophets are true. Muhammad (peace be upon him) is true. The Hour is true…” (Bukhari, Muslim).

The Prophet ﷺ, throughout his hardships, reflected on the nature of this world. And he saw the majesty of Allah’s attributes in all of creation, and in everything that happened. And with awe, humility and gratitude, he makes that du`a’ we see above from all of His heart.

Paired Names
We know that Allah pairs many of His Names and attributes in the Qur’an. One of the reasons is to show us how these Names relate to each other. Al-Hameed is paired with a few Names in the Qur’an: al-Ghani, al-Wali, al-Majeed, and al-Hakeem.

1—Allah says: “O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Free of need (al-Ghani), the Praiseworthy (al-Hameed),” (Qur’an, 35:15).

If a human being is seen as self-sufficient, that usually causes him to withdraw from people. Since this person does not need people, he may not see any reason to help or to give or to be nice—and he is certainly not perfect in his essence. But truly glory is that Allah (swt) does not need anyone, yet He still gives people, and acts with ultimate wisdom, and is praised.
2—”And it is He who sends down the rain after they had despaired and spreads His mercy. And He is the Protective Friend (al-Wali), the Praiseworthy (al-Hameed),” (Qur’an, 42:48).

You might assign someone to be your lawyer, entrusting him to protect you. But if this lawyer is careless, and loses your case, he would not be praised, neither for his action nor for his essence. But when Allah is your Wali, you cannot help but praise Allah, who defends and protects His intimate friends.
3—”They said, “Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? May the mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house. Indeed, He is Praiseworthy (al-Hameed) and Honorable (al-Majeed),” (Qur’an, 11:73).

Al-Majeed, according to al-Ghazali, is “one who is noble in essence, beautiful in actions, and bountiful in gifts and in favors.” Thus while Allah is the Lord and commands that come from Him do not need to be explained, out of His nobility and bounty He explains many things in the Qur’an. So He is praised for that.
4- “Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise (Hakeem) and Praiseworthy (Hameed)” (Qur’an, 41:42).

Here Allah (swt) is pointing out to us that if we reflected on His decree, we would praise Him for His wisdom. Because while Allah does as He pleases, He is also the Most-Wise and thus there is always the best wisdom behind His actions.
Connecting to Al-Hameed

• Praise Allah through the good and the bad

The Prophet ﷺ tells us that “AlhamduliLah fills the scales,” (Muslim). One way of retaining blessings is thanking and praising Allah (swt) for them. And through the bad, we should remember that ultimately whatever occurs is out of Allah’s wisdom, He is both Hakeem (all-Wise) and Hameed (Praiseworthy), and therefore we should remember to humble ourselves and praise Him.

• Write down Allah’s Name al-Hameed and then write down all of Allah’s blessings upon you

We know the verse in the Qur’an where Allah states: “And if you should count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful” (Qur’an, 14:34).

Interestingly, Allah uses the word “favor”—ni`ma—in the singular, as though saying: even trying to enumerate the blessings of one single favor is impossible! To reflect deeply upon just one favor, and to ponder over its impacts, can fill us with so much awe for al-Hameed.

• Speak well to people

Allah says in the Qur’an, “And they had been guided [in worldly life] to good speech, and they were guided to the path of the Praiseworthy (Al-Hameed)” (Qur’an, 22:24).

In a beautiful reflection, Sheikh Ratib an-Nabulsi says that it is as though the path to Allah al-Hameed is through good speech, as Allah also says: “[…] And speak to people good [words][…]” (Qur’an, 2:83).

A beautiful hadith of the Prophet ﷺ states that: “A person’s faith is not upright until his heart is upright, and his heart will not be upright until his tongue is upright” (Ahmad).

• Praise Allah by using His gifts in His service

The highest form of praise is to use those gifts He has bestowed upon us in His service and therefore in good. But do not be like those who Allah says about them:

“And whoever exchanges the favor of Allah [for disbelief] after it has come to him – then indeed, Allah is severe in penalty,” (Qur’an, 2:211).

