Pondering Allah's Blessings: The Path to True Gratitude

The Grace of Allah and the Duty of Gratitude

Allah Ta'ala said in His Glorious Book, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:

This is from the grace of my Lord, that He may test me, whether I be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful, he is only grateful to himself. And whoever is ungrateful, my Lord is certainly Rich and Generous.

Sadaqallahul Aliyyul Azeem. Respected brothers and elders, sisters and mothers, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Whatever blessings Allah Ta'ala has bestowed upon us, whatever good things we have in our lives, is purely from His grace and His mercy. If we look and reflect on our daily lives, we see that whatever we have, the blessings far outweigh the difficulties. That doesn't mean that we don't go through various forms of tests and difficulties, but even during those times of trials and tribulations, the blessings still outnumber them.

But the problem is, most of us focus on the difficulties during those times. We're too preoccupied with those things on our mind, and we forget about the blessings of Allah Ta'ala. But when we just look at our bodies and their faculties, we see how each and every part is a blessing from Allah. And without it, we would not be able to function as we do.

For example, our eyes — without them, we would be blind, we would not be able to see. Our ears — we wouldn't be able to hear. Our mouth — we wouldn't be able to communicate and speak the word of Allah Ta'ala. Our hands and legs — without them, we wouldn't be able to move about. Even the water that we have comes from the tap; we wouldn't be able to make wudu or take a shower. Even the wealth that we have — we wouldn't be able to support our family members, to spend it in the path of Allah. All of these things, which we often take for granted, are immense blessings and things that we should realize are solely from Allah Ta'ala's grace.

And even when you look at those who have less than us, those who go through more trials than us — for example, our brothers and sisters suffering in Gaza — we ask Allah Ta'ala to alleviate them from all the pain and harm that they face. We see that Muslims over here become despondent, they lose hope over what's happening over there. But those who are going through difficulties themselves, those who are witnessing firsthand — their iman and their trust and their shukr to Allah Ta'ala increases. They thank Allah Ta'ala for all that they have. They thank Allah Ta'ala for just waking up every day, for being able to breathe, for being able to see their loved ones. Even when a loved one of theirs passes away, they thank Allah for allowing them to have the status of shaheed.

Three Ways to Build Love for Allah

The mashayikh mention that pondering over these blessings is a way for us to build our love for Allah Ta'ala. It's a way for us to establish a connection that we all strive to have. Building upon this, there are three main ways that the mashayikh say that a person can build their love of Allah:

One is obviously by remembering Him, by doing dhikr, by going through a daily regimen of doing dhikr of Allah Ta'ala. Number two is spending in the company of those who remind you of Allah Ta'ala, being in good company. Because when you sit with them, you hear only good things, you hear about Allah Ta'ala, and it makes you want to spend more time in that company and inculcate those habits as well. And the third way is to ponder and just say alhamdulillah — say all praises to Allah for the blessings that He has given me.

And it was often the practice of the mashayikh that they would sit before going to bed at night, and they would constantly say:

O Allah, to You belongs all praise, and to You belongs all gratitude.

And by just doing this every day, every night — making a habit of whether it's five minutes, ten minutes, doing it before a person sleeps — because during the day we have so many responsibilities and things that are on our minds, we often can't take this time to just focus on this. But before a person goes to sleep at night is when they're the most relaxed, they don't have the most on their mind, they're relatively stress-free. And so it's a good opportunity for us to just thank Allah Ta'ala for everything good that happened throughout the day and all the blessings He gave us.

And if a person consistently says alhamdulillah, says اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ وَلَكَ الشُّكْرُ, and shows gratitude to Allah Ta'ala, then even during the day when he witnesses a blessing, when he witnesses something good, he attributes it to Allah Ta'ala and thanks Him.

Every Blessing Comes with a Responsibility

But one thing important to keep in mind is that with every blessing that we have, there is a demand and a responsibility that comes with it. And that demand is obedience and acting in accordance with that blessing. And that is what we will be asked about on the Day of Judgment. When Allah Ta'ala asks us about each of the blessings that we have, He will ask: what did we do with that blessing? What did we do for the sake of Allah Ta'ala with that blessing that He gave us?

