Gratitude

Cont'd from page 3

[80:17] Woe to the human being; he is so unappreciative!

God has provided us with everything we need in this world. He has made it not just productive but beautiful as well. We take so much for granted, without being properly appreciative of these blessings. The sun for our warmth, the moon and stars, the seas for provisions and transportation, the livestock for food and shelter. We can never fully grasp all of God’s gifts. [14:34] And He gives you all kinds of things that you implore Him for. If you count GOD’s blessings, you can never encompass them. Indeed, the human being is transgressing, unappreciative.

Further, the ultimate blessing of God upon us is His guidance. He showed us the right path, gave us the wisdom to become successful in the hereafter. We stand apart from the lot, because we know the true path of success without any doubt. Therefore, it becomes necessary to appreciate these blessings of God.   

Gratitude in Islam is a form of worship. So do not be like the one who was blessed with earning a lot of money every day, and after a year he started thanking the money and not the One who blessed him with it. Being ungrateful to God is irrational as well as a form of spiritual and intellectual bankruptcy.

Every blessing of God is worth appreciating. It is quite unfortunate that those who forget to thank God or fabricate lies about God will be in a very pitiable condition on the day of resurrection.

[10:60] Does it ever occur to those who fabricate lies about GOD that they will have to face Him on the Day of Resurrection? Certainly, GOD showers the people with His grace, but most of them are unappreciative.

God does not need our appreciation or glorification. He is just finding the ways and the excuses to forgive us, and He asks us to be thankful and appreciative. [39:66] Therefore, you shall worship GOD alone, and be appreciative.

Ironically, we humans are the only ones who forget to be sufficiently grateful to Him. [17:44] Glorifying Him are the seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Clement, Forgiver.

Thanking God and showing gratitude for His blessings in good times is quite obvious but appreciating it in the midst of hard times is truly phenomenal.

[2:216] Fighting may be imposed on you, even though you dislike it. But you may dislike something which is good for you, and you may like something which is bad for you. GOD knows while you do not know.

[7:99] Have they taken GOD’s plans for granted? None takes GOD’s plans for granted except the losers.

So, if we aspire to be closer to God then we must never lose an opportunity to remember God. Hence to achieve the closeness to God we need to have perseverance and patience. Nobody achieves success instantly. We all know that the day you plant a seed is not the day you eat the fruit. Be patient, be humble, keep moving forward and know that all this hard work you are putting in will surely produce the results you have been looking for. May God guide us and grant us the success we are seeking. And may He have mercy on us to have the right attitude to show gratitude to Him. 

Remember, we have a choice: [76:3] We showed him the two paths, then, he is either appreciative, or unappreciative. Let’s be appreciative.

Abdul Ghani