All 'Thanksgiving' is to Allah(swt) alone

Saturday, 26 November 2011 06:24

All praise and thanks is to ONLY Allah(swt). All praise is to only Allah(swt) the Lord, the Creator and the Provider of the world. He(swt) alone we ask for help and guidance and to Him(swt) alone we give our thanks. How unfortunate and ungrateful most humans are towards their creator when we do not appreciate what Allah(swt) does for us.

Allah(swt) says:

وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَّاكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا مَعَايِشَ ۗ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ

"And We have certainly established you upon the earth and made for you therein ways of livelihood. Little are you grateful" (Al-Araf: 10)

Allah(swt) says:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنشَأَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ

"And it is He who produced for you hearing and vision and hearts. Little are you thankful" (Al-Mu'minuun: 78)

Let’s try remembering some of the bounties of Allah(swt)

•    Allah(swt) created us in a perfect form and provide us with all that is needed to meet our needs and instincts.
•    Allah (swt) provided us with Risk and provisions from the time a person is in his/her mother’s womb until he/she reaches their death.
•    Everything that is created in this world and the universe is to provide service to us mankind.
•    He provided us with Al-Islam, as guidance so we can be successful in this life and the hereafter.
•    Allah (swt) provided us with information that we would never know if it wasn’t for Allah’s mercy.
•   One must know that he/she needs everything coming from Allah(swt), nothing we own belongs to us, and everything has been given to us by Allah(swt)

Allah(swt) says:

فَكُلُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَاشْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ

"So eat the good and lawful (halal) things that Allah has provided for you, and be thankful for the blessing of Allah if you truly worship Him" (An-Nahl: 114)

Allah(swt) says:

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا

"…And If you would count the blessings of Allah you would not be able to count them…" (Ibrahim: 34)

How should we be thankful to Allah (swt)?

It is not enough just to praise and thank Allah(swt) with mere lip service while our actions contradict what we say and believe. Total appreciation to Allah(swt) cannot be achieved if we do not follow the commands and rules of Allah(swt) and obey them in every aspect of our life. Weather we like it or not, as a believer, who believes in Allah(swt) as his Lord, we must submit completely to His(swt) rules with complete obedience.

How is it possible that we want to thank Allah(swt) and appreciate His(swt) glory while not living our life according to what He(swt) has told us? It is not acceptable if we just say we believe and we thank Allah(swt) but at the same time not live an Islamic way of life.Those who believe in Allah(swt) and believe in meeting Him(swt) must represent this in their words and in their actions.

The real purpose of a believers life is to please Allah(swt) and obey Allah(swt). He is our Master and only Provider.

The response of a believer is as Allah(swt) states in the Q'uran:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

"Say, Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah , Lord of the worlds." (Al-An’am: 162)

Rasul(saw) emphasized the affair of a believer when he said:

"Wondrous are the believer's affairs. For him there is good in all his affairs, and this is so only for the believer. When something pleasing happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for him; and when something displeasing happens to him, he is patient, and that is good for him." (Muslim)

Umar ibn-Kattab(ra) said:

"If Allah strikes me with calamity I will thank Allah for four things: 1) that the test was not in my deen 2) the calamity could have been worse 3) it is an expiation for my sins 4) any loss after losing the Prophet (saw) is nothing."