Importance of Gratitude

قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ فِي مُحْكَمِ تَنْزِيلِهِ بَعْدَ أَنْ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ.

وَقَالَ تَعَالَىٰ وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا قَرْيَةً كَانَتْ آمِنَةً مُطْمَئِنَّةً يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللَّهِ فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ.

صَدَقَ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ.

يَا جَمَاعَةَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْأَحِبَّاء الأَفَاضِل، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

Innumerable Blessings of Allah

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ has blessed all of us with innumerable نِعَم and countless blessings and favors. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ says:

If you would like to count all of you put together, try to enumerate and count the blessings of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, you will never be able to count the blessings of Allah. All of the human beings together in this world, along with all our computers and super computers, together we can never fully enumerate and count the blessings of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

In fact some scholars they say that the word نِعْمَة has a plural نِعَم. And Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ in this ayah he did not say, وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعَمَ اللَّهِ. If you try to count all the blessings of Allah you will not be able to count them. Rather he mentioned one blessing, وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ, which is a singular word. Even one blessing of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ you will never be able to fully show gratitude for that.

The Chain of Gratitude

Because if you thank Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ for one blessing, then the fact that he gave you the تَوْفِيق and the guidance to thank him for that blessing is also a blessing. Because you could have been ungrateful for that blessing, you could have attributed it to yourself, and you could not have attributed it to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, then you would have been guilty of being ungrateful for that blessing. That would have been كُفْرَانُ النِّعْمَة, and you would have ended up facing the potential punishment for that.

So the fact that you recognized that blessing, attributed it back to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, and said that this came from Allah without any right on my part, this itself is a blessing. So when you make شُكْر of one نِعْمَة, the fact that you made شُكْر of that نِعْمَة, it deserves another شُكْر. The fact that you recognize that this blessing is from Allah, is another blessing of Allah.

And the fact that you recognize that شُكْر is a blessing of Allah, is another blessing of Allah. And this is a continuous cycle without end. Till infinity, you can continue with this chain, that every time you realize that the blessing is a blessing, then the realization of a blessing being a blessing is a blessing.

So this is how, وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ, if you want to thank Allah for even one blessing, fully, لَا تُحْصُوهَا, you will never be able to do so. سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ.

The Essence of Gratitude to Allah

All that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ wants from us, is that we come to this realization, no matter what condition we are in, that all the blessing we are enjoying is from Him and Him alone, and He has no partner, and we attribute it back to Him. And our hearts should be filled with that gratitude, filled with that sense of indebtedness to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ.

And that we recognize that we are عَاجِز and incapable of fully fulfilling the right of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. That's all we can do as human beings, as finite human beings, as limited in our beings, limited in our attributes, whereas Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is unlimited in His being, unlimited in His attributes.

The only way we can come near to fulfilling the right of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, is if we come to this conclusion mentally, go through the process, and come to the realization that, oh Allah, we are truly incapable of fulfilling Your rights. This is the most we can do. And this is what Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ wants from us.

Two Essential Worldly Blessings

Amongst all the blessings and favors of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ that He mentions in the Quran, two of the worldly blessings are such that without them we will be incapable of having any progress in our worldly life, or being able to do anything for our hereafter. If we want to be successful in our worldly life, or we want to be successful with respect to the hereafter, then this is not possible without these two blessings. And that is why Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ singles them out and counts these two in Surah Al-Quraysh.

Allah reminds the Quraysh tribe of Makkah that it is through the mercy and blessing of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, in the era of lawlessness and Jahiliyyah, when no one has safety and security on the highways, and anyone could be plundered and attacked at any moment, any of the trade caravans could be hijacked, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ has granted you safe, secure trade routes in the Shita, in the summer and in the winter. The trade caravans from Makkah, which was the commercial capital of the Arabian Peninsula, they would travel north to Sham, and to Syria, and south to Yemen.

So Allah ta'ala reminds them of this commercial activity that is taking place in the security of their caravans, and then he says:

Therefore, you should worship, make عِبَادَة, show your servitude to the Lord of this house. رَبَّ هَٰذَا الْبَيْتِ. This بَيْت is something which is a great sign of Allah, one of the شَعَائِر of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, and it is very physical, and visible, and a part of the life in the community of the people of Makkah.

It is the center of their city, they see it all the time, they make طَوَاف of it, it is something they can relate to, they can realize that the Lord of this house is none other than Allah. فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَٰذَا الْبَيْتِ. Then what are those two blessings he mentions at the end?

He is the one who has given you food to eat, and has not left you hungry. This is the first blessing, food to eat.

The Blessing of Food

If a person does not have food to eat, he does not know where his next meal is going to come from, and he is worried about his starving wives and children, starving family members and parents, then trust me my dear friends, then that person he cannot focus in his عِبَادَة, he cannot perform تَهَجُّد salah, he is not in a position to give صَدَقَة or صَوْم, he is not in a position to acquire the knowledge of دِين, and learn the مَسَائِل of دِين, learn the تَفْسِير of the Quran and فِقْه of دِين, or عَقِيدَة, he has no time for that, because he does not know, he is hungry, he does not know where he is going to eat from, where his family is going to eat from.

And this can become a test for one's faith itself. That is why Rasulullah ﷺ has said:

(A hadith of general transmission)

It is very possible and near that فَقْر and extreme poverty can lead towards كُفْر. Poverty can lead towards كُفْر as well. And this is due to the weakness of our إِيمَان as an ummah, the missionaries and the non-profit organizations, and these NGOs, non-governmental organizations throughout the Muslim world, they go and they fulfill the material needs of our weak Muslim brothers and sisters, and children and old ones, and they purchase their إِيمَان. People sell their إِيمَان for دُنْيَا.

That is why Rasulullah ﷺ sought refuge and protection:

Oh Allah, I seek your protection from such فَقْرٌ الْمُنْسِي and such غِنًى الْمُطْغِي meaning I seek your protection from such poverty الْمُنْسِي which will مِنَ الْفَقْرِ الْمُنْسِي وَمِنَ الْغِنَاء الْمُطْغِي I seek your protection from such poverty which will make me forget Allah. A person is in extreme need and want and starvation and debts upon him and medical expenses, does not have a shelter for his family الْمُنْسِي then he may end up forgetting Allah.

The one who forgets Allah.

Don't be among those who forget Allah. Then he makes them forget about their own selves and their own destiny and their own hereafter. They forget about it.

So we seek protection of Allah from such فَقْرٌ الْمُنْسِي وَمِنَ الْغِنَاء الْمُطْغِي and we seek protection of Allah from such richness such abundance of wealth and means الْمُطْغِي that makes a person become arrogant and cross the limits of transgression. طُغْيَان طُغْيَان is when a person he crosses the limits and he commits all sorts of reckless activities because he feels that he is the greatest and the strongest and the most mighty and he is full of power and strength because of his wealth. He becomes proud. We seek protection from such wealth which will lead to that.

So this is the first blessing. أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ He gave them food to eat so they are not hungry.

And we have to look into our conditions in our lives. My dear friends, the doctors they are telling us that how many of us are dying from overeating, obesity related diseases, overindulgence in food. But very few of us, if any, are suffering from malnutrition, lack of food, lack of nutrients. And if that is because of our wrong choices, not because the nutrients are not available.

Our fridges are overflowing with food. How much food we are throwing away from our events and our parties and our social events. We are throwing away the good food. We have overabundance of أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍ of food to eat.

The Blessing of Security

And the second blessing he mentions Allah.

And he gave them security from fear. He gave them security so that they are not afraid for their lives. آمَنَهُم مِّن خَوْفٍ So outside Arabia, outside Makkah, Makkah within Arabia, people were afraid for their lives. Because anyone could take anyone's life. It was survival of the fittest. This is the Jahiliyya era.

But in Makkah al-Mukarramah, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ had granted even the Jahiliyya Arabs such a sense of sanctity for that land, سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ, that if a person met the one who killed his own father, he could not take out his sword. Because this was the حَرَم. And taking the life of anyone in the حَرَم was prohibited. And this was such a rule which was recognized by all the tribes. And upheld and honored by all the tribes.

So he gave them security. My dear friends, if you look throughout the world, how many areas there are hot spots where terrorism is taking place, indiscriminate killing of civilians. A husband goes out to buy some vegetables from the market for his wife, and he might become the next victim of a suicide attack, of a bomb blast. Or barrel bombs coming from the sky. And airplanes and helicopters, gunships, throwing bombs on people.

This is happening too often, so often that we have become desensitized. And it does not affect us any longer when we read these reports or see these scenes on the TV. Alhamdulillah, ثُمَّ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, Allahumma aminna fee awtaanina. That oh Allah, give us أَمَان, continue, عَظِيم نِعْمَة الْأَمْن alayna. Continue to give the blessings of أَمَان for us.

We are enjoying so much stability, law and order in this land. We like to complain about what potential threats there might be, and fears to our rights that we might have, that they will be violated. But in comparison, we are far better than other places throughout the world. We have to make the dua that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ continues these two blessings. Of food and our physical needs to be fulfilled, and أَمَان and safety.

If we have أَمَان and safety, then we can work for our دِين, we can work for our دُنْيَا. If a person is afraid again, if he is going to survive or not, if he is running from place to place, and the bombs are blasting around him, and exploding around him, he does not know if he is going to survive the night, then how is he going to perform his فَجْر prayer? How is he going to perform his عِبَادَة? How is he going to acquire knowledge of دِين? He cannot do anything.

You need safety, you need security. These two blessings that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ mentions in Surah Quraish, if you think about it a little bit and reflect on it, you will find that they are a direct result of a dua that was made for Mecca. They are the acceptance of the dua of the founder of Mecca, Ibrahim a.s.

The Duas of Prophet Ibrahim

Ibrahim a.s., centuries earlier, when there was nothing in Mecca, when it was a valley without a blade of grass, no habitation, no vegetation, no civilization, nothing was there. Then he had made those duas, and he is the father of our Ummah, the grandfather of our Ummah. He had made those sincere duas, and he had raised his hands and made dua to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, and he had asked for these two blessings, among many other things. What are those duas of Ibrahim a.s.?

And remember when Ibrahim a.s. made dua to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ in Surah Al-Baqarah, O Allah, make this city a safe city. So this is the آمَنَهُم مِّن خَوْفٍ safety. And then he also made dua:

and provide the people who live here رِزْق and provision, and even provision of fruits, which is something that is enjoyed after eating the meal. Not only will they have the meal, they will be granted fruits. So he made the dua for the رِزْق and the provision. This is the dua of Ibrahim a.s.

Responsibility for Our Children

What do we learn? Is that if Ibrahim a.s. is making dua for his children, for safety and رِزْق, this is not contrary to righteousness or تَوَكُّل on Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. Rather, as a father and a mother, as parents, we have to have the concern for the worldly well-being of our children as well. That is our responsibility. He didn't limit his dua there by any means.

He made a lot of dua for their Islam, and their إِيمَان, and for a teacher for them. He made dua that, Oh Allah:

Send a teacher to my children. Who will teach them the meanings of the Quran. Who will purify them, teach them wisdom. And his dua was accepted in the form of Rasul Allah a.s. He made dua:

Oh Allah, make me establish the salah in my children to establish the salah.

Oh Allah, make me and my son Ismail true Muslims and our progeny true Muslims.

Oh Allah, protect me and my children from worshipping idols.

Oh Allah, make people love them as well. Make them establish salah and make the hearts of people inclined towards my children. He made a lot of duas.

So we understand we need to make duas and have efforts for preserving the إِيمَان of our children, preserving the belief of our children, protecting their salah and their عِبَادَة and their عَقِيدَة. And also their دُنْيَا as we learn from this ayah.

Dunya as a Means to Akhirah

Why? Because the دُنْيَا is a means of earning your آخِرَة if your intention is correct. We do not need food and أَمَان just so that we can party all life and enjoy blessings of the world and forget about the hereafter. That is not the objective. The objective of the food and the safety is so that we can truly fulfill the rights of Allah. That is the objective of our life, truly worship Allah.