The Hadith of Hunger and the Three Companions

It comes in a hadith in Sahih Muslim — the famous incident in which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came out of his house:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 2038)

One day or one night, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came out of his house, and he came across Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنهما. He asked them, "What has brought you out of your houses at this hour?" They said, "Hunger, O Messenger of Allah." He replied, "By the One in whose hand is my soul, the same thing that brought you out has brought me out." Just take a second to ponder that — who is this? This is the greatest creation of Allah Ta'ala and the greatest human beings, and they're all in the same state of hunger.

So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to them قُومُوا — "Stand and come with me." So they came with him and walked with him. They came across the house of an Ansari Sahabi who was not in his house at the time. When the Sahabi's wife saw these three she said, "Welcome." The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked her where her husband was. She said, "He's out right now getting water for us."

They waited for him, and when he came back and saw who was at his house — these three — he said, الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، مَا أَحَدٌ اليَوْمَ أَكْرَمُ أَضْيَافًا مِنِّي — "Praise be to Allah! On this day, no one has more honorable guests than me." Then he brought forth a cluster of dates — ripe, dry, and fresh — and said, "Eat from this." He also brought a sheep, slaughtered it for them, and they ate from it and drank from its milk. So they had the dates, the milk, and the sheep that they consumed from.

Once they were all satiated and had quenched their thirst, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم turned to his companions and said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 2038)

"By the One in whose hand is my soul, verily you will be asked about this blessing, about this fortune, on the Day of Judgment." And Umar رضي الله عنه was surprised — he asked, "We were in a state of hunger and we had the fortune of filling that hunger, but will we really be asked about this?" And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replied by reciting the last ayah of Surah at-Takathur:

Then, on that Day, you will surely be asked about the blessings.

So just realize — these are the most noble creation that Allah Ta'ala has created, and yet even in this state, just by fulfilling their hunger, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is saying they will be asked about this. So how about us, when we have two-course meals, three-course meals every day, when we cannot say that we are in a state of hunger — what then will we be asked about on that day?

Our Limbs Will Testify

On that day, Allah Ta'ala will ask about our limbs and all our bodily faculties: What did you use the eyes I gave you for? Did you use them to look at My creation, to marvel at My creation? Or did you use them to look at things which I have prohibited and which displease Me? What did you use the ears I gave you for? Did you use them to listen to the Qur'an? To listen to good words? To listen to those speeches and khutbahs? Or did you use them to listen to those things which I have prohibited? What did you use the tongue I gave you for? Did you use it to speak good? Did you use it to enjoin good and forbid evil? Did you use it to read the Qur'an, to read the ahadith of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم? Or did you use it to lie, to deceive, to backbite, to slander others? What did you use the feet and hands I gave you for? Did you use them to go to places of reverence, to the masajid, to the awliya? Or did you use them to go to those places where the wrath of Allah Ta'ala descends?

And even if a person doesn't want to testify, they will be forced to — one way or another. Even if they don't speak with their tongue, their limbs themselves will testify on or against their behalf. Allah Ta'ala says in Surah Fussilat:

Until they come on that day and their ears, their eyes, and their bodies will testify against them for what they did. And they will say to their bodies, "Why are you testifying against us?" Their limbs will reply, "The One who has made everything speak has made us speak today."

And we ask Allah Ta'ala that He allows our limbs to speak on our behalf and not against us.

The Example of Dawud and Sulaiman, Peace Be Upon Them

All the blessings demand that we show gratitude to Allah Ta'ala. And the more blessings a person has, the more good fortune, the more things Allah Ta'ala has given them — the more responsibility they have, the more gratitude they should show. Look at the example of Dawud and Sulaiman, peace be upon them. Not only did Allah Ta'ala give them prophethood and revelation — the Zabur — Allah Ta'ala also gave them a kingdom the likes of which had never been seen before. And what was His main commandment to the family of Dawud, peace be upon him?

O family of Dawud, practice gratitude, practice thankfulness.

