|
[2:152] You shall remember Me, that I may remember you, and be thankful to Me; do not be unappreciative.
We have always learned in Quran to be appreciative about everything that God has given us. We are thankful to God for everything. But are we really thanking God enough?
Everything is given to us by God. We thank Him for a lot of things, but do we remember to thank God for the mountains, the rain, the plants, the wind, the sun, the moon? We learn from Quran that we should be thankful about everything that we have.
We don’t realize but we need to thank God for these immense blessings that He gave us. Without them we would basically not be able to live on Earth. The mountains give a sense of balance on the Earth. It stabilizes the surface of the Earth without which it would lose its balance. The rain revives our land from heat and dryness coming straight from the Sun. It is the reason we are able to eat our food because without water no food would grow. It beautifies our surroundings in order for us to appreciate God’s creation. It also is a necessity to our daily lives. Every day, every hour, even every minute we need water to survive.
[30:50] You shall appreciate GOD’s continuous mercy, and how He revives the land that has been dead. He will just as certainly resurrect the dead. He is Omnipotent.
The plants are the very reason we can breathe. Imagine no oxygen or limited oxygen? How would we feel when breathing became so difficult? The plants are designed to take in the carbon dioxide that we produce and give out oxygen for us to breathe clean air. They do this because God has commanded them to do it for us. And they do it without complaining.
[16:114] Therefore, you shall eat from GOD’s provisions everything that is lawful and good, and be appreciative of GOD’s blessings, if you do worship Him alone.
The wind serves us in accordance with God’s will. It drives clouds from one place to another. It helps the ships in the sea to sail. It gives us relief from heat. We cannot imagine ourselves sitting in places with no fan or no wind. We think we’ll die of the heat. But God knows perfectly who deserves it.
[30:48] GOD is the One who sends the winds, to stir up clouds, to be spread throughout the sky in accordance with His will. He then piles the clouds up, then you see the rain coming down therefrom. When it falls on whomever He chooses from among His servants, they rejoice.
The sun radiates light so bright for the entire solar system to use. Could we imagine 24 hours of darkness 7 days a week? With no light?
[28:71] Say, “What if GOD made the night perpetual, until the Day of Resurrection? Which god, other than GOD, can provide you with light? Do you not hear?”
[28:72] Say, “What if GOD made the daylight perpetual, until the Day of Resurrection? Which god, other than GOD, can provide you with a night for your rest? Do you not see?”
It is impossible to live in circumstances like that. But God gives us this blessing of the sun to help us distinguish day from night and to help us calculate our prayer timings. The sun is also a reason for the living organisms to survive on earth. Without sun plants and trees cannot produce anything for us. They eventually die. Similarly with the moon, it gives a light to find our way in the darkness. The moon helps hold the Earth stable with its gravity (plus without gravity God created we would be floating in the air).
All these reasons and many more are given in Quran. It is very important to be appreciative of all these things in our life because without them we would not be able to survive. God gives us these provisions because He loves us and He wants us to use these provisions and be thankful to Him. Sometimes we tend to forget about these particular ones and take it for granted that they will be there no matter what.
But it’s necessary to be thankful to God for all the provisions He gave us. In Sha Allah may God help us to be more and more thankful to Him for all that He has given us and be assured that we will get it in proper measure and that it’s replenished at proper intervals.
[14:7] Your Lord has decreed: “The more you thank Me, the more I give you.” But if you turn unappreciative, then My retribution is severe.
[31:12] We have endowed Luqmãn with wisdom: “You shall be appreciative of GOD.” Whoever is appreciative is appreciative for his own good. As for those who turn unappreciative, GOD is in no need, Praiseworthy.
[39:66] Therefore, you shall worship GOD alone, and be appreciative.
* * * * *
Very good cooks are usually proud of the fact that they create their culinary dishes without the aid of packaged foods; they cook “from scratch.” But author Carl Sagan insightfully said: “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
God created the system for the apple seeds to germinate and grow, the soil and the rainfall to make them prosper. He created the wheat plants from which we make flour, and protected those plants from birds by giving them spiky stalks. He made the spices and the sugar that flavor this delicious dish.
So to bake truly “from scratch,” you have to start at the beginning and create all the systems that function so beautifully together to produce all the separate ingredients. Or, you can appreciate that God has already done that for you and make a delicious apple pie. And remember to thank God as you enjoy every bite.