I have not created human beings nor have I created jinn but for my worship. That عِبَادَة itself requires أَمَان and food. A person will not be able to properly make عِبَادَة without أَمَان and food. That is why Ibrahim al-Islam is making dua for his children.

The Warning Against Taking Blessings for Granted

In conclusion, we also have the other ayah wherein Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, He mentions that these two blessings, let us not take them for granted. That once we are enjoying them, that means that they will remain forever. Rather Allah ta'ala says:

Allah gives an example of a city, of a town, of a country. It was safe and secure. There was no wars taking place. There was law and order. Everyone was safe in their homes. Their properties were safe. And number two is, the رِزْق and provision was coming in from all sides. Whatever was grown domestically was grown domestically and the lines of transportation and importing from outside were open. Because يَأْتِيهَا means coming from outside, رِزْقُهَا, the رِزْق and the provision. رَغَدًا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ from all sides, the provision was coming in.

But what happened is, this did not remain. The fact that we have safety today doesn't mean we'll have safety tomorrow. The fact that we have food today doesn't mean necessarily we'll have food tomorrow. What did the people do? Instead of being grateful to Allah:

They were ungrateful for these blessings. They took them for granted. And Allah says:

Then Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ made them taste what is fear and made them taste. He used the word taste, ذَوْق فَأَذَاقَهُ Allah made them taste. Meaning, He didn't overwhelm them with too much. When you taste the food, then you just take a bite or two. Right? That is tasting. You don't eat the whole pot and burp and say, I was just tasting.

So Allah ta'ala gave a few, a little bit, taste. فَأَذَاقَهُمُ اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ What is hunger going to feel like? وَالْخَوْفِ And what is true fear like? When you're afraid for your life, for your very life, for your survival, of your life and your beloved ones.

As a result of their actions.

The Wake-Up Call and Divine Change

So this is the wake up call for us. Number one, we are enjoying food and we are enjoying safety. Number two, let us realize that these blessings come from Allah. And number three, let us realize that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ can take these blessings away at any time. And give it to someone else who deserves more than us.

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ says that, the good conditions that people are enjoying. Normally this ayah is translated the other way. But that's the converse meaning. The actual meaning of the ayah is, the beautiful blessings and the good conditions that people are enjoying, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ will continue that as default and will allow that to remain, those blessings to remain.

Until they themselves change their behavior and are ungrateful to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. You are mashaAllah well-read and are listening to talks. You might have heard this ayah translated the other way. That the bad conditions that you are suffering from, Allah will not change that until you bring a change in yourself and work to improve it. Then Allah will change your bad conditions and make it good. That is true as well. That is not wrong meaning. That's the مَعْنًى بِالْعَكْس, the opposite meaning. But the actual meaning of the ayah is, the good conditions that you have will not be changed until you change your behavior yourself and you show ungratefulness to Allah.

كُفْرَانُ النِّعْمَة Ungratefulness to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ. Then Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ will say that this person is not deserving of my blessing and will take it away.

A Simple Prescription: The Morning and Evening Dua

One simple way, take-home message as we finish the talk now, it's time for khutbah is there, is that if we can make a practice, one simple prescription taught to us by Rasulullah ﷺ is that every morning and every evening, if you recite this one dua with conviction and belief and concentration on its meaning, then there is such a great, great فَضِيلَة and virtue.

The Rasulullah ﷺ has given us such a great virtue. He said that person who recites this dua with belief and understanding and contemplation on its meanings will have fulfilled the right of شُكْر to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ for all the blessings. And if you thank Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ for all the blessings, then this is the greatest form of insurance and protection for those blessings.

If you thank Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ for the blessing, He will increase them further and continue to bestow upon us. So you'll say that this is such a great reward for such a short dua. Such a great reward for such a short dua. A person will have fulfilled the obligation of showing gratefulness and شُكْر to Allah for all the blessings he is enjoying from head to toe, from morning till night, from night till morning, from birth till death. All the blessings.

How can it be so just reciting one dua? That is the whole matter my dear friends. It is so simple but:

Very few will be able to do it. If I share it with you now and then we have an honest survey next Jummah, I'll say who recited this dua every morning, every evening for this whole week. One in seven days. Not seven years or seven years of life. One in seven days. It will be very difficult.

