The Magnitude of Gratitude
Friday Sermon by Ehsanul Sadequee
(delivered in prison on Dec. 20, 2019)
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
1st Khutbah (Khutbah al-Haajah...)
In a verse in Surah al-Ma'idah, Allah connected, or tied two things together, which many people do not realize are intertwined:
"...Those are the ones whom Allah did not will to purify/clean their hearts, for them is humiliation in this world, and a tremendous punishment in the Hereafter." [Al-Ma'idah: 41]
So Allah connected humiliation/disgrace in this life, to the filthiness or lack of purity of the heart. Thus, if anyone wishes to avoid humiliation or remove it from himself, he must make purifiying his heart his concern.
Today we will look at one of the characteristics of a pure heart, as well as the disease that is opposite to it. We will look at the magnitude of gratitude, and the ugliness of ungratefulness.
There are many texts in the Qur'an and Sunnah about this subject, to the point that the esteemed Imam Ibn al-Qayyim wrote a book about it "The Excellence of Patience and Gratefulness" ['Uddat as-Sabirin wa Thakhirat ash-Shakirin]; which to this day, no scholar has written a better book on the subject. We'll briefly mention some texts from Qur'an and Hadiths, as well as some insightful quotes from the pious 'Ulema of the past.
Some Verses of Qur'an:
1) When Allah created Adam, and told the Angels to bow down to Adam, after Shaytan refused to bow down - Shaytan vowed to Allah that he would come to the Children of Adam from all directions to mislead them, and he stated his goal: "... and You will not find most of them grateful." [Al-A'raf: 17]. So he made it his mission, he will come at us from every direction, to turn us into ungrateful ingrates. If you reflect upon this verse, this is enough to make you realize the importance of gratitude.
2) Allah confirmed that Shaytan was able to achieve his mission, when Allah said in Surah Saba', "And few of My servants are grateful." [Saba: 13] Hence, the majority of humankind are ungrateful, while only a small minority are grateful. Hence, we should not be deceived into following the majority, as Allah said, "And if you were to follow the majority of people, they would mislead you from the Way of Allah." [Al-An'am: 116]
3) Allah made a promise: "And when your Lord announced: If you are grateful, I will increase (My Favors) on You. But if you are ungrateful, then indeed My Punishment is severe." [Ibrahim: 7]
And this is a form of reward in this life even before the Hereafter. And it can be in the form of outward [obvious/apparent] favors, such as increased wealth, or reputation and respect, or increased lifespan; or it could be inward [hidden] favors, such as increased Eman, knowledge, wisdom, insight, foresight, good deeds, happiness and contentment. In fact, most cases of inward Favors of Allah much greater than outward/material favors.
Some Hadiths:
1) The Prophet said, "Whoever does good to you, recompensate/reward him. And if you cannot find something by which to recompensate him, then make Du'a' for him until you feel you have recompensated him." [Authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami', #6021]
2) Another hadith: "Speaking of the favors is gratitude, while not doing so is ingratitude. And whoever is not grateful for something small, will not be grateful for something great. Whoever is not grateful to people, will not be grateful to Allah. A jama'ah (unified gathering) is a blessing, and disunity/splitting is a punishment." [Narrated by Ahmad, Tabarani, Bayhaqi and others. Authenticated by Al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami'].
This is truly an amazing Hadith, an example of Jawami' al-kalim (brief words which contain tremendous insight, wisdom and meaning).
In this Hadith, the Prophet showed us the contrast of two different roads, from their beginning to their end destination. The road of gratitude begins with speaking of favors that Allah has done for you as well as the favors that people have done for you. The road of ingratitude begins with ignoring all this and not making any mention of it.
On the road of gratitude are people who are grateful for the smallest acts of kindness - so of course they will be grateful for a great abundance of favors. They are grateful to people when they do good to them, they feel that they owe them; so of course they will feel that they owe Allah even more so. As for the road of ingratitude, the people do not appreciate any good, whether small or big - everything good is too insignificant. If people are kind to them, do good for them, they never feel like they owe them anything, they do not reciprocate kindness for kindness; and hence, they also never feel like they owe Allah any debt. The same way they belittle favors people have done for them, they belittle Allah's favors upon them. (And of course, people are of various different levels between the pinnacle of gratitude and the pit of ingratitude. In another Hadith in Sahih al-Jami', the Prophet said, "The people who are most grateful to Allah, are those who are most grateful to people.")
The end destination for the people of gratitude is that they will be a strong jama'ah, a unified solid structure, like a strong fortress, whose stone bricks are tight; how? Because the environment of gratitude creates and strengthens the bonds of brotherhood, love, and loyalty. Like the adhesive material or cement that is needed to stick the bricks together.
But ungrateful people's destination is disunity and separation. Whereas grateful people see each other's talents, strengths, gifts, and hence can come together, unite, co-operate, and build together - the ungrateful are the opposite. They focus in on people's weak points, deficiencies, shortcomings, sins, etc. and find reasons to disqualify people and throw them out, or at the very least, they cannot acknowledge other people's good qualities or strengths. Hence, that environment of ingratitude naturally results in disunity and separation.
Grateful people are constructive people, whereas ungrateful people are destructive people.
3) In a Hadith narrated by Tirmithi, Bayhaqi, and mentioned by Ibn Hajar in Fat'h al-Bari, that the Prophet said: "There are two qualities, whoever possesses them, Allah will record him as patient and grateful; but whoever lacks these qualities, Allah will not record him as patient, nor grateful. Whoever, with regards to his Din, looks up to whoever has surpassed him, and thus follows his example, and with regards to worldy material looks to whoever is less than him and thus praises Allah for favoring him above him. Such a person will be written by Allah as patient and grateful. As for someone who looks to whoever is less than him in the Din, and as for worldly material, looks to whoever has surpassed him, and thus becoming depressed due to what he has missed out on, such a person is not written by Allah as patient nor grateful."
In fact, this is commanded by Allah in the Qur'an, Allah says in Surah TaHa: 13, "Do not extend your eyes towards what various types of enjoyments We have given them, from the splendor of the worldly life, as a fitnah for them..." And also in Surah al-Kahf: 28, "Keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; nor let your eyes pass over them for seeking the adornment of the worldly life..."
So the grateful people look for whoever has surpassed them in the Din, in terms of piety, character, knowledge, sacrifice and service for the sake of Allah, to be inspired by those examples, and to be motivated to do the same. Hence grateful people will be concerned with learning about the Prophets of Allah, the Sahabah, the Tabi'in, the great Revivers of Islam throughout history and in our own era. They learn about their lives to be inspired to follow their example, and do what they did. Likewise, the grateful will also try to accompany whoever they find has surpassed them in the Din. Keeping in mind those who have surpassed you in the Din also helps you remain humble, as it makes you aware of how far you are from those inspirational examples.
As for the ungrateful, they always think about everyone who is beneath their level in the Din, because it helps them be pleased with themselves, see themselves bigger than those they chose to compare themselves to. Thus, they neither feel inspired nor motivated to rise to higher levels, since they already feel like they've outstripped so many people; likewise, they will also lack humility. Hence, ingratitude is usually a brother of arrogance; just as gratitude is a brother of humility. These types of people, if they only pray the five obligatory Salat, they will pat themselves on the back and think "I'm so much better off than all these guys who don't pray at all", instead of thinking, "Man, there are those brothers who pray the Sunnah prayers, or the tahajjud prayers, I need to do better, I am slacking."
If you look to those who are beneath your level in the Din, you will start to think how much better you are than them, whereas if you constantly look to those who surpassed you in the Din, you will start to tell yourself "I need to do much better, I am far behind" and it will motivate you to advance forward and grow stronger.
Likewise, the grateful look to those less fortunate than them with regards to worldly matters, and this lets them realize how greatly Allah has favored them. They look to the poor, the ill, the deaf and blind, the people with missing limbs, the illiterate and so on- and this increases their gratitude and it also instills in them the desire and determination to help those people, and this is called Rahmah (compassion and care). This path will eventually lead them to what the Prophet described in one Hadith, "The most beloved people to Allah, are those who benefit the people the most." [Sahih al-Jami'].