And we find in the hadith traditions that the best form of fasting and the best form of praying is the example of Dawud, peace be upon him. The fasting of Dawud is the best form of fasting — as you know, it is fasting one day and not fasting the next, in a pattern like that. And the reason why it is better than fasting every day is because eventually a person gets used to that. Obviously it's going to be hard, but then after a few weeks, a month, a person's body gets used to that routine of eating only once in the morning and once at night. But if a person fasts every other day, then it's much harder to get used to. The body, once it gets used to one routine, is met with another — so it's extremely hard and it also takes great patience and sacrifice. And that was the practice of Dawud, peace be upon him.

When you look at the prayer of the family of Dawud, peace be upon him, we see that throughout the night they would worship Allah Ta'ala, go to sleep, and then wake up again to worship. And we find in the ahadith and the tafasir that in every portion of the day, there was at least one member of the family worshipping Allah Ta'ala, doing dhikr in His remembrance. If it wasn't Dawud, peace be upon him, it was his wife. If it wasn't his wife, it was his children. Whether it was in the day or the night. And this was all because they understood that in proportion to what Allah Ta'ala had given them, that is how much they should strive towards gratitude — and towards using the faculties and opportunities He gave them to worship Him.

And it comes in a story that Dawud, peace be upon him, his practice was to disguise himself as a layman so that people wouldn't recognize him. He would go about the streets and ask those in his kingdom about the king — meaning himself. So one day, Allah Ta'ala sent an angel in human form, and Dawud, peace be upon him, came to this angel not knowing it was an angel, and asked about the king — asked about himself. And as you know, the prophets were held to a very high standard — things that we consider permissible for us were often something that the prophets were expected to go to the next level with. So the angel in human form replied: "He is a good king, a just king, but he takes from the Baytul Maal and gives his family from the Baytul Maal." As you know, it is permissible in the Shari'ah for the ruler to take from the Baytul Maal, because it is everyone's money under his rulership. But Allah Ta'ala wanted Dawud, peace be upon him, to take that next step — to spend from his own money, from his own craftsmanship.

And so Dawud, peace be upon him, after he heard this, made du'a to Allah Ta'ala to free him and his family from reliance on the Baytul Maal, and to use his own earnings for all their expenditure. And this is how we understand what Allah Ta'ala says:

And We made iron soft for him — We made it easy for him to craft.

Sulaiman and the Throne of Bilqis

And you take the example of his son Sulaiman, peace be upon him, regarding whom Allah Ta'ala says:

And for Sulaiman the wind — its morning course was a month's journey and its evening course was a month's journey. Not only did he have humans under his dominion — he had animals, he had jinn, he even had the wind, which would carry him a distance that a normal person would need a month to travel, in just a morning or an evening.

And his response — we see this in the story of Bilqis, where he requested from his army to bring forth the throne of Bilqis, the queen of Saba. One person who had knowledge of the Book brought it forth within the blink of an eye. So when he saw that — he just blinked his eye, and the throne was right before him — his immediate response was:

This is verily from the grace and virtue of my Lord, to test me whether I would be grateful or show ingratitude. And whoever is thankful to Allah Ta'ala, then he is only thankful for himself — the gratitude only benefits himself.

Allah Ta'ala does not need our gratitude. He does not need our thankfulness. Whether we thank Allah Ta'ala or not, His dominion, His kingship, everything that He owns — it does not decrease nor increase. And if we show ingratitude, the same thing — His dominion does not decrease. And so, وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ — whoever shows ingratitude, Allah Ta'ala is verily Independent and Honorable. Whatever Allah Ta'ala gave us and we show gratitude for, then it is only for our benefit — for our sake. It not only increases our rank in this world but in the next.

The Promise of Increase for the Grateful

Allah Ta'ala says:

Verily, your Lord has proclaimed: If you are grateful, I will surely increase you. If you thank Allah Ta'ala, if you thank Me, I will surely increase you in your bounties and your blessings.

So we should make a habit of — whatever blessings we have, whatever faculties Allah Ta'ala gave us — constantly saying alhamdulillah and thanking Him and making du'a to Allah Ta'ala to give us more. And inshallah, He will give us more — if not in this world, then most surely in the hereafter as well.

