Showing Gratitude to the Creator, Exalted be He
Excerpts from Eidul-Adha Khutba
By: Dr. Sameh Asal
Imam of the Birmingham Islamic Society
Allah, the Almighty, has showered us with so many blessings and bounties that are impossible for us to enumerate. Everything we have is conferred upon us by Him, from the very cells of our bodies to our senses such as seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. He is the One Who provides us with provision and disposes our affairs. Moreover, Allah, Glorified ad Exalted be He, is the One Who subjected for us what is in the heavens and the earth. Allah, the Almighty, says, “And whatever you have of favor - it is from Allah. Then when adversity touches you, to Him you cry for help.” [Qur’an: 16: 53] He, Glorified be He, also says, “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]
For all these bounties that we know of and the ones we are unaware of, we Muslims should show gratitude to Allah, the Almighty, in our hearts through witnessing these favors and loving Allah, by our tongues through acknowledging those favors and praising Allah for that, and by our physical organs through obedience and compliance to His commands. We should not take Allah’s favors on us for granted; rather we should acknowledge them and be appreciative to the Creator, Mighty and Sublime be He.
We should acknowledge that our families, children, our wealth and properties, our positions, our health, our safety and security are all bounties from Allah, and we should show gratitude from him to maintain these bounties and have more of his blessings. Gratitude to Allah and appreciation of His favors is the guarantee for the continuity of having these favors and having an increase in them. Allah, the Almighty, tells us in the Qur’an that if we show gratitude to Him, He will give us more of His favors. He says, “And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]…” [Qur’an: 14: 7]
Gratitude to Allah is bountifully rewarded by Allah in the Hereafter. Allah, Glorified be He, says, “We will reward the grateful…” [Qur’an: 3: 144] Likewise, gratitude to Allah, is a protection from Allah’s punishment on the Day of Judgment. Qatadah, a Muslim scholar, said, “Allah doesn’t punish someone who is believing and grateful.” Allah, Mighty and Sublime, be He says, “What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing.” [Qur’an: 4: 147]
Gratitude is, in fact, a quality of the believer, who is always grateful to Allah at the times of prosperity and is showing patience and perseverance at the time of adversity. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Amazing is the affair of the believer. All his affairs are good for him, and this is for none except the believer.; if a pleasant matter happens to him, he is grateful and it is good for him. And if he is befallen by a harm, he is patient and it is good for him.” (Related by Muslim)
To show gratitude to Allah for His favors, a Muslim fulfills the acts of worship that Allah enjoined on him/her such as prayer, Zakah, fasting, Hajj, dutifulness to parents, kindness to relatives, fellow Muslims, neighbors, citizens and all people. When he/she knows of someone who is hungry, it is his duty to feed him to express gratitude to Allah.
When natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, Muslims should be in the front lines to help those who were afflicted by those disasters. As a matter of fact, the recent reactions of Muslims in Houston and during Hurricane Harvey was a phenomenal one that reflected the true spirit of Islam and showed a genuine gratitude to Allah (SWT).
Our local Muslim community in the Greater Birmingham area are a class by themselves in showing their genuine gratitude to Allah and implementation of the teachings of Islam. They rushed to offer their help in supporting and accommodating 11 families who arrived from Tampa and Tallahassee, Florida, fleeing from Hurricane Irma. As soon as those families showed up at Hoover Crescent Islamic Center (HCIC), the organization leaders were bombarded by phone calls from community members offering to host families at their homes, others brought beddings to HCIC for our guests, whereas others cooked food for the guests, and still others donated money to prepare meals for our guests. One of the impressive reactions that are worth mentioning was that of a community leader who offered brand new beddings that were sufficient for a dozen of guests on the first night they arrived.
To sum up, gratitude to Allah is one of the greatest acts of worship that a Muslim does to please Allah, continue to receive His favors, and to attain Allah’s reward in the Hereafter. Gratitude to Allah requires us to look around us for those who need help and do our bests in helping them. Allah, the Almighty, is appreciative of every good thing that we do. Allah, Exalted be He, says, “Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Appreciative.” [Qur’an: 64: 17]