Belief is a blessing, but this can apply to other favors as well. If we use those gifts in ways that are unbecoming, then this is the opposite of hamd. The result is that our favors could be taken away, or perhaps worse, we cannot find the joy or sweetness in those favors. If we look at the story of Qarun in the Qur’an, he was given many blessings. He was from the people of Moses `alayhi as-salaam (peace be upon him). And Allah says, “We gave him of treasures whose keys would burden a band of strong men…” (Qur’an, 28:76). Yet Qarun tyrannized his own people, and had the gall to say, “I was only given it because of knowledge I have.” He did not attribute His gifts to Allah AND he used them for corruption. And what was the result?
“And We caused the earth to swallow him and his home. And there was for him no company to aid him other than Allah, nor was he of those who [could] defend themselves” (Qur’an, 28:81).

May Allah protect us.

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – their Lord will guide them because of their faith. Beneath them rivers will flow in the Gardens of Pleasure. Their call therein will be, ‘Exalted are You, O Allah,’ and their greeting therein will be, ‘Peace.’ And the last of their call will be, ‘Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds!’” (Qur’an, 10:9-10)

Surat Luqman, Qur’an 31: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

The next part of the ayah (verse) continues with أَنِ اشْكُرْ‌ لِلَّـهِ .  The word أن (an that/to) is called أن تفسيرية (an tafsireeyyah). That means that there is something going on that is not stated in the verse, but it is understood by someone who is strong in the language. The implied meaning is:

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا لُقْمَانَ الْحِكْمَةَ …حين جعلناه شاكرا لله

“Indeed We gave Luqman wisdom when We made him grateful to Allah.”

And the reason the word أن is called أن تفسيرية (an tafsireeyyah) is because it is talking about the inner state of Luqman, not the outer state. Some scholars said this means Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) commanded him by saying, “Be grateful to Allah.” However, most scholars said that the meaning is as we mentioned previously, since Allah (swt) knows the inner qualities of people. That is why in Islam we are not allowed to judge anyone’s intention. We are forbidden to do so because Allah (swt) is the only One who knows the intention.

The phrase أن اشكر لله also means, “We made him,” that is, Allah (swt) guided him, “to be شاكر  shaakir (grateful/thankful) to Allah.” The word شكر shukr (gratefulness/thankfulness) is only used when someone recognizes a favor. This is different than الحمد al-hamd. Al-hamd is used to describe something that is deserving of hamd (praise). This is why we say الحمد لله alhamdullilah (praise belongs to God). The Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) said: “الحمد رأس الشكر  Al-hamd (praise) is the head of giving thanks.” So hamd is praise and shukr is thanks. That is why when someone does something good to you, in Arabic you respond with shukran.

So here Allah (swt) says that Luqman is shaakir (grateful). The scholars explain that this shows the first stage of being a good servant of Allah (swt) is inner shukr. Being thankful to Him and feeling in your heart that thankfulness to Allah (swt).  The scholars explain this is because:

1. Being thankful to Allah (swt) means that one recognizes that all favors come from Allah (swt). That recognition is indicative of Allah (swt)’s existence. They recognize that He is the Master of all things.
2. Being thankful indicates that one’s belief in qadr (predestination determined by Allah) is strong.

Next, Allah (swt) says, “We gave him hikmah (wisdom).” This statement can have two meanings: the first meaning we already spoke of. The second meaning is that because he was grateful to Allah (swt), Allah (swt) gave him wisdom. As Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:

“If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]…” (14:7).

The second meaning could be, “We bestowed upon him wisdom because he was thankful to us.” So for any student of knowledge who wants to increase knowledge, then besides studying he/she should make sure to be shaakir to Allah (swt). We ask Allah (swt) to make us from those who are grateful.

Then Allah (swt) says, “And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself.” This is because Allah (swt) is not in need of our thanks. The ayah continues, “And whoever denies [His favor] – then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy,” (Qur’an, 14:8).