Announcements

And with that, a big blessing that we have is coming to this masjid, coming to the many programs and facilities that this masjid has to offer us. Inshallah, tomorrow evening we have our annual fundraiser banquet dinner at Shalimar Banquets, where we celebrate and thank Allah Ta'ala for what we have been able to accomplish since the inception of this masjid — before this physical masjid was even a thing. The many sacrifices and the hard work that those behind the scenes made to bring this masjid to what it is today. So we ask that the community takes this opportunity to support and share this moment of celebration, where we reflect on what we've accomplished and, inshallah, prepare for the future. I ask Allah Ta'ala to give all of us the opportunity to participate, and to allow us to show gratitude for all the blessings that we have and to increase us in that.

Please pass the donation boxes from left to right. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that charity given during the day of Jumu'ah is greater in reward than any other day. There are also kiosks in the lobby for those who wish to use those.

As mentioned, our benefit dinner is tomorrow, Saturday, October 18th at 5:30pm at Shalimar Banquets, with the guest speaker Imam Dawood Walid, who is the Executive Director at CAIR Michigan. You can purchase your ticket at masjidds.org/benefit. We ask all the brothers and sisters to bring their families and witness the many things that we have, alhamdulillah, accomplished here and wish to accomplish in the future.

And of course, we have all our weekly programs. On Mondays, we have a new series — a podcast-style candlelight conversation with Mufti Azeemuddin alongside a new co-host each week. Mufti Azeem will share his experiences, travels, and perspectives on current events, and the community will have a chance to ask questions and engage in open, interactive discussions. This is every Monday after Isha. We also have Tuesday Tafsir after Isha, where we deep dive into tafsir and uncover Islam's wisdom. We also have our Shama'il program on Thursdays, as well as our weekly team Fajr program which will continue tomorrow inshallah, where we currently discuss the lives of the companions.

We also have a sisters' part-time program offered online, Wednesdays 12–1pm, and part-time hours Monday to Friday, 4 hours per week, taught by experienced female scholars. You can register at masjidds.org/seminary/sistersparttime. Additionally, the Sisters' Urdū Tafsir on Wednesdays is from 2–3pm, offered online. You can register at masjidds.org/rsvp.

And a general request for du'a for all the Muslims of the Ummah — those who are suffering far and wide. We ask Allah to alleviate all of them, remove them from the suffering they are witnessing, and reward them for all the patience and sacrifice they have made. JazakAllah khair.

Second Khutbah

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, we believe in Him, we put our trust in Him, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the badness of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no misguidance for him, and whom He misguides, there is no guide for him. And we bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. He sent him with the truth as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner before the Hour. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has been rightly guided. And whoever disobeys them has indeed gone astray, and does not harm except himself.

Allah Ta'ala says:

O people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, to whom you ask each other, and the ties of kinship. Indeed, Allah is ever Watching over you.

Allah Ta'ala also says:

O you who have believed, fear Allah, and let every soul see what it has sent forth for tomorrow, and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Aware of what you do.

And Allah Ta'ala says:

Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send blessings upon him and give him peace.

O Allah, send blessings upon our Master Muhammad and upon the family of our Master Muhammad with the number of those who have prayed and fasted. O Allah, send blessings upon all the Prophets and Messengers and upon all the companions and followers and upon Your righteous servants. O Allah, forgive the believing men and believing women, and the Muslim men and Muslim women, the living among them and the dead. Indeed, You are the Hearer, the Near, the Responder to supplications.

O Allah, help the brothers and sisters who are weak in every place. O Allah, help the brothers and sisters who are weak in Gaza and in Palestine. O Allah, help those who support the religion of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and make us of them. O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant us to follow it. And show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us to avoid it.

O servants of Allah, indeed Allah commands justice, goodness, and giving to those near to Him, and forbids immorality, evil, and transgression. He admonishes you so that you may remember. Remember Allah, and He will remember you. Call on Him, and He will respond to you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest.