GRATITUDE
Surah Al-Fatiha, Verse 2:
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;
(English - Yusuf Ali)
via iQuran
Allah made it clear to us in the holy Qur'an how much he values gratitude and appreciation. He began the first surah of the holy Qur'an making gratitude to himself the lord of the universe. If Allah SWT could appreciate himself then who are you??.
We are nothing but one of his creations on the surface of the earth. He created everything that existed, still existing, and would later exist on the surface, he created man from the clay, angels from light, jinns from fire, he created the sky and all in it, the oceans and the mountains, everything gives thanks and appreciation to him.
Many verses in the Holy Qur'an were revealed to the holy prophet about making appreciation to the almighty Allah. Allah cherishes a servant who appreciates whatever has been done for him/her, as he promised to give returns in multiples.
Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 1:
Praise be to Allah, Who hath sent to His Servant the Book, and hath allowed therein no Crookedness:
(English - Yusuf Ali)
via iQuran
We have no reason to be ungrateful to the almighty God, for he is our sole provider and benefactor. What aspect of our lives could make us feel ungrateful? Should we talk about our breathing? Or giving us the ability to see, walk, talk, sleep and wake. Yet we see all these as nothing??
Surah An-Nisa, Verse 147:
What can Allah gain by your punishment, if ye are grateful and ye believe? Nay, it is Allah that recognizes (all good) and knoweth all things.
(English - Yusuf Ali)
via iQuran
The holy prophet Muhammad SAW told us among the best of supplications to almighty Allah is to give thanks to him.
Allah is always pleased with whosoever appreciates his mercy and grace over them
Surah Ibrahim, Verse 7:
And remember! your Lord caused to be declared (publicly): "If ye are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you; But if ye show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible indeed."
(English - Yusuf Ali)
via iQuran
These few verses from the Holy Qur'an are enough to stand as a warning to us and give glad tidings to those who are grateful to the almighty. It's never too late to appreciate Allah for all he has done for you. Little did you know the favor he has bestowed upon you! So why don't you just show gratitude reciprocally?
It has been discussed above some aspects of gratitude and how Allah HIMSELF cherished gratitude. Even among ourselves as mankind, we should always give appreciation, because a grateful soul would surely receive more. What would a man gain from being ungrateful??.
This led me to a short story about a young man.
This man had been living in comfort from his birth, he enjoyed every luxury a child would have, he had a caring and rich parent as everyone would always love to be him. He enjoyed his childhood days and even his adulthood.
Allah SWT does whatever he wishes to whomsoever he wishes. Even being grateful should Allah decide to test him and his Imaan(faith). Does he truly believe in me?? Does he believe I can undo it??. Does he know I am the one who wakes the dead and takes life from the living??.
Suddenly, all his riches, his assets, and even his family disappeared. He faced consecutive death from his family and also had perished all his assets in no time. He was left alone in the lonely world. A man who everyone would want to be with became someone everyone abandoned. He thought about life and devised to take his life. He had thought being dead would be better than being alive.
He decided to move into isolation and take his life where no one would notice him. On his way, he decided to buy two sachets of water. Maybe he gets thirsty. He got to the tree and decided to have some rest. He took a sachet of water and climbed up the tree to commit suicide.
A few minutes later he saw a man who had been drained and skinny, he saw the sachet of water the man dropped and quickly grabbed onto it. He started sucking out the few drops of water left in the sachet with joy. He was so happy to have a few drops in his throat.
The man who decided to commit suicide came down immediately and bowed to his lord in gratitude. He couldn’t believe there is someone even in a worse scenario than he is, he thought everything has ended for him without knowing that’s his position is what some other people are praying to be.
Such is life; when we look above us to those higher up taking them as an example to set our pace and hope to be like them, let’s not forget to look down at those below taking our present position as a prayer point.
Life is like driving a vehicle, we look forward through the windscreen to those ahead of us, likewise, we mustn’t forget to check the side mirror to look back at those behinds us.
This is a fictional story for us to know the value of having a grateful heart and appreciating the almighty Allah's mercy over us.
I pray the almighty Allah SWT continues to shower its blessings and mercy upon us, our family, and loved ones. I pray he continues to guide us to the path till the end of time.
Header image from my device camera
More grease to your elbow bro 😎....indeed remembrance benefits the believers.