It is interesting to note that in the ayah the word يشكر  yashkur (to be grateful) is in the present-future tense, what is called المضارع  almudaariu. This present-future tense is used to show استمرار istimrar, consistency. When it is used, it brings with it the meaning of consistency. Sometimes we lose these things in translation. There is something beautiful here that we should notice. As Imam Ar-Raazi (may God have mercy on him) mentioned, when Allah (swt) talked about gratefulness He used the present-future tense. But when He talks about kufr (disbelief) He used the past tense: كفر kafara. The scholars noticed that when Allah (swt) speaks about the good qualities, He does so in the present-future tense. As if, Ar-Raazi says, Allah (swt) is telling you that you’re doing well, and you should stay this way. If you are grateful to Allah (swt) then continue being grateful.

But, on the other hand, Allah (swt) is not pleased that His servants are disbelievers. Allah (swt) uses the past tense when speaking of disbelief (although because it’s a شرط conditional statement it has to be in this form, but we don’t want to get into the grammar too much). Using the past tense is indicative of Allah (swt) saying, “If you are doing kufr stop immediately.” Once you realize that you are a disbeliever, and you realize that you believe in something other than Allah (swt), the Creator, then you should cut this away as fast as you can.  So Allah (swt) refers to it in the past tense as though you should leave it in the past.

Also, here كفر kafara is used as the opposite of شكر shukr. So instead of being grateful, one has rejected the favors of Allah (swt).

Now I have a question for you. Sometimes in the Qur’an we see similar wording, but the phrases are reversed. For example, in Surah Room, Allah (swt) says:

“Whoever disbelieves – upon him is [the consequence of] his disbelief. And whoever does righteousness – they are for themselves preparing,” (Qur’an, 30:44).

Why is it that in Surah Luqman Allah (swt) mentions thanks first, and then disbelief, but in other places of the Qur’an, Allah (swt) mentions disbelief first and then thanks?

Because here, Allah (swt) is speaking to us about the story of Luqman’s advice to his son, and Allah (swt) is praising the qualities of Luqman. Thus Allah (swt) is using this as an encouragement for the people who are grateful to Allah (swt) to continue to be thankful o Him. On the other hand, in the verse in Surah Room, Allah (swt) is commanding that we should turn towards the correct religion before a grievous day comes (i.e. the Day of Judgment), and then He mentions those who disbelieve versus those who are grateful. In Surah Room the order is reversed as a form of ترهيب tarheeb, to scare people and to wake up those people who are disbelievers.

“Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter. Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter. Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother.” [Muslim]

Reading this hadith (saying of the Prophet  ﷺ) always humbles me. We are given so much for doing things that we should be doing anyway, at the very least out of thanks because of all that we have been given. When we think of the concept of appreciation, what should immediately come to mind is that we should be appreciative and grateful for the blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) has bestowed upon us—everything from the material, to our friends and family, to the spiritual.

But do we realize that Allah has given Himself the Name ash-Shakoor?

Shukr is defined as recognizing and appreciating when good is done. Shakoor in Arabic is also used to describe an animal that is given little food but gives back much. So it revolves around receiving something, even if small, and giving back much because of it.

Allah is ash-Shakoor, which we will translate here as the Most Appreciative. Al-Ghazali tells us that ash-Shakoor is “the one who rewards the practice of a few pious deeds many-fold, and in response to the action of a few days, gives limitless happiness in the life to come. The one who rewards a good deed many-fold is said to be grateful for that deed, while whoever commends the one who does a good deed is also said to be grateful. Yet if you consider the multiplication factor in reward, only God—great and glorious—is absolutely grateful because His multiplication of the reward is unrestricted and unlimited; for there is no end to the happiness of Paradise.”

Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:

لِيُوَفِّيَهُمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِ إِنَّهُ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ

“That He may give them in full their rewards and increase for them of His bounty. Indeed, He is Forgiving and Appreciative.” (Qur’an, 35:30)

We might think—what does Allah have to be appreciative for? Everything we have is from Him anyway! But that is why He, the Most High, is ash-Shakoor: The Most-Appreciative. In this form, it means He appreciates the smallest of deeds, He appreciates the deeds all the time, and His appreciation is unlimited.

وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ

“…And whoever commits a good deed — We will increase for him good therein. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Appreciative.” (Qur’an, 42:23)

The Prophet ﷺ urged us to do good deeds no matter how small, as he said that we should protect ourselves from the Fire by giving even half of a date in charity [Bukhari]. Now imagine if you give even more?

This is why the Prophet ﷺ reminds us, “Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face,” [Muslim]. Allah appreciates the deeds that are done to all creatures, not simply humans. The Prophet ﷺ narrates to us a story of a man who was extremely thirsty, and found a well, which he climbed down to fetch water to quench his thirst. He then saw a dog which was panting out of thirst. Recognizing that the dog felt the exact same thing he was a few minutes ago, he climbed back down the well in order to give the dog some water. Allah appreciated his action (fashakara Allahu lahu) and forgave his sins [Bukhari and Muslim].

Simple acts like glorifying Allah (saying subhan’Allah – glory be to God) 100 times grants you 1000 good deeds.

Allah (swt) even appreciates our intention. The Prophet ﷺ describes two men: one man whom Allah has bestowed upon wealth and knowledge, and he acts upon that knowledge and gives from his wealth; and another man whom Allah has given knowledge but no wealth, and that man says, “If I had the wealth he had, I would do the same”. The Prophet ﷺ said “And they are rewarded the same”. [Ibn Majah]

Go out of your way to help someone, not expecting anything in return, and someone along the road will do that for you as a reward from Allah (swt). I remember someone telling my father and me about a time he was severely in debt. Only halfway through the month he was counting the little money that he had, not sure how he would feed his family for the next few weeks. He told us that as he was thinking about what he should do, a man who had borrowed money from him 10 years ago when he was a student called him and said he had the money to pay him back. Nothing we ever do is lost. Allah (swt) kept that money for him for when he needed it the most. And this man, may Allah bless him, had a habit of never asking for money back when he loaned it to people. It worked to his detriment sometimes, but Allah (swt) appreciated his selfless deed and returned the money to him when it was worth so much more. The Prophet ﷺ exemplified this and always gave people, so much that a Bedouin exclaimed, “O my people! Embrace Islam, for Muhammad gives away like the one who does not fear poverty.” [Muslim]

Other names of Allah relating to Ash-Shakoor

The Qur’an is a book full of virtues and benefits. At the end of certain ayat (verses), Allah pairs two of His Names together – “Al-’aleem al-Hakeem (the All-knowing, the Wise),” for example. This is not random or by accident. Allah shows us the relationship between the two attributes. With ash-Shakoor this is particularly amazing. Amr Khaled explained the relationship between ash-Shakoor and the other Names it is paired with in the Qur’an:

When it comes to doing good, some of us are hesitant. ‘I am such a sinner!’ We may think, ‘Will Allah really appreciate the pathetic deeds that I do when I commit such horribly bad deeds?’  Allah (swt) says, “Surely our Lord is indeed Ever-Forgiving, Appreciative”(Qur’an, 35:34), and  “He is most forgiving, most appreciative.” (Qur’an, 35:30).   This gives us the reassurance that even if we commit sinful deeds, we can return to Allah and He will, insha’Allah (God willing) forgive us, while rewarding us for the good.

Secondly, many of us crave recognition. We do good in secret and a part of us wishes that the person we have done good for knows. Or at other times, we may intend to do something good but everything goes wrong—and no one knew that your intention was to do good. To this effect, Allah (swt) tells us, “And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing,” (Qur’an, 4:147).  Allah (swt) rewards and appreciates the things that people may overlook.

Remember that with Allah (swt) the cycle is never ending. When we deal with human beings, you could give them a gift and they respond with a thanks or a gift in return, but it ends there. With Allah (swt), He tells us that when we thank, He gives us more. So it is a cycle of increase and encouragement for you to be grateful and constantly doing good.

