Appreciation and Gratefulness

Alhamdulillah; all praises and thanks are infinitely, due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May His Peace and Blessings be upon our beloved, Habibi Muhammad, his family members, companions and all those who follow their path till the Day of Judgment.

Gratefulness and being grateful are what may keep a servant closer to his Lord or distance him away. It may also keep men close to one another. It's sad to see that at the time that we expect gratefulness or any form of courtesy from others, we ourselves forget, in return, to show ours when others deserve it from us. Allah SWT says in Surah Al-Zumar, 39: 7:

وَإِنْ تَشْكُرُوا يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ

It means, “And if you are grateful, He approves it for you”.

What is Gratefulness [in the Islamic Context]?

Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jauziyyah [691-751H] defined “gratefulness” in his book ‘Madaarijus- Saalikeen’ [Vol:2] as, “Gratefulness is the form of displaying the reflections of Allah’s Grace on His servant’s tongue through praises and recognition; on his heart through love and sensation; and on his limbs through submission and obedience.”

From the definition above we understand that gratefulness has three elements, which are to be observed in order to carry out any form of appreciation.

• The heart; one should have an honest belief that Allah deserves to be thanked, for His bounties and blessings, as honesty and sincerity are essential in every deed in Islam.
• The tongue; Sing praises to Allah and glorify Him to acknowledge your gratefulness towards His bounties.
• The limbs and other organs; “Actions speak louder than words”. This differentiates between the honest and the hypocrites.

Why Should we be Grateful

It is important to be grateful for where we are and for what we have. This is because man strives for greater achievements in life, but due to Hikmah of Allah SWT, he may not be able to reach his desired targets. Therefore, if no proper reflections are made, one may lose his mind, due to frustration and disappointment, to the extent that some of whom I know, utter words of curse. Instead, if we realize that we are in better conditions than others are, we will then be better appreciative and thankful to Allah for the abundant bounties granted to us.

Allah SWT describes Sayyidina Nouh as:

إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَبْداً شَكُوراً

Which means, “Indeed, he was a grateful servant.” [Surah Nouh, 17: 3]. This was despite the hardship he had to bear from his people.

Categories of Gratefulness

There are two kinds of gratefulness, based on my personal assessment:

• Gratefulness towards Allah SWT;
• Gratefulness towards fellow human beings

Gratefulness towards Allah SWT

Gratefulness towards Allah is the ultimate form of appreciation, and is known to cause increment in the amount of bounties granted to one. Allah SWT says in Surah Ibrahim, 14:7:

لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ

It means, “'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]…”.

We are required to show our gratefulness and be thankful to Allah in all conditions, either in happy times or in times of sorrow. Thus, we should be grateful whether our wishes are granted in accordance on our (human) expectations or not. Note that, I didn't say “whether our du’as are answered or not”. This is because any du'a made genuinely will be answered, sooner or later, in accordance to our expectation or in a better form.

Being thankful to Allah in difficult times is very important in man's life because they (difficult times) are surely followed by good ones. It is in difficult times that we can learn to appreciate good times and make good use of them to the utmost. Difficult times help us grow and mature. They bring together broken families and true friends. In difficult times, we get to realize our weight, limit and capacity. In short, difficulty (difficult times) is one of the greatest blessings in human life, but that is only realized by people of thoughts. Difficult times make life more meaningful and fruitful. Imagine your life with no hardships and remember to say “Alhamdulillah” when you are done (imagining).

Gratefulness towards fellow human

Gratefulness towards fellow human beings, though it's incomparable to gratefulness towards Allah, it is considered as the stepping stone to being grateful to Allah SWT truly. Imagine someone who has been kind to you, who you have physically and visibly dealt with, yet, you failed to say “Thank You” or to show any kind of appreciation to him. If we fail to appreciate the kindness of someone we can see and deal with visibly, how then, would we say genuine “Thank You” to Allah, whom we cannot see and whom we have to deal with spiritually? That's why Rasulullah said in a Hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawud:

لا يَشْكُرِ اللهَ مَنْ لاَ يَشْكُرُ النَّاسَ

 It means, “The one who is not thankful to people is unlikely to be thankful to Allah”.