But do not be scared. We will have no survey next time. But this is the reality. That we will not be able to do it, most of us. But we have to ask Allah, I don't want to overwhelm you and make you feel bad. But reality is that this should encourage us that no, I want to be among the few. Allah says وَقَلِيلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِيَ الشُّكُورُ Very few of my servants are truly grateful to me.

Let us be among those few. If everyone among us becomes among the شَاكِرِين, we are still few. There is room for all of us. Because majority of the masses are still outside, are not here. Majority of the people are not here. The ayah, if the entire hundred percent of the population here in the masjid becomes among the شُكُّر, don't worry, this will not go against the ayah. Ayah will still remain true, صَدَقَ اللَّهُ. Because majority of people are outside the masjid. So there is enough room for all of us.

The Morning and Evening Dua of Gratitude

Such a short dua. The dua is:

O Allah! Today, in this morning, every single blessing that I am enjoying. You start with yourself. مَا أَصْبَحَ بِي مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ O Allah! In this morning, every single blessing that I am enjoying. أَوْ بِأَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِكَ Or anyone of your creation throughout the world.

So you are including all the blessings. Whether they are humans or non-humans, animals, any creation. Any blessing that I am enjoying, أَوْ بِأَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِكَ Or anyone of your creation throughout the world. That we see, we do not see. That we know, we do not know. All the creation, any blessing they are enjoying. فَمِنْكَ It comes from you.

The dua could have ended here. But Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ likes that we put emphasis and single him out and praise him. So we go, فَمِنْكَ From you. It's the end of the meaning. But after this, everything is just additional emphasis.

وَحْدَكَ Alone, you alone. You already added one emphasis. Then again, لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ And you have no partner. So it's three words. فَمِنْكَ It's from you. وَحْدَكَ You alone. And then لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ When you say وَحْدَكَ It means you alone. It means there is no partner. Already it's included. But again you say it.

فَمِنْكَ From you. وَحْدَكَ You alone. لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ And you have no partner. Every blessing I am enjoying. Every blessing any of your creation is enjoying. Anywhere in the world. It's from you. You alone. And you have no partner. فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ وَلَكَ الشُّكُّرُ That's it. It's not the whole Surah Yasin. Or too long. That's it. The end of the dua is here. فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ وَلَكَ الشُّكُّرُ

And over here اسْتِقْدَام the meaning of what is proper. The word مَعْنًى Meaning لَكَ comes first. So it means only for you is all praise. Only for you is all praise and only for you is all thanks. فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ It could have been الْحَمْدُ لَكَ That means all praise is for you but praise maybe for someone else too. But if you reverse it you say فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ Gives meaning of exclusivity. So فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ For you alone is all praise. وَلَكَ الشُّكُّرُ For you alone is all thanks. This is the du'a in the morning.

In the evening it's the same du'a instead of Asbaha you change it to Amsa.

Oh Allah! In this evening every blessing that I am enjoying or بِأَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِكِ or any one of your creation is enjoying فَمِنْكَ وَحْدَكِ It is from you and you alone لَا شَرِيكَ لَكِ You have no partner فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ وَلَكَ الشُّكُّرُ To you belongs all praise To you alone belongs all thanks.

Protection from the Punishment of Allah

If you do this then we'll be protected from the عَذَاب of Allah and we'll be full How do I say protected from عَذَاب of Allah? Allah says:

What will Allah do by giving you عَذَاب? Why would I ever give you عَذَاب if you are my grateful servant? He asked a question It's a question مَا It's إِسْتِفْهَام Question, interrogation مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ Why would I ever give you عَذَاب? Why in the world would I give you عَذَاب? إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنتُمْ If you are grateful to me if you recognize my blessings then I will never give you عَذَاب or my slave I شَكُور He is the one who accepts our عِبَادَة

May Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ make us among the شَاكِرِين and allow us grant us تَوْفِيق to make this Dua'a إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ

وَ خُتِمَ دُعَاؤُنَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