Being aware of ash-Shakoor

Awareness of ash-Shakoor should inspire in us the following things:

1. Give as much as you can, be there for people and help where you can. Treat people as you like Allah (swt) to treat you. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Walking with a brother in order to fulfill his needs is better for me than fasting and remaining in devotional seclusion in my mosque for a whole month.” [Tabarani] Allah rewards for the tiniest things we do, so imagine if we start doing great things?
2. Worship Allah (swt) in the best way that you can. Try to improve the devotion in your prayers, reflect over the Qur’an, fast voluntarily if you can—you will see the effect both in this life and the next insha’Allah! Also, adding a small amount that is continuous is better that doing so much and then burning out, so remember to do what you can bear.
3. Sometimes Allah (swt) postpones the signs of His appreciation – and this is to build sincerity. Are you going to give up because you don’t see the immediate fruits? Do it for Allah (swt), because you know He is ash-Shakoor in this life and the next, and ask Him to grant you beautiful patience. Remember that the Prophet ﷺ was kind and forbearing and was not treated with the same in Makkah, but Allah (swt) gave him great companions and finally refuge in Madina.
4. Appreciate people. The Prophet ﷺ taught us that “The one who does not thank people had not thanked God.” [Abu Dawud]
5. Finally, be grateful for what you have been given by Allah (swt). Al-Ghazali states, “The best way of manifesting thankfulness for the blessings of God Most High is to make use of these blessings in obeying, and not disobeying, Him.”

Allah (swt) says:

“Is the reward for good [anything] but good?

[Qur’an, 55:60]

May Allah enable us to be thankful and appreciative servants of the Most-Appreciative.

Recently my city got hit by a blizzard. In the middle of the storm, I had to make a trip outside in the whiteout conditions. Walking in the blizzard was pretty amazing; the storm almost knocked me down with powerful wind gusts, visibility was low, and the snow was still coming down hard. It got me thinking about how easy it is for Allah to cripple a society by just altering the weather slightly. The same precipitation that falls from the sky, giving life to Earth, can also be used by the Creator to take it all away. It’s pretty amazing – the fact that this doesn’t happen often is a Mercy from Allah, and one of the blessings we ought to be deeply thankful for.

The Concept of Thankfulness

In the Qur’an, Allah says about being thankful,

“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’.” (14:7)

In this ayah (verse), Allah tells us that if a slave is grateful, He has promised that He will increase the blessings that have already been given to them. But if the slave denies the blessings that they have been given, the punishment from his Lord is severe. Let’s take a deeper look at this verse.

The concept being communicated in the ayah is emphasized greatly through the language. In Arabic, emphasis can be placed, not with separate words or additional adjectives, but with just an added letter and/or a shaddah¹ to intensify the meaning of what is being said. The purpose of this emphasis technique is to remove any doubt from the mind of the reader to the truth of what is being read. Because of this, with translation we lose aspects of the meaning; English lacks the same use of emphasis, which means we can remain unaware of specific points that we should be focusing on.

In this verse from Surah Ibrahim, there are eight points of emphasis. The complete meaning being conveyed in English is, ”if you are truly thankful, then certainly, most definitely I shall increase many times for you [in favor]’, and ‘if you were to actually deny my favors, then certainly, most definitely My Punishment is extremely severe.”

This subtle depth of meaning is lost when we translate the ayah. Once we understand this emphasis, we can begin to appreciate the true depth of what Allah says.

Allah has given a promise that, if we are thankful to Him for His blessings, He will certainly give us more. Yet, if we were to be ungrateful, Allah does not say outright that He will give us a punishment; rather He leaves it open as if to remind us that, ‘look, My Punishment is severe – that is all you need to know so start becoming thankful for your own benefit.’

The Opposite of Thankfulness

Another important point to make is that Allah uses disbelief (كفر) as the opposite of thankfulness (شكر). A kafir (كافر) is one that “covers something up” and this is why a farmer is linguistically known as a kafir because he covers up seeds with soil – this word ‘kuffara’ is also in Surah Hadeed (Qur’an, 57:20). Allah pairs up shukr and kufr to teach us that they are opposites of each other. This is why in the verse the word ‘kafar’ is used, which comes from the root (كفر), to say that one who is ungrateful “covers up” or rejects the blessings of Allah thereby belittling them and showing ingratitude. This relationship between the two opposing concepts is highlighted elsewhere in the Qur’an where Allah pairs these two words together:

“So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.” (2:152)

Iblees (satan) also said that his ultimate goal was to make us disbelieve Allah through his method of making us ungrateful to Allah:

“Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].” (Qur’an, 7:17)

Allah ties iman (faith) to being thankful:

“What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe?” (Qur’an, 4:147)

And the pleasure of Allah is tied to being thankful to Him:

“…And if you are grateful, He approves it for you…” (Qur’an, 39:7)

Lastly, being thankful is showing humility towards Allah. When we take a look at the Qur’anic story of Qarun who was blessed with great wealth, we see that despite all of his blessings, he was someone who failed to be grateful. What did he say?

“He said, ‘I was only given it because of knowledge I have’…” (28:78)

Qarun was ungrateful, he was arrogant and he rejected Allah’s blessings. Because of this Allah caused the Earth to swallow him up as a punishment for his arrogance. This teaches us that if we are not consciously being grateful towards Allah, we can build within ourselves a type of arrogance that deludes us into believing that whatever blessings we have is due to ourselves instead of Allah. We need to understand and practice gratefulness consciously, but how?

Thankfulness in Our Lives

Once the importance of being grateful has been established, the question is: How can we become grateful to Allah? A key rule to remember is that true thankfulness towards Allah is to use the blessings He gave us in a manner that will earn His Pleasure. We have countless blessings in our lives and cannot ever truly be thankful for them. We have warm homes, plentiful food, family, friends, cars, money in our wallets and bank accounts, quality education – and the greatest blessing of all: we have been blessed with imaan. Can we truly be thankful to Allah in the manner which He deserves? Perhaps not, but we can definitely make a conscious effort to start acknowledging these blessings in our life and increasing in good deeds to show gratitude.

We can thank Allah for the warm bed by getting up for Fajr salah. We can thank Him for the money in our wallets by giving to charity. We can thank Him for the great food we eat by feeding others. We can start by setting the bar high for ourselves in doing good deeds and make our intentions of doing them only to show gratitude to Allah. We can start by being better servants to Him and doing what He has commanded us to do (in patience and forbearance) and staying away from what He has forbidden.

Going back to the snow storm, it was truly a reminder for me when I walked into my home – the fact that I had shelter with a roof over my head, warmth, food, a warm bed and comfort from the storm outside. It was a reminder to me that Allah has truly blessed me and there is much that I need to be thankful for, which perhaps I was overlooking by taking it for granted.

Let’s start by being more conscious of the blessings we have and increasing in our ‘ibaadah (worship) to show shukr – thankfulness. After all, the best of Allah’s creation would spend his entire nights in worship just to show gratitude to His Lord, didn’t he ﷺ (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)?

It was reported in al-Bukhârî and Muslim by our mother ‘Aishah (ra) that the Prophet ﷺ stayed up all night in prayer, stand­ing until his feet became swollen. When he was asked, “Why are you doing this, when Allah has forgiven all your past and future wrong actions?” he replied, “Should I not be a grateful slave?”

So the question is, should we not follow in his ﷺ blessed footsteps and try our best to be grateful slaves as well? After all:

“…And whoever is grateful is grateful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies [His favor] – then indeed, Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.” (Qur’an, 31:12)

There are four main states that we may find ourselves in:

1. The State of Blessing.
2. The State of Hardship.
3. The State of Sin.
4. The State of Obedience.

These four states are not completely separate from one another; a person may be going through more than one at the same time. For each one of these states, there is a specific form of worship mandated.

The State of Blessing

In the state of ni`am, or blessing, the believers should respond with shukr. Shukr is often times translated as “gratitude,” however it encompasses more than just that. There are three parts to shukr and if one of these parts is not present, the shukr is not complete. The blessing must be reflected in:

1. Your heart

Strive to be pleased internally with what Allah has bestowed upon you. Never think, “I deserve this,” or, “I earned this myself.