As for the ungrateful, they look towards those who are above them in worldly matters. They look towards the lives of the rich and famous, the so-called superstars of movies, music, sports, the kings and presidents; and they start to feel like Allah has not favored them much, and they wish to have what those people have. And this instills in their hearts countless diseases, such as greed, envy, spitefulness, love for this world, materialism, etc. And this can continue to a point where the person becomes so selfish he has no concern nor compassion for any of the suffering Muslims in the world. And this path will eventually lead them to what the Prophet described in another Hadith, "He who shows no compassion, will not be shown any compassion." [Sahih al-Jami']
4) In another Hadith, which explains the psychology of the ungrateful, He explained that women are the majority of People of Hellfire. And when asked why, he explained due to their ingratitude to their husbands, and then he explained further, "If you were to do good to her all the time, and then she saw something (she disliked) from you, she says, "I have never seen anything good from you." [Bukhari and Muslim].
It is not only women who behave such, but even men. We find in the story of Musa, that Israelite who got into a fight with the Egyptian in Surah al-Qasas. He called for Musa to help him against the Egyptian. So Musa saved this man's life, risking his own life, and in the process took the Egyptian's life. The Israelite should have been grateful to Musa for saving his life, offered him whatever assistance or asylum Musa needed. The next day the same Israelite gets in another fight. Musa criticized the Israelite "indeed you are clearly a corrupt person", but still decides to help him against the other Egyptian, but when Musa was about to strike their enemy, the Israelite completely flipped on Musa, thinking that Musa was intending to strike him instead. Musa just saved his life, but just because Musa criticized him, he completely ignored this tremendous favor done to him and assumes the worst about Musa's action, and instead repays him - to use prison terminology - by "dry-snitching", indirectly revealing the fact that Musa was the one who had killed the Egyptian the previous day. You will come accross these types of ungrateful people.
These are just some texts from the Qur'an and Sunnah about gratitude and ingratitude.
The Magnitude of Gratidude (2nd Khutbah)
[Quotes from the 'Ulema]
1) About ingratitude, one of the great scholars from the early generations of Muslims, commenting on Surah al-An'am verse 38, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah said, "There is no human being on earth who does not resemble animals in some way. Some crush heads of their victims like lions; some run like wolves; some bark like dogs; some flaunt themselves like peacocks. Some resemble pigs, in that if you offer them good food, they will not touch it - but if a man gets up from defecating, they will come and roll in it. Hence you find some people who if they hear fifty words of wisdom, they will not remember anything of that - but if a man does one thing wrong, that will stay in their memory." [Belief in Allah, pg. 221, by Shaykh 'Umar al-Ashqar].
2) The scholar of Arabic language, Ibn al-Manthur said in Lisan al-'Arab, that shukr (gratitude) means, "Acknowledging goodness/kindness and spreading it."
3) Sulayman Ad-Darani said, "Thinking of and mentioning Allah's Favors, makes you love Allah."
4) Hasan al-Basri said, "Whoever does not recognize Allah's Favors upon him except in terms of food, drink and dress - then such a person's knowledge is shallow and his punishment is near."
5) Ibn al-Qayyim said, "Thanking Allah is built upon five pillars: 1) to humble one's self in gratitude to Allah, 2) to love Allah, 3) to acknowledge His favors, 4) to praise Him by mentioning that the favors are from Him, 5) to not use His favors in something that He would dislike..." [Madarij as-Salikin 2/244]. Elsewhere he included "to use Allah's favors in obedience to Him."
6) Ibn al-Qayyim also said, explaining Allah's Name of Ash-Shakur (The Most Grateful/Appreciative), "And because of the fact that Allah is the Most Grateful, the most beloved creature to Him are those who have the quality of gratitude; just as the most hated creature to Him are those who do not possess gratitude, and instead have the quality of ingratitude. And this is the case with all of His Beautiful Names - the most beloved creatures to Allah are those who have the characteristics necessitated by His Names, while the most hated of His creatures to Him are those who have the opposite characteristics." ['Uddat as-Sabirin wa Thakhirat ash-Shakirin]
The most important part of this khutbah, if you cannot remember anything else is this- we cannot acquire this noble quality without Allah's help. The Prophet taught us in many Du'a's to ask Allah to help us be grateful to him. I was able to find at least five supplications narrated:
1) The famous Du'a' that the Prophet taught to Mu'ath ibn Jabal to say at the end of the Salaah, "O Allah! Help me remember You, be grateful to You, and worship You in the best manner." [Sahih al-Jami' #7969, and also #80] You can find this du'a' in Hisn al-Muslim [Fortress of the Muslim], in the section on Du'a's at the end of the Salaah.