Significance and Benefits of Gratefulness

• Gratefulness frees the heart from greed, jealousy and envy.
• When we are thankful to Allah, we remain mindful of Him and His continuous Mercy toward us. We are connected with Him.
• Being grateful trains one to be appreciative and acknowledging, as it moulds him to love good for others as he does for himself.
• Being grateful improves the character of submission to Allah and humility to towards Allah’s creatures.
• Being grateful increases the bounties of Allah for one.
• Appreciation to fellow human beings creates good rapport with others.

Means to show our appreciation and gratefulness

Gratefulness can be shown in various ways and forms. The following activities and deeds can help us present our appreciation before Allah SWT and to show our gratitudes towards our fellow human beings, insha Allah.

Remember Allah with Much Remembrance

The fact that one is given the chance to survive among millions of sperms in order to get to this world worthies second to nothing to being appreciative and thankful to Allah. People do things they like, others invent and create things they expect to be happy with; whereby Allah has created you because He loves you and you are important. Saying “Alhamdulillah” genuinely can be part of your appreciation to Allah SWT, and so do all other forms of zikr taught by Rasulullah SAW.

وَاللَّـهُ أَخْرَجَكُم مِّن بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالأَبْصَارَ وَالأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

It means, “And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful.” [Surah Al-Nahl, 16:78].

Carry out the most liked Deeds by Allah SWT

This includes all the obligatory ibadahs and the optional ones. Examples of the obligatory deeds are solat, zakat, sawm, hajj, taking care of our parents and being obedient to them. Examples of the optional ibadahs include giving out sadaqah, lending hand of help to a Muslim brother or sister, observing the basic adabs of Islam and etc.

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

It means, “Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.” [Surah Al-Nahl, 16:97].

Refrain from Ma'siah (Disobedience to Allah SWT)

Being grateful sincerely motivates one to work harder, in order to please the One we are thankful to and to avoid as possible, anything that may annoy Him. Therefore, refraining from ma'siah is an important step to show our appreciation towards Allah SWT.

How can one be thankful to Allah for granting him limbs, for instance, and yet he can walk on his feet to places undesirable to Allah, or use his hands to commit theft; an act that Allah dislikes very much?

How true grateful is one towards his parents for giving him the chance to be their child and yet he breaks their hearts and hurts their feelings every now and then? This is why ingratitude towards parents is a big offence in Islam.

How can I claim to be grateful and thankful to my teachers and yet I show disrespect or disregard to them? Our teachers are with us even after we have left them. Teachers do not only pass their knowledge onto us, they also pass the spirit they posses too, onto us. That’s why selecting a good and pious teacher is very crucial, especially for our children.

وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى * فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى

It means, “But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination. Then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge.” [Surah An-Nazi’at, 79: 40-41].

Follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah SAW.

Many times, we claim that we love Rasulullah and are grateful to him for been caring and concerned about us, his Ummah, but the hard truth is, we fail to follow and apply his basic Sunnah. Instead, we argue with the cultures and legacies of our forefathers who had little knowledge about Islam.

It is said in a hadeeth:

وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يَكُونَ هَوَاهُ تَبَعاً لِمَا جِئْتُ بِهِ

Which means, “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, none of you (truly) believes until his desire is in accordance with what I have brought.”

Reward Whom has Done Kind to you

It is always nice to present a gift as a token of appreciation to someone who had done kind to you. A courtesy word of “Thank you” which is said sincerely makes somebody’s day. Rasulullah said, in a Hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawud and An-Nasa-ee:

وَمَنْ صَنَعَ إِلَيْكُمْ مَعْرُوفاً فَكَافِئُوهُ…

It means, “Whoever does good to you, you should reward him…”

Make Du’a for Whom has Done Kind to you

This is because the previous hadeeth ends with:

…فَإِنْ لَمْ تَجِدُوا مَا تُكَافِئُونَهُ فَادْعُوا لَهُ حَتَّى تَرَوْا أَنَّكُمْ قَدْ كَافَأْتُمُوهُ

Which means, “…if you can’t get what to reward him with, then make good du’a for him until you feel that you have done enough to reward him”.

Sponsor an orphan

To show our gratefulness to Allah, for allowing us to live to educate our children and see them grow up under our own supervision, why doesn’t each one of us consider taking care of the welfare of an orphan who has lost his or her bread winner? Rasulullah said in a Hadeeth reported by Bukhari:

أَنَا وَكَافِلُ اليَتِيمِ فِي الـجَنَّةِ هَكَذَا” وَقَالَ بِإِصْبِعَيْهِ السَّبَّابَةِ وَالوُسْطَى.

It means, “I and the one who sponsors an orphan will be like this in Paradise,” and he gestured with his index and middle fingers.”

Plant a tree

In another attempt to appreciate Allah’s Blessings, Let us plant a tree each, that grows and produces fruits and shadow. We are rewarded anytime a fellow human or an animal eats from its fruits. We are also rewarded anytime someone finds comfort under its shadow. Rasulullah SAW says in a Hadeeth reported by An-Nasa-ee:

مَا مِن مُسلم يَغرِسُ غَرْسًا أو يَزرَعُ زَرْعًا فيأكُلُ مِنه طَيرٌ أو إنسَانٌ أو بهيْمَةٌ إلا كان لهُ بهِ صَدقَةٌ

It means, “There is no Muslim who plants a tree or sows a tree and a bird, human or an animal eats from it, unless it has been considered as sadaqah (charity) for him”.

Donate a Wheelchair to a hospital

Allah is very appreciating to any kind of help we offer to our fellow human beings, no matter how small it may be. He will grant abundant rewards for it. What more if the help can enable a fellow disabled Muslim brother or sister to carry out their daily needs and perform their ibadahs. This can obviously happen if we are able to donate a wheelchair, for instance, to a hospital, for the use of patients and visitors. We can also donate it to the needy patients directly. The reward will then be such that, you will stand the honour to be said to you:

إِنَّ هَـٰذَا كَانَ لَكُمْ جَزَاءً وَكَانَ سَعْيُكُم مَّشْكُورًا

Which means, “Indeed, this is your reward [the joys in Jannah], and your effort has been appreciated.” [Surah Al-Insan, 76:22].

In conclusion

It's human nature to forget the continual graces and favours of Allah and hence, be ungrateful and unappreciative to them. So don’t be surprised to read in Surah Saba, 34: 13, when Allah says:

وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ

Which mean, “…and very few of My servants are grateful.”

What's also common is that good servants of Allah respond and show their appreciations anytime they come across reminders. It is important to remember always that the grateful among the servants of Allah are very few; therefore, it will be good for you and I to strive to be among the very few grateful servants.

Rasulullah once said to Mu’azh Ibn Jabal in a Hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawud and An-Nasa-ee:

وَاللَّهِ يَا مُعَاذُ، إِنِّي لأُحِبُّكَ، فَلا تَنْسَ أَنْ تَقُولَ دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلاةٍ: اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ

It means, “By Allah, I love you, O Mu’azh! So do not forget to say after every solat: O Allah, help me to remember You, be grateful to You and worship You in a better way.”

After one has strived his best to be grateful and appreciative to Allah SWT, we have high hope in the abundant rewards of Allah, as He never fails to deliver His Promises; He says in Surah Aali Imran, 3:144:

وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ

Which means, “… and Allah will reward the grateful.”

May Allah accept our good intentions and may we be among His grateful servants. Ameen.

Allah knows best.

Allahu Hafiz 🙂