2. Your limbs

Be sure not to commit any haraam (unlawful act) with the blessing that Allah (swt) has bestowed upon you. This is the epitome of ungratefulness.

3. Your tongue

Thank Allah (swt) verbally and be sure to not boast about what has been bestowed upon you.

We must also remember that if you are thankful during times of ease and blessings, Allah (swt) will increase those blessings. On the other hand, if you are ungrateful, the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you will decrease and eventually disappear.

The State of Hardship

In the state of Al-Balaa’, or hardship, the believer should respond with sabr. Sabr is to have patience and ridda (acceptance) of the state in which you have been placed. You do not have to be pleased with your current situation, but you should acknowledge that the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing, has allowed you to be in this state so it must be for the best. During this time you should also increase acts of worship and obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala.

The State of Sin

Being human, we will all be in states of sin at one point or another. Our beloved Messenger ﷺ said, “Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners is the one who seeks forgiveness.” From the words of Rasulullah ﷺ we see that when we are in the state of sin, we should react to this by doing istighfaar, or seeking forgiveness. It is not enough to simply mutter an “I’m sorry, God” and return to our daily routine, rather there are parts to istighfaar and if one of them is not there, the istighfaar is not complete. The istighfaar must encompass:

1. Renouncing the sin.
2. Firm intention to never return to the sin.
3. Regret for having committed the sin.
4. If the sin was against the rights of another human being: compensation for that wrong doing.

The State of Obedience

In the state of obedience (I pray that this is our most frequent state) the believer should respond by striving to maintain ikhlaas (sincerity) while acting, as well as responding with shukr.  Any action, if done for the wrong intention, will not be accepted. We learn this from the first hadeeth (report of the words or actions of the Prophet ﷺ) in Imam An-Nawawi’s collection of forty hadeeth:

“Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.”

Shaytaan (the devil) often times, finding us in an obedient state, will use his whispers to cause us to be arrogant. Arrogance is one of the most tempting, yet destructive sins that one can fall into. Remember that the sin that shaytaan committed was a sin of arrogance and he is now destined to eternal destruction. A way to combat these whispers is to display shukr. Remember that Allah (swt) is the one who allowed you to be obedient. Any good that you do should be attributed to the blessing of Allah (swt) upon you, not the righteousness of your own soul. And the more you thank Him for allowing you to be obedient, the more He will bestow upon you the means to be obedient.

I ask Allah to cause us to be of those who respond in the appropriate manner no matter what state we are in.

Author’s note: The brother who told me this story allowed me to adapt it as if it happened to me for the purposes of this article.

A Lesson on the Way to the Mosque

I was late. I always managed to be a bit late, always missing thefirst takbir(the saying of AllahuAkbar to start the prayer), but alhamdulillah (all praise is due to God) at least managing to catch the salah (prayer). I pressed on the gas in hopes I would make the first raka`ah (unit of prayer).

As I came closer to the masjid (mosque) I took my eyes off the road in shock. An older lady in a wheelchair was trying to make her way up a driveway into a complex. She was struggling to make it up the incline with groceries strapped on either side of the wheelchair; she would make it up two feet and fall back one. The worst part was that there were some people just driving around her, as if nothing was wrong. Subhan’Allah (glorified is God), I have driven up that driveway numerous times without any problems. Something about a V6 engine and 91 octane gas made it slightly easier than her feeble arms.

I quickly switched lanes, made a u-turn, and headed straight back. I hit my one-touch, auto-down window button and began looking at her as my window made its way down. By now she had made it up the driveway.

“Hi, there, would you mind if I pushed you home?”

“Oh no – not at all.”

Over the course of the next ten minutes I learned about this lady and her story. She was living alone in her apartment. She took care of her own cleaning and cooking, and tried to stay active and self-reliant. She had broken her foot recently (hence the wheelchair), but was still managing to fend for herself; rarely did she seek a helping hand.