2) Ibn Mas'ud narrated a lengthy du'a', where the Prophet said at the end of it "... and make us grateful for Your Favors (shakirina li ni'matik), praising You with it, accepting it, and complete it (i.e. Your Favor) upon us." [Abu Dawud #969]
3) Ibn 'Abbas narrated a lengthy du'a', where the Prophet said within it, "... My Lord, make make me constantly remembering of You, constantly grateful to You (laka shakkaran)..." [Abu Dawud #1540. Tirmithi #3551, Ibn Majah #3830, and authenticated in Sahih al-Jami']
4) Shaddad ibn Aws narrated a du'a, where the Prophet taught us "... and I ask You (to grant me) gratitude for Your Favors (shukra ni'matik)". [Tirmithi #3407]
5) Abu Hurayrah narrated, the Prophet said, "O Allah! Make me magnify Your gratitude, profusely remember You, follow Your advice, and safeguard Your command." [Tirmithi #3604]\
It should also be remembered, that gratitude for the favors of Allah bestowed upon us is not just at our own individual level, but also what we have received as an Ummah. Just as Allah addressed the Children of Israel, "O Children of Israel, remember my Favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I chose you above all nations." [Al-Baqarah: 47]. This was addressed to them at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, generations after they killed the Prophets, tampered with the scriptures, committed all sorts of kufr, shirk, and transgressions. Yet, Allah tells them to remember how once upon a time, they were a chosen people, to whom Allah sent Prophets, made them into kings and conquerors. Perhaps by remembering what type of honor Allah bestowed on them once a upon a time, they would repent and turn back to the path of gratitude and servitude to Allah Alone, following the footsteps of their earlier righteous generations, from the time of Musa, and Dawud and Sulayman, peace be upon them all.
Likewise applies to our Ummah, no matter how far we have strayed from the Straight Path, we must revive and keep alive the memory and history of our Prophet and his Companions, the Sahabah, and the early generations, to be inspired by their heroic examples of Eman, struggle, sacrifice, and noble character, to recognize how Allah favored our Ummah once before, above all other nations. Our looking back at the Upright salaf's generations should not be merely to quote them on matters of 'Aqidah or fiqh disputes, but to be inspired to follow their example - do as they did, live for Allah as they lived for Allah. Reviving the memory of these favors plays a big role in reviving our Ummah, and bringing it back to being grateful and dutiful to its Lord. Whereas forgetting about them and their heroic history is ingratitude to Allah, and ingratitude to them - and we see the severe punishment upon an Ummah that has forgotten its past and is detached from its own heroic history.
Anything I have said here that is beneficial and correct, is by the Favor of Allah, and all praise is to Him. Anything wrong is from myself and shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger are free from it. wal-HamduLillahi Rabbil 'Alamin.
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Note: The common practice amongst Muslims of saying "shukran" when thanking someone has no basis in Qur'an or Sunnah. Rather, it seems this practice is imitation of European tradition of saying "thank you", just in Arabic. It perhaps spread during the time of European colonialism of Muslim countries. Sadly, as is common with bid'ahs, it replaces an actual Sunnah. Instead we should abandon the European colonial tradition, and revive what the Prophet taught us, as is narrated by Usamah ibn Zayd, that the Prophet said, "Whoever is favored by another, and says to him "JazakAllahu Khayran" (may Allah reward you well), indeed he has praised him abundantly." [Sahih al-Jami' #6368] So this is what the Prophet taught us to say, and to make Du'a' for him until we feel we have recompensated/rewarded him, as mentioned also in another hadith quoted earlier.
And Allah knows best.