Our conversation was only reminiscent of gratitude for the little she had. She was constantly thankful for living in a nice area and always having food on the table, but her living condition left something to be desired in the prosperous surroundings of Orange County. She didn’t have a car (let alone a nice one), or designer clothing, or a beautiful house – but somehow she seemed more content and much happier than many people that I saw around me.

As we approached her apartment she thanked me. We stopped just short of being able to identify her apartment; she still had to get over a small ledge to get into the door. This was an easy task for most, but not for her. I asked numerous times, “Are you sure I can’t take you farther?” I assumed she would be scared that I would rob her. To the contrary, she explained that getting past this ledge was her favorite part of the day and she refused to get anyone’s help. Whenever she returned home, she lifted herself from the chair to sit on the ledge, moved the groceries one bag at a time onto the ledge, maneuvered the chair onto the ledge, re-hung all the groceries back on the chair, sat back on the chair and then wheeled herself into her apartment. Subhan’Allah, I was taken aback after hearing this. I assumed she didn’t have any help and that her neighbors neglected her. However, I was quickly reassured that this wasn’t the case as three little neighborhood children ran up to talk to her. It seemed as if her neighbors knew about her plight – so why this daily difficulty? She confidently replied that she wanted to maintain some independence and did not want to fall into relying on people for everything as she grew older.

Allahu Akbar! (God is Greater!) I continued to talk to her a little longer and she started to inquire about my life.

“So tell me about your life in Orange County, how has it been?”

“Honestly it has been nothing short of blessing. I’ve never had to worry about money or education or anything of the sort. I’ve always been provided for.”

“Really?! Tell, me what it’s like. How is it to live a blessed life?”

It now dawned on me how poor this lady was. She lived by herself, on welfare. She didn’t have anyone to help her because her family was either dead or out of touch. The way she had described herself to me earlier sounded like a life of blessing, but from her reaction it was now apparent to me she was barely making ends meet and that she had lived a life of much struggle and tribulation.

A True Manifestation of Shukr

I learned a very important lesson from her that day. Shukr (gratitude) only manifested through the tongue (i.e. saying alhamdulillah after salah) is the most superficial of realizations. Her shukr was so great that it blinded me of her poverty and past: she was so grateful for what Allah `azza wa jal (honored be His Glory) provided her then and now that I could not see that she was going through—and went through—difficult times.

For us, of course, it’s different. Instead we live lives of careless banter and headless action: we use profanity to express our outrage over petty incidents; we belittle each other senselessly; we get frustrated when asked for help; we get angry if someone needs extra minutes of our precious time; we deny help due to negligence and laziness; we deny monetary aid because of suspicion; we complain to our friends about how much we don’t have instead of thanking for what we do have; instead of walking the streets as positive social elements of change who are grateful for the blessings that surround us, we vegetate at home on our iPhones and Blackberries tweeting about what we had for breakfast while reading the hundreds of instantly updated Facebook status messages on what he hates and who she likes and whether celebrity x is going out with celebrity y.

The greatest manifestation of shukr is the use of a blessing for good and benefit. Allah `azza wa jal gave us a healthy body, so praying with care correctly can be an embodiment of gratitude as can organizing or participating in a beach clean up. We have been granted a privilege here in America by Allah `azza wa jal and we will be asked about our blessings on the Day of Judgment (102:8). How did we use our health: to defame property, beat up our siblings and chase after girls? Or was it to feed the poor, give da`wah (call people to Islam) and help with mosque setup? How did we use our intellect: to carry out endless and worthless arguments or to study hard and stand for justice? There is even blessing and provision in a lack of tribulation. Many of us do not have to care for ailing family members or work two jobs, so what are we doing with the extra time? What are we doing with our iPhones, Blackberries and Droids – are we using them to become more efficient with our time or waste more time?

As this year starts, we should be reciprocating our blessings with positive impacts in society. We only have two questions to answer: 1) What have we worked for the last year with all the blessings that we have been given? 2) What are we going to work for in the coming year?